He Will Restore You
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” 1 Peter 5:10
“Here is someone who has virtually nothing in the way of physical possessions, having been forced to rely on others to be able to do even the most basic things throughout her life,” stated Jim Messenger a member of the Board of Directors for the Malawi Project. After he observed the quotation Doreen Emmanuel picked from her new Bible which she received with her new mobility unit Jim continued by stating, “I am constantly humbled by the reaction of the Malawians that receive mobility units and amazed by the impact the mobility units are making in lives all over Malawi.”
Upon receiving a mobility unit, Doreen was also presented with a Bible. She was then asked to cite her favorite verse, so she opened her Bible, written in her native language of Chewa, and read the verse above. Few would understand this verse with the intensity Doreen felt. The Bible is a gift from churches in Northwestern Indiana and one is presented with each mobility unit. The mobility units are made by an all-volunteer force of 60-70 people, also from that same part of Indiana.
Doreen Emmanuel was the firstborn of four children and grew up in Mphizi Village near Lilongwe. She continues to work toward her goal of becoming a nurse even though it was suspected that her disability came from contracting polio as a child. Now, at 25, she has spent most of her life unable to walk and has been primarily cared for by various nurses since childhood. Even though her parents encouraged her, Doreen still needed help just to get to and from school. She is in form three at a secondary school, (similar to 8th or 9th grade in the United States), in her village which shows her commitment to education. Her achievement is even more remarkable when one realizes that only about one-third of all children in Malawi complete primary school, (similar to Kindergarten to 6th-grade education in the United States).
Advancing her education has not been easy. While talking with the team that brought her the mobility unit, she explained just one of the numerous problems she has had to overcome while trying to advance her education. “I have to crawl on the ground everywhere I go. This includes local bathrooms that are visited by hundreds of people that can walk. I have had to crawl even in these facilities, until now.”
She continued, “Words alone are not enough to express my happiness and gratitude for this gift. Mobility units are scarce and they must be very expensive to build, but I received it for free today. It is such a blessing,” She said that the mobility unit will help her continue with the studies needed to achieve her goal of becoming a nurse and help her community.
As she made her way back home with a new mobility unit and Bible, the Action for Progress team reflected on the hope this young lady now has for a better life. These gifts have been made possible through programs coordinated by Action for Progress, Mobility Ministries, and the Malawi Project.