Day's Diary

March 1 , 2007 ~ A Fond Farewell

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Steven and Rita Paas left Zomba yesterday. That didn’t make the news anywhere in the world, but it was a significant event in the lives of many people connected to Zomba Theological College. Their leaving leaves a gap in the college. Their presence has made a significant difference in many people’s lives.

Dr. Steven and Mrs. Rita Paas are returning to the Netherlands. The church there has told them that it is time to retire. They have been here for 9 years and have become part of the fabric of Malawian life. Dr. Paas is a bit of a character, in the best sense of the word. He came here after having been a news reporter for a number of years and then a college professor, with a Ph.D. in Church History. Dr. Paas came to teach church history, but he has done so much more than that. He has worked with village churches, preaching and pastoring since his first year here. He immersed himself in the culture and the language and mastered at least the language. He has written 22 books and numerous pamphlets while he has been here, many of them in Chichewa. Most notably, he has written the definitive Chichewa-English dictionary. That was the first gift I received when I arrived, before I had even met the author. It is in all the book stores. He has written books on Islam, on Malawian church history, on Presbyterianism, on evangelism to Muslims, and biographies of prominent Malawian church leaders. He delights in writing. He has also translated a number of Dutch texts into Chichewa, some of them church history and some for general reading. His latest translation was launched just this Monday, a collection of children’s Bible stories done by a Dutch author.

Dr. Paas was not an ordained minister when he came to Malawi, but a church elder. Since being here, at the encouragement of several of his former students, he sought ordination in the CCAP. So he returns to Holland an elder in the Dutch Reformed Church, but a pastor in the CCAP. When he preaches, he does so in Chichewa.

He has been friend to the college in a number of ways. The library is better supplied because of his efforts to obtain quality reference materials. Many Malawian pastors have done further studies because of the assistance and the encouragement Dr. Paas has given them in academic writing. He has had a steady stream of students come with papers to be edited and critiques to be offered.

Rita Paas has had her own sphere of influence. She has worked with the wives’ program, helping to teach the wives how to lead Bible study and how to entertain well. Part of that was done in the class room, but much of it was done in her home, setting an example and making her home a welcoming place for all. She has also been “momma” to many Malawians. That is a term that is given to those, white or black, who help those less fortunate by providing work, buying from them, and in some instances, giving financial assistance. Her home has been a refuge.

The Paas’ have made significant contributions to the lives of many Malawians and will be remembered for a long time to come by those whose lives they have touched. But in a way, they are not special, but rather join a long line of folks, many of whom we may never know and never hear of, who have come and done the same thing over the last years and then have gone home, wherever in the world home may be. Just at Zomba, the list is long and impressive, from England, Ireland, Scotland, United States, Korea, and Australia, to name a few. Their names are remembered by those whose lives they have touched. Malawians welcome this type of input from their international friends. I have been honored to be received in that company, if only for a year.

But Dr. Paas put it in perspective at a farewell dinner given in his honor on Monday evening. He acknowledged the thanks offered to him and then he said that while what he gave can be measured in books written and lectures given and students enrolled, what he has received cannot be measured. He has received far more in wisdom and insight, in participation and acceptance in a world so different from his own. He has received lessons in patience and in grace that are invaluable. The things he has gained are spirit building and therefore can’t be measured. I think that is true for all of us who are privileged to serve Malawi in this way. Just the few whom I know from the States shared similar perspectives with me as I was preparing to come here. Maybe in a larger way, that is true for all of us in our Christian lives, wherever God allows us to serve Him and we serve faithfully.