Valued instruments

It is about a year since our shipment, containing some of our musical instruments, arrived in Blantyre. But only recently has Ruth got round to making protective covers for them – and very attractive ones at that, we think you will agree – to keep them safe as they get bundled in and out of the car several times a week, and bounced around in the boot over bumpy roads.

The truth is, the Malawian young people Ruth works with have taught her the true value of these instruments. The 3 guitars and 1 of the keyboards are our own family’s “cast-offs” – long since replaced by fancier guitars, and Ruth’s Roland FP-4F now in Mhairi’s tender-loving care.

However, to the young musicians Ruth works with – the music club at EBCOM, the Echoes of Grace choir, the students at Mitsidi ZEC Secondary School, the church musicians who attend Echoes of Grace weekend music seminars – although so keen to learn to play, know that to actually own a guitar or a keyboard is a pipe-dream. The best they can hope for is that one day they might have access to an instrument belonging to someone else, or to their church. So they really cherish the opportunity to handle and learn to play the MacBean family “cast-offs”, and they take such care with them – enough to shame Ruth into realizing she ought to be treating them better herself!!

With their padded protective covers, these instruments will hopefully last long after we have left Malawi, and those who inherit them will value and appreciate them much more than we who so quickly and easily lose interest, or want to upgrade to bigger and better things. If you have donated an instrument, or money to pay for instruments, for Echoes of Grace, you can be assured that those instruments, besides bringing huge joy, have gone to a good home where they will be treasured, looked after and have a long happy life!