Demotte, Indiana … They are not numbers, objects, or targets. Nor are they figures, records, or numerals. What they are, is expectation, anticipation, and freedom. They are promise, prospect, and possibility. They are dreams, wishes, and goals. They are the future, the end of the long, long road, and they are overwhelming the present with such a shout of joy they are drowning out the nightmares of the past.
The total is 320, and it brings the number of mobility units sent to Malawi since April 21, 2016, to 2502. These are the individual units produced in the Mobility Ministries production facility in Demotte, Indiana, and the crew from this facility sends their entire production output to Malawi.
But the real story is not about records, figures, or numbers. It is much more than that. It is not even about expectation, anticipation, or freedom. It is even more than that.
It is about Marita, Mabvuto, and Madalitso. It is about Salubeni, Salubeni, and Shadreck. It is the story of tall people, short people, and children, the story of men and of women, boys, and girls, the young, the middle-aged, and the old, the story of real people. In fact, it is about the 2,502 people who now know the reality of hope, promise, joy, and anticipation. It is the story of changed lives, the stories of real people who have and will continue to move into a future they never dreamed of before the truck pulled in with the brand-new, brightly painted mobility units produced by a group of volunteers who, like most of us, have trouble pronouncing the African names, and will never meet all of the people whose lives have been affected by their work.
In the picture, Bob Gabrielse, Director of the Demotte production facility is carefully moving a number of mobility units into place to load for Malawi.