An ODE to Evangelist Steven Lungu

I came to Lilongwe in 2005 fresh off college. I did not have so many friends except those I had made while there. The first day I went for interviews at my would be workplace, I met a girl, a girl so cheerful so much so that as soon as our eyes met, we both knew that we will be best buddies. I do not recall from where my boldness came, but as I stepped out from my successful interview, yes, I had just been told that I got the job, i looked at her as she was busy trying to process my transport refund and I said, “look for a house, coz we are going to be housemates”, she said an emphatic OK and continued her business; she was living with Steven Lungu and his family at that time, I was to meet him later. When I arrived back in Lilongwe a few days later, I stayed with relations for a while as I Linny and I looked for a house we could move into together. In the course of this period, she introduced me to the Lungus. The wife was her mother’s sister, and we fondly call her “ma” and Steven Lungu was all fatherly each time, even when he was at his lowest, him we all called, “dad”. Ma would
make sure we had ufa and ndio whenever we were broke, and believe me, this would happen alot.

Fast forward to 2007, I am engaged to be married, and I have also received a scholarship to study in The Netherlands for my Masters Degree in Development Studies. I have a plan, it is simple really, get married, leave a month later for The Netherlands, come back in 18 months to continue with married life! How hard can it be huh? He must also understand this as this was not easy to come by right? I reasoned. And I could not have been more wrong! My Fiance then, told me I had to choose, he was very diplomatic about it, he said, “you see, we are not breaking off the engagement, my proposition is that, we call off the wedding, and do it when you get back”. I took him up on his offer, until when dad Lungu called me in…..
He sat me down and asked me very tough and serious questions, two of them being; “why are you limiting God”? “What makes you think you cannot have both”? Now, this was a man I held in the most highest regard, but I gathered the courage to engage him. I knew, experientially, that
most men would have taken the opportunity unflinchingly. So with a heavily subjective mind, I went to town to explaining how hard it was to get that scholarship and how it resonated well with my career plans and all of that, and ofcourse I also asked him why the man was not willing
to see things from my perspective and support my education plans as a man should.

I also asked him whether or not my fiance was going to let it go just for me had this come to him. You see, Steven Lungu was wise, as I fired him these questions, he gave me very subtle but resolved responses that melted my heart. He took me through a process that I can just summarise in a
phrase, “to focus more on others than myself “. From then on, I took an irrevocable commitment to see things from a different perspective, and iam so glad he spoke to me…
To cut the long story short, I never took up that scholarship, I enrolled with MIM instead and two years later, I had my Masters Degree, a baby and a husband. On my graduation, he held my baby in his arms and looked at me and said, “see now what I was trying to tell you two years ago and yet you were so adamant that you couldnt see it”? You have everything now!!!! To which I said, “yes dad, I have it all”. He remained a strong pillar for our family, there are so many storiesbetween us and his family that can fit into a book. He was a solid evangelist. Who was never ashamed to talk about the pit from which he was rescued. He was never ashamed of the Gospel and would stand his ground to defend it when the situation called for it.

I expressly remember one time at Kanin’ga CCAP in A47 when we had
Rev Katani as the pastor in charge, a man from the cell churches came and preached a message on when David danced before the Arch of God. The man literally made a mess of the scripture in less than 7 minutes! As he went to sit down, Steven Lungu stood up and said, “I am sorry, but I
cannot allow God’s people to go home with this misrepresentation of the scripture ” and he went ahead and gave us a proper message in 30 minutes! We all went home happy and edified.

That was Steven Lungu for you.
A few days after my appointment into cabinet, Steven Lungu called me, and the excitement on the other end could not be hidden. He said how proud he was of me and he asked me if he could come into my office to pray for me. I told him I would like for nothing more. A few days later, he came over, laid his hands on me as I knelt down in my office and he blessed me and ushered me into national service. I had prepared a few copies of my books for him and his family and from then on, he kept calling so that I should go to his house and sign them for him. He said he did not want them signed in my office but he needed me to do the needful in the presence of “ma” his
lovely wife. Unfortunately for me, I never did find the time to go sign those books…….
He has departed from us this Steven Lungu. But i know without a shadow of doubt, that there are thousands of people around the world and particularly in Malawi who can testify that the man lived well. His benevolent nature made way for most people in distress. There are so many
young people that have passed through his mentorship and so many families he had anchored, so many lives he touched.
Steven Lungu loved and cared for people genuinely. He lived an exemplary life as a married man, an evangelist, a friend, a father and a Christian. His death, though painful and sudden, teaches us so many things. For us who were close to him, we know where he is and we are not worried at
all…….because THIS, was a life well lived by any possible measurement of an impactful life…..
Rest Well Dad…….