Stories of Discernment: Thomas Gebhard

During my first 68 years of life, I never expected God to ask me to do anything. Over the years, I have asked clergy and others how they knew God had spoken to them. My interpretation of the consensus is that God speaks through the events, actions, and words of others and that you realize that it comes from God. My story began in the fall of 2004 when I attended a Thursday Lunch at St. David’s. After filling my tray, I looked for a table. I saw St. David's rector, the Rev. David Boyd, sitting at a table with two friends. I asked if I could join them, and David said, “Only if you keep your mouth shut as we’re planning our pilgrimage to Malawi in 2005.” I agreed to be silent as I had no intention of going. The conversation was interesting, and I listened quietly until David asked about activities in Johannesburg during a 23-hour layover. The answer was, “ I guess that we’ll start with a nap. . .” I instinctively blurted out, “Wrong answer. You don’t nap; you do tours, eat an early dinner, and have a long sleep.” David then said, “If you know so much about international travel, can you plan events in Johannesburg?” Feeling both complimented and sheepish for breaking my vow of silence, I agreed to do the planning as long as I didn’t have to go. As months passed, the pilgrims approved my plans for time in Johannesburg. I kept being asked to travel, and I kept declining. My wife said that she knew I would go, but my denial became firmer. In February, I attended a meeting in New York City and listened to a sermon by Bishop Desmond Tutu. After he concluded, I felt different, and I began to realize that God was speaking to me through the actions and words of others and was sending me to Malawi. This was the first time that I had admitted that God had spoken to me. Eventually, I announced, to the shock of all, that I was going on a pilgrimage to Malawi. Although I had been invited by many, I was sent by God.

While on pilgrimage, I was asked to assess a water problem in the Mindanti village. The issue was the lack of sufficient water to meet the community's needs. After we returned home, one pilgrim, in front of the congregation, made a donation to construct a borehole to meet Mindanti's water needs, and other donations were given.

Those donations became the impetus for creating Warm Heart International, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charity of St. David’s. In 2006, we incorporated Warm Heart Internation as a non-profit organization under the umbrella of The Episcopal Diocese of Texas and St. David‘s Episcopal  Church with a focus on water, feeding, and education. 

Bishop James Tengatenga of the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi asked that the borehole serve the water needs of a maternity clinic in Mindanti. From the beginning of maternity clinic construction in 2006 until its opening in August 2023, there were two other times when God had an impact and clearly spoke to me. During the time from 2009 to 2018, the maternity clinic project was on the threshold of being a failure, and I didn’t want to recommend additional funding for the maternity clinic. Once the building was complete and had a dependable water supply, the opening could not occur without equipment and supplies, housing for medical staff, and an electrical power supply. Due to the persistence and desire of Bishop Alinafe Kalemba and the Malawians wanting a maternity clinic, situations changed. When the individual requests for financial support were asked, I clearly heard God say that this was the appropriate time for financial support. Again, I was changing my mind and taking actions that I didn’t initially want to take because God wanted me to change. In retrospect, I’ve talked to the Malawian Bishops, the rectors of St. Davids and St. James in New York City, donors, and the local Malawians—priests, administrators, contractors, and laity. All of us have different stories of how God intervened in creating the maternity clinic, but we all agree that it was God’s will to create it for Mindanti.