When Hannah Menzies of 2015 R Squad met Mayeso in Malawi, she couldn’t help noticing how different this Rastafarian artist, business owner, and tour guide was. Then she saw the impact he is making in his community, and realized he was a warrior.
The best kind of adventures are often spontaneous. Which is how I found myself hiking a mountain in Malawi with a Rastafarian warrior.
It was a day full of color – hot, sun shining, and the beautiful Malawian landscape all around us. Our host gave us the morning off, so my teammate, Jill, and I decided to walk around town.
Going into town is always chaotic. Vendors constantly approach us with everything from paintings to strawberries, trying to capture our attention and achieve a sale. If I am honest, my anxiety levels always rise when I go into town; being surrounded by people speaking very fast can be intimidating.
However, I instantly felt calm when we when we entered the “Rasta area” of town, a stretch of dirt where Rastafarian vendors sell their art pieces underneath grass huts.
The first hut had artwork spread out all around – canvases with bright colors and beautiful African scenery, as well as wood carvings, purses, and jewelry. As we approached, I exhaled with a feeling of welcome and something else I didn’t expect: peace.
That’s when we met Mayeso.
As Jill and I browsed his stand, the vendor, a man with a headful of dreadlocks and a big smile, approached and began to talk with us.
His first words to us were not what we expected.
“Please look at everyone else’s stand before looking at mine.”
Everything about Mayeso surprised us. He was the first vendor who wasn’t aggressive. He wasn’t concerned with how he could benefit from us, he was just happy to meet us.
Not long later, we left to walk through the rest of the market. Intrigued by Mayeso, we returned not long later. But Mayeso wasn’t there.
That’s when we saw the sign outside his hut: “Dreadlocks Saloon”.
So Jill and I returned three days later to get dreadlocks.
We sat there on a wood bench outside of Mayeso’s hut while a man named Psalms dreaded our hair with a sewing needle. And because dreaded white girl hair requires maintenance often, we returned to his saloon many times over the course of the month.
You really get to know someone over a dreadlock. And as Mayeso shared his story with us, I was struck with how he came alive – telling us about other people.
You see, Mayeso lives his life for others. As a Rastafarian, he believes in one God and one love. We had many conversations together about his faith. He knows the Bible well and grew up in a Christian home. He just doesn’t like the labels of religion; instead, he believes in putting faith into action.
Exactly how he lives: faith in action.
When you ask Mayeso about himself, his reply morphs into a story about another person. That’s just who Mayeso is: a friend, an artist, a healer, a giver, an adventurer, and a man of love.
Mayeso uses his skills and talents to help others – selling art, giving a tour up Mount Zomba, or working at the saloon. There are days where Mayeso collects no sales. And what money he makes is freely given away.
Zomba, Malawi, has a lot of street kids, children whose parents aren’t around or cannot give them the bare necessities to survive.
So Mayeso feeds them, teaches them, and takes care of them. In fact, the day we returned to his empty hut, he was with the kids on their lunch break.
Mayeso receives no “worldly” reward from helping these kids. In fact, he gives away the little money he has – but that doesn’t matter to him. He believes in raising up the next generation, seeing them receive a full belly, an educated mind, and a promising future. To Mayeso, that is the best kind of payment.
His day doesn’t start off feeding his own hunger; it starts with feeding others.
Mayeso’s example has touched the hearts of many. People who can’t give money donate things like cooking tools or food. His friends help dread at the saloon.
And Mayeso continues to dream and fight for the future of these kids. Quite simply, he’s a warrior.
Before leaving Malawi, my teammates and I climbed Mount Zomba with him.
As Mayeso led us on the “Potato Path”, a man-made, rocky trail Malawians used to deliver potatoes to the local town, we got to see his country through his eyes. It was perfect climbing weather – overcast and chilly enough to feel refreshed all day. We followed him to a waterfall, several lookout points, and a huge dam, never quite catching our breath from the beauty of the scenery – and the hike itself.
But best of all was the man I came to think of as my brother – a dreadlocked warrior for street kids.
Mayeso’s authenticity taught me so much. He taught me to “live barefoot” – living in raw connection with God and what he’s doing without an agenda of my own. Mayeso taught me to live in the moment, to see every person as someone to love.
So, I guess you could say, that morning, we all hiked Mount Zomba barefoot.
Are you ready to “live barefoot” wherever God is calling you?
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