The last week has been amazing. Last Sunday, we started the week off with an amazing church service. The music was so moving that most of my team ended up crying during the service.
After lunch Jeremy and I were invited to go with one of the church leaders, Willy, and two of his sons to a soccer game. Since all 13 of us shared our testimonies, the service ran a little long, and our ride arrived right as we started eating lunch. We would have to eat on the way to make the start of the game. Turns out our ride was an ambulance. I never thought my first ambulance ride would be in Malawi sitting in the back with 3 other guys going to a soccer game and eating mashed potatoes and chicken.
The game featured the two best teams in Malawi, Zomba and Blantyre, and was for control of the premiere league. It was an unforgettable experience. For one we were the only two white people in a crowd of thousands, the field was about 2/3s dirt, the visiting locker room was the bus they came in on parked behind one of the goals, and the army was there to keep the peace with tear gas launchers and assault rifles. Thankfully, they needed neither and were mostly there for show according to Willie
Zomba scored the first goal and dozens of children stormed the field and did cartwheels and flips while the crowd went wild. Unfortunately, Blantyre was much better that day and was up 5-1 when we left with a few minutes remaining.
Monday was our day off and we started ministry on Tuesday. The first two days we did door to doors. It sounds a little weird from an American culture perspective, but here everyone greeted us with open arms. One advantage of looking so different from everyone else is that the people are excited to meet you. At almost every house we walked to, the people came out with benches, stools, and mats and put them under a tree or on the porch so we could chat for a while.
Most people we talked to were Christians and were so excited to have people come to encourage them and pray for them. We listened to their stories and lives are so different here. One house that will stay with me for a while was a grandma barely able to get up that was so happy to see us. She was raising her two remaining grandchildren after loosing all her children and some of her grandchildren to the AIDS epidemic here. I wish this were an isolated story, but it is far too common. Willie, for instance has lost all but one of his 8 siblings and he is currently trying to care for over 20 children. They are fortunate to have him, but it still breaks my heart.
Thursday and Friday, we traveled by van to nearby villages to speak to churches and pastors. The ride is rough on the dirt roads, but we were overwhelmed by the greeting we received at each church. Usually as we pull up the people come outside and greet us with joyful songs. The people packed the churches just to hear what we had to say.
We all shared some and Medson, our contact, translated everything. He is so passionate about God’s message he dances, and jumps up and down as he translates. When speaking his enthusiasm is contagious and it is impossible to not get excited. The people were excited for the whole 2-3 hour service. The congregations even provided us with cokes and chicken when we come.
Friday, there was a little miss-communication with the churches we visited and some waited several hours in the heat for us to arrive. They still were amazingly welcoming and appreciative to the message we brought. Once again they gave us cokes and chicken.
I found out later that in Malawi the highest honor you can give a visitor is to make them chicken because they are so useful laying eggs, that to kill one to eat is a huge sacrifice. This was a little bit of an overwhelming revelation. They are so eager to hear more about Jesus that when someone comes to teach about him they kill the fatted calf per say.
At each service in addition to the congregation, there were several pastors from nearby villages that had come to hear us also. It was flattering that pastors had traveled for quite a while, usually on bikes, just to hear us.
It turns out that in rural areas here, Bibles are hard to come by and some pastors don’t even have them. So people that have had the bible for years and are familiar with it are a rare thing to have. Each time as we left they wished we could stay longer and invited us back. As we pack up the van to leave they would sing us out and the kids would run down the road after our van.
Saturday was another day off and some of us headed to Zomba mountain. It is a huge mountain that overlooks the whole plateau here. It has a fancy hotel on the top and we played in its gardens for a while before heading to the peak.
The trail took us through the village where the people that work in the hotel live and the contrast was stunning. The houses were fairly nice for the area, but compared to the western style hotel they were nothing. It was a good reminder how easy it is to get comfortable back in familiar territory.
When we reached the top the view was amazing and well worth the hike. One side overlooked Zomba and all the areas we had been traveling the past few days, the other was a valley with the lake that provides the excellent drinking water we have been enjoying here. It was lush and green and looks straight out of Colorado.
After descending the peak, we headed for nearby waterfalls. On the way we found some bushes packed with orange berries. After our guide and friend, Mbango, assured us they were good for eating we ate and ate the delicious berries. I’m not sure how best to describe them but a real good glass of tang would probably be close.
After lingering too long we hurried to see the falls. The falls were amazing and the water was so cool and refreshing we couldn’t help but jump in and let the water splash down on us. It could have been a scene straight out of Colorado if not for the more tropical plants.
We got dropped off in town and spent a little time at the internet cafe to post our latest blogs then we went to the burger place in town. I had a burger fries and a coke and felt for a moment that I was back in the states. Also, Michael Buble’s “Home” was stuck on repeat and we all missed home a little bit as we listened to it for almost an hour. Part of the song goes “another airplane, another sunny place, I’m lucky I know, but I want to go home”. It was true for all of us in the moment, but Malawi is such a special place I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be right now.
All in all it was an amazing week. This next week we are going on a three day trip to a small town a few hours away. From what everyone has heard it is not much like the amazing mountain town of Zomba. We will have to take our water with us and it is supposed to be much hotter than here. The people there are supposed to be eager for the Word, so were eager to go.
