Hello from Senga Bay, Malawi!
This month is an all-squad month which means that all 43 members of Z-squad are living and serving together. We are partnering with an organization called Zehondi Missions which is led by a South African man named Johan and his wife Marie. As you know, last month my team was stationed in Livingstone. This month has been different. We are staying on a compound in the bush of Africa rather than a major tourist attraction. Our base has no electricity or running water. There are 2 toilets with no seats and 1 squatty potty (basically a hole in a slab of cement surrounded by reeds). A shower consists of a bucket, a cup, and a reed wall. Each morning, a team rises with the sun to walk to the well that’s half a mile away to haul water. We carry 20 liter containers multiple times per day to provide water for hand washing, toilet flushing, cooking, brushing our teeth, etc. If you want to shower or do laundry, you must haul your own water containers.
This month has been challenging. Not in a defeatist, “I can’t do this” kind of way. More so in a manner that evokes awe. I’ve never had so much appreciation for water. When you’ve made 3 trips back and forth to the well carrying over 40 pounds of water each time, it’s easy to become radical about conserving it. Oh, and did I mention that once you’ve walked the half mile there, you have to pump it too? (One container requires approximately 80 pumps to fill.)
Ministry so far has consisted of lots of manual labor and projects around our base camp. Each day, one team cooks our meals for the day (which are all prepared over two coal fires). Other teams have helped install solar panels on a roof for two missionary women here. My team has been involved in multiple different things. One day, we cleared old plants from a greenhouse on the property so that new vegetables could be planted to help feed the students of the discipleship school on property. Later that day, we partnered with another team to dig 55 holes for papaya trees to be planted. We’ve done a couple of ATL’s (Ask the Lord) where we spend some time in prayer before beginning the ministry that we feel God leading us to in that time. One afternoon, we spent time on the beach of Lake Malawi playing soccer with whatever local kids decided to join in. I sat on the sand with an 8 year old girl named Lashida. She was fascinated by my sunglasses and the contents of my purse. She spent about half an hour writing the numbers 1 to 10 in the back of my day planner. We worked on writing the alphabet and she faithfully repeated each exercise, beaming with pride upon completion. It was precious.
Though it’s been hard work, it’s felt wonderful to fall into my sandy tent in the evening and fall asleep almost immediately. It’s been valuable to understand what daily life is like for many African people, especially women. In Malawi, women are responsible for much of the house work. This means carrying water, cooking, cleaning, caring for the children, doing laundry, etc. I quickly discovered that all of these tasks seem about 50 times more difficult and physically exhausting than they are in America. I’ve admired the way they simultaneously carry a baby strapped to their back with a chtenge (2 meter piece of colorful fabric) and a giant pail of water balanced atop their head. Our food has been a lot of rice and white bread and porridge. We’ve eaten nsima (pronounced “she-ma”; cornmeal mixed with water into a consistency slightly thicker than mashed potatoes) at least a couple of times a week in various forms. Sometimes, it’s thick as in the description above but sometimes it’s mixed with more water and served as porridge. Even with these limited options, we’re eating meals that are much larger than most Africans eat. Often, people seem to exist on mostly nsima and not much else. Imagining that diet combined with the amount of labor I’ve witnessed makes me want to give every Malawian woman I encounter a big hug and a medal of honor.
How would your life be different if you had to walk miles each day for any water you expected to use? How long would a diet of cornmeal sustain you? Who’s someone you think deserves a medal in your life? (Give them a BIG hug today.)
(Note: because we’ve been in the bush, there’s been no real wifi access so expect this to be the first of 3 blogs that are posted today with various updates on my time in Malawi so far.)
