Hello world,
Before the legendary story begins let me
preface it with the following (which is mainly for my family): We are in
Malawi, at our ministry site and we’re safe! We’ve got all our bags, some
extremely smelly clothes, and a story that we’ll remember for the rest of our
lives!
On the last week of October our squad met
up at a house in Romania and spent some time with each other. We had times of
worship, prayer, activities & rest. On Saturday, October 30th our travel “day”
to Malawi, Africa began. Though our entire squad (66 people) were all meeting
in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 31st we were divided up on 2 separate
flights. Cinthia and I were on the flight that went via Istanbul & Dubai
while others went via Athens & Doha. For those who check Facebook, this was
the last time you heard from me, and chances are from most of the Racers…
After arriving in Johannesburg we learnt
that there were some complications with the bus companies, which meant we had
to stay at a nearby hostel for 2 nights.
This gave our squad more time to spend together as well as much needed
rest (even though at this point none of us fully knew why, we just thought that
God was being silly by delaying our trip).
On Tuesday, November 2nd at 6pm the bus
ride to Malawi began. Our bus was packed, we had out large backpacks in a
trailer while our “carry-on” bags & food filled every nook & cranny on
the bus. We drove north towards the South African/Zimbabwe border and arrived
there sometime after midnight. It took us hours to get through the border since
we all needed visas, but finally we were all through and back on the road to
Malawi.
So now we’re on Wednesday. We drove through
Zimbabwe and unfortunately arrived at the Zimbabwe/Mozambique border after they
closed. So that night we slept in the bus and were the first in line the
following morning. Imagine waiting outside in line for some wicked concert
tickets, but replace the “outside” with “inside a hot-sweaty bus”, and replace
“wicked concert tickets” with “visa to drive through a country”, I think we can
all agree it was less fun and more hot.
On Thursday morning we all began the visa
process shortly after 6am, and due to the border patrol taking their sweet time
we were able to enter Mozambique roughly 8 and a half hours later. We jumped
back on the bus and sped towards the Mozambique/Malawi border (which closed at
8pm). This gave us a little under 6 hours to get to the next border crossing.
Half way through Mozambique we approached a bridge, necessary to cross to reach
the border but unfortunately half of the bridge was being repaired so it was
one-way traffic only and at the time we got there it was going in the opposite
direction. Our squad did the same thing we did earlier at the
Zimbabwe/Mozambique border, we prayed & worshipped and a few minutes later
the traffic began to move. Our amazing bus drivers sped through sand storms, rainstorms
and windy roads. They did a fantastic job and though we got to the border on
time, the rainstorm earlier in the day had cut the electricity so yet again we
spent the night at a border. This time we planned on how to make the night
easier for everyone, while the lovely women spent the night in the bus, the men
slept outside. For most this was a great solution since a) the girls had more
room on the bus, b) the inside bus temperature was lower due to the lower
number of bodies inside, c) the men were outside where it was cooler, and d) it
just creates an awesome story in the end!
Friday morning we were once again at the
front of the line to cross the border. Shortly afterwards we were finally in
Malawi and on our way to Blantyre to then go our separate ways to our different
ministry sites. At 6pm Team Haven & The A-Team boarded yet another bus,
this one taking us towards the northern city of Mzuzu where we have now
arrived!
Our total bus travel time (from
Johannesburg, South Africa to Mzuzu, Malawi) (which according to Google Maps
should take roughly 20 hours (check)
took approximately 84 hours.
Where does that leave me now? Well I have
countless stories, I have a wife who I’ve seen be supportive throughout the
exhausting/stressful/smelly times, I have a team who can persevere through 84
hours of cramped bus rides, I have a partner team who I’m eager to grow with
this month, I have blurry pictures of baboons on the side of the road, and most importantly I have the knowledge that
God works through all situations for His glory!
We are absolutely ecstatic to be here in
<village>, both because that means we’re done travelling for a few weeks,
but also because the ministry God has us here for sounds great! Please note
that internet here in Africa is slow, and for where we are, scarce so if you
don’t hear from any of us for a while we’re still ok, just out of
communication.
We’re still in need of more financial
support. We’re currently in need of $7,069.44
to be fully funded. Help be a part of this life changing experience, consider
partnering with us monthly!
