Malawi Journal Day 13
Today is an at-home day for us. Mbwenu is still away teaching another Agriculture Workshop. This workshop will help a community in the south learn more sustainable gardening practices which will produce more food at less expense. Wanangwa will work at her shop in the afternoon.
At Home
Our first day at home without adults. I feel almost like a kid. We use the opportunity to do some cleaning. We do some study and writing today. There are always opportunities to teach so we must always be ready.
Kids
There are always kids around. I love to see them play for hours with a homemade ball, soccer, ball, bottle caps, an old tire, or a deck of cards. We teach the very youngest to say, “Hello, how are you?” I’m fine. The adults laugh at how quickly they pick up the English language. I wish I could pick up Tumbuka that quickly! Esther is learning a lot of Tumbuka. The young people teach her Tumbuka and she teaches them English.
World Bible School
Mbwenu arrives home from the Agriculture workshop. We chat some and soon he is on a mission to take the car back to the mechanic. It still has the check engine light on and isn’t running exactly right. He also has a package of World Bible School lessons to pick up from Davis Sauka. We brought a suitcase full (est. value $400) and we have almost depleted those. The number of students is rising daily. Sometimes people just show up and ask to study.
The sunset is glorious after the heavy rains this afternoon. In the evening Lawrence and I talk with Mbwenu and Wanangwa about their years in Swaziland. They studied Bible and ministry. All of the students at the school worked to help pay their costs. Mbwenu was in charge of the gardens where he learned lot of valuable gardening skills and first met Carl Burkybile from Healing Hands International. Life was different with electricity and running water. I asked Wanangwa if it was hard to come back. She said so because she missed her mom!
Day 14 Our Second Sunday
We go early to sing English songs before church. Mbwenu picks out songs that they know in Tumbuka too. He tells everyone that Lawrence is a good song leader and has him lead the songs. Soon it is time for Bible class.
Bible Class
Today Lawrence is teaching Bble class on I Peter. Our class is small as we begin but people soon trickle in and we have a good sized group of adults. I counted more than 30 children going into the tiny room at the front of the building. The room is probably about 10 feet X 10 feet!
Washington Mumba
After class I see a familiar face, Washington Mumba has ridden his bike from Mzimba with a friend. They were both invited to lead songs for worship today. It seems to be a tradition to let visitors have the honor of speaking or singing in church.
Tenson
Today Tenson preached. He is one of the preachers working with us in our World Bible School outreach. We sing some songs in Tumbuka and some in English.
Esther Teaches
After church Esther taught the youth out of I Timothy 4:12. Tonny translates. I greeted the ladies. We were to have a class but there are several sick members and it is decided that the ladies should go visit them today instead.
Village Headman
After church we met Matthew Phillip Phiri, a village headman over 16 villages. He invited us to come to his home later in the week because he wants to show us his farm. Lawrence and he chat about his work. He is retired from a government position in forestry and animal management. His second career was in training truck drivers. Now he tells Lawrence that they are to be advisors to the younger people and not doing the physical work now.
Visiting
We go home for lunch. After lunch we go visiting. First we go to visit Chewemwe that I met when going to purchase avocados. He cut his foot while clearing their land in December. He was hospitalized for two months. Because of the infection they were concerned he would lose his foot or his life. Finally, he made some improvement. It was discovered he has diabetis. The hospital was concerned about Covid 19 so they sent him home to recover. He has finished his antibiotics and is still changing the dressing on his foot every day. They apply honey to the wound. They are hoping the bacteria will like the honey and leave the wound alone. Still not much improvement.
We ask him if he would like to go to the Central Hosptal in Mzuzu. He said he would. We make arrangements to take him there this week. We have been making a long list of things to take care of in Mzuzu, the nearest large city.
William Bongwe
Next we visit William Bongwe whom we met during our first trip to Malawi in 2018. He has served as one of the elders of the Tombolombo Church. William is very sick and not able to leave his home anymore or get dressed. I believe he has some kind of cancer. William is 59 years old.
When the church first knew he was sick they collected money and sent him to the Mzuzu Central Hospital. They told him it was too late to do anything to help him. We meet his wife and teenage daughter. His first wife passed away and he remarried and this is his second family. He talked about his life of preaching and teaching. Mbwenu tells us his father trained William and now William has become a mentor to him. We pray for him and walk back through the path in the corn fields to the car.
Day 15 More Visits and WBS Meeting
Today we go to visit Denix who has served as an elder in the church but has moved away. He got a promotion and is now the principal of the school somewhere beyond Manyamula. His school has 395 Students and 7 teachers!
Denix has been sick with a lung infection. He has sores on his lungs and has had trouble breathing. They sent him home and he is recovering. Neighbors come by to greet us. It is customary for them to ask the home owner how we are today before he can greet us directly. With all the introductions complete we talk a little while longer. He tells us he is the Uncle to Chewemwe that we visited yesterday with the hurt foot. We pray for him and leave.
New Shelf
Our shelf is ready that we ordered for the WBS materials and Bibles! We pick that up and go home. On our trip home we. have another passenger, the daughter to a neighbor we find out has just passed away. Everyone is anxious to get home. We drop her off first and then we are dropped off. Wanangwa and Mbwenu go to comfort the neighbors.
WBS Meeting
Lawrence meets with the 4 World Bible School workers and collects lessons. They talk about the work and he answers any questions they have.
We cook some porridge and eat. Soon the heavy rains come again.
