Visit Every City

Friday, April 15th, 2022

After returning from our drive to the Zambia border we took a walk through the village market. I didn’t get any photos of the market or off the people there. I guess I didn’t want to look too much like a tourist. The market was relatively empty even in the middle of the day because many people were at church or preparing to go to church. Unfortunately they weren’t preparing to celebrate the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread like we were. They have their own festivities related to Easter. After leaving the market and the main part of the village we headed back to the house through the maize fields. Most Malawians, if not all, grow maize. It seems that most have at least some small piece of land that they own or rent where they can grow their crops to feed their families or sell to make a living. There are many different crops grown here but maize (basically the opposite of sweet corn) is the staple crop used to make the staple food, nsima.

I’ve heard and seen that almost anything can be grown in Malawi. From the air as we landed, Matt and I noticed that Malawi looks like a series of farms spreading for hundreds of miles. That is especially true this time of year after the rains have pretty much stopped but the ground is still filled with moisture. Everything is green! Some of the major exports in Malawi include tobacco (which we saw hanging under small shelters to dry just like in Kentucky) and sugar. Malawians will often buy a piece of sugarcane on the side of the road or in a market as they are walking or biking somewhere. They peel the bark off with their teeth, chew on the inside pulp, and spit the fibers out on the ground. Thankfully Cephas was kind enough to peel a few pieces for us. Sugarcane juice that fresh is so delicious and so refreshing! After a sugarcane appetizer and a nice lunch, we relaxed a bit and prepared for the evening.

At about 2:00pm (3 hours and 42 minutes to sunset) we packed up the car and headed to the UCG property which is down up the road from the village of Nkhwazi. Patricia and several of the ladies were already there preparing food for a fantastic feast, the Night To Be Much Observed (NTBMO). Traditionally God’s people gather on the evening which begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was the same night all those years ago when Israel walked out of Egypt with their freedom. They didn’t have time to make bread the usual way so with their kneading bowls pack away they left captivity and headed out to the wilderness.

Before dinner began Cephas had asked me to help baptize two of the menders of the congregation who has finished counseling with him. It’s always a pleasure to be part of the lives of my brethren in such a unique way. The decision to be baptized is the biggest decision of a person’s life. It is the beginning if a lifelong commitment to a relationship with God. It is the better choice between death and life. For this particular set of baptisms I worked as the hands and Cephas was the mouth. I went through the ceremony as I normally would and Cephas translated so everyone could understand what was being said.

It was wonderful to spend time with out better in Nkhwazi. Anything we couldn’t anyways communicate directly with one another we were able to connect with one another and celebrate together.

– Lewis VanAusdle