Sunday, April 17th, 2022
Folding suits, stuffing socks, shifting charging cables, sticking shoes some place they might actually fit. I spent the early hours of the morning packing up all of my possessions. When you are away from home you don’t quite know what you’ll need or when you’ll be able to do laundry. I’m still not sure if I overpacked or not, but at least I didn’t under pack. I managed to find space for everything somewhere between my backpack and my carry-on luggage. The only remainder was my travel pillow. Thankfully Matt had some space for that in one of his bags.
After packing we had breakfast with the Chapamba family and then just enjoyed spending some time together. Our bags were set out in the living room as a reminder we would soon be heading for Blantyre. It was lovely being there with them, seeing how they take care of the congregations, and enjoying some of the ingenuity it takes to run a house in a village, complete with consistently running water, electricity, and a mini farm within the gates. I was thankful to get to spend some quality time with Cephas again in person. Sure we communicate often through WhatsApp but it’s just not the same as face to face interaction with a person.
Cephas and I had agreed that we would leave early enough to take Matt into downtown Lilongwe where Lena and I used to spend quite a bit of time. Although we didn’t go into any of the shops or restaurants, we had the chance to experience Game Complex, a major shopping center in the city. There are at least two large grocery stores there, at least ten different restaurants, a handful of banks and ATMs, and Game itself. Game is a chain of department stores in Africa that seems to be affiliated with Walmart (at least they sell some of the same brands). Aside from all of the official shops, there are always plenty of peddlers trying to sell tourists paintings, postcards, keychains, cellphones, and and sometimes fruits and vegetables. There are also people there begging. Young women will carry their baby (or someone else’s) on their back and beg for spare change. It tugs on your heartstrings to see them there, especially week after week. I had befriended a few of the peddlers here and there on the city, but mostly I would keep them busy explaining the importance of the Sabbath and of following the laws of God while Lena would haggle with a few others when we wanted to buy some souvenirs to take home. Two of the guys I remember well were named Happy and Chicken Legs. I didn’t see either of them on this trip.
The parts of Lilongwe are labeled with numbers. We lived in Area 3, a typically quiet neighborhood with a mixture of old houses and new ones. There are several schools, clinics, and businesses located there interspersed between the homes. Our little gated complex sat just overlooking the Lilongwe River. There was a nice walking path, mostly used by people walking to and from work, sometimes crossing the river on a very rickety, makeshift wooden bridge. The path also leads to the Lilongwe golf course. I have fond memories of walking through the trees along the edge of the course, and walking along the path through the maize fields on the western bank of the river.
When Lena and I just arrived in Malawi we were taken straight to our home in Area 3. We lived in a small gated housing complex with four duplexes. We lived in the house that faced the gate. When we first moved in there was no grass in the ground and only a few small trees around. We saw several different guards and garden boys come and go. The only consistent gardener was an older Muslim man whose name no one seems to know. Everyone just called him Madala which is a term used to for an elder or old man. By the end of our year there a young gardener also became consistent, Elias. These two men were consistent through the time the Hilgens and the Lamoureuxs lived in that same house. I was glad to see both Madala and Elias still there when I stopped in for a very brief visit. I was also glad to see that they had continued to maintain the place and grow some nice green grass, banana trees, and hedges.
After leaving Area 3 we drove through downtown Lilongwe across the Lilongwe River. There is a market there where you can buy lots of different things. It’s mostly used by locals and it is rare to see tourists shopping there. It was great to see that the roads had been well maintained through the minibus depot as well as some new construction on previously unused plots of land. We didn’t have time to drive through the especially crowded market that is behind the mosque midway up the hill on the main road. I’m sure it would have taken us an additional half an hour just to go in a few blocks and turn around and come back. I have not so fond memories of driving there to check the post office box for the church. But I also remember going back there later with Lena to buy some nice chitenges.
There were a few unique places that we enjoyed going when we lived in Lilongwe. On occasion we would visit a small restaurant called Old DC. The small eatery had an outdoor seating area and served some very delicious chambo as well as samoosas, nsima, chicken, and chips. The building was actually the old District Commissioner’s office. Sometime in the last two or three years the city decided that the historical landmark should be properly preserved. There’s no longer a restaurant there but the small building has a new paint job and will be able to be remembered by future generations.
Thanks to the recommendation of several people, Matt and I chose to ride to Blantyre on a Kwezy coach bus. We had purchased our tickets ahead of time so all we had to do was show up on time and get on the bus. We arrived with enough time to get some snacks for the road. We introduced Cephas to a latte from Food Lovers Market (a grocery store chain from South Africa). They had fresh coffee but their store was actually very empty. We ended up buying a few bottles of water and some Malawian grown macadamia nuts. Little did we know that this particular bus company serves snacks and drinks for the five hour journey. We said our goodbyes to Cephas and boarded the bus bound for Blantyre.
The bus ride was relatively comfortable. The scenery was amazing as usual. We drove throughthe mountains and forests of Dedza and straddled the border between Malawi and Mozambique. Since the border is so close (actually the edge of the road is the border) people who live on either side come and go often. We had a short pit stop in Ntcheu which is halfway between Lilongwe and Blantyre. It was nice to stretch our legs and capture a few photos. As we entered the southern region of Malawi we reached a place called Zalewa where a bridge crosses over the Shire River, a major river that runs from Lake Malawi south through the country. There was a police checkpoint there where we were all told to get off the bus while the police inspected it. As soon as our bus pulled up to stop at least 25 people rushed over to sell all kinds of food and drinks to the passengers. We got back on the bus and I finally met the passenger seated next to me. Mallen is a young lady who is fresh out of medical school. She was on her way to Thyolo for an internship. After her internship she plans to be a pediatric surgeon in Malawi.
Gracious Mpilangwe is the pastor of the ICG congregation in Blantyre, Malawi. He was at the bus stop waiting for our arrival. We grabbed our bags, jumped in the pickup, and headed for the UCG church property where we will be staying during our visit. We were met by Daniel and Carol Ringo. Daniel does accounting work for UCG and LifeNets here in Blantyre, as well as many other things in assistance to the pastor and the congregation. Carol had prepared a lovely evening meal for us. We were later joined by Daniel’s brother, Steve. The three of us had a nice conversation before heading to bed. I fell asleep to the sounds of wind and rain outside. It was very soothing.
– Lewis VanAusdle
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