Wednesday, April 20th, 2022
The day began as many days have recently. A cup of coffee on the veranda, writing, preparing for the day. Gracious arrived in the morning so we could travel together to visit Mr. Ken Maere, a deacon in the Blantyre congregation who lives in Mulanje. After discussing some pastoral matters we climbed in the pickup and headed off. Dan drove and Gracious pointed out certain mountains and towns along the way while Matt took photos (and a quick nap) and I finished some paperwork. The southern region of Malawi has so many hills and mountains. I couldn’t help but want to take pictures of each and every one of them. I grew up in a place surrounded by mountains and trees. It’s refreshing to visit places that are filled with so much greenery. Not to say that NYC doesn’t have greenery, but it’s just not the same as being in a place like Malawi.
The drive to Mulanje was long enough that we had to plan it out but short enough that we could go and come back in an afternoon. We could tell we had arrived in the area when we saw the district’s namesake, Mount Mulanje. At one point I was told that Mulanje is the second tallest mountain in Central Africa, second to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Some websites list Mulanje’s highest peak, Sapitwa, as the second highest point in Central Africa. Perhaps that depends on which countries are considered Central Africa. Sapitwa is definitely the highest point in Malawi. The top of the mountain sits in the clouds so we were only able to see its base. Leading up to the edge of the mountain were fields of tea bushes. The area is known for its tea. In some spots the fields spread out as far as the eye can see. The tea pickers carry a canvas bag on their backs to catch the clippings from the tips of the bushes. They clip the leaves using a clever contraption which is essentially a large pair of sheers with plastic a plastic box on top. When the box is full they toss the leaves over their shoulders into the bag.
The Maere family live in a modest house beyond the tea fields, through the stands of pine trees and blue gum trees, along a muddy path lined with small homes, bamboo, fields of cowpeas, and all sorts of small gardens and flowering foliage. The area gets a good bit of rain throughout the year which is good for the tea and for the farmers who live there. Mulanje itself is a typical Malawian town with banks and shops, a police station and a hospital, markets and filling stations. Although the Maeres live near the town they don’t have city water or electricity. Instead the farmers there rely on wells and solar power. During our visit Mr. Maere showed us the modest solar setup he has which provides a few hours of light, radio, phone charging, and television a day. He also made sure to mention the fact that donations from the Good Works program provided funds to repair, plaster, and paint the walls of their home. We were also introduced to his wife and two of their grandchildren.
Ken Maere is a teacher by profession. He assists Gracious immensely through his sermons and Bible studies. Once every other month Dan accompanies him to Zomba where we have a few baptized members and several prospective members. They work together to give Bible studies, currently focused on the fundamental beliefs of UCG. Since the brethren there can’t always make it to Blantyre for the Sabbath these studies help give them additional spiritual food to supplement their own personal study.
On our visit we sat and talked about the history of the Church of God in Malawi as well as had the chance to hear Mr. Maere’s own story. He first discovered the Good News magazine in 1971. From that time forward he began reading, studying, and meeting with others on the Sabbath to worship together. He was baptized in 1976 and has continued to faithfully commit his life to God and serve His people.
The purpose of this visit was for more than just to say hello. Unfortunately Mr. Maere has had to miss the Passover and several Sabbaths recently. He had a swollen finger which developed a wound and worsened to the point that doctors decided to amputate half of the finger. His finger wasn’t healing well even though he was being treated at the nearby hospital. After a short while he also developed sores in his palm which broke open and needed treatment. Thankfully there is a nearby private hospital which is better equipped where he was able to have his wounds further treated. His hand is beginning to heal. Even though Gracious had previously anointed him, Mr. Maere asked me to anoint him again, so I ran out to the pickup, grabbed my anointing oil, and anointed him there in his home.
Before heading out we took a few photos of a borehole well equipped with a manual pump which was donated by the LifeNets organization in cooperation with a church in Portland, Oregon called the Home of God Church. If my memory serves me well (which it sometimes does) this particular group of believers are fellow Sabbath keepers and quite possibly Ukrainian. The plaque next to the well quotes Exodus 20:8 which says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” This well not only benefits the Maere family but also benefits the whole village. Anyone can come to this well and drink freely. If they can read English then they will also be reminded that God has given mankind a weekly day of rest and worship which is for our benefit. It’s a day to give us physical rest from our labor, mental and emotional rest from the cares of this life, a day to rejoice and reconnect with our spiritual family, and a specific day to remember our Creator.
We headed home along the same route past tea fields, mountains, rivers, rice patties, forests, towns, villages, on into the afternoon traffic of Blantyre. We climbed out of the pickup and said goodnight to Gracious. Home again from one adventure, Matt and I thought we were ready to settle in for the evening, pack our bags, and enjoy a few more conversations with the Ringo family. Turns out there were more adventures ahead of us.
Even before departing for Africa I had thought it would be exciting to have a live Bible study on YouTube on location in Malawi and Zimbabwe. I usually hold a weekly study on Monday evenings in and around NYC, or wherever I happens to be. With a six hour time difference it would mean waking up in the middle of the night for me, or just prerecording a study so brethren from other parts of the world could watch it later. With our ongoing and sometimes flexible schedule it hasn’t been easy to find a good time to schedule a study. I had mentioned to Dan a few days before that I was hoping we could hold a study on the top of the hill we had hiked. He liked that idea. Almost immediately when we got home he asked me if I still wanted to have a study on the hill which overlooks the Kanjedza Forest Reserve and the surrounding peaks and valleys that cradle Blantyre. Since there was nearly an hour of daylight left, and there was no reason not to, we quickly grabbed our gear (tripod, phone Mount, microphone, backpack), tightened our shoelaces, and headed up the side of the hill. We picked a spot just below the peak where we could still see the church hall and the Golden Peacock Hotel, as well as all the interesting scenery that might help the brethren in other places better understand how beautiful Blantyre really is. Dan helped me pick off the burs and barbs from the hike while Matt set up the phone and tripod. In seconds we were live, receiving greetings from brethren in various places around the world (mostly the US).
Here’s a link to the study on YouTube.
The three of us hiked back down the hill and again prepared to settle down for the evening. We spent some time with Ollie, got a drink of water, and took off our shoes. Little did we know there were still more adventures yet to come.
In Malawi the vehicles are right hand drive, and everyone drives on the left side of the road. I’ve experienced this many times, but this was a new concept for Matt. We needed to fill the pickup with diesel so Dan suggested Matt drive to the filling station through the darkened streets of Blantyre. Thankfully Matt is an excellent driver. He navigated the streets with ease. The hardest part of it all was dodging the pedestrian, bicycle, and motorcycle traffic that constantly shares the roads day or night. I’m sure glad he went east on those potholes. I sat in the back of the pickup and took some photos and videos of the nighttime scenery while Dan navigated from inside the cab. There are two pickups used by the Blantyre congregation. The double cab pickup is primarily used by Gracious on his pastoral visits and for various other congregational duties. The single cab pickup is more of a utility vehicle for transporting all sorts of supplies for all sorts of purposes. It is also currently used for transporting brethren who live nearby to and from services on the Sabbath. One of the highlights of the drive was seeing the glow of the towering Golden Peacock Hotel like the sun rising from between the hills.
One evening drive wasn’t enough, so we decided to take a second one. The day before, Matt and I had to go to the hospital for tests so we could leave Malawi and enter Zimbabwe early Thursday morning. I had received my test results and travel certificate in the middle of the day, but for some reason Matt hadn’t gotten his yet. We gave it until about 6:30pm since we were assured the results would be emailed to us by 7pm when the lab closes and everyone knocks off for the night. We tried logging into a supposed account that would automatically be created once the results were sent. That didn’t work. Dan has a friend who works at the hospital who helped us with some phone numbers to hopefully contact the lab manager. That didn’t work. So we ended up driving to the hospital where thankfully there were a few nurses, attendants, and doctors still working in and around the testing area. We managed to get the correct number for the lab manager and were advised that he doesn’t answer calls, only WhatsApp messages. So Dan sent him a message and we headed home. Matt rode in the back on the way there and I rode on the back on the way home. We arrived and tried to go about getting ready for the evening as usual. Carol had made a delicious meal of local chicken prepared the Malawian way. On the side was plenty of relish and nsima. And to add an extra bite Dan brought out a plate of kambuzi chilis. These little chilis pack a punch and have a unique and delicious flavor. After dinner we waited….
Out of nowhere, while he was in the other room, Dan sent a message to Matt. It was his test results! We assume that somewhere along the way, Matt’s email address was written down or communicated incorrectly. Thankfully everything worked out and we had nothing to fear. These little incidences that happen in life can be faith builders for us. God is always faithful to His promises. He is faithful in the little things and in the big things. He watches our reactions in every sort of situation to see if we will be faithful to Him even in the little things. If we are, He promises us even greater responsibilities and greater rewards to come.
“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own” (Luke 16:9-12, NKJV)?
We celebrated, we thanked God, we said good night to the Ringos and thanked them for washing our clothes for our journey, we packed, we brushed our teeth, we made sure to send messages to our wives making sure they knew the good news, and we went to sleep. The morning would hold more adventures and further tests of our faith.
– Lewis VanAusdle
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