Visit Every City

28th January 2026

… 5:00am …

Time for a quick nap to hopefully recoup some of the sleep I didn’t get because, as usual while traveling, I was awake in the middle of the night. That’s ok. Waking up early gave me a chance to send emails and finish writing. I slept soundly for most of the night anyway. Perhaps it was way too quiet. After all there were no sirens or sounds of the city. The electricity stayed on all night which meant the fan kept moving the air around. Not even a mosquito bothered me.

… 6:00am …

This is when the day really began. I got ready, had a double coffee (the Vietnamese instant coffee I brought is a little weak in my opinion so I doubled it up), and proceeded to greet the Chapambas including Biscuit the cat. Biscuit is six months old and enjoys being pet. She also enjoys biting the hands that pet her. I think we’re friends now. Cephas and I enjoyed a nice breakfast. He had tea and I decided not to have a third coffee (I have to pace myself). Now it’s time to head back into Lilongwe to meet with the local leadership.

… 8:00am …

Cephas and I headed out on the road towards Lilongwe. We passed the usual cattle crossings, police checkpoints, giant potholes. Nothing out of ordinary thankfully. We arrived on time to find Haiton and Ruth in the church hall waiting for us. Nester was still about half an hour out, coming by public transport from Salima. We didn’t have an exact agenda for this meeting but we still had plenty to talk about.

One of the ongoing and increasing issues which affects the congregations in the area is the cost of transportation. There are government boards that set the prices of public transportation including the mini buses. This is nice since the cost can usually be relied on. The cost of fuel is the same. But in recent years these costs continue to increase at higher rates than wages. General inflation also means that the local currency, the Malawian Kwacha, can’t buy as much as before. This trend isn’t new in the world, not even on the African continent.

Some have suggested turning to other currencies such as the US Dollar like other countries such as Zimbabwe (Zim has their own official currency currently but many people still use and rely on the USD). Some congregations in various places try to solve this issue by purchasing buses and picking brethren up around their areas. Other congregations do their best to subsidize transportation for those who struggle the most. Either way the costs are still there, but rather than individuals struggling and making choices about what to do with their wages, tithes and offerings are used to help.

Other topics which were part of our discussions included youth camps, marriage seminars, and a handful of ideas to address some issues. The discussions coincided with some need for repairs to be done on Cephas’s car which he handed over to a young mechanic from the Lilongwe congregation. As the situation was assessed and reported back via video (technology is so helpful sometimes) we made plans to take Haiton’s pickup to visit Esther Chilopora.

Esther and her husband Sam lived for many years in Ntcheu which is about halfway between Lilongwe and Blantyre. No brethren lived nearby and as they aged they became less able to travel even for the Feast of Tabernacles. Their plan for a long time was to move to Lilongwe with their daughter who was building a new house to accommodate them. Unfortunately Sam died a few years ago.

Esther did her best to take care of their house in Ntcheu but at a certain point it became necessary for her to move in with her daughter. Thankfully the house is livable even though there is still construction to be completed. So now Esther, who will soon turn 95, lives with her daughter and nearby a congregation and brethren. What a blessing!

Accompanied by deaconess Nester Phiri (the first person I ordained) we drove to Area 49 in Lilongwe for a visit. We arrived a little later than anticipated but we still had plenty of time to chat, to eat some delicious muffins (Esther’s recipe but now her daughter does the baking), to amount Esther, and to answer some Bible questions. While we were in the middle of our visit we could hear thunder in the distance. Soon it started raining very heavily. Haiton rushed out to make sure his windows were shut but otherwise we were all safe and dry inside. The rain continued for a while which meant extra time visiting.

We said our goodbyes to Esther and her daughter and headed down the road. Water was rushing down the streets in some places. In other places water was pooling up quite a lot. While it might have appeared a bit distressing in the moment, the periodic rains are welcome as they fill the rivers, water the crops, and replenish the underground aquifers which provide water for life and livelihood in Malawi. God is blessing this region with good rains this season. Everything is very green.

On our way back to the church hall in Mchesi we dropped Nester off near a bus depot. At the hall we had to wait a while for Emmanuel to return with the car. He had time to complete half of the repairs to the suspension for now. The other half will be completed later on, most likely after my visit is over. He assured us that the car will be just fine for now as we drive from place to place. It already sounds better driving down the road.

While waiting we tried to work out what documentation we still need to complete to open a foreign currency account in Lilongwe. Over the past year we’ve had a lot of difficulties with transfers of subsidies from the US. No one has an explanation for it. Hopefully having our own account will solve this issue. Currently we share with LifeNets (they have no issues transferring their own funds).

Before looking through the paperwork I had a chance to sit and chat with Juliana while she ran her computer cafe. Her daughter Ari was fast asleep on her back as we talked about life and chicken farming. In 2017 when Lena and I lived in Lilongwe I used to chat with Juliana nearly every day when I came to the church hall for planning, building supervising, and whatever else came up. It was nice to catch up for a little while.

Eventually it was time to leave. Cephas and I said our goodbyes and headed down the road towards Nkhwazi just before sunset. I managed to capture a few photos, the rain still falling off in the distance somewhere. The drive seemed long as I was more tired than I would admit. Thankfully the doctor was driving and not me. We made it home, ate dinner, and headed straight to bed. I was asleep so fast!

-Lewis VanAusdle