30th January 2026
… 8:00am …
Our visit to Mr. Phiri’s home was delayed a few times yesterday because of our changing schedule. Thankfully he was still expecting us. Cephas and I left at 8am to pick Laiton up at the church property since he really knows his way around. On the way, not far from where we started, Cephas and Laiton realized we were driving past a small piece of property that had also been purchased for the congregation. It’s far from being developed, but it has agricultural potential. There’s a small river that runs along one side of it that never goes dry. Currently at least one of the brethren have planted some crops there to maintain ownership (if people see that a piece of land isn’t being used they tend to start moving their crops further and further across property lines). We pulled off on the side of the road and checked out this beautiful little piece of land.
As we drove along another dusty road we could see a fence on the right side of us just beyond some fields of green foliage and crops. On the other side of the fence all we could see were macadamia trees. That fence line was the boarder to Zambia. Mr. Phiri lives in an area that is actually within Zambia, but the boarder is open and people come and go between countries normally. As the crow flies (or some African bird as the case may be) his place is not far. But because of the macadamia orchard visitors have to go all the way around and turn onto the road that used to be the main highway to parts of Zambia. We did just that and crossed over the boarder, following the fence line on the other side.
… 9:00am …
Mr. Phiri lives in a nice area although it is a bit secluded by the orchard and road on one side, and by valleys and mountains on the other side that lead to Mozambique. We must have been closer to Mozambique than we originally thought because my phone picked up the signal from their cell towers somewhere. At exactly 9:30am I received a text from my carrier: “Welcome to Mozambique.” Half an hour later my phone told me I was back in Zambia with a similar message.
We sat inside Mr. Phiri’s house for a little while, hearing about his family, some of who live in the adjoining houses. Behind the family homes there are fields of maize, sunflowers, guava … the list goes on. We also met up with Mrs. Phiri in one of the fields. I snapped a quick photo of her there. One unique sight was a dead tree in the middle of the maize. Mr. Phiri told us the story how he was nearly struck with lightning there but thankfully the tree was struck instead. As you can see from the photo the tree didn’t survive. God spared Mr. Phiri’s life that day.
… 10:00am …
We left Mr. Phiri, knowing we would see him in a few hours at the Bible study. He mentioned it usually takes him 1.5 hours on his bicycle to get to Sabbath services. His knees are getting tired these days and sometimes he doesn’t make it. If he was allowed to cross through the macadamia orchard he could reach services much quicker.
Cephas and I made a quick pitstop at the church property to drop off Laiton and to make sure that the workers poured some water on the new concrete platform at the top of the new water tower. Apparently water needs to be added before the concrete fully dries to prevent cracks and make sure the cement, sand, and rocks bond together tightly. We headed back to the house and prepared for the Bible study.
… 2:00pm …
We actually left for the Bible study before 2pm with plenty of time to stop before crossing the highway. There are a growing number of small shops there whose owners hope to capitalize on minibuses going by or stopping to drop off and pick up passengers on their way between Lilongwe and the Mchinji boarder crossing (an official boarder crossing into Zambia). There are a few young men who sell gasoline (petrol) out of small water bottles so you can top up your tank without having to go far from the village. Sure they charge a little extra but their location is very convenient.
We arrived early for the study so we could make sure things were set up. Mr. Phiri was there waiting for us. He helped setting up the hall. Phillip arrived soon after (we had visited Phillip the day before along with a handful of other members who live very near one another in a different part of the village). But there weren’t too many others. Laiton came on his bicycle along with the Kanthiti’s daughter and her husband. We thought that some people must have been keeping time by the sun rather than their clocks. We started a little late but decided that we couldn’t just wait for everyone. Slowly more came until we had a small crowd.
The topics we covered were relevant directly to the brethren in the Nkhwazi congregation. I won’t go into the specifics here, but there was an overall theme of the fact that the physical aspects of life relate to the spiritual aspects of life. I started while Cephas translated. Where he felt there were moments he needed to emphasize certain points he added his own clarification and emphasis. The Bible study was well received.
… 4:00pm …
There were a few individuals who had some personal matters to present and personal questions to ask so Cephas and I sat outside in the shade and spoke with a few people for a while. The ladies, with Patricia’s guidance, prepared a few food items for the Sabbath. They also sang some songs making me think they were also preparing some special music for services. I came over after things were put away but they were kind enough to stage a photo of them preparing pumpkin leaves. We had a good laugh about that.
… 5:00pm …
We headed home soon afterwards. George prepared dinner. He also brought me a sliced up mango fresh from the tree that was perfectly ripe. Dinner is always a time to sum up the day, talk about plans for the next day, and also speculate a little about foods from various countries. Why do Malawians eat nsima and why is most nsima made from maize? How did the maize get to Africa? Why are the Irish people associated with potatoes so much so that in Malawi they’re known as Irish potatoes or sometimes simply called Irish? Anyway, I enjoyed George’s goat alongside nsima, rice, and some pumpkin relish.
The night ended a little early, although I did receive a few phone calls. I also received a few text messages with some positive updates about people we’ve all been praying for. Hopefully there will be more good news in the morning, although people in NYC and the surrounding areas should be asleep by then. I’m looking forward to seeing the brethren from Nkhwazi and Lilongwe together for services. It will also be nice to see two more Chapambas as Dalles and Rachel are able to come home from school for one day.
-Lewis VanAusdle
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