7th February 2026
… 7:15am …
This morning I heard reports that it has been raining in Salima since 3am. That area really needs the rain. There are penalty of places around Blantyre that also need some rain. But at least it was dry in time for the brethren to make their way to Sabbath services.
Several times when I’ve come to Blantyre I’ve also been able to visit Mayaka, and sometimes the brethren there travel to Blantyre and we have a combined service. This time my days are limited. But next time I’ll make plans to go there. I’ll also have to make plans to visit more of the homes of the brethren around Blantyre.
… 9:30am …
Dan told me I had to be ready at 9:30 if I wanted to accompany him on the bus picking up members in the area. I managed it by 9:35. We climbed in the bus and headed down the road. The scenery on Sabbath morning from the front seat of the bus through the large windows is always spectacular! I took a few photos including some of my favorite tree in Blantyre.
… 10:30am …
We got back to the hall in plenty of time for me to greet a few of the brethren and then run and get my jacket, Bible, and notes for the sermon. I returned, greeted a few more brethren, and then we started services. Dennis Chinangwa led song. Osborne Liyawo gave a sermonette about the fact that we are heirs of the promises of God but we will inherit those promises in the future. Gracious gave the announcements. We had special music from the Blantyre choir, a piece called “Do The Work.” I have the sermon and Dan translated for me. I think the topic (Unity in the Body – the same sermon I gave the previous Sabbath in Nkhwazi) was well received.
… 12:30pm …
In Malawi right after the closing prayer (today given by Chifundo Chiumbuzo) everyone sits back down in their chairs. But soon people are back up moving around, preparing to fellowship over tea. I had a chance to catch up with Loney, chatting about the idea of a women’s weekend in Blantyre. The idea has been suggested before. The idea is that the women from Mayaka will come to Blantyre on a Friday, stay two nights on the church grounds, and go home on Sunday. There will be discussions, seminars, Bible studies all focused on topics relevant to the women.
Loney brought me over to chat with some of the women which gave me a chance to hear their suggestions for topics. They are very excited to be hosting such an occasion. Perhaps in the future the seminar can be extended to include some of the women from the surrounding congregations as well. I’m hoping I can find a guest speaker to come for the weekend. We’ll see what happens.
Today we had fresh lemons to squeeze into our tea. What a delight! The tea paired well with the bread and the conversation. After chatting with the women I went over to the table with the small children. I asked all of them their names and then took a photo.
When it was actually time for tea I sat with the young men, asking them about their lives. Some of them are a bit quiet. Gracious Jr. is always good for conversation. We had a good chat about life, the world, adventures, and whatever else came up.
After finishing my tea and bread I headed to the table with the older men. They had some good questions for me and hopefully I had some good answers for them. One by one people started heading home. Eventually I was left catching up with Dennis. It was good to hear about how life is going for him and his wife Flora. They are experiencing much of the same financial challenges as everyone else, but they’re trying to stay positive.
… 2:45pm …
Dan came and got me so we could climb back into the bus and drop many of the brethren off near their homes. It was a beautiful partially cloudy afternoon when we started off. We dropped a few people off not far from the church and then discovered there were a few teens who had been left behind. We went back and picked them up.
As we approached one stop further north it started pouring down rain. The vendors in the markets that line the M3 highway (Zomba Road) quickly scrambled to cover their goods. Others ran for cover or grabbed umbrellas. The brethren getting off the bus ran for cover. Of course by the time we got back to the church it was only sprinkling there. Hopefully this little bit of rain helps at least boost morale, and God willing there will be more rain coming.
After we had dropped everyone off Dan found a quiet side street not far from the church. He asked me if I wanted to drive the bus. I guess there’s always a first time. We traded seats and I headed down the road and around a few corners. Pretty soon we were back at the church where I had my chance to pull the bus through the gate (with Dan’s guidance of course).
… 3:45pm …
It sprinkled a bit as we changed our clothes and relaxed. I started receiving messages that one of the congregations back in the Northeast decided to cancel services and a social because of some extreme cold weather there. For a moment I was pulled out of the warmth of Malawi, helping make sure people received the notice, and making sure they will see that everything will be rescheduled. The contrast between the cold back home and the warmth here is mind boggling to many.
At some point in the evening Dan and I went out to get a few things in preparation for a long roadtrip in the morning. Before heading back home we stopped at a juice stand. We had some delicious ginger, sugar cane, banana smoothies. Refreshing. Just what I needed. Hopefully the rest of the evening will be quiet.
… 7:40pm …
-Lewis VanAusdle
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