malawi.

By: Shaila on 1:56 PM

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We arrived in Malawi four days ago. Since, we arrived in the evening, we weren’t able to see much that night. It was the first night that we had to sleep under mosquito nets, some thing that will soon become natural. The next day, the 28th, we were taken to see the places where we would be living. Neither of the two are finished yet. Our guy teammate Josh will be staying in a one bedroom apartment-like unit in the missionary’s yard. Laekan, the other girl, and I will be staying in a middle-class Malawian home. This consists of concrete floors, running water, small kitchen, living room, and dining room, and two bedrooms. It is a very cute place. Probably the best thing about the house is that when we walk out the back door, there is the most beautiful view of green tea estates and mountains in the distance. (Yes, it is green here; we are in the middle of rain season.) We also were able to go visit a local church and pastor in a nearby village. Later that day, we were fixed the screens on all of the windows for Josh’s apartment.
I am going to give an update on all of our time thus far, because one thing that we have already learned is that you can only plan one, maybe two, events per day. The reason for this is that A) everything takes time in Malawi. It takes hard work to live. Eating dinner for example takes 1 to 2 hours preparation. B) when running on Malawi time, you don’t tell time by the watch, but rather by events. They are a people oriented culture. Relationships come above scheduled events.
The next day was devoted to continuing to get our living spaces put together. We went into Blantyre (a bigger city) to shop for things needed for a household. That evening we ate with two guys named Titus and Willard. They are members of the TAYO (thyolo active youth organization) that we will be working hand in hand with. This organization focuses on topics such as Environmental Issues, HIV/Aids Education, Girls Ministries, Sanitation…and so on. Our job is to walk alongside them and to encourage and help them infuse biblical thought in to the activities that they are planning. So the next day we were actually able to go and help organize some things as their offices and to look at some of the upcoming initiatives that they have planned.
This morning we woke up early and helped hoe a field with the Thyolo Baptist Church. I’m not sure how helpful we were. I would find myself trying to hoe the ground and then one of the church members would come right behind me and correct it. I feel like we were there mostly for entertainment. Something we are getting use to. This evening some of us, and some locals, were to the market, and every time we would stop to look at a booth, we would draw a crowd. It was very nice though because walking back from the market we were able to see our friends Willard and Titus and stopped and chatted with them for a little while. It gives Thyolo village a home-like feel, where you can walk and see someone you know and talk for a bit with them.
Tomorrow, we will spend our first Sunday in Malawi, and we will be going to a church called Calvary Baptist, I am sure it will offer a unique experience. While we are here, we will mostly be scheduling days one at a time, because that is how the people and organization we are working with do it. Though there are a few bigger things we already have scheduled. One of which will take place February 16-23rd. We will be taking a 5 hour train ride and then will spend at least one whole day hiking to a village in the bush of Mozambique. During this week, please be praying extra hard for strength and endurance, as it will be a physically demanding trip.
Malawi’s first language is said to be English, and while that may be true, there are few people that seem to be able to speak more that 7 English words. We are trying the best we can to communicate with them and we use the missionary’s son as a translator when available. We are also working on Chichewa (the local language) phrases.
so far this is what I’ve got:
MONI which means HELLO
MULI BWANJI? which means HOW ARE YOU?
ZIKOMO which means THANK YOU/ EXCUSE ME and basically you just say it all the time and clap your hands together.
…I need to learn a lot more….
As the days take a wear on my body, and I find myself weak and tired this is some scripture I have been praying. I encourage you to pray it both for yourself and me as well:
Isaiah 40:28-31 The Lord is the Everlasting God, the creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Thank you so much for your time and reading this blog. Thank you even more for the prayers that you nor I will ever know the full extent of. Thank you for taking part in making Him known among the nations. I was also going to let you know I am not sure how often I will be able to update this and that is why I wrote a rather long blog today. Access to the internet will not be on a regular basis, but I will try as much as possible to keep you updated.

Malawi is a beautiful place to live for the next four months. The people of Malawi are even more beautiful. And I cant wait to see the beauty of what God has planned to do here.