Anam Cara

I am popping 1 Pound coins into a slot to compose this at the Heathrow airport in London, the same place I composed my last post almost two weeks ago now. We are halfway through our voyage home. My heart is so full and I have experienced thoughts and impressions that I will be wrestling with for a long time. Much of that wrestling will probably happen here as it so often does. Until then...

Malawi is known as the "warm heart of Africa". An apt title. Geographically it lies a bit south of center, but the people of Malawi are warm, gracious, and generous. If Malawi is her heart, Africa is definitely a continent worth knowing.

Malawi has known almost unbroken political stability despite the fact that she is made up of three distinct tribes. This is a people committed to compromise and conciliation. On a personal level, we are told that disputing neighbors will try to settle differences before sunset. Sound familiar? " Do not let the sun go down on your wrath." A similar willingness to work together permeates the government.

I am in love with these beautiful people. It is easy for me to see why Kelsey was so at home here and why her heart has been yearning to return. I will introduce you to some of these special people over the weeks to come. For now, I thought I would give you a snapshot of what life has looked like for the team. It will be far more vivid when I can upload pictures. But, today I give you words...

We stayed at Kumbali Resort. The resort has two components. There is a gorgeous lodge built with locally harvested materials. Oppulent and elegant, it sits in an oasis of green--neatly manicured lawns, lush tropical plants, and a robust garden providing fresh ingredients to a capable chef. This is where Madonna stays when she is in country. In fact, our friend Bobby stayed in her suite. It is lovely. Pastor Rick stayed at the lodge as well.

No fru fru lodge for the rest of us. We had a far more authentic African experience at Kumbali village. We stayed in a gathering of huts, some made of rough hewn timbers, some of mud, straw and dung. All have packed earth floors and thatch roofs. There is no electricity there and the only running water goes to the spiggots which supply water for our baths. One temperature. Cold. A sweet gentleman came by every morning and evening to fill a large cast iron pot with water and build a fire underneaath to heat water for us. We ladled this water, along with some cold to temper, into large tubs and carried it into the "shower". This was a small thatch structure with stone floors and two large stones upon which to set the tubs. Before you extend pity to us, you should know that after the people of Malawi and the people of my team, the "showers" are what I will miss most. You see, the shower has no roof. Winter has just begun in Malawi and we had about 12 hours of daylight. This means its was almost dark when we got home in the evening. I showered by lantern light under the stars. It was a most extraordinary experience.

The huts had screens, but no glass, in the windows. Nightime lows were in the upper 40's. Curled up under a nice, thick comforter, this made for perfect sleeping weather. Although, getting up was a bit challenging. Breakfast and dinner were cooked an served out of doors as well. This made for a brisk, invigorating start to the day, and a sweet, soft, lanternlit close. The food was very good. Twice, we were served a medley of native Malawian dishes. More on this later.

Our days were essentially of two sorts. Each day some of us worked construction, some of us worked at the school, and some prayer walked through the village. The construction teams worked on new building housing offices for the Adziwa staff and and a mulitpurpose room for adult classes and village gatherings. We had the privelege of being part of the dedication ceremony for this building on Tuesday. It was a marvelous occasion. The people of Kauma village definitely know how to party. We also worked on cleaning and repairing the house that has been used for the Adziwa offices up til now. We met the family that will move into it in the next few days. We dug dirt, made bricks, carried bricks, mortared, scraped, plastered, painted, swept, and generally did whatever needed doing.

The school team helped with the grammar school classes, pre-school-standard 6 (6th grade). The teachers love giving the children an opportunity to hear native English speakers and to experience some of our songs and games. Incidentally, although Chechewa is the native language of central Malawi and the official government language of the country, all classes are taught in English. Remarkable! School ended each day around noon and the children always gathered in one room to share their talents with us. They sang with these strong, lusty voices that came from somewhere deep inside. The walls reverberated and we were enveloped in sound. Beautiful sound.

Prayer walking was a powerful experience. James, the sight director of the Adziwa project, took us through the village. He introduced us to several of the families and we sat with them and heard their stories. Then we asked how we could pray for them. I look forward to introducing you to these families.

In the afternoons, the school team and prayer team conducted VBS for the children. We told Bible stories, made crafts, sang songs, played games, held babies, played soccer, and loved, and were loved.

As each day ended, the children would follow us en mass. They gave hugs and kisses and followed our bus out of the village. It was a bittersweet experience every time. Except on Wednesday, the last day. That was bitter only.

Monday, we took a slight break in the routine to go visit the only remaining refugee camp in Malawi. There were people there from Barundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, Congo, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Sudan... There reasons fro coming are many. Political, famine, conflict... This was a solemn, heavy experience. The bus ride back was very nearly silent. So much to process.

So many words yet to be written. So many stories yet to be told. So much sorting and absobing yet to be done. In time.....