Walking to Visit the Members - Carole's Post

 Rare it is when we can drive to a member's home. Occasionally we can get quite close, but usually we park the car and walk the last 100 yards or more.  What roads the Malawians think we can drive and what we decide to drive are of two very different mindsets.  Since we can usually walk as fast as, if not faster, than George can drive on many of the worst roads, we just prefer to hoof it.

These are some typical sights.

Clotheslines are strung everywhere and it is actually quite dangerous when there is nothing on them.  Being invisible, they are so low that decapitation is a real possibility.

Many, many little markets are tucked in the neighborhoods.  I frequently pick up some fresh vegetables, especially tomatoes, at the end of the day.

Usipa, the small dried fish similar to sardines (and a few larger varieties), harvested in Lake Malawi, are ubiquitous.
They are eaten as a relish with nsima, the national dish.

                        Small shops of all kinds - food,

services,  

and anything that can be sold, are tucked among the houses.  In fact, the little shops selling assorted goods are called "tuck shops".

Some vendors come to you.

An especially effective sign to show the way to the hospital.

On this day, we are walking up to visit the Makawas, who are living in temporary housing since their house was destroyed in the storm.  Gertrude, their daughter, saw us coming so she ran down the path with her friends,and took my hand to walk with me the rest of the way.  We have been reading the Book of Mormon with the Brother and Sister Makawa.

A view of how the path widens as we walk to the bottom of the hill.

This was taken earlier in the year when we are obviously going through a maize field.  It was green and beautiful then, but then fields now are brown and overgrown with weeds.

One day we decided to check out Brother Magombo's house, which is really high up in Chilobwe.  His house had largely been destroyed in the storm and we wanted to take pictures before the branch helped him to rebuild.

First, we had to walk through Chilobwe market before heading up the hill.
The first part of the way was easy.  We had only been there one time but we knew it would be a bit more confusing, the higher we walked.
 

 Okay, do we walk this way or that?  You can tell that our little observer is wondering about our indecision.
We veered off the path far enough that we finally asked some neighbors who pointed the way.  When we arrived at the Magambo's, no one was at home but we took some photos of the house.

The front and

the back.  

As with many of our walks, we gathered a little entourage that was delighted when George offered to take their photo.

This lovely lady was looking on and wanted her picture taken too, with a specific background in mind.  

You might not think so, but she was delighted with the photo!

The children also accompanied us on the way down.  We stopped to take this picture with all the fired bricks, just waiting for a house to be rebuilt.

Yes, kids are the same everywhere!

What was really interesting about the way down was the fascinating walkway.  I loved the resemblance to something we would see in Italy - the Roman roads with the bigger flat stones on top.  Some Malawians had been very ambitious. 

Such a pleasure to walk on!

 This time we had a new collection of children and
a young man asked to join them. Fondness is on the lower left and Jamaica is the pleasant young man.

So today, we were off again to discover some new neighborhoods and make appointments with members of the Blantyre 2nd branch.  We asked the missionaries who are serving in the branch to show us around.
We picked them up at their flat in the afternoon.

When we arrived, look what was out front!

I'm glad no one decided to make a competition out of it or Elder Beal might have been done for!

Elder Dlamini is from Swaziland and Elder Doig from Canada.  Their guard let us out of the gate so

I had to get a picture of that hat and he was happy to show it off.

It was so enjoyable to get to know the new neighborhood of Kampala where so many members live within short walks of another.  The school day must have just ended and three private schools are represented in this snapshot.

Trying to keep up...

We were shaking hands, spelling names, taking notes, and writing down signposts as fast we could so that we could find all the houses when we come back on our own next week.  Remember - no street names or addresses.

It's a good thing that George is confident and usually successful at finding places the second time around.  He is the right companion for me!  And thank you, Elders, for being patient with the "seniors."

Another work party - Carole's Post

One of the most satisfying things we do is participate in service projects with the missionaries.  It gets us doing something physical along with helping others in a fun way.  
Having a change of pace is rejuvenating and especially, after the office work that we do, it is "most welcome" (Malawian popular phrase as I've said many times).

So it was most welcome when an opportunity came up to help, once again, the Chikapa family with building their new home.  We had done this in the first month of our mission and now, about five months later, the home is much closer to being completed.  

 This is the home last November and 

 here it the home today.

What you can't see are the additional rooms that have been added on in the back.

President and Sister Chikapa have worked very hard to build their home, with Sister Chikapa probably going  over daily to either work or supervise some hired help.  President Chikapa, when not doing branch president's responsibilities (which seem to be all the time), is there checking out the quality and working himself since he is very skilled and knowlegable.

First of all, to reach the house, it is a difficult climb on a different side of Mount Soche.  In fact, the neighborhood area is called Chimakhunda but the house is high, high above the market.  George dropped the five of us (two elders, two sisters) off at the bottom and he went off for a meeting concerning a possible piece of property for building a new Zingwangwa branch meetinghouse (yes!).  I'm just glad I have finally been getting out to do some early morning walks to build up my stamina and since it was a lovely morning, the climb felt good as long as I watched my footing. 

Our task today was to gather rocks to fill in the top of the newly built retaining wall at the front of the house.  If we could find enough rocks above the house and bring them down to fill in, there would be more stability and less cement needed, cement being a high cost item in the building of any structure. Since being here, I have been impressed with how much the Malawians make do with what is at hand.  For instance, bricks are made and fired close to the site because the cost of transport is exorbitant.  So whereas at home, if rocks are needed, we would order a truckful;  here when rocks are needed, we go out and gather!  And that is with no work gloves or wheelbarrows.  We had a couple of plastic buckets among the six of us, since Sister Chikapa was with us all the way.

ROCK GATHERING

  

Sister Chikapa with Sister Browning.

Along with Elder Hiltbrand and Sister Griffus

Unfortunately, you can't see all of Elder Ngendabanka (from Burundi) in the background.  He provided the real muscle, carrying the bucket loads down to the workers who poured them onto the top of the retaining wall.  He is wearing a football (soccer) jersey because he was a serious player in his country.

It's obvious who the hardest worker is..and this doesn't even show the khasu (sort-handled Malawian hoe) that she wielded in digging the rocks out of the hillside.

Sister Browning would like us to believe she is as strong as the Malawians!  (don't think so!)

As it was getting late in the morning, George showed up to see our work and to check on the latest improvements to the house.  Being all dressed up is one way of getting out of the work, but actually it isn't that easy getting up the hill in dress shoes.  

Soon after he arrived, it began to rain and we huddled underneath the roof on the porch.

Nimrod joined us to add to the fun and Sister Chikapa offered bananas to everyone for their hard work.  Notice how the water is beginning to flow in the newly built drainage ditches surrounding the house.

This was not a light rainfall because within minutes we could see the small riverlets forming where we had just worked.  It poured ferociously for an hour until the streams going down the hill were filled.

As soon as we thought the rain was letting up, we headed down the hill.  It was a far cry from the climb on the way up, with streams to jump and lots of slippery red mud - the kind I had vowed to never try to walk in again!

I'm looking happier than I feel.

George is at least trying to protect his silk tie.

Trying to convince Sister Griffus to jump...  Hey, this stream wasn't here a few hours ago!

More wet feet..more soaked shoes...just another morning in Blantyre!

Welcomes and Good-byes - Carole's Post

First of all, we are celebrating tonight because the water has come back on after four days! Fortunately, we now have an outside tank so we don't actually have dry taps, but the water comes out of the taps with little pressure.  That is our clue that the city water is turned off. So we use water sparingly, not knowing when it will come on again.  Tonight it was back to flushing toilets and taking showers!

In the last few weeks there have been missionaries leaving from Blantyre.

This is Agness Chirwa standing with her sisters outside of the Ndirande branch.  

George set her apart and she had so much support from family and friends in attendance.  Here she is with her family.  Her father died a few years ago.

Then we all piled in two cars and headed to the airport to see her off.  Agness is headed to the London South mission.  What an experience it will be for her!

Her institute teacher says she will be a phenomenal missionary.  I am just sorry we won't be here for her return in 18 months.

Ownen Masiya came down from Lilongwe on the bus so that George could set him apart.  What a sweet spirit he had!  Here we are, along with the zone leaders, Elders Muangi and Sagers, and the Reynolds.

After the setting apart, he went off with the zone leaders to get a taste of missionary work and to spend the night with them at their flat.  After all, he is an ordained missionary now.

The next morning, they loaded his suitcase into their car and headed off to the airport.

Ownen is going to the  Johannesburg mission.

The biggest and most difficult good-bye for us was sending Elder and Sister Reynolds off after 23 months of mission service.  

George and I had been dreading this day ever since we arrived.  George and Elder Reynolds have spent hours and hours together over the last six weeks, as Elder Reynolds has been training him in all the office duties.  We know he is irreplaceable as he could fix just about anything and we have been warning the missionaries that it's not going to be so easy anymore!

How did they do it?  They came with four large suitcases and left with just three!









Sister Reynolds was the mission nurse so I hope I now don't get those late night calls from missionaries with the expectation that I will know what to do for their ailments!

Elder Reynolds won't be wearing that name tag much longer.  Before they arrive back home to Everett, WA (we're neighbors), they will make stops in Australia and Hawaii.

The next time we see them, they will be Ken and Ann.  I think they will be hearing from us quite often since we have so many questions about the office.  
Bon voyage!

A few weeks later, we sent off Elder Muangi -  another painful good-bye.  Elder Muangi, from Kenya, has been our zone leader for as long as we have been here.  

Here he is with Elder Barnard, who left a month ago and he is with Elder Sagers in an earlier photo in this blog.  He has been transferred to Lusaka where he will specifically work with obtaining visas for missionaries - not an easy job.  We will miss his easy way, quick smile, hard-working example, and spiritual depth.

Welcomes and good-byes - it's all part of missionary work.


  

A Malawian version of a Relief Society jumble "sale" - Carole's Post

We have known for five months that after the Reynolds finished their mission, we would be moving into their home in the Mandala neighborhood of Blantyre.  Consequently, in the flat we were staying, we didn't do much to make it feel like our home.  Now we are in our home for the next thirteen months so we are making it a place we can call our own.

The first thing that we realized is that several missionary couples have lived here through the years.  We hear the local members refer to these couples by name and it makes us realize again that we are in a long line of senior missionaries who are trying to give support to the members and missionaries of the Church here in Blantyre.  That also meant that the storage closets were full of things from the previous couples - some clothes, old curtains, office materials, and fabrics.  I kept pulling down boxes and finding more things that had probably been there for years.  I added foodstuffs in the pantry that I knew we would never eat.  It was impossible for me to know how I could best distribute these items among the members, so I sorted and bundled them up and brought about eight cardboard boxes of items to Sister Banda, the Relief Society president in the Zingwangwa branch. 

 I wasn't sure how the Relief Society could use them, but I knew and trusted Sister Banda's judgement.

I could see that Sister Banda was very excited, so George, I and Sister Banda carried the boxes up to the Bandas home on Mount Soche so that she could sort through them. 
George even attempted to carry the boxes Malawian style - on his head- and I was just sorry my hands were to full to take a photo.  Sister Banda really laughed and then easily put two boxes on her head and off she went! 

Some of the items could be used for sewing projects for the Relief Society so Sister Banda saved those. 

 The white shirts were all quite large so we decided that if we took them to Brother Sangala, a tailor and branch Sunday school president, he could take them in so they would more likely fit some of the men in the ward.

As for all the other items, they would be distributed among the sisters.  But, what seemed like a good idea at first, began to haunt Sister Banda.  A few days later, she told me that she was worried that the sisters would get mad at her if they did not think the distribution was fair.  I put my arm around her and laughed, telling her that is why I asked her to do it, because I knew they would not be happy with me if I did it!   

I suggested that we put all the items out for people to see and then each person would select a number out of a jar and each sister would go, according to her number, and select an item that she would like.  We could go around until all the items were gone.  She liked that idea and I thought the problem was solved!

President Chikapa announced on Sunday that there would be a Relief Society activity on the following Saturday at 10 AM (following Institute) and Sister Banda explained in Relief Society what the activity was.

A few days before the activity, I went to visit Sister Banda and to work out picking up the items to take back to the meetinghouse.  I could tell that she still had concerns.  She just knew that the sisters were not all going to be happy with the way we had organized it.  (I still didn't understand why, but when I had earlier told Sister Chikapa, the branch president's wife, about the project, I could tell she also had concerns.)  Sister Banda suggested that she go through the items and bundle them in thirty different plastic bags, so that no one could see what was in them.  Then the sisters would choose a number and according to their number, they could select a bag full of unknown items.  I was floored! How could this be better than getting something that each sister would want and use?  But I trust Sister Banda and as I have told her many times, she knows her sisters well.

She did not have enough plastic bags, so George and I drove home and brought back 25 plastic bags from local stores. Sister Banda went to work and tried to equally divide up the goods.  

We came back at 8 AM the next morning and carried the boxes containing the filled plastic bags back down the mountain to our car and off we all went to the church.  She also had the newly altered white shirts in a separate bag and I asked her how she would distribute those.  She smiled and said "Oh, there is no problem at all with the men.  We will just give them to those who need them on Sunday".

Hmmmmm.  "No problem with the men" I thought...

The meeting was set for 10 AM but did not start until 10:45.  Sister Banda was worried because we only had about ten sisters there and she thought there would be closer to thirty. She wondered if we should just wait awhile because some people do not arrive until noon for a 10 AM activity.  She made the decision to start anyway, because perhaps "they would learn that you have to come on time for the activities".

After singing "As Sisters in Zion" and an opening prayer, Sister Enita spoke about visiting teaching. It's always good to get a pep talk on that struggling program.

Then the moment arrived.

Out of the closet came the plastic bags, one box at a time, and Sister Banda placed them on the floor in the middle of the circle.

Sister Sandra (to the left) is blind and the sisters would select a bag for her when it was her turn.  

Every sister was able to select three bags.  

There was one bag left over and Sister Banda was perplexed as to what to do.  She looked inside to see if she could distribute the items but looking at me, she said "There are only four.  What should I do?"  All of the sisters sat until she brightened and said, "I know!  I will give it to Brother Magombo tomorrow at church!" and everyone seemed happy.  We all know Brother Magombo, who is 77, is very deserving.  The cardboard boxes were given to the sisters who wanted them.

So, how did everyone feel about what they got?  The next day at church I asked Sister Banda and she just glowed and said that everyone was so, so happy with what they received. I spoke with Enita who said it was a just perfect way to give things,  because no one could compare what they received with what someone else got.  There was no envy(!) and everyone went away so pleased.

The white shirts were given out in Priesthood meeting on Sunday and George said "there was no problem with the men".