I try to be as open in this blog as possible, sharing all my experiences, even when they’re not the greatest, but I hope that the positive things I post far outweigh any negatives. I had a pretty rough night again Saturday night, and had a really hard time falling asleep. Which was only a challenge because we had to be up and ready to leave by 4:00am. But I managed to get a few hours in before the alarm went off at 2:30am. I’m ever so grateful for the Chapambas hospitality while we stayed with them, but also their willingness to get up at terrible hours of the morning to shuttle us two hours to the airport. I’m not sure if I mentioned before, but Cephas Chapamba is the pastor of the Nkhwazi, Malawi congregation of the United Church of God. He and his wife, Patricia, do a wonderful job of caring for God’s people in that area, always concerned for their spiritual and physical well-being.

Our wait in the airport was longer than our drive to the airport (almost two hours), and much longer than the 30 minute flight to Blantyre.

We were met in Blantyre by Mr. Daniel Ringo and Mr. Gracious Mpilangwe. Daniel is the accountant for the United Church of God in Blantyre, and the overseer of the property where the church hall is located. He has a lovely wife (Carol) and beautiful daughter, Dekha and they live in a comfortable house within the Church hall “compound.” Gracious is the pastor of the Blantyre, United Church of God congregation. He and his wife, Loney, do a wonderful job of shepherding the brethren there, caring for them spiritually, but also offering practical advice for living a good and decent life.

After dropping off our luggage at the house in Blantyre, we headed out to a neighboring district, Mayaka. This was an exciting proposition for me particularly because of the work that I do. One of the roles I fulfill is coordinator of the Good Works program (a relief and service program of the United Church of God). In 2023 a cyclone struck the southern part of Malawi and caused widespread flooding and several devastating mudslides. Thanks to the generous donations of our Good Works supporters, we were able to help a number of families rebuild their homes. This was an opportunity for me to see the result of seven of those rebuilds and meet the brethren that were helped.

Hearing the stories of what life was like following the cyclone was heartbreaking. One lady spoke of sleeping in the mud of her floor as the water filled from underneath and one of her wall collapsed. Another family moved from room to room as the walls collapsed around them until they were confined to a single room until new accommodations could be built. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been for them, and they were all so grateful for the support that they received. In addition to the rebuilding of homes, food aid has been provided several times to help since most crops were also destroyed in the Cyclone.

Carol cooked dinner each evening, unfortunately, given the state of my gut so far, I never got to try anything she made. I stuck to the prepackaged foods I had brought: apple sauce, granola bars, fruit leather, almonds, and turkey sticks. It’s not terribly satisfying days on end, but I hope it will help minimize some of the stomach/intestinal problems I’ve been having.

The day was emotionally draining, but the drive was pretty tiring as well. The members live fairly remotely in “the bush,” and the roads are incredibly dusty and bumpy. I was very ready for bed that night.