Episode 3

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

I went to my first church service in Malawi yesterday, at the Evangelical Baptist Church of Malawi in Zomba. It was pretty long, and I couldn't understand the Chichewa sermon, but I really enjoyed the praise. And man, these people have the loudest (and prettiest) voices ever. During offering, everyone was up and dancing, there were drums being pounded, everyone was so happy to be throwing in their kwachas into the offering baskets. It was just a really joyous scenario. And I couldn't help but contrast it to the way I used to do it in North America. Back there, we always play a really slow, almost sad sounding song when we give offering. I looked around once, and I saw people crying, looking really somber, sad. Looking back, I wonder why we play such slow songs during offering, songs that make us want to get down on our knees and repent. When we give our offering, shouldn't it be a joyous occasion, giving back to God all that he has blessed us with? It was such a marked contrast in style that all I could do was stand there in the "pew" with a goofy smile on my face.

Episode 2

Ndiwe Okongola Kwambiri

Beauty is fleeting in the West. On my way around the village, I saw a little boy sitting on his mother's lap as she tried to cut his hair, and it was so touching the way they interacted with one another. She was already a very pretty woman, but the way she was with her son made her appear so much more beautiful to me. I saw beauty in the way a woman smiled as she sang a song of welcome with 20 other ladies. It's what we would call a Kodak moment. When I told these two ladies that they were beautiful, they laughed and got all embarrassed. They were beautiful on the outside, for sure, but it was the way their character revealed itself that made them so beautiful to me. When I think of beauty in the West and how we have come to perceive it (America's Next Top Model is a perfect example of just how ridiculous it is becoming), it is just so laughable. If is so meaningless to God, why do we make it so important in our lives? We continuously strive for this fakeness, when the ones who are the most beautiful are the ones who emanate it from their hearts. That's real beauty.

*the phrase above means You are very beautiful

Episode 1

*from henceforth, all my stories shall be catologued as episodes.

You haven't eaten yet

nsima is the bread of life here in Malawi. They say that if you haven't had nsima for a meal, then you haven't eaten yet. It has a playdough like texture, and is made from maize flour and water. When you eat it, you rip off a piece from the big nsima mound with your right hand, roll it around in your palm, dip it in some sauce, and pop it in your mouth. A few days ago, I went to dinner at Abusa Yakobe's house (chair of the board of trustees at the Evangelical Baptist Church of Malawi), and of course they had nsima. So I ripped off a pieced, dipped it in some sauce, and ate it. And it was good. The only problem was that my right pinky kept sticking out, like I was the queen of England drinking tea. It was quite prissy, and I couldn't bring my pinky in...

Anyhoo, the dinner was good and I was floored by their generosity. And the cuteness of their children. Their youngest child, Rhoda, was 5, and she was so cute, I just about ate her after dinner. But I refrained from doing so, so as to not perpetuate the myth that all Asians come to Africa to capture little children and boil them and eat them for dinner. haha

greetings from malawi

So I finally made it to Malawi, alive and healthy! It was a crazy 2 day journey, and I'm glad to be finally on land and eating some good food. My first taste of Malawian food - a hamburger and fries! So it's not exactly what I expected, but hey, you gotta let me ease into this. By the end of my term, you can bet I'll be walking along the edge of the roads barefoot, in a long skirt and tshirt, carrying a bucket of water on my head :)

A new adventure

well, I'm off to the airport in a few hours, so this will be my last chance at corresponding with y'all from the same continent. I want to thank everyone who has called/written to wish me luck. Hopefully I won't miss any of my flights (though I can't be sure). What I can be sure of is that during my 7 hour layover in London, I will be making a stop in Leicester Square at 2:30pm for afternoon tea.

it's a new dawn
it's a new day
it's a new life
for me