Summer Camp in December - Days 7 & 8

Banquet day! We were supposed to start decorating by 1pm, then it changed to 3pm, then we had a meeting that lasted until 3:45; which meant we started decorating at 4ish & we didn’t finish putting everything together until close to 8pm… if not 8:30. The decorations didn’t take all that long; it was organizing, cleaning & moving the tables that took a little bit of time. Once we set it all up, though, it really looked great and I was excited for the kids to have an enjoyable evening. There was a LOT of food prepared for the banquet, but we didn’t start eating until close to 10pm because we started the escorts coming in around 9:30ish…. They had to take pictures at the door before seating them, so each couple took about 30 seconds or so. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the evening. I felt a little uncomfortable when I had to go up front to pass out the certificates – I didn’t feel worthy of the honor of having my name on their certificates; but I was glad to be a part of it. We didn’t end up having a lot of time to dance, but we did the Cha Cha Slide – which they all love – and then 2 swing songs. I went around getting multiple partners to dance & I think they had a lot of fun showing off their new moves on the dance floor. J

Once the banquet was ‘officially’ over, some of the campers were still dancing to the music and sitting around talking. Pastor Nkosi enjoyed watching them for a little bit, then he told us to make sure they’re done by 2:30am… that’s right, it was already morning before all the campers were heading to bed; and even later that we as staff had cleaned everything up and called it a night.

Summer Camp in December – Day 8

What a morning! We baptized 10 campers today – Praise the Lord!! J I was able to sit with Pastor Jack as he did the baptism counseling. I was also able to talk a little more with Pastor Jack about one of the girls who was baptized – she has grown up in a broken home and had a troubled past, but she is such a precious girl. She lives here in Blantyre and I am glad for the opportunity to get to know her over the next few weeks that we have together. She is hurting, like so many of us are, but during her time at camp, I saw healing taking place and God slowly opening her heart so that she can experience His love from those around her who want to support her. Our God is mighty and awesome to save – it is humbling to know that He asks us to participate in drawing His children to Him. This was a beautiful end to a wonderful week of camp!! :D

I miss hugs. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until camp was over and everyone was leaving. The Malawian goodbye most often does not include hugging. Some of the campers were willing & ready to give me a hug, but the Youth leaders and other staff shook my hand when bidding adieu. It definitely felt a little strange to me, but I also recognize that that is what they’re comfortable with and what they expect & experience in their culture.

No sooner did everyone leave, then it was Christmas time! My Malawian Christmas was definitely the warmest Christmas I’ve ever had – it was in the upper 70s, if not low 80s – though I did get to see some rain (the closest thing to snow around here! J). The only downside to Christmas was getting sick. I think the late nights & early mornings of camp caught up to me. I now have a cough that doesn’t seem to want to go away. I went to a clinic on Tuesday and started some antibiotics, so hopefully I’ll be all better by the time school starts again next Tuesday, January 3^rd.

I pray you had a blessed Christmas and that your New Year also begins with love and celebration!!

Prayer & Praises:

-       I have missed have Kayla around, but I look forward to seeing her & her dad soon – please prayer that they have safe travels next week. They are scheduled to arrive on January 4^th

^-      Please pray that the antibiotics begin to work and help me to get better sooner rather than later; though I don’t like being sick, I am glad that it happened during a week when I’m not teaching so that I don’t miss out on any time with the children

Summer Camp in December - Day 6

Today was a blur! It was Kayla’s last day with us. Thankfully, I was busy with activities so I didn’t have time to linger on the fact that I’ll be alone for the next couple of weeks. It definitely helps that I still have a few days with the other Youth Leaders in the house so it won’t be all that quiet until Friday.

This was also the first day with a shift in our activities – instead of teaching hymns, I was going to be doing Team Building activities with the groups. I think I was more nervous for this activity than the singing because I wasn’t completely sure if these activities would translate across cultures or not.

Thankfully, they did. J Explaining them in English was still a little tough, but I had other instructors and some of the older campers that were able to explain what they were to be doing in Chichewa so they could figure it out. The language barrier was also not just an issue for me – there were some of the campers (as mentioned in previous posts) that didn’t speak Chichewa or English very well, so their dorm mates had to figure out a way to also communicate the concept to them.

I had started the boys out to work in separate dorms, but with the girls, I had them all work together on the first day. One of the activities I had them do was to put themselves in birthday order, without talking. Oh what a sight that was! The girls especially couldn’t stop laughing; especially when someone would say something and I would give them a look. J It was lots of fun to watch them work together and figure out how to accomplish the task.

This afternoon was also a lot different than the rest of the week – we went for a hike! We took all the campers on a walking tour of Blantyre. For many of them, this was their first time in Blantyre and so the leaders wanted to be sure that they got to see some of the sights in the city. At first, I had wanted to maybe catch a nap while they hiked, but then I figured it would be better for me to walk and I’m glad I did. We had taken photos earlier in the day in our white ‘camp t-shirts’ (I use this term loosely because though they were all the same, they were for an event that happened in 1999), so most of the campers were still wearing them – helping us to stick together and stand out in the crowd. J It was fun to find that I knew where I was the whole time we were walking. Most of the areas we went to were places we have driven past or to during my stay here in Malawi.

It was another late night for the Youth Leaders & this time I stayed up with them. We were finalizing the banquet menu & other items needed (decorations, awards for best campers, etc.). I was on the decorating committee, but I tried to defer to the group as much as possible since they had a better idea of what they were used to at previous camps. We managed to finish the meeting by about 11:30pm, which gave us a good 5 hours of rest.

Summer Camp in December - Days 4 & 5

The hours of camp are already catching up to me… I went and slept for about 30 minutes this afternoon. For some reason, I woke up this morning at 4:30am and I was wide awake. I think I heard a noise or someone outside my window and that is what woke me; thankfully, I was able to fall back to sleep until about 5:25 or so.

I had an opportunity to try and talk with a couple of the campers this afternoon. The girls were playing netball and there were 2 girls sitting by themselves, Sabina & Julienne. They came from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp (near Lilongwe) and only understood a small amount of English and Chichewa. They were most comfortable speaking in French, but unfortunately I took Spanish in high school. We were able to communicate together a little bit – one thing that brought us together was the ability to braid. They were playing with the grass and braiding it together, so I began to do the same thing. Then I told them I could do it to my hair & I showed them. They smiled, laughed and said ‘good job’ when I had finished. I was glad for even a small connection with them and I’m hopeful that they’ll both continue to open up as camp continues.

Day 5: And it quickly becomes a little difficult to keep up with the days. Today was another good day, but a long one. It is now after 10pm and the Youth Leaders are just now figuring out the banquet menu so that they can then figure out the decorations. We gave them an hour while we taught dance class; but it doesn’t seem as if they got much accomplished.

Thankfully, they told Kayla and I that we could head to bed. We felt kind of bad leaving them, but we also didn’t want to intrude on their decisions for the camp because we are here just to help, not run it as they are. Even though we left early, Kayla & I were still up for a while talking together so it didn’t help us all that much.

During the boys volleyball lesson in the morning, we had a short tournament – each dorm played against one another and then the winning team played against the staff. We all had a blast! It was so much fun to laugh with and tease them as we played. The boys crushed us, but they were good sports & said we played well. J

Summer Camp in December - Day 3

We woke up bright & early to be ready for Morning Glory at 6am. I love that they call the morning devotion time ‘Morning Glory’ – it’s beautiful! I was a little nervous to have a meeting with the Counselors at Breakfast this morning; I wasn’t sure how much of what I shared with them they would understand. Thankfully, Pastor Nkosi was available and able to emphasize a point in Chichewa when necessary. There is a lot packed into their schedule – they change activities every hour – but this first day seemed to move pretty well. There is a gentleman, Christopher, who goes around to make sure that the groups are heading to their respective locations for the activities which is very helpful.

Some of the activities that I helped with today included Hymn Songs (teaching them the English version of some of the hymns in our old WCG hymnals), Volleyball (though I was only there for a moment; Kayla did most of this) and Dance. When I was at the volleyball, it was fun to watch the boys practice and be able to laugh at themselves & one another.

I was a little worried about the singing because I am not the greatest of singers and not all the campers understand English very well to begin with. I was able to tell the counselors to pick a song that they wanted to learn in English and then we would practice. They chose ‘How Great Thou Art’ and they did a great job! It took them most of the time to get comfortable with singing all the verses, but when they got to the chorus, what a joyful & powerful sound they made! J Edith was also available to help translate into Chichewa and to sing for them when they needed it. I played the piano for them as well and I really enjoyed working together with them through the morning.

I was expecting the girls to be similar, but many more of them understand English. They chose ‘Trust and Obey’ and sang it very well, so they chose a second one, ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ and sand that very well also; then we did ‘How Great Thou Art’. Even after doing all three of those and practicing specific verses, we still had about 15 minutes left of the session. I taught them the ‘Victory Chant’ and ‘We Love Jesus!’ chant. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it and I look forward to teaching the boys so they can battle back & forth to see who is louder.

I have a feeling that I am going to have more free time than I thought I might; which is not necessarily a good thing because I will be so tired from waking up early that I’ll probably fall asleep as soon as I have a moment to rest. Even now, I am typing up this info because if I don’t, I’ll just sit down on the couch & sleep. J

Back in the USA, when I accepted the position of Senior Camp Overseer for Pathways Camp, I had no idea it was going to help me in my role here in Malawi. It is because of my experience this past year with the planning team for Pathways that I am more confident in the abilities and gifts I can share with the leaders & campers here. I love the way our God works!! J

We’ve had our first real sickness – one girl went to a clinic and she has malaria. We have medicine for her to begin taking and I am hoping that helps her to feel better sooner rather than later. She does not understand English very well, so it is hard for me to communicate my concern and desire to help her, which makes me very glad that her counselor’s and friends know her well and are taking good care of her. I am hoping that this is the only major health issue we have to deal with this week.

It was raining earlier and now it is a little chilly outside – so many people, Kayla included, are cold J while I love the weather! It is as close to winter weather as I’m going to get at this time of year in Malawi.

As much as I was originally dreading our meetings with all the staff, I have come to appreciate Pastor Nkosi’s style of leading. He wants to make sure that decisions are made and approved by the group. While I think there are times when it would be better for him to just make an executive decision, I like that he is empowering the Youth Leaders to be a part of the decision making process and coming up with changes as they see the need for them. I am also glad for the acceptance that Kayla and I have received from everyone – campers & staff. Though the language is still a barrier sometimes, the campers are beginning to open up with us and have some fun, which I love!

Summer Camp in December - Day 2

My mood fluctuated from happy, excited, bored, nervous, frustrated, tired, energized and back again! The morning started off well enough with Morning Glory in the Church Hall at 7:30 this morning. We did some Praise & Worship, singing some choruses & then had a short message from Pastor Jack (from Zambia). Then the ‘fun’ began. We had a meeting with all the Youth Leaders before Church, starting at 8:30 & it went until about 9:45. In this meeting, we started talking about the schedule; that’s right, I said we started talking about the schedule. Pastor Nkosi was asked to be the Camp Director and then he assigned various people to be Asst. Camp Directors over certain areas (Activities, Facilities & Counseling). Each ACD also had support staff consisting of the rest of the instructors, youth leaders & pastors who came for camp. Pastor Nkosi gave us the time table for the rest of the day, which included another meeting to finalize the schedule and instructors for all of the activities. Gggaaaa!!!! (During this morning meeting was when I first started to feel a little frustrated)

After our meeting, we had some time to prepare for church services. I had volunteered to play the piano and Anthony (one of the Youth Leaders) was the Worship Leader. Once church services started, I began to feel a little better and God gave me some gentle reminders about camp being about the kids and showing them His love and not about having everything organized ‘just right’ or the way I think it should be done. We had some beautiful and precious Special Music pieces by some of the campers. I am amazed at their willingness to get up on the stage and sing out a song with just their voice! J

When church was over, we ate lunch and had our ‘official’ camp start at 2:00pm. Pastor Mankhoma was asked to give the welcoming message to the campers, then they had a couple of hours to enjoy some free time & play sports at the ground while the Youth Leaders had their meeting. It was about 3:00pm by the time we started our meeting, and we finished at about 6:30pm…. I got a little frustrated again a couple times during this meeting; but it was also where I got excited and began to anticipate the start of all of our camp activities. Kayla and I both were a little tired and started to get a little slap happy & giggly, which helped to entertain us for a bit. J

We ate dinner and then started our Camp Orientation. Pastor Nkosi went over the camp rules, Pastor Jack went through the activities and I talked about their dorm set-ups. Then we had a quick praise & worship session before sending them to their dorms for the night. Overall, I did have a blessed and joyful day and I am so thankful that God not only allowed me to be a part of this camp, but He wanted me to participate. He chose me to be a part of this group to show His love to the campers.

Our theme for camp is ‘Designed to shine for Christ’ (Phil. 2:12-15). I pray that when I start to lose my patience I will remember this theme, count to ten and ask God to wipe away the grime so that He may shine more brightly through me. Though the communication barrier is going to make some of our lessons a little difficult, I know that God is with us and will help us to understand one another. I cannot wait to see what He has in store for the rest of the week!! J

Summer Camp in December - Day 1

I love camp; whether it is an overnight camp, day camp or weekend retreat, I love them all. There is just something about being real with God’s children and just love on them gets my heart racing and blood pumping. It is finally, actually I should say already, Friday, Dec. 16^th – the day for camp to begin. My typical routine for the first day of camp includes setting up dorm areas, figuring out the registration process, finishing up last minute projects, etc. This day was just a little bit different (surprise, surprise, I mean, I really should’ve expected it to be different seeing as I am in a foreign country! J).

First off, we didn’t help set anything up this morning, at all. I thought maybe they would come get us around lunch time or soon after and ask us to help them with some things, but that didn’t happen. Five o’clock in the evening rolls around and we still haven’t heard anything, from anyone. At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll even see campers arriving! I decided to go and practice the piano a bit and I was very glad to see some campers that had just arrived from Lilongwe. Immediately following my joy, though, was a moment of panic because I had no idea what to do with them! Thankfully, Pastor Mgunda (he came with them from Lilongwe) was with them and had already spoken with Pastor Nihaka about where they should put their things. Phew!

As I was practicing in the church hall, one camper, Ester, from Mpanda came up and introduced herself to me. I was glad that she was comfortable enough to come up and talk with me, even if it was just for a moment.

When I left the church hall, there were a group of boys sitting in the chairs and I tried to chat with them. I started by just saying ‘Welcome!’, but didn’t get much of a response. Oh yeah, and there was no electricity so I couldn’t even really see their faces because it was quite dark inside. I then greeted them in Chichewa and some responded back, others just smiled. I waved and left, feeling a little nervous about being able to communicate with the campers in English. :/

Kayla and I ate our dinner at the house, then went back to the church hall to see who else had arrived and what our program (aka schedule) would be for the evening. Anthony, Monica & Edith had arrived with Pastor Banda (he’s from Zambia) and so we talked with them about what would be happening. They didn’t know because Pastor Nkosi had the program for the evening and he wasn’t here yet. Lovely. So everyone, campers & leaders, just sat in the chairs set up in the church hall; about 4 candles were lit around the room to provide some light.

The biggest different between what I am used to on the opening night of camp and this night, was the quiet. The crickets outside were louder than the 25 campers sitting inside. We barely even heard them talking to each other & none of them came to talk with us or the other leaders. It was definitely different, to say the least.

I was losing a little bit of my ‘camp fever’ with the lack of activity from everyone, but then we sang a chorus, had a prayer & ‘registration’ began. I use that word lightly because the registration process included Anthony writing down the names of the boys & where they came from and Monica wrote down the names of the girls & where they came from. Remember, electricity is out as well so they’re doing this by candlelight & cell phone lights with everyone crowding around them.

Once that was complete, I began to get in camp mode a little more, especially when Anthony asked if we had any games – Kayla brought her playing cards & we proceeded to play cards for the next two hours. That is definitely a camp tradition for me – sitting around with the staff after the campers are off to sleep. It was fun and such a wonderful blessing.

I know that it is going to be difficult for me to not have expectations of what I am used to camp looking like for this week. I hope, though, that I can maintain my focus of loving on the campers and making sure they have as memorable a camp experience as possible. Here’s looking forward to Day 2!! :D

Celebration & Mourning (once again)

At church this weekend, we had a special service with members from surrounding congregations around Blantyre including Minimini, Naminjale and others (I can’t remember all the names). It was wonderful to hear some special music from the different congregations; it still amazes me that they just get up and sing acapela without seeming nervous at all. Even though I don’t know all the Chichewa words, it is a beautiful thing to hear the praises of my brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that He knows what they are singing to Him. J

I was also blessed this weekend with the opportunity to share a short message with the congregation. Pastor Nihaka asked me if I would like to share and I was delighted to say yes! It wasn’t until after I said yes that I started to get a little nervous. ;) I talked a little bit about the Thanksgiving Holiday, when & how it started and how it relates to real thanksgiving (Giving thanks to God in all circumstances, 1 Thes. 5:18). I haven’t given very many sermons in my life and this was the first time I had a translator by my side, but I enjoyed being able to share some of our history with them. I was also very encouraged after services because various members thanked me for the message and said they would remember it for a long time. I was humbled by their acceptance and glad for the connections we were able to make.

I almost forgot the most special thing about Saturday! Kayla and I invited Dorothy’s children, Atupela, Falia and David, to join us for breakfast & church this past weekend. We had some Christmas presents to give them and this is the last weekend we’ll have with Kayla & I both here. Kayla and I got up and made French toast and fried potatoes for them, which they seemed to really enjoy. After services, we gave them the presents (notebooks, pencils, pens for the kids & a mosquito net for Dorothy) and took some pictures of the family. The children’s English is not as good as Dorothy’s, but it is amazing what a smile can convey. We were so glad to spend some time with them because we don’t get to see her kids often (this was the first time on this trip & we only saw them once last year) even though we hear stories about them every day. J

Sunday was another special day – Kayla and I were able to attend the Christmas party at Yamikani House (orphanage). There were so many people there & so much food – it was a blast to see all the children laughing and having so much fun. We were also able to leave some presents with them – which the Project Trust volunteers (Ashley & Charlotte) said they would wrap for the children – so they’ll have something to open on Christmas Day. One of the adults also had a Santa suit, so she came out as ‘Father Christmas’ and passed out little treat bags to the kids. They had a jumping castle to play on in the front yard & a dessert table with a large variety of goodies! Hopefully, my pictures posted on FB so you can see some of the decorations & fun that the kids (and us) had.

Pastor Nihaka had intended to join us at the party, but he had another funeral to prepare for. The deacon, who I had requested prayers for last week, passed away on Sunday morning. As I posted last week, there had been improvement and we were hopeful for a recover. On Saturday, though, we were told that he had started vomiting and they didn’t know why and they had moved him to another hospital. Since this had been our last update, I was not surprised to get the call from the Pastor on Sunday morning, though I was saddened to have lost another friend here in Malawi. The deacon (forgive me for forgetting his name) had come with Pastor Nihaka to welcome us back to Malawi when we first landed in September and he was always smiling and chatting with us when we saw him. The funeral was today (Monday), but due to space, Kayla and I remained at home; which was a mixed blessing because we were not looking forward to another all day funeral, but we did want to show our support for his family. It is not the way that we had hoped to start our holiday, but I am glad that the deacon is no longer in pain.

Prayers & Praise for the week:

-       Please pray for the deacons’ family & friends as they grieve his loss

-       Camp starts on Friday!! Things are slowly, but surely coming together and though I know it will be different from anything I’m used to, I am looking forward to the opportunity of serving the youth and sharing God’s love with them. J

-       I probably won’t be able to post anything until camp is done (Dec. 23^rd), so you may not here from me until after Christmas…. MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!! J May you and your family have a blessed Christmas as we remember the true gift of Christmas, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Term One is Done - Woot!! :)

The last few days of the term went by quickly. Thursday, Kayla & I were privileged to have a Christmas Party with my Standard 5 class. They had decided on Wednesday to have the party. Mr. Ntchentche collected money from the students Thursday morning, then went to Shoprite to buy some snacks & drinks for everyone to share. When he returned, some of the students changed into their ‘street clothes’ and out of their uniforms – some girls were in very cute dresses (I’ll have a picture posted to FB). One boy in the class, Leandro, brought some speakers & CDs and he was our ‘DJ’ for the party. I can’t post videos very easily, but it was a hoot to watch these kids sing & dance to the music! J I got some letters from a few of the students and I had one girl give me her stuffed bunny. I was so touched that she wanted me to have the bunny; she asked me to take good care of him & I almost had tears in my eyes. It was so much fun to see the kids, and their teacher, relax and have fun together.

On Friday, the last day of school, there was an assembly for the whole school and the top 3 students in each class were announced. Kayla and I were a little frustrated because we had been told that the parents wouldn’t be there, so we didn’t prepare any songs for the classes to sing; but it turns out that there were a lot of parents there and it would have been so much fun to have the students sing. Reception and some of the upper classes (5-7) did have a few things prepared that they performed for the assembly and they were cute to watch. The only thing I didn’t like about the assembly is that they announced how many students failed in each class. Their grading scale is 80-100 (Excellent), 60-79 (Good), 40-59 (Average) and 0-39 (Need Support). Any students who get below 40% on their total grade is considered to be failing; when they told the number of failures in the assembly, some of the students began to worry and some started to cry because they thought they may have been one of the ones to fail. After all the top students were announced, the children were sent back to their classrooms to hear the rest of the order – which caused more tears to flow. I tried to console one girl who had just barely missed passing that she could work hard and do better next term, but she said she wouldn’t be allowed to come back to school. I don’t know if her parents told her that or if she thinks the Headmaster won’t let her back, but I hope that I see her in the classroom in January and can be sure to help encourage her to continue to do her best.

It's December!! :)

I am thankful for the prayers in regards to Dorothy, our ‘mom-away-from-home’. I am finally beginning to understand more of where she is coming from and I recognize that some of the things Kayla and I thought to be issues, were really just her way of dealing with all that is on her plate. We will probably deal with some things here and there during the rest of our stay, but God has helped us to better see Dorothy as He sees her; a precious child seeking to know Him more and share His love with her children.

Last week, the students took their final exams for the end of Term 1. Kayla and I thought we would be done last Friday, but that is not the case. The children have to come to school all this week while the teachers mark their tests and fill out their report cards (which is really more of a booklet). The first two days of this week have gone surprisingly fast and Kayla & I have both been pleased to see our teachers actually teaching for some of the morning instead of just having the students sit at their desks or go outside to play all morning. Though we were looking forward to having this whole week with no school, we have enjoyed having our afternoons free from any school related work (we finished our marking last week). The rest of this week will probably pass quickly and then we’ll be able to start our full ‘vacation’ from school. J

We are drawing ever close to the youth camp!! It is scheduled to begin next Friday, December 16^th and will run through the following Friday, December 23^rd. We had a meeting with the Youth Leaders in Blantyre this past Saturday to finalize some of the remaining details and being to create a schedule. Kayla and I are still struggling with some of the lack of organization in preparing this camp, but we are glad to be a part of it and help as we are able. There is passion and desire to see this camp happen for the youth and I think God has some mighty plans for these Youth Leaders & campers!! J

Prayers & Praises:

-       Our trip to Zomba Mountain was an adventure to treasure and a beautiful site to see (read more about it in the post below)

-       The Deacon for the Blantyre congregation has been sick for the past couple of weeks. He has had to have a couple brain scans (we are assuming CAT scans, but they could’ve also been MRIs as well) and has also seen a few specialists. Our most recent update is that they have seen great improvement, so we are hopeful for his recovery. Please pray that the doctors & specialists will be able to find and treat was is ailing him.

-       I was finally able to sort through things with the Immigration Office. I have paid for my ‘Temporary Residency Permit’ and now am awaiting its arrival by mail – which may take up to 3 weeks. I am very glad to have this ordeal behind me and to have a better understanding of what is necessary for any visiting Malawi for more than 90 days

-       Please pray for guidance for the future; I have a couple big decisions to make concerning some coursework that I may take in January and my return home in March – as much as I am trying to live here in the moment and appreciate everything in the present, there are a few decisions in the near future that do need my attention

Trip to Zomba Mountain

On Sunday, Pastor Nihaka took Kayla & I, along with Andy (our driver), Chisomo (Pastor’s son) and Yudah (Pastor’s nephew) to have lunch on Zomba Mountain. It has been a few weeks since we have travelled anywhere and it was nice to get away. It takes about an hour to drive to Zomba and then we got to enjoy a nice little ride up the winding road to get to the Sunbird hotel near the top of the mountain.

As we drove up the road, I was reminded of the many mountains near my home in Pennsylvania. It was also a foggy/cloudy/rainy day, so it almost felt like December (but not really because it was still quiet warm). J We arrived at the hotel where we were going to have lunch and Yudah told us that the name of the hotel, Ku Chawe, means ‘You will die’’. Not necessarily something you want to hear when you’re on top of a mountain, but he went on to explain that the expression came from men challenging one another at the top of the mountain. They would climb to the top and then fight one another. I still didn’t really understand why they would name a hotel that, but it was an interesting tidbit of history about the area.

We had a delicious meal at the hotel – it was buffet style so we got to enjoy as much as we wanted – including strawberries & blackberries for dessert! J I’ve hopefully been able to (or will soon be able to) post some pictures from the trip on Facebook.

Once we finished lunch, Pastor said he wanted to take us to “Chirwa Hole’ (when he was first saying it, I thought he said ‘Hall’ so I was picturing this large building – oops!). He asked one of the hotel staff and he found a guide that would lead us up the mountain to see it. So, up the mountain we went. Pastor Nihaka hadn’t been on the road we had taken since 1999 and boy was he surprised. The road was terrible. I used to think potholes in Pittsburgh were bad, but they were nothing compared to this! Thankfully, we only got stuck once and it was no longer than 10 or 15 minutes total before we were once again travelling up the side of the mountain. I tried not to look at the road ahead because all I would see was large rocks and holes that didn’t look like anything a vehicle could drive over. Andy is a very skilled driver, though, and he maneuvered the minibus (I like to call it ‘The Little Engine that Could’) very well throughout the whole drive up & down the mountain.

When we arrived at the top, the view was breathtaking. Even if you look at the pictures, I know they won’t be able to do it justice. The Hole was thought to be a bottomless pit and they used to throw lepers and others who were sick down the hole. Right next to the small hole, there was a large drop-off and none of our fellow travellers liked it when Kayla and I walked close to the edge. I am not a huge fan of heights, so I didn’t really get too close, but it was entertaining to tease them a little and walk close to the edge. At one point, Kayla was walking out on a plateau area and Chisomo, Yudah and Andy had walked below us a bit. They started calling out, “Sister, sister! Step back, please!” Kayla was not near enough to the edge to be in danger of falling or slipping, but from the angle that they saw, all that was before her was a straight drop off. We didn’t really mean to frighten them, but it was a little funny to hear them calling to her.

We continued on up the mountain to look down at the town of Zomba. It was such a beautiful site! The colors, hills, clouds and horizon were absolutely amazing. Queen Elizabeth’s parents had visited Malawi and went to the top of Zomba mountain – there are two spots called ‘The King’s View’ and ‘The Queen’s view’; both of which are aptly named because their views are very majestic to behold. God is a masterful artist and it was a blessing to see such beauty all around us and know that He created all this for us. As we drove back down the mountain (taking a much smoother road than the one on the way up), we passed some trees with orange leaves, making it almost look like fall. J It reminded me of our trips to Ohiopyle, PA in the Autumn. I only wish that the pictures and my description could do justice to all that we were able to see!