No Fuel - No Go

Or the best laid plans of mice and men. That is where we are living at the present. The fuel situation has not eased, although there is hope and promise. The Zambian government has promised fuel to help ease the Malawian shortage and assist with transportation for the late President’s funeral, but so far it has not arrived. There are rumors that fuel should be coming soon from South Africa, but these are only rumors at this point. In the meantime, there is little or no fuel. It comes in an isolated tanker or two at random intervals.



One of the smaller lines for fuel



Last week, I had guests from Zambia. They were able to drive because they brought their own diesel in jerry cans. There was none to be found in Blantyre. Maxwell and Sam Ncozana hunted all over Blantyre for petro or for diesel. Late Thursday afternoon Sam called to tell me to get Maxwell to drive the car to a certain station because a tanker had just arrived. I was skeptical. I had heard this before, only to have the fuel end well before the line did. We were low on fuel and I didn’t want to spend the little we had on hope only. But Sam was optimistic, so I sent Maxwell. Three hours later he returned with a full tank of petrol – more fuel than we had had in months. I was elated and hopeful again. (It doesn’t take much to get my hopes up.) It was only later that I learned that money had changed hands to make this possible. But we had fuel.

That was wonderful for here in town, but the real issue was diesel. I had planned a trip to remote Chiuta Presbytery for a training class on Monday. The terrain was too rough for my car, so Sam was going to drive me in a Land Rover. That required diesel. He also had a group coming in on Saturday for whom he was providing transportation and he needed diesel for them. He was optimistic, so I joined him and made the final arrangements for my Monday trip. Saturday he bought what he needed for his group from the black market, but we lacked diesel for our trip. He was going in search of it in town, saying the black market was just too costly, up from $30 a gallon to $40 a gallon. There is a limit to what is tolerable. On Sunday when I talked to him, he was no longer optimistic. Blantyre was devoid of diesel. He had spent most of the day searching. He went outside of town to a station about an hour away that was expecting a tanker load and got in the line to wait. The problem was that there were a number of large trucks from the sugar plantation in front of him and he was concerned that the fuel would be gone before he got to the pump. Then he called to say that they were not going to off load the fuel until Monday morning and there was no way he was going to get fuel in time for us to get to Chiuta for the training. We would need to cancel. Reluctantly, I did so. I knew there was no choice, but I was deeply disappointed. I had really been looking forward to this training. I knew that I couldn’t reschedule it for at least a month because of other commitments, if there were fuel then. It was hard to tell the participants, who had re-arranged their schedules for this time that the event was not going to happen. Fortunately, they are gracious Malawians and understood and accepted this without complaint. I was crest-fallen.

Monday morning Sam called to say that we had made the right choice. Even though he had spent the night in the lineup, he was turned away because the large trucks were to get the diesel. The smaller vehicles were sent away empty. He came home to get some sleep and then search again later for the elusive diesel. Hopefully this situation will change with a change in government, but that will take time. In the meantime, when there is fuel, we go but – no fuel, no go.

Canadian Farewell

I said goodbye today to my mission colleagues from Canada Glenn and Linda Ingliss who are retiring after three terms of service over the last 30 years. It is hard to see them go. They have been faithful co-workers and good friends to many of us as they served with the Presbyterian Church of Canada in a wide variety of capacities in the Synod.



Glenn at the Synod Farewell



Their first term of service was in the 1980’s when Glenn was newly ordained, when they had one daughter who was just a toddler, and when Dr. Banda was President for Life and Malawi was under one party rule. Glenn was the associate pastor of St. Michael’s and All Angels and was the Synod schools’ chaplain. They left to return to Canada with two children and lots of mixed emotions. They returned in the 1990’s with three children as Glenn served as the Director of Church and Society at a pivotal time in the development of democracy in the Malawi and of the social witness in the church. Linda got involved with the children’s education but also with a group of handicapped folks in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. This has developed into a major interdenominational ministry in Ndirande Township and has become a major part of her life here. They returned to Canada when their youngest daughter needed to find her Canadian identity as a maturing teen. They returned in the 2007 to assist the Synod to rescue the struggling Development Commission (BSHDC), formerly the Project’s Office, which was facing some difficult times. Glenn was not certain about heading a development program. He was just a pastor, he protested. But he was a pastor with a heart for the marginalized in society and with keen administrative skills. He also had the confidence of the international partners and donors because of his breadth of experience in Malawi in over 20 years. Because of these combined gifts, he has been able to rebuild the ministry of the Development Commission and expand it into an integrated ministry that addresses issues of livelihood security, vulnerable children, governance, gender and health. He has trained and handed over the leadership to a capable Malawian woman who will continue the growth of the ministry. Linda has seen the building of a home for some of the handicapped adults in Ndirande that gives them safety and care even as the weekly program has grown in ministry. She has been involved in music leadership at an informal worship time each Sunday evening at St. Michael’s and has trained a number of young folks to continue in leading the service.

                                

But even more, they have ministered to individuals' lives in so many ways. That has been born out in the number of farewell events that have been held in the last month, from official functions by the Synod and BSHDC to informal dinners and teas to express thanks and good wishes. We hope in all of this they have felt our love and appreciation and know the hole they leave in our lives as they retire. I know how much I will miss their wisdom and counsel and their friendship. Their house has always been a gathering place for people, Malawian and expatriates. They always had a cup of tea, a biscuit and comfy conversation. We will miss them. I will miss them.

Easter 2012

Today is Easter Sunday, the celebration of the power of the resurrection and the victory of life over death. As the Christian church, we celebrate it every year and routinely look for new meaning and applications for our daily lives. In Malawi this Easter, we do not have to look hard or look far. The power of the resurrection is all around us in a rather bazaar way.

The President of Malawi died suddenly on Thursday of a heart attack. This is the president who has been slowly dragging the country into dictatorship and into economic collapse. There have been calls for his reformation or for his resignation but he adamantly refused to hear what his critics had to say, instead threatening to silence them and enlisting the police to assist him in such action. Many people have been praying for solutions for the country’s struggles. But no one expected the news that the President had succumbed to a heart attack. Actually, we here in Malawi did not officially get the news until Saturday morning, although most knew the truth much earlier through the international news media. Several of the President’s cabinet members suppressed the news to give them time to plot a way around the Constitution which stipulates that the Vice President is the first in line of succession in the event of the President’s death. There had been much bad blood between the President and his cabinet and the Vice President. Some cabinet members wanted to prevent the Vice President from taking office, thus continuing their control of the affairs of State. Again, there were many who prayed for the right thing to be done. Behind closed doors there were discussion and plots, warnings and counsel given in all directions. Tensions were high and concerns higher that there might be a government coup and that Malawi would join other African nations in a period of chaos rather than expereince a smooth transition. Finally on Saturday the announcement was made that the President had died and arrangements were made for the Vice President to be sworn in.  She was peacefully sworn in late Saturday afternoon. In her inaugural speech, she called for peace and unity. Her words brought hope to the nation for the first time in months.

This morning, as Easter dawned, there was a tangible sense that Malawi had the hope of new life, that the power of God to bring resurrection was not just a matter of history, as important as that is, but was also a reality in our lives as we have seen the hope of new life in the smooth transition of power and in a new government focus. God is alive and working in the lives of his creations to give life and hope. That is the message of Easter from scripture and the message of Easter 2012 for the residents of Malawi. Praise God.

Extravagant Caring

Sugar is a staple of life in Malawi, or at least it has been. Many times I have teased my sons about how much they uses in their tea and both have commented that it is available because it is grown here and it makes life much sweeter. In the midst of the hardships of life, a little sweetness is a good thing. Malawians are addicted to their sugar. When the church zones come to visit the manse, in their regular package of care are ten 1kg packets of sugar

But all of that is being reexamined in light of the current economic struggles. This time last year a packet of sugar was MK79, or about 53 cents at the exchange rate at that time. In February that same packet was MK210 or $1.27 at the present exchange rate. But at the beginning of March, sugar became scarce.  The reason is unclear. Some say foreign exchange shortages, some say fuel shortages, some say export priorities. Only the company knows the whole truth. But sugar supplies have been dwindling. Three weeks ago most stores rationed the purchase of sugar to two packets per customer. Then for about a week, there was no sugar at all in the stores. This week, people are alerting one another when sugar is being delivered to a particular store, so friends can get in line to purchase their two packets at MK500 per packet or about $3 each. Sugar has become as precious as fuel, which is equal to $10 a gallon at the pump or $30 a gallon at the black market, the only place it is generally found these days and people sit in line to purchase it. Now we are standing in lines for two to four hours, just to buy 2 kgs of sugar. The police are sent to the stores to keep order.

When the manse visit for this month was scheduled, I figured that if there were two packets of sugar, I would know the depth of commitment the congregation has in giving to their pastor. With the scarcity and the cost, any giving of sugar would be extravagant care. Last evening, the zones assigned to Manse B (Manse A is the senior pastor’s home and Manse B is my house) came with their monthly gifts. I was overwhelmed when they presented me with the usual 10 packets of sugar. This is extravagant caring! At least 5 people stood in long lines for untallied time to purchase sugar at a king’s ransom for their pastor. This is in an economy with more than a 50% inflation rate in the last 6 months. People are struggling to make ends meet and these generous people showered love on their pastor in the form of sugar packets. I am humbled by their extravagant, sacrificial caring.