LIfe is Tentative

Life in Malawi is tentative. What is planned may or may not happen and the unplanned happens regularly. The unexpected is the most likely. This premise has been born out again this week.

Electrical power is uncertain. It periodically goes out for “power-sharing,” so one sector of the service area gets power while another sector is cut, since there is not enough power to go around. This is unannounced and usually lasts for an hour or two, but on Monday when the power went out with a “bang,” it was something else all together. Investigation proved that someone had stolen the oil out of the transformer for the sector that feeds the Synod and the unit seized up. This was going to take time to repair, since ESCOM (the electric company) does not have a large supply of spare parts. No one from ESCOM would give an estimate of time, since in all fairness, they really didn’t know. At the Synod, we prepared for a camping experience. A friend had room in his freezer to store my meat (praise God). Since I have an electric stove, I made plans to eat without cooking, for the most part, getting in things that didn’t need to be cooked. Wednesday, a group of us had planned to have a pot luck at my house, but we shifted that to the home of one who had electricity and I went there to cook my part of evening meal. Those of us without power were most grateful to the one with. Meetings were shifted from inside rooms that need lighting to areas outside or to rooms with large windows to provide light. Deadlines for reports were extended, since the computer batteries were running low and there was no way to print the reports. In other words, all firm plans became tentative, depending on power availability. Friday afternoon the power came back on and everyone rejoiced.

Fuel is scarce, both diesel and petrol. Even before a station receives a tanker, the lines have formed to wait. Men come with large containers to purchase fuel as well and then take it away, usually for re-sale at a mark up. This is becoming a profitable side business for many. The problem is that it makes it harder for the vehicles to get the fuel, since the containers fill faster and are serviced more easily. This week, in addition to no electric, the petrol in the car was getting low. I wanted to go to Ncheu on Sunday for Charles’ installation at his new church, but that became tentative, depended on getting fuel. Maxwell spent part of Thursday and all Friday afternoon looking for fuel, to no avail. Today he set out at 8 a.m. with hope since he had heard there were to be two deliveries. He returned at 4:45 with ¾ of a tank. He sat in three different lines, two that ran out before he got to the pumps. He used part of the money he had to purchase from one of the enterprising young men with the containers when he was close to running out of fuel in line. But he came with enough fuel to get us to Ncheu and back tomorrow, so I called Charles and told him we are planning on coming. The tentative planning is gone. Praise God for Maxwell’s perseverance. He asked for the “honor” of driving. Since he did all the work to get the fuel, getting to drive is only fair. So tentatively we set off at 6:30 tomorrow for Ncheu. I say tentatively since only God knows what will really happen. I just know what we have planned.

As I began to write this article, the power went out again. I continued to write, using the battery, with the tentative expectation that the outage was only a part of power-sharing. It was. The power was only out for two hours and I am able to post this. The tentative became reality, for now.

Inflation

I tend to be a fairly optimistic person. I can usually find the positive in most situations, but of late I find myself shaking my head and wondering where we are headed. If I analyze this, it usually happens in the grocery store or over the issue of finding petrol. I’ve been doing a lot of head shaking this week.

Monday was a holiday (Mother’s Day – a national event here), so the banks were closed, but I ventured to the grocery store to get some staples. I didn’t come home with what I went after. First I went to the ATM. It was closed so I decided to shop for just a few things. Because it was a holiday, the local baker was not producing, so there were NO loaves of bread in the store. I ended up buying some of the few rolls that were left so my watchman would at least have something for his evening tea. There were no eggs either. I took my rolls and headed to get petrol, but there was none. For the last three weeks diesel has been scarce but there has been plenty of petrol. Not on Monday. I went home shaking my head.

Tuesday Maxwell took the car to get in line to get petrol at a station that was receiving a tanker. Before the tanker had finished off-loading a fight broke out among some of the men waiting in line and the owner closed the station rather than to incur more trouble.  Maxwell came home to report and to say he would return the next day, when the station opened again. On Wednesday he sat in line for 6 hours, was 2 cars from the pump and the fuel ran out. Last evening, when I was telling Thomas about this, I shook my head as he said that in Ntaja the only fuel available was on the black market and it was going for MK7000 for 5 liters. (That means that while we usually pay the equivalent of $1.69/liter or $6.70/gallon, he is paying $8.75/liter or $35/gallon). Things in the village are much worse than here in town, and the folks in the village are much less able to afford this great increase.

This morning, Maxwell left at dawn, armed with new information about a station that had a tanker coming. He returned at 2:30 with fuel and a story. He ran out of fuel in line and paid two fellows MK300 to help him push the car to the pump, where he was told he could only buy 20 liters, the limit per car. But for a bribe of MK500, the attendant filled the tank for him. People are looking for ways to make money from this situation any way they can find.

With fuel, and the bank open, I headed out to do some necessary shopping. I found myself shaking my head again at the increase in prices in just a few days. The cost of bread had gone up 20 kwacha a loaf. Eggs had increased 50 kwacha for 18 eggs. Peanut butter had increased 80 kwacha a jar. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it adds up. Over the last months, a kg of sugar has increased from 90 kwacha to 174 kwacha, a kg of ground meat from 990 kwacha to 1400 kwacha. Again, I can afford to pay it, but I am being careful, trying to make the most of my money. I worry for those who make less, those who were already struggling to make ends meet. I am having a difficult time finding the silver lining in all of this at the moment. The increased costs are predicted to continue as the fuel shortage extends. I just shake my head, again.

CBCC

Sixty five children, ages 3 to 6, sat in their little blue plastic chairs under trees, quietly eating their likuni phala, a fortified porridge, and watching all the fuss of grownups setting up chairs, and audio speakers, of strangers (mostly white people) gathering and taking pictures of everything and everyone, of older youth singing and dancing as they, too, waited. The children just ate and watched. This was not the normal routine of their day at the Timvani CBCC in a village just outside Limbe town center, but they were being fed and were satisfied to enjoy the entertainment of the day.

All the fuss was around the opening of the new building for the Center, part of a gift from a congregation in Canada. All but one of the white folks (one American snuck in) was from Canada, for the purpose of celebrating this partnership with the community and this CBCC. The CBCC (Community Based Children’s Center - we love acronyms in Malawi) is a powerful tool of Blantyre Synod Health and Development Commission (BSHDC) for ministering to the vulnerable children in villages, both around Blantyre and in the rural areas. They are not called orphan care centers, to avoid the stigma of children being singled out as HIV/Aids orphans, and to allow the program to care for all vulnerable children in the community. These programs include a pre-school for the youngest children in the morning, an after school program for the older children in the afternoon and a youth program for those young people in the community who are not working. CBCCs are community based, so the community has ownership of the operation of the centers. The community selects a committee to oversee the operation. The committee selects the volunteers to staff the center. The volunteers are trained by BSHDC, but the selection of the students, the running of the programs, and the supervision of the facility is all from the committee, as representatives of the community. Friends and partners come in as the community sees the need. Two years ago a group from Canada visited the Timvani Center. At that time, the children were meeting in a thatched roofed shelter in a small field. The visitors and committee talked about the need for a better place to meet. The visitors went back to Canada and began to raise funds to build a modest building to house the programs of the committee.

So on Thursday, they celebrated the opening of that building. It was a joy-filled celebration. The District Headman came with the traditional authority and the village chief to celebrate with the visitors from Canada and the staff of BSHDC. The building is one of the nicest in the village and will be a blessing to the entire community, not just for these programs, but for meetings and other training opportunities.. But it is designed for the children. The inside walls are painted with the alphabet and cartoon characters to illustrate the letters. The chairs are suited for the smallest children. The play equipment is tailored for the children. This is their special space. The day’s program included a ribbon cutting and speeches and thanks, accompanied by songs and dancing and drama from the children. It was a time of encouragement and hope for the most vulnerable in one of the poorer communities around Blantyre. It was a day to rejoice.

Musical Weekend

Music is a part of life in Malawi. I have written about it before (and probably will again). Music is something that everyone here participates in, and does well, from a young age. That was evident this weekend in a two separate activities, both of which thrilled my ear and my spirit.

Friday evening I spoke at the Polytechnic’s CCAPSO (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Student Association) meeting on the college campus. This was my first time to be invited, so I wasn’t exactly certain of what to expect. It was more than I imagined. They met in a classroom at the college that seats about 300 students. All the chairs were full. This was a Friday evening when there were lots of other activities on the campus to draw attention. It was a delight to see so many there. But the real delight was the spirit of the meeting. A praise team led the worship and it was spirited. The room resounded with the singing and vibrated with the dancing. The students danced freely with the singing. I was reminded of David dancing before the ark of the Lord. I was taken back to my college days when as a young Christian, I attended Inter-varsity Christian Fellowship meetings and was swept up in the emotion of singing. I felt that same thrill on Friday evening. The highlight was the CCAP Choir who sang “I Will Call Upon the Lord” in 6 part harmony. It was an inspirational time and definitely improved the preaching, for which I praise God.

But the delight of music did not end there. Sunday worship at Limbe celebrated “Synod Music Sunday.” The choirs of Limbe hosted a guest choir for the weekend from Nkhoma Synod. They had had Friday evening and all day Saturday together to share and practice for the services. We had the usual 2 services, but the focus of both was music. There were 7 choirs and 3 ensembles to participate in both services. Each choir selected their best number and presented it as praise to God, except for our guests, who gave two numbers. These songs ranged from a classical Hayden piece, done by the guest choir, to traditional Malawian music done by the Limbe Joint Choir and in between offerings of traditional hymns, contemporary praise songs, and Malawian praise choruses. Some were done to recorded backgrounds, other acapella, but all with dancing. But this was not a concert. It was worship participation. When a group sang a song that those in the congregation knew, they stood and joined in the singing or in some cases, come up front and joined the group, including the session clerk at one point. Participation was encouraged. One of the highlights was the Sunday school choir, comprised of 40 children from the ages of 6 to 13. The solo leader was a powerful 8 year old girl who captured everyone’s heart with her clear, strong voice. It was a spirit filled time of worship. But the ultimate was when the choirs joined together for a mass number. In the first service, they sang the old hymn “Peace, Be Still” in Chichewa. The harmonies were wonderful. For the second service, they sang “It Is Well with My Soul,” a favorite in Chichewa. I was moved to tears by the beauty of the sound and the power of the emotion of the music. The preaching for both services was on the place of music in worship, reminding us that music comes from God and that he invites us to praise him with song because we are created in his image. The face of God was evident in the praise of these two services.

So twice this weekend I was carried into God’s presence on the musical refrains of praise to the God of all creation, including the creation of music. For that I can only continue to praise him.

Blantyre Driving

Driving in Malawi is a challenge. That is just a given in life here, but most of the time, visitors think that refers to the challenge of rutted dirt roads in remote areas, no signposts anywhere and narrow bridges constructed of tree logs. While all of that is true, the greater challenge is navigating through Blantyre, the largest city in Malawi.

Blantyre has grown up with Malawi. It was a trading center that grew into the commercial center of the country. The roads were laid out when few people owned cars and were designed to meet the need of the time. The driving population has doubled in the last 5 years, from about 7% of the population owning cars to about 14%. The complicating factor is that close to half of them live and drive in Blantyre. Added to the congestion is the limited parking in the city. In an attempt to address this, the parking is primarily angle parking on most streets in town. This adds spaces, but makes the streets narrower for driving and difficult for backing out into traffic when one is ready to move again. This last challenge has been met by those colleting the parking fees (there are no parking meters). Once they collect their fee, they step behind the car and direct the driver backing into traffic. Sometimes that is stopping traffic and sometimes not. A driver must always keep an eye open for the folks in the iridescent green jackets attempting to stop traffic for someone backing out. Many people wait for those times, eager to take that parking spot before someone else grabs it. Some impatient drivers have taken matters into their own hands and double park, thinking they will just be a short time with their business. This makes the roads even narrower to navigate. This is particularly popular on the main street in town, Victoria Ave. An additional hazard is the drivers of the minibuses. Minibuses are the major mode of public transportation. They are the style of the old Volkswagen bus, but accommodate up to 15 passengers. They do not have routes, as such but stop at the will of the driver to pick up and discharge passengers. They cut in and out of traffic at will.

If this were all, Blantyre would not be all that different from some of the major cities in the States that have overflowing driving populations. But there are other factors to watch for. While Blantyre is a city, it still has the features of a trading center. The bicycle is still the major mode of transportation everywhere in Malawi. Blantyre is no different, so rush hour is a mesh of cars, trucks, the ever present minibuses, and lots of bicycles. The cyclists dart in and out of traffic, making better time than the cars, but at a risk to themselves and the motorists. Many times, these bikes are the mode of purveying good to the market, so are loaded with chickens or wood or bags of charcoal, all protruding on either side of the bike, making it a wide load as it maneuvers through traffic. Pedestrians are not restricted from the roads. Many use the sidewalks, but others choose to join the traffic of the road, walking behind the parked cars or down the center of the road. This is especially the case if the walkers are trying to sell goods, some on the way to the market and others using the available drivers as customers for their wares of vegetables, mops and brooms, or even goats and chickens. Some others take the opportunity of stopped traffic to beg.  All, whether beggars or vendors or pedestrians, parade among the cars, adding to the challenge of driving.

Most recently all of this has been further complicated with the fuel shortage. No, that has not meant fewer cars, but rather periodic long lines weaving from service stations in the center of town that have just received a shipment of diesel, the rare commodity these days. The trucks and minibuses create a third lane, between the parked cars and the passing motorists, as they wait their turn to enter the station and fill up. This usually means that traffic is reduced to one lane of moving vehicles that take turns moving around the line of waiters. These are the days that I miss the ease of driving in the traffic of Washington DC or Los Angeles.

World Communion Sunday

World Communion Sunday is designed to symbolically remind us that we are connected to the Body of Christ all around the world. On a few occasions, worship is planned that makes that symbol tangible. That was the case yesterday for me, the congregation I served in the States and part of the congregation I am serving currently in Malawi. It was a powerful reminder to all of us that we are connected. Electronics made it possible but the Spirit made it reality. God planned it all.

About four months ago the pastor serving the Mt. Pisgah congregation in Pittsburgh, the congregation I served for 8 years before coming to Malawi, contacted me about the possibility of doing a Skype connection with the congregation during worship on Oct. 2, World Communion Sunday. I was thrilled with the idea and reserved the time on my calendar, to be certain I was at home for the connection. She wanted this to be a surprise for the congregation, so we agreed that we would not say anything about it to anyone. She also asked if it would be possible to have a member or two of Limbe, my present congregation here in Malawi to join me, to make a full connection – church to church. When I asked the session clerks about this, they were thrilled and negotiated who would have the honor of representing Limbe. The deputy clerk, Robert Mponela won, since he knows more about computers and is more comfortable with the technology (or at least that was his reasoning for taking the post). Last week the pastor from Mt. Pisgah Skyped me to let me know that she would not be in worship on Oct. 2 because her daughter had given her a special birthday gift of a trip to Spain, but her husband, also a minister, would be filling in for her. We finalized the arrangements, still keeping this a surprise on that end. On Saturday, the parish chair of Limbe informed me that one of the zones of the church (geographic areas) would be coming to the manse on Sunday afternoon for a visit. Each zone takes a turn during the year visiting the manse and the pastor to give spiritual encouragement through a short worship service, and material support with food items, staples to assist with the household budget. I explained about the Skype conversation that was scheduled for 4 p.m. our time and he assured me the group would be at the manse early in the afternoon. They arrived at 3:30.

At that point, God made his planning clear. I explained what would be happening in just a short time and asked if they would like to be a part of it, making it a representation of the congregation. This hadn’t seemed a possibility when we were doing the planning because of the logistics of getting people from Limbe to my house (about 7 miles) and the fact that most people do not have cars. But God had arranged all of that. The group had come for a different purpose but in perfect time for the Skype conversation. They were a bit hesitant, mostly because they didn’t know what Skype was or how it worked, but finally decided to trust me and try it. It couldn’t hurt. I asked them if they would be willing to sing a Malawian chorus for the group in Pittsburgh, something I know Mt. Pisgah would love and that Limbe could do with ease. They willingly agreed, so we did a quick rehearsal and were set when the time came.

Exactly at 4 p.m. (10 a.m. in Pittsburgh) the call came. The visiting pastor had only told the congregation that there was a special greeting coming for World Communion Sunday. I think they thought it was his wife from Spain. When I answered and my face appeared on the big screen the church uses for the worship service, someone in the congregation let out a whoop that everyone on both sides of the ocean heard. I gave greetings and let them know how excited I was to see them, then introduced them to the session clerk and to the congregation gathered here. The group had moved together so they could all be seen by the webcam and they waved and called to their brothers and sisters in Christ in Pittsburgh. After I made a few remarks and took a few questions, we sang our song for them. They clapped and cheered and then responded by singing the doxology of us. The folks here joined in and together we praised God, although 10,000 miles apart. It was a powerful, spontaneous moment. The pastor at Mt. Pisgah offered prayer and we reluctantly said goodbye to one another, both sides waving. As we disconnected, the organist there began the introduction to the first hymn – In Christ There is No East or West. How true! We had just experienced it.

The folks here were in awe of the opportunity God had given them to celebration the Body of Christ around the world. The parish chair, who had come apologizing for being late, left delighted that “he had been to America in the matter of moments.” He said he couldn’t wait to tell his wife. That was the feeling of whole group. God’s plan and timing was so different from ours, but as always, it was even better. We can only praise him for that, for connecting us in Spirit, by electronics. Ours is an awesome God, in whom there is no east or west… but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.