Christmas Eve Report

December 24

We started our day with a recheck on Poo the Bichon. Michele showed us the land that she planning to buy near the Nejwa facility. Bryce took measurements to map it for her. We met some of the men from the adjacent village (small village with 10 “houses”). The houses are made of mud bricks with straw roofs. They were planting the surrounding land with maize and tobacco in hand dug furrows.

John had prepared breakfast for us and after a short delay waiting for the 3 ton (truck) we left for Chilombo. The trip was a two hour drive, first on pavement then un-paved roads – did I mention that this is the rainy season? It did not rain this day but it soon became apparent why we were in a truck, not a car.

Early in this drive we were passing buildings, offices, and the African Bible College campus (which is a beautiful campus that includes a undergraduate school and a hospital). People always seem to be walking along the edge of the roads, we saw one woman cleaning her laundry in a puddle of rain water that collected just off the pavement.

We shifted from 4^th to 3^rd gear as we passed a police check-point and the pavement ended – we were entering area 25 of Lilowenge. We saw lots of local tradesmen working and offering their products along the roadside. The bicycle repair shop was doing booming business. We saw buckets being hand formed from sheet metal (they looked great). We passed a lumbar yard where hand cut 2x2, 2x4, and 2x6 timbers were for sale (yes they were hand cut, we saw the saw). The most interesting business was the bicycle taxi service, the drivers were polishing their rides waiting for a fare. I figured out why so many people walk. Gas costs $10 per gallon – laborers make $1 per day…

As we left the town, we found portions of the road where we shifted to 2^nd gear to navigate the ruts and puddles. We crossed a river on a cement bridge exactly wide enough for the truck to cross. Bryce was riding in the back of the truck with Chikondi. He travels to the village three days a week to lead Bible study; he serves them as a councilor and encourages the kids to stay in school.

Just across the bridge, Chikondi recognized a group of women from the village heading home. They climbed barefoot with their packages into the back of the truck and off we went .

We drove for 45 minutes through the countryside planted in maize in hand tilled furrows as far as the eye could see. Finally we turned off the “road” to a track leading to Chilombo Village.

We parked in the center of the village under the meeting trees and were quickly surrounded by about 50 children. I was told by our hosts that Chilombo Village is like most Malawian villages (in contrast to towns like Lilongwe). About 3000 people live here. There are 21 elders and one chief..

This place is straight from National Geographic. The houses are made from mud bricks and thatched roofs. Some serve as kitchens with smoke pouring out of the roofs. Chickens, pigs, and goats were running through the village. Their enclosures were also from mud bricks and were located throughout the village among the houses. There were pens for cattle as well whose corner posts were live tree trunks trimmed to 5 feet. Did I mention that this is the rainy season? The barefooted children did not seem to notice that liquid manure poured out onto the path. We met men of the village that greeted us warmly in the Malawian way.

We found Brian, a boy we sponsor through COTN waiting for us at his home. He is a quite boy with a winning smile. We sat down in front of his house and met some of his brothers and sisters. I was pleased to tell him that we celebrate Jesus birthday by giving gifts and that we pray for him often. He flashed a beautiful smile when he received his soccer ball and pump.

On the way back to the truck, we passed by one of the two hand pumped wells that serve this village of 3000 people. The women in line allowed me to pump a tub full of water – the woman then easily lifted the 6 gallon tub to the top of her head and turned for home with out spilling a drop.

We left the village with full hearts; the people we met, and the memories we made will no soon fade. After our return to Nejwa, we left the same evening for Chiwengo. That story will have to wait for another day.