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Our week started of great with two visits on Sunday. We started by picking up Chimwemwe Kalima at the LifeNet's shop (she is the clerk) and she directed us to the home of Patrick and Lisnette Maferera; their home is about an hour drive from our home and the church hall (it's likely triple that time when you factor having to walk to the main road, and then catching a minibus to the area, and then walking the rest of the way to the hall [with four kids]), so we generally only see them at services once a month or so. And, in true Malawi fashion, the roads are terrible. It literally looks like a canyon has opened up in the road... which I guess is what has happened. The roads are dirt, generally mixed with lots of sand, so when the rainy season comes the roads wash away. Usually it's just really bumpy with pot holes and dips, but every now and then we get on a road with a deep gash cut right through the middle of it.
It was nice to get to know them a little better in their home. Patrick is a teacher, but they are currently on strike. The situation for teachers in Malawi is quite difficult. They used to be paid from the federal government; in January they were supposed to be paid from their districts. They had gone on strike in February because they hadn't been paid in several months; they are once again on strike for not being paid, again. Life can be tough for people here in Malawi; an education does not guarantee financial stability.
After visiting with the Maferera family Chimwemwe directed us to her mother's home in Likuni. We were able to visit with Esther Kalima (Chimwemwe's mom) for a couple of hours. A delightful aspect of Malawian life is the sense of community people seem to enjoy. Wherever we go to visit multiple neighbors will stop by, just to say hello and meet us. Sometimes they'll stay the whole visit, sometimes they come and go, and sometimes (like this particular visit) they insist on providing a treat for the guests. I think it comes from so many originally coming from villages where they relied on each other for most things; and they carry that sense of community into the cities and the different neighborhoods.
Esther and her neighbor Esther made us a delicious snack of nsima, pumpkin leaf relish, scrambled eggs, and some Fanta. It was nice to learn more about Esther's life there in Likuni. She operates a small shop that sells vegetables, samosas, zegaygay (a delicious sliced potato dipped in a curry batter and deep fried), and fish. She's not rich by any means, but she manages to make a living for her and her children (her husband died a couple of years ago).
Our week was quiet; living typical life: grocery shopping, working, going to the post office, etc.
On Wednesday Lewis, Michala, and Brennan drove Alfred Mitomoni to Zambia to start the process of getting cancer treatments. Unfortunately, the healthcare available to Alfred in Malawi has been limited to palliative care; to enter remission he'll have to seek treatment in either Zambia or Tanzania; Zambia is closer and hopefully more cost effective.
Brennan had another bout of illness starting on Wednesday, so they missed going to services with us. But we did get to drive back to Likuni to pick up the Maferera family for services. We try to pick up different families throughout the month since it's so difficult for many of them to travel. Our vehicle (a Mazda Bongo) technically seats 12 (although this last week the last row came unsecured from the vehicle so we had to remove it and we lost three seats), so we can fit one or two families (besides us) at a time. We wish we could take everyone, but we're happy to manage the rotation that we do.
After services we had our first leadership club. We're excited to see how we grow together as a congregation in the coming months.
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