On Wednesday morning, after one day of paying bills and doing laundry, we set off early to visit the Chapambas on our way to the Zambian border. On the way we were stopped at the typical police checkpoints; they would check our registration and insurance stickers and Lewis's driver's license and they would send us on our way. However, at the intersection of the main road and the Chapamba's turnoff we were stopped once again. This time was different, this officer ...

It has been another busy week so I'm writing two blogs again. This one should be relatively short. On Sunday we ventured into Blantyre and found a coffee shop for breakfast. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. We also got to take a tour of the United Church of God/LifeNet's property. It's out of the city and surrounded by beautiful green mountains. It will be a lovely place for the congregation to meet when it is finally completed. In the afternoon we went b...

We woke up early on Friday to pack and hit the road. Our first stop was in Dedza. We were able to show the Hilgens the Pottery and also the Dedza Handmade Paper Company. We love the shop, the product is fabulous and really reasonably priced. He once again gave us a tour and demonstrated how they make the paper. He collects old paper from businesses in Dedza and Lilongwe and shreds them to form the base of his paper; it's really lovely. From Dedza we drove to Ntch...

This has been a crazy week! I think we live in the Bongo (our little vanette) sometimes. We've been going pretty much non-stop, and it doesn’t look like things will be slowing down anytime soon. Our week started out with a visit to one of our members in Area 25, Jeremiah Kampazangula Phiri and family. Jeremiah’s house sits nestled in the midst of a cornfield; thankfully Jeremiah met us on the main road so he could help direct us to his home. Upon arri...

Sunday we joined the Chapamba's and Haiton Thungula to drive to Chipoka (near Salima). We have church buildings under construction, but we're not sure if they’ll be ready (or appropriate) for the Feast of Tabernacles, so we went to check out a conference center near Lake Malawi. The Feast has been held on the lake in the past, but further south; the Chipoka location makes it more central to both Mzuzu (in the north) and Blantyre (in the south); and much clo...