Following in the Footsteps of Dr Robert Laws

Wednesday and Thursday were spent at two of the hospitals set up due to the vision of Dr Robert Laws. Dr Laws came to Malawi as a missionary in 1875 after reading the travel journals of Dr Livingstone. His great aim was to proclaim the whole gospel of Christ to the whole person, and part of his legacy is found in the three mission hospitals as Livingstonia - his base in Malawi from 1894 to 1927; Ekwendeni and Embangweni.

Wednesday began with a walk with Bob down to the reed bed to look for birds, where we saw a black kite. I then joined Katherine in going to Ekwendeni to met with Stallin and Velepe as they went into one of the local villages to do the youth and community aspect of the VTC. With the help of the VTC programme the village seeks to support all who live their, focusing those who are least able to support themselves - especially the youth and the victims of AIDS. We arrived at children's time to join the after school activities. Katherine had brought some simple play equipment, which soon had the young people enjoying themselves immensely. Katherine then took a picture of the younger ones, and found herself swamped by a group of excited children as she showed them the picture.

We were taken to see some of the work the village were doing to help their younger members; including planting gardens to grow maize to sell as a means of income, and providing a nursery for saplings - as the village sought to plant 10 tress for each one they cut down. We also joined the village Home Care Team as they visited one of the AIDS patients - providing basic home help support to a woman who was struggling to survive.

Although the work of the VTC is not directly hospital based, it provides support to the local communities as they bring the whole gospel to the whole person.

Thursday was a much longer journey - up to Robert Laws' main base at Livingstonia. This is a journey of about 145km, taking about three hours - with the last 15 km taking at least one hour of that time as you travel up the Garodie Road - a dirt track running up the side of the hill from the Lake. Originally the mission station was based at the lakeside, but moved to the plateau to avoid the heat and the mosquitoes. Overall, the road has 21 hairpin bends, which make Fiddler's Elbow look like gentle turns in the road, and around which even a 4X4 struggles.

Livingstonia is centred around two main buildings, the hospital and the church. The present hospital was built in 1904, and provides care for around 8000 people - from the Lake, where some of the clinics are run from boats; to the high plateau, most of which is only accessible by 4X4. Some of the best views of the plateau are provided from the church tower. At the back of the church there is a stained glass window which depicts the meeting of Dr Livingstone with Stanley the explorer. These two buildings set the atmosphere for the whole of the mission compound, and it certainly is a special place, and it was a privilege to be able to visit it.

The visit was enhanced by two encounters with nature. While I was talking to the retired minister who now runs the museum based in the original house built by Robert Laws, I was surprised to see a bird pf prey swoop down and take a young chicken from about 10m in front of us. It all happened so fast that it left me momentarily speechless as I struggled to take a shot of the bird flying away. And as I walked back to the hospital to meet my traveling companions, two girls pointed to a bush - and there was a chameleon, its beady eyes on the butterflies inspecting the flowers. Two sites I never expected to see at the end of a wonderful day.