Theology Today

Back once more to Ekwendeni. This is an arid countryside, but with the hills in the distance, there is a grandeur about the place that is hard to find elsewhere. After yesterday's excursion into the countryside, today was spent in the groves of academe - at the Theological College. I left early with Rev Levi Nyondo to get to the college for morning prayers, and there was asked to give the short address they have each day. It was a reflection on II Timothy 3:10 - Paul's encouragement to Timothy to copy what he had seen in his life. It was an expression of something that has been forcing its way into my thoughts - gratefulness for the work of the early missionaries, and the way that the Christian witness has grown as the church in Malawi copied them. And a plea that the church here does not follow the path that Europe has taken in recent years - with a complacency that we had it all, and forgetting that we needed to continue to proclaim the message and not assume that those around us and those who were our children would receive the gospel by osmosis. Through it all, the words of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young echoed in my mind - teach your children well.

After morning prayers, there was the tour of the college - and a reminder of Pitlochry, for the church there had provided the funds for some of the development here. It should not surprise anyone that the building I found most interesting was the kitchen. Here the two cooks prepared meals for the 30 or so students studying for the ministry - either doing a three year diploma or a four year degree. Accommodation - and cooking - is fairly basic, with married students having to live apart from their families in term time.

After the tour I had a chance to sit in on some of the lectures, and in two of the sessions there was time for questions and answers. One was after the Principles lecture on preaching, the other replaced the lecture in Old Testament Theology that should have been given by one of the staff members who was on sick leave. We had a good time, and I was very pleased to have spent this day with the students and staff at the college. I hope that I will be able to return some time later in the stay here - with a little more of a structured programme to the day. We will wait and see.

The team here has been increased somewhat as a fully integrated group of eye specialists have joined us, hoping to do some clinics at Ekwendeni and Livingstonia, and to set up the infrastructure to hire some ophthalmic technicians to continue the work. In the afternoon I joined them in the Tanzanian Market - a bazaar of a place that specialises in clothing of all sorts, all tucked away in narrow dark alleys running on a grid, full of colour and bustle. And then in the evening the team joined us for chili con carne -a good end to a good day.