In Transit

So I have left Malawi and I am on the way to Zimbabwe - staying overnight in Johannesburgh. The trip from Mzuzu to Lilongwe was long - five hours on a bus, alleviated by an interesting conversation with a Malawian businessman. As we were talking, I was looking at the fields as we passed, and realised that all the work was being done by hand - there were not even bullock drawn ploughs, let alone tractors; and yet there were plenty of bullock carts - especially as we passed Jenda.

Overnight I stopped at the Korea Gardens Lodge. The Bronze accommodation was basic - certainly not en suite; but the Lodge was very good. Most of the evening was spent watching he weaver birds in the tree by the swimming pool, and the food is something I will certainly try at home - grilled fish with banana and lemon!

This morning I had an opportunity to take a short walk around the 'city'. Driving out showed just how much the city spilled across the country, but even close the centre there was plenty of space, and I spent a pleasant hour walking down back lanes and across the golf course. Now I am in the centre of Johannesburg in a querky called the Aviator. The decor is out of the 60's and 70's, and the contrast to Malawi is stark. Johannesburg is a busy modern city, and the area around the airport is certainly not set up for a pleasant stroll - it is strange to be back to civilization for a night, as tomorrow will be another contrast asI fly into Zimbabwe.

I end tonight with some initial reflections on Malawi. They call the country The Warm Heart of Africa - and that is certainly true, both in terms of the weather and of the people I met there. Certainly life there seems to be the reverse of life in the West - in Malawi it seems they are resource poor, but faith rich; while in the West we are resource rich and faith poor. I do not know if there is a straight inverse relationship between the two - it ften hapened with Israel that when they were doing well they forgot God. And certainly when you have nothing you need to have faith to keep you going. But I am sure there is something else there, although I am as yet unsure how to let their faith encourage us, or how to let our wealth enrich them.  But at the end of it I find myself challenged - not so much to seek a renewal of my faith, but perhaps to be more overt about it.

And so to Zimbabwe...