BMS World Mission

I have been fortunate to spend some time over the last couple of days with two of the couples from BMS. Yesterday Brad and Ruth Biddulph came to join us at Morning Star for the night. Much of their work is based around the Theological College of Zimbabwe - not on the teaching side, but on project management (Brad) and administration (Ruth). One of the projects they are working on is called Second Chance - a rehablitation group for ex-offenders, aiming to help them re-intergrate into local society and offering them skills training.

Today I came with them to Bulawayo so that I could stay the night with Joe and Lois Ovenden. They are now living in the house vacated by Kevin and Gill, and picked up some of the threads they left behind. Joe continues the work at Ebeneezer Agricultural College, while together they work with Family Impact - offering training in life skills and AIDS awareness to families in the area. Family Impact run a team in the local football league, and Joe came home just after I arrived from their weekends fixture - sadly, his team lost.

Tomorrow, after church, we will all meet up for a braai. Lois has invited a group of friends round to join in grilling meat in the open air. It should be a good afternoon, as people from all sorts of background, and working with a variety of NGO's come together.

It has been good to share time with these two couples, and to learn something of the continuing work of BMS in the country. Here are four young people who clearly have a love for this country, and it is good that we can support them as we work with BMS.

On a more mundane level, it has been raining. This is a hopeful sign - the wet season should start in earnest in about three weeks time, but the main rains take time to build up as the moist air follows the sun south from the Congo. Over the last few days the skies have become ever more cloudy, and today the promised rain finally came - accompanied by peals of thunder. It was not much - it only rained for a couple of hous, and hen cleared up once more. But it is a beginning. As we celebrate Harvest back home, these are signs of a good harvest over here after a partial drought last year.

Youh Work

Much of the work the volunteers do here is with the young people of the area. English is taught here from the first years in school, so that reading and comprehension are crucial parts of the curriculum. So, it was back to school for a day with the volunteers Chappie and Tristan. We were in one of the local primary schools, starting after the late morning break. Until then the senior class (Year 7) had been sitting their national exams – the local equivalent of the 11+. So while Tristan was doing football with one group of year 6, and Chappie was doing comprehension with the other group of year 6, I was taking reading with Year 3 – with  bit of maths (tables) and general knowledge (times and days) slotted in to vary the pace of the lesson. We were reading about Snuffy Rat’s Birthday Surprise. I have to say, the class had much better command of English than I had of Ndebele, but they seemed to enjoy the time we had together.

Another afternoon we joined a local village for football practice. About 25 people were there – mainly teenagers, but with one or two adults who were leading the group. It is many years since I have done shuttle runs to warm up – but it seemed to pay off, as I managed to play a game without any pulled muscles. After the warm-up we had a short session on football skills led by Chappie and Tristan, followed by a short game. Given there were more than 22 of us there, I was happy to be substituted off about half way through to ensure one of the youngsters had a chance to play. In the end, Tristan won the game – managing to score the only goal in an even and enjoyable contest.

Most days I have also had a walk for a couple of hours in the morning. The countryside here is beautiful. This is the largest granite feature in the world, with rugged rock piles and long granite outcrops between areas of cultivated land and wild grass and sporadic trees. Here we are on a high plateau, and around the ground falls about 1000 feet to a lower section of granite land. Everywhere you go there are beautiful views and abundant wildlife. It is a good way to start the day

Off Grid

I am in Bulawayo for the weekend, visiting with Lois and Jo, the BMS couple who are now living in Kevin and Gill's house. This means that I have a reasonable internet connection. So I  have updated this post to add the pictures I orriginally intended t go with it, and will add a couple of other posts while I am here.

Here I am, safe in Zimbabwe, about 50km south of Bulawayo – off road and off grid. Morning Star, the hostel run by Chris and Norma Ferguson, is in the middle of a granite plateau, with long granite outcrops called dwala or whalebacks, and jumbles of rocks that look like gigantic Dartmoor Tors. Between them is a land waiting for the rains to come, which they hopefully will in the next four to six weeks. This year the rains are needed more than ever, as the last we season brought less than normal.

Chris and Norma work on a variety of projects – one of their major commitments is to schools literacy work. Other areas they work with include orphan feeding programmes and AIDS support work. These are supported by various organisations in Europe and the USA. To help them, two gap year volunteers – one from Australia and one from Switzerland; have come to join them. I hope to go with them to help out in the schools, but will also spend some time in Bulawayo with the Baptist Missionaries who had been working alongside Gill and Kevin Jones before they were given home assignment so that Gill could be near her mother.

Although we are off grid, living here is not so different to home – except it is warmer, and the night skies are spectacular. Of course, there are no flush toilets – but the deep pit variety they have here works remarkably well. Hand washing is not on tap, so much as on tip. And electricity is provided by 12V batteries charged each day by solar panels. Cooking is mainly done on a wood stove – although there is a gas oven back-up; and cold storage is provided by ice-boxes – regularly topped up during the weekly visits to Bulawayo. Internet can be a little irregular – although there is a good spot on one of the dwala a few hundred metres from the compound.

During the day I have been able to take  a good walk around the area – to the local village a short way down the dirt road, and across some of the dwala to see the views. It certainly is a beautiful area, and I hope to have a profitable time here.

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...

Rest and Recreation Part II

When I came up to Livingstonia a couple of weeks ago I did not have time to visit the Makwere Falls. I was determined to correct that oversight this time. I awoke early - thanks to the shower of figs from the monkeys. After watching the sun rise, I enjoyed my egg and chips (the Malawian equivalent of a full English) and set out for Chitemba - managing the catch a minibus for the last leg of the journey (always an adventure in itself).

Before journeying up the hill, I walked down to the Lake.The Lakeside scene was enchanting. On one side a group of fishermen had spread out their nets and were doing running repairs. On another, a herdsman had brought his cattle to the Lake for a drink. And everywhere people were getting on with the daily routine. I met one group of women sitting under a mango tree. This was the local microfinance tea, meeting with their co-ordinator from further north on the Lake. It was good to stop and chat or a while.

And then I looked to go up to Livingstonia. I had hoped to catch a hospital vehicle to the top - but the only one at Chitemba was going the other way. his left 'footing' as the only way up. The road sign says it is 15km - but the path cuts out many of the long bends, and so the walk only takes about two hours. I fell in with two elders from the local church, going up the hill to meet a church member on a disciplinary matter - he had failed to send his children to the local primary school, and they wanted to know why. It was good to pass the time with them as we walked.

Finally we reached the top, and went our different ways after we had shared a Coke together - essential replacement of fluids after a long climb.Makwere Falls are spectacular - even in the dry season. What they must be like in the wet season can only be imagined. Behind one of the twin falls there is a cave, which I also went to visit. In the days of the slave trade it acted as a hide-out for the local tribes as the slavers passed through the area. Certainly it was a bit of a scrabble to get to, and could not be seen from the outside at all.

And so the journey home today (Wednesday). It was an eventful journey. On the way to catch the bus at Chiweta I was thrilled by the birds. On one side of the road there was a fish-eagle, while on the other there was a tree full of weaver bird nests - and I managed to catch one bird just entering its nest. The weavers have a strange way of choosing their nests. the male will make a series of nests, from which his partner will choose her favourite. Once that nest is chosen, she removes the other nests!

The actual journey home was quite eventful - the National Bus I had intended to take had broken down, so rather than wait two hours in the sun for the next proper bus, I took a minibus. They seem safe enough, but traveling in them is not fort he faint-hearted. Much smaller than the minibus we are used to at home, they are designed to carry 14 passengers. They usually carry at least 16 or 17. But it delivered me in safety to Ekwendeni.

The reason for stopping at Ekwendeni was so I could see a well. When we went ' footing' last week we had seen a variety of problems. One was easy to fix, the other two were quite complex. Thanks to some of the money the Church had kindly given me to use here in Malawi, we were able to fix the simple problem and repair a well that had been out of action. It was a privilege to meet some of the local people - including the village head man - and to see the well we had helped to repair, once more bringing safe water to about 1000 people. As in all countries, this is the first step in ensuring good health, and the team who undertake the work here are justly proud of what they have done for so many people. It was good to join them in that work - albeit in a small way.

So tomorrow I leave Mzuzu and begin the journey to Zimbabwe. It will be good to see what Kevin and Gill have been telling us about when they have visited us on furlough - even if they are not there to show us themselves. Gill's mum is not too well, so BMS gave them home assignment. I wish them well, and look forward to visiting those they have been working with.

Rest and Recreation - Part I

For the last couple of days I have been at Namiashi Lodge - a small establishment on the shore of Lake Malawi, between Luwuchi and Chitemba. I spent two nights there, a chance to relax and reflect before leaving Malawi. Tomorrow I travel down to Lilongwe, flying to Johannesburg on Friday and Bulawayo on Saturday. In truth, there was a lot of re-creation, but very little rest.

On Monday I traveled to the Lodge on the 06.00 bus out of Mzuzu, and arrived after a trouble free journey at about 09.30. After settling in to my small single en suite room it was time to start exploring. It was hard to tell which was the more interesting - the wildlife or the people. Running around the grounds there was a troop of Ververt monkeys - charming to the tourists, but a bit of nuisance to the locals. I saw one exchange where a family were chasing the monkeys with sticks and stones to prevent them stealing eggs from the chickens. And certainly they produced a very effective early morning alarm each day as they raided the fig tree - and dropped half eaten figs onto the tin roof. But the shot of the day was a beautiful butterfly. The large butterflies here tend not to settle - they just drift on the wind; and that makes them almost impossible to picture. But this one stopped for a drink - and posed for a snap. The other joy was to find a lizard lurking by the steps to the verandah. It had a bright orange tail, and a very cheeky look.

The main industry of the Lake is fishing - although that may change, as they are about to explore for oil. This is causing problems, as Tanzania and Malawi argue over the position of the border along the Lake. It could also cause problems in the future - an oil spill in the Lake would destroy a major source of food and water for all around the Lake - Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.

The fishing here seems almost out of the New Testament. It is conducted from dug-out canoes, and uses fine drift nets - either between pairs of canoes, or by taking the net in a large loop from the shore and back again. While I was at the Lodge there were not many fish being caught. This seemed odd, as two weeks before, on our trip to Livingstonia, the drying racks had been covered with fish. When I asked about this, I was told that the catch is usually poor at the full moon - the fishermen use lamps to attract the fish, and this does not work at full moon. But still they try to find the fish. The group I saw casting from the shore could only haul in about twenty fish when they tried - and I doubt that any of the others who were out on the Lake did much better. Certainly the pair of boats which landed a short way don the beach from the Lodge seemed to have come back empty.

As evening fell, I went for a swim. It was a strange sensation. I was all prepared to dive into the sea - and suddenly found far less buoyancy than I was expecting. I had forgotten that this was fresh water, not sea water! But it was wonderfully refreshing after a hot day. Finally, as I was having some of the local fish for my supper, the moon rose - just past full, and bright red in the mist over the Lake. It had been a good day.

Sunday Again

 Today and yesterday have been fairly quiet for me here in Malawi. The main feature of yesterday was going with Jan Baxter on a visit to see Stalin and his family. Stalin is one of the staff at the VTC in Ekwendeni. At the moment he is waiting for a visa so that he can visit Geneva and report on is work with the young people and with AIDS prevention. Stalin has a warm and vibrant personality, and it was good to meet his wife and children - twin girls, aged five. We had a good two hours in their home. Just before we left the smaller of the twins - Leah -  decided she wanted to try out my hat and camera. She soon found how to use the viewfinder, and took one or two good shots of the room, and of her adopted gogo, Jan.


Today we went to worship at the main Baptist Church in Mzuzu. I had contacted the Pastor, George Mwase, earlier in the week, asking if I could bring greetings from Llanwenarth at the English Service at 8 in the morning. He was delighted - and asked me to preach. It was a very simple service, with about 40 people present - the ChiTumbuka service is much larger. I felt quite at home thee, not least because the text on the pulpit fall was the same as that at the church where I began my ministry in Broughton - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105)

I preached on the story of the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. It is surprising how much more that story means now that I have walked with Watson through the middle of the day, and watched women coming to a hole in the ground to draw water. The comparison between the living water that Jesus offers and the muddy water that the well offered has come alive.

In the afternoon and early evening I went walking. The afternoon was spent beside Mzuzu airport, hoping to get a picture of the great crested crane I had seen there many times as we drove by in the taxi from Ekwendeni. It is a majestic bird - but like the slender mongoose, it continues to evade the camera. The walk was enjoyable all the same - especially the sight f a flame tree in full bloom. Like the poinsettias, this has a bright red flower and no leaves - at least, not in the dry season.

Walking back to the house two sights caught my eye. On one side of the airport road a herbalist had set up his stall in the shade of one of the trees. Here he offered consultations and remedies to any who would stop to take his advice. The potions were highly coloured, and certainly no what you would get from the local homeopath back home. And passing through the market I saw another claim to offer happiness that I would doubt. It is with unsustainable claims such as these that Coke pursues its goal of capturing the soft drinks market in every corner of the globe. They certainly have done a good job of this in Malawi - I have not seen a single Pepsi bottle at any time in my stay here.


In the evening we took our usual Sunday evening walk across the causeway through the reed beds to see Joe - a local resident who runs a small business mending shoes, and who has dug a series of fish ponds out of the the reed beds. Like Bob Baxter, he has a great interest in the local bird life, and it is good to spend time in his company as the sun sets and the birds fly home to roost. It is also the time the marsh harriers and black kites quarter the area looking for food. One of the highlights of this visit was to catch a glimpse of a pair of mouse birds in the reeds.

When we got back to the house, we found that the others had opened and set up the outdoor cinema set up. This came in the container this week, and is intended as a tool for the evangelism department. Included in the equipment are a large screen (as well as the small one they were using this evening), a full set up to show cinema quality DVDs, and a generator - so they can go into communities that have no electricity. With this they will be able to show the Jesus film - based on the Gospel of Luke, and in this case dubbed into the local languages.

There will not be another post until Wednesday, as tomorrow I am heading for Namiashi to visit the Lakeside for two nights. While it will be good to have some rest and recreation, there is no internet connection in the lodge there. Hopefully, when I report back on Wednesday I will have pictures of fish eagles and sunrise over the water.