Tuesday 5 August, 2008
Depart from Lilongwe and head to Zomba
Photo: Evelyn Mgeni and Kate
Today we checked out of the Kiboko Town Hotel for a day of travel from Lilongwe down to the Leonard Kamungu Theological College in Zomba, where the big demonstration permaculture farm is in its first phase. We picked up Pastor Joseph Chawawa and drove to Salima because we wanted him to meet Lucy Finch at Ndi Moyo. When we got there, she was out. We walked around the gardens until she returned and then had a short tour. We were then behind our time and drove quickly back to Mua Mission to pick up my carving, which ended up taking far longer than we’d planned. The carver was still finishing, and as we stood around him in a circle, frantically slapped wax all over it and told me to polish it up when I got back to the states. What seemed like a great idea two months ago now felt like insanity, as we crammed into our car and inhaled the fumes from the wax all the way to Zomba. But when the carving is on my office wall, I am sure I will love it all the more.
We arrived in Zomba close to dusk and unloaded at the guest house at a conference center near the Theological College. We said good-bye to Chichi and paid him. Then we had to sit down for a minute over the sticker shock. Prices had essentially double from last summer. Petrol is over $8 a litre. We recovered and then piled into the seminary car to go out to visit Fr. Martin Mgene’s home.
We toured his garden, which is moving into becoming a permaculture garden, and then shared a delightful tea with his warm and gracious wife Evelyn, who is taking her theological degree. After too short a visit, we drove to pick up Fr. Steve Smith and his kids at the college. Steve was the leader of my first trip to Malawi from St. James’. He is now getting his doctorate in Missiology from the General Theological Seminary, and is doing research and teaching at Kamungu.
We had a wonderful evening catching up on Steve and the kids’ experience living in Malawi over a pizza dinner. A delicious break from chicken and rice! Then it was back to our guest house for just a few hours of sleep before a chorus of roosters woke us a 3:30 am. Tomorrow is a transition day before we head down to Blantyre to begin the second half of our journey in the Diocese of Southern Malawi.
No comments:
Post a Comment