Due to weather conditions, all in-person daytime and evening programs have been canceled across the church’s locations for Wednesday, except for the Recovery programs and Food Pantry at Overland Park. Decisions for Thursday daytime programs will correspond with local school district decisions and will be posted on the church’s website.
Scheduled programming has resumed for Thursday, February 13 at all Resurrection locations.
Our last full day in Malawi was spent back in Chandiwo Village, which we had first visited on day 5. We were once again greeted by a group of women singing and dancing their greetings to us. It is always a treat to hear the beautiful music these villagers are able to create, and we find ourselves wanting more as the trip rolls on.
From there, we were divided into teams by Twambie and assigned to different areas of the village to plant various greenery (basil, lemongrass, banana and papaya tree, mulberry bushes, okra, pumpkin and beans). It was then we learned many of the villagers (some of whom were not present as they were obtaining fertilizer for the vast fields that will soon be planted) had prepared the planting sites for us in their fleeting spare time. This saved us quite a bit of work and time, in the end.
Each Resurrection team member was paired with a group of two, three or four villagers (who, as it turned out, also were unfamiliar with each other) and an Opulence team member for translation. We took possession of our plants and were led to our individual areas of responsibility by our team leader, a village member designated by Opulence.
This writer was assigned to a team that would plant two banana trees and a host of lemongrass fledglings at the site of the village’s bore hole. We had been told earlier in the week that banana trees thrive in wetland areas, and the runoff soaked ground at the end of the bore hole pad was ideal for the undertaking.
The ground itself was soft with runoff and easy to work with. While fresh water from the bore hole made its way to the small swamp, it was evident (by sight and smell) that the water was stagnant and littered with trash that had blown in to it, waste collection apparently being unheard of in the villages.
Having been earlier assured that grey water presents no threat to the health of the banana tree or its fruit, we planted. The team leader demonstrated the correct method to plant a banana tree and interestingly enough, one should sever any existing roots from the bulb and avoid direct contact with the soil. The team gathered thatch of all sorts from the areas surrounding the bore hole to line the bottom and sides of the hole with the tightly pressed scrub until the sprig was stable.
Upon inquiry as to the amount of time it would take for the plant (which was no more than twelve inches from the bottom of the bulb to the very top leaf) to produce fruit, the team leader’s answer was a surprising 7 months. We then repeated the process for the second banana tree and finished by planting the lemongrass, which will serve dual purposes of boundary delineation and mosquito deterrence.
Once the planting was complete, we washed up in the bore hole and returned to the area of the village we had started in to rest. After a while, and while waiting for lunch to be served, we introduced some of the woman of the village to Tick Tack Toe, which they quickly learned and seemed enjoy.
The games soon evolved into the Malawian village games of Ntchuwa (a variation of jacks played with rocks), Bawo (Bao), Draft (checkers) and various yard games played with a ball made to tightly wound plastic sacks wrapped with rubber bands. The yard games were similar to our kick ball, dodge ball and tag, at times all rolled into one. The young ladies of the village enthusiastically invited this writer to participate and two facts were quickly made clear: 1) youth departed this body long ago and 2) the ladies are infinitely more skilled at the game than anyone on the Resurrection team could ever hope to achieve.
A community lunch was served, having been expertly prepared by Brenda (Opulence). The menu consisted of rice, nsima, cabbage, beef and chicken. Unlike the lunch yesterday, our team was not provided with spoons and had to employ the local method of pressing the nsima (which is a nearly flavorless starch made of corn flour) into a scoop to gather food from the plate and eat. The chicken was delicious and the beef was phenomenal.
The group size being what it was (roughly 110), portions of meat were small but the generous helpings of rice and nsima more than made up for it. The community was kind enough to allow our team to eat first, then entered the queue in order of community rank. We were fortunate to have enough food for everyone and the Opulence crew was able to give the remainder to a few local youth to take home to their families.
After lunch, the villagers led the Opulence and Resurrection teams to the community football (soccer) field where we broke out a few frisbies we brought with us and watched in delight and amazement how quickly the youngsters took to the sport and gained proficiency in a very short time. A large sound system was belting out, what sounded like, local pop and Reggae music while little boys and girls danced enthusiastically, devoid of any inhibition.
We were blessed with a real treat as the Opulence football team squared off against a combined team of local players in a scrimmage match. The players’ athleticism was on full display as they made dribbling, booting and heading the ball up and down the field seem as effortless as breathing. At least two of the players were shoeless during the friendly but physical match, which the community team rallied to win, two goals to one.
Throughout the match Natalie, Nancy, Gail, Sara, Monica, Lori and Eric entertained and engaged with the omnipresent kids, who always seemed mystified and enthralled by our presence. Any initial reticence quickly morphed into pure enjoyment when the team members played with the kids and offered their hands, arms and hair for them to touch, the children being fascinated when they realized our strange looking skin felt the same as theirs.
Two local babies (one, a little boy named Nestor but the other’s name wasn’t provided) found themselves passed around the group, who did their level best to elicit smiles from the bewildered toddlers. In the cases of both kiddos, the beauty of the interactions came to a crashing end when Eric took possession, causing humor to devolve into curiosity, then to befuddlement and finally alarm, panic and tears. Oh well, the older kids thought Eric was the bees knees.
We were sad to leave this place, tired but with full hearts and expanded friendships. We had, for the most part, all had at least a bit of trepidation going in to the day as we were not entirely sure what challenges we faced. Many of us, though, agreed this has been the most inspiring day of the trip.