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Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 9
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August 30th 2011
Food diesel and soft drink shortages, riots and political unrest, Water issues and power cuts. Every day is a challenge; every problem is met with a smile. This is Malawi. Nothing surprises Malawians anymore, they battle on each day. Described as Africa for beginners, Malawi truly is the warm heart of Africa. Arriving at a chaotic bus station and waiting 3 hours for a 4 hour bus journey will test anyone’s patients, but witnessing Africans singing together during an uncomfortable bus journey provides a rollercoaster of emotion. Being the only white face in town attracts a lot of attention. Walking less than 10 minutes between inquisitive conversations is overwhelming, dealing with bus passengers taking it in turn to sit with you and chat is both monotonous and tiring. One minute you find yourself laughing with the ... read more
August 28th 2011
It’s the village cup final and MK60,000 is at stake. Everyone is excited as hundreds arrive in Cape McClear. It’s the biggest event of the year, and a real honor to be invited by the local village chief. The referee draws a line in the dust representing the half-way point while the entire village descends on the dusty landscape forming the human sideline of a football pitch. While the goal posts are made of bamboo, the lines men are armed with sticks to beat back the crowd in an effort to maintain the lines as the drama unfolds. As the start whistle is blown, supporters from both sides begin to sing and dance. During each tackle plumes of dust are thrown into the atmosphere while a fast game of football and skill unfolds. Neither side takes ... read more
August 27th 2011
What is the best gift that you would be willing to give? Would you give "the shirt off your back" if someone needed clothing? Christians certainly ought to be the folks in this world who willingly assist others "as we have opportunity," and such generosity ought to be extended "toward all men" (Galatians 6:10). But let's challenge our thinking. In ascending order we ask: "Would I give away my wrist watch, my kitchen table, my vehicle, my house..?" However, all these physical items will degenerate over time. The greatest gift we can possibly offer is - Telling someone how to be saved! Can you think of any greater gift?! Read 1 Timothy 4:8. When someone becomes a forgiven, godly person, there are blessings in this life and in the life to come. We generally seem adept ... read more
Malawi - The Warm Heart of Africa, Part 1
Published: August 23rd 2011Africa » Malawi » Central » Lilongwe
August 23rd 2011
Back in 2006, the six Jensens spent the month of May in Malawi. We had been duly warned that Africa might "get into your blood." We had been considering a move to a foreign mission field for quite some time and the time spent with Ed and Lina Crookshank helped propel our decision to work in East Africa. Doors seemed to open smoothly for us to move to Tanzania in April of 2007. Again in 2009, Ed requested my help in teaching for a month. Jacob and I flew from the Kilimanjaro airport to Lilongwe, where we taught for the month of August. Now, two years later, the Crookshanks requested that I teach personal evangelism to the usual five locations. We chose to teach for only two weeks on this occasion, largely due to the fact ... read more
July 29th 2011
Dear All Greetings from Blantyre, in the south of Malawi – not the capital, but definitely the biggest commercial centre of the country. Right now I feel slap bang in the lap of luxury, as although the last few days have been just unspeakably amazing (more on that later), it feels great to be back in a bit of civilization – great restaurants, a lovely carpeted hotel with hot (running) water, and an Internet café that works at the speed of lightning – sheer bliss! But wow – what an amazing few days – I’m struggling to find superlatives in order to be able to describe them accurately enough – hope the pictures attached will provide a thousand words each. Last I wrote I was using a painfully slow computer with painfully slow connection, but in ... read more
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July 24th 2011
Dear All Greetings from Lake Malawi! What a beautiful place, and a far cry from either the blandness or chaotic riots of the capital. Apologies for taking time since my last entry – this has not been down to any social movements getting out of hand, but rather the lack of Internet places along the route to where I am now. But what a relief- since my last entry, things seem to have calmed down hugely on the Malawian city streets, and I’m in pretty much rural areas where most people don’t really know what’s going on in the urbanised world anyway. Currently writing from a beautiful bay on the southern shore of Lake Malawi, called Cape MacClear –absolutely stunning, like a snapshot of the Caribbean but with fresh water and not salt. I believe I ... read more
July 23rd 2011
Thursday, 21 July. We literally ran out of the office at 1pm, after Charles heard that government supporters may be on their way to CELA. Nandi, who lives near me, walked us a back way that added over 20 minutes to our trip, having heard that there were rioters on our normal route. The streets were eerily quiet, and we saw a police truck on the main road, full of cops, as we cut through a school. I arrived home at 2pm, just as the girls prepared to leave to take food to Isaac. I asked if they thought it would help if I went with them, and they said yes. With no minibuses running, we had to hitchhike and were picked up by a World Vision car. As we walked into the police station, Thoko ... read more
July 21st 2011
*When I wrote this next section in my journal, it took up 11 pages. I’ll spare you all the details and focus on the bigger events. I’m also leaving out most personal thoughts/impressions as this is a public blog and the situation is still unfolding. Also, I assure you I am not being at all dramatic when I say that I need to protect certain people, so I’ve not used their names.* As we walked down the main street, we came to a police roadblock of sorts. There were rocks in the street and officers wearing orange vests stood in the middle of the road. A bystander mentioned that someone in town had been shot. Though we weren’t sure if he was right, as there had been no earlier word of violence, we saw police move ... read more
Eyewitness to Police Brutality (Part III)
Published: July 23rd 2011Africa » Malawi » Central » LilongweJuly 21st 2011
As we sat there waiting for Isaac, a police truck pulled into the station. Cops with guns and clubs rush out of the bed of the truck then turn around as they yell at the civilians inside. As the detainees exited, the officers started to beat them with clubs. They lined people up and, no lie, spanked them. As they pushed them toward the holding cell area, they continued to hit them. We could hear what sounded like people being beaten from inside the holding cells. Two more such trucks came in, though each had progressively fewer civilians, which thankfully also meant that the beatings were less severe. When more people were brought into the holding cell area, there were cheers, which we interpreted as cheers of comradely. The officer comes back to ask Dave to ... read more
July 21st 2011
Well, it’s morning, and I highly doubt that happened. Someone from a’mai’s organization was sent to find Isaac, but we don’t think he made it, as things have started up again. As Dave put it via text, “We don’t know if he made it because it got rough downtown again.” A colleague came into my office about 30 minutes ago saying we had to get out of here. She hadn’t talked to the boss yet, but her brother called to say that the police were shooting at people walking to their shops downtown, which has caused a lot of anger, so protesters are heading toward City Center (where government buildings are). Our office is in a residential neighborhood next to City Center. He says it’s getting bad out there. Dave and the others are heading out ... read more
