Blogs from Lilongwe, Central, Malawi, Africa - page 16

A more perfect African meeting place could not be found. It was on the shores of Lake Malawi, the very lake "discovered" by Livingstone 150 years ago, that I found him. Feared lost in the heart of Africa, here he was, immersed in conversation in the Butterfly Lodge. As I walked in, he stopped talking, and met my gaze. He was shorter than I had imagined, and his hair was longer, blonder - but it was definitely the man I was looking for. 'Bobbie Nystrom, I presume?', said I. Well, no, I didn't really, but I did say 'Bobbie?' After months of searching, I had found Nystrom, a man I had never met, but nonetheless, felt I knew like a brother. Years ago - in the mid-80s, in fact - my folks befriended a Swedish family ... read more

Ok, just got to the computer after a week of being out and about only to find out that travelblog.org had a systems crash and lost a ton of entries from a bunch of different users. Apparently I'm one of the unlucky ones. I'll write more about the past week at a later date. I'm going to use this time to try to figure out how to recover what was lost and catch up on e-mails. All in all, everything is fine over here. Hope everyone is well. E-mail me.... read more

As written in the wee hours of last night/early this morning. It's about 1 a.m., and here I sit at the kitchen table having just put away a block of cheddar and crackers. I heard a rooster crow not long ago. I think his watch is a bit fast. The last 2-3 days have been primarily characterized by rumbly tummies for both Katie and myself. It's nothing serious, just an annoyance that keeps you from feeling 100%. I think it is mostly from the drastic dietary change we have undergone since arriving. I really think Mr. Banda has a 50-gallon drum of rice hidden around here somewhere. Along with small potatoes, rice makes up the base for almost every meal. All bread I have encountered so far is white. Starch abounds, but nothing containing fiber seems ... read more

Nobody showed for "T.O.T.S." auditions this morning. Bleh. Anyhoo, some random funny occurences. - I have been hearing this guy wailing a repeated phrase over and over while walking through the streets each morning. I thought I was hearing the morning call to prayer for the mosque. I found out recently that what I have actually been hearing is "Tomatoes! Cabbage! Onions!" - "Azungu" is the Chichewa word for "white." We're getting really familiar with it. The little kids apparently get a really big kick out of us. When we walk by some of the younger classes at Hillside, we'll get a whole chorus of "AZUNGU!" or "MZUNGU!" (Mzungu is plural). This morning we were passing a big group of kids and they started up a chant of "A-zun-gu, A-zun-gu" like they were at a political ... read more

Go grab a copy of "Irresistable Revolution." Seriously, go out right now and grab it. Christianity in Mississippi seems dominated by people who really would affirm that the Bible is the inspired word of God. What if Jesus really meant what He said, then? Really, check out the book. Gregg, order several copies for the bookstore. No, really, go get the book.... read more