July 19th - Sunday at Chamasowa

Our church in MN has had a partnership with the ELCM church in Chamasowa for several years. We have helped fund the church building, the parsonage, a well, a motorcycle, a bicycle and some sewing machines. Our goal for this trip was to determine how we could further our partnership in the years to come. I had heard from Susan and Ellen that we would be warmly welcomed when we arrived in the village, but what occurred was just overwhelming.

The day was cool (winter here) and drizzly. We stopped in one of the many street markets to try to buy umbrellas. We were offered sunglasses, knives and soccer balls, but no umbellas.

We drove through huge Tea Plantations and enterned our first rural road. Remember, I live on a dirt road, but I was not prepared for the Malawi version of rural road. They are about a car width wide in most places and so rutted that we had to stop and put on the 4-wheel drive several times. There are constantly people walking by carrying water, food or goods to sell on their head. The women also often have a baby strapped on their back. Autos have the right of way. I thought that awful at first, but if pedestrians had the right of way, you'd never be able to move - so many are walking.

When we arrived in the village we were greeted by 75 singing, smiling, joyful church members. It took a while to get out of the car, we were mobbed by so many people.