Malawi is about a third of Zambia's size but has twice the population (14,000,000), making for a very congested country! Malawi according to GDP is considered the second poorest country in the world. The people of northern Malawi speak Timbuktu. One of our group members, pastor Ta's full first name is Taunga which ironically means "Thank-you"in Timbuktu...talk about a "natural in" with the people!
The mission base we spent two nights at is just getting established and therefore had no accommodations other than large tents on the beach of the lake which set up some beautiful views (pictures are attached below).
While we were in Malawi we attended a traditional African church which had mostly women and children in attendance. The music was fantastic! Pastor Ta was asked to speak at the service through an interpreter and did a great job! After the service we walked through the village, met the headman, and got to see how the village processed fish that were caught.
It was very windy both days we were in Malawi so we did not get to witness the men coming in from fishing, which apparently is quite a site. The men use hollowed out tree trunks for canoes and generally set their nets in groups of three each night. Two canoes are used to secure each end of the net while the third canoe uses a lantern to spot and attract fish. Once spotted the two net canoes cast the net and drag it through the fish. When the men have a great catch they return to shore, often in the dark of the early morning, and bang their paddles on the canoes to signal the woman of the village to come down and retrieve the fish.
Malawi is known as "The warm heart of Africa" and certainly our experience with the people in the north of the country would seem to support that claim!
On Monday morning we will be leaving the lake at 6:00 and starting our 12 hour journey to southern Malawi, and the town of Dedza. Tuesday we will be visiting the people from"Hands At Work", who the students at LCHS have partnered with.
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