T-26 days The day began with Thom’s lovely wife, Mercy, cooking us a late breakfast. We lazily rose and fed while planning out the day’s events. The plan was originally to go to Zomba to take care of some business there before heading to Mulanje. The program was shifted to going to MJ first, for various reasons, so we started off after our meal. On our way, we stopped at a shop and exited the minibus. Sitting on a ledge was a typical-to-Malawi plastic container, which I have come to regard with a certain degree of skepticism. Sometimes, you find beef or chicken, edible by my adjusted African health standards, but what was inside this particular purple vessel was neither beef nor chicken. Cow hooves, though, were numerously crammed into the small space. This glutinous, gelatin-jiggling dish was enough to make my strong stomach turn over. I’ve drawn the line before and was not afraid to say no to this offer. Amidst my adverse reaction to this, I spotted Charles driving, coincidentally stopping by the roadside to pick up airtime for his phone. He saw us and pulled over next to the minibus for a quick chat. After catching up, Sam realized that if Hanneck and I caught a ride with Charles back to MJ, it would free him up to go to Zomba in good time. So we proceeded with Charles back to MJ. This serendipitous occasion allowed us to catch up and reflect a bit on the entire experience, discuss the future and who is coming next, and dive into how everything has changed so greatly in the church and community since we began this journey back in September. We reviewed the numerous events relating to his political activities, how special it was to appear on the platform, just feet from a potential head of state. My time here has been colored by these unique experiences I have shared in. There has been good, bad, unbelievable, and inspirational. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way. We returned to MJ in good time and spirits to find Steve and Alex relaxing in the living room. We visited for a short while before sharing a meal together. After dinner we laid low and watched a movie. Steve and I intended to get to bed in good time but happened to stay up very late caught in conversation about the next few weeks and everything that is going to happen. We touched on who we would miss most from here and how the goodbyes will play out. Inevitably, when some of our little ones cry, that is when we both predicted a cascading waterfall of tears to come from the American side of the hug. We discussed who out of our friends would do well living in Malawi, and who would not. We simply found ourselves going through and analyzing life through our eyes, which has been a key in sustaining sanity and happiness here. I am happy to have been able to spend the time I have with Steve here and it will be certainly be a bit strange to not be with each other whence we finally return home. We also agree that we must find a way to take Aubrey, our house boy, home with us. He has been such a great help for us and we will miss him as well. After the lengthy conversation ended, it was quite late and we headed to a much needed restful night of sleep.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:37:03 +0000
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