July 1st, 2018
Today was a day of worship. We woke up, ate breakfast then drove to Euthini to worship. When we got there, they told us they weren’t having a service today. So we drove into town to get our car fixed. When we went to go pick it up, we thought that they stole it because it was no longer where it was supposed to be. We met some people along the way and then drove to another place to worship.
When we got there, so many people were singing. Then the pastor took us to a room to meet us all since we were visiting hours. Next, we all went outside for Mass. This was a Presbyterian mass which was new for me. It was nice to hear the word of God from a different perspective. Today, there were a few baptisms, one of which was Esther’s the baby from yesterday. Then, a person was instituted into some sort of prayer circle. There was plenty of singing and dancing. We learn songs in both Tumbuka and English. During the mass, Sherard preached and his sermon was translated so that everyone could understand. We were introduced to all and said hi to the crowd “Malimosa”! The mass was completely outside and the views were breathtaking!
After mass, one of the pastors gave me a soda and some cookies. Then we headed home.
We were supposed to meet with the Chiefs, but they never showed up. So instead, I carry water on my head and learned how to wash dishes. Then we went to a soccer game. It was crazy. As we walked up, everyone stared at us because we were visiting. They were also kind. There was a drunk man walking around singing. He was funny.
I got to meet a lot of kids today. The ones in town were shy but we took a wonderful picture with them. At the soccer game, the kids stood so close to us. We tried to talk to them and they tried to talk to us. The soccer players here are very good. We sung the kids there a song. They laughed when we walked home.
We help one of the students Paso, make dinner. I cut an onion and learn more about the Malawian life and her life. She is studying Humanities, but wants to go back to school for business or accounting. She asked about the US. And I told her that I would rather live here. We talked about a lot, but one thing that she said one thing that’s stood out to me was how in Malawi teenagers usually don’t drive-it is either too expensive or they just don’t need to. She said that most people don’t drive until they are 40.
After I ate dinner, I went to bed. Tomorrow, we get to visit the school and meet more kids!
-Anna Rago