Monday was my last full day in Lichinga. I made one of the bathroom counters and put the second coat of varnish on the kitchen counter. Monday evening the Wilcox's had me over for supper. Peter also wrote up a letter of invitation for me so that I can hopefully apply for my three month visa at the Mozambiquian Embassy in Malawi.
Tuesday morning Jesse drove me into town to catch a mini bus so that I could get to Metangula to catch the boat to Malawi. I think it was too mini for all twenty of us in there. I was quite comfortable thankfully for the two hour ride. I was surprised by how fast we went most of the time we were going 120km to 140km and a lot of the time the speed limit was 60km speed limits are just suggestions I guess. I got into Metangula at 8:30am and the boat didn't come till 1:30 so I had several hours there. I sat in front of the immigration office for a couple hours. There was a man that works for customs and he spoke English so he and I chatted for a while. Then he let me put my bag in one of their rooms so that I could walk around town for a while. I had a good time there are a lot of Malawians there so there were many people that spoke English. I needed some lunch so I found this guy frying fish and French fries at the side of the road. The French fries were really good and the fish was too but it was quite small so it was had to separate the meat from the bones.
Ilala (The name of the boat) arrived then they have to small boats they let down of the sides and they come to the beach and we got in and then they took us out to the boat When I first got on the boat I went to the upper deck that is first class to see what is was like. It wasn't all that great just a deck and you can rent a mattress if you want. There were four Europeans up there two guys and two girls. We exchanged greetings and I asked them a little about the ship and what was the best class to stay in. They said first class but I choose second because it was quite a bit cheaper. I asked them why they were in Malawi, they said to drink beer and then said that they were traveling. I at first was thinking about staying up there with them but they were just sitting there drinking playing cards and the conversation wasn't the best so with everything considered I moved to second class where they have padded seats and tables no beds.
Before getting on the boat I had met a Malawian named Edward and I had no idea that this was to be a God appointment for the two of us. After I put my bag in second class I walked out to the bow of the boat and there was Edward leaning against the side. He called me by name and I was a little startled to hear someone call my name till I saw who it was. I leaned against the side with him and we chatted a bit. He asked how Canada is different from some African countries. I thought where do I start I said life is much simpler here but I said many people in Canada want so much stuff that they have got themselves into a lot of debt and that the country wasn't doing well economically. I said so many people are looking for happiness in things but I said there is only one person who can do that. He said "Who is that." I said "Jesus." He laughed and said that it was true. I got to share my testimony with him and share that Jesus wants us to enter into a relationship with him and He wants to live in us. He said that he had accepted Jesus in 2002 but he wasn't sure that he would be in Heaven. He had lots of questions for me like, will there only be 144,000 people in Heaven you know what group he was talking to that told him that, then he wanted to know if we as Christians were going to go to Heaven or if God was going to make the earth paradise, should we worship Mary because she is the mother of Jesus, should we celebrate Christmas, Easter or even our own birthdays and will everyone see Jesus when He returns or only the Christians? I told him, I don't know how many times but I told him, we must always go back to what scripture says and see if what we have been told agrees with scripture and if not stick with the word of God. I tried to show him scriptures that relate to each topic he asked about and we had such a good time together; it was defiantly a God thing. Please pray for Edward that he would continue to seek out his answers from the word of God.
While sitting there in second class I met two other people and they will be traveling around several different southern countries for four months. She was from Ireland and he was from Australia. They were very nice and we talked quite a bit about our different experiences. They also watched my things for me so that I could go and wonder around the boat and take pictures and things.
Supper time came around and I bought some food. They gave me two big helpings of sima (the stuff much like mashed potatoes made from corn flour) and some beans and a little meat in a sauce. It was a lot of food for about $4.00. It was very good but I just couldn't eat it all.
Shortly after 6 the sun went down so by 8 I was ready to try and get some sleep. I tried to sleep on the padded benches in second class but they are quite narrow and it is an enclosed area and it was quite hot and I was doing a lot more sweating then sleeping so I went out on the deck and tried to sleep on a wooden bench out there were there was a nice breeze. The bench was a bit hard but I think I slept a little.
At 5am Wednesday morning the captain came over the PA and announced that we were at Chipoka which was my getting off point. We got in much sooner then was expected. Mat and Heni weren't expecting me till 9 or 10 am and I got off the boat at 5:30. I waited for a while and then started walking for a bit. I borrowed someone's sim card and put it in my phone and tried to send a text to Mat, but it seemed his phone wasn't working. There were guys riding around on bicycles more then willing to take me where I needed to go. They all seemed to know where Teen Missions was so I got on the back of one big and put my bags on the back of another and they took me the 4km to the Teen Missions base. I showed up at Mat and Heni's door at about 8:30. They had been told the boat hadn't come yet. It was fine I enjoyed the experience of getting to ride on the back of a bike in Malawi.
Mat made me some toast and eggs for breakfast and while I ate they brought me up to speed on the plans for the next couple of weeks. There are a few work projects here that Mat has that he would like if I could help out with. They have also booked a safari for Friday and Saturday. There will be a group of us going, some of the Bible school students and a few other volunteers. I am really looking forward to this. Mat and Heni were saying that they have been waiting and wanting me to come for a few years and now finally the Lord has open the door and I am here. This morning Mat drove me into Selima to get my entry stamp and visa into Malawi because there was no place to do it when I got off the boat. We ran a few other errands as well and got back here mid afternoon.
I have a nice room with four beds, but I think I will only use one and my own shower and toilet with running water, ya that is exciting well maybe not to you but to me.
Thursday I spent most of the day working on the garden house. It is a house they have made with a concrete roof and they will put about a foot of dirt on the roof and grow vegetables up there. I was working inside finishing bricking some walls up to the ceiling and putting in two door frames and poured a concrete lintel over one of them. I ran out of bricks so I wasn't able to finish. I finished out the day working on a rabbit hutch.
We Friday morning on a two day safari, I am so excited about it. I will try to post some pictures when we get back. Well I think this is good enough for now. Sorry I didn't have time to make it shorter.
In Christ,
Andrew
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