Day's Diary

January 2, 2007 ~ Moving into the Culture

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Since arriving in Malawi, I have been staying in Blantyre with a Canadian missionary couple and their two young children, ages 18 months and 3 month, both adopted. They were gracious to offer to host me for these few days while I take care of business in the “big city,” before making the trip to Zomba and getting settled. The idea was that for these first few days, I would take care of banking and internet arrangements, meet with the Synod representatives and Partnership members and make plans for the coming year’s visits to Partnership churches; I would do shopping for things that are not available in Zomba, and become familiar with driving from the right side of the vehicle on the left side of the road. Joel and Rebecca, the Canadians, and some of the partnership folks would be available to help me. This was a wonderful plan, but it was only a plan.

I arrived on Saturday, exhausted from traveling for two days, and so after greetings and gathering my luggage, I came to Canada House to collapse. Sunday was a marathon day of worship and Monday was a holiday, so everything was closed. That meant that everything has to be done on Tuesday and Wednesday. But that is where the alterations to the plan began. Joel and Rebecca are in the process of finalizing the adoption of Maseka, their darling 3 month old little girl. They needed to go to Mzuzu, in northern Malawi for a court appearance on Wednesday. That meant leaving on Monday and making the 8+ hour trip with 2 small children in two days. They graciously left me the house, with a few instructions, and headed north about noon. I was on my own. They took their cell phones (mine was not opened yet) and their house phone has a protective code for calling out, which they forgot to tell about. The other minor wrinkle is that the insurance on my truck expired on Sunday at midnight and must be renewed before I can drive it, another detail to attend to.

I had a quiet afternoon and anticipated a dinner with Synod and Partnership representatives in the evening, planning to make arrangements there for the errands that needed to be run. It has been raining here since early Monday morning. That is a good thing for the crops, but it makes getting around a bit of a challenge, even in the city. The rains have been torrential at times. Several of the folks who had planned to come to the dinner found the rain too great an obstacle and so the turnout was small and the folks who were to assist me were not present, so no arrangements were made for the “running around.”

Now, with no phone access, my plan was to walk to where I needed to go. I have some familiarity with the city and I’m capable of walking, but when I arose this morning it was raining harder than it was last night, if that is possible. But God had his own solution. About 8:30 the phone rang (calls can come in). It was an Irish missionary who had just returned from Holiday and was checking in, much to my blessing. She offered to take me to town and help with the errands. Praise God for willing helpers.

It is amazing how small things can delight you when you are trying to acclimate to a new culture. Something as simple as exchanging your dollars for Kwacha, so you can finally have the correct currency, being able to make a phone call on your own cell phone, and realizing that you can still drive a standard transmission, even from the right side of the vehicle, can make your day. Debbie took me to town and while she did her banking, I made my exchange of currency. It is a simple task. I’ve done it a number of times before, but it felt so good to finally be getting to the job of getting settled in. I could buy the SIM Card I needed for the phone and get the minutes to use for calls. (The system here is a bit different from home. The SIM card is a micro chip that activates the phone number and makes the phone functional. It is a simple process that any 15 year old can do with her eye closed and that is just who did it for me, Debbie’s helpful daughter Emma, and I was up and running.) I was able to call the Synod office and make arrangements for the insurance renewal (for tomorrow). The rain let up a bit and I decided to try shifting gears, at least. So I drove the length of the driveway (about 25 yards) and then backed up, several times. This may not seem like much but it got me behind the wheel and moving and I know I can do it. That is an encouragement for the road tomorrow.

None of these are major events, not of them are “Kingdom building,” but they are first steps in becoming a part of the culture and adapting with it. God provides and friends help. There is no surprise there, just wonderful affirmation.