Day's Diary

Febraury 22, 2007 ~ Communication

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The communication system in Malawi is very effective. Yes, the cell phone has helped. Even folks in villages that have no electricity can have cell phones because of booths near the villages that offer “batteries recharged,” for a small fee. It is a thriving small business in many areas. But there is communication beyond the cell phone, a communication that cell phones only assist. Malawians understand networking and communication through networks in the most sophisticated sense. All information is public information because communication is really about community here. There are examples of this every day.

When someone dies, there are no obituary notices to alert the individual’s friends and family. There is the network of communication. Word of mouth, to key people in each community gets the news out far and wide. In the past week two members of staff have lost loved ones and it was amazing to watch how quickly and effectively the details of the funeral were communicated, arrangements were made and the needs of the family were met, without any public announcement. The community network took care of everything.

This carries into all areas of life. On Saturday, I got a phone call from Anderson Kamwendo, the chair of the partnership committee here, confirming arrangements for the next day to go to the Ntcheu congregation. He said that he had spoken with the partnership committee chair there and they were expecting me. Then he said the chair was hoping that their student from ZTC would be able to come with me. I said I didn’t know who that was or I would have invited him. Not ten minutes later there was a knock at my front door and there stood two of my second year students. One identified himself as from Ntcheu and asked that if I were going there on Sunday, might he go along. I said yes, certainly, if he did not have obligations at a church as part of his school assignment. He assured me that he did not and that he would be ready at 5:30 a.m., when I planned to leave. Sunday morning at 5:25 a.m., four students stood waiting at my gate. The student, Mr. Acid, asked if they might all come, since none of them had church assignments. Since I had room in the truck, and they were already there, I said yes, of course. So off we went. We had a wonderful time. Mr. Acid got to see his family and the other 3 students got to experience his congregation and a partnership committee meeting. We talked a great deal on the traveling about school and church and life in Malawi. One of the things we discussed, following a comment in the partnership meeting, was the type of music used in worship. The discussion was lively. I shared with them about some of the music that is used in some of the churches in the US and how it is being integrated into blended and contemporary worship services.

The next morning, there were three students waiting to talk to me after class about my preaching schedule for the next month and their eagerness to travel with me. One heard I was going to Balaka and that is her home congregation, and the others came on behalf of several more students who would like to “learn from traveling,” as they had heard about it from my four companions on Sunday. As close as I can tell, there are about 26 who want to go at some time during the year. The network of information is effective.

Monday afternoon a student came to my gate to tell me that he had some ideas for music for the Day of Spiritual Reflection that I am leading March 9th. He is the choir song leader and had been talking to one of the students from the Sunday outing about worship and praise music. Tuesday afternoon a group met to practice as a “praise team” for the Day of Spiritual Reflection. This has all been communicated through this effective network.

Wednesday as I was going to a class, a third year student stopped me to ask about the praise songs for the Day of Spiritual Reflection. As I questioned him about his interest, I quickly assessed that he was concerned about this. Pressing him a bit, I found out that he had been the song leader last year and had passed the responsibility along and he was concerned that this group might offend the administration. He had come to talk to the “radical American” to protect his young friends. I assured him that I had full authority to do music as I deemed appropriate for the Day of Spiritual Reflection, and there would be no problem with the administration. He then asked if he could join the group. Community was at work here in all this communication.

This is understandable on a small campus. But the networking goes beyond the campus. Vendors come to my door daily. The number is growing because the word is spreading that there is a new mzungu living at ZTC. Many begin their “sales pitch” with, “Abusa, I know you are a pastor from America and …..” Now, I don’t know them, but they certainly know about me. Word has spread and continues to spread. One of the vendors comes regularly to see what I might need. He makes certain he gets to me first, before any of the others come. He came the other day with a request for help with expenses for a family member’s funeral. He was quick to say that if I were able to help him, he promised not to tell anyone. Just as I suspected, there is an information pipeline among the vendors. They have their own community of communication.

While for an American who values her privacy, having folks know all about my comings and goings can be a bit unnerving, there is also a sense of care and comfort in being part of the community network. I’m learning a great deal about the breadth of communication in community.