Day's Diary

July 13, 2007 ~ The Cottage

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One of the blessings of living in Zomba is the ease of access to the Zomba plateau and its vista of the area below. This is easily viewed from the cottage that the CCAP owns that is beautifully situated near the top of the mountain with a picture window open to this magnificent view. It is the perfect place to have visitors stay for a night or a week. But it is a popular place, so reservations must be made early. Silas was able to reserve the cottage for one night, Tuesday, for the group of five visiting us from Crestview Church, Beaver/Butler Presbytery. We were excited for them to have this opportunity.

Tuesday Silas had a funeral to attend to at Chiphoola Church, so after their morning activities, the group came to my house for lunch and then I was to take them up to the cottage. Charles and Alinefa had helped me shop in the morning, getting all the food the group would need for dinner and breakfast on the mountain. We had hired a cook who would come at 3:00 p.m. to accompany us to the cottage. Charles and Alinafe helped me prepare lunch, teasing me that it looked like I was preparing for an army, when in fact only five people were coming. I said I hate to run out of food. Before the group arrived, Amos, the carver, arrived with two helpers to set up a display on the front porch for the visitors. The group arrived with Willie, the driver of the mini bus we had hired to transport them. Then Takuzi Chitsulo stopped in to see his friends from the States. Altogether we had 16 for lunch. There was enough food, and lots of conversation and fun. (This is normal multiplication of guests in Malawi.) About 3:00 p.m. we headed up the mountain for the cottage, Willie driving the mini bus and me following in the truck with their luggage, all of the groceries and Charles and family, since they had never been to the plateau and this was their chance to experience it.

Peter, the caretaker of the cottage, greeted us and escorted the visitors to their rooms. The cottage has three bedrooms and sleeps eight, so there was plenty of room. After they enjoyed the view for awhile and had time to get settled, we got back in the vehicles and headed to another vantage point known as the Queen’s View. It is a bit higher elevation than the cottage and offers a slightly different view that is well worth seeing. As we drove down the lane from the cottage, we passed two vehicles headed in. I recognized Dr. Martin Poe from South Africa as one of the drivers. I didn’t think much about it, since many folks come to see the view from the cottage. We enjoyed the Queen’s View. Since it was getting late, I asked the group if they would mind if I didn’t come back to the cottage with them but just headed home, to be off the mountain before dark. The road is narrow and winding and not my favorite after-dark drive. They said no, they wouldn’t, so when we returned to the tarmac from the dirt path to the Queen’s View, I headed down and they went up to the cottage.

It takes about half an hour to drive down to Zomba from the plateau, so it was dark when we returned to the house. We weren’t in the house five minutes when Silas appeared at the front door, looking irritated. He reported that he had received a call from Peter at the cottage, that there was some confusion and it looked as if the cottage had been double booked, again. Martin Poe had 13 people with him from South Africa and they had booked the cottage for the same night as our group of five. Silas was upset because this was the third time this had happened in the last month. And there was no way that 13 people could stay in the cottage. We were going to have to go up and get this straightened out – I say we because Silas is ultimately responsible for the cottage and his truck was not working, so I had to provide the transportation. He said that on the way up we would stop at the Fishery and make arrangements for Martin’s group at the cottages they have there that could easily accommodate 13 people. So off we went, Silas driving, since it was after dark and he was in a hurry.

The Fishery, which is about three kilometers from the cottage, has a lodging area around fish ponds. They said they could easily manage 13, but they had no dining or cooking facilities. I knew how much food I had purchased for our group’s meals, so that should not be a problem — the two groups could eat together. When we got to the cottage, both groups were sitting in the living room talking and Justin, the cook, was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Martin, Silas and I stepped out into the hallway to sort this all of out. We explained what we had done, but Martin was unwilling to move out. He said his folks had already moved their things in and they were settled. When Silas pointed out that there were only eight beds, he said the others were prepared to sleep on mats on the floor. He was not yielding and suggested that our group go to the Fishery. I said to Silas that without cooking facilities at the Fishery, they may as well come down the mountain and stay with us in Zomba. I could house three, Silas could house two and Justin could prepare the food at my place. He agreed, so we gave instructions to Peter to load the luggage in my truck while we gathered the food, Justin and our guests. We explained to the groups what had been decided and everyone seemed willing. After prayer with their new friends, we loaded our group in the mini bus. Silas led the way in my truck and we headed to my house to finish preparing dinner and get settled for the night.

When we arrived at ZTC, we discovered that the electrical power was out. This is part of the “power sharing” in Malawi. You never know when you will lose power or for how long. I went into the house, lit candles and then went to ask Ella if we could use her charcoal cooker to prepare dinner for the group. She willingly agreed. While she prepared the charcoal, we unloaded the food and luggage in the ambiance of candle light and settled in the living room for conversation while Justin finished dinner. This was a bit of a challenge for Justin, since my kitchen is not as well equipped for group cooking as is the cottage and he doesn’t know my kitchen; dealing in the dark was taking time. About an hour into the preparations the power came back on. Justin could see better and work faster. It was 8:45 p.m. and people were getting hungry.  At 9:30 p.m. we finally sat down to eat. The meal was delicious and regardless of the hour, there was good conversation and lots of laughter. About 10:30 p.m. Silas and his two guests left and my guests settled in for more conversation. Close to midnight I suggested that maybe it was time for bed since dawn is early in Malawi.

At 6:00 a.m. Justin arrived to begin breakfast for the group. Silas, Margaret, Sipo and their two guests arrived for breakfast around 7:00 a.m. and the fellowship picked up where it had left off the night before. No one seemed to mind that instead of the breathtaking view of the Zomba valley out the front window of the cottage, they had the plain vista of my yard and the dirt road in front of my house. They decided they had seen the view and that was enough. They had the fellowship and that was worth a great deal, so they were content. I was grateful for their willing spirits. The time at the cottage hadn’t been what we had planned for them, but this is Malawi and things don’t’ always go as planned. In fact, they seldom do!  Knowing that and adjusting to it is part of the secret of joyful living in Malawi.