Day 6 (Thursday September 6th)
So Thursday ended up being busy! We went to the Malingunde Youth Center, which is next to the smaller of the two Malingunde dams, to launch an HIV/Aids training program. The program is for about 80 youths from around 10 churches and the aim is to educate them over the course of three days about HIV/Aids so that they, in turn, can go back to their churches and educate their fellow youths.
Lynn was the official guest of honour and was going to be the one to launch the program. The launch was an hour long and it started with singing a hymn together. After this the foxfire team did a rap that they wrote to the youths followed by a Hiphop dance which the youth loved. Two of the guys, Joshua and Wellington even did a freestyle break-dance!
Pastor Abel Sauti-Phiri gave a message about God's calling for each of us using the story of Moses. He then spoke about his own life and how he always thought he was a christian but then one day God told him, actually, no you're not. Even though Pastor Abel went to church every Sunday and said his prayers every night, he was still lying and living a non-christian life. He then went on to explain how he gave his life to God and how God has been working in his life since. He gave the youth an opportunity re-dedicate their lives to God or to become born again and about half of them stood up. He led them in a prayer confessing their sins and asking God to come into their lives. It was a beautiful prayer and a powerful message.
After this, Enoch explained a bit about the history of African Enterprise (AE) and how it started. He also explained that they believe in not only helping people with their spiritual needs but also providing for their physical needs. This is done through projects such as the Ladies' Sewing Project or the orphan program and providing protected water through boreholes or shallow wells but also by running programs to talk to people about important things that are having an impact on the country like HIV/Aids.
After Enoch spoke, he handed it over to Lynn to give her speech. Lynn was very happy because it was the first time someone had written a speech for her. Mr Samuel Chunga, our journalist, speech-writer, photographer and friend for the week said that it would only be 10 minutes but it ended up being four pages! After her speech was finished Lynn announced the program officially launched. There were some journalists there from the national news station and radio station who wanted to speak to Lynn so I crept away to find some foxfires!
We then had lunch, consisting of Msina (the staple food in Malawi made of maize meal), rice, chicken and some vegetables. One of the foxfire guys told me that I had to eat my food with my hands to get the real taste of it so I did. I ate like a true African this week!
During lunchtime, I had a really good chat with Wellington (the foxfire team leader and my new brother.) He explained to me that he had a really tough upbringing and how he struggled to find the finances for his education. He was raised by his brother because his parents divorced when he was 6. He got into some really bad stuff but then found God and came to know Christ as his personal Saviour. He now has this passions to reach out to the youth of his country. He loves dancing and is an incredible dancer and God has been using this talent, as well as the music and the raps he creates, to reach out to the young people of Malawi. Wellington has really challenged me this week about not being ashamed of talking about God because after all, He is the One who saved my life! I wish that there were people like the foxfires here in Europe to excite the young people of this continent about God! I have definitely found a new friend and a brother in Wellington.
When lunch was over, it was time for us to be tourists for the afternoon! Enoch took us to see the smaller of the two dams first. It was really beautiful and there were so many things going on there. There were women washing their clothes and their children, drying out their maize, men traveling across the dam in dugout canoes and even some women with their buckets or sacks on their heads singing and dancing on their way home! That's what I love about Africans; their natural ability to sing and their ridiculously good sense of rhythm!
If I thought that the smaller dam was beautiful then what was the bigger dam? Absolutely BREATH-TAKING! The bigger Malingunde dam is actually the water supply for the whole of the city of Lilongwe. It's a shame that they aren't making it more accessible or advertising it more for tourists because there is a massive potential for a tourist industry there. Took so many pictures while I was there because I just couldn't believe the amount of natural beauty that is there!
Both Lynn and I wanted to go to the curio market at some point during the week so Enoch took us there after we had been to the dams. Lynn wanted to buy lots of things there to bring over here to sell with the profit going to AE. I wanted to buy some things for myself and some presents. In the end, I bought a bag, two pairs of earrings, hand-made postcards, a painting and a wooden carving of an African map with the big five in it. The crafts that they make there at the market are so beautiful and are worth a lot more than what they sell them for! The wooden carving is easily worth about 20 euros but I got it for 6!
Enoch drove us home so that we could have a shower and get ready to go out for dinner! Lynn had been cooking our dinners all week while I did the dishes so we were both excited to be able to have an evening out for once! We went to a really lovely place called four seasons with Enoch and the board chairman, Rainford. It was really lovely to meet Rainford and Lynn was happy to see him too because they were old friends. Both Enoch and I ordered the pork ribs but when they arrived they were HUGE! My place was literally covered by the ribs and there were only two of them! I think they may have been elephant ribs ...
