A Day with Maggie

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Before bed the other night I made sure Maggie was still up for going to church together and then going to visit her mom.  She said it would depend if she woke up in time for the 8:00 AM mass about a 15 minute walk from the guesthouse.

This morning I woke up early, showered, got dressed, and headed to the kitchen to grab breakfast and wait for Maggie.  She was all dressed and ready to go.  We set off for mass.  It was not a Catholic mass but it was worth the experience.  The Catholic mass is located at a church in town but is at 6:00 AM so it is not very ideal, especially when I wake up early during the week and just want to use my weekends to sleep in.  I know I will get to the Catholic mass soon, I just don't know when that weekend will be.

The mass with Maggie was very different than one you would go to in your local town.  Women sat on the right hand side and men on the left.  Maggie sat with me on the left.  The first hour consisted of the Pastor speaking about God and different ways he appears in our lives.  It was not a mellow homily, it was filled with the crowd chanting "yes," "alleluia," and "amen!"  The Pastor did not speak his words of wisdom softly, but screamed them into the microphone.  My ears were ringing!

Following his long speech a group of men and women went up on the alter, grabbed microphones and began singing some great music.  The Pastor grabbed his microphone and began asking people who were mourning come forward, people who have felt rejected, people who have sinned, and one by one people left their pews to rejoice and have the pastor touch their heads as the singing continued.  A group of women in the front began crying hysterically and I was very confused.  They were cooing and screaming at the top of their lungs for about twenty minutes.  They began moving in circles and one bumped into one of the others crying and she just fell to the floor.  They were then escorted out of the church by the ushers.  I asked Maggie following mass what was going on and she said, "they were crying because they were cursed by demons."

Before the end of mass they asked all new visitors to stand.  I was the only "mzungu" at mass and only new person so I stood alone as they all clapped for me, welcoming me.  They wanted me to meet with the church secretary after mass, but Maggie said we could skip that.

Following, Maggie and I went to the market and picked up some pumpkin leaves, ground nuts, sugar, cooking oil, hand soap, and salt.  I paid and we then ventured to the bus station where we would catch the next trip to her mothers district.  While waiting on the bus Maggie saw one of her parishioners and told her how the Pastor was looking for me after mass.  She said I would be back next week for introductions!  I don't know about that…

Kasungu Market

I had a mis understanding from one of my previous posts, Maggie's mom lived 65 minutes away not 10 km.  Once we arrived at the bus stop we then took a 30 minute bike taxi on dirt/sand roads to get to her village.  As we ventured down the road we passed churches filled with song, it was so relaxing!  The area had much thicker vegetation, so at times I felt like I was biking through the jungle!

We arrived at her mother's house.  It was a quiet area very far from the main road.  The children were expecting us so as soon as we arrived they took my backpack, Maggie's purse, the groceries from the market, and carried it inside the house.  Maggie grew up here and I soon learned her aunt and uncle lived next door, her sister down the road, and a few other family members.  Most of the children were either cousins or nieces or nephews.  Maggie's mom, Beatrice, came out of the house and immediately welcomed me with open arms.  She thanked me for being so kind to visit and and was so glad so see Maggie.  Maggie had not been back to the village in over a year and had not seen her sister or aunts and uncles so it was very nice to see her so happy to see everyone.

Beatrice's House

I remembered I purchased a few lolly pops at the market and knew I had just enough for the eight children that were waiting on the porch just listening to Maggie translate as I spoke with her and her mother.  They were so happy for the pops, they all said "zicomo!" (Thank you)

Maggie went into the kitchen to prepare lunch with her mom.  I asked her if she could tell the children to show me their village while she had some alone time with her.  The children brought me everywhere!  The village relied on the sale of tobacco as a major source of income, so their were tobacco drying huts scattered throughout.  The oldest boy spoke some english so he was able to point out who were his siblings and where each lived.  They showed me their families maize reserve and tobacco that was waiting to be picked up for auction.  They showed me their chickens, pigs, goats, gardens, and soccer balls.  The soccer balls are constructed by the children!  They are about three times smaller!  They children collect plastic bags along the road and wrap them together to make a ball shape.  They then surround all the bags with one bag and heat the outside melting it.  We kicked it around for a bit and following they then brought me further down the road to their school and also to a pack of more than 200 watching a local soccer match.  Everyone was speaking things to me in Chichewa but I carried on as I had no idea what they were saying!

Malawi Soccer Ball

Maize Reserve

Tobacco Ready for Auction

We then went back to Beatrice's house where her and Maggie and a few others were around back.  I met her uncle and aunt, sister and brother in law, and neighbors.  Maggie was tending a fire in the outdoor hut where she was preparing our lunch.  We were having nsima, which is a doughy white flour with our cooked pumpkin leaves mixed with tomatoes and ground nuts!  We sat down and ate.  I was starving and loved every bit of it!

Nsima and Pumpkin Leaves

Maggie and I

We then had to pack up.  We needed to get back to the guesthouse by 5 PM before dusk!  Maggie's aunt, sister, and mother decided to walk back to the main road with us where the bus would stop to head back into Kasungu.  I thought we would be taking bike taxis back but because it was so rural, the taxis were not readily available this far from the main road.  One the walk Beatrice stopped at her friends houses along the way and introduced me to all of them.  I met more than five families!  Along the way we passed children on a spin wheel that I thought was a play ground.  Maggie explained it was a water well!  They turned it into a toy, allowing children to sit and spin, pumping water to the spout so their families could fill up.  I hopped on for a ride too!

Maggie, Her Mother, & Sister

Water Well

We parted and said out goodbyes.  I wish I had brought along my notebooks for the children!  Maybe I will venture back again with Maggie.  

I arrived at the guesthouse just in time for a shower and great dinner.  We welcomed Pryia from the MicroLoan UK offices last night!  Looking forward to welcoming two more in the coming weeks!

Busy week ahead!

Jimmy