journal entry #2~welcome to africa!

What a welcome we had at the Blantyre airport! Stepping off the plane, I looked up to see people lined up and waving to us excitedly. We waved back before stepping inside and going through customs. Then came the ordeal of collecting our 23 gigantic bags and fending off the many men who wanted to help us load them (for a fee, of course)...It was all somewhat routine until we stepped outside. The night air exploded into song as a group of women from the Blantyre Foursquare Church began to sing, dance, and rejoice at our arrival. I don't know how to convey the feeling that came from seeing their beautiful black faces and their lovely white smiles and hearing our first taste of live African music. My eyes filled as I watched them; the joy and warmth and love was so apparent in them, and after such a long journey it was wonderful to be welcomed that way. Soon I was singing along, clapping and dancing with them, even though the only word I could understand was "Yesu"--Jesus. It was enough. We were singing about the same God and we shared the same love. I was struck with how BIG God is...I go to my little church in California, and I know there are other churches all around it, but to be on the other side of the world and hear the sound of the African people worshipping in their wonderful African style was incredible. I think it was a small taste of what heaven is--people of every tounge and tribe all gettin' down in one spirit...it was more amazing than I can convey here.
Now I'm sitting in my room at the NamiWaWa Lodge in Blantyre, snuggled into my sleeping bag because the linens are dirty. The Nam is much better than I expected it to be after hearing the stories about huge bugs and snakes in the rooms. There are a few bugs creeping about, and the room would be considered disgusting in the U.S., but for Africa standards it's 5 stars. I find it charming and comfortable as I write this, holding my flashlight in one hand for light. Through the window above my head drifts a man's lone voice singing in Chichewa, the occasional rooster's crow, and a whole pack of dogs howling in the distance. It's dark out now, but if I look closely I can see papaya trees rising tall into the clear night sky. I'm in Africa!!!


the namiwawa lodge


papayas at dawn