Sunday 6 October
Another uplifting action packed day: 2 masses lasting 2 hours each, a tour of Mzuzu, a trip out to a village, called Jojo, right out in the bush.
"
Today has been the
most eventful day that I have experienced in Africa
so far, also equally as rewarding as the trip to the orphanage centre. The day started at 6am
as I woke up to the sound of the bell to let people know about church. We
attended two masses-an English speaking mass first then a Chitumbuka speaking.
I was taken aback by the way that the men sit separately from the women and
that they start dancing and singing all together during every hymn, which I
have never experienced at my local parish in Scotland. Later on we went to the
market place in downtown Mzuzu which is a complete shock to my system as a
westerner. It is an extremely run down tight market place where people are
constantly shouting at you asking you to buy things, as we casually walk past 6
or 7 chickens in lots of different cages. Then we visited a local village which
is about half an hour from our home on bumpy typically African style roads.
This was the most fulfilling moment as I was given a chance to play with the
Malawian children away from the city that otherwise would not have had a chance
to see a white person ever in their lives. The children instantly took to us
and they were laughing and joking and scrambling in for pictures. I extremely
enjoyed giving the children and adults the balloons and lollypops and my
particular favourite was giving a ball to the group of boys and the group of
girls. The funniest part of the night for me was as we were leaving the
village, the leader of the village walked up to us and gave Mr Mcguigan a live
chicken, which Ms Henderson had to hold all the way home during which it
flapped and squawked giving everyone a massive heart attack.
So far Malawi
has been a breathtaking experience, I have never experienced people as warm as
the Malawians as they always look for handshakes and always shout ‘you are most
welcome to Malawi’.
I have loved every minute of it and the memories that I have gained throughout
my time in Malawi
will stay with me forever. "
Ewan Grant
"I am having a great time in Malawi so far. The people
are so warm and welcoming. The masses this morning were certainly interesting with
a seven o’clock start everyone was up dancing and singing. The first mass was
in English lasting an hour with a short break for breakfast then back down to
the church for a 2 hours mass in chitumbuka which was filled with lots of
dancing and signing. My highlight of the trip so far has been the visit to the
traditional Malawian village today. From the moment we arrived they had us
involved in their tasks such as grinding the maize, making shovels by hand, and
collecting the water from the spring down in the valley below the village
(which Mr McGuigan done especially well). After we gave gifts to the villagers they
returned the generosity by presenting us with a live chicken !!! Much to
Heather and Miss Henderson’s dismay so much so that Miss Henderson sat with the
chicken on her knee the whole way back. I am looking forward to meeting all the
pupils at the various secondary and primary schools around St Peters tomorrow."
Tom Cochrane
Wow - it all looks amazing! Soak up the experience. Sophie I have managed to get next week off so airport no prob x
ReplyDeleteYou all look as if you are having a fantastic time....each experience seems better than the one before. Enjoy every minute and savour each new memory!!! Miss you lots but so happy you are enjoying it xxx
ReplyDeleteGlad to see Tom working!!!! You are all so lucky , enjoy and savour every moment , you'll be home before you know it( thankfully)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant pictures! I have made Malawi the focus of our daily reflections this week in St. Matthew's, so that you are in our thoughts and prayers each day. One question, did Mr McGuigan have any chips with his chicken supper?
ReplyDeleteWhat a pleasure and joy to see your pictures and read your blogs. So proud of each and every one of you and I feel like I have 7 kids out there and not just Ewan. Savour every moment. Can't wait to hear all about it. Take care xx
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