Senga Bay observations April 10, 2009

I must admit that living on Lake Malawi is quite the gravy train (although those aren’t quite the words Laurie would use to describe it). We now have a vehicle, hot water, a stove and a house that’s bigger than ours in the States (not to mention that our bedroom reminds me of Hawaii as we enjoy the strong wind from the lake and the sound of waves crashing against the shore all night). Lake Malawi is often referred to as the most beautiful lake in Africa, and I would estimate that the same property we’re living on here would be worth around $5 million on Lake Washington. As I write this, a few American guys from San Diego in their 20s who started a business in Zambia called Zambikes, along with some of their employees and a few other Peace Corps workers, are staying at the cottages for Easter weekend.

I certainly do miss the relationships with the good men of Sports Outreach in Uganda, but our task here is just as worthy as we help pave the way for a school which, Lord willing, will be operational in just a few months. Honestly, the work is not at all hard. The physical labor for the two buildings being constructed—one a school, the other a house for the pastor—has already been contracted out to some local construction workers, so my only responsibility for the construction is to make sure the men have all the supplies they need and the money to pay for them out of the Grace building project budget. The work the locals are doing, on the other hand, is anything but easy; and chicks have to get in on the act too. Three women haul sand on buckets on their heads from the lakeshore about 100 yards and dump it in a

Women collecting sand from the beach, an EPA nightmare

Tbig pile for a truck to pick up and take to the job site. Why pay for sand when you can just dig it up from the lakeshore? Somehow I don’t think the EPA would approve of this method; but Africans have learned to be quite resourceful, and they’re not going to pay for sand if they don’t have to. Two other women go back and forth from the lake which is at least a quarter of a mile away

This is what I expect Laurie to do when we get back to the States. We actually helped carry some sand one day to see what it was like and found out those buckets are H-E-A-V-Y (I would estimate 70 lbs).

(probably closer to a half mile) and haul water on their heads all day to bring to the job site so it can be mixed with the sand and cement. The two boys working as laborers for the brick layers are obviously not going to school. I asked one of the boys, Kassimu, the other day how old he was, and he said he was 15. I remember going to work as a mud boy at age 16 and recalling how hard the work was, but at least I got to go back to school in

Kassimu (on right) standing next to his boss, Maonga

 the fall. When I was driving Kassimu back to our cottage the other day to offload some construction materials, I invited him to sit in the cab with me—they instinctively just hop in the bed of the truck—and when it was time to get out, he didn’t know how to work the latch to open the door. It occurred to me that this was probably the first time he had ever ridden in a vehicle.

The construction team members barely speak any English, and I only know a few phrases in Chichewa; so we depend on our faithful property manager, Diamon, to translate for us. He is quite a reliable worker and is always willing to do even more than we ask of him. We couldn’t ask for a better worker or a nicer guy. He is a Muslim, but it’s more cultural since we have never seen him attend the mosque which is just down the street. Laurie and I were quite shocked when we found out he had five kids, because he barely looked 25 (it turns out he’s 35). He appears to be a very good husband and father, and his kids always seem very happy whenever we see them. I asked him the other day if he has ever had a picture taken of his family, and he said no; so I told him I would take a family picture for them. He said, “When?” So I knew a picture would be something he would look forward to owning.

Since the money that will support the school is being generated from the cottage that is owned by Grace Ministries, our main concentration has been on making small improvements to make it appealing to guests as well as making sure it is marketed adequately—signs on the road, website, etc. It seems like we’re not doing a whole lot, but as I mentioned to Laurie the other day, a small effort can go such a long way in Africa. Having a school built in a predominantly Muslim area where 70% of the children currently don’t attend school can make a huge impact on students who may not otherwise get exposure to the Gospel.

I was recently talking with a missionary friend of Dan and Tina’s who grew up in Africa, and he said he has tried to leave the continent so many times; but he just can’t do it because he is constantly confronted with the reality that the ROI on kingdom work is so rewarding here. He would know after living in Liberia, Southern California, Louisiana, Kirkland (while attending Northwest College), Hawaii, Japan, Tanzania, Denmark and Zambia. I gave some thought to what he said and had to agree based on my short experience here (more on that in my next blog).

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