July 5, 2017

Mphatso brought the dongle today so that we can use Internet.  So glad that I had a shower last night because after breakfast, the power was off.  We traveled to Balaka today.  This is Christ Lutheran's companion parish.  Got a late start in heading to Balaka because Pastor John needed to go with Mphatso back to the airport to get one of the bags of gifts that was missing.  We stopped for lunch and some shopping at Dedza Pottery.  At 5:00 PM we arrived at one of the congregations of the Balaka Parish.  It was a long drive on a very bumpy dirt road to a remote area.  The Abusa and another gentleman on a dirt bike led us to the location.  There were two congregations at this location.  They had been waiting since 2:00 PM.  That is how Malawi time works.  They greeted us with singing.  They had greetings where Abusa Francis introduced them and told us about their parish.  He serves 14 congregations.  They have a feeding station for children five and under that operates three times a week and is funded entirely by their congregation.  They also provide nursery school and participate in a Malaria program, which has helped the problem of Malaria within their congregation.  

Their church building collapsed recently, and they have rebuilt walls in a new nearby location.  However, they are in need of a roof.