Chocolate Cake

Sunday, June 9th

            I woke up this morning around 5:30am again. The Internet is usually really slow here so I figured no one would be on so early and it was so much faster and efficient! I was able to post on the blog and check my e-mail without waiting 20 minutes for everything. We were all talking about how weird it’ll be to go home and have access to Internet that takes 5 seconds to go to a different tab versus 20 minutes. Also, we have to purchase Internet cards here with 100MB on them so we have to be careful for how long we are on them or else our data will go away very quickly. A huge reason why I haven’t been posting pictures in quantities is because it would take about 5 Internet cards to get them ½ uploaded. I figured using my money on souvenirs would be more effective than Internet. After I enjoyed the fast Internet and got ready, Liz and I headed to breakfast. The breakfast bar is really delicious here but after eating the same thing daily, I’m about ready for a mix up, as is everyone else.

            Most of the Virginia Tech group, two of the A&T people, and 2 Radford people left for Annie’s church around 8:30am. Annie and her family are Catholic so we would be attending a Catholic service this morning. I have never been to a full Catholic service so I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited to see what it entailed. There was a chorus singing outside of the church as we drove up and they were absolutely amazing! Annie greeted us with hugs and kisses. As she hugged me she told me I had beautiful hair, which a compliment was Annie, who is one of the most successful women in Zomba, meant the world to me. The little church that Annie funded was back in a village and was the size of a small restaurant. The floors were cement and they had about 20 wooden pews, both of which were brand new additions. Towards the entrance of the church some of the floor was dirt and rocks, which is what it all used to be before the new additions. Dr. Kelly helped Annie with the funding of the cement and pews, which was really a world of a difference for the members. The service started around 9:00am and ended around 11:45am. I was told that Catholic services were pretty lengthy but I honestly didn’t feel I was sitting there for more than 2 and ½ hours, it was such a great service. The chorus they had made the service so lively and I felt so much love bounce off the walls. It was really great to see how a Catholic service is run; I find things like this very interesting. Even though all of the services are run so differently, it’s so powerful to see how God moves everyone in their different ways. No matter the denomination, God is so good.

            After church we headed over to Annie’s house, which is beautiful. She had this outside area that would be a perfect spot for a wedding. It had all of these large trees and outdoor sitting areas for guests; I was blown away. The lunch they served us was absolutely delicious. We had fried and white rice, fried chicken, beef curry, potatoes, vegetables, and CHOCOLATE CAKE. Chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, it was the perfect ending to that meal. We all went back for seconds on cake because there hasn’t been anything like it while on this trip. After lunch we all sat around the table and enjoyed the warm weather. Annie owns this nightclub on her property and had us head over there after a while, even though it was about 3:00pm. We walked into this large dance room and bar where a DJ was playing music. We all got a drink and started dancing in the large room with just the 20 of us. After a while a group of people from church that morning came in and joined us. It’s funny how even being so different; we all can dance to the same music. A lot of American music was played that the Malawians were so excited to get up and dance to. They didn’t hold back at all and just grabbed some of the girls to dance. There were a couple of younger girls who were SO good at dancing that I didn’t even attempt to get on their level. I was so shocked at how great they were. I could definitely learn something from them, that’s for sure. Annie’s grandson, Leo, who was about 5 years old stayed close to us the whole time and danced side by side with us. He was such a little joy!

            We all left around 4:30pm to get back to Annie’s Lodge by dark. We were still in dancing and music mode as we left and ended up singing songs all the way home from the club. We all agreed on the 5-hour trip back to Lilongwe next Thursday that it’s going to be a musical on that bus, which I am so excited about. We got back to Annie’s and everyone is lesson planning for the next 3 days of school and just relaxing. It’s crazy to think a week from today I will be back in the States and this whole experience will be over. Still having very mixed feelings about leaving but I’m excited to see my family. I pray that this week brings a lot of smiles and very few tears as I end my time with my Standard 3B class. I have a feeling this won’t be my last visit to the beautiful Malawi.

Until then,

xoxo