Spectrum

Written Monday night:

We have continued to have a relaxed schedule. Two things were reiterated on Sunday:
1) Don and Mary are amazing networkers. Impressive
2) Malawians are the most hospitable people. Also impressive

Sunday we attended to Capital City Baptist Church. We sang praise songs, and an elder gave the lesson on marriage. At that point we realized that our 6-month anniversary was Saturday. **Half a year down, many years to go!** After church we met John and Merry Johnson (an American couple from Oklahoma), the elder who spoke and his wife, and another elder and his wife. The Johnsons offered to look for a place for us to live, and both of the other couples offered us a place at their own house!

We followed the first couple to their house, where we were given Fantas and nuts and a tour of their guest house. It is great, spacious and complete with a kitchen and bathroom and private entrance. It is also a bit more money than we were expecting to pay (although not much by American standards).

We left that house (nice neighborhood, too) to eat lunch with some friends of a friend of Don and Mary. The wife teaches Chichewa and the husband works for the Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace. At one point the husband said, "We would give you a room in our own house if our family was not staying there!" Yet he did mention that one of his coworkers might have a room to rent to us.

Today we met with that friend--turns out they do not have an extra room....When we asked about it, she told us that we could have HER room, and she would move in with her sister! At this place we would be sharing the space (bathroom, kitchen, living room) with this woman and her two siblings.

We called the other Malawian couple from church yesterday. It turns out they do not have a room for us to rent, but they are going to continue to look.

Isn't that great? The Malawians are so wonderful with hospitality. We have met several young women who live with their younger siblings because their parents have died. There are no nursing homes here. The Malawians' perspective allows for people to accommodate for their family members, whether widows or orphans or the elderly or whomever needs it!

Of course, not everyone is always taken care of. We have heard stories about widows whose husband's family took everything from them, leaving the woman and her children with nothing. Also, there are so many orphans (with one or both parents dead) due to HIV/AIDS...sometimes their extended families just do not have the resources to take care of them. Some people, like B's husband, are simply human and crack under pressure, leaving their sick family members to fend for themselves or die.

Turns out that the amount we are offering to pay for a room might not be enough...Mrs. Johnson laughed when Adam quoted the number we had discussed. We are meeting with her this afternoon (Tuesday) to look at a couple of places.

I forgot to mention that Luzu also offered for us to stay at his house. Right now that is looking better and better, actually. We are keeping our options open, though.

-Rachel