From Embangwni to Lake Malawi

Lauren and Ellie, our friends from England wish the children goodbye

We departed Embangweni and drove about six hours to see Lake Malawi before we leave the country.  There were tears, hugs, wishes for traveling mercies along with prayers for our families and our church.  I cried every time one of our new friends said, “you have blessed us so much by coming and sharing your time with us in Embangweni.”  I tried to say in the midst of holding back tears that we are the ones who have been blessed… we have received far more than we have given.  We all already miss Embangweni.

We passed people walking, riding bikes, walking cows, goats, and ox carts as we drove out of Embangweni.  Once on the paved road we saw buses and more cars, goats, and cattle.  The bats and mice on sticks were being sold again, as well as tomatoes, potatoes, onions, maize, sugar cane, charcoal, and firewood.   As we moved further south, we saw bamboo things of all kinds being made and for sale by the road, such as chairs, baskets, mats, and couches.

Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in the continent of Africa and eighth largest in the world.  Now that we are here, we can see why everyone told us, “you cannot come to Malawi and not see the lake.”  Because we are departing on Saturday morning from Lilongwe, we choose to come to Singa Bay, which is about 90 minutes from Lilongwe.  The lake is absolutely beautiful and so large that we cannot see the other side.  The feeling is more like being at the ocean as the wind blows waves in to a sandy rocky shore.  Where we are staying has baboons running all around as well as rock rabbits and regular rabbits.  The Dubose family has a special rabbit named, Eleanor.  After lunch today we hiked along the river and slightly inland to look for hippos, but we did not find any. 

The temperature and terrain is different here from northern Malawi.  It is warm and the homes have thatched instead of tiled roofs.  On our way the landscape was beautiful and we can only imagine how lush it is in the rainy season.  We have not had a drop of rain yet and only a few clouds the entire past two weeks. 

Chichewa is spoken in the central region, so our Tumbuka is not too helpful here.  A few words are still the same, such as “azungu” – white people.  The children shouted that over and over again today.  Ellis learned a new saying that meant “Let’s be friends” which you say and give a pinky handshake at the same time. 

While we miss our friends in Embangweni, it is helpful to reflect before heading back home to Greenville.  We look forward to sharing reflections and more pictures because we have left a very special place and a part of our hearts.

Lake Malawi just before sunset