We are in Embangweni

Today was a long day of travel but everyone in our group did great. We were greeted at the airport by Kho Zimba. We were connected to Kho by a PCUSA pastor in Dallas Texas who has a member of their church named Helen Zimba, Kho's brother. I must say it was a leap of faith to arrive in Malawi and be transported by someone we've never met. The weather is warm, sunny, breezy and wonderful compared to what we left in Joburg.

Kho helped us load our six action packers and four large luggage pieces onto the top of the 4 wheel drive vehicle. The four oldest children were thrilled to sit in the back on two facing bench seats, Kim, Trey and Ben in the middle row and the driver, James, and me in the front. The ride from Lilongwe was beautiful and we drove as the big red sun set to show us amazing stars. We had heard from Frank Dimmock that it would be very common to see cooked field mice on sticks for sale by the side of the road and sure enough we did see the mice as well as cooked bats for sale on sticks too. Since it is winter here the fields have been harvested and it is a good time to find the mice holes. We did not learn from James about how the bats are caught this time of the year. We saw lots of people walking and riding bikes - but not many cars. We also saw a number of trucks hauling tobacco leaves and maize. Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, sugar cane, bags of maize, and tomatoes were for sale on the side of the road as we drove. The last hour of the four hour drive was on a dirt road and in the dark. Our second vehicle carrying Helen and her sister Mary followed on the dirt road to make sure our luggage did not bounce off the top.

The children were so excited to arrive at the guest house and exclaimed how wonderful and inviting it was to our tired travelers. A great place to call home for about two weeks. We are thankful to be here and look forward to meeting more new friends tomorrow and seeing Embangweni in the daylight.