11.10.13 Month 2 Day 20: Guinness Book of World Records has just reported that the longest church service for a WASP to attend has now been set to an impressive 4hours14minutes. The service began at 8:04am and I left the church at 12:18pm on account of starvation/dehydration/general fatigue. The service actually ended sometime between 13:10-13:20. This was no normal service though, I should note, it was the farewell ceremony for the Abusa (Rev.) Innocent Brave Chikopa, who will be heading up the station at St. Columba in Blantyre starting next week. And what a festivity it was indeed! There was the typical Malawian church service that one would expect, with all the bells and whistles intact. At one point, I was invited by the leaders of the youth choir (singing in Chichewa, thank you very much) to join them as they danced and sang their way to the front. The congregation erupted in applause and cheers at the sight of an azungu holding his own with the dances and fast-paced Chichewa lyrics. I made eye contact with a few friends from the congregation who could not contain their laughter, which caused me to smile considerably wider than I already was, making my “singing” all the more challenging. I enjoyed myself thoroughly, leaving quite the impression on those in attendance (including some of the big-wigs from the Blantyre Synod). After the singing and dancing concluded, I returned to my seat and enjoyed the rest of the service, which was conducted entirely in Chichewa. With my ever-increasing knowledge of Chichewa, I was actually able to follow along with what was happening, not to any serious depth of understanding, but enough to not be completely lost. Once the sermon was delivered, the time for intimations came, which is when the real fun began. The DJ began playing music and my favorite MC (who emceed the first wedding we attended back when Sarah was still in town) Sam Phiri, took up the microphone. He is a delightful human being, one of the nicest guys to walk this earth. While emceeing, he took a moment to recognize my attendance by saying “a very good friend of mine is here today. His name is Mark Etzel and he is with us from the United States.” Then in Chichewa, he asked me what my purpose was for being here, to which I responded, “ndimaphunzitsa ku St. Andrews (I am a teacher at St. Andrews).” It was a special moment indeed! So how this ceremony works is quite similar to the wedding actually. The family gathers at the front of the church and each group of people (whether by congregation, social group, place of employment, what have you) comes up and presents their gift (s) to the family. This also includes the showering (or some of my younger readers will understand if I say “making it rain”) of kwacha upon the family. You literally just toss money in the direction of the family and it is later collected and organized as your contribution to the cause. It seems so strange which makes it so much fun to take part in! I made it rain kwacha like there was no tomorrow. It was a fine way to send off the abusa and his family to their new post in the big city. After I expired at 12:18, I noticed many attendees eating nsima and other tasty foods outside in the courtyard by my house. I inquired with Owen about the norms for acquiring some food. I could have just gone home and made myself an American meal, but this seemed like the better option, and I was not mistaken at all. After he said, “well, we usually just wait for the ladies to bring us food in groups, but since you are who you are, you can just go up and ask them to make you some.” He then laughed after I made him explain what he meant by ‘who I was’ and he said “seriously?” and I just laughed as well. I then proceeded to go up to where the food was being prepared and politely inquired about getting some nsima for myself. Within seconds, one of the ladies was on top of it, asking what I would take with my nsima. I had chicken, beans, and spinach with the nsima. It was an epic meal. I was full until late into the evening, no joke. After the festivities died down, I relaxed in my house for the remainder of the afternoon, awaiting my plans to go to Hapuwani to watch the Arsenal/Manchester United Football match. I headed down to the establishment just before game time at 6 and prepared for the match. I am fortunate enough to have made plenty of friends by now, becoming comfortable enough to go to the restaurant alone and mingle with the locals. There were more Man U fans there than I would prefer, but we got along fine all the same. Despite Arsenal losing, I still considered the evening a success! After the match, I returned home, feeling like a cold was coming on. I am well stocked with OTC meds to handle simple colds and the like, so I am not concerned. If anything else arises of concern healthwise, I have the resources and friends to take good care of me! Sniffles and all, I sign off for the evening to rest up for the week ahead!
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 12:18:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015