Life in Malawi…city life

     Having lived in the bush of Tanzania for 15+ years, one of the biggest differences in my new location is living in the city.  It has its blessings and its difficulties.  I am learning to take them all in stride as I navigate this new way of life and new ministry.

Advantages:

• Grocery stores:  I lived 1200km (about 900 miles) from the nearest supermarket, now I live 5-10 minutes from several different ones! Where I used to buy in bulk on a weekly shopping trip to the town 25 miles away, I can now just run to the store and get something. I do not use things in bulk anymore.
• Restaurants: If I have been busy all day, I can grab fast food at several places that are only 5 minutes away, or buy prepared food in the grocery store. I do not need to make bread or spaghetti sauce anymore, I can buy several varieties just down the road.
• English: The country of Malawi has more English speakers than Tanzania and living in the capital city, the majority of people know English. I can shop easily in the market and bargain as they use English numbers. (This does make it more difficult to practice my Chichewa.)
• Social Life: In the bush I depended on my team of missionaries for fellowship and friendship. Here there are many foreigners working with organizations, embassies, and businesses. I have met many of them through weekly volleyball games or other events. I can go out to eat with friends or call them up to come over for games. It has opened many opportunities to meet unsaved people who are here “helping” but not doing ministry. It gives opportunity to share the Gospel and be a “light” to them.
• Internet: In Tanzania, internet was limited in the village. We could not stream and rarely saw pictures posted on facebook. Here the internet is pretty good and I can stream things or chat with friends and family around the world with ease.

Disadvantages:

• Traffic: Lilongwe has about 1 million people. That means there are times of the day when you do not want to drive. Almost all the roads are still two lanes and during rush hour, it can take me more than a half hour to get to churches where I serve. Thankfully I can stream podcasts and listen while I am stuck in traffic!
• Electricity: This is definitely a blessing and a curse. I used to live on 10 hours of power a week, and now I have 18 hours of power a day. But that 6 hours without power is a headache sometimes! There is not enough electricity here so they have a “load-sharing” program in which they will shut down different parts of town for about 6 hours in order to reduce the load. Each week a schedule is posted and followed to some extent. Somedays there is no power from 5 am until 10:30 am, the next day it will be from 3:30 pm – 10pm, and other days from 10:30am until 3:30 pm.  I have limited battery power for lights, but cannot run the oven and unplug the fridge for at least 4 hours each day. I am thankful for the power when it is here as I am used to using the air conditioning, washing machine and microwave.  For those times when there is no power, I have to plan what I will do. As the dry season ends and we await the rains, the power is off for longer periods of time.  I know that in the villages and outskirts of town the schedule is much less reliable.
• Time: The sun rises at 5 am and sets by 6 pm here. This means that all ministry needs to be finished by 5 pm so that people can walk home safely before dark. This has caused some issues trying to decide how to do home cell groups or mid week Bible studies. Those with full-time jobs cannot attend.  Many people have their own small businesses, like selling veggies in the market and can close early sometimes, but it is tough for business. This means the only day that works for students to meet is Sunday afternoon. But that is also the day they depend on visiting friends and family.  Adjusting to the this schedule is tough.
• Security: Being in a big city means crime rates are higher. Although Lilongwe is better than many areas, we still have to have our guard up. We live in gated properties and have guards 24 hours a day. Most people live with more than one family on a lot. This way the odds of someone being home while you are away is higher and security is better. When you drive home, you stop outside the gate and honk or put the car in park and get out and open the gate. It definitely deters you from running back home last minute if you forget something.

     I am sure there are more things about life that I have forgotten. Maybe I’ll write another post someday about life in Malawi. But for now this should give you an idea of what it is like here.