The Road to Chisawani Outstation

Mr. Esau Nkosi (our driver), Fr. Gowoka, Mr. Charles Malata
(Diocesan Project Officer) and the leaders of Chisawani parish.  

We set out for the Chisawani Outstation two days later than planned because the 4-wheel drive vehicle needed repairs.  After our return trip home especially, I was thankful for the new ball bearings, 4-wheel drive, and a professional driver!  We decided to take a short cut home and the road was slippery, narrow, bumpy, and eventually at nightfall, unpredictable.  Where I come from in California, SUVs are common “city” cars.  I have a passion for preserving fuel and the quality of our air so I pray that everyone will trade them in for efficient automobiles.  Let the SUVs be driven where they need to be driven!

The parish as seen from the road. 

The distance from the Diocese to Chiradzulu Parish is about 10 kilometers, and on the way we picked up Fr. Gowoka the priest in charge.  Then we headed out to two outstations, one in another deaconry.  Because of rain and a late start we went to Chisawani only, which is about 40 additional kilometers from his church.  Some outstations are further away from Blantyre than this one, but it is fairly remote and certainly the most remote on my travels thus far.

The reason for our visit was to see the church and find out how they are doing as a community.  A Malawian Anglican from one of the urban churches in Blantyre committed funds to help some of the rural parishes finish their structures. We were there to see if they could benefit from this gift. 

Mulanje Mountain partially hidden by the clouds.

The Chisawani community consists of  approximately 30 families who have worked together to buy bricks from another community, and bring them back to the site and fire them in a wood oven.  Chisaswani is a wetland at the base of Mulanje Mountain, the largest mountain in Malawi and is part of the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust. The wetlands make construction difficult, but as the photos indicate they have come along way in a year.  The next step is to buy cement for the exterior walls and plaster for the interior. 

Fr. Gowaka, and the two leaders of the community.  The man
in the center donated some of his farm land for the church.

As I have mentioned before in other posts, the outstation is part of the growing Anglican Church in Malawi.  Some people who help build new churches were originally Anglican’s, but others are not.  Often people who become aware of the mission efforts of the Anglican Church begin traveling long distances to worship at a church.  After awhile, a leader will approach the priest about starting a group that meets for prayers in someone's home or at a school.  Eventually, they build a structure such as this one, and from there the community begins to grow.  Interestingly, Malawians often refer to church as prayers. I wonder if they use this term because many people grow up saying Matins on Sunday?

Chisawani has had its share of struggles getting the money and labor to build the church.  Most rural communities do subsistence farming, and during the planting and harvesting season church can be considered a luxury.  When we met with the leadership to talk about their needs for the building, we were aware of their fortitude and desire to have a place for prayers, and hopefully someday a priest to provide the sacraments on a regular basis.  

They were grateful for our visit. And, I was pleased to be able to take part in the pilgrimage, a missio Dei.