Recently I traveled for the eleventh time from the Netherlands to Malawi, together with my wife Jolanda and a friend (that is why I will write in plural). That means thath we have to make sure that everything at home will continue while we are absent. Before our flight, we had to test for Covid-19. We both recently have had Covid, so that was a bit scary. But everything went all right. We arranged our visa a long time before departure and 2 of the 3 visa arrived on time, but the last visum had not arrived on the day before departure. One of the fieldworkers made sure we all had the right documents in Blantyre, so that we all had our papers when we left. We said goodby to our lovedwones, we packed our luggage and of course, we bought some cheese to bring along and we arranged the journey from Oostdijk to Brussels. That was different from the last time we visited Malawi. Our car had to go to the garage, and that perfectly fits in the time that we are far away from home. Usually, we leave the car at the airport, which is cheeper than driving two times from Oostdijk to Brussels and back. But how to reach Brussels this time? An easy option is the service of BEn teh Rooij, carrepair. So we first drive to Flupland (Sint Philipsland). Then, our luggage is transferred to another car and we head off to Brussels. With half an hour delay, we fly to Vienna aroudn 20.00, to pick up some more passengers. Around 22.30 we fly from Vienna to Addis Abeba. There is a 2-hour time differene, so with some calculation, we figure out that the flight takes around 6.5 hours. At Addis Abeba Bole International Airport, we have to wait 3.5 houers. Around 8.30 we fly to Chileka Airport in Blantyre, which takes around 4 hours. After landing, a Covid-19 test, checking visa and passports, stamps and signaturens, gathering our luggage, we go to our children, grandchildren and field workers who are waiting for us. It is great to see them again and hug them. After a road trip of almost an hour we arrive at our destination, a guest house near the house of our children.

After we rested from the trip, we enjoy the company of our grandchildren. The day after arrival, we receive the notice from the fieldworkers that the roof of the kitchen in Kwanjana was blown off by a tornado. That is a setback! But also for this problem, a solution is found quickly.

We stayed in Malawi for 2 weeks. Again, we have experienced a lot and we felt that we lived in a different world. For us, it's just two weeks, but our fieldworkers with Dutch roots have settled in a completely different culture than they come from. You have to leave behind a lot...And still...When God calles you to serve in Malawi, to take care of your neigbours, He will provide. Is it easy to do? Definitely not. For example, every day, you have to live 6 hours without electricity. This asks for a robust planning. There is an official planning from the electricity provider, but there are a lot of changes in this planning.

To illustrate, you just put a bread in the oven, and then the oven stops working. Or you are expecting company and you made a nice oven dish, and the electricity stops two hours to early...

Please realise what this would mean to you, to have electricity on different times every day...

God bless you, dear field workers!