Picnic in Malawi

We knew that there would not be a place to eat in the timeframe we had to go to Nkhotakota and return today, so Gaylord suggested that we pack a lunch and find a spot to have a picnic along the way.  That turned out to be a great idea.

Our project foreman, Gama, needed to return to Lilongwe because his wife was admitted to the hospital this morning with a bad case of malaria.  After photographing each site, we picked him up and headed for home. 

Out of the clear blue, Gaylord declared that he was going to pull off the road and eat at that nice cafe.  A puzzled Gama said, "But Pastor, that is not a cafe; that is a school." 

Of course, he was right.  We pulled into the school lot and again, Gaylord stated what a fine cafe he had brought us to.  Gama's puzzlement seemed to border concern at this point.

When I brought out a bag containing fried chicken, potato salad, beans, and sodas, a big smile of relief came across all three of our faces.  We enjoyed a very nice lunch and were even able to share it with some of the local children who began to gather.  They were very apprehensive of these visitors, and one little boy never would accept a piece of chicken from me, though he was glad to share from a distance what his friends received.  (He is the little guy in the yellow shirt in the background.)

      

We even spotted several Baobab trees in bloom - something I had not seen in Africa before this season.