July 2, 1999, CE
      Mark calls Tete, the capital city of Tete Province, the black hole of Africa. The Lonely Planet guide cheerfully informs the reader that the only thing worth seeing is the suspension bridge, and having seen that, the prudent traveler will go to Harare or somewhere else more interesting. I believe both of them are right. Mark and I were promptly at the bus station in Blantyre at 7:45, having ascertained that the bus towards the Mozambican border left at 8:00. At 9:15 the bus left the station. Mark and I had a bet going... he won. The bus stopped 19 times between Blantyre and the border. It was pretty comfortable and not too crowded. Our destination for the day was a border town called Zobue. We arrived at the border and got off the bus (stopping to get our passports stamped -- which occurred without incident). We then took a very small sky blue sedan the 10 kilometres across the Mozambican no-man's-land. Happily, we also got through that border post without incident. (I have yet to see a bribe change hands anywhere, for your information!) I was wondering what our next form of transport would be when I was informed that we were in Zobue! "Wow," I thought, "Today was a short day of travel!" (Mark's reply to the sentiment was that any time you cross a border you have traveled a long way.) We got a room in one hotel for me (I use the words "hotel" and "room" generously) and a room in another hotel for Mark. We then sat down to a meal of verduras (literally greens) which is very local and pretty good. Mark says it is very nutritious. Not long thereafter, a pastor-type came in and greeted us. When we were finished with our greens, we walked up a long path (stopping to take a picture of the Presbyterian church in Zobue) to the pastor's house. We sat in the pastor's house for quite a while and everyone (except me of course) talked. Finally, Mark turned to me and explained that there was a change of programme (see, I told you it happens quite a bit) and that we were going to Tete today. That was fine with me, especially since I had NOTHING to read, and having nothing to read in a town like Zobue can be dire. I, being a guest, was fortunate to get a seat in the cab of the truck this time, along with the driver (Pastor Mario, methinks) and Pastor Ingavani's wife. (She has TEN children! Ten!!!!) Mark and Pastor Ingavani rode in the back.
      The road was not too exciting (although I saw a mine field -- the only one I've seen so far -- there are pictures), and the cab crew did not speak English. Fortunately, the scenery was gorgeous! Finally, we pulled into Tete, the suspension bridge gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Mark and I were settled in at the Hotel Zambezi (the suspension bridge crosses the Zambezi river). My room cost twice as much as his, and I have no idea why. They were about the same. Oh well. All the pastors disappeared to other places. So Mark and I decided that we would have some dinner. There was a restaurant in the fifth floor (top floor) of the hotel, but we didn't really want to eat there. Did I mention that it was a national holiday? I believe it was Independence Day... that would be Friday the 25th perhaps? Yes, Friday the 25th of June. Despite our searching (once again, wandering around in the dark in a city we didn't know) we failed to find a single place that was open! So we went upstairs in the hotel to eat. I had goat, by the way, which is pretty good but impossible to eat politely. Somehow, there are these little bones. It's impossible to get a good bite of meat without bones, which you then have to pick out of your mouth. A word of warning to the wise. Anyway, our dinners were okay, and we retired early.
      The next day started out kind of exciting. We were to be picked up at 8:00 to go to the laying of the first stone of a new church!!!! It's not often you get to do that sort of thing. At 9:00 the truck arrived to bring us there. (The good thing is that if your ride is the pastor necessary for these ceremonies, even if you are late, you don't miss anything.) Anyway, we had a good time at that ceremony (which was short by African standards). I think it is really neat that my name is now down in the historical record for that church, as being there on the first day of it's existence. It is not often that a new church gets built, and I am happy to have been there that day. After the ceremony, Mark asked if he could be taken to the hospital, as he had a suspicion that he might have malaria. We went to the hospital and waited a long time there, as first we waited in line for Mark's blood sample to be taken, and then we waited for the results to come back. Kind of to our surprise, they came back positive -- one cross, which means that you have malaria, but caught it early. Mark got a prescription to take 13 pills (boy did he complain) and we went back to the hotel, taking the rest of the day off. We did decide to have lunch, and didn't really want to eat upstairs again, so we went in search of another restaurant Mark remembered. (Not even malaria slows him down too much.) But, it was Saturday, and once again we came up empty handed. Once again we went upstairs. We had a big lunch, with bread and salad and soup as well as our main meal. Unfortunately, they were out of water so I had to drink soda (blech). I was mildly amused that a place could run out of water. Anyway, that long, slow day I started in on Genesis and Exodus. Perhaps God is giving me all this time so that I will study his word more closely. That evening, however, we had a pretty good time. Among the things I bought in Malawi were a domino set and a game called Bao (which is like mancala, but different). So Mark and I went down to the "cafe" downstairs and played first a couple games of dominos, and then Bao. After a while, the pastors came to have a meeting with Mark. But first, we taught them how to play dominos. That was a ball! The neatest thing was that suddenly my Portuguese was transformed to not-functional-at-all to partly functional. I could somewhat participate in the conversation! It comes and goes (my ability to speak and understand) but I am no longer completely shut out of everything that goes on. We retired early.
The view of the suspension bridge from my room in the Hotel Zambezi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Presbyterian Church at Zobue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The minefield is marked by what look like road reflectors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Laying the first stone at the new church in Tete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Mark, Pastor Ingovane and Pastor Mario after playing dominos. Mark has malaria at this point.