Just a few more pictures from our road trip on Wednesday

This is just one of thousands of little villages that dot the landscape.  Just a cluster of mud brick huts with thatched or tin roofs surrounded by fields of maize (field corn) peanuts and pumpkins, etc., some trees and, if they are lucky, a well developed by some aid organization.  This is truly subsistence  farming.  There are very few cash crops grown.  The fields are planted in Nov/Dec, the start of the rainy season and harvested in March/April when the rains stop.  There will then be no rain for until late October, There are no major sources of water for irrigation so they grow and stockpile what they can in the rainy season and then hold on till the next growing season.  This is the same pattern that they have been following for hundreds of years.

Looking east from the Malawi/Mozambique border.  Quite rugged, but lush and beautiful now that we are in the middle of the growing season.  If you zoom in on the picture, you can see many small villages nestled against the hills.

Another shot taken along the border looking east.  Even up on the sides of the hills, they plant maize where ever the soil will tolerate it.

A typical cow herd, this one not tied to a cart.  They have no fenced pastures so all the goat and cow herds are being watched by young boys to keep them out of the maize.  They usually graze them along the ditches of the highway so you have to be on your toes all the time because goats always think the grass is better on the other side.

This is another shot of the family we traveled to visit plus all of the villagers who were curious to come and see the white folks who were visiting.  The one in the back with the tie is our branch President.  Notice the young boy in his mothers arms on the right reaching for lunch.  The women and girls almost always wear modest dresses but breast feeding in public in considered very normal.  Never any covering.  We have had a sister stand up in Church to bear her testimony while nursing a child.

Just another village on a hill surrounded by corn.

I took this one as this was a new way to transport a goat to market, hogtied on the back of a bike.  You can see almost anything being hauled on the bikes here.  It is incredible what they can actually tie on and balance on a bike.  The really heavy loads they just walk beside the bike and push it along.  Amazing!!!!!