Lake Malawi-A day like no other!

These are the most of the youth from the Kauma branch here in Lilongwe along with the YM President and the YW President.  Sister Prete and I have been encouraging them to have more activities for the youth so they planned one that I was sure was a scam for an excuse to go to Lake Malawi.  The Lake is about 110 kilometers from here and none of the youth from the branch had ever been there before.  They wanted me to take them to the lake to "practice missionary work".  I was sure that it was just an excuse to get a trip to the lake but not wanting to discourage their initiative, I consented.  The plan was for Brother Backman, the American brother living in the Branch, and I to provide transport for the youth to the lake today, May 5th but Brother Backman ended up not being able to come. So this morning, I arrived at the chapel at 7:00 to find 18 youth and leaders ready to go.  All were dressed in their Sunday finest and most had prepared short talks on Chastity, Word of Wisdom, or the Restoration.  I was still very skeptical but we started with a hymn and spiritual thought and then away we went, 19 of us in my little Toyota pickup.   We had 4 young women and their President, who was baptized a few weeks ago along with 12 young men and the YM's president and myself. 8 in the cab and 11 in the back.  This is a picture of the group at the lake.

This is a shot of the boys taken along the way to the lake when we had to stop to purchase some knives spread the peanut butter.  For lunch they purchased 6 loaves of bread and 2 jars of peanut butter along with 48 bottles of pop.  This seems to be the standard fare for youth activities.  Sister Prete supplemented this with 4 dozen cookies and some oranges. I took pity on the boys and let them out of the back of the truck. It's quite a feat to fit 11 teenage boys and 4 cases of pop bottles in there and still get the endgate closed.

This is the beach we visited.  Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in Africa and one of the deepest.  It is over 300 miles long and forms most of the Eastern border of the country.  Across the Lake is Mozambique.  The boat in this shot had just come in off the lake with a load of fresh caught fish to sell. Some of the girls bought some to take home to their families for supper. Apparently they were about half the price as what they pay in the village.

This is the first time any of the youth of the Branch had ever even seen the lake.  None had ever been in water deeper than their knees except to be baptized.  These are our 4 YW and their President.  I am pleased to say that they were extremely modest in their dress for the beach.  At first they were very nervous about going into the water but after a few minutes they were having a ball.

This is a shot of most of the youth, the boys out deeper and the girls along the shore.  There is a beautiful island off shore and mountains of Mozambique visible across the lake.

On the beach there was a sand soccer field.  Soccer is a national passion here and most are very good.  They usually play with a ball of tightly wrapped plastic, and two poles in the ground for a net, but here they had a real ball and real nets.

Our girls playing in the water.

Some of the boys showing off.  Teenagers share common traits all over the world.

Here is the part Elder Prete did not get.  The point of the activity was to encourage the youth to share their testimonies with others so the plan was, to spread out across the beach and give pamphlets etc to the other guests.  We arrived at the lake around 10:00 and had a short lesson on approaching people and how to start a conversation.  The beach was still quite empty so we decided to let the kids play for a couple of hours.  We turned them loose until 1:30 and they had a blast, playing volleyball, soccer and net ball.  Finally we gathered them all for their wonderful meal of peanut butter sandwiches, oranges and cookies.  They then all got dressed up again and we divided them into companionships.  By this time, it was 2:30 and I guessed they would last a maximum of 20 minutes talking to people.  My plan was to leave for home around 3:00.   To my utter delight and surprise, the kids immediately found people to teach.  They sat down on the beach or under a tree and away they went.  The first group were done 45 minutes later and the last companionship came back over an hour later.  Each companionship only taught one person or group of people.  It was amazing.  I spoke to one fellow after two of our girls had finished and asked him if he would tell me what had happened.  He explained that the two girls asked if they could share a gospel message with him.  He said he thought that they would speak of faith or being saved or some such, but instead they spoke of an Apostasy, a restoration of the original church through the boy prophet Joseph Smith, of the book of Mormon, and of prophets and apostles today.  They had taught him of the pre-existence, the purpose of life and of the life to come.  He said he was amazed and stunned at their message, and at the power with which they delivered it.  Cool huh!!  The two girls are aged 17 and 15.  The Laurel was baptized in Jan. and the Mia Maid in April (like three weeks ago).  I was so proud of them.  I guess I still have a lot to learn about these kids.  All the way to the Lake and all the way home, they sang hymns and they sing beautifully, even if they make up their own tunes for the songs they don't know.

This is a shot of the group just before we left for home.

 

Yes those are fish hanging from my rear view mirror. It's actually a very common sight here. These are the fish the girls bought. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, the boys getting into the back of the truck.  Again 11 boys and 4 cases of pop jammed into the back.  Not even the Hutterites can pack them that tight.  NO complaints. 85 degree heat.  Hymns all the way home.  As we pulled into the Chapel, all were singing at the top of their lungs, How Great Thou Art.  A truly amazing and inspiring day.  These people humble and lift me every day I am here.