MISSION OF MALAWI
PO BOX 60150 BT. 6 BLANTYRE MALAWI AFRICA
TEL. 265-999-741-007 or 265-888-751140 (mobile)
Missionary / Evangelist: Peter A. Halliman
Email: panagioite04@gmail.com / or panagioite04@gmail.com
Website: sgbm-malawi-africa.com
Date: 28th April 2012
Dear Pastor, Church, and all Supporters;
(1Jo 1:3) “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
(1Jo 1:4) “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”
This report / letter will [not] be about PNG, as the final reports were sent out, however I would like to share with you what the LORD has been doing in our lives here in Malawi since our return from PNG. Further to this, as I have stated many times over, my duty is to report not only on the joys and Spiritual blessings, but also on the challenges and hindrances we face on the mission field.
Since it is often that people remember the last thing they hear, I would like to start by sharing with you some of our challenges here. Firstly, the fuel issue here in Malawi has continued to remain a crisis. The work here in Malawi is somewhat different then that in PNG, in as much as it is spread out over a large perimeter in terms of distance, therefore much of the working of this work depends largely upon a vehicle. Yes, one could cycle from point A to point B here as I did in the first six months of my being here, however this is not only dangerous due to the road conditions and driving habits of motorist here, but would consume terrible amounts of time, with no profit in-between. That being said, with a vehicle, comes fuel, and this of course has become the main issue as to the range of our work within the past four months.
Right before we departed Malawi for PNG, the fuel crises was just starting, I will save a lot of questions and go straight to the point, and the late President simply raped this country of Foreign Exchange. Fuel purchased by the government of Malawi is not done so with local [Malawi Kwacha], but with USD. If you do not have, then, you don’t receive!
We didn’t feel the crisis that much as we had departed just as it started. Upon our return the first week of November, we found vehicles parked at fuel stations, and were told that this had been going on since we had departed. Therefore since August last year this has been going on, and every month has simply became worse.
With a country of Thirteen Million, Blantyre city over a million and fuel on a limited supply you can begin to get the picture. What many shop owners, businesses, etc… would do is, send their vehicle with a driver and a watchman to a fuel station and have them simply get in the queue and wait it out till fuel was delivered. This did not mean they would receive fuel, you must understand that fuel station all over the city [country] were shut down due to no fuel, when there was word, that a fuel tanker was coming into town it was worse then a riot, and required the government posting Traffic Police, with armed Military Police to control the crowds, angry citizens, mobs, and violence from getting out of control. Over the days, weeks, and months, it has not been uncommon to find a total roadblock by vehicles parked in the road up to over a mile leading to a fuel station. When going from Point A to Point B, we would never know, (no, there are no news announcements on the radio) that would be too developed! Many times we would have to turn around and find another way into town, only to run into another roadblock and then have to divert through some back road. Sometimes we would get caught in the roadblock and simply have to inch our way through as vehicles were moved by the Traffic Police. This has and can take hours, some may say well, it shouldn’t matter its Africa, yes indeed it is, but I don’t live my life like an [African], I do try to organize my time, I try to be productive with the resources GOD has given me, and manage these things, therefore it can be very frustrating.
Many times over this story could be repeated by thousands who are living here, and many times after sitting in the queue for days, and finally the fuel is being dispensed into vehicles, by the time you get to the pumps, there is no more fuel, simply because it has all been pumped out into vehicles ahead of you. Now what? Where do you go, what do you do? No more fuel till, who knows when! And the hunt for black market fuel starts, however you must understand and know how Africa works, the black market fuel will [NEVER] be pure fuel, it will be mixed with water, used engine oil, Electrical Transformer –oil (which has been stolen) – anything goes. You will pay twice to three times the pump price [which I have not stated yet]! I had a mission trip to Mozambique back towards the New Year and was in the process of buying black market fuel [no this is not stolen fuel]; however when I examined the fuel in a plastic container, I knew it not to be diesel and declined. However interestingly enough it was coming to Seventeen dollars a gallon, I declined.
I have dealt with this problem through a contact of mine, a [White South African] who I came to know whilst I was still living at the farm. He works for a fuel company, and manages the fuel tankers and their deposits into this country. At their fuel depot, which is about three miles away from where we currently live, is where I would go with two drums and fill up with fuel when he would have a deposit. The fuel issue pressed sorely upon the budget, as I would need to keep enough back so that when ever it was that we could make a purchase of fuel, I would have enough to cover this cost. The two drums (one of Petrol, the other of Diesel) 200 litres, or 55 gal drums, at [$8.50 for Petrol and $8.00 for Diesel] I will leave the math to you.
Understand, it is not about, well I don’t have enough money, or I didn’t budget for that, the fact of the matter is, you don’t know when the next time around will come, and at least the fuel is available.
The other side of this coin is for the mechanics and maintenance people who actually work on vehicles, such as I do – the fuel would have to be screened for water removal, rubbish, and debris, I have would have to do this at least twice sometimes three times before putting into the vehicle. Further to this, the fuel was simply [bad] fuel, and over some days of running this fuel in the Land Rover [which has a diesel engine], the filter would simply pack up, this was the easy fix, however, I would end up having to drop the fuel tank, remove the High Pressure Electronic Pump and clean off the rubbish (looked like someone had varnished the screens and pump) the tank was washed out, the entire fuel system had to be cleaned and then refitted, not so bad when you pay the work shop to do this aye?? Different story when you, have to do this, because you cannot trust the Dealer, workshop as parts will be stolen off the vehicle and sold in the black market – hoses will not be reconnected tightly, therefore another problem, the vehicle often comes back with more problems then when it went into the shop. That is [why] I have always worked on my vehicles, [I believe in saving the LORD’S machinery].
Since the New Year, I have removed the fuel tank and went through this mechanical procedure of cleaning [five times]. I sent this story to Land Rover in the UK and sent pictures of the rubbish which, I found inside the tank, and fuel pump housing, they replied back to me, [find some different fuel] Typical answer of someone living in a developed country. I don’t need someone to advise me on what it is that I already know.
I have gone to great length to detail this, as it has consumed a lot of my energy, time, and resources. I felt it was important to tell you, as it was important to me. When we can get the fuel, it is over eight dollars a gallon and rising. Since the death of the late President, [AGAIN] different countries have donated fuel for one month to Malawi, it is quite shameful when a Nation cannot even fuel their vehicles to go to the wake and funeral of their President, because of no fuel.
Fuel has started to come in, however with the condition of the past four months, it will take some time yet to come before the fuel crisis is over.
The conditions are now, that it is illegal to carry fuel containers, or drums in ones vehicle empty or full, unless you have a government issued permit to do so. I had to apply for such a permit and was granted one, this too has its own story but I don’t think you are prepared to hear that at this setting.
The next challenge I would like to share with you is some of the cost of our living here. I have stated several times in my reports over the years, and even whilst visiting churches this has come up. I tell you not because I am filing a complaint, or a grievance, no, but to simply communicate to you some details about our lives here in Africa.
My live for many years was that of living alone, this meant my diet and shopping habits would surround my life style and demands. I have remarried as most of you know, and yes, with a wife things change, the diet, menu, and shopping changes. I do not expect my wife to eat the way, which I subjected myself, therefore I would like to share some of what we experience when we go to the grocery shop.
-
Milk - $9.50 / gal
-
Syrup - $5.55/ qt.
-
Mayonnaise - $21.66 / qt.
-
Cheddar cheese – $18.88 / lb
-
Butter - $ 7.77 / lb
-
Olive Oil - $ 37. /gal
-
Honey - $12.55/ qt.
-
Irish Potatoes - $17. / 10 lb
-
Coffee - $9.27 / lb * [this coffee is grown in Malawi]
-
Peanut Butter - $12.83 / qt.
-
Curry Powder - $8.0 / lb
-
Juice - $3.61 / qt.
-
Fresh Garlic - $ 12.60 / qt.
-
Fresh Apples - $3.33 for Six
This is a simple illustration of what we pay at the grocery shop, some things are cheaper in the local markets, and some things not.
Some of the expense of the vehicles, is as follows:
-
Tyres for the Land Rover - $388.88 each Tyre
-
12 V -650 CCA Battery for Land Rover - $ 333.33
-
Service of vehicle filters (oil, air, fuel) - $135.00
-
Eng oil - $12.11 qt.
-
Gear oil - $17.55 qt.
Some expenses of welding supplies, is as follows:
-
Brazing wire - $69.44 / 1 lb. [can only purchase in 8 lb container]
-
Stainless welding rods - $82.25 / 1 lb. [10 lb canister only]
-
1 bottle of Argon gas for Tig welding - $ 277. / 1 bottle
There are many more expenses that are incurred however this may give you some idea of what my living expenses are from time to time.
I do not want anyone to think that I am complaining, NO, just communicating. Sometimes it helps us to know how to better pray for someone when we know the conditions they live under. Paul often wrote about his joys, and success in the LORD, but he also wrote about his beatings, and his deportations, even how he had to work with his own hands and make ends meet. He didn’t complain, neither am I, we are co-labourers in the LORD, and without your assistance we could not do this great work.
In His Name,
Missionary Peter A. Halliman
To be continued…
This is a picture of the fuel which just last week came out of the fuel filter (this is supposed to be diesel). It appears to be mud!
This is some of the fuel, which came out of the fuel tank (it is supposed to be diesel???)
Diesel fuel will foam when poured, there is no foam whilst being poured as you can see here.
The above picture is the bottom screen of the fuel pump, this rubbish has passed through the external housing of the fuel pump, which also has fine mesh screens. This is the quality of the fuel here!
For technical issues with the website, please contact David M. Green, Webmaster.