That’s 3 litres of music there. And you have NO IDEA how sweet it sounds!
Over four years ago, Goodson and I were travelling home from Lilongwe (Lee-long-way) when the engine in my Isuzu pick-up packed in.
It wasn’t a good situation. We were a couple of hundred Kms from home, on a section of road which skirts along the edge of Mozambique. It’s an area notorious for armed bandits who take advantage of the open border. And there was only a hour or two of daylight remaining.
The car had overheated several times recently, so I put in a distress call to the mechanic who’d been working on it.
He disowned me.
Distress call
I’m still amazed at times that you can get internet coverage in the middle of Central Africa. Then, I was just grateful. I repeated my distress call on a local Facebook group, and within a few minutes was in touch with another mechanic in Blantyre who had a recovery truck. Or at least, he knew a guy with a recovery truck. He’d get on the road immediately. And a couple of hours later he did.
It’s a beautiful part of the country, but I wasn’t much enjoying the scenery as the evening shadows lengthened. A small crowd of interested onlookers gathered. Some were drunk. Or had been smoking dope. Or both. Some offered kuteteza – to protect us (for a fee, implied). Hmm. Friend or Foe? I don’t know.
It was very late when the recovery truck arrived. The Isuzu was winched aboard, we paid our protection money, and were on our way.
When travelling to/from Lilongwe, we used to joke, why not take the short way? I can tell you, it was a long way in a recovery truck, but I didn’t complain. And, boy was I glad when we rattled into the yard of the workshop – even if it was the wee, small hours.
Where the car remains until today.
Mechanical Woes
The story is a familiar one in Malawi. Relievable parts are hard to find. Reliable, skilled people are scarce as hens’ teeth. Trust me. I know. I’ve dealt with more than my fair share of turkeys!
My mechanic – we’ll call him Mike – has had his problems. His problems became my nightmare. Unanswered calls. Unfulfilled promises. Over and over again he assured me the car would be ready “next week”. Over and over again, it wasn’t.
So, to say I was sceptical when he told me it was running, would be an understatement. I’ve lost count of how many different things he claimed he tried. But he invited me to come for a spin – and wow – it spun! When I arrived at his place, the car was sitting out front with the engine running – music to my ears!
Mike has lost weight and is looking well.He’s off the booze, eating healthy and working out. After a “nasty separation, he’s dating a nice Christian, is slowly getting back to church,and has lots of good people in his life.” As he thanked me for my patience, and apologised for letting me down, I reminded Mike that going to church won’t take him to heaven, and that it’s the Lord he needs in his life. “Yeah, yeah” he said , “we need a good talk.”
Pray for Mike. A few of you know his real name. Better still, the Lord knows everything about him. Pray that the Lord will really work in his heart and that he will repent and trust the Saviour.
And pray too that he won’t let me down with the remaining repairs on the car. CV joints, ball joints and bushes he can find in Malawi. Some other stuff, I’ll bring from the UK. Maybe if the Lord tarries we’ll have the old girl back in service again soon. After all, she’s spent 20% of her working life in Mike’s workshop!