The Kongwe congregation had been founded by Rev Robert Blake in 1894 (Chilenje, 2007), the second congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church after Mvera which had been founded six years earlier. Geographically, Kongwe covered a wide area, with a radius of over 20 km.
Pastoral work at Kongwe was, therefore, quite a challenge for Rev Chienda. As a result, he acquired a motorcycle, a Honda, to help him quickly move around. Sometimes he would be gone for days on end, visiting his congregants in villages such as Jemusi, Chamvu and Kagwamtsobola. Sometimes he would go as far as Chibanzi, or even farther afield, to conduct evangelistic rallies.
One day he rolled with his bike and was burnt on the leg by the exhaust pipe. He stayed indoors for some days, while my mum nursed him. Once he recovered, he hit the road again to continue his pastoral work.
It was at Kongwe that he first came into contact with a young South African missionary called Rev Pauw (now Professor Pauw). Rev Pauw used t come home together with Dr Louw, who was then the Headmaster at Robert Blake Secondary School. I have no idea what subjects the missionaries were discussing with my father but one thing I do know is that Rev Pauw cherished those early days in Malawi. He (Professor Pauw, that is) preached in the Multipurpose Hall at St. Michael and All Angels Church, Blantyre, a few years ago when the General Assembly was sitting. His preaching was in English and in Chichewa, and his command of Chichewa was impeccable. He told the congregation that he had learnt Chichewa so well as a result of his association with Rev Chienda at Kongwe.
When he had some spare time, Yeremiah would take his children around the mission to visit some people or to admire nature. Close to Kongwe mission is the perennial Lingadzi River (not to be confused with the Lingadzi River that flows through Lilongwe city), which the South African missionaries dammed to provide water and electricity to the mission. One of Malawi's earliest hydro houses was planted on the Lingadzi. This was a favourite destination for Yeremiah and children, because it afforded them the opportunity to admire not only God's nature, but also human ingenuity to harness the nature into a useful resource.
Every evening, almost without exception, Yeremiah would bring all members of the family together for family devotions. Hymns would be sung, recitals said, prayers offered and the devotion would be crowned by a faithful exposition of God's word by the man of God. My mum would take this role when the Reverend was away. I knew most the hymns that I now know from these sessions.
He would, in addition to the family devotions, lock himself up in the study room to personally seek his God through reading and praying. By this time, he had built up a sizable library consisting, almost entirely, of spiritual books. He lived this type of life up until the time he was hospitalised in April, 2011.
In 1967, Rev Chienda was trasferred from Kongwe to Lilongwe to take charge of youth work. He was based at the Youth Hostel premises just beyond Falls Estate in the municipality.
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Monday 30 May 2011
The Early Years of His Ministry
The Chiendas did not stay long at Livlezi. They transferred the following year to Lilongwe CCAP to succeed Rev. Chisanu. By this time they had taken into their home some close relatives: Andion Chimbalanga from Chikhutu Village and Lesina Chintande, a relation of Elizabeth. These young people were a great help in bringing up the young ones.
In 1963, a fourth member of the family arrived, a second boy, who was christened Cliff. In the same year Yeremiah Chienda left for Birmingham, UK, to pursue a course in youth work. He went together with Rev Franklin Chunga from Livingstonia Synod.
He returned from the UK in 1964, arriving at the old airport in Lilongwe by a small plane, apparently after changing planes at Chileka in Blantyre. A number of close relations and associates, including Rev Gabriel Kachaje, went to the airport to welcome home. As soon as he disembarked from the plane, Rev Kachaje shouted "mtambe! Chigwada! Nsinjiro! (names of Malawian traditional dishes). You have found them." For emphasis, he leapt into the air with each each exclamation, adding pomp and colour to the welcome.
Rev Kachaje had the special gift of adding unique creativity to any situation. About five years ago, he visited my parents in Area 47, Lilongwe, arriving at dinner time. My parents asked him to join them at dinner and he quickly said, "No." They proceeded to the dining room, leaving him in the sitting room. No sooner had they finished the prayer than Rev Kachaje appeared in the dining room, saying, "Ah, you only asked me once! You should have asked me a second time and I would have said 'Yes'." They heartily laughed in merriment and had dinner together.
The same year (1964), the Chiendas moved to Chongoni (now Namoni Katengeza Lay Training Centre). The association between the Chiendas and the Kachajes continued to flourish, resulting in, among other things, a Kachaje relation, Mr Chikatiko, courting and eventually marrying Lesina Chintande. The wedding took place in 1965. I was then a toddler but I remember travelling from Chongoni in Rev Chalungama's car, a VW Kombi, to the venue of the wedding, where upon arrival, women engulfed the vehicle singing "Omake mwana ngoti apa? Sidze nzambina. Sosowa, sosowa, sosowa, eyae, nsidze nzambina!" It was pure Greek to me at that time, but I later realised that they were saying, "Who is the mother of the bride? She will will not hide, because she has curly eyelashes." They were, of course, just bluffing. In Africa, wedding ceremonies provide opportunity for plenty of bluffing, but the marriage itself is taken as very serious business.
In 1965, Rev Chienda was posted to Kongwe CCAP, where he succeeded Rev D C Kamphinda. The following year, his sister, Florida, who came after him, got married to Mr H Kamnkhwani, who was then a teacher, as she was. Later, Mr Kamnkhwani went to the Theological College and qualified as full time minister. Later still, he became the fourth Malawian General Secretary, after Rev I M Kainja; obtained a PhD from Stellenbosch University, and sadly passed away while he was Principal of Zomba Theological College.
The other siblings of Rev Chienda were Nella (now Mrs Mbewa), Phylis (now Mrs Rev Katsulukuta) and an elder brother known as Mr Kawayula (deceased)
In 1963, a fourth member of the family arrived, a second boy, who was christened Cliff. In the same year Yeremiah Chienda left for Birmingham, UK, to pursue a course in youth work. He went together with Rev Franklin Chunga from Livingstonia Synod.
He returned from the UK in 1964, arriving at the old airport in Lilongwe by a small plane, apparently after changing planes at Chileka in Blantyre. A number of close relations and associates, including Rev Gabriel Kachaje, went to the airport to welcome home. As soon as he disembarked from the plane, Rev Kachaje shouted "mtambe! Chigwada! Nsinjiro! (names of Malawian traditional dishes). You have found them." For emphasis, he leapt into the air with each each exclamation, adding pomp and colour to the welcome.
Rev Kachaje had the special gift of adding unique creativity to any situation. About five years ago, he visited my parents in Area 47, Lilongwe, arriving at dinner time. My parents asked him to join them at dinner and he quickly said, "No." They proceeded to the dining room, leaving him in the sitting room. No sooner had they finished the prayer than Rev Kachaje appeared in the dining room, saying, "Ah, you only asked me once! You should have asked me a second time and I would have said 'Yes'." They heartily laughed in merriment and had dinner together.
The same year (1964), the Chiendas moved to Chongoni (now Namoni Katengeza Lay Training Centre). The association between the Chiendas and the Kachajes continued to flourish, resulting in, among other things, a Kachaje relation, Mr Chikatiko, courting and eventually marrying Lesina Chintande. The wedding took place in 1965. I was then a toddler but I remember travelling from Chongoni in Rev Chalungama's car, a VW Kombi, to the venue of the wedding, where upon arrival, women engulfed the vehicle singing "Omake mwana ngoti apa? Sidze nzambina. Sosowa, sosowa, sosowa, eyae, nsidze nzambina!" It was pure Greek to me at that time, but I later realised that they were saying, "Who is the mother of the bride? She will will not hide, because she has curly eyelashes." They were, of course, just bluffing. In Africa, wedding ceremonies provide opportunity for plenty of bluffing, but the marriage itself is taken as very serious business.
In 1965, Rev Chienda was posted to Kongwe CCAP, where he succeeded Rev D C Kamphinda. The following year, his sister, Florida, who came after him, got married to Mr H Kamnkhwani, who was then a teacher, as she was. Later, Mr Kamnkhwani went to the Theological College and qualified as full time minister. Later still, he became the fourth Malawian General Secretary, after Rev I M Kainja; obtained a PhD from Stellenbosch University, and sadly passed away while he was Principal of Zomba Theological College.
The other siblings of Rev Chienda were Nella (now Mrs Mbewa), Phylis (now Mrs Rev Katsulukuta) and an elder brother known as Mr Kawayula (deceased)
Friday 27 May 2011
His Teaching Career, Marriage and Theological Training
In 1954, Yeremiah Chienda entered the Teacher Training College at Nkhoma and qualified as a teacher in 1956. The first school that he taught at was Kabweramchombo in Dowa west.
He became friends with a prolific man called Isaac Chintande while he was at Kabweramchombo. Chintande was from Lodzeni-Zongendaba village close by. Chintande's mother had died while he was a boy and he was raised by his mother's elder sister, or in local tradition, his "elder mother."
Chintande's elder mother had a daughter called Elizabeth who had been a pupil at Kabweramchombo but later moved to Sindeya school. It pleased Chintande to use his influence to introduce his new friend, Yeremiah, to Elizabeth and with the passage of time news was rife about a wedding between the two.
Elizabeth was the third child of her mother, the first one being a man who she never really got to know because he migrated to South Africa while she was a toddler, and never came back. The second was a woman who was several years older than Elizabeth. The father of the two died before Elizabeth was born. In her old age, the mother married Mr Kaching'ona, who fathered Elizabeth.
From her father, Elizabeth had several half brothers and sisters, among them Caleb who later moved to and settled in Southern Rhodesia, and Edward. As the wedding day drew nigh, Edward Kaching'ona was alarmed that he had not been officially approached by Chintande about it. Full of chagrin, he summoned Chintande for a discussion, and the two went into a verbal war lasting, according to Kaching'ona's own recollection, a good part of the night. His (Edward's) reasoning was, "This girl (Elizabeth) shares the same blood as me, and yet someone is marrying her off without my knowledge, let alone my approval. This is not on!" However, some settlement was reached, resulting in a truce between the two.
When the actual wedding day arrived, the dreadful happened: Mr Kaching'ona senior suddenly collapsed and died while the bride and groom were at church waiting to exchange their vows, forcing a last minute postponement of the wedding to a later date in September of the same year. It is not without a good reason that people today will stand up and say, "Rev Chienda has fought a good fight."
Mr Kaching'ona used to be very tall man. Some people who have known Rev Chienda and known his children have wondered why some of the children are tall, while the Rev Chienda himself used to be small in stature. It is the Kaching'ona genes that determine the heights of Rev Chienda's offspring. The grandchildren are getting even taller!
Following the wedding, the couple moved to Dedza, where Yeremiah continued to discharge his teaching duties with commitment and determination. One of his pupils at Kabweramchombo had been Winston Kawale, who later followed his former teacher and mentor into the ministiry and rose to become General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod in his own right. At Dedza, Yeremiah taught a pupil from Mozambique called Wallace Chikakuda. Like Kawale, Chikakuda was also inspired to become a minister in the Nkhoma Synod and in the course of time obtained a PhD from South Africa. He died while he was Principal of the Theological College in Zomba. While at Dedza, the Chienda couple had their first born daughter, Mercy.
It was from Dedza that Yeremiah obeyed the Lord's call to become a full time minister. A colleague of his, Mr Ganizani, and he were both admitted to Nkhoma Theological College. When he arrived at the college in 1957, Yeremiah was surprised to learn that his friend did not show up. He had apparently changed his mind.
During their four year stay at Nkhoma (at the Theological College) the couple had two more children, Gladys and Joshua. The latter is the one writing this blog.
The 1957 - 1961 cohort comprised Rev Sankhani, Rev Jekapu, Rev Chipeta, Rev Chinkhadze, Rev Chalungama and Rev Chienda. Mr Mwalamwaza had joined the course but did not finish it.
He graduated from the Theological College in 1961 and was posted to Livlezi CCAP in the rift valley in Ntcheu district. Livlezi was among the congregations that had developed as a result of missionary work by the Free Church of Scotland working in the Cape Maclear area. These congregations were initially part of Livingstonia Synod but were later handed over to Nkhoma Synod.
He became friends with a prolific man called Isaac Chintande while he was at Kabweramchombo. Chintande was from Lodzeni-Zongendaba village close by. Chintande's mother had died while he was a boy and he was raised by his mother's elder sister, or in local tradition, his "elder mother."
Chintande's elder mother had a daughter called Elizabeth who had been a pupil at Kabweramchombo but later moved to Sindeya school. It pleased Chintande to use his influence to introduce his new friend, Yeremiah, to Elizabeth and with the passage of time news was rife about a wedding between the two.
Elizabeth was the third child of her mother, the first one being a man who she never really got to know because he migrated to South Africa while she was a toddler, and never came back. The second was a woman who was several years older than Elizabeth. The father of the two died before Elizabeth was born. In her old age, the mother married Mr Kaching'ona, who fathered Elizabeth.
From her father, Elizabeth had several half brothers and sisters, among them Caleb who later moved to and settled in Southern Rhodesia, and Edward. As the wedding day drew nigh, Edward Kaching'ona was alarmed that he had not been officially approached by Chintande about it. Full of chagrin, he summoned Chintande for a discussion, and the two went into a verbal war lasting, according to Kaching'ona's own recollection, a good part of the night. His (Edward's) reasoning was, "This girl (Elizabeth) shares the same blood as me, and yet someone is marrying her off without my knowledge, let alone my approval. This is not on!" However, some settlement was reached, resulting in a truce between the two.
When the actual wedding day arrived, the dreadful happened: Mr Kaching'ona senior suddenly collapsed and died while the bride and groom were at church waiting to exchange their vows, forcing a last minute postponement of the wedding to a later date in September of the same year. It is not without a good reason that people today will stand up and say, "Rev Chienda has fought a good fight."
Mr Kaching'ona used to be very tall man. Some people who have known Rev Chienda and known his children have wondered why some of the children are tall, while the Rev Chienda himself used to be small in stature. It is the Kaching'ona genes that determine the heights of Rev Chienda's offspring. The grandchildren are getting even taller!
Following the wedding, the couple moved to Dedza, where Yeremiah continued to discharge his teaching duties with commitment and determination. One of his pupils at Kabweramchombo had been Winston Kawale, who later followed his former teacher and mentor into the ministiry and rose to become General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod in his own right. At Dedza, Yeremiah taught a pupil from Mozambique called Wallace Chikakuda. Like Kawale, Chikakuda was also inspired to become a minister in the Nkhoma Synod and in the course of time obtained a PhD from South Africa. He died while he was Principal of the Theological College in Zomba. While at Dedza, the Chienda couple had their first born daughter, Mercy.
It was from Dedza that Yeremiah obeyed the Lord's call to become a full time minister. A colleague of his, Mr Ganizani, and he were both admitted to Nkhoma Theological College. When he arrived at the college in 1957, Yeremiah was surprised to learn that his friend did not show up. He had apparently changed his mind.
During their four year stay at Nkhoma (at the Theological College) the couple had two more children, Gladys and Joshua. The latter is the one writing this blog.
The 1957 - 1961 cohort comprised Rev Sankhani, Rev Jekapu, Rev Chipeta, Rev Chinkhadze, Rev Chalungama and Rev Chienda. Mr Mwalamwaza had joined the course but did not finish it.
He graduated from the Theological College in 1961 and was posted to Livlezi CCAP in the rift valley in Ntcheu district. Livlezi was among the congregations that had developed as a result of missionary work by the Free Church of Scotland working in the Cape Maclear area. These congregations were initially part of Livingstonia Synod but were later handed over to Nkhoma Synod.
Wednesday 25 May 2011
His Youth
Yeremiah Chienda was born on 5th May, 1933 at Chikhutu Village in the area of Chief Chitukula, some 12 kilometres west of where the Kamuzu International Airport now stands.
His father was a Phiri by clan. In Chewa hierarchy, the Phiris used to constitute the aristocracy, the ruling elite, while the Bandas were the religous elite (en.wikipedia). All other clans used to be subordinate to these two. His full name was Kawayulachiyendan'chiwanda, which translates to something like "the trendsetter who moves like a ghost". So, not only was he a member of the privileged clan but he was also a leading light, if his names are anything to go by.
Later, family members partitioned this mouthful of a name among themselves, some calling themselves Kawayula, others Chiyenda and yet others Chiwanda. The modern format of the Chienda name, spelt without a "y", was a corruption by the Dutch missionaries, who preferred to spell it that way.
Rev Chienda used to be intensely proud of his Phiri clan name. Some of his contemporaries, like Rev Chimutu, Rev Sankhani, the late Rev Kachaje and the late Rev Mlenga, always used to refer to him as "Phiri" or "Jere", the Ngoni equavalent. When my youngest sister, Tertia, was born, she was given the name Nagomo, which is a Shona version of Phiri (Mountain).
That he was literate at a time when going to school was the rare exception rather than the rule, and that he raised his family on Christian principles against all odds is perhaps testimony to the fact that the Senior Chienda was indeed a pacesetter. His son, Yeremiah, was among the first in that area to go to a high grade school at Kongwe in Dowa district. Mr Kafumbi Njewa, former head of news at the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, recalls that when he was a boy he used to by inspired by Chienda, Chatsunda, Chimphanje and one or two others, all of whom received their education at Kongwe.
These boys from Sentala (corruption for "Centre" for Education) would come back from school during holidays and would get themselves neatly dressed, mostly in white. Probably unknown to them, they would in so doing inspire the younger ones, like Kafumbi Njewa. In turn, Kafumbi Njewa himself later inspired his own team of young men, the likes of Davies Mussa, who later became a well known radio personality.
His mother was called Lucy. She too could read and write, which was even more remarkable for a village woman of that time. She had migrated from Ntchisi along with other three sisters, apparently at the invitation of their brother who had left Ntchisi earlier. At that time (the beginning of the 20th century) the Dutch Reformed missionaries were planting churches in parts of the central region. Along with a church, came a school as well, normally. They (the missionaries, that is) set up such a centre at Chimwang'ombe in Chikhutu Village, and those with a trendsetting disposition, like Bambo Phiri and Mayi Lucy, were obviously quick to take advantage of these facilities to learn new things.
When they set out for Chikhutu, Lucy and her sisters were warned that they were going to a Christian area, where use of obscene language, among other vices, was not tolerated. As they walked, one of the girls is reported to have ordered the others to stop so that she could for the last time curse a tree, heaping all manner of obscene language on it. That was her own way of bidding farewell to the old lifestyle as she was about to embrace a new one.
After completing the highest class at Chikhutu, it became necessary for Yeremiah to go to a higher school. The nearest such school was at Kongwe. Along with the other boys mentioned earlier, they would walk to Kongwe, some 50 or so kilometres away, taking 2 days to get there.
Their mothers would prepare peanut butter for them, to be consumed during the trip.
Some of his classmates at Kongwe were Mr Chiundira from Ntchisi, Mr J H L Honde from Mzumazi village in Lilongwe and Mr Mc J Kamwana from Mponela in Dowa. JHL Honde moved on to become the first principal of the Teacher Training College in Area 25, Lilongwe and Kamwana later became the first Malawian Inspector General of Police.
While at Kongwe, Yeremiah befriended a boy from Salima (in a lower class) called Abyud Mndala. On many an occasion, he would bring Mndala to Chikhutu during holidays, to spend time with his family. Apparently, Mndala was from an Islamic background, but the love and warmth he got from Yeremiah touched his heart so much so that he later became a minister of word and sacrament in the Nkhoma Synod, following the footsteps of his mentor.
His father was a Phiri by clan. In Chewa hierarchy, the Phiris used to constitute the aristocracy, the ruling elite, while the Bandas were the religous elite (en.wikipedia). All other clans used to be subordinate to these two. His full name was Kawayulachiyendan'chiwanda, which translates to something like "the trendsetter who moves like a ghost". So, not only was he a member of the privileged clan but he was also a leading light, if his names are anything to go by.
Later, family members partitioned this mouthful of a name among themselves, some calling themselves Kawayula, others Chiyenda and yet others Chiwanda. The modern format of the Chienda name, spelt without a "y", was a corruption by the Dutch missionaries, who preferred to spell it that way.
Rev Chienda used to be intensely proud of his Phiri clan name. Some of his contemporaries, like Rev Chimutu, Rev Sankhani, the late Rev Kachaje and the late Rev Mlenga, always used to refer to him as "Phiri" or "Jere", the Ngoni equavalent. When my youngest sister, Tertia, was born, she was given the name Nagomo, which is a Shona version of Phiri (Mountain).
That he was literate at a time when going to school was the rare exception rather than the rule, and that he raised his family on Christian principles against all odds is perhaps testimony to the fact that the Senior Chienda was indeed a pacesetter. His son, Yeremiah, was among the first in that area to go to a high grade school at Kongwe in Dowa district. Mr Kafumbi Njewa, former head of news at the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, recalls that when he was a boy he used to by inspired by Chienda, Chatsunda, Chimphanje and one or two others, all of whom received their education at Kongwe.
These boys from Sentala (corruption for "Centre" for Education) would come back from school during holidays and would get themselves neatly dressed, mostly in white. Probably unknown to them, they would in so doing inspire the younger ones, like Kafumbi Njewa. In turn, Kafumbi Njewa himself later inspired his own team of young men, the likes of Davies Mussa, who later became a well known radio personality.
His mother was called Lucy. She too could read and write, which was even more remarkable for a village woman of that time. She had migrated from Ntchisi along with other three sisters, apparently at the invitation of their brother who had left Ntchisi earlier. At that time (the beginning of the 20th century) the Dutch Reformed missionaries were planting churches in parts of the central region. Along with a church, came a school as well, normally. They (the missionaries, that is) set up such a centre at Chimwang'ombe in Chikhutu Village, and those with a trendsetting disposition, like Bambo Phiri and Mayi Lucy, were obviously quick to take advantage of these facilities to learn new things.
When they set out for Chikhutu, Lucy and her sisters were warned that they were going to a Christian area, where use of obscene language, among other vices, was not tolerated. As they walked, one of the girls is reported to have ordered the others to stop so that she could for the last time curse a tree, heaping all manner of obscene language on it. That was her own way of bidding farewell to the old lifestyle as she was about to embrace a new one.
After completing the highest class at Chikhutu, it became necessary for Yeremiah to go to a higher school. The nearest such school was at Kongwe. Along with the other boys mentioned earlier, they would walk to Kongwe, some 50 or so kilometres away, taking 2 days to get there.
Their mothers would prepare peanut butter for them, to be consumed during the trip.
Some of his classmates at Kongwe were Mr Chiundira from Ntchisi, Mr J H L Honde from Mzumazi village in Lilongwe and Mr Mc J Kamwana from Mponela in Dowa. JHL Honde moved on to become the first principal of the Teacher Training College in Area 25, Lilongwe and Kamwana later became the first Malawian Inspector General of Police.
While at Kongwe, Yeremiah befriended a boy from Salima (in a lower class) called Abyud Mndala. On many an occasion, he would bring Mndala to Chikhutu during holidays, to spend time with his family. Apparently, Mndala was from an Islamic background, but the love and warmth he got from Yeremiah touched his heart so much so that he later became a minister of word and sacrament in the Nkhoma Synod, following the footsteps of his mentor.
The Funeral
The body of the deceased was taken to College of Medicine mortuary, getting there just before 06:00 hours in the morning of 9th May. A brief vigil was held during the day at my home.
The General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod, Rev Chifungo and the retired Rev Dr Mgawi, a very close associate and brother to Rev Chienda travelled all the way from Nkhoma to be with us and to be part of the funeral procession as we travelled to Lilongwe later in the day. It had been decided that the deceased would be laid to rest at Nkhoma Misison, but it was felt necessary that the body be taken to Lumbadzi, where he had been living, before proceeding to Nkhoma.
The Blantyre Synod was so gracious as to organise a special send off function in Blantyre, to pay their last respects to the departed man of God. Therefore, after a prayer at home, we left for the mortuary about 14:30 hrs to pick the body and take it to the Multipurpose Hall at St. Michael and All Angels Congregation, which hosted the send off ceremony. I was surprised to see so many people who came, obviously at very short notice, to witness the function.
Eulogies were given by the two General Secretaries, Rev Chifungo and Rev Kadawati, followed by a sermon by Rev Nzunga, who affirmed that like Paul, Rev Chienda had "fought a good fight and had finished the course." In attendance was the Blantyre Joint Choir, whose musical contribution was much appreciated by the family.
The procession left for Lilongwe about 16:30 hrs, arriving at Lumbadzi around 21:00 hrs. The following day, another function was held at the deceased's home, starting at 15:00 hrs. Several people spoke including a family representative. Thereafter, Rev Kachipanda delivered a sermon on the three types of calling we all get from God - calling into the world at birth, calling to serve him and calling to leave the world through death. He pointed out that many people avert the second calling but that nobody can run away from the third calling, after which one's destiny would be decided by their response to the second calling.
We left for Nkhoma soon after the preaching, and spent the night there. The body was placed in the multipurpose hall, and the guests spent the night at the Josephat Mwale Theological College hostels.
Te following day, the function started around 11:30 hrs with viewing, and thereafter the body was taken into the Church. Many people stayed outside, as the Church could not accommodate them.
It was a very well conducted function with Rev Kamwendo as director of ceremonies and Rev Nkhoma leading the music. Among the many dignatories that came was the Rev Dr Billie Gama, presidential advisor on religious affairs, who represented the State President.
A number of people gave their touching eulogies, including the Presbytery Moderator, representative of the General Assembly, the Evangelical Association of Malawi and the Bible Society; Traditional Authority Mazengera, the Member of Parliament, Rev Dr Gama, the General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod and the Vice Moderator of the Synod. Jeremiah Chienda (my son) also briefly narrated his recollections of his grand fathers life. The main theme threading through all the eulogies was that Rev Chienda had left a legacy of humility, simplicity and extraordinary commitment to his work for the Lord.
The preaching was taken by the Synod Moderator, Rev Kachipapa Banda. He said people who work for God, like the deceased had done all his life, are supposed to be of good reputation, filled with Holy Spirit and full of wisdom like Steven in the book of Acts was. The burial service was led by Rev Dr Kawale, and people left the cemetery around 17:00 hrs, after celebrating a life truly well lived.
The entire ceremony was recorded by Zodiak Radio Station, and was broadcast to the nation in the evening of the same day.
The General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod, Rev Chifungo and the retired Rev Dr Mgawi, a very close associate and brother to Rev Chienda travelled all the way from Nkhoma to be with us and to be part of the funeral procession as we travelled to Lilongwe later in the day. It had been decided that the deceased would be laid to rest at Nkhoma Misison, but it was felt necessary that the body be taken to Lumbadzi, where he had been living, before proceeding to Nkhoma.
The Blantyre Synod was so gracious as to organise a special send off function in Blantyre, to pay their last respects to the departed man of God. Therefore, after a prayer at home, we left for the mortuary about 14:30 hrs to pick the body and take it to the Multipurpose Hall at St. Michael and All Angels Congregation, which hosted the send off ceremony. I was surprised to see so many people who came, obviously at very short notice, to witness the function.
Eulogies were given by the two General Secretaries, Rev Chifungo and Rev Kadawati, followed by a sermon by Rev Nzunga, who affirmed that like Paul, Rev Chienda had "fought a good fight and had finished the course." In attendance was the Blantyre Joint Choir, whose musical contribution was much appreciated by the family.
The procession left for Lilongwe about 16:30 hrs, arriving at Lumbadzi around 21:00 hrs. The following day, another function was held at the deceased's home, starting at 15:00 hrs. Several people spoke including a family representative. Thereafter, Rev Kachipanda delivered a sermon on the three types of calling we all get from God - calling into the world at birth, calling to serve him and calling to leave the world through death. He pointed out that many people avert the second calling but that nobody can run away from the third calling, after which one's destiny would be decided by their response to the second calling.
We left for Nkhoma soon after the preaching, and spent the night there. The body was placed in the multipurpose hall, and the guests spent the night at the Josephat Mwale Theological College hostels.
Te following day, the function started around 11:30 hrs with viewing, and thereafter the body was taken into the Church. Many people stayed outside, as the Church could not accommodate them.
It was a very well conducted function with Rev Kamwendo as director of ceremonies and Rev Nkhoma leading the music. Among the many dignatories that came was the Rev Dr Billie Gama, presidential advisor on religious affairs, who represented the State President.
A number of people gave their touching eulogies, including the Presbytery Moderator, representative of the General Assembly, the Evangelical Association of Malawi and the Bible Society; Traditional Authority Mazengera, the Member of Parliament, Rev Dr Gama, the General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod and the Vice Moderator of the Synod. Jeremiah Chienda (my son) also briefly narrated his recollections of his grand fathers life. The main theme threading through all the eulogies was that Rev Chienda had left a legacy of humility, simplicity and extraordinary commitment to his work for the Lord.
The preaching was taken by the Synod Moderator, Rev Kachipapa Banda. He said people who work for God, like the deceased had done all his life, are supposed to be of good reputation, filled with Holy Spirit and full of wisdom like Steven in the book of Acts was. The burial service was led by Rev Dr Kawale, and people left the cemetery around 17:00 hrs, after celebrating a life truly well lived.
The entire ceremony was recorded by Zodiak Radio Station, and was broadcast to the nation in the evening of the same day.
Tuesday 24 May 2011
His Final Two and a Half Weeks
On Monday, 18th April, the Professor suggested that the patient should begin to undergo physio therapy, in preparation for a possible discharge some time during the week. A professional physio therapist, a lady, was called in to conduct the physio therapy sessions. She came on Monday afternoon and made the patient go through a series of exercises. I the course of the physio therapy, she asked the Reverend to mention the places where he had pastored but got to response. Inexplicably, the blood pressure shot up and he began to sweat profusely. The nurses were called in to normalise the situation, but the patient continued to in be a state of total discomfort.
At about 19:00 hours, the same day, while a number of people were visiting, he suddenly sprang up (obviously in agonising pain) and forced himself to speak. He said, "Thank you all for coming. This is our last ever meeting. Thank you, may God bless you." My mum said to him, "What are are yo talking about?". His reply was, "Is there anything else left?". Those were his last words. By that the time the blood pressure had reached 220/130 and the emergency doctor was called in. She (the doctor) quickly prescribed a high blood pressure lowering drug to be placed in his mouth (they normally place such a drug under the tongue) to try and regulate the pressure.
Since he had lost the ability to speak or eat, a feeding tube was inserted through his nostril, and it remained until the last day of his life. Seeing that he was in obvious pain and discomfort, Professor Wirima ordered an injectible analgesic/sedative to be administered, and the patient slept a lot over the next three days.
In the middle of the second week, be began to show signs of improvement. His eyes became alert, and would blink each time an object was brought close to them. As we began the third week, he suffered another setback. He vomited, but the vomit did not come out. It went into the windpipe instead. This caused great breathing difficulty. As a result, he was placed on oxygen. By this time he had slipped into a deep coma. He stayed on oxygen for the remainder of his days in hospital, save for two days when it was decided to remove the oxygen mask to see if he could manage on his own system.
As we were going into the fourth week, I noticed that no urine was passing into the urinal bag. As a lay person, I did not make much out of this but began to suspect that some body systems were packing up. With hindsight, I think I was not entirely wrong in my supposition. The breathing continued to be problematic, and the face had deformed somewhat. It may well be that he suffered a second or even a third stroke. It was just one complication upon another.
On the night of 8th May, the breathing became particularly erratic. The emergency doctor came and recommended that the oxygen level should be increased. We had a difficult night that night. At around 00:30 hours, I noticed that the breath intakes were very wide apart, in some cases longer than a minute. The nurses tried to pump out the mucus, but, as it turned out, very little came out. He took his final breath at 03:30 on 9th May. Following the final breath, some brown fluid oozed out of his mouth. That was it. The man of God had completed his course.
At about 19:00 hours, the same day, while a number of people were visiting, he suddenly sprang up (obviously in agonising pain) and forced himself to speak. He said, "Thank you all for coming. This is our last ever meeting. Thank you, may God bless you." My mum said to him, "What are are yo talking about?". His reply was, "Is there anything else left?". Those were his last words. By that the time the blood pressure had reached 220/130 and the emergency doctor was called in. She (the doctor) quickly prescribed a high blood pressure lowering drug to be placed in his mouth (they normally place such a drug under the tongue) to try and regulate the pressure.
Since he had lost the ability to speak or eat, a feeding tube was inserted through his nostril, and it remained until the last day of his life. Seeing that he was in obvious pain and discomfort, Professor Wirima ordered an injectible analgesic/sedative to be administered, and the patient slept a lot over the next three days.
In the middle of the second week, be began to show signs of improvement. His eyes became alert, and would blink each time an object was brought close to them. As we began the third week, he suffered another setback. He vomited, but the vomit did not come out. It went into the windpipe instead. This caused great breathing difficulty. As a result, he was placed on oxygen. By this time he had slipped into a deep coma. He stayed on oxygen for the remainder of his days in hospital, save for two days when it was decided to remove the oxygen mask to see if he could manage on his own system.
As we were going into the fourth week, I noticed that no urine was passing into the urinal bag. As a lay person, I did not make much out of this but began to suspect that some body systems were packing up. With hindsight, I think I was not entirely wrong in my supposition. The breathing continued to be problematic, and the face had deformed somewhat. It may well be that he suffered a second or even a third stroke. It was just one complication upon another.
On the night of 8th May, the breathing became particularly erratic. The emergency doctor came and recommended that the oxygen level should be increased. We had a difficult night that night. At around 00:30 hours, I noticed that the breath intakes were very wide apart, in some cases longer than a minute. The nurses tried to pump out the mucus, but, as it turned out, very little came out. He took his final breath at 03:30 on 9th May. Following the final breath, some brown fluid oozed out of his mouth. That was it. The man of God had completed his course.
Monday 23 May 2011
The First Week in Hospital
On arrival at Mwaiwathu, Rev Chienda was dripped with quinine and with glucose, to ensure that he was covered for malaria and that he was receiving adequate nourishment. He remained unconscious throughout most of the day, until late in the night when Professor Wirima ordered that he be fed via a tube instered through his nostril. Almost miraculously, he came round in the middle of the night and began to speak.
The following morning he was able to recognise the people that visited him and would enter into simple conversations with them. On Saturday, 16th April, Professor Wirima order a head scan (ultra sonic) which was conducted at the same hosptial. The scan results were taken to Dr. Kampondeni's clinic in Limbe the following day for interpretation, and it turned out that he had bled in the brain, as a result of hyperternsion.
These results confirmed Professor Wirima's suscipicion of a stroke. However, he (the Professor, that is) was hopeful that the released blood would get absorbed into the body fluids by natural processes. After all, the bleeding had taken place in the brain's ventricles, leaving the actual brain tissue untouched.
On Saturday, 16 April, my mum tried to persuade the patient to take some food, and his response was, "These are visible objects which do not represent the reality. The reality is Jesus." After some time, he went on to say, "Everything that you do, whether it is offerings or whatever, must be grounded in God's word. It is God's word that is the sure foundation for everything."
The following day, 17 April, he could still speak with those that came to see him. When he saw family members during the evening visiting hour, he said to my youngest sister, Tertia, "Can you tell everybody the real purpose of this gathering." She tried to ignore him, but he kept demanding that someone should "in a nutshell state the purpose of the gathering." One of the ladies present was Mrs. Gareta, wife of the late Rev Gareta, who had been a very close family friend. She responded by stating Psalm 23, reciting the entire Psalm, as the purpose fo the gathering, and he noded his head, apparently in approval.
After the visiting hour, I stayed with him for the night. Noticing that everybody had left, he said to me, "Are you the one that disbanded the group?" I responded by telling him that the visiting hour had expired. After a brief, quite moment he spoke to me again, saying, "Do we have 'Ife Timakufunani' in Chichewa (in reference to Hymn No. 30 in the Chichewa Hymn Book)?" Then he went on to sing the first verse of the hymn in local tune. Afterwards, he became quite and stayed quiet all night.
The following morning he was able to recognise the people that visited him and would enter into simple conversations with them. On Saturday, 16th April, Professor Wirima order a head scan (ultra sonic) which was conducted at the same hosptial. The scan results were taken to Dr. Kampondeni's clinic in Limbe the following day for interpretation, and it turned out that he had bled in the brain, as a result of hyperternsion.
These results confirmed Professor Wirima's suscipicion of a stroke. However, he (the Professor, that is) was hopeful that the released blood would get absorbed into the body fluids by natural processes. After all, the bleeding had taken place in the brain's ventricles, leaving the actual brain tissue untouched.
On Saturday, 16 April, my mum tried to persuade the patient to take some food, and his response was, "These are visible objects which do not represent the reality. The reality is Jesus." After some time, he went on to say, "Everything that you do, whether it is offerings or whatever, must be grounded in God's word. It is God's word that is the sure foundation for everything."
The following day, 17 April, he could still speak with those that came to see him. When he saw family members during the evening visiting hour, he said to my youngest sister, Tertia, "Can you tell everybody the real purpose of this gathering." She tried to ignore him, but he kept demanding that someone should "in a nutshell state the purpose of the gathering." One of the ladies present was Mrs. Gareta, wife of the late Rev Gareta, who had been a very close family friend. She responded by stating Psalm 23, reciting the entire Psalm, as the purpose fo the gathering, and he noded his head, apparently in approval.
After the visiting hour, I stayed with him for the night. Noticing that everybody had left, he said to me, "Are you the one that disbanded the group?" I responded by telling him that the visiting hour had expired. After a brief, quite moment he spoke to me again, saying, "Do we have 'Ife Timakufunani' in Chichewa (in reference to Hymn No. 30 in the Chichewa Hymn Book)?" Then he went on to sing the first verse of the hymn in local tune. Afterwards, he became quite and stayed quiet all night.
Saturday 21 May 2011
The Reverend Gets Sick
9th May, 2011 was a sad day for the Chienda family and the Nkhoma Synod of the CCAP owing to the demise of the Rev Yeremiah Chienda, who had served three terms as General Secretary of the Synod. He had been taken ill during the months of February and March and was treated as an out patient at Mtengowanthenga and Dyan Luke hospitals, in Dowa and Lilongwe districts, resectively. Both facilities lay within 15 kilometres from Lumbadzi, where the deceased used to live.
Getting very little relief from the treatment obtained at these reputable hospitals, we, his children, took him to the premier health facility in Malawi, Mwaiwathu Hospital in Blantyre. His first appointment was on 2nd April, 2011. He was given medication that was meant to help him discard some fluids from his body, which had apparently built up as a result of pulmonary edema, a sign of a minor heart failure. It was the fluids that were causing so much discomfort, according to the Doctor.
During a check up visit on 11th April, the Doctor expressed his happiness at the fact that the Reverend had lost 4 kg in body weight, which translated to a loss of 4 litres of water. He was to continue on the same medication pending a further check up at the end of May.
Following the 11 April check up, Rev Chienda and Mrs Chienda decided to leave for Lilongwe on 13th April, to come back for the scheduled check up at the end of May. However, on the afternoon of 12th April, and from nowhere, he started vomiting. There was not much by way of the actual vomit but the vomiting activity was so intense it left him significantly weakened. Our initial suspicion was that he had malaria, so we took him to Chitawira Private Hospital. He tested negative for malaria, but was nevertheless given antimalarial drugs along with some antibiotic, as the white blood cell count was high.
The following day, he did not move around much, spending most of the day in his bedroom. My wife, Elubie, was travelling to Lilongwe on business the following morning. Initially the parents indicated that they would join her but on learning that she was leaving very early to meet an 8:30 am appointment, they changed their mind and opted to leave the following day by coach.
On Thursday morning, 14th April, I left home for the office around 7:00 am while the Revered was being led to the bathroom. Having forgotten some important documents at home, I decided to go back to pick them up. While I was on my way home, my elder sister, Mercy, called me to advise that she and my other sister, Gladys, were at my home and that dad was so weak he was unable to stand or walk. I rushed home and found him seated on the sofa in the sitting room but unable to respond to any stimulus. With the help of my mum and my elder son, Jeremiah, we picked up and placed him in Gladys' car to rush him to hospital. I will in the next entry describe what ensued at Mwaiwathu Hospital, where he was hospitalised for close to a month.
Getting very little relief from the treatment obtained at these reputable hospitals, we, his children, took him to the premier health facility in Malawi, Mwaiwathu Hospital in Blantyre. His first appointment was on 2nd April, 2011. He was given medication that was meant to help him discard some fluids from his body, which had apparently built up as a result of pulmonary edema, a sign of a minor heart failure. It was the fluids that were causing so much discomfort, according to the Doctor.
During a check up visit on 11th April, the Doctor expressed his happiness at the fact that the Reverend had lost 4 kg in body weight, which translated to a loss of 4 litres of water. He was to continue on the same medication pending a further check up at the end of May.
Following the 11 April check up, Rev Chienda and Mrs Chienda decided to leave for Lilongwe on 13th April, to come back for the scheduled check up at the end of May. However, on the afternoon of 12th April, and from nowhere, he started vomiting. There was not much by way of the actual vomit but the vomiting activity was so intense it left him significantly weakened. Our initial suspicion was that he had malaria, so we took him to Chitawira Private Hospital. He tested negative for malaria, but was nevertheless given antimalarial drugs along with some antibiotic, as the white blood cell count was high.
The following day, he did not move around much, spending most of the day in his bedroom. My wife, Elubie, was travelling to Lilongwe on business the following morning. Initially the parents indicated that they would join her but on learning that she was leaving very early to meet an 8:30 am appointment, they changed their mind and opted to leave the following day by coach.
On Thursday morning, 14th April, I left home for the office around 7:00 am while the Revered was being led to the bathroom. Having forgotten some important documents at home, I decided to go back to pick them up. While I was on my way home, my elder sister, Mercy, called me to advise that she and my other sister, Gladys, were at my home and that dad was so weak he was unable to stand or walk. I rushed home and found him seated on the sofa in the sitting room but unable to respond to any stimulus. With the help of my mum and my elder son, Jeremiah, we picked up and placed him in Gladys' car to rush him to hospital. I will in the next entry describe what ensued at Mwaiwathu Hospital, where he was hospitalised for close to a month.
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