Gary and Shirley take us through a typical day in their life serving at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Malawi.

5AM: We are woken by the call to prayer from the local mosque.

6AM: Exercise! We walk down the noisy, dusty, busy path alongside the main road where we are greeted by a growing array of new and old friends in the community who encourage (and correct!) us as we practise our Chichewa (the local language). Pang’ono, pang’ono (little by little) we are getting to know more about our new friends.

7AM: Breakfast, shower. Maybe chat with our adult children in Australia as they drive home from work.

7:30AM: Chapel commences with worship followed by a short sermon from a student or staff member. Today Gary is sharing from Ecclesiastes 4.

8AM: Lectures commence – Communication for Shirley and Old Testament for Gary. If we are not teaching, then we’ll be marking or preparing lessons.

12PM: Lunch. Unlike our students whose meals are prepared from scratch and cooked over a fire, we opt for sandwiches.

1:30PM: More lectures. It’s the hottest part of the day. With little electricity and no air conditioning, teaching (and learning) in the afternoon is hard work. Despite our best efforts students often nod off in the oppressive heat.

4:30PM: Walk the dogs around the campus in the cooler afternoon. Time to chat with students having a short break – a reminder that life on campus is also about community, pastoral care and relationships. This all takes time.

6PM: Dusk – time to head inside away from the mozzies and prepare dinner.

7:30PM: Chat about the day, spend time in prayer and revise our Chichewa. If the electricity and internet are working then there’s time for TV.

9PM: Read an e-book or catch up on the news before zzz.