A happy new year to you! (Is it too late? Pffft there are no rules to this, receive my new year greeting with glee please). I’m hoping 2020 has started with a great big bang. How are we doing with the resolutions? Kapena that’s an area we shouldn’t even talk about? Tiyamba za serious later?

First things first, I would like to apologize for the silence these past two months. There was a problem with the site’s host, so the website was inaccessible. I was equally frustrated by this but there was not much we could do. We just had to sit and wait, and hey, here we are!

I have not yet sat down to reflect on the past year or written down my goals for this new year yet (my 2020 diary is still blank imagine). I was even surprised January was already gone. This year is going way too fast! 2020 is not here to play!

But looking back, 2019 was an interesting year for me. The middle part of the year was when I hit a low, after the ‘high’ from releasing my album went away. I hope one day, I will talk about it in more detail, and the lessons I took from that experience. Anyway, towards the end of the year, I won my first short story prize! When I say I was not expecting to win guys! I remember sending my entry on the closing day, thinking no one would even read it. It came in third on the Makewana’s Daughter’s 2019 Short Story Competition. It’s a story that is inspired by the work we do at Little Big Prints, and highlights the problems girls face in Malawi as they pursue education. You can read “Lily of the Sky”  on their website. I’m planning to get back into writing short stories this year (crossing my fingers I follow through on this). That’s an area I neglected this past year.

I started a business last year, making all sorts of crafts, mainly notebooks and diaries. The good Lord has been so kind to me, I have added more products to my ‘portfolio’. Some days, I want to pinch myself. I cannot believe just how blessed I am to wake up every morning, running a business I am passionate about!

When I look back at the agony I went through in 2019, I really see God. After recording the album, I started job hunting. That on its own was draining. I constantly felt depressed and ‘not good enough’, receiving rejection letters every other day and trying to remain optimistic. But most of all, I just wanted something to keep me busy. Few weeks later, Faith-Victoria Crafts was born.

My main concern with African Print products is the high price that is attached to them. This is mainly because the products have foreigners in mind. I wanted to create products that were affordable and showcased our gorgeous African print fabrics. With that in mind, I decided to make more products. I am learning as I go and very open to try new things, usually suggested by customers. I actually feel excited when I have to try something new.

Diaries and journals from K2500

Money boxes from K2000

Picture frames – this is K5000

Picture frame, size A4 at K6000

Picture frame, 15×10 cms at K3500

Wall decor pieces from K3000

All custom made.

Large, medium and small Chitenje bookmarks, K200, K300 and K400 respectively.

Here’s what I started with: notebooks. I make sizes A7-A4 from K800.

You can send us a message on WhatsApp to enquire about any of the products and choose from our range of beautiful African Print fabric on wa.me/265994494241.

Looking back, I see why God closed the doors that I was desperately trying to open. I wouldn’t be where I am, building what I am building, if I hadn’t gone through what I went through. So if you are ever in doubt that God is cooking something GREAT for you, remember my story. Remember that God’s grace is sufficient for you and that He is not blind – He can see how much you have struggled and He has good things in store for you.

I am not sure whether I will go back to job hunting or whether I will pursue further education… I honestly don’t know what God has prepared for me tomorrow, but I am assured I will be alright because I have placed it all in His hands. Whatever may come, all I want is to be safe in His perfect will.

Lastly, I have a very big announcement to make in the next few months (let me save you from guessing – no, it is not another album; neither is it an announcement of a “brother” in my life lol not to my knowledge at least). It’s great news that I am dying to tell y’all, but I have to be a little more patient before I do. Praying that all comes into place soon.

OK, this is the last thing for real for real, we will be updating the website very soon (my bio still says I’m 25 😂🤧) I’ll also have more posts to make up for the time the website was down (again, crossing my fingers I follow through on this 😭).

I wish you a memorable 2020, full of breakthroughs and wins; and lessons from any loses you make so you can be a better, stronger and prosperous you.

Until next time,

Faith-Victoria xx

I’ll make this as brief as I can, hoping it doesn’t sound preachy. This is all drawn from my own experience, and I thought it might help some Christian out there. OK, here goes:

I was born and raised in the Message of the Hour. I have ever talked about how the devil convinced me my story of salvation was not that great because I had never really been out there in the world (you can read that post here). To cut the long story short, in my days of wandering, there was a time I thought people from my church were just out to get me. Whenever they tried to correct me and point me in the right direction, in my head, I felt like they were like stalkers; they were judgy and just wouldn’t LET ME BE (“ugh, why are people so nosy?!! Iwowo are they perfect?”)

In retrospect, I am grateful for each and every person who didn’t stand by as I was drifting far from God. They saw me, they cared and they corrected me. I’m also glad that through it all, I never stopped asking God to help me. I don’t know why I just didn’t give up, but I attribute it all to God’s grace.

I believe that a Christian will make mistakes. We will fall on our faces. We might wander far from God’s perfect will and end up in trouble somewhere. But you know what matters? It is what you do when you are told and/or realise you are wrong.

I noticed that a lot of us rush to defend ourselves, completely deny or even label people who are just trying to correct us as “judgy” or just “out to get us”.

Listen. Listen real good.

We are all going to make mistakes at some point. Please, do not cover up your sins and pretend everything is alright and carry on. Admit that you are wrong. Repent! Cry out to God and ask Him to help you change. Don’t stay down when you can ask Him to help you get back up. He will be ready to get you back on track.

Have a heart that is constantly longing to be like the Lord Jesus. Don’t stop trying. Kaya you keep falling because of the same thing, get back up and try again. One day, you will overcome that thing and move past it. And don’t be tempted to stay away from church. That’s the devil’s trick, trying to distance you from God. You know that time you really feel like a sinner? And you don’t feel like going to church? That’s the time you should go, so you can get cleansed by God’s Word and gain more courage for the battle you are facing.

If you keep denying your mistakes and refuse to repent, someday, you might cross the line. There may be no more grace for you, after God gave you so many chances to repent (through the preaching of the Word, through a Christian friend correcting you) and you hardened your heart. Then, you will have to face the consequences because you couldn’t just humble yourself and ask God to forgive you. You might have to go through this miserable life alone, just waiting for the dreadful Judgment Day.

Remember Judas at the Last Supper? Jesus actually called Him out several times, giving him a chance to repent (kenako nkumuuza kuti chabwino, zipitani kapangeni). He went ahead and sold Jesus for pieces of silver he never even got to spend.

Let me finish by saying that if you see your Christian brother or sister in the wrong, and you stand back and don’t correct them with love, you are as guilty. My bestfriend expresses it well: if you see your friend drowning, why would you just stand there and watch them die? That is EVIL. It doesn’t matter whether you think they won’t change or they will look at you different, or even start to hate you. Just. Do. Your. Part! Leave the rest to him/her and God (of course don’t stop praying for them).

I personally appreciate anyone who comes to me and corrects me with love. I know they care about me and want to see me be the best I can be. If you just stand there and watch me drown, you don’t have the love of God in you and we know there’s no way you will enter heaven if you don’t have perfect love in you, “so whatever you do, you lay aside everything else until you are just so filled with the love of God…” (Rev. William Marrion Branham, 60-0522E – Adoption #4).

The end.

-“If you’ve made a mistake, some woman made a mistake, some man made a mistake, some boy or girl made a mistake; don’t sink. Scream out, in despair, “Lord, save me, or I’ll perish!” Get desperate about it. God will hear you. He always hears a desperate soul.” 63-0901E – Desperations. Rev. William Marrion Branham

-“Love is corrective. If it isn’t corrective, it isn’t love.” 63-0319 – The Second Seal. Rev. William Marrion Branham.

Hello loves.

I am pleased to let you know that I have started to put my hands to good use and I’m making all kinds of crafts.

A little backstory:
It all started when I wanted a notebook, and never found one that I liked. So I decided to cover a notebook of mine with leftover Chitenje/Ankara/African Print fabric.

Then my mum saw it and wanted one. Then a friend. And now, this is my hustle y’all!

Some people also asked me to cover various items with Chitenje, so I’m ever learning and making new things all the time, like this glass case:

And it’s not pictured, but I also do Chitenje bookmarks.

I got into wall decor as well using Ankara/African Print.

Totally love this fabric!

I also fix books that are falling apart, especially bibles. This also started when someone asked me to fix their bible (something I had never done before):

The people close to me know how I always said I am not a crafts person. I totally wrote myself off when it comes to anything crafts (couldn’t even sew a button because I always messed it up). But I was having a lot of idle time (in between stressful job hunting and worrying that I am broke and useless at my big age – story for another day). I remembered a verse that has been very true and personal to me:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me – Philippians 4:13.

I believe God has been leading me all along to arrive where I am and He has given me the ability to use my hands to keep myself going.

I also make flower borders on mirrors. This also started because of idleness. One day, I was bored and thought my mirror looked dull. I decided to use mum’s old flowers and attempt to make a border on the mirror in my room and bathroom. It came out better than I thought, and mum loved it!

She asked me to do more, so I did. I posted them on my Instagram story, and got a lot of nice comments.

Someone there suggested making this my hustle, and heeeey, here I am! I do this to mirrors:

…I’m not done yet, I also make these cute floating tea cups!

A huuuge thank you to my mum and friends who supported me when I was just starting (and needed somewhere to practice lol); for giving me a shout out (those go a long way – don’t ever underestimate the power of giving a small business a shout out, even a simple repost means a lot!), and all the constructive feedback that’s helped me improve.

So, hit me up for chitenje notebooks and diaries; wall and mirror decor; and to give those old books a new look (don’t throw them away!). Everything is affordable and custom made 😊

Send me a message on Whatsapp, let’s do business: +265994494241

Today was my first day displaying all my work at Zomba Forest Hill’s Festival at Pakachere Backpackers Lodge. It was totally AWESOME!

I really do believe all things work together for my good and I arrived here because of some painful closed doors. Looking back, I am grateful for them. I wouldn’t have discovered this love I have for such crafts. I actually can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!

-Faith-Victoria x

P/S: I believe you can do and can be many things. It all begins with TRYING. Just try. Thank me later 😏

Each time I’ve thought of sharing about this I’ve stopped myself. I’ve thought, “there are real problems out there than just having low self-esteem. Anthu akuvutika kunjaku”.

I find that telling someone they shouldn’t be upset about something because there are other bigger things to be upset about, is a bit like telling someone not to be happy because there are other bigger things to be happy about. We all have different perspectives, and what might not be a big deal to you, may be a big deal to someone else.

When I was in my teens I developed a negative body image. I figured it was something I should’ve snapped out of. I felt if I told people about it they would think I was trying to get attention or get them to tell me I was attractive. I didn’t know how to explain that my low self-esteem was affecting everything about me in a way that made sense to others.

Thankfully I recovered a few years ago and I don’t have low self-esteem anymore \o/ sure, there are some moments when I don’t feel as confident in my appearance but it is not as bad as it used to be and unlike the past, such moments are fleeting. Sometimes I wonder if I would have recovered sooner if I had known that my mental health was just like my physical health and needed help to recover when unwell. Your mental health is your state of mind. Your thinking determines your life -it affects how you feel and act, so your mental health matters, too. Here are a few things I would tell someone to help them cope and recover:

1. Rest

There will be days when you feel overwhelmed and anxious. Days when you don’t feel confident or competent. Days when none of your clothes fit right. Days when you are easily triggered. Days when you feel sad and you don’t know why. Days when you are tired of sending out applications. Days when you feel stuck and useless or like a burden. Days when you don’t feel like waking up and you just want to be alone and cry. On some really bad days, you may even contemplate death.
On days like this, simply have a day. Stay alive. It’ll get better, promise, but until then, have a day.

2. Try to not compare yourself to others (about anything, really)

Comparing yourself to others leaves you either feeling better than them or worse than them or thinking that your situation isn’t valid or worth getting worked up about. Acknowledging that you are struggling with your mental health does not mean you are dismissing other people’s problems. It does not mean you are “soft” and are only experiencing it because you haven’t gone through what others perceive as real problems. You didn’t choose to feel that way and your feelings are valid.

In countries where the majority of the population don’t have much money to spare, if you are struggling with your mental health and you are perceived wealthy or well to do, you may feel guilty for feeling sad or helpless or too emotional. You may feel as though you shouldn’t feel anxious or helpless because you have material things others don’t. Truth is anyone can struggle with mental health; it has nothing to do with your socio-economic status.

3. Take care of yourself

I like to think of triggers as similar to allergens in concept. Allergens are usually harmless substances that cause allergic reactions, such as lactose, peanuts, or pollen. Some people are born with allergies and some people develop them as they grow and some people outgrow their allergies. Allergic reactions vary in severity in the same person depending on the circumstances. People don’t choose what to be allergic to, and not everyone has allergies. A trigger is something that reminds a person about a traumatic event or period in their life. It can cause the person to experience the same unpleasant emotions they had such as sadness, anxiety, or helplessness. People don’t choose to be triggered and they all react differently.

If you have struggled with your mental health before then try to recognise your triggers and a strategy for ways to cope. When you are triggered, allow yourself to feel your feelings. Bottling them up tends to makes it worse. I find the best way to deal with unpleasant feelings is to acknowledge them and feel them and find ways to cope. You could seek professional help from a therapist. You could pray. You could keep a journal to write your thoughts in. You could exercise. You could meditate on scripture to renew your mind. You could do whatever healthy (doesn’t harm you or others) thing to cope, it depends on what works for you at the time.

One way that helps me cope are quotes. There is a quote I particularly like that says “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”

I hope you’re happy and healthy ❤

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Hie! I am Thokozani and I am a foodie who loves to travel and nap.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday because my hair game was strong. These made the cut from 78 that I bribed my sister to take as a launch-of-my-writing-career photo shoot.

Hie. I’m Faith. Not that Faith. A different Faith. I don’t know if I should introduce myself now or just keep writing and trust that there’s going to be an intro of sorts at the end of this. Anyways. I was asked to write about something and honestly I never know what to say or write in such situations. Not that I have nothing to write, no, just that I have a lot of things I wanna say and being limited to only using 26 letters to do so seems very restrictive (so I choreographed this dance instead. I kid.) To make matters worse I was asked to write about something I am passionate about, which in my case is psychology (clinical psychology major #flex) and I tend to just go on and on when it comes to that. So to avoid rambling or breaking into dance, I kind of chose to narrow it down to talking about things I was never told about going to therapy. Before I begin, let me just put out a disclaimer; I am not a licensed therapist so do not fully take me at my word. I am only sharing this as a person who has been to therapy before. (Yes, your therapists have therapists. And yes, they still find it difficult just like everybody else.) I’m also writing this as a student who keeps finding out more interesting things about what psychology really is with every lecture and bad grade that she gets. So let’s begin.

One: Therapy is hard. You’ve probably heard this a number of times before (if you haven’t then let me be the first to tell you “girrrrl, therapy is HARD”) and believe it. Before I scare you away, let me explain what I mean. There is something intimidating about sharing and also uncovering certain truths about yourself with an individual that you do not have an emotional connection to. As much as that is the case though, the more you talk to said person and build a relationship with them, the sorta kinda easier it gets. So if you do decide to see a therapist and find yourself sitting in the waiting area planning your escape, rest assured that you’re not the first, nor will you be the last person to try this. Just take a deep breath and probably go with somebody who will body block you when you try to escape. (Also having somebody on the phone with you while you wait helps.)

My second point kind of echoes the first one and it’s that therapy is hard work. I know Hollywood has sold us this view of therapy that you just go there and your therapist knows everything before you even speak. Honey! Let. Me. Tell. You. It doesn’t work that way. You have to actually talk, open up and on top of, that be willing to put in the work. First time I went to see my psychologist, I was shook when he asked me why I was there. Lol. I know. In the back of my head I was thinking “shouldn’t you know this already?” But in the words of every psychologist ever, they’re not mind readers! I had to actually explain why I had carried myself from Zomba to Blantyre just to sit in his office for thirty minutes. At the end of our session he gave me an exercise to do and I downright told him I don’t wanna do it. This man looked me in the eye, and in the nicest tone ever told me “Faith. If you’re not willing to put in the work then we’re just wasting time and you’ll gain nothing from coming here.” In that moment, I felt he was being harsh. Like how dare He! I came all this way for this? But as time went on I started to realize what he meant. I knew I needed help and I was resisting the help because I was scared of what facing my problems meant. It’s like venturing into the dark and hoping you won’t get swallowed whole (also, you won’t). I mean, it’s not easy having to deal with things that you buried away and got used to living with because you normalized them. Sometimes it gets comfortable living with our problems and being told it’s not supposed to be that way and being asked to change brings about a fear of disorganization. Facing the disorganization is scary and mainly what makes therapy hard. So instead of focusing on how hard or scared you are, try to think of what getting over that fear means to you. Then do the exercises or homework’s (yes, you get homework) because what do you have to lose, right? Eventually, as time goes by, that disorganization you were worried about will stop seeming so terrifying and you’ll probably realize that you’re better for not letting the fear you had overpower you.

Third, and this is just important; there are different kinds of therapy and therapeutic strategies. Some might involve your therapist hypothetically holding your hand and walking you through your problems. Others might involve your therapist hypothetically guiding you with their voice and letting you do all the necessary work. Both are helpful and at the end of the day have your best interests at heart. In that moment, however, it might not feel that way but the concept of “it gets harder before it gets easier” also applies here because this is something that is foreign to you and you need to give it time. In my case, I think my therapist was using the guiding voice strategy probably because he needed me to realize that I have the power to change what I needed to change (I went there feeling like I was so helpless). And also I was going to be leaving for school and would only have three sessions with him (one of which I ran away from). It felt like I was being thrown into the deep end with no life jacket whatsoever and him just screaming out to me and telling me to keep paddling wasn’t enough. Fast forward two months later and I was at school in the middle of a crisis, I called him and he made me realize that even though it felt like I was drowning, I had actually made a lot of progress. Now I look at certain things I’m dealing with and think yo! I’m glad He helped me the way that He did. What I’m trying to say is, the first couple of sessions are hard and it might seem like your therapist isn’t helping you (unless they aren’t; which is a whole other story) but just try to be open minded and hear them out.

PS; please note that change isn’t immediate. It takes time. So do just that. Give it time. And the good thing about therapy is that regardless of the number of times you’ve seen a therapist, the tools they give you stick with you. So that one session or two sessions might seem like they did nothing but you would be shocked to realize that you’re still using a couple of techniques you got from therapy two years ago and you’re better for it.

Number four. And this might be a bummer. To quote one of my professors, “there will be no laying down on any form of couch unless you’re in Germany… but also that’s just weird.” If you’re in Malawi, the place might not even have a couch. I went to Mwaiwathu and I kid you not, I sat on a wooden bench in their physiotherapy room (I honestly hope they’ve fixed that because honestly, that wasn’t it. Lol)
Finally, there is this notion that that therapy is only for those that are sick. I mean, it makes sense right? You only seek “help” when there is something wrong, right? In this case, that might mean thinking “I’m not mentally ill so I don’t need therapy” but honestly that’s not true. I’m gonna quote one of the key figures in positive psychology, Martin Seligman, who continuously tries to get people to understand that “psychology is not just the study of disease, weakness and damage; it is also the study of strength and virtue. Treatment is not just fixing what is wrong; it is also building what is right. Psychology is not just about illness or health; it is about work, education, insight, love, growth and play.” I know that being in Malawi where we already have a handful of psychologists (sigh), the guilt of going to therapy not because you’re sick might be stronger. But at the end of the day if talking to a professional about all the things going right in your life and asking for tools on how to maintain them will give you peace of mind then, by all means, do it!

Faith Cheonga is a 22 year old coffee and music lover who has big dreams and bad sleeping habits. She is passionate about all things psychology and is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in clinical psychology at the University of Namibia. Her career goals range from becoming a military psychologist to working with doctors without borders but she’s still fine tuning. In the meantime, her non-school time is split between volunteering, listening to songs by the same artist over and over again or getting lost in a good book. Oh, and she also writes every now and then.

Follow Faith Cheonga on Instagram and Twitter.

After adult life slapped me hard and left me down in the dumps, I asked my cousins and niece if we could go hiking up Zomba Plateau (timafuna mphepo zina amwene). Zomba Plateau is one of my favourite places in the world and I’ve been up there a whole lot of times, but I always drove and went to the pretty common places (read: Mulunguzi Dam and Ku Chawe Hotel). This time, I wanted something different. I wanted a challenge.

My cousin, Elant, told me of a trail he used before. He said a hike was doable. But because I didn’t want to take such a HUGE risk, we drove and parked the car by the dam. We were going to walk the rest of the way. It seemed easy enough.

We started our journey through Mulunguzi Dam at around 12 pm. We were pretty excited, so we spent a good part of the time taking selfies. The dam is where our fresh water comes from – the best water in Malawi, might I add.

Then we went past the little gate at the end of the dam and turned right. At first, the road was flat and even when we started going uphill, it wasn’t all that steep. In my head, I thought, “well, hiking isn’t all that bad” but boy, was I wrong! It started to get steeper and steeper. Elant told us we would rest on some big rock ahead, and he assured us we weren’t too far. I started to walk slowly and my head hurt! My legs were all shaky and I COULDN’T BREATHE!!! Whenever we asked Elant how long it would take us to get to the mwala (rock), he would say, “almost there!”

I started to question my decision to come hiking. Why didn’t we just end at the dam like everyone does? How come he didn’t tell us it was going to be THIS hard? My heart was beating a thousand times a minute lol, and I just could not go on. I thought I was gonna faint! Even Hope and my niece, Winiwa were feeling exhausted. We all just stopped walking at some point and sat down to rest.

Be not deceived, brethren, that is a fake smile. Deep down I wanted someone to beleka me (give me a piggyback ride).

Eventually, we got back up and continued our upward climb, with my niece pulling my arm half the time because I was always falling behind! IT WAS HARD!! 😭 Then we met three boys carrying wood on their head. When we asked them where they were going, they said Sadzi (which is very far!) We asked if they had started their journey the same day, and they said they had. They came early in the morning and were making their way home now (in the scorching sun!). We felt sorry for them, and somehow they gave us some motivation to keep going.

Finally, we got to the mwala we had been talking about [Insert choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus here]. By this time, I was so tired that I just sat down somewhere on the trail to rest. As Hope and Winiwa were busy “wow’ing” the view from a rock they had just climbed, I was downing my bottle of water. After I gained some strength, I climbed the rock too and… OK, you know what, the view was so worth the hike!

The rest of the journey was pretty flat land (this is why I love plateaux!). One sad thing is how clear it’s become because of deforestation. We could see that some trees have been planted, but it’s not that many trees.

After walking for a while, we got to Chagwa Dam.

During the rainy season, Zomba city was at risk of flooding because the dam was on the verge of collapsing. And yes, it would have been a disaster. I hope a lasting solution is found.

We continued our journey, and got to Queen’s View.

A short walk from Queen’s View is Emperor’s View; which, in my opinion, has a better view than Queen’s view. Did I mention we hadn’t had lunch? And we were getting here at around 2 pm? We spent a good part of our time resting and eating here. It was windy, and my jacket came in handy.

My highlight was when we carried a tree trunk and threw it down the mountain, just so we could hear it roll. Honestly, the silliness of it all made my day.

Then Elant casually mentioned a place called Songani Lookout, some distance from where we were. We were sold! He warned us that it was far and it would be best if we turned back. Anyway, guess who walked more miles to go see Songani Lookout? That’s right, WE DID! And IT WAS WORTH IT!

All I can say is, God is so great! Seeing Him in His creation leaves me feeling so small. I really really REALLY enjoyed the day. Of course it reminded me that some struggles we face may seem so painful, but when we get to our destination, we will understand why we had to go through it. All the pain will soon be forgotten. Keep holding on and don’t you dare turn back! Like Elant kept saying, remind yourself often: “almost there!” It will all be worth every painful step.

Our way back was quite enjoyable. For some reason, I didn’t feel as tired as I thought I would. We were arriving back at the dam when it was dark, singing praise songs because, wow, God was with us throughout!

Shoutout to those sticks that made our descent bearable.

Will I go hiking again anytime soon? No! But after my legs have rested, I might reconsider ;). But I definitely recommend hiking. The view is ALWAYS worth it. Don’t forget to pack a lot of water and take it easy. Sometimes kuthamanga sikufika. 
P/S: here’s a poster on how you can help reforest and protect Zomba Plateau:

…because I’ve had it for years but wasn’t really uploading and only got round to it recently.

But anywho, INTRODUCING MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL! YAAAY! *throws confetti in the aiiir*

Soooo, I did mention I have a YouTube channel in a blog post some months back, but it didn’t have much. I have recently uploaded some more videos to it and I’m gonna try to upload videos often.

It has some of my acapella covers like “I Feel Good”:

https://youtu.be/2LyYCj7GgT0

Some acoustic covers with my brother, McDonald Chitekwe:

Some songs I did (when we were having practice sessions for the Chikondi album) with Enoch Mlenga, the guitatist:

https://youtu.be/qleUhUiexPY

Some special songs I sung in church with my good friend, Chisomo Kumala:

My favourite – songs I sung with my Sunday School class:

I am super proud of these kids! They are such fast learners and they just love singing. It’s an honour to be their Sunday School teacher 🙂

AND MANY MORE! (What are you waiting for, go check out my channel already! *insert jingle here*)

Sorry about the quality of some of the videos, I do hope it only gets better from here.

Also, you can like my Facebook page where I post videos first, and my Instagram, also where I post most of my videos first (and other pictures of me but with filters lol)

Please subscribe, share, leave me a comment and…stuff.

My other projects are still up for sale: This is the Promise (2016), Peace of Loving You EP (2018) and my recent album, Chikondi (2019). Hit me up for a copy. I give a discount if you buy all three projects at once :).

Thank you for your continued support.
May you be blessed.

Hello loves!
It’s been over a month since I had a new blog post. Please be assured, it’s been a tough month of nagging myself to write, while fighting the urge to put up a meaningless post, just for the sake of it. But I decided to update y’all on my life currently so some things are clear. Hopefully this isn’t a meaningless post too *giggles nervously*

First off, I celebrated my 26th birthday last month. It was one of the rare times I actually looked forward to closing a chapter in my life. I was so done with 25 lol. My friends and family spoiled me rotten! I went to my favourite spot in Zomba and ate like a pig (shout out to Martha and Phaless). Also, I’ve been on a diet, and I’ve managed to gain over 8kgs in 2 months! So yes guys, I’m getting fat. Don’t tip toe around it, congratulate me instead because your girl’s worked really hard for this (sleeping 8hours+ and eating over 6 meals a day isn’t easy please 😭). I am receiving congratulatory gifts too; preferably in the form of new clothes and/or food😏.

May and June have been difficult months for me, though. I started to have doubts over a lot of things, like the direction of my life and how slow my life seemed to be going. One of those things was this website. I seriously considered shutting it down. I was feeling guilty because I haven’t been inspired enough to update it the way I usually did in the past. I started to feel that it had served its purpose and needed to go. But as I thought on these things, I started receiving messages from people in countries I never imagined, telling me how much they’ve enjoyed reading posts on the site. I finally decided I wouldn’t shut it down. So, thank you for the feedback, new visitors; and to the regular visitors, thank you for being patient with me. It really means a lot to me that you resonate with the things I write. It’s not easy putting yourself out there so you make me feel less alone in this big world. But I also want to write meaningful posts so I never drift away from who I am. I still prefer 1 good post to 5 posts with no real meaning.

Secondly, I released an album which sold more copies than I imagined! Some day, I will write about how amazing my music journey has been. Thank you for the wonderful support! I am not a well known person, but somehow, word about my album got around (organic growth for the win!) It’s because of YOU guys. Thank you so much and may God bless you for letting me live my dream.

As some of you know, after I finished my album, I intended to get back into hunting for a job in my field: social sciences. If you’re not familiar with Malawi’s current situation, we are facing very high unemployment rates. It’s very hard to get a job, especially a good job. I was really not excited about going back to CVs, application letters and going through vacancies. But anyway, there was one particular job I desired, that I wrote an aptitude test for some months back. I really wanted this job, not only because it was my dream job since secondary school, but also because it was my dad’s first “adult” job. He really wanted me to fall in love with Economics again through this job.

My friends got a follow-up letter, inviting them for interviews, but I didn’t receive it. I checked with the post office almost everyday. I told myself I wasn’t picked, but something inside me told me it couldn’t be. Anyway, our government decided that sending letters via our archaic post office is better than other fast, effective means such as emails or phone calls. I got the letter inviting me to the interviews 3 weeks later. There was nothing I could do about it. It has taken me a while, but I have finally come to terms with it. There’s a very good reason God shut that door. I know greater is coming.

I also had an interview with a Non-profit that I thought went very well. I later got an email telling me their biggest concern is that I follow the message of William Branham. Obviously, I didn’t get the job, but it was an interesting experience for me. I never thought my beliefs would stand in my way of getting a job. Again, I praised God for shutting that door. One thing I know, God will always take care of His own. There’s no way you can stand for His Word and be forsaken. This is my comfort. Greater is coming.

By His grace, I have managed to find some ganyu’s (piece work) that have kept me going. I have worked on interesting research projects and had invaluable experience. I worked as a translator for an amazing lady called Molly, who, ironically, took me to places in Zomba I had never been. We had an awesome time using public transport (and getting stares because azungu don’t usually get on a kabaza (bike taxi)). We finished it all by eating one of my favorite foods: chiwaya (street fries) and chicken. Thankfully, Molly didn’t get sick and we are so doing it again when she comes back to Malawi!

Just before Molly realised the magic of chiwaya

Lastly, since I decided to keep the site running, I have exciting blog posts coming up. Some of them will be guest bloggers, so please be nice :). I’m really excited to read the posts with you because I actually haven’t read them yet.

Again, thank you for being a part of this site. Some of you even sent me messages asking if I’m OK, because I haven’t updated the blog in a while. I’m very OK. I’ve just been caught up and I also ran out of inspiration juice. Here’s a watermelon slice 🍉 you deserve it. Cheers to a meaningful life (and post).

Some days ago, I received news that crashed me. It was something I had worked hard towards, something I believed with all my heart, and it all ended in one rejection letter. It was painful. Imagine my horror when I decided to share this bad news to a friend, and they kicked me whilst I was down.

“Honestly, Fai, you’re not good enough. I already told you you were aiming too high. You have too much faith and all it does is hurt you instead. We both know this is your fault cause I warned you several times.”

It was hard hearing those words from a friend. I needed comforting words and all they did was hurt me even more. That day, I cried myself to sleep, replaying the words they had just said to me.

Would it surprise you if I told you that friend was actually myself?

Yes, after receiving the heavy blow, I talked down on myself. I reminded myself of all my failures and how I will probably be stuck in an endless cycle of “falling and getting back up”. Luckily, I caught myself wallowing in negativity just in time. I scolded Other Faith for adding salt to my painful wound.

Often times, when we fall, or don’t make the progress we want, the first thing we do is gather all our failure stories and make the pain worse. Why do we do that? How does that even help us?

It’s very easy to get stuck in the negatives (there are loads of experiments which prove this). It takes TRAINING YOUR MIND to see the positive side to things. I remember sharing this news to two of my friends and they immediately hit me with the “everything happens for a reason” line. It ANNOYED me. I kept thinking, “yeah, cause it’s not happening to you! Duh!” LOL y’all know how positive talk in those moments can seem meaningless (I love you guys, please don’t stop being there for silly me). But I sat down and thought about it – yes, God would never hold back blessings that belong to me. All things are working for MY good. I may not understand why right now, but God knows better.

At the beginning of this year, I started something I thought was pointless at first. I bought a notebook which I call my Gratitude Journal. At the end of each day, I write down three things I am grateful for that day. When I was down, I took the notebook and read all my previous entries. It left me feeling positive. I would encourage you to try it, too. Our minds need training on how to focus on the positives and this is a good way to start.

I often say, you wouldn’t force a broken leg to run, so why do you force yourself to ‘keep going’ when your heart’s broken? Don’t you think it needs some mending first? For me, I knew if I forced myself to “just get over it”, it would make me drift into a depression pit I have fallen into in the past. So I took time off anything that would require my energy. I needed to come to terms with the bad news and just recharge. To some, it may seem like going to extreme lengths; I used to think so too, but it’s been effective. It helped me let go of what I thought would be. I took some time to pray and ask God for His direction. I slept all I could, ate to my heart’s content and watched a lot of cake decorating videos which somehow satisfied my heart. I’m happy to say I am back up and ready to live life with a healthier, positive mind.

If you’re feeling stuck, I’m sending you love. May life be kinder to you. Also, try cake decorating videos. Therapeutic. 10/10 would recommend.

Say hello to my wittle Gratitude Journal 🙂

Here’s my first attempt to a chocolate layer cake after watching too many cake decorating videos (which has been an amazing comfort food):

My favorite thing about social media is how it connects us to people all over the globe; especially ones with the same interests and values like yours. Instagram has helped me gain some really beautiful friends. One of them is Sister Tariro, a bright, cheerful sister from Zambia 🙂

We started talking when we found out we are both Sunday school teachers and I got to know what a lovely, strong sister she is. And to top it off, her outfits are always on point!

I hope her outfits can serve as an inspiration and a reminder that modesty doesn’t have to be boring and flimsy.

Here’s more of Tariro slaying us with her gorgeous outfits:

She usually buys her outfits in Ackermans, Jet, Edgars, Legit and Mud boutiques, but most of her clothes are tailored.

Want more? You can follow her on Instagram and follow her events management page here.

For my past modesty posts, click here.

Happy Easter! Be blessed x