The journey to the production of this EP started a really long time back. 2016 to be precise. After I recorded my debut album, I didn’t want to record music anymore. Why? Because I felt that the reason why I was recording was done and dusted, which was to record the special songs I had sung in church. I remember mid-2016, my best friend and I were going through some rough time that made us question the direction of our lives and they just happened to say to me so confidently, “you’re going to record more music”. I laughed and brushed them off. Music wasn’t something I really wanted to get into. Just something I did during a holiday in uni. And the music business in Malawi is not something you get into to make money. I wasn’t keen on the idea to be honest.

I continued with my undergrad, went on to graduate and searched for a job to do with Social Science. In July, 2017, I got a job as a research assistant and I went on to work in Lilongwe for about 4 months. While I was in Lilongwe, I missed singing. I missed it so much, I would record minute acapella covers using my phone and post them on social media; I would sing in the morning before the car came to pick us up to go to the field. I sung when we were back from the field, before bed. Joan (my roommate and teammate) and I were a match made in heaven. She loved to hear me sing. She said it helped her fall asleep. So you can imagine how much noise I was making every night.

Early in the morning before Lilongwe dust did it’s thing

Team about to head to the field

As time went by, I started to fall ill often. But because I had nothing else to do back home, I forced myself to work. I was admitted over 3 times, was on so many doses and had to endure the pain of countless needles. Eventually, I fell so ill that I would wake up in the middle of night screaming, because my sides hurt. I quit my job and came back home, in Zomba.

It turns out I had a bad case of pneumonia and because I had delayed in seeking the right medical attention, half of my right lung was almost gone. I was admitted again, and battled for life for over a fortnight. As I was laying in hospital, coughing and gasping for breath, I wished I had recorded music. I wish I had done what I really love. I prayed to God and told him if I came out of the hospital alive, I would go and record music. By the grace of God, I recovered. And soon as I was back on my feet, my brother, King David, took me to a studio here in Zomba that had just recently opened.

The day I got discharged

I told my parents, “I’m not hunting for a job anymore. I want to record music.” I’m so glad God gave me very understanding parents. They told me to go ahead and supported me every mile of the way. From borrowing their car to go to the studio, eating their food when we have a practice session here at home, to being the first critics when the songs were done. They didn’t nag me to get a job and were kind enough to share me ndalama yogulila bundle ya pa net (money to buy internet bundles). It hasn’t been easy, but I have done a lot of learning through this little project.

Peace of Loving You track list:

Known- I loved the vocals in this song. It started as a little experiment to see whether I can actually sing because I was so intimidated by the vocals at first. Tauren Wells did an absolutely beautiful job with this one. This song reminds me of how far I have come in my Christian journey, how He picked me up and how He still loves even though I go astray here and there. I truly can’t explain why he gives me so much!

Peace of Loving You- This was the first song Chipiliro suggested we record. Initially, we were just gonna record one song. I have sung this song a couple of times in church. Many people asked me to record it, and well, here it is guys. This is actually my favourite track in the EP, because of the struggles I went through to come up with this EP. I was usually frustrated, discouraged and several times, I wanted to throw the whole EP away. But in whatever I was going through, my God managed to help me through and he gave me so much peace just when I needed it. I don’t think there could quite possibly be a better friend, Saviour and Lord like Jesus Christ. And with my final breath, I want to praise Him. Always and Forever.

Oh what a friend- the way I came to include this track is odd. It came to me after a day in the field, dragging my dusty feet in the room, trying to heat water to tidy up. I started singing the song and although I had heard it so many times (actually, since my childhood), I fell in love. Then I forgot about it. One day, while Enoch and I were ‘jamming’ at my grandmother’s house, I started to sing this song. I loved how his guitar sounded, and we both just agreed, “Yup, this is going in the EP”.

Yimbirani Chikondi cha Yesu/When We All Get to Heaven- This song also came in the craziest way. We were on our way to the field and the cars were being refuelled at Kaunda Road Puma Filling Station. I went and sat on the curb and it was windy that day. I’m sure this song was carried to me by the wind lol, because I started to sing it and tried to use the Chichewa tune on the English version. It worked! And immediately, I wanted to record it! I even tried it on the acapella app and I loved the sound. Enoch did a great job with the guitar in this one. I remember him saying he would work on it that night, and then we went straight to record it the next day.

Here are some pictures of some studio sessions at ICP studio in Mulunguzi:

One of our very first sessions. Enoch Mlenga on the guitar and Chipiliro Chambamba, the pianist.

Me taking selfies while Dean did all the hard work

Me again, taking selfies while Enoch is doing za serious

A biiig shout out to Dean Dembo and Emmanuel Phiri who produced this EP. These guys were so patient with us, and were very accommodating of our ideas.  I can say with my whole heart, I had so much fun recording these songs and I made this place my home.

Another person that helped me a lot along the way is Elijah Saidi, who made the cover art and all the countdown posters. There was a day that I sat down and actually saw the amount of work that goes into graphic designing, I was so drained at the end of the day! I’m so grateful for the amazing work you did, Elijah.

I was actually really tired here. Graphic design is too much work

I pray that you may be blessed with these songs. I wish I recorded more, but time, money and other factors beyond my control did not allow me to do so. I even wish I gave this EP away for free, but I have to pay for the studio, transport and many other costs I incurred along the way. I want to assure you that the money I make off selling my songs is reinvested into making more music. It is my goal to make beautiful, high quality music, and my ultimate goal is to sing His bride a song and bring all the glory to His name.

This EP is me fulfilling the promise I made on that hospital bed. This is a testimony of how good God has been to me. This is me saying THANK YOU! For this chance to do what I absolutely love. For life. For His grace. And for the assurance that I will get to heaven and SING, SING AND SIIIING! I cannot wait!

Here’s to recording more songs for the glory of the King!

May you be blessed.

P/S: You can send me a message if you would like a copy of the EP, or purchase it here. Register, then add the 4 songs to cart.

–Well, I tell you, you—you certainly are blessed with some real good singing. I like good singing. I just love real good singing. I’ve always said, when I get to Heaven I want to get where they’re singing, and listen. I never could get my fill of singing. You know, singing gives courage. You know that, don’t you? The soldiers, when they’re going to battle, you know what they do? They play music and sing, and things to give them courage. 

65-1031A – Leadership. Rev. William Marrion Branham

I usually don’t do a month catch up, or something regular to talk about how my life is going (because I don’t want to commit to something I won’t follow through. I also don’t have an exciting life to keep that running), but hey, I think I need to sit down, breathe, and talk about this year so far.

Things have been confusing, painfully slow, difficult and wow, I just sat down recently and thought, “God trusts me too much with these tests.” The dreams I’ve been trying to chase seem so empty, far-fetched and bleak. Everything seems to be going the other way. The plans I had in my head and what is actually happening on the ground are just two extremely different things and that just demotivates me further. Most of my days comprise me of going where the wind is blowing. I feel like I’m not in control of my life, and I am like a leaf being tossed in a wild storm.

Then come the sad times, when all I do is sit and think about how useless I am feeling because time is going by so fast and I don’t seem to have accomplished much (no, the solution isn’t simply, “stop being sad”). Lately, I have seen myself get to a place I have been before, a dark dark place I have been running from since my teenage years where I feel so anxious, depressed and well, hopeless. Getting out of bed seems like such a huge task and eating is forced on me by my close friends. I am always feeling tired, I can hardly focus and eventually, I miss out on important deadlines. I just sigh and say, “Mulungu, mubwela liti? Dziko latopetsa ili.”

Yesterday morning was a bit different for me. As I was praying, I focused my prayer on being thankful: for life, for how far He has taken me, for my beautiful family and friends; and most importantly, for the challenges that I am facing that are making me a better Christian. I got to a place where I just laid everything on the table, and said, “God, I need you. I can’t seem to figure things out” and I poured my heart out. For one, I saw that there’s so much to be grateful for that the sadness blinded me to. I also felt such a sense of peace after that, and the strength to complete tasks I’ve been putting off for too long. If there’s one thing that I am holding on to, it’s that God is not blind to my problems and that every prayer I’ve prayed, He has heard. I will simply choose to trust in Him.

I wish I was writing this in a much much better place, but I am not. I don’t want to pretend to be someone who has it all together because I am still fighting battles. And I know that I am not alone. So this post is for anyone else feeling stuck, and the pressure from chasing your wild dreams has left you feeling drained. This is for you who also desperately needs grace to stay afloat. Remember that when something big is about to happen in your life, the devil tries all he can to get in the way. But here’s a spoiler: We. Will. Get. Through. This.

I don’t know how. I don’t know when. But hold on. When you hit rock bottom, the only other place you can head is up. I am proud of you for being strong, for being the miracle that you are, and for getting up and showing up when all you feel inside is heaviness-that is amazing! You are AMAZING! I am already proud of what you are about to accomplish and the testimony that will come out of it. Here’s to you and all your awesomeness!

All my love,

Fellow Rock-Bottom-But-On-Our-Way-To-A-Breakthrough

P/S: Here’s a quote someone sent me via Instagram that lifted me up:

“Maybe He let this slump come, call, come in here, just to find out what you’ll do. That’s the way He does it, to prove your faith, see what you’ll do. Run away? Don’t the Bible say, “All things will work together for good to them that love Him”?” William Marrion Branham, 63-1130E Go Awake Jesus

Red. My favourite colour in the world. A colour that demands to be seen. It attracts attention and gets me excited.

On one end, red can mean anger and danger, but on the other end, red represents passion. Such a beautiful colour.

My love for red came about in my late teens after a session of looking at interior designs on tumblr (and day dreaming about my future house when I get ridiculously rich). Red attracted my attention. The best ones just had hints of red. But it is only recently that I started loving red clothing too. I try to avoid wearing too much of it by mixing it with black, white or both. Too much red can be overwhelming. Which is something I really struggle with because loving in moderation is such a hard task. Anyone feel me? No? OK moving on…

Dress and jacket: thrifted

At this point, you must know I am a Thrift Queen and I explained why before and how I go about thrifting.

I bought this dress at Chinamwali Market about a year ago but every time I tried it on, I hated it. It’s been sitting in my closet for months and I never once wore it. I just felt like trying it this day and if I didn’t like it, I would give it away. I loooved it. The dress felt so great and I kept thinking, “wow sis, you slept on such a gorgeous dress.” Turns out, all it needed was this jacket.

I am such a pocket lover, I’m probably gonna search for a wedding dress with pockets when the time comes 😂

Shoes: Legit

At this point in my life, I am over thrifted shoes. I know I’m such a thrifter, but I refrain from buying thrifted shoes. It’s rare to find a good shoe from kaunjika. They are not worth the disappointment. If you want shoes that will last you, consider buying something brand new.

Top and skirt: thrifted

This was after church, when I had to walk in the rain and I didn’t want something floor sweeping, because mud. I also don’t like to ruin my shoes, so plastic shoes and flip flops are definitely abused during the rainy season.

Oh red, you beautiful colour!

A big shout out to Eddah for making me that red bow that is such a great icing to the red cake! Bows are one of my favourite accessories because they come in so handy. They are easy to make, here’s a little tutorial. I’m not a very big fan of sewing or handicrafts really. I have attempted crafts before but it was such a disaster. I like to save myself from heartache by accepting when something isn’t my forte. But you can always try it (or have friends like Eddah).

Flip Flops: Pa Ziboliboli in Zomba

I found these flip flops the other day and they were so cute but really cheap. These ones are made from old tyres, and are soooo comfy. I thought I would wear them for a week and the little beads would fall out, but they have stood the test of time.

Do yourself a favour and try on any clothes you wrote off by pairing them with something different. They may surprise you! X

Growing up, my parents sent my siblings and I to a private school which was very strict with English and taught us using the British curriculum. When we get in through the gates, we weren’t supposed to speak any vernacular language. I grew up looking down on my mother tongue for most part of my childhood, because of how much the school “demonised” it. Speaking Chichewa was kind of backward, and English was superior and better.

My parents didn’t think so. They didn’t like how we didn’t learn Chichewa at all, and they worried that we were growing up in a society that uses Chichewa and in the long run, we wouldn’t be a ‘part-of’ because we didn’t fully know our mother tongue. So at home, we always spoke Chichewa. Sometimes I would try kuwawalila mummy (showing off my English to mummy) and talk to her in English, but she would look at me (after rolling her eyes lol) and speak to me in Chichewa. Why was she being so backward?

Eventually, chizungu timachisiya pa gate pa school pompo and timachitola mawa lake tikabwelela (we left English at the gate and picked it up the next day when we were back).
It wasn’t long, they found us a tutor who would teach us how to read and write Chichewa. We had the lessons every day after school. I remember his name was Mr Chitsakamile (I wonder where he is now). Soon, we could also read and write Chichewa. My parents were satisfied. I went on to secondary school where I learnt Chichewa, sat for national exams and passed. I got a lot of jobs transcribing, translating, collecting data and working in communities because of these Chichewa lessons. Thank you, mum and dad. And Mr Chitsakamile, wherever you are.

****

“What’s the most important part when singing?” I asked my nursery Sunday school class.
“Your voice,” one girl said.
“Nope!”
Another kid raised their hand.
“That you don’t sing with your arms across your chest,” he said.
“Nope!”
“That you’re loud,” another said.
“Wrong!” I said.

Years later, I took interest in teaching music to the kids in my home church. I asked for a 15-minute slot every Sunday from the teachers, and they were happy to have me teach the kids a few songs. My pastor eventually made me one of the Sunday school teachers, a role I still feel is too big for me, but exciting at the same time.
“The most important part of your singing are the words you are singing,” I said, “the people listening want to know what you’re saying. Everything else is supporting the message you’re singing about. Your voice is important. Posture is important. Singing with a clear and strong voice is important. But your lyrics are what REALLY matter.”

After that lesson, I came home and thought about what I had just said.
“The words are the most important part of the song.”
Okay. That’s good. But what language are those words that I am singing in?
I remember that my father always told me that when I sing in English, I leave a lot of people behind. He said most people don’t understand English in the church. He said, “you sing for maybe half of the church. But when you sing in Chichewa, you sing for 100%.”

I didn’t really take his words seriously. The songs I liked were in English. The music I grew up listening to were in English. But now I was thinking about it. I thought about the 15 track album I did in 2016. All of the songs were in English, apart from a chorus I translated to Chichewa. Just one song. I kind of felt ashamed upon realising that. Maybe I was back in primary school, thinking, “English is superior. Chichewa is backward.” Of course I wasn’t thinking that way. I love Chichewa a lot! I speak it frequently and with pride. But it sure looks that way.

That day, I decided that I would start singing in my mother tongue. The first challenge I had was that there aren’t a lot of Chichewa songs that one can sing as a ‘special’ song. Most of the Chichewa songs I know (maybe even 99%) are found in the song book we use called “Nyimbo za Chitsitsimutso”. It is a collection of songs, mostly hymns, that the Assemblies of God translated to Chichewa. The only other group of people I know are Seventh Day Adventists who have a significant amount of Chichewa songs.

My dad was right. I noticed that most of the vernacular songs I sung were blessing the people in church. A lot of people came up to me and said, “why didn’t you start doing this earlier? This is great!” So I started translating almost every song I was interested in. I tried to sing songs in English and Chichewa. This is also how I had the idea to start a “7 days of hymns” challenge (which was a lot of work but so much fun!) where I made minute covers to hymns in both Chichewa and English.

I’m glad that with time, more and more Malawians, and Africans in general, are embracing their local language. We’ve had a mentality that English and all things Western is better. Clothes. Travel. Food. Values. Culture. Everything has been looked up to as greatness, and local was zachimidzi (backward). But it is not. We must free our minds from such mentalities. By the way, I don’t mean the English language is bad. No. I think it is very important to learn English from a young age because the world is dominated by English… but this mentality of being so proud because your kids can’t even greet their grandmother in the local language is why magetsi angothima thima mu Malawi muno (there are still blackouts in Malawi).

So, for my next music projects, I am trying as much as possible to sing in the local language. It isn’t as easy as I would like it to be, but I am trying to translate parts of songs as much as possible, because I am also aware that some listeners don’t understand Chichewa and I don’t want to leave them behind. I am also trying to work with song writers who can write good Chichewa songs. I just need God’s grace to be able to balance and make beautiful music. But all in all, I am glad I finally managed to pick up the vernacular language at the gate and I have no intention of dropping it again.

P/S: If you would like to listen to the songs from the hymn challenge, you can find them on my Instagram or Facebook page (I made them public, you don’t even need to be my friend to see them.)

Ambuye akudalitseni. God bless you.

It’s been very hot the last couple of days. It was so hot that I even started to forget that it may rain. In the morning, I had a list of groceries to buy. Mum asked me to pass by the maize mill and collect some bags of gaga. “Aunt” (the maid) put it out in the sun to dry in the afternoon. I left home for a bit to visit a friend. During our chat, we both admitted that we went through some anxious days especially with the new year and asking ourselves the dreadful question, “what am I doing with my life?” It was refreshing to be honest and admit that sometimes the things we are investing our time in feel worthless and that we go through some lows even though we try so hard to hide it.

When I was on my way back, there were dark clouds and it started to pour. I came in through the gate and saw the heart-sinking sight of bags of gaga washing away. The rain came from nowhere. We weren’t prepared. Aunt and I started to carry the gaga to the veranda, and we were soaking wet. The gaga was heavy. There was so much to do, but so little time. When we were about to finish, the heavy rain became showers, and the sun came out, just as it was setting. I knew a rainbow would appear any minute. I love the sight of a rainbow. It soothes me. But it was getting dark and we had to get going. So I couldn’t stop to look at the rainbow.

There is no happy ending to this. I’m just feeling tired and demotivated, and feeling stuck. I think the ending of my long day reflects how I truly feel. I hope I get the strength to stop and see the rainbow next time. But today, right now, I’ll be honest and say I AM TIRED. It’s refreshing to be honest and admit that… That maybe life will be happening that stopping to look at the rainbow will seem like a waste of time. I was about to apologize for being a killjoy but I think I won’t. Let me feel.
P/S: Gaga is maize bran. You’re welcome.

Happy 2018!!!

I finally got round to doing a check-up after I was diagnosed with pneumonia 3 months ago. This involved half of my right lung heavily infected which may have begun while I was doing a survey in Lilongwe. The x-ray shows that both of my lungs are functioning well again. I am completely healed!!! What a great way to start the year! I’m so happy!!

My friend, Angasa, came over to my (gorgeous) city. We had a great chat and took a walk at the botanical gardens. Thank God she has an awesome camera and she took some really great shots. So here’s my outfit for the day:

Top: thrifted

I’ve had this top for so long, but I remember buying it from Mponda Bwino market ages ago. I hardly gain or lose weight, so if I take good care of a piece of cloth, I can have it for years and years till I actually just get tired of it. But black tops are my personal favourite. They are so handy.

Skirt: tailor-made

The skirt was originally a dress but I didn’t like the design, so I had it changed into a high-waist skirt.

Shoes: Pep (Estrela)

This is probably my most worn shoe at the moment, with no shame ?.

I’m still happy that I managed to beat pneumonia which almost claimed my life (more about that later). I’m so grateful for His love and the full recovery I have received!

I hope 2018 is a great year, free from illnesses and hospital visits. I look forward to more modesty posts and a lot more testimonies.

Xoxo

So I won’t lie to you, I spend a lot of my time on social media and I also take a lot of pictures (something I’m not ashamed of by the way, I love to keep my memories). I know people talk about how negatively social media is affecting us, and how we spend far too much time on our phones, but let’s be real, social media has it’s up side… I mean, using binoculars to stalk people is just way too tedious and how else will I know what that friend I had Psychology with in first year had for lunch today?

Anyway, in all seriousness, social media has brought us closer, and has made communication cheaper than those phonecalls and letters we used to write (waiting for months for that reply was hell). It’s fun to share with your family and friends because, why not? Who doesn’t want to experience the joy of sharing (and maybe waving to people’s faces that your day is going way better than theirs)?

Everyone wants to show their good side tho, the one that’s organized and full of joy; and appear to have everything together. I’m also guilty of this. There have been times I was going through the most, but I refused to share or show this side to my social media friends or followers. Maybe I would use some deep caption that’s totally unrelated to a picture of me with my back against the camera, and that’s the closest I can come to sharing an image reflecting what’s really going on. Very rarely do we come out and say, “you know what? My life is a total mess right now.” We would rather post a picture of delicious food or selfies with our friends at some fast food restaurant where we only bought ice cream, but hey, who wants to share to the world that they are broke?

For the past couple of weeks, I embarked on a journey to try and capture pictures that are not for social media. I thought it would be easy but it was harder than taking a picture you would share online. For one, I have now been wired to take ‘good’ pictures, and I would remember halfway that it’s not supposed to look good, and I didn’t have to choose a good angle, but that it had to be natural and raw. Then I thought it would be better if, apart from the images I had taken, I just scrolled through the million images in my gallery and select the ones I would not dare post online, probably because I forgot to delete them.

I’m taking this risk and posting images I am truly embarrassed of, just to say, “hey. It’s OK to be real, even if it’s not looking ‘good'”, which is something I am learning. So guys, I truly I’m nervous just posting these, because I’m not yet taken, I could lose the interest of my suitors. Anywho, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, images not meant for social media:

This is an image my mother took of me while I was admitted in hospital and I absolutely hate how sick I looked, but I guess it is raw, and reminds me what I’ve been through.

This is me trying to take a selfie but the sun was in my eyes. Yes, I totally bragged about being sun kissed in the image I posted on Instagram, but that sun hurt my eyes, y’all. Trust me, sun kissed images have a lot of endurance behind them.

Like, we are sitting close to someone’s bin you guys…

This was during a survey I took part in, in Lilongwe. A lot of the images I posted during field work were never this bad. Actually, a lot of people think it was a lot of fun for us (no, it wasn’t). On this day, we were tired, and our morale was on an all time low because we were working during the weekend. To make matters worse, our colleagues had just been chased by dogs at a certain household in the area. So we sat on the first place we laid our eyes on, which was next to this drain full of trash. This was one of the worst days during the survey, and this image was supposed to be deleted but I forgot about it.

My grandma: I can’t believe this annoying girl carries my genes 

I was pestering my granny to smile, and she must have gotten tired. I accidentally captured this look.

I really hate this image

Apart from maybe impressing my prospective apongozi (in law), this image is one I wouldn’t consider posting online, because of how thin I looked from this angle (I posted one from a better angle). Aunty insisted on taking an image of me, and she accidentally used this filter that makes me look like I haven’t had sleep in over a week. Let’s not even go into those clothes I just randomly picked.

This is me, seconds after I just wake up.

Yes, I look like this when I have just risen from my slumber (which is everyday). Yes, I know I look like I could murder you in cold blood. No, I would never post this, not in a million years.

This is me twisting my hair while half asleep.

This is as raw as it gets.

I washed my beddings in the morning of this particular day, and I was too lazy to lay my bed, so I used this sheet so I could at least use half of the bed. My room was a total mess and I was too tired to tidy up. Here is me eating nsima with beans and nkhwani on a messy bed while watching a Ted talk on my laptop.

I feel like stopping here but I have to finish the challenge…

Me, trying to check how my hair looked at the back because Team Forever Alone

My mirror (read little sister) wasn’t around to check how bad my hair looked and I knew dad would tell me it looked fine so I had to use my camera to check my hair at the back. I didn’t like it, I had to redo it.

And the results, that I totally shared online after filters did their job.

This last image is sooo embarrassing that I almost deleted it. I know it may sound silly but I really really REALLY feel vulnerable right now. Please, I’m begging all suitors to not give up on me because of these really bad images. I have a good heart lol.

Ugghhhh my face *hides*

So you know how when you and your friends take some images, you select the ones that look good (while all the while concentrating on how YOU look). Well, this one is one of those you delete immediately and forget right there and then. This is me, with my eyes closed at the wrong time, and my mouth doing God-knows-what. I almost deleted this, but I thought it would be the perfect example of an image I can never post online.

There you have it. Like I said, sharing the ‘real’ me is something I am still learning and I don’t think it is superficial or shallow of us, but it is in our nature to present the best version of ourselves to the world. All the same, I hope me showing you how crazy and ridiculous I look sometimes makes you realize it’s OK to be yourself, and that the people who matter will love you for who you truly are, and not just the image you paint online. I personally think life gets easier when you are carefree and true to yourself.

I hope your 2018 is good and I wish you a year full of moments so great, you even forget to check your phone.

XxxX

-Faith Victoria.

Hello loves!!

So ‘summer’ is still upon us… The sun is surely shining down upon us. The rains are not in full swing… Yet. Here are Saturday’s outfits. Felt like wearing maroon on this particular day… Like, maroon is that colour I feel is underrated. It’s sooo beautiful. Not too bright, not dull either.

Anyway, in the morning I had to wear something casual, and monochrome plus a bright colour can never fail you. So I tried maroon this time.

Dress: thrifted

Yes, totally adjusted this dress. It was a size bigger when I bought it but I fell in love with it, I couldn’t let it go! So Mr Tailor did his adjusting job.

Shirt: thrifted

You know what, at this point, I’m sure 90% of my clothes are thrifted ?? this might as well be “Faith’s Thrifted Modest Clothes”. Oh well. Tied a knot, rolled the sleeves and voila! We were good to go!

Ballerina Gladiator Shoes: Exact

Fell in love with these shoes the second I laid eyes on them ?.

In the afternoon, we had to attend a wedding:

Clutch Bag: Atmosphere

This outfit was a last minute “put-whatever-and-go” kind because dad was all “let’s goooo!!!” and I wasn’t even mentally prepared.

Skirt: Tailor-made

The skirt was originally a bridesmaid dress but I didn’t like the top part so I had it removed and made into a high waist skirt instead. I like the skirt better than the dress. The dress was sleeveless, it was hard to find something to wear it with and the material is ‘heavy’, I felt uncomfortable in the dress (I love my comfort waaay too much!)

Fascinator: some shop at Karim Ayub Mart in Blantyre. Jacket: Thrifted at The Retreat Charity Shop

So there we go… I’m definitely adding more maroon clothes to my closet after this day (when I’m financially stable cause brokeness is my middle name right now). Seriously, maroon is underrated. Thrifted clothes are also underrated ??.

Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it! XO

Over the weekend, I had a stomach bug that terribly weakened me. My dad and my friend Martha rushed me to MASM here in Zomba. There, we were directed to the nurses station, and I was put under drips and given some medication. I was also being monitored, so I was there for hours.

Not so long after the nurses were done attending to me, a man came in. Although we were separated by curtains, I saw him for a moment and could sense the pain from his voice. He was having difficulties with breathing. He had pneumonia, an illness that almost took my life some months back.

I, too, was going through my own kind of pain. My stomach hurt so much and I was vomiting. I was crying with pain. Sometimes I even sounded like a goat I’m sure. But that didn’t even matter. I was in pain and I was here to get help. The man next to me was also crying with pain. The room was filled with cries. One after the other. In short, timalandilizana.

It got me thinking about something. I’ve often heard people say, “A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” Well I realized this better on this day. When we go to church, we don’t go there because we are perfect people. We all have our flaws, our weaknesses, and we go there to get help. I concentrated on my recovery and I cried for my own pain. Never did I once think, “wow, man next to me has it worse than me.” Not once did he laugh at me or say, “hey girl, you cry like a goat.” Every one concentrated on their illness and I realized we were recovering at our own pace.

Why then, do some people act like they are perfect when they go to church and see someone struggling differently? A hospital is a place you get treatment because you realize you are not fine. You admit you need help. So is church. We go there to get our medication so we can be better Christians (some medication more painful than the other). No one laughs at the patient next to them. We are all struggling with our own kind of pain, there is no need to judge. Besides, if you feel you’re so perfect, why did you even bother coming to church?

P/S: if you go to your church and all you hear are motivational talks (“I see cars coming. Financial breakthroughs are on their way. A glowup is coming, sis. That hairline is coming back to ya” or something along those lines) and nothing to treat your illness(es), those people are lying to you. A whole month passes by, and you don’t get condemned for any of your sins?? Better ask yourself if you’re at the right hospital.

-1 Peter 4:17(KJV): For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

-“Don’t judge someone just because they sin differently than you.”

Colour. Nothing I love more on an outfit than colour.

This blog post combines my post on colour and that on African print .

The weather forecast made me feel so down because there was a good chance it would be cloudy and it would rain ? so I decided a bright outfit might cheer me up.

Skirt: tailor made

The material for this skirt was purchased at a very common and unexpected place. It was one of those shops in the market (Zomba Market) where I pass through every other day, but the colours got my attention. It was a very very very cheap piece of cloth (so cheap it got me wondering if it was too good to be true). I’ve learnt that you don’t necessarily need expensive material to get a great outfit. Once you get it tailored tho, make sure you take really good care of it.

I love pockets!!!

I absolutely loooove pockets (saying this for the gazillionth time lol) almost all my tailor made clothes have pockets. Where else will I keep the mobile phone I move around with everywhere?

Masai sandals: I got these in Lilongwe while doing field work. It was a shop in Likuni, at a location called C-COD.

Black three quarter top: thrifted

Well the weather turned out better than we expected. It didn’t rain, but it was a bit cloudy. We still managed to have a bright day though. We are going into the rainy season, so this is good bye summer till next year *holds back tears*  I hope I can continue blogging even through the wet season.

Have a happy new season wherever you are! Till next time, xo