There was still much to be done, and more help was needed. So Peter Bridle and Fred Smedley, graduates of the Gilead missionary school, were warmly welcomed on their arrival in 1949. These and other graduates of Gilead gave much-needed assistance to the hard-pressed branch servant. Now it was possible to give more attention to the way that the congregations and assemblies were operating.

“I’ll Never Make This!”

Coming to Malawi, especially back then, could be a startling change for someone from Europe or North America. There were none of the modern conveniences to which such a person might have been formerly accustomed. No electrical appliances could be found in the African bush. What a local person might view as a normal part of life might be distressing to a foreigner. How would a new missionary adapt?

Recalling his first impressions upon arriving in Malawi after a tiring train journey from the port of Beira, in Mozambique, Peter Bridle says: “When we eventually arrived at the Shire River, it was just getting dark. Big beetles were flying around. They gathered around the lamps and absolutely blotted them out. They were around one’s neck, crawling in and out of clothing. I said to Jehovah: ‘I can’t stand this. This is going to be too much for me. I’ll never make this!’ We then crossed the river and went into the train, which was in the station. Its lights were very, very dim. I soon realized why—it was to stop those insects from coming in. We were served a meal, which started with soup. We could hardly see across the table to the other person, the lights were so dim. As we ate the soup, we sucked it through our teeth to keep the insects out, and I said to Jehovah: ‘Please, I think this is too much for me this time. I won’t make this!’”

On a later trip to the same area, Brother Bridle had problems delivering a public talk. Why? He explains: “The mosquitoes were unbelievable. When I gave a talk one evening, I had my trousers tucked into my socks. There was a towel over my head and tucked into my shirt. I had elastic bands round my sleeves, so that just my hands and my face were showing. I was giving the talk through an interpreter. I would say a sentence and then wipe mosquitoes off my face. Then I wiped both hands and my face again. As soon as the interpreter finished, I would say another sentence and then do the same again.”

In spite of these situations, Peter Bridle and others like him did make it, with Jehovah’s help. The majority of the missionaries assigned to Malawi served faithfully for many years. Their whole-souled efforts brought many blessings to the Malawian field.

Missionaries Promote Increase

The missionaries who served faithfully in Malawi are still remembered with fondness, especially by the longtimers who had an opportunity to work along with them in those days. Some of these missionaries found that their new assignment required that they make major changes in their way of life, but love moved them to do it.

Malcolm Vigo arrived as a single man in 1957. After supper on his first night at the branch office, he eagerly wanted to know what his assignment was going to be. Lonnie Nail, a Gilead graduate who had arrived the preceding year and who was then branch servant, informed him that he would be assigned to the traveling work. After a language course or orientation period? No, there was no such provision at that time. He would start the very next day!

Missionaries assigned to the traveling work soon learned that in addition to serving the congregations, if they were going to drive a vehicle, they had to be mechanics. They also found that roads were often no more than faint tracks in the bush. Of course, the local brothers appreciated their efforts and did all they could to make life easier for them. Usually, a neat grass-roofed house and toilet would be built for use by the missionary and, if married, his wife. But for the sisters who traveled with their husbands, the eerie noises of the night could be particularly scary! It took a while to get used to the chilling “laugh” of hyenas and the “orchestra” of noises from the great variety of insects.

Jack Johansson recalls that setting up a convention in the bush was quite a challenge. First the site was cleared, and then in most instances everything was built out of materials found right there in the bush. But brothers and sisters, young and old, were happy to offer their support. At a convention site near Mulanje, an elderly brother with a happy face approached Brother Johansson, saying: “I also want to help in this work.” That did not seem unusual. But later Brother Johansson learned that the brother had spent nearly a month walking some 500 miles [800 km] to the assembly site, and the first thing he did on arriving was volunteer to help with setting up the convention facilities! With such a willing spirit, the brothers and sisters transformed the bush into a “stadium” with seating for 6,000 people!

The missionaries contributed toward improved organization of the congregations and circuits in Malawi. Such brothers as Hal Bentley, Eddie Dobart, Keith Eaton, Harold Guy, Jack Johansson, Rod Sharp, and Malcolm Vigo did good work as district overseers. The local Witnesses responded well to the loving counsel and direction they received. As a result, the congregation meetings and the preaching of the Kingdom message became better organized. At the same time, the brothers and sisters were being stabilized in the truth, in preparation for adversity that lay ahead.

Europeans Get a Witness

Some of the missionaries were in time assigned to work in the branch office, and they were kept very busy there too. This afforded some of the wives an opportunity to witness in the European part of the field in Blantyre and Zomba. Phyllis Bridle, Linda Johansson, Linda Louise Vigo, Anne Eaton, and others did much good work in this territory. At times, the Europeans were prejudiced against our work, often as a result of continued confusion with the “Watch Tower movements.” But these sisters made good use of opportunities to set matters straight and to talk to them about God’s Kingdom.

Most Europeans and Asians in Malawi owned their own businesses or had lucrative work contracts. Generally, they were satisfied with their lot in life. Nevertheless, some Europeans and local English-speaking people did respond favorably to the truth. A few got baptized—one of them in the bathtub at Bethel!

“An Interchange of Encouragement”

As the missionaries spent time with the local brothers and sisters, genuine racial harmony developed among them. This was well expressed in a note written by Alex Mafambana to some of his missionary friends: “If there is a ‘gap’ in the world, it is between East and West. As for us, we possess the most uniting bond ever created: Agape!” How different this was from the attitude of those outside Jehovah’s organization! Europeans generally considered themselves superior to the Africans and had little to do with them. Nevertheless, one thing needed to be cleared up. That was the use of the title Bwana by the local brothers. This title was often used when greeting Europeans, including the missionaries. It implied that Europeans were the lords or masters of the Africans. So whenever a local brother would address a missionary with the title Bwana, the missionary would remind him: “Jehovah’s Witnesses are brothers, not Bwanas!”

The benefits were not one-sided. The missionaries learned a lot from working along with their African brothers and sisters. Many firm friendships were forged. True to the apostle Paul’s words, there was “an interchange of encouragement.”—Rom. 1:12.