We went to the village today what an amazing experience. We drove into the lane to see all the kids all lined up and waiting for us to arrive. The older boys were dragging out 110 lbs of fertilizer we had purchased for the women and the bins were all set up to give to the women and children.
The kids stood there and sang songs to us about Jesus and they had the most beautiful pitch and it was so heartening to hear. I started to cry and I am sure there are ugly pics of me floating around - but it really didn't matter. We have had some pretty bad rain storms so the village was really wet. We had a very hard rain come through and we all gathered in the resource center waiting out the rain. Listening to the tin roof as the rain hit was magical sounding.
The village doesn't have electricity - so we waited it out in a dark room with 70-100 people crammed in there. When the rain let up, we all assembled back outside and began the process of distributing the widow's fertilizer, t'cheinge's and shirt and taking photos with their family.
More later......
Our Team at Lake Malawi
Oh what a great time for one and all at the lake
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Rainy day
Since it didn't rain yesterday (Wednesday) it rained most of the night and into this morning sorta disrupting the day. We moved things around and hopefully we will get to the village this afternoon to dispense of all the gifts to the kids and women. If not it will have to be tomorrow which is OK too.
We are shopping today for the food for camp. We will rent buses to transport the kids to Lake Malawi for a campout and experience of a lifetime. It is going to be amazing. I forgot to say that we ended our day at about 11 o'clock last night. Needless to say, I am dropping off straight to sleep which is a good thing for me.
Flexibility is key in Malawi - if things don't work as planned you improvise. I think it is like that most all over the world and we can take a lesson from that in our busy worlds in the US. I think how often we get frustrated over a meeting running long, or start late, or things aren't completed by due dates how caught up we get in that "ruining our day" or our plan. It isn't that way in most of the world.
I am learning a little Chicewa. Put it this way - it is easier for others than me. I like to blame my little knowledge of German, Chinese and English that prevents me from learning another language. Ha. Age surely doesn't have anything to do with it.
Nick and Bethany are doing a great job. I am impressed at their young age how they can plan and pull off a trip like this. They have an amazing faith and reliance on God.
More later.....
We are shopping today for the food for camp. We will rent buses to transport the kids to Lake Malawi for a campout and experience of a lifetime. It is going to be amazing. I forgot to say that we ended our day at about 11 o'clock last night. Needless to say, I am dropping off straight to sleep which is a good thing for me.
Flexibility is key in Malawi - if things don't work as planned you improvise. I think it is like that most all over the world and we can take a lesson from that in our busy worlds in the US. I think how often we get frustrated over a meeting running long, or start late, or things aren't completed by due dates how caught up we get in that "ruining our day" or our plan. It isn't that way in most of the world.
I am learning a little Chicewa. Put it this way - it is easier for others than me. I like to blame my little knowledge of German, Chinese and English that prevents me from learning another language. Ha. Age surely doesn't have anything to do with it.
Nick and Bethany are doing a great job. I am impressed at their young age how they can plan and pull off a trip like this. They have an amazing faith and reliance on God.
More later.....
Kids, Village - Oh what a day!
It is Wednesday night and I wanted to reflect on this day. To give you a little perspective, the day started at 7 AM where we went to the community building on the ABC campus to have breakfast. It is directly across the path from Debbie’s and my “chalet” with the 8 bunk beds. Bethany has hired a cook, Paul (who has 4 children and rides a bike 20km to get to work) to cook our meals. He prepared the best scrambled eggs with bacon, cheese, peppers and onion along with toast and juice. For those of you who were nervous about me being able to eat, I did not starve.
Then Nick led us in a short prayer before our devotional time in Ephesians. Joining us (Sherry, Caleb, Debbie, Nick and Bethany) was Timothy, from ABC and Lawrence who is friends with Nick and Bethany and works in the village day to day.
After that, by 9 AM we drove out to the school where most our little kids go. There are 5 buildings and 10 classrooms. We started with the bell ringing and all the kids scattered to their classrooms. We went to the class which was the equivalent of KG or Preschool. There were about 250 kids in this cramped classroom - normally only 125 – but the other teacher was out on funeral leave. As we stood outside the classroom there were the most beautiful sounds being sung in unison. The kids were all sitting on the floor with legs crossed and chanting some songs. It was beautiful sounds of children. They were all well-behaved and paying attention to the teacher. We met briefly with the Head Master who has told us the change in the school year and the curriculum over this past year with having a 3-term school year and out during our summer which will help when we have groups that go over in the future in the summer. They also have changed from Religious Education from Bible Knowledge as a section they learn about. I don’t know the difference but I believe they have Presbyterian support?
Then we went to the other classrooms and visited as well and saw a “Life Skills” section where the kids were learning how to take care of their clothing. When the teacher was quizzing the kids or asking a question, the child would raise their hand kind of at half mast out in front of them and snap their fingers to get the teacher’s attention. She would then call on the child and they would stand to make their answer. We saw them learning to read and write English in addition to their Chichewa language. It was an interesting experience. The kids are SO well behaved. They have a recess time and their periods are longer. No electricity in the schools so it is all done by daylight (holes in the brick walls), no fans to cool them – it was about 85 and very muggy.
Malawi is sub-tropical with red dirt – similar to the weather in Hawaii year-around. It usually rains part of the day, but we didn’t have rain where we were today.
After the school, Caleb drove the vehicle to the Makalani village where we got out and saw everything that is going on there. They have a resource center where they have storage, a small class room, an outdoor kitchen and clean-up area where they have the food preparation for the kids when they return from school. It smelled wonderful. A common meal for the kids is beans (like baked beans) plus vegetables in it – I saw tomatoes, onion, pepper etc… and they were cooking over an open fire. This is the feeding program for our kids. We walked through the village and saw houses – very small brick huts with thatch roofs, we saw the wells where they can pump their clean water and not have to travel far to get water. There is not electricity or running water in the village. There are also not cars and I didn’t see bikes either. The children have to walk out of the village to the school and it is quite a ways. I think at least 10-15 minutes by car. We also spent time going over to the land that was donated by the village Chief. This land is planned as a building project for the future where they can move the feeding station or have a classroom building, or housing for our livestock. It is currently being used to grow for the feeding program so they don’t have to buy. I am very encouraged and excited about the future for this village and these kids’ lives. A couple more things we did was put the PET pull cart together, twice. I apparently didn’t listen well enough at my informational meeting about the pet and included instructions were pictorial and had a few missing steps. We had a couple of extra parts I will ask dad about and let Lawrence or Timothy redo my work. It works though – and we will see her face tomorrow when we are able to transport it out to her. Caleb and I tested it out on all sorts of terrain and it works REALLY well. Thank you again http://www.giftofmobility.org/. We have plans for a feature article on PET and Invest, hopefully in a local newspaper or magazine (as we have a few connections) and think it would be a good special interest story.
The last thing we did today was go to the open air market (not a safe area of town) and purchase 23 te-ting-ge’s (not spelled correctly) a cloth we will give the women along with their donated t-shirts so they have something to use. They wrap their kids in the cloth to wear on their back when working in the field or wear it as a skirt or sit on it to not get dirty. Tomorrow we will also give the women their 200 lbs of fertilizer and clothing and we girls will get a taste of gardening big time by assisting with fertilizing their crops by hand. Fertilizing is a process where they poke a long stick down into the plant mound near the roots and pour in the fertilizer, then cover it back up with dirt. Sounds fun?
More tomorrow.
Then Nick led us in a short prayer before our devotional time in Ephesians. Joining us (Sherry, Caleb, Debbie, Nick and Bethany) was Timothy, from ABC and Lawrence who is friends with Nick and Bethany and works in the village day to day.
After that, by 9 AM we drove out to the school where most our little kids go. There are 5 buildings and 10 classrooms. We started with the bell ringing and all the kids scattered to their classrooms. We went to the class which was the equivalent of KG or Preschool. There were about 250 kids in this cramped classroom - normally only 125 – but the other teacher was out on funeral leave. As we stood outside the classroom there were the most beautiful sounds being sung in unison. The kids were all sitting on the floor with legs crossed and chanting some songs. It was beautiful sounds of children. They were all well-behaved and paying attention to the teacher. We met briefly with the Head Master who has told us the change in the school year and the curriculum over this past year with having a 3-term school year and out during our summer which will help when we have groups that go over in the future in the summer. They also have changed from Religious Education from Bible Knowledge as a section they learn about. I don’t know the difference but I believe they have Presbyterian support?
Then we went to the other classrooms and visited as well and saw a “Life Skills” section where the kids were learning how to take care of their clothing. When the teacher was quizzing the kids or asking a question, the child would raise their hand kind of at half mast out in front of them and snap their fingers to get the teacher’s attention. She would then call on the child and they would stand to make their answer. We saw them learning to read and write English in addition to their Chichewa language. It was an interesting experience. The kids are SO well behaved. They have a recess time and their periods are longer. No electricity in the schools so it is all done by daylight (holes in the brick walls), no fans to cool them – it was about 85 and very muggy.
Malawi is sub-tropical with red dirt – similar to the weather in Hawaii year-around. It usually rains part of the day, but we didn’t have rain where we were today.
After the school, Caleb drove the vehicle to the Makalani village where we got out and saw everything that is going on there. They have a resource center where they have storage, a small class room, an outdoor kitchen and clean-up area where they have the food preparation for the kids when they return from school. It smelled wonderful. A common meal for the kids is beans (like baked beans) plus vegetables in it – I saw tomatoes, onion, pepper etc… and they were cooking over an open fire. This is the feeding program for our kids. We walked through the village and saw houses – very small brick huts with thatch roofs, we saw the wells where they can pump their clean water and not have to travel far to get water. There is not electricity or running water in the village. There are also not cars and I didn’t see bikes either. The children have to walk out of the village to the school and it is quite a ways. I think at least 10-15 minutes by car. We also spent time going over to the land that was donated by the village Chief. This land is planned as a building project for the future where they can move the feeding station or have a classroom building, or housing for our livestock. It is currently being used to grow for the feeding program so they don’t have to buy. I am very encouraged and excited about the future for this village and these kids’ lives. A couple more things we did was put the PET pull cart together, twice. I apparently didn’t listen well enough at my informational meeting about the pet and included instructions were pictorial and had a few missing steps. We had a couple of extra parts I will ask dad about and let Lawrence or Timothy redo my work. It works though – and we will see her face tomorrow when we are able to transport it out to her. Caleb and I tested it out on all sorts of terrain and it works REALLY well. Thank you again http://www.giftofmobility.org/. We have plans for a feature article on PET and Invest, hopefully in a local newspaper or magazine (as we have a few connections) and think it would be a good special interest story.
The last thing we did today was go to the open air market (not a safe area of town) and purchase 23 te-ting-ge’s (not spelled correctly) a cloth we will give the women along with their donated t-shirts so they have something to use. They wrap their kids in the cloth to wear on their back when working in the field or wear it as a skirt or sit on it to not get dirty. Tomorrow we will also give the women their 200 lbs of fertilizer and clothing and we girls will get a taste of gardening big time by assisting with fertilizing their crops by hand. Fertilizing is a process where they poke a long stick down into the plant mound near the roots and pour in the fertilizer, then cover it back up with dirt. Sounds fun?
More tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Malawi - We are here!
We have made it safely and without any trouble to Malawi. Our accommodations are fabulous - Debbie and I share a bungalow with 8 beds and two bathrooms. I think that is plenty of room. We were able to unload all the bins and sort through all the clothes yesterday. They are all scattered on our floor now. We have also been to the school where the kids go and visited all the classrooms and met the headmaster of the school. We took some photos - but it was overwhelming to meet Rose and Bettie Banda. Photos will be coming but Sherry who sponsors Bettie was overwhelmed to be able to give her a hug. Rose is TINY!
We visited the village this morning as well and saw the wells, the feeding program and they were making lunch. Wow it smelled good. They had just painted the resource room and were cleaning when we arrived. We look forward to going back tomorrow to help the widows and give them their gifts of shirts and skirts.
The PET made it to our destination as did all 13 bins. We also recruited two gate agents for next trip and they can ship for free. We scooted through customs without a hitch and the guys from the college were there to help pick up our bins. None of them were secured but we only lost a few items after we had sorted through them.
It is warm here and humid but warm showers, clean rooms and good food. We went to dinner last night and to the grocery store - both were an experience!
We are all fairing well - no one sick - just tired and a little warm but drinking lots of water. Oh yeah, Caleb, our 16 year old had the experience of a lifetime. He drove our vehicle from the school to the village and was able to avoid all potholes, not strip the the gears and drive on the right (I mean left) side of the road without hitting anyone. It was fun and something I doubt he will forget.
We should have internet back at the college today or tomorrow so I will be able to think through my blog and share more later.
More later..... keep praying for safety in travels and rest.
We visited the village this morning as well and saw the wells, the feeding program and they were making lunch. Wow it smelled good. They had just painted the resource room and were cleaning when we arrived. We look forward to going back tomorrow to help the widows and give them their gifts of shirts and skirts.
The PET made it to our destination as did all 13 bins. We also recruited two gate agents for next trip and they can ship for free. We scooted through customs without a hitch and the guys from the college were there to help pick up our bins. None of them were secured but we only lost a few items after we had sorted through them.
It is warm here and humid but warm showers, clean rooms and good food. We went to dinner last night and to the grocery store - both were an experience!
We are all fairing well - no one sick - just tired and a little warm but drinking lots of water. Oh yeah, Caleb, our 16 year old had the experience of a lifetime. He drove our vehicle from the school to the village and was able to avoid all potholes, not strip the the gears and drive on the right (I mean left) side of the road without hitting anyone. It was fun and something I doubt he will forget.
We should have internet back at the college today or tomorrow so I will be able to think through my blog and share more later.
More later..... keep praying for safety in travels and rest.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The PET pull cart made it through!!!
Praise God! We went to the gate, and God led us to THE gate agent that helped the group last year. We immediately clung to her and told her about the trip etc.... we checked all the tubs EXCEPT for the PET pull cart. Then we dragged it over - over weight, over sized and we kept praying and trusting that it would make it through. They were measuring and it was obvious it wasn't going to make it through. It was marked PET on the side and she the gate supervisor, Margo said that if we could prove it was a wheelchair they would consider it. I knew I had the flyer from PET which had photos and their mission so I ran it over there to her and she looked at it, read the mission and said, "we are going to not charge you". This went just as I knew it would and it potentially would have cost $450!!! Praise God!
Well, we are on our way with 13 bins, 5 adults, 2 children, 1 PET pull cart, 1 car seat, 1 stroller, 14 carry-on backpacks and ALL SMILES!!!By the way, our bus driver Tom and Lisa Clements got us to the airport with plenty of time, and they joined the mission and have decided to sponsor Leonard Juma - my lone child without a sponsor. I am SOOOOOOO excited. This photo is of Lisa and Tom.
Thanks honey for taking us to the airport and freezing all the way - and Tom for driving and Lisa for guarding the bus. We really appreciate you. This is "serious" Jana Kay and Sherry warming up to her.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Belisi and Ishmael and Zione and all their gifts
I keep telling myself that these last two weeks, building up to leaving for this trip has been worth its weight in gold for me. God has shown his faithfulness in the minute detail and has provided for me and the trip in miraculous ways.
During the "negotation" for getting the cart and the visit I also met TWO people that have spent time in Malawi. THAT just doesn't happen. I was able to hear the stories of Mel who spent time with Habit for Humanity and Roger with the Peace Corps - two super Godly men that share Jesus in a demonstrative way. By the way, that "negotiation" was no more than ASKING for a PET for Zione. God just put my father's dedication to volunteering regularly with PET in my path that opened that door.
I asked Roger what he missed about Malawi, as he spent the most time there (2+ years) and he just said, "the feeling of being home" and he hoped that I spent a long enough time there to have that experience. I hope so too.
Then the other thing that happened that kind of smoothed the path for me was at work. My last day before going on vacation was Friday and I was working really hard to get everything completed and all my loose ends finished and anticipate what people might need. Needless to say, besides leaving to go get the PET and learn how to rebuild it, I didn't leave my desk. At about 2:30, my boss asked to see me - I thought, darn, he is going to need something and that is going to put me behind to complete everything I wanted to get done, or worse yet, was this was that pink slip call - did they decide that I wasn't necessary since I can be away from my office for 2.5 weeks? I followed him reluctantly into a conference room, where I soon discovered I had missed an email about someone's birthday or something because there was a big cake on the table and everyone gathered in the room. But no, I soon found out, my office mates had treated me to a cake, decorations of wild animals and well wishes from everyone. I couldn't keep the tears from rolling and soon found out my mascara was not waterproof. I was floored at the support my team had of my trip. Thanks Columbia claims and especially Shawn, Kim, Ted, Lynne and Annelle as they will be bearing the responsibility for allowing me to be absent for so long.
My cake!
Today, I was able to see all the gifts for Belisi and Ishmael - two children sponsored by the Gentry Middle School kids - those two children will be the talk of the town - as Belisi got several notes, specially made bracelets and a cross necklace, dolls, books, coloring books and other various gifts donated by Ms. Hummel's classes. I was imagining playing Belisi's life out - one where she gained confidence by the support of several children across the world - and because of that support, she goes to school, grows up and gives back to her community and makes it a better place. All because 5 classes of social studies lived beyond themselves and gave a little to make the difference in Belisi's life. Thank you kids. Ishmael has a uniform as well and several gifts too. How exciting will this be for them!!!
First of all, Zione will be getting her pull cart. I didn't realize until I went to PET (http://www.giftofmobility.org/) what a beautiful organization it is. Please go visit the link below to see their ministry. This pull cart will provide not only transportation for Zione (an 18 year old young lady with a debilitating disease that causes her bones to easily break) but it will provide her dignity. I am so excited to see her face when she gets in that cart for the first time. The cart that can be pulled through rough terrain where wheelchairs or other modes of transportation don't work. I was so excited to go and tour the facilities and see the work of the volunteers to get these carts in the hands of needy folks. I have enclosed some pictures. This would be a GREAT place to visit, volunteer or take a tour with your group of scouts, class or church group.
During the "negotation" for getting the cart and the visit I also met TWO people that have spent time in Malawi. THAT just doesn't happen. I was able to hear the stories of Mel who spent time with Habit for Humanity and Roger with the Peace Corps - two super Godly men that share Jesus in a demonstrative way. By the way, that "negotiation" was no more than ASKING for a PET for Zione. God just put my father's dedication to volunteering regularly with PET in my path that opened that door.
I asked Roger what he missed about Malawi, as he spent the most time there (2+ years) and he just said, "the feeling of being home" and he hoped that I spent a long enough time there to have that experience. I hope so too.
Then the other thing that happened that kind of smoothed the path for me was at work. My last day before going on vacation was Friday and I was working really hard to get everything completed and all my loose ends finished and anticipate what people might need. Needless to say, besides leaving to go get the PET and learn how to rebuild it, I didn't leave my desk. At about 2:30, my boss asked to see me - I thought, darn, he is going to need something and that is going to put me behind to complete everything I wanted to get done, or worse yet, was this was that pink slip call - did they decide that I wasn't necessary since I can be away from my office for 2.5 weeks? I followed him reluctantly into a conference room, where I soon discovered I had missed an email about someone's birthday or something because there was a big cake on the table and everyone gathered in the room. But no, I soon found out, my office mates had treated me to a cake, decorations of wild animals and well wishes from everyone. I couldn't keep the tears from rolling and soon found out my mascara was not waterproof. I was floored at the support my team had of my trip. Thanks Columbia claims and especially Shawn, Kim, Ted, Lynne and Annelle as they will be bearing the responsibility for allowing me to be absent for so long.
My cake!
Kerry and Cindy Delisle and their son Clark pictured below with my husband Tom are sponsors of Ezekial. He is in my group and they are anxious to hear about their "son" in Malawi and see photos. I can't wait to tell them of my dear friend's the Delisle's. Without the Delisle's support, Ezekial wouldn't have much of a chance. Thank you Kerry, Cindy, Clark and Colby.
So, tomorrow morning we leave for Kansas City for the flight to Detroit, Amsterdam, Nairobi, Zambia and then Lilongwe. We will be there by Tuesday afternoon after what I am sure will be the adventure of a lifetime in just those hours of getting there. I am looking forward to this time when I get to fulfill this dream and place myself in God's hands for what He has next.
More later.....
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Brrrrr it is cold outside
It is so bitterly cold. Now I have a NEW thing to worry about.. Will the bus start? Did the bus get plugged in to warm its engine block (diesel engine)? Will our bus driver chicken out because it is too cold? Can I get over to PET to pick up that Pull Pet for Zione AND learn how to assemble it without instructions? Can I get it all done before I leave town??
I went and got a package of 100 Charm pops - won't the kids love them? Now, can I fit them in my backpack without eating any of them? How many licks until you get to the gum in the middle?
More tomorrow.......
I went and got a package of 100 Charm pops - won't the kids love them? Now, can I fit them in my backpack without eating any of them? How many licks until you get to the gum in the middle?
More tomorrow.......
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