A Few Final Thoughts

1. Malawians are happier than most people in the U.S. despite their position of poverty. This is because they know how to separate money from happiness. In the U.S. it is completely different. We are wired to believe that happiness depends upon money and vis versa.



2. To me, there is no greater investment than investing in the youth of Malawi. We can do this through time, energy, prayer, and donations. The kids expect nothing, but feel blessed by everything. To me, that's worth investment.



3. In the U.S. we value independence: our own car, living on our own, being on our own agenda, etc. In Malawi, they value community instead of independence. Nearly every family lives with at least 1 extended family member. If one person has food, the person next to him/her will not go hungry. Basically, they hold their possessions lightly, ready to use them at any moment for someone else, as needs arise.

In general, my trip to Malawi feels like a beginning, not an end. It feels like the introduction instead of the conclusion. In other words, my work in Malawi is not finished. I want to go back, but I'm not sure at what capacity.

I would like to bring home with me some things I learned from Malawian culture. The biggest thing is living less extravagantly--only having what I need. And after visiting Africa for 5 weeks, I realize I should probably redefine the term "need".

Home Nice N'Safe

I arrived safely at the Cincinnati Airport last night (Aug.5th) around 7:00pm. I stepped off the plane and wanted to sprint to the end of the gate to see my family, but I restrained and settled for a fast-paced walk instead. I began weeping and through my tears I could see them far far away. Eventaully I made my way over to them and hugged them for about 5 minutes each! It was so sweet to see them again! Sometimes you don't realize how much you love someone until they're gone.

We pulled into the driveway and I felt like Bill Gates. My house seemed huge and incredibly clean considering there wasn't any dirt piled up in the corners or rats or mosquitos. There was carpet and clean running water and electricity. The air outside even seemed cleaner. This doesn't say much though. I was always breathing in dirt while I was in Malawi and they burn their garbage too, so the air there was always disgusting. So to say the least, being home felt foreign, yet refreshing.

When I woke up this morning, my body felt new but my heart was sad. In fact, it seems like my heart has been weeping all day. It feels broken. Broken from the stories I've heard of people's lives. Broken because I miss Jackson and Mercy. Broken from guilt...that I live a life of luxury while there are people I love on the other side of the world fighting hunger and HIV just to stay alive.

The transition will be tough.

Don't Want to Leave

This week I joined a volunteer group from southern California. Together we put on a spiritual camp for high school students. It was held at Lake Malawi. Every student that attended the camp is an orphan and is being financially sponsored by Ministry of Hope to go to secondary school (known as high school in the States). There were about 150 students total.

The camp was the most phenomenal experience. I would almost go as far as saying it was the most moving week of my life.

The kids played sports, swam in the lake, did crafts, danced (oh my GOSH they have so much rhythm!), and watched movies in the evening. There were spiritual teachings everyday. One day a speaker talked about staying motivated and becoming someone more than who people think you will become. Another day a speaker talked about boy/girl relationships. Another day the speaker talked about everything concerning HIV AIDS. He taught about statistics, prevention methods, symptoms, etc. After that speech, I actually helped test the kids for HIV. The testing was voluntary and only 1/3 of the camp was brave enough to test, but this is a good number.

We met in small groups to hold discussions about each of the topics. The kids had phenomenal questions... their brains are sponges for knowledge and they are yearning to know God. Sadly, the majority don't even have Bibles because they can't afford them. As you can imagine I gave mine away at the end of the week.

If I learned one thing, its that the kids expect nothing, and appreciate everything. I'm really going to begin living my life like this. In sum, the week was full of laughter, tears, disbelief, encouragement, and challenges.

To test or not to test? That is the question.
One little girl I became close with is named Mercy. During the HIV speech she said that she wanted to get tested for HIV. Both of her parents have died of "disease" but the type of disease is unknown. For this reason, I was REALLY excited when she told me she wanted to get tested.

Surely enough she didn't come through the registration line.

I waited and waited. Most of the testing was finished and no one was left in line. The clinic was getting ready to pack up and leave. As I was getting ready to head out, I saw her through the window. I ran out of the building and asked her why she decided not to come through. She told me she was scared and didn't feel brave enough to get tested. I explained to her that living life in truth is much better than living life in the unknown. I talked to her about how its healthy to know the status of her body and that living in the darkness is living in fear. I made sure she knew that if she did have HIV, I wouldn't think if her differently and neither would God. We would both love her the same, if not more. So we sat down together and prayed. I prayed that the Lord would give her wisdom in her decision whether or not to get tested. That she would feel brave and that He would take away her fears. After about 5 minutes of prayer, I gave her time alone and told her the decision was hers.

Later on she ran up to me and told me she went through with the testing and she was negative! I couldn't stop smiling.

Nursery News

Every time a baby leaves us (through foster care or adoption), another one takes it spot. It seems like it happens before I can even blink. The nursery is at full capacity and there is simply no room to keep taking in babies.

There was recently a set of twins that went into foster care and 2 new babies filled their spots within 32 hours. The first new baby, Matthews, is so sweet and healthy too. His mom died of HIV positive symptoms and his dad is expected to die of "very similar symptoms." When someone has HIV around here its kept very hush hush. Its seen as embarrassing and unclean. So most of the time its kept under the table, which doesn't help prevention.

The other new baby was rescued from his mother that went insane after giving birth. The police found the baby lying on the ground and the mother sucking milk from her own breasts. She had given her son a name that means "hopeless and poor" in Chichewa. Although that name will still be on the birth certificate, we have given him the nickname Noah.

Two days ago I went to the hospital to get 8 of our babies tested for HIV. Myself and 3 other ladies piled in the car with babies on our laps. Completely illegal in the States. We made sure we took Matthews with us, considering his parents both died most likely because of AIDS. We are anxiously awaiting the results and praying that everything comes back negative. We want the brightest futures possible for these kids!

Feeling under the weather

For those of you keeping up with my blog, you may be wondering why I'm posting in the middle of the week, when the original plans were to be in the village.

I've been sick and haven't been able to leave Lilongwe!

A mixture of fever, sweating, body aches, nausia, dizzyness, and overall weakness has kept in bed for the past 2 days. I am feeling better today, but not 100%. Please be praying for me, that I recover soon.

Mzungu! Mzungu!

Muzungu means "white person" in chichewa. I hear it everywhere I go... it makes me feel like a celebrity.

There is a particular group of children that live near me in Lilongwe. When I leave my house they sometimes chant "mz-un-gu! mz-un-gu!" They get a rhythm going by clapping their hands and stomping their feet, making a song out of it. When I walk past them they fall silent and stare at me as I walk by. Sometimes its fun to reach out and let the kids touch my hands and feel my white skin. They'll usually reach out to touch me, laugh, and run away.

I thought that peoples' reaction to my skin color was extreme in the city until I went to the village. On my way home from school one day I stopped to talk to a guy on the side of the trail selling earth nuts. After our 5 minute conversation was finished, I turned to continue my walk home and saw 10-11 little girls staring at with big eyes and open mouths. I didn't realize I was drawing in such a crowd!

The best was the time I was walking to a feeding center with my friends Stella and Agnes. We walked past a family that was working in a field. I could barely see them, but just as I walk by I heard a little girl begin to cry. After exchanging a few words with the Father, Agnes assured me that I was the first mzungu that this little girl has ever seen.

In the Bible, a Book called Acts talks about one of the apostles, Peter, performing miracles. It says, "The people placed their sick on mats in the streets, hoping that when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on them. Crowds came from all the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were bothered by evil spirits and all of them were healed."

These situations help me taste a fraction of what Jesus and Peter felt. Although they weren't known for the color of their skin, but for healing people.

5 Days in the Bush

I just returned to Lilongwe from spending 5 days in a village called Matapila (also known as the bush), teaching high school English and Agriculture. It was an absolute inspiring, life changing 5 days. I’ll spend 5 or 6 more days there next week!

While in Matapila, I stayed with the Matandikas (Mat-uhn-deek-ahs). They are a family with 5 kids, 3 who are orphans that they have taken in. The parents and the 2 biological kids share a room and the 3 orphaned children typically share the other room. But when I came to stay with them, I slept in the orphans’ room and they slept on the kitchen floor! I was blown away at their humble willingness to sleep on the floor in order to accomodate me. Believe it or not, this is just one small example of their hospitality.

A DAY IN MATAPILA
I wake up around 6:00 am.-6:15am. No help from my alarm, but from the LOUD roosters outside that roam freely in the village. I ask Mphatso to warm up some bath water for me. I do this by saying “matz” and motion my hands so that it looks like I’m splashing myself. Haha.

I wash myself out of a pale of water and then get dressed for work. I wear a dress and then wrap a Kitinge around my waist. Besides covering their legs, women use Kitinges to fasten their babies to their backs and to cushion the tops of their heads when carrying really heavy things. For breakfast the family always prepares tea and bread with butter. So I eat and then leave the house to teach.

I get to school by taking a thin path through the woods. The school has no road that actually leads to it! School is supposed to start at 7:30am. It doesn’t actually start until 9-9:15ish! I asked the teachers once why this happens and they said they like to wait until all the students show up!

Teaching is both great and frustrating. I teach English and Agriculture to about 50-60 Sophomores. I like teaching when the students understand the topic and we make progress in the classroom. I don’t like teaching when they don’t understand what I’m teaching. This is partially my fault, and partially situational... I get frustrated with both reasons!

Maybe someone can tell me how a student is supposed to learn when:
-They can’t afford a pen or paper to take notes
-None of the students have text books
-The library consists of 1 bookshelf with random texts from the 90’s
-The class has 50-60 students in it
-There are 6 teachers (who only have high school degrees) for 4 grade levels
-Their teachers don’t show up to teach 30% of the time.

I actually became so frustrated with everything on Wednesday that I ended class early and left with the students still sitting in the desks. Hey, at least they have something to sit on.

I return home after class and help Esnet the rest of the day. I’ll help her prepare meals, go to the market, watch the children, get water from the well, peel earth nuts, etc. If I’m not helping Esnet, I go to the feeding center and help to feed the orphans. More to come on feeding centers later!

In conclusion, I enjoy being a villager. It is neat to see the way God reaches the furthest places on Earth like Matapila, where theres no mail system and the streets don’t have names! From afar, you would think, why isn’t He providing for them? But its not until you step inside that you see God at work and how He truly does provide. It may not be what we would typically expect, but He certainly does.