Jehovah...I will lift your name higher.....

And that was the song we sang as we headed towards the slums of Mgona this afternoon in the mini bus we have rented. Along with the 4 of us we had some of the staff members of Somebody Cares and 2 other ladies from the United States. Somebody Cares staff sang the song in Chichewa first and then we would sing it in English. What a momentous way set us in the right frame of mind for what we were about to see.

But before I tell you about the afternoon I will go back to that 6:00 wake up call. I am truly not a morning person so it was so hard to get up since the jet lag is still hanging on to the brain! At least I am not the only one of our team that is not a morning person, Debbie and Nettie are in my camp - early mornings are for the birds and Lydia! After breakfast we headed to the office of Somebody Cares to share devotional time with them and with a group of 19 other volunteers here from Phoenix. Sitting outside in the glorious sun made me realize to suck up the princess morning thing and embrace the wonder of God. The staff sang, danced a bit (kind of like morning aerobics!) and ministered the love and grace of God to us.

Chieftesse Teresa Malila, head of Somebody Cares gave us our orientation. She started by explaining to us that she set out to help those in need in the slums 12 years ago with a bottle of water and a Bible. And now her organization touches the people of Malawi in 22 communities in and around Lilongwe. They employ approximately 12 staff and use many many volunteers in the communities. Somebody Cares is a Christ centered organization that partners with other Christ centered organizations and has churches in various countries that help support their mission. CARES is the acronym for Caring, Advocating, Resourcing, Education, Serving & Supporting. Part of their goal to is empower communities around them with the resources and food to help sustain them. They have a program to empower widows with skills that can generate an income and Teresa tells us that there are now some men participating in that program. They have programs that enable the youth to do health evangelization to their peers covering subjects such as HIV/AIDS and the importance of mosquito nets to help prevent malaria. They have a childrens program that involves feeding, playing with the children and deworming them. These children have the weight of being an adult before being a child so the simple act of playing with them brings them brief moments of being the child they should be. And they have a program for those infected/affected with HIV/AIDS.

Teresa is a very eloquent speaker with a heart that knows no boundaries for love.

After our orientation and a bit of lull time, we headed to the slums of Mgona. What is very interesting is that the meaning of Mgona is to sleep. Well there was nothing sleepy about our arrival. There were around 70 women smiling, singing, clapping and shaking our hands to welcome us and there was triple that amount of children. It was a bit overwhelming. It brought tears of joy and tears of awe. Our hearts could barely take this all in - all these smiling faces, the poverty around them and their joy at welcoming total strangers. We have much to learn from this moment.

We were then sent out to see what happens on a home based care visit to the HIV/AIDS people. After walking down many red soil paths that have tiny brick dwellings on both sides we reached the home of a young woman of 26 years who is infected with HIV. She was gracious enough to allow us into her home which she shares with her mother and daughter. Her mother is her main care giver. Somebody Cares comes once a month with a supplement of enriched porridge and twice a week they help with general cleaning duties. But first of all we prayed with her. Lydia led us with that prayer and it was another overwhelming moment. Between our team and the volunteers of Somebody Cares standing cheek to cheek we filled her house. That would be 8 people plus her and her mother. No natural daylight comes into the home, the floor is red soil sealed with black dirt so it isn't as dusty and she lays on a beach mat (for lack of a better way to describe her bed) But she still managed to sit up and smile to us and allow us to share these moments with her. We were then asked to help do her dishes. So, Nettie and I said we would do that. Out back of the hut was a tub of cold water and dishes and a bar of soap. And so we started to scrub. We were sure that they had collected some dishes from the neighbours for our benefit. At one point the staff member from Somebody Cares asked me if I did dishes at home - I guess I wasn't doing them up to their standards, I don't know....I told her no I don't - my husband and the dishwasher look after that.....that brought on a chuckle!

From there we went to a 39 year old man's home. He is alone...his wife and children have all died from AIDS. He too received porridge and there Debbie sealed his red soil floors with a black mud mixture. The life expectancy of a person is Malawi is 39. So here was another statistic. His home was much the same as the previous home but the difference here is he had only one friend to look after him. This gripped our hearts with such sadness. None of us can imagine being alone in our lives in moments of despair. I must remember though that the despair is but physical. Their faith and love for God is unbelievable. They have so little and yet they have so much to offer us. A lesson for the heart.

And then came all the little children that followed us around. Their curiosity, their smiles, their laughter, the want to hold hands with us and for me it was an instant joining of hearts with them. What beautiful children of God. How precious to share some time with them. One little boy walked with crutches because he had only one leg but did that stop him from jumping up and down for some of the games - not a chance.

We were limited with our photo taking today but tomorrow when we return into that community to work we will be allowed to take more photos.

"Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.” ~ John Wesley

I leave you with a heart filled with awe and smiles and sadness but most of all love for all of you who care and for God.

Grace and peace,

Simone



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