Final Blog (written from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport)

As we sit here contemplating the past few weeks we’d like to share with you some of our thoughts.

Highlights:

• The warmth of the Malawians. They are kindhearted, smile quickly, and are warm to each other even as strangers.
• Their faith and joy - “God is good!”
• The dancing “Gogos” (Grandmothers!)

Favourite Signs:

• Hot Ladies Salon
• Wits End Internet
• Hair “Saloons”
• Welcome to Golden Dish Catering Service
• No Farming No Life Shop
• Heaven Bound Funeral Parlour
• Double Vision Private School - The Will of God
• Catch Them While They’re Young Primary School

Favourite People

• Issah, our skilled driver whom we treated like our son. By the end of our trip he called us his 4 mothers
• The staff of Somebody Cares - they work so hard in work that is hard dealing with grief, death and dying (often 6 days a week and some of them with Christmas Day being their only holiday) And yet, they remain compassionate, filled with joy, and continue to trust God
• Bishop Stephen, his wife Bernadette & Pastor Kelvin (Biwi & Kawale Orphan Care) - “God is good!”

Memorable Sights and Sounds

• singing and dancing women with babies on their backs, greeting us as we arrive at their village
• children running alongside our vehicle yelling “Azungu!!!” (white foreigner) then bursting out with laughter when we shouted back “Wakuda!!!” (black person - let us reassure you we only did this upon much prompting by the locals. Should we be worried that these were the same people who called some of us North Americans “FAT” and thought this was a compliment?

Favourite Sayings

• “Sure Sure” - “sure” meant maybe, but “sure, sure” was definetly
• “Yes, thank you! EXACTLY” (Pastor Kelvin)
• “I’ll flash you” when they mean “I’ll text you”
• Knock off at 5 - meaning they close shop at this time

Favourite Foods

• NOT chambo fish from Lake Malawi with its presentation on your plate complete with a tail, head, eyes, and fins (not to mention it smelled worse than last weeks cat food)
• NOT nsima but tolerated it well especially with cooked and seasoned mustard greens
• Chapman

Most Surprising

• the extreme poverty
• that most people in the country live in a brick mud with mud floors and no windows (remember, this is Malaria country)
• the number of people who live day to day on a subsistence income ($1./day)
• mouse on a stick - it will be a LONG time before we are interested in kabobs!

Summary

Despite all the challenges the people of Malawi face on a daily basis they are a people who consistently express joy and deep faith. A people that warm your hearts with smiles that are never ending. A people that care for you and share with you even if they can barely feed themselves.

We go home now with hearts that are full, minds that are stretched, souls that are enriched, bodies that are tired. We now await what God has planned for us. Each of us will certainly have a different path set before us. We pray that we will keep our hearts and minds open to recognize this journey that we hope to walk hand in hand with God. And who knows maybe some of you that have faithfully read our blogs and prayed for us will also walk hand in hand with one of us.

God bless all of you and thank you for your prayers.

Tionanna......See you later.....

The Team!

"Debriefing" Safari at Mvuu

After we said our farewells to the staff of Somebody Cares, we left on the 3.5 hr journey southeast of Lilongwe to Mvuu which is located in Liwonde National Park.

In our three weeks here we have become quite accustomed to poor road conditions but we again reached a new low. In our last ½ hour we literally crawled along pothole filled dirt roads most of the time at 5 – 15km/hr. Simone, Nettie and I sat in the back and are comparing bruises from being banged and jostled about! The track was popular with locals either walking or on bikes, carrying huge loads of wood, straw, etc. At one point we also saw a bike being pushed along with two 45 gallon barrels!

At our arrival at the parking lot for Mvuu, we were greeted by 100’s of White Breasted Cormorants perching in the trees and calling rather loudly. It was reminiscent of arriving at the Malawian communities we have visited! We were picked up by boat and crossed the Shire River which drains Lake Malawi.

“Mvuu” means hippo and we were about to discover that it was very appropriately named as we saw our first hippo within minutes on the boat. Upon our arrival at the resort, the first thing they did was give us a talk on safety issues around the “camp” i.e. you must be escorted to your chalet by a staff member after dark. Lunch was served after this on a covered but open air terrace in the main building and then we were shown to our rooms. While it was rustic, it seemed luxurious and charming after our two week stay in Lilongwe. Our “chalet” was a few feet from the banks of this river that is teeming with crocodiles and hippos. As we stood overlooking the river, I pointed out to Simone that there was an enormous lizard on the bank directly below us only to have her laugh at me and inform me that this was a baby crocodile…

Tea was served in the main lodge at 3:15 and then we were off on our first game drive. It did not take us long to find herds of elephants. One large matriarch claimed the road. The park is also filled with impala, warthogs, Kudu, waterbuck, and an exotic assortment of birds. The game drive eventually turned into a night drive where the assistant to the guide sat in the front of the jeep with a red torch that he shone into the bush at the side of the road, looking for game. We were mildly concerned that he might turn into dinner for some wild animal but there are no lions in this park.

As we crawled into our beds that night I jokingly said to Simone that I’d like to sleep with one ear open and not miss out on any of the sounds of wildlife that night. I’m not sure if it was that comment or my excitement of being at a safari camp, but all night long I heard the bellowing of hippos in the muddy river in front of our chalet. Another special memory of Malawi I will carry with me forever.

Debbie

Our last day in Lilongwe!

Well, time has flown as we knew it would. Suddenly it is Sunday and our last day in Lilongwe.

We are amazed at how much and how little we have done. An oxymoron I know. We have been so busy everyday but the need here is so huge we have often felt we have accomplished so, so, little.

However, what has amazed us so much has been the response of the people here--over and over they say "thank-you for just coming to see!" That is truly humbling. What do you say when you have done little more than give a bar of soap or hand over a cup of porridge.

Today we were invited to a local multi-denominational type church. Not a huge church, and not a church in the slums but a church that used a school for its facility.

Let me say that you may want to skip your aerobics class before you attend here--the fervor used in their song makes a work-out seem rather low key! The song and dance is very much Africa. They pour heart, soul, and body into their praise and worship. After this the minister spoke for almost an hour without a note in front of him. His message seemed strangely written to us volunteers today. He stressed the fact that all need to look for our gifts and use them when little hints are given to us in our everyday lives. "The minister's gift of speech is as important as the job of the floor sweeper". We should not "sit on our assets!"

Now that we are nearing the end of our journey we will need to reassess our personal gift and assets and how we will use them in the future. Will we return? Will we go elsewhere? We don't know but... do we love Malawi--a resounding yes. The poverty, the red dust, the smoke ,

no...but the people are truly amazing.

Tomorrow very early we leave Lilongwe and head out for our two day safari at Mvuu (means hippo) in the southeastern side of the country. Elephants and hippos here we come. We are not sure of our internet access there so if you followers don't see a blog in the next day or so fear not we will be fine--just away from civilization!

So signing off for today.

Blessings to all and remember sit not on your assets!

Nettie

Pictures are worth a 1000 words...

Compassion extends beyond our comfort zone....

Remember we mentioned in a previous blog that this is the name of one of our devotional books we used some mornings? We have tried very hard in the last 2 weeks to extend compassion in many various forms and step out of our comfort zone. Looking back we certainly have been forced every day to take that step and as we are doing that we offer it all to the Lord and hope deep down in our heart that our prayer partners have been doing their duties! But today we didn't have to step out of our comfort zone - we went to Lake Malawi and it felt like being home. We we were on a sandy beach possibly Grand Beach with all the comforts of home. What a day full of beauty. Different beauty than what we usually experience - God's hand in the landscape as opposed to God's hand in the hearts and smiles of the Malawi people. I love it that He is ambidextrous and can easily use both hands and create such wonder in our world.

We left after our breakfast this morning and picked up 3 of the staff members from Somebody Cares and our new friend from Baltimore and headed for Lake Malawi. It is an hour and a half and 3 random police check road blocks from Lilongwe. These 3 ladies have definitely worked their way into our hearts and it was such a pleasure for us to be able to take them along. One of the ladies had never been to Lake Malawi and she was simply in awe of the beauty. It was like watching a little child seeing a new toy for the first time - wonder and smiles! These ladies are such dedicated workers. Here is a typical day for them during the week. They wake up at 4 AM and then work around their house before leaving for work. One of them has to bike for 1.5 hours to work. They get to work for 7:15 and then they are lucky to finish before 6PM. They make their trek home - and yes the lady on the bike still has that 1.5 hour ride home. Then comes making supper which starts with getting a fire going and they try and spend time with their children (they all have orphans living with them) and then most of them have another little side job on weekends to help supplement their full time income because they need to do that to make ends meet. So by 9PM they are asleep. And so the cycle continues day in and day out. 4AM is the middle of the night for most of us. Will we remember them next time our alarm clocks rings early in the morning and we don't want to get out of bed to the comforts of our home. We occasionally may think of them but unfortunately being humans we will forget. But the times we do remember those precious ladies that know nothing but love for the oppressed we will hopefully say a prayer for them and their families.

Our drive home from the lake was uneventful. But then I started thinking about how uneventful our drives to Winnipeg will be upon our return. Our roads are so wide compared to the roads here. We won't have to try to dodge multitudes of people walking along the side of the road, bicycles carrying huge loads of wood or sugar cane or woven baskets or charcoal or maybe 3 people. We won't have to be on the look out for goats, cows, chickens and vendors waving their kebabs of sundried mice hoping we will stop to buy an appetizer. Nor will the sides of the roads have markets, small villages with brick huts that never have windows and almost never a door but alway somewhat of a roof; whether it is thatched grass, tin, plastic or clothing held down by bricks. It will take time to get used to those long stretches of nothing for us.

Some of the signs we have seen on buildings these past 2 weeks have made us chuckle. For example today we saw on a store, Truth Shall Prevail Tuckshop. Yesterday a school was called, Catch Them While They are Young School! And here is a cute one, Glad Tidings Orphan Care. And one sign that struck us today was: Stop Early Marriages - every girl has a right to complete her education. That was a bit of a thinker for us.

So, I end this by quoting our devotional, "Simple compassion begins with paying attention, noticing opportunities to share love with those who have less."

P.S. Did you know that if you laugh and talk a whole lot it is equivalent to exercise. That is what one of the ladies told us today. Well, I think that we will be going home with pants that are 2 sizes too big especially if you add crying to that diet.

Thanks again for all your love and prayers.

Grace and peace to you, Simone

You have to listen to the Holy Spirit to come....

Those were the words of Bishop Stephen Chatepa to our group as we gave them funds for 100 mosquito nets and for purchasing food for their feeding program. It was in response to my question: " What is your greatest need?" Our hearts would not let us just provide funds for nets because the children were going hungry... and since we made an amazing discovery yesterday re nets because of our driver's ingenuity .... we could do both.

Now let me start at the beginning of the day. We were to arrive at Kawale at 9 am SHARP pastor Kelvin had told us. We arrived before him (: Anyway, as Debbie said yesterday, “my” little 4 year old Wisdom who stole my heart 2 years ago was there to greet us. We spent time taking pictures, getting acquainted with the women who were preparing the lunch for the children, and also speaking with the chairman of the board. Wisdom hung out with me as we met with the widows to hear their problems and also as we were helping cut the greens for the lunch meal. He showed me how he could count to 10, printed our names, and we sang songs...

Oops... I got distracted...

After meeting with the widows to learn about their challenges of beginning a small IGA (Income Generating Activity) so they could be self sustaining to feed themselves and the orphans in their care, we met with two women who were HIV positive and therefore beneficiaries of the HBC or Home Based Care program. They receive fortified porridge, soap, weekly visits and spiritual nurture.

We also met Mr. Charles Chitepa for whom my team had made a scrapbook 2 years ago. At that time he was blind and his children/grandchildren were caring for him. He had prayed for 5 years to be healed of his blindness. Some time ago, he went to the hospital where they put some meds into his eyes and then he could see - at least in one eye. He walked a long way to bring the scrapbook to show us and praise God for healing him.

The next meeting was to discuss some achievements and problems which Kawale Orphan Care is facing. As all faith based organizations, there are always challenges. Other than a few individual donations resulting from visits to Kawale, they only have one base support group WOW - based out of Toronto and the organization I joined for my previous two trips to Malawi. (www.wowmission.com). The programming is facilitated by 28 churches that collaborated to begin KOCARECO (Kawale Orphan Care Religious Organization Committee). The board chair explained that their goal is to not only feed the children. Their hope is to complete the vocational school. This will break the cycle of prostitution which will lead to HIV infection which will lead to orphans. It will also break the cycle of alcohol and drug abuse.

They have many challenges and hopes:

* to complete their office . I can certainly understand why because the smoke from the “kitchen” beside them filtered into the “office” and we had to move our meetings into the hallway between the showers and the toilets. We Canadians could hardly breathe or see.

• to help finish the vocational school in Area 44 with some concrete floors (in the nursery the children sit on mats on the sand), and the tools for the various trades.

Their dreams and plans are very realistic. Their true hope is to be self sustaining because they know that outside funding is fickle.

Two highlights culminated our day in Kawale. Many of you, our readers, participated in gifting funds for mosquito nets. Due to our resourcefulness and the amazing assistance of our driver, we were able to purchase not only 188 nets but also blankets for these children for the same amount of money. Pastor Kelvin and the board chair continued reinforcing what a gift of health and education you provided for all the Kawale orphans.

The second amazing moment was when Nettie presented pastor Kelvin with a laptop. Upon receiving this gift, the women observing began to dance and ulele. How poignant a moment. Pastor Kelvin explained that he had been praying hard for a laptop and here he was blessed by Nettie and Gary’s generosity. He responded by saying : ” May God bless the father that gave this to me.”

Our last stop of the day was in Biwi. Bishop Stephen Chatepa and his wife were so gracious. They have 2 locations outside of Lilongwe where they grow vegetables to feed the children, but at their church in Lilongwe they don’t have the resources to feed the 100 children in their program. The only resources at their disposal is what their church members donate. Here too, due to the resources many of you contributed toward nets, we were able to donate funds for 100 nets as well as funds to supply food for 2 meals a week that will last until Christmas. They were extremely grateful to receive the funds now because this allows them to purchase the food at reasonable cost rather than in December when food costs increase.

Bernadette, pastor Stephen’s wife had so much richness in her soul. There was something about her demeanor that made us feel united as sisters. She thanked us so much just for coming to see. She said “ this is very, very important. Even just to come and see.” No strings attached.

The richness, warmth, graciousness, and appreciation are all sentiments that have truly impacted us forever.

Once again... there is so much to ponder...

Gloriously ruined,

Kawale Orphan Care

At our devotional time this morning, our discussion focused on the importance of our souls being fed, being engaged in things that feed our inner soul.

Today we met Pastor Kelvin and the Rufai Nachamba, the Director of the Board of Kawale Orphan Care. In the 2hrs we spent with them our souls sure gained a lot of weight and our hearts were full to the bursting point. While we were not met with the typical dancing, singing and jubilation of a village of women, the warmth expressed by these two leaders blessed us greatly.

Kawale Orphan Care focuses on caring for vulnerable children in their communities. There are 27 churches with 62 community leaders that have joined together in this effort. KOC has 18 volunteers in their downtown Lilongwe location, and 7 out of their Area 44 location. It is these volunteers that are responsible for going into the community (Home Based Care workers) to support people with HIV/AIDS and in the process become aware of the vulnerable. The city of Lilongwe is divided up into several different areas. Kawale, as mentioned, is located in the centre of the city and much of it is a slum. Area 44 is about a 15-20 min. drive away (much of it again quite slowly due to the condition of the roads). KOC is a much smaller organization than Somebody Cares and has only one organization funding it (Visionledd/WOW). They used to have a major contributor from Malawi but they went bankrupt a few years ago. As a result of that and political changes resulting in a cut of funding, their projects are now on hold. In spite of this, they continue to use the buildings as is and plan for the future. Once they have completed the building of their main centre, they hope to build a barn on a 3.5 hectare piece of land they own just outside the city. They are currently using this land to grow their own maize and other vegetables but hope to raise hogs, cattle and chickens in order to be more self sufficient.

They gave us a tour of their Area 44 project which is currently being run as a primary school with a feeding program but the intention was for this to be a vocational school for orphaned children who graduated to learn vocational skills that would allow them to obtain employment. We found it quite interesting to learn that they run this partly as a private school (thus charging fees to those families that can afford it) but provide free education to the orphans. The reason behind this is that they want to integrate these kids and avoid the school being labeled in a negative way as only being for orphans. While in Malawi, we have also learned that they have 3 categories of orphans: those with only one parent, those without any parent, and child headed homes. So, we hear terms like "single orphan" or "double orphan".

A few things impressed and blessed us in this short meeting with these two leaders. One, they had their mission statement and objectives on large posters on the walls. Two, Pastor Kelvin and Mr. Nachamba are very passionate about their ministry and have a real vision for the future. Three, they gave us a printed schedule for tomorrow's activities. Four, they requested that we be punctual as they had much they wished to discuss with us. Five, they requested if we had any specific information or topics that we would like to talk about tomorrow. It became quite obvious that they had put much effort into planning our visit.

In our discussions along the way, we again heard that to visit them, see and experience what they are doing is more important than sending money. Yes, they need funds but we were told that they feel it is very important for people who partner with them, to come and see if the funds that being donated are being used appropriately.

At the beginning of our meeting with them today, Lydia was blessed beyond belief to meet Wisdom, one of the orphans she met on her previous trip that holds a special place in her heart. She will tell you more about this in her blog tomorrow but I've posted a picture of the two of them that I hope will make it into this blog!

We continually process the things that we are experiencing, wondering what God is telling us, wondering where He is leading us. Our time with Kawale was short today, but again we are inspired. We have much to ponder...

Debbie