Green pastures

Well we got to sleep in today -what a treat--trouble with that it is hard to find something left for breakfast. We were having trouble even getting some coffee so we have learned something about indulging in a luxury here! Early birds get the coffee, hot milk, omelettes, etc!

We spent our luxurious morning finishing the compilation of the 6 memory books for the 6 families that were selected by Somebody Cares staff. We packed up some little packets of donated clothing for them as well. At noon we set out on our way to do the deliveries in the slum of Mtandilie. With the help of our interpreter and our entourage of at least six Home Based Care Volunteers we set off on our walking trek to deliver the books and packets. What a wonderful fun bunch of women.

We delivered our packets and books to the very humble and grateful families. The pictures on there facesThey talked and laughed with us as we made our circuitous route through the huts (homes). They laughed with us as they taught us to so "wakuda"(black) to the young children after they would point and yell "azungoo" (whites). All involved in the exchanges would laugh & smile & wave hellos as the red dust and acrid smoke of the cooking fires would billow around. Walks anywhere else will not be ever so memorable -especially with our leader Agnes dancing along the way. The happiness that permeated through these women is mind boggling to us westerners. We all thoroughly enjoyed each others company exchanging conversation of origins, families, and silly joking. hat makes these women so happy?

Is it their comforts-ah no. Is it their new clothing --mm-no. The nice home they go home to --not! Their health..no. The warmth and caring and love for all just oozes from there pores. We have never felt unwelcome. When we left they made us dance with them and sang gospel songs as they dance.

Let me say to any christian, atheist, or agnostic you cannot help but feel the happiness in these people when they seem to have nothing..

The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.

Azungu Aunt Jemima!

At our morning devotional this morning with the staff of Somebody Cares, Teresa said we should be clapping louder and shaking what our mama's gave us a little bit more! She said that she was going to make us Africans before we leave. So, we thought if we had the traditional head wrap and chitenje (skirt wrap) we could possibly be on our way to becoming wanna be Africans and it would improve our praise and worship! Well, that was not to be! Clapping, singing and shuffling the feet while shaking our bottoms is not something we Azungus can achieve all at once. And for that we are glad that God has a sense of humour!

So, what do you think of our team uniform? And take note it is even in the Manitoba colours - brown and gold! We just needed the bison emblem on our backs to be real provincial representatives. What was really fun is that wherever we went today the people of Malawi acknowledged us and were excited to see that we were dressed as one of them. Of course not all the women in Malawi go about their day dressed like this but in the communities in the slums and villages they all wear the chitenje and most have the head wrap. If you don't wear the chitenje you certainly must wear a skirt. In the city of Lilongwe women dress more like the western world.

We made layettes last night - not sure if we talked about layettes in a previous blog so I apologize for the repetition but here is what consists of the layettes we made now: a receiving blanket, 2 tuques, 1 onsie and a baby sleeper or outfit. We hauled all these supplies from home! With 50+ layettes in tow this morning we headed to the Bwaila Hospital. Something to remember next time we might have to wait at the walk in clinic or for our doctor because he/she is running late be thankful we have medicare and that we don't have to sit outside with 100's of other people to be seen by a doctor. At the hospital we were met by the matron and she brought us to the premature nursery. They have a sign on their doorway that says, Kangaroo Care. Our first nursery had 4 mothers and their tiny little babies. Oh, my it was like holding a Barbie doll. I held a little boy named Isaac that was 1.6 kgs = 3.5 lbs. He was incredibly precious. These 4 babies were kept in this room because they were more shall we say fragile than the other 45 premature babies that were all lined up in bassinet's in a big room. The 4 mothers had their babies snuggled between their breasts - skin on skin - and wrapped with blankets to hold the baby in snug against their mother. This mimics the kangaroo and their joey hence the name Kangaroo Care. There are no incubators in this hospital so this is there creative incubator.

After our visit there we went to the bigger nursery where the babies were sometimes 3 to a bassinet and their mothers were in the middle of the room sitting either on the floor or low lying benches. It was a peaceful moment to my heart to see the mothers there waiting to help care for their child. The mothers were asked to go stand by the bassinets that held their child for the gifting of the layettes. We were handing the layettes out and when it was my turn to give a layette to a mother my heart melted - she had twins! For those of you who don't know my family, we are the proud parents of bouncing twin boys too! Well they still bounce but they were babies 27 years ago and they were not premature and they did not weigh 2 lbs! I asked the nurse that was beside this mother to explain to her that I too was a mother of twins and what a smile she had for me! You know it is those moments that make the heartaches seem bearable.

So after many photos and thank yous we said farewell. As we drove away one couldn't help but have a feeling of thankfulness for our medical system, thankfulness that even in a developing country there are many who are in the profession of nursing and caring and thankfulness for all that we have and can have.

Our afternoon was spent working on the memory books for the 6 individuals we visited yesterday. After much grumbling about our printer and giggling we are almost done that project. Will report tomorrow on the reaction of the recipients.

Thank you again for all your prayers. We feel your presence in our hearts and know that without you to carry us through these 2 weeks we would be puddles on the floor. For that we are thankful too.

Here is a thought I leave you with....Teresa Malila today said to me - it is now time for all the churches across the world to get involved in the HIV/AIDS crisis....think about that......

A Momma of twins that cannot shake her booty very well, Simone

The faces of the kids receiving their packets

I will lift up your Name, higher... You are wonderful...

These are the words to the song we sing at devotions, enroute to our destinations, or while we are walking in the slums.... In the days we've been here, it is not hard to understand all the praise and worship happening because otherwise it would be difficult to emotionally take in all that transpires in a day.

After morning worship we packed 140 bags (to which we contributed the funds) for the preschool in Njewa. They included 2 bars of Life buoy(body soap), 2 bars of Sunlight (soap for clothes), and a 1 kg of sugar. It was to include salt also, but that was not available. I wish I could include a picture of the excited faces of the children. (Unfortunately our internet is too slow).

After handing out the packets we headed to another slum -Mtandile. I'm not sure how vehicles stay in tact here. Just the approach to the enclosed private school compound was so elevated and uneven that we lost the spare tire under our van.

After participating in the warm welcome the ladies had for us, we left to begin the interviews of 6 families - widows or HIV/AIDS patients. What a privilege to sit in their home, hear their story, and have the opportunity to create a scrapbook for them. After we finished interviewing and photographing, we prayed for them and tried to encourage them to call on Jesus and know He loves them and cares for them deeply. Upon our return 3 hours later, the ladies were still waiting for us with a lunch of nsima, okra, and eggs. Then they presented a program to show us what they did on a regular basis. I was also asked to share a word of encouragement with them.

Debbie, one of our team members chose to attend the funeral of one of the ladies in Mgona.

--Lydia--

I continue to process this afternoon. I went to attend the funeral of one of the widows of Mgona, the first place we went with Somebody Cares - a slum at the edge of Lilongwe. The woman had made quite an impression on her community and the staff of Somebody Cares with her encouragement, her sense of humor, sensitivity to others. She apparently attended many of the funerals in Mgona and I was told this was why her funeral was so well attended. It was hard to count the people as some sat a ways off around the huts, others behind some shrubs, but I would guess at the beginning there were approximately 100-150 people. There were 3 of us Azungus (whites) and 2 staff from SC. It was humbling and yet a privilege to be a part of their grief and sorrow. As I sat among the weeping widows, I could only pray that God would somehow comfort them. Never have I prayed more to convey love to the grieving around me through my presence. How do you comfort when you can't use words? A short time later, we learned there was another funeral happening at this very moment. One of the volunteers of SC at Mgona had lost her 13 year old grandson. So, we left the funeral of the widow to go and sit with this grieving family. It was rather shocking for me to see that there were less than 40 people present at this young boy's funeral. When asked why, I was told this was due to the popularity of the widow and how widely she was known. There were people present from surrounding communities as well. SC had taken a collection on our bus before we got to the slum which was divided and given to both of these families. I also learned that another funeral had taken place yesterday - the neighbor of the widow whose funeral we were attending today.

Then, we also learned that another man (relative again of a SC volunteer) had died this very afternoon while we were sitting and grieving these 2 deaths.

One picture kept coming to my mind that made me weep as I sat with them today. I kept seeing Jesus sitting in the middle of this crowd of mourners, weeping with them, sharing in their sorrow, and caring so deeply for the pain they experience.

Debbie

Sunday, July 18

I hope not all my dreams came true. Something about the incredible hospitality we enjoyed must have crept into my subconscious . During the night I dreamed that I gained 20 lbs. on this trip. When I saw what they had prepared for breakfast I wondered if this was a prophetic dream. They must have been up most of the night as we had fresh homemade doughnuts, an egg casserole, and fruit for breakfast. I shared my concerns regarding this dream (after indulging in 3 doughnuts) and the Barkman's charming 7 year old son Nicholas suggested we use a truck scale to weigh me after breakfast!

Church was approximately 10 minutes away down a winding dirt road, past the common brick huts with straw roofs. On the way, one of Tristen's friends (a very elderly woman by the looks of it - we are pretty bad at judging ages here) was standing at the side of the road, waiting. She had never attended church with them before but they picked her up. Well, they tried to pick her up but she was unable to really walk. She shuffled about 3 inches at a time. In the end, she simply crawled into their jeep with a bit of a push and pull. She seemed to be quite delighted with church, listening quietly for most of the time but a couple of times she became quite talkative. Tristen found her animated demeanor amusing and commented that she's never been here before but suddenly she's in charge! Her wrap fascinated us as all over it was printed "Pope John Paul II Visit to Malawi"! She was quite delightful but as we were leaving after church, she stated that she was going to die next week as she was very tired of life.

Lunch at the Barkman's was yet another feast! I do believe I won't be the only one who has gained 20 lbs. in 24 hours. Oh well, tomorrow it's back to peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and none of us are ever tempted to overeat...

On my way to Weight Watchers,

Debbie

July 17 - visit to Phalula

Our lovely trip to Phalula (pronounced with a silent H)---a 3 hour journey south east of Lilongwe.

We embarked on our trip to visit Tristan & Richard Barkman & family at the very late hour of 9:15 am! This is a very late start for us as our normal start is at 6am—trust me this is not natural for 3 of us except sargeant-major Lydia who thrives on sunrises!

Here is a little background on the Barkmans. They are from Steinbach and are at the end of their 2 year mission work in Malawi. They have 4 children and the connection is that Richard's father drove for Penner International for forty years so Simone suggested we go visit them. She also knows many of their relatives at home. The family was more than welcoming!

In our 3 hour drive here we saw many many markets along side the highway selling tomatoes, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, papaya, woven baskets, straw mats, mice on a skewer, and coffins!The most eye catching sign was for a funeral parlour called Heaven Bound which of course got me to thinking about how they guarantee that...

The highway is actually quite good, lets compare to Hwy 10 in Manitoba, and what was interesting was that for quite a few kilometres we drove with the Mozambique border on the west side of the road and the Malawi border on the east side! Talk about porous borders.

The countryside turned very hilly and the mountains were not far in the distance. We constantly passed many small villages with varying degrees of poverty.

We arrived on time due to the great driving skill of our driver Esau.

We were graciously welcomed into the Barkman home and treated to a scrumptious lunch with home made buns and salad (OUR FIRST SINCE OUR ARRIVAL fresh lettuce—yumm).

After lunch Tristan took us to see the local hospital which is just a short walk from their home. We were toured by the nurse/midwife on call for today. The clinic offers HIV/AIDS counselling and check ups, medications and a pharmacy that holds 2 small cupboards that contains all their medicines for dispensing. It has a laboratory with no fridge that we could see, and a labour and delivery room. Interestingly enough in Malawi a family member is required to stay with you to be your care giver while in hospital because there are so few nurses and rarely doctors.

The best part of the tour was that there were 5 newborns to peek at with their mom’s in the maternity ward!

A point of interest: there is a major measles outbreak in Malawi. This hospital can see up to 7 cases a day.

The facilities are very basic with laundry done all by hand and hung outdoors to dry. The autoclave appeared to be just a large pressure cooker from another era, and a hot plate from the time of the dinosaur.

We then took a short drive to see some falls on the only major river in Malawi, the Shire River. We took some lovely pics and our Esau seemed truly caught in the magic of the place. The falls were not very high but they were still a force to be reckoned with.

We returned to the Barkman household to a short game of soccer (known here as football) with the children —short would be the key word here with these 50+ year old women!Their 7 year old Nicholas seemed to enjoy winning! Another delicious meal, some sharing time of our trip photos so far and now early to bed.

We will join the family for a church service here in Phalula if they unlock our bedroom door from the outside! Simone and I get to share a room in the guest house and as the night guard's new baby was sick he got the night off thus necessitating Richard locking and barring the door for our safety –though we did get to keep the keys! just not sure we can reach the lock!. We hope someone remembers we are here in the morning!

A wonderful day—not only did our bodies get a rest but so did our hearts.

After seeing so much poverty during the week with endless broken families it was wonderful and heart warming to spend such a peaceful time with the warm and inviting Barkman family.

Blessings to all, Nettie

picture of the week

Here is a picture to give you a visual of the week. This was a fraction of the women greeting us at Chitemba yesterday. They greet us with singing and dancing and then we are drawn into the inner circle to shake our booties.