Hello! I'm sorry for being so negligent. Its hard to make myself sit still and complete a task these days. I feel that now is way overdue to tell more about our trip. I've yet to really discuss it in less than an hour's time so we'll see what this turns out to be!
First of all I just have to Praise God for all His answered prayers!
-The girls were happy and healthy and had a wonderful time with their loved ones. Elizabeth's stomach problems were identified (lactose intolerance) and easily handled causing no further problems while we were gone. Gloria missed us but has since recovered and all is well again. The girls now have strengthened bonds with both of their grandmothers as well as their aunt, uncle and cousins. It was hard to be away from them (at the midpoint I asked what I had to do to get "kicked out and sent home") but a wonderful experience for all of us.
-Our travels went so smoothly the entire time. No problems anywhere and all luggage arrived safely and on time! Our health was overall good too. Eddie was sick for a couple of days but thankfully there were some antibiotics (brought from home) available and he was still able to participate in most activities. Surprisingly I had no sinus/allergy issues while there, a miracle in itself!
-We tried quite a few new foods, some were tastier than others to our palate but we never lacked for food. They were "safely" prepared in the kitchen at Njewa by the wonderful staff. One of my favorites were the homemade tortillas for Fajita night. The protein bars we brought helped fill in the gaps and hunger was never an issue. Even Eddie didn't struggle.
-It was FREEZING at night, in the 40s with an unsealed roof and no heat! Somehow we survived amist many, many layers and sleeping completely covered under the blankets. (I was concernd about suffocating at first but found the warmth too irresistable.) The mosquitoes also did not give us any problems.
-Eddie got more opportunities than he anticipated to play worship. We performed/worshipped with two different Malawian churches as well as for devotions with the staff in addition to just with our team. He did a great job and it was one of my favorite moments getting to see him finally doing what God has spent all year preparing him for. He finally had an audience other than myself and the girls! He privately prayed at the larger church that at least one person would know one of the songs our group was singing and join us in worshipping, there were 3 that stood up and praised God with us. Its always so special to remember how our God is the God of Malawians as well and we can all worship together, just like in Heaven! (plenty of people attentively listened and hummed along, he was just happy some others actually knew the song and sang too)
-The staff in Malawi was incredible. There are a few full time staff and the majority are interns there for the summer. Some from America and some from Malawi. The Malawian interns served as our interpreters since we did not speak Chichewa. They were such special people to get to know. Most of them were college students on break from the local univesity, ABC (African Bible College). One young intern was David. He is 17 and studying to take his exams to complete secondary school and hopefully move on to a University. He has been raised by COTN. He and his brother have grown up in one of the boys homes and now he was spending his break working as a volunteer helping us Americans. He was shy at first but he and Eddie got along pretty well by the end. We were so grateful for all our intern friends: David, Alinafe, Faith, Ellen, Harris, Chiconde, Lucy, and Maureen.
What did we do?
Everyday had its own agenda. We kept very busy but were always able to be in bed by 9if we wanted to be. Those who didn't go to sleep stayed up reading, playing cards and having long and random discussions. I did all of the above. In the mornings breakfast was at 7:30 during the week and 8 on the weekends. We took a bus wherever we went. Most of our time was spent at Mtsiliza Village or Chilombo Village.
Mtsiliza is the first village in Malawi COTN began programs in. They have had a presence there for 10 years now. There is a feeding program, nursery school, boys and girls group homes and widows program to teach them skills and provide opportunities for financial self sustainability. Partners with COTN in the village also include a school and church run by the former COTN country director, Tom Mambo. This village hosted a stirring welcoming party for us directly upon our arrival from the airport. Many of the children performed songs or stunts for us and some of us even got pulled in to dance a bit! We were able to help chop up and move a huge pile of firewood to be stored for the next 3 months. (One of Eddie's favorite tasks) We also assisted with the feeding program by helping distribute the food and toured the schools and widows program. Many of the children here are eligible for sponsorship and a good majority have been sponsored by people from all over the world!
-The feeding program experience was hard for me. The children were given Nsima (corn flour paste that looks like firm grits) and a bite or two of meat. Watching them get so excited for this one piece of meat that I would never touch made me understand the levels of their hunger. I was impressed with the women from the village who administer this program. They were firm but kind with all of the children, making sure no one took advantage or got left out.
-The schools were an interesting experience. The teachers took their job very seriously and the children were eager to impress us. Over there it seemed that the "proper" way to greet a guest is by song or recitation of scripture. Every classroom we stopped in did one or both of those things. It became a contest to see which student could recite the most memory verses! Sadly, in nearly every classroom there were no desks. The students sat in chairs with their legs crossed using their laps as a desk. The fortunate students had some form of zippered bag to carry their supplies in, I saw a very old women's purse being used by one student and an old money bag from a bank by another. Notebooks, writing utensils, and bookbags are a prized possession for these students!
Chilombo village is where we spent the most time. This village is also referred to as Chirombo. I am going with Chilombo because that is what the sign said that was prepared for our arrival. Someone told me that R's and L's are often confused in translation so I'm not sure if anyone knows the original correct term. This village is brand new to the COTN family. They do not have programs established here like in Mtsiliza. They have completed the period where they survey a village and identify the needs of the group and individuals and now have a list of those eligible for sponsorship. They also provide soap and some food once a month to the identified families in need (which is a lot).
-Our first week in Chilombo our team was split into 4 groups and we were matched with a local needy family. We spent one afternoon just talking with them through an interpreter getting to know them, and them getting to know us! Then we did duties with the family, the women repaved the cooking room with mud and carried water on our head from the well. There isn't much "man's work" around there so Eddie got to dig a trash hole and play with the kids. Another day we went to the market and picked up some items to take as a gift to our family. The women then got to cook the items with the family. That was quite the experience! They cook in a big pot over a coal fire. Our family had a small covered cooking room outside of the their home, it got really smoky in there! I didn't burn or ruin anything though. Afterwards we had another sit and chat session through the help of an interpreter. This time it was a much larger group. The women got pretty bold, our poor interpreter David was blushing having to ask us these questions. They wanted to know about inter-racial marriages, family planning and birth control, child birth, breastfeeding, and mens and womens duties. Needless to say they kept Eddie and I on our toes but it was a lot of fun!
-Our second week in Chilombo was focused more on ministry. We only had 2 guys on our team but they were given the task of ministering to a group (allegedly of 20 ended up being more like 80) who had either received Christ or been receptive to the message when the June team from COTN/Summit Church was there. They planned some Bible lessons and knew that on day 3 of their outreach they would distribute Bibles in the native tongue of Chichewa. Eddie had an incredible time doing that and learned so much about how God can use Him or anyone when He wants to. Some of these men had some really tough decisions to make since many of their cultural norms are not Biblically acceptable. The women were planning to meet with what we thought were 100 women (more like 300) to distribute hygiene bags and teach lessons on respect and self worth from a Biblical perspective. We found that they were not so interested in being taught, they wanted a more interactive experience. We ended up doing some skits about various women from the Bible (Hannah, Mary, Ruth, and Mary and Martha) and then prayed with them. One day we did individual prayer and another small groups. They were so grateful for the prayer! They then turned around and prayed for us! It was an amazing mutual experience, everyone on the same level just lifting each other up to the same God.
-For fun a few afternoons we played games with the children. I got to play soccer in Malawi! The first day was a little unplanned so we all did it in our skirts. That was a new and ungraceful experience! The second time we came prepared with long shorts. (I had to borrow a pair of Eddie's.) The crazy thing is that those kids who had shoes took them off to play. We played on a dry, dirt field with some remnants of dead grass. There were plenty of sticks and burs but it did not phase the Malawians. I did nothing spectacular but I did try some "Christian" trash talk to one little guy who was so serious, but gave me a hug at the end.
-The hard part about Chilombo is the poverty. Here many do not have shoes, and most only have one or two items of clothing. The clothes they have are well worn with holes. This is what they wore everyday, in the winter! It was such a contrast because most of the children in Mtsiliza had something warmish to wear in the cold, although still inadequate by our standards. There were unfortunately plenty of children with distended bellies from hunger and only a few of the girls attended school. I had to take comfort knowing that the programs that turned Mtsiliza around were being implemented here in Chilombo and 10 years from now this same level of poverty will not exist for these people. Its been hard to not snap at Gloria or Elizabeth when they whine about a snack or particular clothing issue, remembering how these children lived. I am grateful I have so much that my children can whine about it! (I will need to be reminded of that frequently I'm sure.)I have also resolved upon my return to look for ways to simplify things. Less is more!
Other than the villages, we had a few different random experiences. We visited a city church for Sunday service that was in both Chichewa and English. It was fun to worship together, it really didn't feel too different from an American church. One main difference was how they announce when a couple begins dating and have to give approval as a church body! We went to the Lake for an afternoon to see the beach and go to the market. Beautiful Lake Malawi! We got to visit a zoo type place called the Sanctuary and eat Malawian version of our pizza at a food court. It was ok since we'd been there so long but would never cut it here. We even stopped by a wedding reception for one of the staff members. Most of the time was spent encouraging guests to donate money to the bride and groom. That's one Malawian tradition many team members are planning to recreate!
There were many special people that we met and will likely discuss in future postings. One person who I want to share about is Alex. Before heading on the trip Eddie and I knew there would be an opportunity to choose to sponsor a child. We had decided prior to that we would just pray about it as we went, not certain if we would or not. While there many children attached themselves to us. All of them wanted to be our friend, some were hoping we would sponsor them as well by giving us letters requesting so. That was difficult to experience for both of us. We learned that the last team to visit had asked children to write down their name for them so they could take it back to the staff and enquire about sponsorship. Apparently these children (and their families) incorrectly assumed we were there for the same reasons. Once they were sternly spoken to by the COTN staff that works directly with the village,there were no furthur issues yet those same sweet children continued to attach themselves to us. They genuinely wanted to spend time with us regardless of sponsorship (which is what I had assumed all along). When the time came Eddie and I saw how much sponsoring a child helps the child and their family and felt called to become a sponsor. We didn't even begin to know how to choose but did have a demographic in mind. We trusted the sponsorship director to choose a child for us based on these criteria and he did. He introduced us to Alex that very day! Alex is 17 years old and has been attending school most of his life. Since the 5th grade he has been #1 in his class. His family could not provide for him so he has been raised by his aunt and uncle along with his 5 cousins. Things have been difficult for the family and COTN has been helping to send him to school. Because he has not had a sponsor the funds for his schooling are not guaranteed. The sponsor coordinator noted what a relief it would be to know that this boy who has worked so hard will not be in danger of losing his opportunities for school and future success now that he will have a sponsor. We are so honored to get to be a part of Alex's life. He was very shy when we met him but very kind. He played soccer on my team in our first game and appeared to have many friends. When he joined us at our "village" for a sponsorship lunch we did a good job of overwhelming him! We gave him a care package of some personal items and then Eddie showed him how to play the guitar and drum machine. We wish we could have had more time with him but look forward to exchanging letters throughout the year. We feel this is the best way to honor our experience there. A living souvenir of sorts. There are so many more children that would be greatly blessed by a sponsorship. If you are interested in learning more please contact us!
I guess that about sums up the trip. People of amazing kindness, strength, and faith. We were blessed by the people of Malawi. We come home with hearts more open to the opportunities of service around us and a greater appreciation for some of the programs and opportunities in place in our country to prevent such devastating situations. We hope you too are able to pray for those around the world and appreciate what you have. We found that the people in the village don't resent us for the opportunities we have that they don't, they become bothered that people who have such opportunities would not appreciate them. Be grateful for what you have, and don't shy away from taking advantage of the opportunities God has blessed you with!
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