Friday, July 8, 2011
Saying goodbye
Today was our last day out at the Thuchila Hope Center. It was a very cold, rainy day. We really lucked out; we only had two days of real Malawi winter weather.
We spent a lot of our time trying to finish up the sponsor letters. It was good to be able to connect personally with each child. They treasured the letters from FOPC. We found out early on that "favorite color" was a foreign concept to them.
The day ended with a short program. The choir at the center sang for us, we were each asked to say something and then some of the people there including one of the students all spoke. As usual the kids were very attentive even though it was approaching dusk and some of them walk several kilometers to get home. After last high fives, handshakes, hugs and yes many tears we said goodbye. As we drove out we got our last smiles and waves.
We just finished our last dinner at the ministry house. They hired an excellent cook here and we have been well fed. No coming home with less weight for us. In fact we are all trying to figure out how to get Victor home with us.
We are now trying to get packed up. Many of us came thinking we would only need one suitcase for the trip home but the trip to the Malawian craft market changed that. And those who didn't over spend the budget on souvenirs are bringing back Malawian tea and coconut cookies.
Tomorrow we fly to Johannesburg where we will stay overnight and do some debriefing about the trip. We leave from there Sunday evening which will be Sunday morning at home. The first leg is a 16 hour trip to New York. We just found out that our New York to home leg of the trip has been cancelled and the travel agent is scrambling to try and get us another flight. Prayers would be appreciated as by then we will definitely want to just be home and not hanging out at the airport.
We can't wait to share stories and pictures. We are definitely leaving a part of our hearts here in Malawi.
We spent a lot of our time trying to finish up the sponsor letters. It was good to be able to connect personally with each child. They treasured the letters from FOPC. We found out early on that "favorite color" was a foreign concept to them.
The day ended with a short program. The choir at the center sang for us, we were each asked to say something and then some of the people there including one of the students all spoke. As usual the kids were very attentive even though it was approaching dusk and some of them walk several kilometers to get home. After last high fives, handshakes, hugs and yes many tears we said goodbye. As we drove out we got our last smiles and waves.
We just finished our last dinner at the ministry house. They hired an excellent cook here and we have been well fed. No coming home with less weight for us. In fact we are all trying to figure out how to get Victor home with us.
We are now trying to get packed up. Many of us came thinking we would only need one suitcase for the trip home but the trip to the Malawian craft market changed that. And those who didn't over spend the budget on souvenirs are bringing back Malawian tea and coconut cookies.
Tomorrow we fly to Johannesburg where we will stay overnight and do some debriefing about the trip. We leave from there Sunday evening which will be Sunday morning at home. The first leg is a 16 hour trip to New York. We just found out that our New York to home leg of the trip has been cancelled and the travel agent is scrambling to try and get us another flight. Prayers would be appreciated as by then we will definitely want to just be home and not hanging out at the airport.
We can't wait to share stories and pictures. We are definitely leaving a part of our hearts here in Malawi.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
More news
Today it is very stormy here. The wind is blowing and it is raining. This is the weather we were expecting but we have been very blessed to have not experienced it. It will be interesting out in the village today.
We enjoyed our day of rest. We were able to see some of God's African creatures in their natural habitat. We were up close and personal with elephants, crocodiles, hippos, warthogs and monkeys to name a few.
The road out to few this beauty is not fun. We spent over an hour on a very, very bumpy road. It amazes us to see all the people who live out deep in the bush. When they want to get to major services they walk or hire a bicycle taxi. I can't imagine having to walk everywhere I wanted to go.
Yesterday we did go with the youth of the Blantyre church up on a retreat. It was in a beautiful mountain location. The girls had a good time talking with their peers and finding out that they are very similar in many ways.
Two more days of time with our precious children. Today there will be a group of nurses out testing for HIV. Yesterday they tested 100 kids and only one tested positive. We are praying that the rest of the children are also free from this awful disease.
Kirk and Chris left us yesterday and should soon be home. We miss them already. Be sure and greet them on Sunday, we gave them instructions to pass out hugs.
We enjoyed our day of rest. We were able to see some of God's African creatures in their natural habitat. We were up close and personal with elephants, crocodiles, hippos, warthogs and monkeys to name a few.
The road out to few this beauty is not fun. We spent over an hour on a very, very bumpy road. It amazes us to see all the people who live out deep in the bush. When they want to get to major services they walk or hire a bicycle taxi. I can't imagine having to walk everywhere I wanted to go.
Yesterday we did go with the youth of the Blantyre church up on a retreat. It was in a beautiful mountain location. The girls had a good time talking with their peers and finding out that they are very similar in many ways.
Two more days of time with our precious children. Today there will be a group of nurses out testing for HIV. Yesterday they tested 100 kids and only one tested positive. We are praying that the rest of the children are also free from this awful disease.
Kirk and Chris left us yesterday and should soon be home. We miss them already. Be sure and greet them on Sunday, we gave them instructions to pass out hugs.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Happy 4th of July. We are celebrating our country's independence with a day of viewing the Malawi countryside and experiencing some more of the culture. On Wednesday it is Malawi's Independence day. We will be going with the youth group from the Blantyre church on a outing that day. We are looking forward to spending more time with them and sharing our stories of our time in the village in hopes of sparking interest in their youth.
Yesterday we went to church in the village. When we drove up the women came out singing welcome songs to us. What a wonderful way to greet visitors. We enjoyed listening to the word of God in Checewa although we cheated and had Viktor interpret for us. We spent a good chunk of our afternoon waiting for our deluxe mini van to be serviced. The gasoline shortage is still in full effect - Viktor has been out all hours of the night making sure we have enough fuel to get around.
Kirk is going to be staying back today and is doing a pastors conference in Thuchila along with having some one on one time with the directors of the centers. We will miss having him with us but are praying that God will use him in a mighty way today.
We will be away from the computer for a couple of days. Please continue to pray for our health and stamina.
Yesterday we went to church in the village. When we drove up the women came out singing welcome songs to us. What a wonderful way to greet visitors. We enjoyed listening to the word of God in Checewa although we cheated and had Viktor interpret for us. We spent a good chunk of our afternoon waiting for our deluxe mini van to be serviced. The gasoline shortage is still in full effect - Viktor has been out all hours of the night making sure we have enough fuel to get around.
Kirk is going to be staying back today and is doing a pastors conference in Thuchila along with having some one on one time with the directors of the centers. We will miss having him with us but are praying that God will use him in a mighty way today.
We will be away from the computer for a couple of days. Please continue to pray for our health and stamina.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Update
The past few days have been wonderful. We have so many pictures to share with you but we can't seem to be able to post them. So I will try and put some of it into words.
Thursday Kirk and Chris did a pastor's conference at Kogya with over 70 people in attendance. There were even a couple of Muslim Imans who had lots of good questions. The rest of the team was in Thuchila playing with the kids and reading them the letters that our sponsors sent.
Yesterday we went out to Kogoya to help with a medical clinic. The children were fairly healthy, mostly coughs and stomach aches. They have a medical clinic at the center every 3 weeks.
Today was the grand opening of the Thuchila Hope Center. They had a more informal opening when the feeding program began in March but this had all kinds of dignitaries including a member of Parliament who is a wonderful sister in Christ. There was an official ribbon cutting ceremony, lots of speeches and singing and dancing. The children were delightful as usual. They were out there all day long and were very well behaved. After all the festivities were over the children were finally fed and we were able to play some more.
Leaving these kids each day is hard. We cannot leave without getting high fives, smiles and hugs. All the way down the long, long, dirt road out kids still run out and wave to us. They are filled with such joy; hopefully we will all leave here with some of that joy with us.
Thursday Kirk and Chris did a pastor's conference at Kogya with over 70 people in attendance. There were even a couple of Muslim Imans who had lots of good questions. The rest of the team was in Thuchila playing with the kids and reading them the letters that our sponsors sent.
Yesterday we went out to Kogoya to help with a medical clinic. The children were fairly healthy, mostly coughs and stomach aches. They have a medical clinic at the center every 3 weeks.
Today was the grand opening of the Thuchila Hope Center. They had a more informal opening when the feeding program began in March but this had all kinds of dignitaries including a member of Parliament who is a wonderful sister in Christ. There was an official ribbon cutting ceremony, lots of speeches and singing and dancing. The children were delightful as usual. They were out there all day long and were very well behaved. After all the festivities were over the children were finally fed and we were able to play some more.
Leaving these kids each day is hard. We cannot leave without getting high fives, smiles and hugs. All the way down the long, long, dirt road out kids still run out and wave to us. They are filled with such joy; hopefully we will all leave here with some of that joy with us.
Friday, July 1, 2011
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