Summer Camp in December - Days 7 & 8

Banquet day! We were supposed to start decorating by 1pm, then it changed to 3pm, then we had a meeting that lasted until 3:45; which meant we started decorating at 4ish & we didn’t finish putting everything together until close to 8pm… if not 8:30. The decorations didn’t take all that long; it was organizing, cleaning & moving the tables that took a little bit of time. Once we set it all up, though, it really looked great and I was excited for the kids to have an enjoyable evening. There was a LOT of food prepared for the banquet, but we didn’t start eating until close to 10pm because we started the escorts coming in around 9:30ish…. They had to take pictures at the door before seating them, so each couple took about 30 seconds or so. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the evening. I felt a little uncomfortable when I had to go up front to pass out the certificates – I didn’t feel worthy of the honor of having my name on their certificates; but I was glad to be a part of it. We didn’t end up having a lot of time to dance, but we did the Cha Cha Slide – which they all love – and then 2 swing songs. I went around getting multiple partners to dance & I think they had a lot of fun showing off their new moves on the dance floor. J

Once the banquet was ‘officially’ over, some of the campers were still dancing to the music and sitting around talking. Pastor Nkosi enjoyed watching them for a little bit, then he told us to make sure they’re done by 2:30am… that’s right, it was already morning before all the campers were heading to bed; and even later that we as staff had cleaned everything up and called it a night.

Summer Camp in December – Day 8

What a morning! We baptized 10 campers today – Praise the Lord!! J I was able to sit with Pastor Jack as he did the baptism counseling. I was also able to talk a little more with Pastor Jack about one of the girls who was baptized – she has grown up in a broken home and had a troubled past, but she is such a precious girl. She lives here in Blantyre and I am glad for the opportunity to get to know her over the next few weeks that we have together. She is hurting, like so many of us are, but during her time at camp, I saw healing taking place and God slowly opening her heart so that she can experience His love from those around her who want to support her. Our God is mighty and awesome to save – it is humbling to know that He asks us to participate in drawing His children to Him. This was a beautiful end to a wonderful week of camp!! :D

I miss hugs. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until camp was over and everyone was leaving. The Malawian goodbye most often does not include hugging. Some of the campers were willing & ready to give me a hug, but the Youth leaders and other staff shook my hand when bidding adieu. It definitely felt a little strange to me, but I also recognize that that is what they’re comfortable with and what they expect & experience in their culture.

No sooner did everyone leave, then it was Christmas time! My Malawian Christmas was definitely the warmest Christmas I’ve ever had – it was in the upper 70s, if not low 80s – though I did get to see some rain (the closest thing to snow around here! J). The only downside to Christmas was getting sick. I think the late nights & early mornings of camp caught up to me. I now have a cough that doesn’t seem to want to go away. I went to a clinic on Tuesday and started some antibiotics, so hopefully I’ll be all better by the time school starts again next Tuesday, January 3^rd.

I pray you had a blessed Christmas and that your New Year also begins with love and celebration!!

Prayer & Praises:

-       I have missed have Kayla around, but I look forward to seeing her & her dad soon – please prayer that they have safe travels next week. They are scheduled to arrive on January 4^th

^-      Please pray that the antibiotics begin to work and help me to get better sooner rather than later; though I don’t like being sick, I am glad that it happened during a week when I’m not teaching so that I don’t miss out on any time with the children

Summer Camp in December - Day 6

Today was a blur! It was Kayla’s last day with us. Thankfully, I was busy with activities so I didn’t have time to linger on the fact that I’ll be alone for the next couple of weeks. It definitely helps that I still have a few days with the other Youth Leaders in the house so it won’t be all that quiet until Friday.

This was also the first day with a shift in our activities – instead of teaching hymns, I was going to be doing Team Building activities with the groups. I think I was more nervous for this activity than the singing because I wasn’t completely sure if these activities would translate across cultures or not.

Thankfully, they did. J Explaining them in English was still a little tough, but I had other instructors and some of the older campers that were able to explain what they were to be doing in Chichewa so they could figure it out. The language barrier was also not just an issue for me – there were some of the campers (as mentioned in previous posts) that didn’t speak Chichewa or English very well, so their dorm mates had to figure out a way to also communicate the concept to them.

I had started the boys out to work in separate dorms, but with the girls, I had them all work together on the first day. One of the activities I had them do was to put themselves in birthday order, without talking. Oh what a sight that was! The girls especially couldn’t stop laughing; especially when someone would say something and I would give them a look. J It was lots of fun to watch them work together and figure out how to accomplish the task.

This afternoon was also a lot different than the rest of the week – we went for a hike! We took all the campers on a walking tour of Blantyre. For many of them, this was their first time in Blantyre and so the leaders wanted to be sure that they got to see some of the sights in the city. At first, I had wanted to maybe catch a nap while they hiked, but then I figured it would be better for me to walk and I’m glad I did. We had taken photos earlier in the day in our white ‘camp t-shirts’ (I use this term loosely because though they were all the same, they were for an event that happened in 1999), so most of the campers were still wearing them – helping us to stick together and stand out in the crowd. J It was fun to find that I knew where I was the whole time we were walking. Most of the areas we went to were places we have driven past or to during my stay here in Malawi.

It was another late night for the Youth Leaders & this time I stayed up with them. We were finalizing the banquet menu & other items needed (decorations, awards for best campers, etc.). I was on the decorating committee, but I tried to defer to the group as much as possible since they had a better idea of what they were used to at previous camps. We managed to finish the meeting by about 11:30pm, which gave us a good 5 hours of rest.

Summer Camp in December - Days 4 & 5

The hours of camp are already catching up to me… I went and slept for about 30 minutes this afternoon. For some reason, I woke up this morning at 4:30am and I was wide awake. I think I heard a noise or someone outside my window and that is what woke me; thankfully, I was able to fall back to sleep until about 5:25 or so.

I had an opportunity to try and talk with a couple of the campers this afternoon. The girls were playing netball and there were 2 girls sitting by themselves, Sabina & Julienne. They came from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp (near Lilongwe) and only understood a small amount of English and Chichewa. They were most comfortable speaking in French, but unfortunately I took Spanish in high school. We were able to communicate together a little bit – one thing that brought us together was the ability to braid. They were playing with the grass and braiding it together, so I began to do the same thing. Then I told them I could do it to my hair & I showed them. They smiled, laughed and said ‘good job’ when I had finished. I was glad for even a small connection with them and I’m hopeful that they’ll both continue to open up as camp continues.

Day 5: And it quickly becomes a little difficult to keep up with the days. Today was another good day, but a long one. It is now after 10pm and the Youth Leaders are just now figuring out the banquet menu so that they can then figure out the decorations. We gave them an hour while we taught dance class; but it doesn’t seem as if they got much accomplished.

Thankfully, they told Kayla and I that we could head to bed. We felt kind of bad leaving them, but we also didn’t want to intrude on their decisions for the camp because we are here just to help, not run it as they are. Even though we left early, Kayla & I were still up for a while talking together so it didn’t help us all that much.

During the boys volleyball lesson in the morning, we had a short tournament – each dorm played against one another and then the winning team played against the staff. We all had a blast! It was so much fun to laugh with and tease them as we played. The boys crushed us, but they were good sports & said we played well. J

Summer Camp in December - Day 3

We woke up bright & early to be ready for Morning Glory at 6am. I love that they call the morning devotion time ‘Morning Glory’ – it’s beautiful! I was a little nervous to have a meeting with the Counselors at Breakfast this morning; I wasn’t sure how much of what I shared with them they would understand. Thankfully, Pastor Nkosi was available and able to emphasize a point in Chichewa when necessary. There is a lot packed into their schedule – they change activities every hour – but this first day seemed to move pretty well. There is a gentleman, Christopher, who goes around to make sure that the groups are heading to their respective locations for the activities which is very helpful.

Some of the activities that I helped with today included Hymn Songs (teaching them the English version of some of the hymns in our old WCG hymnals), Volleyball (though I was only there for a moment; Kayla did most of this) and Dance. When I was at the volleyball, it was fun to watch the boys practice and be able to laugh at themselves & one another.

I was a little worried about the singing because I am not the greatest of singers and not all the campers understand English very well to begin with. I was able to tell the counselors to pick a song that they wanted to learn in English and then we would practice. They chose ‘How Great Thou Art’ and they did a great job! It took them most of the time to get comfortable with singing all the verses, but when they got to the chorus, what a joyful & powerful sound they made! J Edith was also available to help translate into Chichewa and to sing for them when they needed it. I played the piano for them as well and I really enjoyed working together with them through the morning.

I was expecting the girls to be similar, but many more of them understand English. They chose ‘Trust and Obey’ and sang it very well, so they chose a second one, ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ and sand that very well also; then we did ‘How Great Thou Art’. Even after doing all three of those and practicing specific verses, we still had about 15 minutes left of the session. I taught them the ‘Victory Chant’ and ‘We Love Jesus!’ chant. They seemed to have a lot of fun with it and I look forward to teaching the boys so they can battle back & forth to see who is louder.

I have a feeling that I am going to have more free time than I thought I might; which is not necessarily a good thing because I will be so tired from waking up early that I’ll probably fall asleep as soon as I have a moment to rest. Even now, I am typing up this info because if I don’t, I’ll just sit down on the couch & sleep. J

Back in the USA, when I accepted the position of Senior Camp Overseer for Pathways Camp, I had no idea it was going to help me in my role here in Malawi. It is because of my experience this past year with the planning team for Pathways that I am more confident in the abilities and gifts I can share with the leaders & campers here. I love the way our God works!! J

We’ve had our first real sickness – one girl went to a clinic and she has malaria. We have medicine for her to begin taking and I am hoping that helps her to feel better sooner rather than later. She does not understand English very well, so it is hard for me to communicate my concern and desire to help her, which makes me very glad that her counselor’s and friends know her well and are taking good care of her. I am hoping that this is the only major health issue we have to deal with this week.

It was raining earlier and now it is a little chilly outside – so many people, Kayla included, are cold J while I love the weather! It is as close to winter weather as I’m going to get at this time of year in Malawi.

As much as I was originally dreading our meetings with all the staff, I have come to appreciate Pastor Nkosi’s style of leading. He wants to make sure that decisions are made and approved by the group. While I think there are times when it would be better for him to just make an executive decision, I like that he is empowering the Youth Leaders to be a part of the decision making process and coming up with changes as they see the need for them. I am also glad for the acceptance that Kayla and I have received from everyone – campers & staff. Though the language is still a barrier sometimes, the campers are beginning to open up with us and have some fun, which I love!

Summer Camp in December - Day 2

My mood fluctuated from happy, excited, bored, nervous, frustrated, tired, energized and back again! The morning started off well enough with Morning Glory in the Church Hall at 7:30 this morning. We did some Praise & Worship, singing some choruses & then had a short message from Pastor Jack (from Zambia). Then the ‘fun’ began. We had a meeting with all the Youth Leaders before Church, starting at 8:30 & it went until about 9:45. In this meeting, we started talking about the schedule; that’s right, I said we started talking about the schedule. Pastor Nkosi was asked to be the Camp Director and then he assigned various people to be Asst. Camp Directors over certain areas (Activities, Facilities & Counseling). Each ACD also had support staff consisting of the rest of the instructors, youth leaders & pastors who came for camp. Pastor Nkosi gave us the time table for the rest of the day, which included another meeting to finalize the schedule and instructors for all of the activities. Gggaaaa!!!! (During this morning meeting was when I first started to feel a little frustrated)

After our meeting, we had some time to prepare for church services. I had volunteered to play the piano and Anthony (one of the Youth Leaders) was the Worship Leader. Once church services started, I began to feel a little better and God gave me some gentle reminders about camp being about the kids and showing them His love and not about having everything organized ‘just right’ or the way I think it should be done. We had some beautiful and precious Special Music pieces by some of the campers. I am amazed at their willingness to get up on the stage and sing out a song with just their voice! J

When church was over, we ate lunch and had our ‘official’ camp start at 2:00pm. Pastor Mankhoma was asked to give the welcoming message to the campers, then they had a couple of hours to enjoy some free time & play sports at the ground while the Youth Leaders had their meeting. It was about 3:00pm by the time we started our meeting, and we finished at about 6:30pm…. I got a little frustrated again a couple times during this meeting; but it was also where I got excited and began to anticipate the start of all of our camp activities. Kayla and I both were a little tired and started to get a little slap happy & giggly, which helped to entertain us for a bit. J

We ate dinner and then started our Camp Orientation. Pastor Nkosi went over the camp rules, Pastor Jack went through the activities and I talked about their dorm set-ups. Then we had a quick praise & worship session before sending them to their dorms for the night. Overall, I did have a blessed and joyful day and I am so thankful that God not only allowed me to be a part of this camp, but He wanted me to participate. He chose me to be a part of this group to show His love to the campers.

Our theme for camp is ‘Designed to shine for Christ’ (Phil. 2:12-15). I pray that when I start to lose my patience I will remember this theme, count to ten and ask God to wipe away the grime so that He may shine more brightly through me. Though the communication barrier is going to make some of our lessons a little difficult, I know that God is with us and will help us to understand one another. I cannot wait to see what He has in store for the rest of the week!! J

Summer Camp in December - Day 1

I love camp; whether it is an overnight camp, day camp or weekend retreat, I love them all. There is just something about being real with God’s children and just love on them gets my heart racing and blood pumping. It is finally, actually I should say already, Friday, Dec. 16^th – the day for camp to begin. My typical routine for the first day of camp includes setting up dorm areas, figuring out the registration process, finishing up last minute projects, etc. This day was just a little bit different (surprise, surprise, I mean, I really should’ve expected it to be different seeing as I am in a foreign country! J).

First off, we didn’t help set anything up this morning, at all. I thought maybe they would come get us around lunch time or soon after and ask us to help them with some things, but that didn’t happen. Five o’clock in the evening rolls around and we still haven’t heard anything, from anyone. At this point, I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll even see campers arriving! I decided to go and practice the piano a bit and I was very glad to see some campers that had just arrived from Lilongwe. Immediately following my joy, though, was a moment of panic because I had no idea what to do with them! Thankfully, Pastor Mgunda (he came with them from Lilongwe) was with them and had already spoken with Pastor Nihaka about where they should put their things. Phew!

As I was practicing in the church hall, one camper, Ester, from Mpanda came up and introduced herself to me. I was glad that she was comfortable enough to come up and talk with me, even if it was just for a moment.

When I left the church hall, there were a group of boys sitting in the chairs and I tried to chat with them. I started by just saying ‘Welcome!’, but didn’t get much of a response. Oh yeah, and there was no electricity so I couldn’t even really see their faces because it was quite dark inside. I then greeted them in Chichewa and some responded back, others just smiled. I waved and left, feeling a little nervous about being able to communicate with the campers in English. :/

Kayla and I ate our dinner at the house, then went back to the church hall to see who else had arrived and what our program (aka schedule) would be for the evening. Anthony, Monica & Edith had arrived with Pastor Banda (he’s from Zambia) and so we talked with them about what would be happening. They didn’t know because Pastor Nkosi had the program for the evening and he wasn’t here yet. Lovely. So everyone, campers & leaders, just sat in the chairs set up in the church hall; about 4 candles were lit around the room to provide some light.

The biggest different between what I am used to on the opening night of camp and this night, was the quiet. The crickets outside were louder than the 25 campers sitting inside. We barely even heard them talking to each other & none of them came to talk with us or the other leaders. It was definitely different, to say the least.

I was losing a little bit of my ‘camp fever’ with the lack of activity from everyone, but then we sang a chorus, had a prayer & ‘registration’ began. I use that word lightly because the registration process included Anthony writing down the names of the boys & where they came from and Monica wrote down the names of the girls & where they came from. Remember, electricity is out as well so they’re doing this by candlelight & cell phone lights with everyone crowding around them.

Once that was complete, I began to get in camp mode a little more, especially when Anthony asked if we had any games – Kayla brought her playing cards & we proceeded to play cards for the next two hours. That is definitely a camp tradition for me – sitting around with the staff after the campers are off to sleep. It was fun and such a wonderful blessing.

I know that it is going to be difficult for me to not have expectations of what I am used to camp looking like for this week. I hope, though, that I can maintain my focus of loving on the campers and making sure they have as memorable a camp experience as possible. Here’s looking forward to Day 2!! :D

Celebration & Mourning (once again)

At church this weekend, we had a special service with members from surrounding congregations around Blantyre including Minimini, Naminjale and others (I can’t remember all the names). It was wonderful to hear some special music from the different congregations; it still amazes me that they just get up and sing acapela without seeming nervous at all. Even though I don’t know all the Chichewa words, it is a beautiful thing to hear the praises of my brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that He knows what they are singing to Him. J

I was also blessed this weekend with the opportunity to share a short message with the congregation. Pastor Nihaka asked me if I would like to share and I was delighted to say yes! It wasn’t until after I said yes that I started to get a little nervous. ;) I talked a little bit about the Thanksgiving Holiday, when & how it started and how it relates to real thanksgiving (Giving thanks to God in all circumstances, 1 Thes. 5:18). I haven’t given very many sermons in my life and this was the first time I had a translator by my side, but I enjoyed being able to share some of our history with them. I was also very encouraged after services because various members thanked me for the message and said they would remember it for a long time. I was humbled by their acceptance and glad for the connections we were able to make.

I almost forgot the most special thing about Saturday! Kayla and I invited Dorothy’s children, Atupela, Falia and David, to join us for breakfast & church this past weekend. We had some Christmas presents to give them and this is the last weekend we’ll have with Kayla & I both here. Kayla and I got up and made French toast and fried potatoes for them, which they seemed to really enjoy. After services, we gave them the presents (notebooks, pencils, pens for the kids & a mosquito net for Dorothy) and took some pictures of the family. The children’s English is not as good as Dorothy’s, but it is amazing what a smile can convey. We were so glad to spend some time with them because we don’t get to see her kids often (this was the first time on this trip & we only saw them once last year) even though we hear stories about them every day. J

Sunday was another special day – Kayla and I were able to attend the Christmas party at Yamikani House (orphanage). There were so many people there & so much food – it was a blast to see all the children laughing and having so much fun. We were also able to leave some presents with them – which the Project Trust volunteers (Ashley & Charlotte) said they would wrap for the children – so they’ll have something to open on Christmas Day. One of the adults also had a Santa suit, so she came out as ‘Father Christmas’ and passed out little treat bags to the kids. They had a jumping castle to play on in the front yard & a dessert table with a large variety of goodies! Hopefully, my pictures posted on FB so you can see some of the decorations & fun that the kids (and us) had.

Pastor Nihaka had intended to join us at the party, but he had another funeral to prepare for. The deacon, who I had requested prayers for last week, passed away on Sunday morning. As I posted last week, there had been improvement and we were hopeful for a recover. On Saturday, though, we were told that he had started vomiting and they didn’t know why and they had moved him to another hospital. Since this had been our last update, I was not surprised to get the call from the Pastor on Sunday morning, though I was saddened to have lost another friend here in Malawi. The deacon (forgive me for forgetting his name) had come with Pastor Nihaka to welcome us back to Malawi when we first landed in September and he was always smiling and chatting with us when we saw him. The funeral was today (Monday), but due to space, Kayla and I remained at home; which was a mixed blessing because we were not looking forward to another all day funeral, but we did want to show our support for his family. It is not the way that we had hoped to start our holiday, but I am glad that the deacon is no longer in pain.

Prayers & Praise for the week:

-       Please pray for the deacons’ family & friends as they grieve his loss

-       Camp starts on Friday!! Things are slowly, but surely coming together and though I know it will be different from anything I’m used to, I am looking forward to the opportunity of serving the youth and sharing God’s love with them. J

-       I probably won’t be able to post anything until camp is done (Dec. 23^rd), so you may not here from me until after Christmas…. MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!! J May you and your family have a blessed Christmas as we remember the true gift of Christmas, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Term One is Done - Woot!! :)

The last few days of the term went by quickly. Thursday, Kayla & I were privileged to have a Christmas Party with my Standard 5 class. They had decided on Wednesday to have the party. Mr. Ntchentche collected money from the students Thursday morning, then went to Shoprite to buy some snacks & drinks for everyone to share. When he returned, some of the students changed into their ‘street clothes’ and out of their uniforms – some girls were in very cute dresses (I’ll have a picture posted to FB). One boy in the class, Leandro, brought some speakers & CDs and he was our ‘DJ’ for the party. I can’t post videos very easily, but it was a hoot to watch these kids sing & dance to the music! J I got some letters from a few of the students and I had one girl give me her stuffed bunny. I was so touched that she wanted me to have the bunny; she asked me to take good care of him & I almost had tears in my eyes. It was so much fun to see the kids, and their teacher, relax and have fun together.

On Friday, the last day of school, there was an assembly for the whole school and the top 3 students in each class were announced. Kayla and I were a little frustrated because we had been told that the parents wouldn’t be there, so we didn’t prepare any songs for the classes to sing; but it turns out that there were a lot of parents there and it would have been so much fun to have the students sing. Reception and some of the upper classes (5-7) did have a few things prepared that they performed for the assembly and they were cute to watch. The only thing I didn’t like about the assembly is that they announced how many students failed in each class. Their grading scale is 80-100 (Excellent), 60-79 (Good), 40-59 (Average) and 0-39 (Need Support). Any students who get below 40% on their total grade is considered to be failing; when they told the number of failures in the assembly, some of the students began to worry and some started to cry because they thought they may have been one of the ones to fail. After all the top students were announced, the children were sent back to their classrooms to hear the rest of the order – which caused more tears to flow. I tried to console one girl who had just barely missed passing that she could work hard and do better next term, but she said she wouldn’t be allowed to come back to school. I don’t know if her parents told her that or if she thinks the Headmaster won’t let her back, but I hope that I see her in the classroom in January and can be sure to help encourage her to continue to do her best.

It's December!! :)

I am thankful for the prayers in regards to Dorothy, our ‘mom-away-from-home’. I am finally beginning to understand more of where she is coming from and I recognize that some of the things Kayla and I thought to be issues, were really just her way of dealing with all that is on her plate. We will probably deal with some things here and there during the rest of our stay, but God has helped us to better see Dorothy as He sees her; a precious child seeking to know Him more and share His love with her children.

Last week, the students took their final exams for the end of Term 1. Kayla and I thought we would be done last Friday, but that is not the case. The children have to come to school all this week while the teachers mark their tests and fill out their report cards (which is really more of a booklet). The first two days of this week have gone surprisingly fast and Kayla & I have both been pleased to see our teachers actually teaching for some of the morning instead of just having the students sit at their desks or go outside to play all morning. Though we were looking forward to having this whole week with no school, we have enjoyed having our afternoons free from any school related work (we finished our marking last week). The rest of this week will probably pass quickly and then we’ll be able to start our full ‘vacation’ from school. J

We are drawing ever close to the youth camp!! It is scheduled to begin next Friday, December 16^th and will run through the following Friday, December 23^rd. We had a meeting with the Youth Leaders in Blantyre this past Saturday to finalize some of the remaining details and being to create a schedule. Kayla and I are still struggling with some of the lack of organization in preparing this camp, but we are glad to be a part of it and help as we are able. There is passion and desire to see this camp happen for the youth and I think God has some mighty plans for these Youth Leaders & campers!! J

Prayers & Praises:

-       Our trip to Zomba Mountain was an adventure to treasure and a beautiful site to see (read more about it in the post below)

-       The Deacon for the Blantyre congregation has been sick for the past couple of weeks. He has had to have a couple brain scans (we are assuming CAT scans, but they could’ve also been MRIs as well) and has also seen a few specialists. Our most recent update is that they have seen great improvement, so we are hopeful for his recovery. Please pray that the doctors & specialists will be able to find and treat was is ailing him.

-       I was finally able to sort through things with the Immigration Office. I have paid for my ‘Temporary Residency Permit’ and now am awaiting its arrival by mail – which may take up to 3 weeks. I am very glad to have this ordeal behind me and to have a better understanding of what is necessary for any visiting Malawi for more than 90 days

-       Please pray for guidance for the future; I have a couple big decisions to make concerning some coursework that I may take in January and my return home in March – as much as I am trying to live here in the moment and appreciate everything in the present, there are a few decisions in the near future that do need my attention

Trip to Zomba Mountain

On Sunday, Pastor Nihaka took Kayla & I, along with Andy (our driver), Chisomo (Pastor’s son) and Yudah (Pastor’s nephew) to have lunch on Zomba Mountain. It has been a few weeks since we have travelled anywhere and it was nice to get away. It takes about an hour to drive to Zomba and then we got to enjoy a nice little ride up the winding road to get to the Sunbird hotel near the top of the mountain.

As we drove up the road, I was reminded of the many mountains near my home in Pennsylvania. It was also a foggy/cloudy/rainy day, so it almost felt like December (but not really because it was still quiet warm). J We arrived at the hotel where we were going to have lunch and Yudah told us that the name of the hotel, Ku Chawe, means ‘You will die’’. Not necessarily something you want to hear when you’re on top of a mountain, but he went on to explain that the expression came from men challenging one another at the top of the mountain. They would climb to the top and then fight one another. I still didn’t really understand why they would name a hotel that, but it was an interesting tidbit of history about the area.

We had a delicious meal at the hotel – it was buffet style so we got to enjoy as much as we wanted – including strawberries & blackberries for dessert! J I’ve hopefully been able to (or will soon be able to) post some pictures from the trip on Facebook.

Once we finished lunch, Pastor said he wanted to take us to “Chirwa Hole’ (when he was first saying it, I thought he said ‘Hall’ so I was picturing this large building – oops!). He asked one of the hotel staff and he found a guide that would lead us up the mountain to see it. So, up the mountain we went. Pastor Nihaka hadn’t been on the road we had taken since 1999 and boy was he surprised. The road was terrible. I used to think potholes in Pittsburgh were bad, but they were nothing compared to this! Thankfully, we only got stuck once and it was no longer than 10 or 15 minutes total before we were once again travelling up the side of the mountain. I tried not to look at the road ahead because all I would see was large rocks and holes that didn’t look like anything a vehicle could drive over. Andy is a very skilled driver, though, and he maneuvered the minibus (I like to call it ‘The Little Engine that Could’) very well throughout the whole drive up & down the mountain.

When we arrived at the top, the view was breathtaking. Even if you look at the pictures, I know they won’t be able to do it justice. The Hole was thought to be a bottomless pit and they used to throw lepers and others who were sick down the hole. Right next to the small hole, there was a large drop-off and none of our fellow travellers liked it when Kayla and I walked close to the edge. I am not a huge fan of heights, so I didn’t really get too close, but it was entertaining to tease them a little and walk close to the edge. At one point, Kayla was walking out on a plateau area and Chisomo, Yudah and Andy had walked below us a bit. They started calling out, “Sister, sister! Step back, please!” Kayla was not near enough to the edge to be in danger of falling or slipping, but from the angle that they saw, all that was before her was a straight drop off. We didn’t really mean to frighten them, but it was a little funny to hear them calling to her.

We continued on up the mountain to look down at the town of Zomba. It was such a beautiful site! The colors, hills, clouds and horizon were absolutely amazing. Queen Elizabeth’s parents had visited Malawi and went to the top of Zomba mountain – there are two spots called ‘The King’s View’ and ‘The Queen’s view’; both of which are aptly named because their views are very majestic to behold. God is a masterful artist and it was a blessing to see such beauty all around us and know that He created all this for us. As we drove back down the mountain (taking a much smoother road than the one on the way up), we passed some trees with orange leaves, making it almost look like fall. J It reminded me of our trips to Ohiopyle, PA in the Autumn. I only wish that the pictures and my description could do justice to all that we were able to see!

End of Term 1 Final Exams Preparations

As I mentioned in the post last week, we were able to review with the students for their final exams this week. Each day, I focused on a couple sections on their test and though I am still worried about how well some of them will do, I am confident that most have improved from their mid-term exams about a month ago. For the past three weeks, Isaac and I have been splitting the class for English and Math in the morning – they are in two groups, based on their abilities. For the most part, it has been working pretty well. There have been days when I have finished the morning feeling frustrated with one group or the other, and sometimes will all of them; but, being able to work with 30 students at a time instead of 56 does help me gauge how much each student is (or is not) retaining.

They didn’t end up starting their Final exams on Friday – we will begin on Monday with English. It is the only test they have for that day, so I am hoping that all the students will do well since they have time to complete the test. The class will probably be split into two groups to take the exam – one group will stay in to take the test while the other group studies some more. This helps to cut down on students peeping at their neighbor’s paper because they are not sitting so close together.

The rest of the week, the students will be taking two exams each day, which should still give them plenty of time to complete each test. I wrote the exams for Bible Knowledge and Life Skills; the review sessions for these did not go as well as I had hoped, but I was at least able to tell them what was going to be on their exam so they know what to prepare for and study.

Once this coming week of exams is complete, the students (and teachers!) will have 4 weeks of vacation. J I’m sure Kayla and I will get bored eventually, but we are looking forward to having some time off.

Prayers & Praises:

-       As you can read in some other posts & see on Facebook, Thanksgiving was a blast and it was a joy to share it with our friends here in Malawi!

-       Kayla’s birthday was this past Wednesday – most of the students in Standards 4, 5 & 6 made her cards and some even got her some small gifts. They were so excited to be able to celebrate with her! I had one boy in Standard 5 who also had a birthday that day and I think he really enjoyed getting to stand in front of the class with Kayla as we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to them both; Unknown to Kayla and I, the pastor had gathered the teachers together to celebrate Kayla’s birthday with some Cokes. J We had been shopping for our Thanksgiving meal during the lunch break, and they had been waiting for us for almost an hour – oops! We felt a little bad, but it was nice to enjoy a few moments of celebration with the teachers.

I mentioned last week that I had an application to turn in so that I can stay in the country – unfortunately, I haven’t been able to turn it in yet; there were some issues when we went to the Immigration Office on Wednesday (twice! L) and they won’t take the application until everything is with it and completed properly. That was a bit of a frustration on Wednesday, but now I should have everything that I need to turn in and I did find out that it only takes a couple of days for them to process the application – which is good news. Continued prayers that the rest of this process will go smoothly are definitely appreciated!! I just want to put this whole ordeal behind me and not have to worry about it anymore.

So very much to be thankful for! :)

Kayla and I successfully pulled off Thanksgiving in Malawi! Some of you may have already seen the pictures we posted on Facebook – it was a blast. J We were waiting a little anxiously for a package from Chris, Kayla’s boyfriend, which had a box of Stove Top Stuffing and French Fried Onions for us to use on our green bean casserole. We went to the Post Office on Wednesday, but when we arrived we couldn’t get any of the mail because the yearly fee for the PO Box had not been paid. Fortunately, when we returned to the school and told Pastor Nihaka what happened he realized he had forgotten to pay it and said that we could go back that afternoon and he would take care of it. We ate lunch, went down to Shoprite to by some other things, then went back to the Post Office – and the package was there!! J We were both very excited to have our ‘traditional’ stuffing & onions to use for the meal.

It was odd to still have school on Thursday, but Kayla and I both came back to the house at break time, around 10am, and started preparing the food for the day. Neither Kayla or I know how to roast a chicken (and turkey is a little expensive here), so we asked Dorothy to do that for us and they both turned out great! Along with the chicken, we had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (which are white here in Malawi, but still delicious!), corn (we bought a can instead of using the maize here because we wanted it to be more like home), green bean casserole with fresh from the market green beans, stuffing and gravy.

We invited Pastor Nihaka and his wife to join us for our meal and they seemed to really enjoy it. During the meal, the Pastor said, “Now we are in America!” J We also made some Apple Crisp for dessert, which I think they liked a lot. Since we did a lunch meal, the pastor and his wife had to get back to work, but it was so much fun to be able to cook for them and share some of our traditions with them.

As I got online to Skype with my family on Thanksgiving, I thought it was funny that we had already prepared, eaten and cleaned up from our meal before most of my family was even up! What a difference 7 hours makes. J It was bittersweet to see my family all together and getting ready for their Thanksgiving – I was very glad to see them, but it also made me a little homesick.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble - Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

It is a little strange to not be heading down to Tennessee right now; that has been my part of my Thanksgiving tradition for about 10 years. My Uncle & his family live in Bristol and it has been a blessing to be able to spend our Thanksgiving holiday together with them. My parents, brother & sister (Brandon & Katie), will be heading down (if not already arrived depending on when I post this) to enjoy some rest & relaxation with family. Kayla and I are hoping to have our own special Thanksgiving here in Malawi come Thursday. J We won’t have a turkey to eat and pumpkin pie is too expensive to make or buy; but, we will make do and are so very thankful for all that we do have. It will definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember!

As I sat outside on Thursday, I was struck by how beautiful the trees were. As I have mentioned before, it is their Spring/Summer weather and so the flowers are in bloom and are bright with color. There are a couple of poinsettia trees with vibrant & fantastic reddish orange flowers (I’ll try to post some pictures on Facebook) that are at the playground and just above our home. Even though I do miss Autumn – the leaves changing, the crispness in the air and the beautiful fall colors; I am so glad to be able to still see trees/leaves changing and witness beautiful spring colors. The rainy season will be coming soon and I’m still not sure if that means less sun or not so I am soaking up all that I can of the comfortably warm days (I still don’t like the hot ones very much) and sunshine. I know that I am enjoying the thunderstorms now, but that sentiment may change when they become a more regular occurrence. J

Last week was our final week to teach anything new for this first term. This week will be review and preparation for the end of the first term exams which they’ll begin taking on Friday. It seems like it was just last week that we had our mid-term break; time is going by so quickly! As I now have a better idea of what is expected from the students on their exams, as well as each individuals overall performance, I am better prepared for helping them with their review this week and more hopeful for their results on their exams. It was somewhat frustrating to me when I passed back their Bible Knowledge test and some were excited to have gotten a 55/100. I soon realized, though, that for their grading scale, that is still a passing score and the learners were excited to have passed and not failed the exam.

I felt as if last week was a week of reflection for me. A couple days, Kayla and I went outside to play with some of the kids at the end of the school day. Last summer, we did this almost every day and I was reminded of the fun we had with the children. I’ve posted some pictures from our time with the kids last week. As I looked through those pictures and saw the relationships that are growing stronger the longer we are here, I realized that I had unrealistic expectations of what my time would be like this second time in Malawi. I knew in my head that it would take the students some time to warm up to us, understand us and learn to accept us as teachers; but I don’t think my heart quite understood. I have already shared some of my frustrations with the teachers and there were many times that I was frustrated with the classroom because they just weren’t listening; my heart was saddened because I felt so frustrated and as if I wasn’t making any difference at all. God helped my heart to catch up with my brain this past week, though. I saw myself from the perspective of the teachers and the students:  I am a foreigner to them; though I think that my teaching methods and strategies work well, they are different than anything the children are used to and of course they are going to rebel against and/or not understand these methods at first. I need to remember the same thing with the teachers; though I do not agree with all of their teaching strategies and methods, they are also only doing what they know to do. Yes, they are willing to try something new and different, but just because it is different doesn’t mean it is better. I need to have better faith in some of these teachers and especially in these children. I am the novelty, not the constant, that these children will have as a daily encouragement to succeed and achieve; this is something that I must remember each time I try to introduce something new or different to them.

Praises & Prayers:

-       I am so very thankful for all of the blessings in my life; my family, friends all over the world, good health, opportunities to travel & share life with others…I could type all day of what I am thankful for; as you prepare to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday, may you also be reminded of the many blessings that God has given to you.

-       The Youth Camp is drawing ever closer (it starts on December 16^th) and plans are slowly beginning to come together. Though I am still very excited and hopeful to see this camp succeed; I am also trying to remain practical and recognize that it may be delayed or postponed. The Youth leaders are doing their best to organize and budget accordingly, but along with some planning issues, the fuel shortage may greatly effect whether the camp will happen or not. Some good news that I just received on Sunday is that the camp will now take place right here in Blantyre – at our church compound! J This will greatly reduce the cost of the camp and allow the money to be used for more resources rather than  just paying for the facility of the camp.

-       I have applied for my Temporary Residency Permit because I will be in the country for more than 90 days. The cost for this is double what I had expected to pay for renewing my visa, but I was able to give them a letter requesting an alternative if possible. Only time will tell if my letter was sufficient, but I know that no matter the outcome, God has me covered. Please pray that the office does not take long to process my application and letter and that I can have this issue resolved sooner rather than later.

God is good, all the time; all the time, God is good!! :)

This has been a quiet, but blessed, week. Even though I am currently in another country, on a mission trip, I found myself feeling convicted as I read about the suffering and poverty around the world that I haven’t really paid attention to. Richard Stearns, World Vision President for the US, wrote a book entitled ‘The Hole in Our Gospel’. I started reading it Monday evening and I was done by Thursday (granted, I am a fast reader, but this was definitely one of those hard to put down books). Stearns has a wonderful way of communicating and sharing his story in a relatable way. He did not write this book to condemn people for their lack of support or to simply ask for more support of World Vision; but he wrote the book to talk about how we are missing something in the gospel that we share with others – there is a hole. If you get a chance, I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book to read, and share with others. Many of the facts and stories that Stearns shared were surprising and humbling. The main thing that I got from the book, though, was a reminder that everyone is my neighbor and I must do whatever is in my power to help; whether that means giving my time, money, material possessions or all of these things. It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by what Stearns shares, but then I remember that I serve a mighty God who has created me for a purpose and has asked me to participate in drawing others to Him! How can I respond but to say, Here I am, Lord. Send me!

It feels like I have just gotten back into the routine of teaching these past 2 weeks, and we are already starting to prepare for the end of the term! We have one more week of regular teaching and then we are supposed to have a week for review, then end of term exams. It seems to go by so quickly and yet there is so much that I want to cover with the students and help them improve on.

Isaac and I were able to try a different approach to teaching Math & English this week; we split the class into 2 groups (each taking about 29 students) for the lessons. After teaching one group, the children would switch places and we would teach our lessons again. It seemed to work fairly well for the most part; though trying to keep 29 learners that have the most difficulty with learning was definitely a little trying at times. It was easier for me to help the learners as they completed the assignments and work 1-on-1 with a few of them. I also felt better about their ability to understand my instructions because I was able to better assess the smaller groups’ responses when I gave directions.

As we draw near to Thanksgiving, Kayla and I wanted to share some of our traditions with the students here. This coming week, Kayla and I are going to create a ‘Tree of Thanks’ for our Standard 4 & 5 classrooms. We had each of the students trace their hand on construction paper and we are going to have them write a sentence about something for which they are thankful. Their hands will be the leaves on the trees and we will set them up in the Church Hall for everyone to see. Kayla and I are both excited to share about Thanksgiving with our students. Kayla started to tell her Standard 4 kids last week about Thanksgiving and she said they were the quietest they’ve ever been, probably because what she was sharing was completely new and fascinating to them. I thought it was a little funny (and a little sad) that when I asked my Standard 5 learners to tell me something they are thankful for, the first boy said ‘Playstation 3’; others chimed in saying toys, XBOX 360, etc. These answers were a reminder that even though these children may not have as much as children in America, they still have much more than most of the children living in rural villages in Malawi (reminding me again of all I read in ‘The Hole in the Gospel’).

On Sunday, Kayla & I were able to attend a PTA meeting. It was supposed to start at 2pm, but not surprisingly, we were about 20 minutes late. There were also people arriving as late as 3:30, so I can imagine they were trying to wait for as many people to come as possible before they got started. We thought that we’d be able to blend in with the teachers and not necessarily be introduced before the whole group, but we had no such luck. Pastor Nihaka had us stand and introduced us to the whole group, but we were glad that he also had the rest of the teachers stand up and get recognized after us. They were also gracious in choosing to conduct the meeting in English rather than Chichewa; which I found to be a little ironic since one of the issues discussed was wanting more English spoken in the classrooms. I guess, though, that just because the parents are sending their children to private school doesn’t mean they feel comfortable speaking English themselves since it is not their native language. As the chairman began the meeting, I thought it was going to be a very formal and stiff meeting. It turned out to be enjoyable and interesting. There were moments of laughter and discussions of legitimate concerns that Kayla and I were both glad to hear being discussed between parents and teachers. We had hoped to maybe meet some of our students’ parents, but once the meeting was adjourned, everyone left in quite a hurry.

Prayers & Praises:

-       Random prayer request for my toe; that’s right, my big toe on my left foot. J On Wednesday morning, I was having the students do an activity in the Church Hall. One student, Kingsley, was heading out the door, so I went to make sure he stayed inside. When I put my hand on his shoulder, I startled him and he stepped back quickly, bending the toenail on my big toe back. Ouch! I’m cringing just typing about it again. I sat down and checked out my toe, bending the nail back into place and checking for blood. It wasn’t too bad and I just had to wait a few moments for the pain to decrease. My toe seemed to hold up okay throughout the day, until it was time for the learners to leave. I was playing with some of the children who ride the minibus home and Kingsley, the same little boy from the morning, was also playing around the minibus… can you guess where this is leading? Yep, once again, he didn’t know I was standing behind him when he jumped back and stepped on injured big toe. DOUBLE OUCH! At first I thought he had bent it back again or that the nail broke off, but it was still intact, but it hurt so bad that I immediately limped down to our house and got some ice for my toe. Once the initial pain was gone, I was able to walk okay and my toe has been healing nicely since then. I had to smile the next morning in class because Kingsley came right up to me and asked me how my toe was – he looked so worried about it! I felt bad because he probably thought I was really hurt since I left quickly the day before. And that’s my adventure story for the week J

-       Our packages arrived! We were actually able to go and pick them up on Monday – thank you for the prayers!! J

-       The Standard 5 teacher whom I work with lost his grandmother this weekend. He will be attending the funeral Monday – please pray for him and his family.

-       The weather has been really nice this past week, but it started to get a little warmer this weekend; I am hoping that is does not get to be as hot as it was a few weeks ago, but only time will tell

Have a lovely and blessed week!

Happy November from 75 degree weather!! :D

Another month has come and gone. It is still hard to believe it is already November. The weather here in Malawi certainly doesn’t feel like November to me; it feels more like July/August – so strange! Some of the people here are also surprised that it gets hot like this in America; they always ask us what the weather is like in America and if it ever gets hot like it is in Malawi. It is also strange to them that it is cold right now; which is understandable. As Christmas draws near, though, I think it’ll feel more like ‘Christmas in July’.

This past week was a fairly calm one, which was nice to have after our long weekend trip to Lilongwe. Tuesday evening, the Pastor & his wife invited us over for dinner to their house. It was so great to be able to spend some time with them! The weather had been cooling down and that helped the evening be even more enjoyable. We were able to share our pictures from Lilongwe with them and we heard the story of how they met (they’ve been married for 42 years!). I love hearing people share stories of their family; it helps me to better understand people and appreciate them.

We also learned a little bit more about some of the history of Malawi and how their political issues are worsening the fuel shortage instead of helping to resolve it. Chisomo told us some of the reasons for the riots that they had in July (20 people were killed); much of what happened was not what we had heard about in America, though. This just goes to show you that you really do have to be careful what you read, even if it is from a news source.

Wednesday was Dorothy’s birthday and we were able to get her a little something to celebrate. We didn’t have candles, but we did sing to her and make her a card. She was so sweet and actually made some samosas (these are delicious triangle wraps with veggies & meat in the middle & fried) for us to celebrate her birthday! J

Kayla and I have been doing a workout program to help us do 100 pushups in a row. It is 6 weeks long and we just completed it on Friday. Dorothy saw us do some pushups on Wednesday and tried to do them with us; then on Friday, she tried them again and did a little bit of our aerobic workout with us. It was entertaining for all of us. Dorothy kept saying, “My God! Those hurt here and here (pointing to her arms & legs), Eeeesh!” When we were about a third of the way into our workout she said, “I’m full up” (which meant she was done) and went to finish making dinner. As she watched us continue, she said we were strong enough to be beat 3 men at once. J

Saturday after church we enjoyed some visitors! Charity Nkosi (daughter to Pastor Nkosi, whom we visited in Lilongwe last week) came down to chat with us for a bit. We asked her how her week was and how work went (she works for a hotel) and she told us she has been waiting for a paycheck since September! Kayla and I couldn’t believe it! We asked her why and she said her employers say that there is no business so they don’t have money. However, she proceeded to tell us that the owners of the hotel (who have 3 hotels total in Malawi) seem to take care of their family first, before the employees. Even though Charity and her co-workers haven’t been paid, the owners have purchased a new car and are sending their children & grandchildren to private schools. Now, I realize we are only getting Charity’s side of the story, but she has been working for this company for 6 years and this year is the first year that they have had trouble with receiving a paycheck. We asked her if she was going to find another job and she said she is probably going to have to find something else part-time because she is running out of money (I’d say so!), but that right now, finding another full time job is hard because they are so scarce so she’ll stay with the hotel. Charity also told us that the managers don’t like to hire many educated people because they feel that an educated employee is clever and will try to take money from them. She said many of the other employees are just grateful to have a job, which is probably why it is easier for the owners to not pay them, but still expect them to work because they can’t a job anywhere else. As tough as this situation is for Charity, she seemed fairly upbeat and positive. She knows that she could find another job and she may do just that if she has to.

Soon after Charity left, Samuel (one of the young adult leaders) also stopped by. He is also a teacher, just in Secondary School, and lives in Zomba, about an hour from Blantyre. It is nice to talk with him and ask him questions about Malawi’s education system and curriculum. He also likes to talk about movies and TV shows. J

The rest of our Saturday was quiet & leisurely. We started the second season of 24 Friday night and we’re more than halfway through already. That show is definitely addicting! It is nice to have this small comfort of home to enjoy in our free time.

I hope your weekend an enjoyable one. As we draw nearer to Thanksgiving, may we remember to tell others just how much we appreciate and are thankful for them. God has given us much to be thankful and deserves our praise and thanksgiving!!

Prayers & Praises:

-       One of the Standard 2 teachers has been moved up to teach Standard 6; this was a big change for her and Kayla as stepped into help her teach English and Expressive Arts (which is a combination of our music and physical education classes, sort of)

-       Now that I am no longer helping with Standard 6, I have offered to help with Bible Knowledge and Life Skills in Standard 5

-       In talking with Isaac, we are also going to try and split the class to teach English & Math in the morning; hopefully this will be beneficial to the students and to us as teachers in better assessing the students’ progress

-       Even though we just had mid-term exams a couple weeks ago, we only have 3-4 weeks of teaching before their end of term exams! Not necessarily enough time to work on all the areas of improvement needed for some of these students.

-       Parents were given opportunities for consultation with the teachers during the week last week; we were glad to see that they offered parent/teacher conferences, though we aren’t sure just how many parents were able to make it in to see the teachers. They were only given time at lunch or at the end of the day to come and see the teacher

-       Kayla and I are both still waiting on some packages that our parents sent to us; it has been 6 weeks since mine was sent and 3 for Kayla’s. We had no idea it would take this long to receive some items, otherwise we wouldn’t have asked for them. As far as we know, Pastor Nihaka checks the mail at least once a week, but with the fuel shortage, they may not do it as much.

-       Have a blessed week!! J