Celebration and mourning

2 Bic Brand Red pens - $1.00
2 Notebooks - $2.00
Stickers - $1.00
Marking over 420 exams in four days – Priceless

That’s right, you read correctly; between the two of us, Kayla and I checked over 420 exams covering the following subjects in Standard 6: English (also for Standard 5), Math, Agriculture, Science, Bible Knowledge, Social & Environmental Sciences and Life Skills. The blessing of the week is that we were done teaching (or as they say here in Malawi, we “knocked off”) at noon every day so we could come back and spend the first part of our afternoon marking the tests for that day.

Since we had the holiday on Monday, the students started with 2 exams on Tuesday and were supposed to take two each day for the rest of the week. We found out at the end of the day Wednesday, though that their Friday schedule was going to change. ISAMA (Independent Schools Association of Malawi) was going to be holding their meeting at the school beginning at 9:00 am, which meant that the students had to be gone by then. So, we started school at 7am on Friday and finished around 8:30am (why we even had school, I don’t really know) and the students just had to take three exams on Thursday so that they only had to do one on Friday.

Making the students sit in their desks and just take tests all morning reminds me of my ‘CAT test’ days in middle school – taking various subjects throughout the day and reading or doing homework at my desk when I had finished a section and had to wait to continue. It is a little different when the students sit 3 to a desk and we have to constantly monitor for ‘peeping’ (which we did catch a couple of students doing), but having two of us in the classroom helped a lot. There were only a few time that I had to go down to cover Standard 5 while they took their tests and Mr. Nychenche had to be somewhere else.

Other than the normal frustrations of giving exams to 61 students, Kayla and I both got a little frustrated with the teachers as well. They just do not communicate very well with us. We try to ask questions when we are confused; but sometimes we do not know what to ask because we don’t know what is going on. I am hoping that this week off will give Kayla and I some perspective and confidence in knowing how to best work with the teachers in the coming weeks.

As you may know, October is ‘Pastor Appreciation Month’ in America. We asked Pastor Nihaka if they have anything like that here in Malawi, but they don’t; so Kayla and I decided to do something for him and Pastor Mankhoma at church on Saturday. We printed out a picture of the whole congregation from our trip last year and had the congregation sign a card. We wrote a little note of thanks in each one and presented it to them at the end of services. It was really neat because we had Dorothy’s help in explaining in Chichewa to people why we needed their signatures and Pastor Nihaka had no idea what we were doing. Pastor Mankhoma saw the cards, but he didn’t know what they were for.

Kayla and I were also able to take the pastors to lunch after church and it was a wonderful meal. We learned a little more about some of the things that the congregations here are struggling with and also how they are thriving. They both told us how much they appreciated what we did and for taking them to lunch, which led Pastor Mankhoma to say how much he likes that Americans take a day to say ‘Thank you’ and celebrate gratitude. I didn’t mention to him that it is also a day to eat a lot of food. J Their gratitude to us, though, brought tears of joy to my eyes and made me so very thankful for the connections and relationships that we have been able to build here in Malawi. It is such a blessing to be a part of an international congregation of believers – not just GCI, but all followers of Christ. I know that I often feel insignificant or that I cannot really make a difference, but then I get a little nudge, a little reminder that I am significant because I am a child of God; I can make a difference because God is using me to show His light to the world.

On Friday, Pastor Nihaka came and gave us t-shirts and ‘ntchenge’ (which is fabric that wraps around as a makeshift skirt) for an event called ‘Mulhako wa Alhomwe’ (The Gateway to the Alhomwe Culture & Tradition). We didn’t know much about it except that it was an annual event happening on Sunday that included cultural dances of the Alhomwe tribes. Kayla & I were definitely looking forward to the trip!

We left Sunday morning around 8:30 to get to Mulanje, where the event was being held. Pastor Nihaka, Chisomo (his son), Peter (his grandson), Henry (foreman for the school grounds), Andy (our driver) and one older woman from church (I don’t know her name because she only speaks Chichewa and I forgot to ask Chisomo her name) were our companions to Mulanje. We had our t-shirts and ntchenges on (we really looked like twins, not just sisters, with our matching outfits! J) and we were ready to dance, or at least see some dancing!

We arrived around 10:00 am and saw a huge line to get into the event. It reminded me of a huge outdoor concert that we would have back in America. Various tents were set up around – some for food, some for seating, a first aid station, etc. Now, back to the dancing: the President, Mingu wa Mutarika, was in attendance with us – he seems to be following us! J He even got up and danced with one of the children’s group – I got a couple pictures of him on the stage with them. We think it was free to get into the event and we were glad to find that the security checking people at the front were gender appropriate – meaning the females checked the females and the males checked the males. We didn’t have to wait in the long lines that we saw either – at first, we thought maybe it was because we were white, but then Pastor Nihaka told us that it was because we had the uniforms on (our t-shirt & fabric). Then, as we went to find some seats, Pastor Nihaka was talking with some of the ushers and they took us to seats only 3 rows back from the front, right next to the stage! It was a great view to see all the dancing – only a few guards & a cameraman blocking part of our view.

We learned that when someone says “Alhomwe Alhomwe” to you, you should say “Noopiya” back to them. The best I could understand is that ‘noopiya’ means ‘you have arrived’ and this event is to celebrate and commemorate the traditions and culture of the Alhomwe tribes. “Mulhako” means ‘door’, hence the name of the event ‘Mulhako wa Alhomwe’. The beginning of the event made Kayla & I think of the graduation because it included some long speeches, but once the dancing started, it was very enjoyable.

One of the traditions of the Alhomwe people is to wear an animal skin on their back or head as they dance. You can check out my Facebook group (‘Malawi, Here I Come’) for pictures, and maybe some video if they uploaded, from Sunday. We saw crocodiles, large rodents (they made me think of the ‘R.O.U.S.’ in the movie, The Princess Bride J), as well as some stuffed animals. That really made us smile – some women had stuffed bunnies and teddy bears – one even had a small stuffed lion on her back. Each group that danced had at least 2 or 3 people playing drums and sometimes had singers. They mostly danced in a circle, with some of the dances included pairing up or dancing in a line. We saw a couple ‘initiation’ dances for girls and boys. One of these made Kayla and I a little uncomfortable because all the females were topless as they danced. The boys had one eye covered and had sticks that they used to give a beat for the dance. Chisomo told me the names of the dances, but I didn’t write them down, so I don’t remember all their names. He told us about one that used to break up marriages because it required males and females to pair up in the dance and they wouldn’t always pair up with their husband or wife. Towards the end of our time there, they had one dance when random people started going up on the stage – Chisomo said anyone could go up and if Kayla & I had figured that out in time, we would’ve tried to go up and dance. As it worked out, though, we just tapped our feet in our chairs and enjoyed watching all the dances by all ages. Most of the day, there was a breeze so the weather wasn’t unbearable. We left around 2pm and enjoyed a quick ride back to Blantyre.

Kayla & I very much enjoyed the event and getting to share it with others. Though the dancing was fun, when we had first arrived and parked, Pastor Nihaka gave us some bad news. He had just received a phone call that Mr. Maniya, the Standard 6 Teacher who has been sick for the past few weeks, had passed away that morning (Sunday). Once we got inside and were seated, Pastor Nihaka had to leave and find transport to get back to Blantyre and take the body to the mortuary. Here in Malawi, a person’s employer is responsible for the coffin and funeral costs (at least that is what Kayla and I have gathered from today’s event and one death when we had first arrived last year). This news definitely put a damper on our initial excitement for the day. The last report we had gotten about Mr. Maniya on Friday was that he would be well enough to return to teach when classes resumed on October 31^st. Even though we hadn’t really been able to work with him on this trip, Mr. Maniya was the teacher that I had worked with the most during my time here last year. He is going to be greatly missed by all of us at the school and he leaves behind a wife and six children. Please pray for his family and friends during this difficult time.

The funeral was Monday morning; well, actually it was more like all day Monday. Pastor Nihaka had told us on Sunday afternoon that the teachers would gather here at the school around 8:00 am and then go to Mr. Maniya’s home area, Mpemba. Though Kayla and I have tried not to have any expectations when we go to different events (usually because it is nothing like what we expect), we both definitely assumed that we would go to the service and then be home by lunch time or early afternoon at the latest. When we got up to the school area, Pastor Nihaka came over to us and told us that it is a long time and it is hot out so we could remain behind. We told him, though, that if there was room for us in the minibuses, we would like to attend. He said alright and then we sat with the other women until about 9:30 am. Dorothy came by and told us to bring water, which we were glad that she insisted on (we didn’t think we would need it) because we didn’t get home until 5:00pm.

Once we started off, the minibus we were in stopped once to pick up a flower arrangement & some roses for the grave site and then we stopped at a Maize Mill. This was an interesting stop – even though Kayla & I didn’t know what we were doing at first. Isaac, the Standard 5 teacher, showed Kayla and I the process of shelling the maize kernels and then turning them into flour; it was neat to be able to see the process, especially because I had just been teaching the Standard 6 class about the equipment used. I even tried to help with the sifting out of unused grains (Kayla took a picture), though I know I was a lot slower at it than the other women. Once we got back into the minibus, we were on our way, only picking up one more person before arriving at Mr. Maniya’s home.

As soon as we arrived, Kayla and I went with the other female teachers and sat in a room with some other woman and the coffin. It was on the floor and closed, and each person just found a spot on the floor to sit as well. We only sat for a few minutes before we went back out to sit behind another house on a straw mat. The main frustration for us throughout the day is that no one really explained what was going to happen to us, we just kind of followed along and did what they told us to do. It was very hard for Kayla and I to just sit and listen to them speak in Chichewa and wonder what was going on. We got a little better as the afternoon wore on at asking them when we had questions, but it still made for a long day.

Shortly after we sat down on the mat, we got up and went back to the house for the viewing. We entered the same room we had been in a few minutes before, only this time the coffin was open. Each person walked past the coffin to pay their respects to Mr. Maniya. There were still some women who were seated in the room, I’m guessing it was his wife, mother and other relatives. Once we left the viewing, we went back to the mat and sat until it was time to eat lunch (which was about 2 hours).

We offered to help make the nsima for lunch, but there were already too many women and so we just sat on the mat and waited.

After lunch, I was able to hold Mr. Maniya’s youngest child for a bit. The baby is only 3 weeks old. It was heartbreaking to see this precious child and know that he would not know his father. We sat around for about an hour after lunch and then they had the funeral service in front of his house. We just gathered around and sat anywhere on the ground. We aren’t sure who all got up to speak, but we are guessing it was the pastor from Mr. Maniya’s church, possibly some other relatives and Pastor Nihaka said a few things as well. We didn’t want to ask someone what was being said during the service, but Kayla & I plan to talk with Pastor Nihaka this week to ask him about the service.

When the service was over, we followed the coffin to the burial site, which wasn’t far away, but it was up a hill in the middle of the afternoon so it was a hot walk. It was a beautiful, clear blue sky for most of the day; thankfully it wasn’t too humid, but it was in the low 90s. Once we got to the burial site, there was some more speaking, singing and then different groups got up to place their flowers and arrangements on the grave.

We went up with the teachers and after we placed the flowers, we sang ‘God Be With You Till We Meet Again’. I felt honored that the teachers let us join them and one of the Reception teachers thanked us for coming at the end of the service; something neither of us expected but greatly appreciated.

As I mentioned above, it was about 5:00pm by the time we arrived back at our house and we were exhausted – I forgot how much the sun can wear you out when you’re not properly hydrated. It helped knowing that we didn’t have to prepare for school the next day and that we could take the evening to relax and re-energize for the week.

May you know that you are also a child of God and He is calling you to Him to share His light, His love, with others. Blessings to you this week as the end of October draws near.

Praises & Prayers for the week:

-       Please keep Mr. Maniya’s family & friends in your thoughts and prayers.

-       Kayla and I were able to get our visas extended for the next 60 days – not just 30! J Continued prayers on my behalf, though because I may have to end up paying a lot more than anticipated the next time I visit the immigration office. Since I am staying longer than 90 days, I have to apply for a Temporary Residency Visa, which is double the cost of extending my visa till the end of my time here in February. The official that we spoke with said that I can write a letter explaining why I don’t need the Temporary Residency Visa and that may help me just get it extended another 60 days (which is a third of the cost of the Temporary Residency Visa).

-       We are still struggling in our relationship with Dorothy. She is getting more bold in asking for things or money from us and doesn’t seem to understand that we do not have money to just give to her. I do realize that from her point of view (seeing our laptops, clothes and toiletries) we have what she considers to be a lot of expensive things. I can only imagine what it is like for her to see all that we have each day and wonder at why we cannot seem to share with her. At the same time, though, Kayla and I have explained to Dorothy (and she seemed to understand) that we did not get here on our own – it is only by the grace of God through the generosity of family, friends, church members and co-workers that either one of us were able to come. We have set a budget for ourselves each month and we are trying very hard to stay within that budget. We very much appreciate all that Dorothy does for us and helps us with – I cannot imagine being here without her, but we are also frustrated with the tension that has been created because of this issue. We do not want to be frustrated or upset with her and hope to figure out the best way to talk with her about it. Thank you for your prayers and any insight or advice is also appreciated!!

-       Our search for better, cheaper internet has not been going well so far – we purchased a ‘dongle’ last week, which would give us internet access in our home (so nice!) and we just prepay for the MBs that we want to use. The only problem is the cost of the MBs – it is ridiculously expensive compared to what we have been using up to this point. We are waiting to hear back from TNM to make sure that there wasn’t a problem with our dongle or sim card. Kayla and I realize that we are lucky to have any internet access and we know that we cannot accept convenience over budget so we hope to have this issue resolved soon.

-       It was a wonderful time at lunch with the Pastors on Saturday – what a blessing that we could honor them with an ‘American’ holiday and celebrate with them. We are so very thankful for all that they have done and continue to do for us. What a wonderful God we serve that we can all worship together and draw closer to Him as we draw closer to one another!

-       Sunday’s ‘Mulhako wa Alhomwe’ event was wonderful to attend – Kayla & I are continually humbled by all the opportunities that they want to make happen for us. We are privileged to be able to experience Malawian traditions as guests and look forward to all that we will encounter during the rest of our time here.

-       Our plans to travel to Lilongwe (Malawi’s capital) are still tentative for this coming week (leaving Thursday or Friday). The fuel shortage and the cost to get there are going to be the main factors of whether or not we’ll go this weekend.

-       Speaking of fuel shortage – that is definitely a prayer request for the whole country. People are not very happy with their president right now because for the past year or so, there has been a shortage of fuel. The past 2 weekends, Kayla and I have seen lines of cars, at least 10 cars deep, just waiting for fuel at some of the stations in town. We asked Pastor Nihaka how long some people wait and he said that they will sometimes stay overnight and sleep in their vehicles! We don’t go into town every day, so I don’t know if the lines are always there or if it only happens when they know that the station will be receiving a shipment of fuel.

-    As your weather is getting colder, ours is getting warmer… actually, it’s just plain hot. It has been in the upper 80s, low 90s this past week and the next few weeks are going to be similar. I don’t mind it too much because it is not a humid, sticky hot. The end of November will bring the rainy season, which I’m looking forward to. I will miss the snow though so send winter wonderland thoughts my way! J

Mid-terms & New friends! :)

Last week was a full one for Kayla & I. We continued our work in Standards 4, 5 & 6 on Monday and Tuesday. Mr. Maniya is still out sick and is back in the hospital with meningitis so your continued prayers on his behalf are greatly appreciated. The students have their mid-term exams beginning next week. Since we have been teaching English for the past 2 weeks, our teachers asked us to prepare some questions for the students’ exams. At first, Kayla & I both wanted to say no because we don’t know what their midterms look like. But, we made sure to tell our teachers that we would work with them to come up with the questions for English so that they could also include the information that they taught in the beginning of the school year. We also worked together to come up with questions for Standard 6 to help the Deputy Headmaster (who has to create the exams for Standards 6 & 7 since Mr. Maniya is out).

In Standard 6, Kayla had the idea to let them come up with a song to help them remember what they had been learning in their Social & Environmental Science lessons the past few days. We asked them if they knew what American Idol was and the majority of them raised their hands. We told them we were going to have the first ever ‘YAPPS IDOL’ and they all cheered. We put them into groups, gave them the information they needed to put to music, and then let them get creative. There were 8 groups total and they all seemed to have fun coming up with their songs. We then had each group perform their song, which we recorded. J I’ll have some of the group pictures posted on my Facebook group page & I’ll try to post one of the videos for you to enjoy – they were a lot of fun to watch and it was great to see just how creative some of the groups had been.

Wednesday was a full day. We had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony for one of our friends, Mara Mankoma (daughter to Pastor William Mankoma), here in Malawi. She had completed her program last year, but due to issues with the University, they did not hold their yearly graduation ceremony until this year. It was weird to go to a ceremony in the middle of the week and we were told it was going to be long, but we figured it would still be a great experience.

While we did enjoy getting to participate in Mara’s special day, it was definitely a long day. We left our house around 7:45am to get to the ceremony (which we had thought started at 8). The ceremony was being held at the College of Medicine for the University of Malawi & there were 1,600 students graduating. We arrived a little after 8am and began walking to the many tents set-up outside. There were probably around 10 large white tents set up with plastic lawn chairs set up in rows, all facing the main stage area which was decorated with the Malawi colors (red, black & green). We were redirected to enter through another area and it wasn’t until we were walking there that I wondered if Kayla & I would even be allowed in because we didn’t have tickets. Mara’s mother was holding onto what looked like an invitation, but we didn’t know how many people that included. Our entire party included Mara’s parents, her grandmother, a cousin, Pastor Nihaka, Kayla & I. Sure enough, when we got to the entrance (after walking through muddy grass and stepping over some stone steps while being pushed on all sides by everyone else trying to get to the entrance), we saw Pastor William and his wife, Chrissy, talking with the guard and trying to convince him to let us in. Pastor Nihaka, Kayla & I were prepared to sit just outside the entrance on some large stone steps, but then Pastor William called to us and was waving for us to come on through – I think we were snuck into the graduation. J

Now came the fun time of finding seats. Kayla & I just kind of followed Pastor William & sat where they told us. We were seated by 8:30ish and the announcer on the speaker said the program should begin around 9:00. That didn’t happen. The president of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutarika, was attending the ceremony and nothing could begin until he arrived. It was exciting to know that we would get to see the president! However, the wait for everything to begin was a little exhausting. The graduation ceremony didn’t begin until 9:30 with the arrival of the president. Once he arrived, we thought the ceremony may go by pretty quickly… we were wrong. By the time they had announced all the names (well, at least Mara’s group because we left after that), it was already 1:00pm.

As various schools & degrees were called, the graduates would come find their families and leave, so other people would move closer and take vacant seats. We were no different and slowly made our way towards the front of our tent in hopes to see Mara when she was called. It worked! We were only about 4 rows from the front and we waved & cheered as her name was called. Then came the fun of finding her. That didn’t take too long and we were able to get some nice pictures of her and her family and with some fellow graduates. (These should also be posted in my Malawi Facebook group)

We also thought that our day would be done once the pictures were taken, but again, we were mistaken. We met Pastor Nihaka at a gas station close by where he had a car waiting to take us home (or so we thought). Turns out, we were going to try and do lunch with Mara & her family. But, different things kept holding up Pastor William or Mara (she had to wait for her diploma) so we left around 2pm and went to get lunch. I didn’t think to bring any money with me and Kayla only had a little bit, so we ate light, but the Pastor ended up paying for us anyway.

We finally made it home around 3:30. Both of us were a little exhausted from such a long day, but overall, we were very glad to have had the experience.

October 15^th is Mother’s Day in Malawi and since it fell on a Saturday this year, they had a public holiday on Monday, October 17^th so we had a day off of school. That made for a lovely 3 day weekend for Kayla & I. We had our whole afternoon Saturday & all day Sunday to do with what we pleased – which was very nice. I got some of my class work done for the online course I’m taking; Kayla went for a run and we both got to visit with a friend who was visiting for the weekend.

On Monday, Kayla & I decided to walk to the orphanage, called Yamikani (which means ‘Thanks’ in Chichewa) House. I was very excited to see the kids and get to spend some time with them. One of the girls, Phyllis, met us out front and took us around the back of the house to see the others. It was a little awkward at first because they weren’t expecting us, so I don’t think they knew what to do or why we were there. We met another one of the mothers who helps to care for the children and then we sat on the porch for a bit. They said that there were some volunteers that we could meet & we thought they were just more of the mothers who helped care for the orphans. Much to our surprise, though, 2 ‘Azungu’ (means white, we get called this by all the little children who see us) females coming to meet us! Ashley (from UK) & Charlotte (from Scotland) are both working for an organization called Project Trust. They live in an apartment attached to the orphanage and they teach in the Nursery school that is on the grounds. They have been here since the beginning of September so Kayla & I were a little confused as to why the Pastor & the Chairman for the orphanage hadn’t mentioned them to us before.

After meeting Ashley & Charlotte, we went around the front of the house and saw 2 of the boys that live in the orphanage. We went & sat with them for a while; Kayla had brought some children’s books so we each read one to the boys. I was sitting with Archangel (that’s the boy’s name), who was maybe 2 years old, and he was able to count in English a little bit which was precious! After we read the books, I started asking them how to say some words in Chichewa – they had fun teaching us how to say and spell them & we enjoyed making them laugh as we tried to pronounce them. J

When we left Yamikani House, Ashley & Charlotte walked back with us part of the way home because they were also headed into town. It was interesting to hear their story and Kayla & I are even more thankful for all that we have been blessed with here. We are excited to have some new friends and we hope that as we continue our trips to Yamikani House (though probably not as often since the girls are already there) we will get to know the kids and the teachers better.

As you read above, we hear the word ‘azungu’ a lot, mostly from the children, but sometimes even from the adults that we pass. We have learned to just avoid making eye contact and then people usually don’t talk with us – I slip up with this more often than Kayla though because I like to say hi to people. As we were walking home from Yamikani House on Monday, there was a truck with some men standing in the back that pulled up to the T in the road we were walking on. One of them yelled out ‘Azungu’ & I hollered back ‘Okuda’ (which means black), but they didn’t hear me. Then, one of them yelled, ‘Hey Big Mama!’ and I laughed out loud. I couldn’t help but look & wave at them. They asked us where we were going & I responded in Chichewa that we were going home (they understood me, which means that some of what I’m learning is staying in my brain!). They said something else we couldn’t understand & as they got further away we heard another one say, “Bye, I love you!” which again made us both laugh. One thing is for sure, no matter where we’re headed, our walks will always be interesting. J

Prayers & Praises for the week:

-       Continued prayers for Mr. Maniya’s recovery & for his family during this tough time

-       It’s a 4 day work week with a holiday next week – woo hoo! Kayla & I hope to go visit some friends in Lilongwe (Malawi’s capital) during our time off

-       Wednesday we’re going to extend our visas (they’re only good for 30 days); we didn’t have any trouble last year, but prayers that we have no troubles this time are appreciated!

-       We are looking into a possibility to have better internet access while we’re here – it may be cost-prohibitive, but we are excited to check it out

Mombezi Adventure & Orphanage Visit

We were finally able to visit the orphanage on Friday afternoon! Some of the older girls were still in Secondary school, so we’ll have to go again to meet them, but we got to meet most of the younger children. They have a lovely compound, with a fairly nice yard in the front and back. They have a nursery school as well where some other younger children also attend. We met one of the 5 mothers who help to take care of the children throughout the day. The mothers each have their own homes and families, so they take turns in the orphanage.

This orphanage was started in 1998 by an American woman. When it first began, there were many people who responded with a desire to help and who seemed willing to be on the board; Pastor Nihaka being one of them. Unfortunately, Pastor Nihaka told us that many of them started asking for money for their services and so they left when they would not get paid. Now, the board consists of only 3 members: Pastor Nihaka and a Muslim man and woman. As I mentioned before, we met the chairman last week, but I don’t remember his name. Kayla and I are going to try to visit the children at least twice a week to help them with school work and just love on them and spend time with them while we are here. We are both very excited to be able to use our skills and experience on a more personal and 1-on-1 basis.

Saturday was a beautiful day! Our GCI congregation in Mombezi (about a 1½  hour drive from Blantyre) completed the construction of their church building and they had a commissioning service for their Prayer House. The Regional Missions Director/Coordinator (not sure if this is his exact title) for Southern Africa, Kalengule Kaoma, was able to attend. He lives in Zambia and had just returned from visiting Kenya (he’s a pretty busy man), but was able to come to Malawi Friday evening and left Sunday morning. We were able to meet Mr. Kaoma during our visit last summer, so it was nice to see him again and spend the day with him.

We were told to be ready by 8:00am because the program was to start at 9:00am. Kayla and I have figured out, though, that we usually have an extra 30 minutes, sometimes an hour, after the time they tell us to be ready before we actually leave. It was fun, though, to watch as everyone gathered at the church to wait for their transport to Mombezi. We were able to practice singing with one of the women’s choir and we were able to greet some of the members from the Naminjale congregation that we had met during our trip last year.

The ride to Mombezi was an interesting one. The church is in one of the villages in Mombezi, so it is definitely in a more rural part of Malawi. I have never been off-roading back in the States, but I imagine it would’ve been very similar to most of the drive we experienced Saturday. After about 30 minutes of driving, we turned off the paved road onto a dirt road. A dirt road with lots of potholes (and I thought Pittsburgh had potholes!) and bumps along the way. It was another hour before we arrived at the church. One thing that made all the bumps & potholes bearable was having a skilled driver and sitting next to Mr. Nkosi, one of our members from Lilongwe (Malawi’s capital), who talked the whole time and asked Kayla & I a lot of questions. He was very excited to find out what skills and experiences Kayla and I possessed that could be shared with as many people here as possible. We talked about visiting Lilongwe, creating a Christmas program for the children at church (and maybe at the school), working with the youth leaders for the camp in December and a few other things. It was nice to know that there are others who are just as excited as Kayla and I to have us here. Though we felt like we were maybe being roped into more than we could do, even in 5 months here, we enjoyed brainstorming with Mr. Nkosi and talking about the possibilities of what we can do during our time here.

Once we arrived at the church, we got a sneak peek at the inside of the building and it was very nice. For the service on Saturday, they had tents set up outside (not the American rent-a-tents, but wooden poles holding up large pieces of fabric & blankets) for everyone to sit – If I heard correctly, we had about 200 people in attendance. We had a program outline of when people would speak and choirs would sing, but I don’t know that we always followed it exactly because there were a few times when Kayla & I weren’t sure what was going on. But it was still a wonderful experience. I was especially pleased when a gentleman got up to speak and he talked about the need to fight together in this spiritual battle. He was not only talking about the congregation working together, but also about how important it is to work together with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter their denomination. Invited, and a few in attendance, to this commissioning service were members from the following churches: CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian), Baptist, Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Church of Christ, multiple Pentecostal Churches and Anglican Church. Each group was asked to stand and were recognized. I absolutely loved the fact that they invited other denominations. It made me think of churches back home and whether they would think to invite other denominations to an opening of a new church building or not. They also went on to honor various Chiefs from the surrounding villages. Kayla & I aren’t sure exactly what roles the Chiefs still play in the government of Malawi, but we know they are in charge and the head of the villages in the rural parts of Malawi. There were 7 Chiefs (3 of them women) who were there and had consented that we are ready for the battle and one ‘Group Village Headman’ who was Chief of the Chiefs; he got up and spoke to the congregation. He said that he was very excited to have this church open and welcomed them warmly. He went on to explain that the church should be the foundation of success in life and that we should be encouraging to our fellow Christians and examples to those around us.

Pastor Nihaka was next to speak and gave a brief history of the congregation and how they came to be in Mombezi – all of this was in Chichewa, but Kayla & I didn’t mind since he had already shared with us some of the history before. The next part of the service was the cutting of the tape at the front of the building and letting everyone enter. Once inside the church, Mr. Kaoma gave a commissioning blessing from the pulpit with the other pastors by his side. We then headed back outside and enjoyed some songs by various congregations choirs and/or bands.

Pastor Kunje, from Lilongwe, then spoke and introduced Mr. Kaoma for the main message. It was a powerful and encouraging one! J His main text was in Luke 2:22-35, where Jesus was taken to the Temple to be dedicated for holy use. He spoke of this service today as dedicating this building for holy use. He said that the building is nothing without God the people He has called to proceed with His mission. Mr. Kaoma went on to say that this church is a symbol of (1) the power, glory and honor of God, (2) the presence of Christ’s disciples (Matt. 28:19-20, the Great Commission) and (3) God’s love (John 13:34-35). He challenged the congregation to not look at this church as a building, but as the presence of God and our mission to carry out. When we enter its walls, we must let go of our fears, anger with one another and sickness and come together and treat one another with love, just as Christ has loved us. It was a beautiful message and I was very glad to share in this celebration.

After the service, everyone gathered around the building, and some inside, to share a meal together. This got a little awkward because Kayla & I were given seats with the other Pastors and Mr. Kaoma. We would have much rather sat with some of our friends from the Blantyre congregation, but we recognized that we are their guests and they wanted to honor us as they were with all of their guests. We did get a chance to go over and greet the Chiefs. Pastor William Mankhomwa, from Zomba, helped us with some Chichewa phrases to say to them.

Unfortunately, once the meal was over, there wasn’t a lot of time for fellowshipping with everyone and we left pretty quickly. The ride home didn’t seem as bumpy, but it was definitely more dusty because we drove right behind another vehicle – I got dust in my eyes more than just a few times.

One thing we saw during the service that we never expected or would probably encounter in the US was cows. That’s right, I said cows. Since we were sitting outside, there were a good many people walking or riding bicycles along the road and at one point, there was a small herd of cattle being led down the road as well. It was great. J

I don’t know that I was adequately able to express the powerful emotions throughout the day. I am continually humbled by the opportunities that God has given to me, not just here, but throughout my life. So many things that I once thought unrelated are coming together in the work that I am doing here in Malawi and what I am preparing to do upon my return (I’ll be in the Pastoral Internship program with GCI). God is doing mighty things with His children all over the world; now if we could all join together and truly worship Him as one! As I listened to the Choirs sing in Chichewa, it made me think of the story of Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9). Man was working together, with one language, to build himself up and honor each other rather than God; so God confused their tongues and made them speak in different languages so they would stop and were dispersed over the face of the earth. Though God chose then to confuse men’s speech, I felt on Saturday as if He was drawing us back together. As we chose to follow and honor God, no matter our tongue or understanding of another’s tongue, the praise given to God is evident and can be shared. I don’t know what all the words in the Chichewa hymns mean, but I know to Whom they give honor and glory, so I gratefully worship alongside them, offering my attempt at Chichewa and sharing in their love of God.

Prayers for the week:

-       Due to funding needs for the camp, we will not be having a retreat in Blantyre this coming weekend. I was sad to know that the retreat was cancelled, but I am very excited for the camp.

-       The fee that they have set for camp is 45 US dollars, which may not seem like much to us for a week of camp, but it is very expensive for them. They will also have to pay for their transportation to the camp site. Please pray that funds become available to those who are in need. There are youth planning to attend from various districts in Malawi, Zambia and possibly Zimbabwe.

-       Kayla & I have been asked to help with swimming and ballroom & swing dancing. I’m sure that we will be helping in other areas as well. We do not have a lot of materials here, but I know that as we put our heads together with the other leaders, we will be able to come up with some great things for the campers.

-       Please pray for the Young Adult leaders who are planning the camp. This is the first time that it is being led by the young adults and not older leaders within the church. I know that they are as excited as we are and want it to be a wonderful experience for the campers. They have not had camp for quite a few years & they want this to be the beginning of many camps to come.

-       As I shared with you last week, Mr. Maniya, the teacher for Standard 6, has been ill with malaria for the past few weeks. He was in the hospital for a few days last week, but he was discharged on Saturday. Please prayer for his quick and full recovery and for his family during this stressful time.

 As always, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. May you have a blessed week!! J

Happy October!!

So much for getting into a routine. Kayla and I, instead of just working with one class each, have almost taken over the Standard 6 class, as well as still teaching English in Standards 4 & 5. The reason for this is that Mr. Maniya, the teacher, has been sick for the last 2 weeks. Last week, when they asked Kayla and I to cover for a bit, we usually just did review work or played games with them because we didn’t have lessons to plan. On Tuesday, though, when they asked Kayla and I to cover the class, we decided to teach them, and not just the English and Math that we’d been doing. Kayla took ‘Social & Environmental Sciences’ and I did ‘Agriculture’. We split the learners into 2 groups and taught our respective lessons. What a difference it made to only be teaching to 30 students instead of 60! Though there were still some issues, it seemed to work for all the learners and it was a different way for them to experience learning.

The rest of the week (Wednesday & Thursday) had a fairly similar routine. Kayla & I would teach English in the morning, then after break we both went into Standard 6 and split them into 2 groups. We don’t have any idea what will happen on Friday (usually an assessment day) because neither of us know what to prepare for the learners to be tested on. We both are sticking to only assessing our classes for right now.

There was a sign outside today (I’m typing this up on Thursday) that said there will be a ‘Jumping Castle’ for the students on Friday. Kayla & I are thinking that it is a bouncy castle, similar to what we have in America, but we’re not sure & no one else seems to know for sure what it is either (we asked some of the teachers & Dorothy hadn’t ever heard of it). There is also a company that sells books to the children that will be stopping by. Though it is great to know that the students have an opportunity to purchase books; it is unfortunate in the way the books are handled. The company brings in large bags filled with books & empties them onto the floor in the Church Hall. Some of the books are missing pages, written in, torn, etc. The students just rummage through, looking for a book that would interest them and that they can afford. Last summer, I bought ‘Maniac Magee’ (a great children’s story) for 100 Kwacha (which is less than one US dollar).

This week, Kayla and I met the Chairman for the orphanage that the church here helps to support. He was very eager for us to visit the orphanage and encourage the girls there to continue their education. Many of them do not even want to finish primary, let alone try to complete secondary. Kayla and I are thinking that this could be a way for us to have more 1-on-1 interactions with some students; we would both really enjoy mentoring some girls at the orphanage and know that we made a difference to them during our time here. We are hoping to visit the orphanage this Friday, but we will see what our schedule brings.

This Saturday is the commissioning service for the ‘Prayer House’ (that’s what they call the church) in Mombezi (about an hour from us). I am super pumped for this service and to meet more people. I’m sure I’ll have lots to share with you next week about this experience.

Thank you for your continued thoughts & prayers. I have been feeling much better this week & am glad to have the sore throat behind me. J

Have a wonderful weekend!

No one ever enjoys being sick. It is even worse when you’re in a foreign country and without your mother’s ‘cure all’ remedy of ginger ale & orange juice. Am I being melodramatic? Maybe a little. J It’s just no fun being sick & I think everyone can relate to the fact that moms always make it better. I’ve really only got a small cough & stuffy nose, not really anything to worry about; more of an annoyance than a problem. I am hoping this is the only time & the worst of any illness while here in Malawi because I do not want to lose anytime to experience all that I can of Malawi.

That’s more than enough about me, I know what you really want to hear about are the kids… they are wonderful! Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that they are always well-behaved & listen to us & are better than American students, because that is not exactly the case. Yes, they act up in class, they fight with & pick on each other, they have their secret notes that they pass back & forth in class, etc. But, at the end of the day, they smile and wave, saying ‘See you tomorrow, Teacher!’ and your heart melts for them.

So many blessings from these children – I don’t know where to begin. I guess I’ll just tell you about them & then you’ll know for yourself. I am mainly working in the Standard 5 classroom. The children are mostly 8-9 years old, with a few 10 & 11 year olds in the class. Oh yeah, there are 57 of them in the classroom. J I’ll try to post a picture of them when I get a chance. It is a small room, only 3 rows of desks, 6 desks deep. Those of you quick with your math will realize that is only 18 desks. There are 3 children per desk (some have 4). The teachers make seating charts based on the assessment tests that the children take – the top 3 students receive their own desk & are the leaders for the class. They will get the learner books for the teacher, erase the chalkboard and do other tasks as asked by the teacher throughout the day.

The structure of the school day for Standards 4-6:

Children begin arriving as earlier as 6:30am, but school begins at 7:30. On Monday & Friday, all the students gather for an assembly – usually outside if the weather permits – at 7:15. They pray together, listen to announcements from the teacher, sing the Malawi National Anthem, recite a school chant & then go to class. Each Standard has Math (they call it Maths) & English first; each taking about an hour. Then, they have a break. All the teachers go into the lobby area of the church hall and have tea (with lots of sugar) & bread while the children go out to the ground to play. This is only supposed to be about 20 minutes, but often goes a little longer. After break, each class has one or 2 more subjects before lunch at noon. They break for about an hour for lunch & recess, then begin again in the classroom around 1pm. After lunch, they normally have 2 or 3 subjects and then they are dismissed at 2:45. On Fridays, they usually have revision or assessment tests before break, one subject after break and then sports from 11-12. They are dismissed at 12 for the day.

The children in Nursery, Reception and Standards 1-3 are done every day at 12. Some of them who have older siblings in the higher Standards usually just play around the school grounds until it is time for them all to go home.

The students in Standard 7 follow a similar schedule to that of 4-6, except they are not dismissed until 4:00 every day (including Friday) and they have to come from 8-12 on Saturdays as well. The reason they have to stay so much longer in Standard 7 is because they have to cover the curriculum for Standards 7 & 8 which are separate classes in government schools. At the end of Standard 7, the learners (that’s what they call the students here) sit for the exams & if they pass they have the opportunity to be selected to study at secondary school. Unlike the US, the progression from primary to secondary school doesn’t just happen – they must pass their primary exams to even be considered for secondary school. Then, if they are not chosen or selected by a private secondary school, they can try to go to a government secondary school.

I have started teaching English class this week for Standard 5, and I have also helped with some Life Skills & Bible Knowledge classes. When I am teaching their English class, I am not teaching them how to speak English, but more of a grammar class. They know how to speak English, though there are still barriers to our ability to communicate clearly, and are taught English in school beginning with Reception (at least in the private schools).

As we get back into a routine with our classes, Kayla and I plan to work with our teachers in reaching those who need extra help, especially in English & Math classes. We know that it can be difficult with only 20 students in a room to make sure they all understand a concept; with 57, it is very easy for quite a few of them to fall behind. Now that there are 2 teachers in the classroom, we are hoping that we can split the kids up and give the attention to those who need more help.

Here are some things that you can be in prayer for us – these may be genera for our time here, but some are specific to Kayla, I or our friends & family here in Malawi:
-       Dorothy is the woman who works at Young Ambassadors Primary School. When we are here, she is our cook & she cleans for us. She is also our unofficial interpreter. J Kayla & I ask her how to say things in Chichewa all the time. We know that she enjoys working here (because she tells us so) and we are very glad to have her as our Malawian mom while we’re away from home. It is difficult, though, because Dorothy doesn’t make a lot of money and she can see us with all of our things and knows that we have more than she does. Dorothy is smart and she knows that we do not have a lot (and she understands when we tell her we are not rich), but she also knows that we have been able to share a little with her before. Dorothy has 3 children, a house and no husband to help her take care of either one of them. She knows that God is and does look after her to help her provide for them each day. Unfortunately, sometimes I think that to Dorothy we are the answer to her prayers; she will tell us about needing to repair her house and that food is getting more expensive, not asking outright for money, but I think hoping a little that we will give her money. Kayla and I know these requests to be sincere, and we can only imagine how hard it is to see others with so much & wonder why they cannot share, but we also know we must not give in. We made the mistake last summer of giving to quickly – even though it wasn’t much to us in the long run, it made us seem as if we could give like that again. Last summer was an adventure, and we did not mind sharing a little of what we could when we were able. This time, though, we are working/volunteering and we know better how to budget our money so we are not wasteful with our spending. It is a struggle for both Kayla & I to reconcile our desire to help wherever we can with others’ perceptions that we are rich, white Americans with lots of money. Yes, compared to many of those around us, we have money; but, we also know that when we return to America, we will have less money because we haven’t been getting paid for 5 months. It is easy for us to tell ourselves this & we know it in our heads, but our hearts break a little more each time Dorothy tells us about her children or how expensive transport is. If she were to take a minibus to & from work every day, it would cost her over half of her monthly salary – not something she can afford as she is the only provider for her children.

-       Please also pray for the school and the relationship that Kayla & I hope to build with the teachers. We have lots of ideas and ways that we feel we could best benefit the children while we are here, but it is not always easy to communicate with the teachers. I think I was overly excited before we started teaching this week about all we could do – I forgot I’m on Malawi time and it is going to be a process. As long as Kayla & I stand firm in what we hope to accomplish and keep telling them where & how we would like to help, we will begin to understand one another. I just have to remember that we have time – it is not like last summer when we had just gotten started & had to leave. By the time we leave in February, Kayla & I hope to have shown the teachers how to work cooperatively in a classroom with one another, not just letting us take over lessons & share the teaching load.

-       Next week, Oct. 8^th, we will be commissioning a congregation in one of the local villages. Pastor Fadrick has mentioned multiple times that the roads to the villages are very bad – that’s part of the reason we didn’t go to any villages on our last visit. Kayla & I have told him that we don’t mind and that we are very excited to not only be part of this commissioning, but also to visit one of the villages. I know that we have been spoiled in all that has been provided for us here in Blantyre and I can only imagine what we will see next week in the village.

School is done at lunch time on Fridays and Kayla & I have enjoyed our time at our home this afternoon. We had our first Malawi ‘spring rain’ just a little bit ago. The smell of rain is one of my favorite smells – though it had a distinct Malawian smell to it, this shower had a wonderful ‘rain smell’ & is a reminder that we are not so different no matter where we come from.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. If you ever have questions or thoughts you would like to share, please don’t hesitate to comment & I will reply as I am able.

 
Carrie J