I’m not sure if I described what a typical day at the nursery entails, but basically the day starts off with devotions in the morning about 8am. The devotion/singing usually lasts until 8:30 and the rest of the day consists of changing the infants, feeding the infants, and playing with them. The amount of things we are allowed to do tends to depend on the nannies. For instance this past Wednesday (June 30th), I was left alone with about 8 toddlers. It doesn’t sound too bad, but Gift likes to sit on your lap and cuddle, yet Blackstone wants your attention and wants you to help him learn how to walk. You have Nora pulling on other toddlers, which makes them start crying. Chisomo wants your attention and if he doesn’t get it…..the tantrums commence. All the nannies went to tea and left me in the play area to try to deal with it all. Now I did deal with it for sure!! I started taking the kids back to their beds one-by-one because for the most part they were tired. No one fought me and most were already asleep once I put them in their bed. The exception, of course, lies with Chisomo, Gift, and Blackstone. Needless to say, they screamed bloody murder. Yet after 10minutes of crying, they settled down and slept.
Now I will say my favorite of all the babies (which I know you shouldn’t have favorites) are the twins Jese and Jestina. I would say if I was a bit farther in my life (ie: married, had a settled job etc) I would consider adopting these two. They are so sweet, docile, and smart. Jese hardly cries, yet she doesn’t enjoy bathtime and Jestina hardly cries, yet she is the Queen of spit-up (lol). They are just so calm and enjoy watching things and their smiles are so adorable. Another adorable one is Teageni (we call her Tea). She cracks me up with her smirks and facial expressions.
I did check in on Mario and the other critical baby whose name stands for “freedom” and they seem to be doing well. I got to hold Freedom for a bit and soothed her until she fell asleep again.
Gift was taken into foster care this week! :)
More to come…..
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
To the Market we Go!
On Saturday, Megan, Casey, Jayme, Gerda, and I went to the market in Lilongwi. The first part of this adventure was the minibus. Minibuses are much like a large cheap taxi. It is 100 kwacha one way (which is about $0.50). Jayme and I sat in the back of the 4 row minibus on a bench that wasn’t very well latched down. It felt like a 20 minute drive on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. I said that to Jayme and the guy next to me started laughing a bit. Upon entering the town, we started walking to the chitenji (a native skirt-wrap) market. On our way, there was a guy in a minibus that gave me the “eyebrows” as I was walking. I thought I was free from him, yet there was traffic and we were walking fast so I ran into him again. This time I was presented with the “licking of the lips”. Megan got a kick out of this. I just starred at the ground.
When crossing the bridge over the river, we saw to our left several people washing their clothing and a market of some sorts. It was a gorgeous day and actually warm. We finally made our way to the market. I wish we were allowed to take pictures but apparently photos were frowned upon. We had to ask permission to take pictures. I will try my best to explain though. We entered a very narrow alley where little shops were on each side. After hanging a hard left, we followed Gerda down a long and narrow alley until to our left was a long open area of fabrics and sewing machines. Many faces smiled and welcomed us in to choose a chitenji. Walking through, I almost got smacked by an overly exuberant Malawian woman. To avoid the arm, I moved into a step that I did not realize there was causing me to almost fall on my face. Thankfully I caught myself and did not fall- that would have been a great memory lol. After going through different fabrics and designs, I settled on 2 chitenjis of my choice. Picture 3 rooms long of an area with about 50 types of fabric on each table and at least 2 people working each table. To each person, we were “my sister” and they were more than obliging to open up fabric and show you the design. After we all found what we were looking for, we backtracked to the beginning of the market where shops were on each side. The market was a convoluted area with several different areas (clothing, music/ technology, produce, fish, spices, food, baking goods. Initially, clothing was the main shops at the beginning, it soon blended into household items. This is where Megan and I bought out nsima spoons. Nsima is a local staple food- best described as a cream of wheat type of porridge yet made from corn. The spoon is a huge, thick wooden spoon. After the household items, it seemed that we went into the food area (I guess similar to our food court but not lol). This is where the market was more covered by overhead tents (thus was darker). This was my favorite part because there were big bags of flour, yeast, and sugar. Some coverings were lost and the bags began to hold spices. I wish I was able to take a picture because it was very picturesque. When we passed through the produce, I almost lost my footing once again due to the uneven ground because I was looking at a bunch of bananas that had a mutant banana (two bananas grew into one). Yes, I am easily sidetracked at times. After the produce, we came into the fish market. I was relieved that they sold fresh fish because the small markets in the town I am staying in only sell drying fish (which are kind of gross). I saw the largest catfish I have ever seen. It was almost as long as my leg (no kidding).
On our way back toward the wood market, we stopped off at a book store to buy a chicewa bible for Megan’s host family (when she stayed in the village for 10 days). On leaving the bookstore, we were walking and attacked by a dog (who fortunately had a muzzle). It was scary but funny at the same time. The dog leered toward Megan who jumped causing Jayme to jump into me and I jumped. We were all shocked yet after just continued to laugh about it. Not to mention the dog owner and people who witnessed it were rolling in laughter as well- probably thinking “azungu” (meaning “white people/foreigner”).
We finally reached the wood market, which is a place to definitely gird your loins. This market is where you have to barter for your price. Since we are white, they will always try to rip you off giving you the azungu price rather than the normal price. Gerda was amazing. She would not budge and that really helped Megan when buying gifts for friends and family back home. But in general, one (especially if you are white)is swarmed by the dealers there. I had people coming up and introducing themselves and asking me to come see their shops. I kindly said I was just looking and they would continue to show me all kinds of things while looking at what I had on me. They saw my watch and said “you come back and we trade”. Yet when they want to trade they still rip you off saying they will give you 200 kwacha for your watch (the equivalent of $1…when the watch was $45). It was definitely an experience that taught me that when I come back to buy things – 1) come with Gerda and 2) come with multiple people. Jayme, Casey, and I plan to come back with Gerda to shop soon in order to just to get it over and done with.
Overall it was a great adventure/day!
Stay tuned for when I go to the market!!
Things to look forward to: more on the crisis nursery, mobile clinic, safari trip, trip to the other crisis nursery, and Malawi Lake trip…..
Miss you all!! MUCH LOVE! <3
When crossing the bridge over the river, we saw to our left several people washing their clothing and a market of some sorts. It was a gorgeous day and actually warm. We finally made our way to the market. I wish we were allowed to take pictures but apparently photos were frowned upon. We had to ask permission to take pictures. I will try my best to explain though. We entered a very narrow alley where little shops were on each side. After hanging a hard left, we followed Gerda down a long and narrow alley until to our left was a long open area of fabrics and sewing machines. Many faces smiled and welcomed us in to choose a chitenji. Walking through, I almost got smacked by an overly exuberant Malawian woman. To avoid the arm, I moved into a step that I did not realize there was causing me to almost fall on my face. Thankfully I caught myself and did not fall- that would have been a great memory lol. After going through different fabrics and designs, I settled on 2 chitenjis of my choice. Picture 3 rooms long of an area with about 50 types of fabric on each table and at least 2 people working each table. To each person, we were “my sister” and they were more than obliging to open up fabric and show you the design. After we all found what we were looking for, we backtracked to the beginning of the market where shops were on each side. The market was a convoluted area with several different areas (clothing, music/ technology, produce, fish, spices, food, baking goods. Initially, clothing was the main shops at the beginning, it soon blended into household items. This is where Megan and I bought out nsima spoons. Nsima is a local staple food- best described as a cream of wheat type of porridge yet made from corn. The spoon is a huge, thick wooden spoon. After the household items, it seemed that we went into the food area (I guess similar to our food court but not lol). This is where the market was more covered by overhead tents (thus was darker). This was my favorite part because there were big bags of flour, yeast, and sugar. Some coverings were lost and the bags began to hold spices. I wish I was able to take a picture because it was very picturesque. When we passed through the produce, I almost lost my footing once again due to the uneven ground because I was looking at a bunch of bananas that had a mutant banana (two bananas grew into one). Yes, I am easily sidetracked at times. After the produce, we came into the fish market. I was relieved that they sold fresh fish because the small markets in the town I am staying in only sell drying fish (which are kind of gross). I saw the largest catfish I have ever seen. It was almost as long as my leg (no kidding).
On our way back toward the wood market, we stopped off at a book store to buy a chicewa bible for Megan’s host family (when she stayed in the village for 10 days). On leaving the bookstore, we were walking and attacked by a dog (who fortunately had a muzzle). It was scary but funny at the same time. The dog leered toward Megan who jumped causing Jayme to jump into me and I jumped. We were all shocked yet after just continued to laugh about it. Not to mention the dog owner and people who witnessed it were rolling in laughter as well- probably thinking “azungu” (meaning “white people/foreigner”).
We finally reached the wood market, which is a place to definitely gird your loins. This market is where you have to barter for your price. Since we are white, they will always try to rip you off giving you the azungu price rather than the normal price. Gerda was amazing. She would not budge and that really helped Megan when buying gifts for friends and family back home. But in general, one (especially if you are white)is swarmed by the dealers there. I had people coming up and introducing themselves and asking me to come see their shops. I kindly said I was just looking and they would continue to show me all kinds of things while looking at what I had on me. They saw my watch and said “you come back and we trade”. Yet when they want to trade they still rip you off saying they will give you 200 kwacha for your watch (the equivalent of $1…when the watch was $45). It was definitely an experience that taught me that when I come back to buy things – 1) come with Gerda and 2) come with multiple people. Jayme, Casey, and I plan to come back with Gerda to shop soon in order to just to get it over and done with.
Overall it was a great adventure/day!
Stay tuned for when I go to the market!!
Things to look forward to: more on the crisis nursery, mobile clinic, safari trip, trip to the other crisis nursery, and Malawi Lake trip…..
Miss you all!! MUCH LOVE! <3
Crisis Nursery
The Crisis Nursery is a house composed of a front office, three small nurseries (critical infants, younger infants, and older infants), a play area/feeding area, and kitchen. It is an approximate 15 minute walk from Teethsaver’s house. The Crisis Nursery is run by a woman named Ana, and is located in front of Mwai’s house (the coordinator for the mobile clinic). The nursery has full time caregivers that help in taking care of the children via feeding and changing. There is usually a full-time nurse who works in the critical care nursery for the newest children who are brought to the nursery. For instance, this past Friday, a new addition we originally knew as Maria was brought to the nursery. Maria, who turned out to be MariO (a boy), was given up due to the fact that his mother died shortly after his birth and his father couldn’t take care of him. Upon entrance, he weighed 1.7 kg (~4lbs), is maybe 7 inches long (if that), and is only 1-2 weeks old. He is so small and mostly skin and bone. It’s heartbreaking really. On Sunday, we found out from Gerda that he has a fever of about 104 F. So I will let you know more when I can. Hopefully he pulls through and is able to gain strength and survive. Please feel free to pray for Mario!
The other children are all so unique. Tea always has a very discerning look (I’ll send a picture when I can). I enjoy Jessie who is a twin of Justina. Chisomo is the first child I ever met upon entrance to the nursery. I came in very unsure of what I should expect or what I should do. There was Chisomo standing a few feet from the ground grabbing to be held. I picked him up even though I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to. When I went to put him down on request of the staff, Chisomo went into a fit. I have learned that Chisomo loves tantrums. Blackstone is another interesting case. He is a 26-28month old infant yet has some development issues because he still the size of a 12-14 month baby and is not at the mental level of a 26-28 month old. I learned that he initially was very malnourished, yet that was the only information I obtained as of now. One thing I will say, he is DEFINITELY NOT malnourished now. The child can EAT! He’ll eat someone else’s porridge if you don’t watch him. His stance when eating is to lean on your knee with mouth open and ready. He will WAIT as long as the food is coming!
More to come
Focal Verse: and Jesus said, “Let the children come to me…”
The other children are all so unique. Tea always has a very discerning look (I’ll send a picture when I can). I enjoy Jessie who is a twin of Justina. Chisomo is the first child I ever met upon entrance to the nursery. I came in very unsure of what I should expect or what I should do. There was Chisomo standing a few feet from the ground grabbing to be held. I picked him up even though I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to. When I went to put him down on request of the staff, Chisomo went into a fit. I have learned that Chisomo loves tantrums. Blackstone is another interesting case. He is a 26-28month old infant yet has some development issues because he still the size of a 12-14 month baby and is not at the mental level of a 26-28 month old. I learned that he initially was very malnourished, yet that was the only information I obtained as of now. One thing I will say, he is DEFINITELY NOT malnourished now. The child can EAT! He’ll eat someone else’s porridge if you don’t watch him. His stance when eating is to lean on your knee with mouth open and ready. He will WAIT as long as the food is coming!
More to come
Focal Verse: and Jesus said, “Let the children come to me…”
My first Mobile Clinic
The mobile clinics are held every Thursday at different surrounding villages near Lilongwi. This past Thursday was my first time. The basic breakdown is the group here at Teethsavers* leave at 6am via the bus, pick up the other group and supplies at the crisis nursery, pick up other helpers on the way, and head to the village which is where our day begins and ends. So the morning of June 24th, Casey and I woke up at 6am much to our chagrin, yet we were out the door by 6:08am so thankfully we did not hold up the group by much. The problem was our alarms didn’t go off. Anyway, the drive was gorgeous! I love the sky here, its soo beautiful and clear.
Upon arrival at the village center (which is more of an empty frame of a room than an actual center or house), there was a crowd of approximately 200 people waiting in the chilly weather (it’s winter right now here- which is like Redlands two days of spring). We started unloading everything and setting everything up. It was set up into stations. The people were weighed, temperatures were taken, vitals were taken, visited the doctor, went to the lab, and lastly, visited the pharmacy. I initially started out taking temperatures until the line started to congest (after about 10 people). I got placed at vitals, which initially I was rusty, but I gotta say after the 10th person I picked up my rhythm. At times, the blood pressure was difficult to hear due to the reverberation of sounds of people talking, coughing, and babies crying within the structure. After about 150 patients, I noticed that all of us in vitals started seeing where the end of the line was haha. Needless to say, we arrived at the village at about 8am (if not earlier) and worked straight through until about 1pm. Having sat and done the vitals of about 210+ people, I was tired yet had a sense of purpose and accomplishment. It made me realize how much I take for granted. Yes, I wanted a break because I was starving and my lower back hurt because it was like the bench they sat on just kept creeping farther and farther away from my bench lol. But there was no way I could stop and take a break. We were short staffed as is and there was no one to swap with me. But my momentary physical pain and hunger were small compared to their situation. I was told that the mobile clinic is based on a first come first serve basis. Therefore, the first 200 or so are seen, which usually means they are sitting waiting for us as early as 5am if not earlier.
It was definitely an amazing experience. There were a few culture shocks on my part. For instance, I was in the middle of “trying” to take a crying child’s heart rate via stethoscope (because the brachial artery was hard to access as the child cringed away) when the mother grabbed out her boob and thrust it into the baby’s mouth. I understand why she did it and it definitely is the motherly thing to do, but it was a bit shocking because I was about 10inches away from her when she did it- not to mention there were about 3 Malawian men around her and I. Yet I have come to recognize that boobs are not viewed as sexually here as they are in the USA. Anyway crying babies always made taking vitals a very interesting challenge. I was able to soothe them a few times by showing them the stethoscope and letting them play with it for a bit- but for the most part I was a strange WHITE person (hahaha).
Another amazing experience was using their bathroom- if you want to call it that. So lets just say that the moment I got to the village I had to go to the restroom, yet didn’t want to “pop a squat” and I had no time. So after the whole day, I had to go!!! So Jayme, Casey, and I found what we would call an “outhouse”…it was a small room with a door and a small rectangle in the floor. I must say ….I don’t think girls were ever meant to aim. LOL! That was interesting to say the least. Needless to say, the villagers got a laugh out of us and our expressions!
At the close of the day with a sense of accomplishment, we packed up the bus and started our trip back. We were presented with HUGE…and I mean HUGE…scones and either a FANTA or COKE soda. Needless to say, I feel asleep in the bus. Strangely, I was out until Casey was like “oh kittens”…and from a dead sleep I was like “WHAT?!? Kittens…where?”. There were some guys selling kittens, birds, and …something else on the side of the road.
The last amazing thing of that day….MY BAGS ARRIVED!!! Came home to bags which was good because I had to take my malaria meds, which made me have vivid dreams that night. I notice that I don’t get to sleep very early on the days I take my malaria med, not sure if that’s a result of the meds or if its my own doing.
*I never mentioned where I was living. Teethsavers is a house that opens its doors to missionaries. I live in a room with two twin beds, which I share with Casey from Louisiana. We do have hot water which is a blessing. There are 3 people on staff- Fred (manager- type), Letta (housecleaner), and Mark (not sure what he does yet). They are all very nice and friendly. The people who live here at Teethsavers with me are Jayme (Texas), Mike (New York), Megan (Arkansas), Tristan (Missouri), Gerda (Netherlands), Casey (Louisiana), and me.
Upon arrival at the village center (which is more of an empty frame of a room than an actual center or house), there was a crowd of approximately 200 people waiting in the chilly weather (it’s winter right now here- which is like Redlands two days of spring). We started unloading everything and setting everything up. It was set up into stations. The people were weighed, temperatures were taken, vitals were taken, visited the doctor, went to the lab, and lastly, visited the pharmacy. I initially started out taking temperatures until the line started to congest (after about 10 people). I got placed at vitals, which initially I was rusty, but I gotta say after the 10th person I picked up my rhythm. At times, the blood pressure was difficult to hear due to the reverberation of sounds of people talking, coughing, and babies crying within the structure. After about 150 patients, I noticed that all of us in vitals started seeing where the end of the line was haha. Needless to say, we arrived at the village at about 8am (if not earlier) and worked straight through until about 1pm. Having sat and done the vitals of about 210+ people, I was tired yet had a sense of purpose and accomplishment. It made me realize how much I take for granted. Yes, I wanted a break because I was starving and my lower back hurt because it was like the bench they sat on just kept creeping farther and farther away from my bench lol. But there was no way I could stop and take a break. We were short staffed as is and there was no one to swap with me. But my momentary physical pain and hunger were small compared to their situation. I was told that the mobile clinic is based on a first come first serve basis. Therefore, the first 200 or so are seen, which usually means they are sitting waiting for us as early as 5am if not earlier.
It was definitely an amazing experience. There were a few culture shocks on my part. For instance, I was in the middle of “trying” to take a crying child’s heart rate via stethoscope (because the brachial artery was hard to access as the child cringed away) when the mother grabbed out her boob and thrust it into the baby’s mouth. I understand why she did it and it definitely is the motherly thing to do, but it was a bit shocking because I was about 10inches away from her when she did it- not to mention there were about 3 Malawian men around her and I. Yet I have come to recognize that boobs are not viewed as sexually here as they are in the USA. Anyway crying babies always made taking vitals a very interesting challenge. I was able to soothe them a few times by showing them the stethoscope and letting them play with it for a bit- but for the most part I was a strange WHITE person (hahaha).
Another amazing experience was using their bathroom- if you want to call it that. So lets just say that the moment I got to the village I had to go to the restroom, yet didn’t want to “pop a squat” and I had no time. So after the whole day, I had to go!!! So Jayme, Casey, and I found what we would call an “outhouse”…it was a small room with a door and a small rectangle in the floor. I must say ….I don’t think girls were ever meant to aim. LOL! That was interesting to say the least. Needless to say, the villagers got a laugh out of us and our expressions!
At the close of the day with a sense of accomplishment, we packed up the bus and started our trip back. We were presented with HUGE…and I mean HUGE…scones and either a FANTA or COKE soda. Needless to say, I feel asleep in the bus. Strangely, I was out until Casey was like “oh kittens”…and from a dead sleep I was like “WHAT?!? Kittens…where?”. There were some guys selling kittens, birds, and …something else on the side of the road.
The last amazing thing of that day….MY BAGS ARRIVED!!! Came home to bags which was good because I had to take my malaria meds, which made me have vivid dreams that night. I notice that I don’t get to sleep very early on the days I take my malaria med, not sure if that’s a result of the meds or if its my own doing.
*I never mentioned where I was living. Teethsavers is a house that opens its doors to missionaries. I live in a room with two twin beds, which I share with Casey from Louisiana. We do have hot water which is a blessing. There are 3 people on staff- Fred (manager- type), Letta (housecleaner), and Mark (not sure what he does yet). They are all very nice and friendly. The people who live here at Teethsavers with me are Jayme (Texas), Mike (New York), Megan (Arkansas), Tristan (Missouri), Gerda (Netherlands), Casey (Louisiana), and me.
The Heart of Malawi
Its heart lies in its people. They are so warm and welcoming that in a way it’s foreign. I was always raised in a very warm environment, yet as years passed I started to notice that people in America tend to look out for themselves and don’t share the warmth that Malawians do. Walking around town (which is how we get around on foot- which I LOVE) you meet so many new people who say hello and ask how you are. Every child you wave at, waves back with a HUGE smile.
Of course I mean no disrespect to the well-bred American, yet you meet these people and see such a drastic difference. America is a culture of plenty yet I think we tend to lose sight of what really matters. In comparison, the Malawians don’t have much, but their attitudes and lives are so full and giving. They are a people who truly love God and give Him all the praise. Every day begins with a devotion and time of praise to God. This time is not “squeezed “ in or viewed as something to cross off of your list to do- which unfortunately is the case for me at times, rather it is a time to be quiet and find their focus for the day.
One of the devotion times, the person leading it focused on how “complaining steals your soul”. He continued saying that even in problems to praise God and to try to be the solution for others problems rather than the other way around. He focused on being a giving servant of God and having an attitude of continual praise because the greatest gift is LIFE, which I think we take for granted at times. They ended the devotion with a song of praise in their native language- Chichewa. After their version, they shared an English version which was “Follow J-E-S-U-S and J-O-Y will follow”. So simple yet so true.
I hope this finds you all well and I hope you enjoy what is the follow
Focal Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (Psalms 103:1)
Of course I mean no disrespect to the well-bred American, yet you meet these people and see such a drastic difference. America is a culture of plenty yet I think we tend to lose sight of what really matters. In comparison, the Malawians don’t have much, but their attitudes and lives are so full and giving. They are a people who truly love God and give Him all the praise. Every day begins with a devotion and time of praise to God. This time is not “squeezed “ in or viewed as something to cross off of your list to do- which unfortunately is the case for me at times, rather it is a time to be quiet and find their focus for the day.
One of the devotion times, the person leading it focused on how “complaining steals your soul”. He continued saying that even in problems to praise God and to try to be the solution for others problems rather than the other way around. He focused on being a giving servant of God and having an attitude of continual praise because the greatest gift is LIFE, which I think we take for granted at times. They ended the devotion with a song of praise in their native language- Chichewa. After their version, they shared an English version which was “Follow J-E-S-U-S and J-O-Y will follow”. So simple yet so true.
I hope this finds you all well and I hope you enjoy what is the follow
Focal Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (Psalms 103:1)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Flood
The first church service that I went to in Malawi was the Flood, which is a nondenominational
Church that was established here by some people from California (I thought that was interesting). It was a fairly small church that was about half white people (mzungus) and African people. The pastor’s name was Sean and he spoke on how we need to be the light in the dark world. Additionally, he touched on how we are God’s winning team, which he made sure to include a picture of Ghana after they won over the USA. It made for an interesting segway. Anywho that day they had a special guest from Colorado, who shared his amazing and touching story. This was his story: he was raised in a dysfunctional family, who soon divorced by age 11 (if I recall correctly, he also was a believer during this time). During his teens, he fooled around and chose to do stupid things (things he did not go into detail). He kept going to church yet had pressing hardship within him. Feeling he couldn’t talk to someone in his church without judgement, he continued this way for a while until one day he was able to confide in someone. He was on his way to spiritual healing and growing in his relationship with Christ. His last act of moving things behind him was to get tested for HIV/AIDS. In the end his results were positive. He said that he was mortified. The things he did in secret were now out in the open. He went on to talk about how he was worried whether a woman would want to marry him and how he met his wife. He talked about how there were several times where he was close to death and God pulled his through and provided. He shared a certain instance where he had lost so much weight and was so sick that he couldn’t sit up in bed and his doctor said he should make a will. He had only strength enough to flip open the bible, which flipped to Psalms 27:13-14. It says,” I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Shortly after he read this verse, he got much better and proposed to his girlfriend of a year (who is now his wife). He told of other challenges in his life, one where he feared that he had given HIV to his wife (which turned out to be negative), and another such as the question of children. Happily I say that his wife and he talked to doctors and found there was a way to have children without HIV transfer. This was the story of a man who at many times could have died, yet God had a plan and a purpose for his life. He thought he’d never get married, yet he did. He almost died, yet he didn’t. He thought he’d never be able to give his wife children, yet now they have two beautiful children. He is a pastor and him and his wife are highly involved in HIV/AIDS awareness all over the world. It’s amazing to see how God can work in amazing and miraculous ways. NOTHING IS TOO SMALL or LARGE FOR THE LORD. Something he said that stuck with me was “we are just little stories among God’s big story.
Focal verse: Psalms 27:13-14
Church that was established here by some people from California (I thought that was interesting). It was a fairly small church that was about half white people (mzungus) and African people. The pastor’s name was Sean and he spoke on how we need to be the light in the dark world. Additionally, he touched on how we are God’s winning team, which he made sure to include a picture of Ghana after they won over the USA. It made for an interesting segway. Anywho that day they had a special guest from Colorado, who shared his amazing and touching story. This was his story: he was raised in a dysfunctional family, who soon divorced by age 11 (if I recall correctly, he also was a believer during this time). During his teens, he fooled around and chose to do stupid things (things he did not go into detail). He kept going to church yet had pressing hardship within him. Feeling he couldn’t talk to someone in his church without judgement, he continued this way for a while until one day he was able to confide in someone. He was on his way to spiritual healing and growing in his relationship with Christ. His last act of moving things behind him was to get tested for HIV/AIDS. In the end his results were positive. He said that he was mortified. The things he did in secret were now out in the open. He went on to talk about how he was worried whether a woman would want to marry him and how he met his wife. He talked about how there were several times where he was close to death and God pulled his through and provided. He shared a certain instance where he had lost so much weight and was so sick that he couldn’t sit up in bed and his doctor said he should make a will. He had only strength enough to flip open the bible, which flipped to Psalms 27:13-14. It says,” I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Shortly after he read this verse, he got much better and proposed to his girlfriend of a year (who is now his wife). He told of other challenges in his life, one where he feared that he had given HIV to his wife (which turned out to be negative), and another such as the question of children. Happily I say that his wife and he talked to doctors and found there was a way to have children without HIV transfer. This was the story of a man who at many times could have died, yet God had a plan and a purpose for his life. He thought he’d never get married, yet he did. He almost died, yet he didn’t. He thought he’d never be able to give his wife children, yet now they have two beautiful children. He is a pastor and him and his wife are highly involved in HIV/AIDS awareness all over the world. It’s amazing to see how God can work in amazing and miraculous ways. NOTHING IS TOO SMALL or LARGE FOR THE LORD. Something he said that stuck with me was “we are just little stories among God’s big story.
Focal verse: Psalms 27:13-14
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A Day and a half of flying
So first off, I am alive and well in Malawi, Africa. It was definitely a long flight, but I was able to meet some interesting people on the way. I flew out of LAX at 9:10pm on my way to London Heathrow. While I was waiting for my flight, I met a very friendly Australian family on their way back home. I also met a nice French man named Sebastian at the security check. He started talking to me because he thought I was French. After my almost 11hour flight, I arrived in Heathrow where I had a 4 hour layover. I've been to Heathrow before but apparently not this part. I found myself sitting on a bench with a Dior store to my left and a Chanel store to my right, with a seafood restaurant that was serving King Crab legs?!? It was quite amusing and a great place to people watch.
Next I was off to Johannsburg, South Africa. I sat by a high school student from South Africa whom I mistakenly thought was from London due to her accent. Note: Australian, British, and South African accents all sound similar, yet are VERY difficult....apparently. Anyway she was nice to talk to and helped make the 11 hour flight a bit more bearable. Upon landing, I went to my last flight of the day to LiLongwi, Malawi. This flight was about 3 hours and I hardly remember it. I was so exhausted that I slept most of the time except when the flight attendent woke me up for a beverage and a snack (which was more like lunch lol).
Overall, I am glad to have arrived safely. My bags are MIA at the moment, but they assure me they will be in tomorrow. I am adjusting well and hope to write back with new and exciting things to share.
Prayer request: for strength and courage to adjust to the different culture
focal verse: Do not fear for I am with you! [came in very handy during my first night]
p.s: I am 8-9 hours ahead of you all. So I know you're future lol..jk :)
Next I was off to Johannsburg, South Africa. I sat by a high school student from South Africa whom I mistakenly thought was from London due to her accent. Note: Australian, British, and South African accents all sound similar, yet are VERY difficult....apparently. Anyway she was nice to talk to and helped make the 11 hour flight a bit more bearable. Upon landing, I went to my last flight of the day to LiLongwi, Malawi. This flight was about 3 hours and I hardly remember it. I was so exhausted that I slept most of the time except when the flight attendent woke me up for a beverage and a snack (which was more like lunch lol).
Overall, I am glad to have arrived safely. My bags are MIA at the moment, but they assure me they will be in tomorrow. I am adjusting well and hope to write back with new and exciting things to share.
Prayer request: for strength and courage to adjust to the different culture
focal verse: Do not fear for I am with you! [came in very handy during my first night]
p.s: I am 8-9 hours ahead of you all. So I know you're future lol..jk :)
Friday, June 18, 2010
The beginning....
I lie here in bed with my cat Dublin laying across my chest asleep taking in the first few minutes of a new day. It seems the perfect start to my blog. I'm new to this whole blogging thing, yet a few of my friends have shared their sites with me.
So why now, you're guessing? This summer I am off on my next great adventure which leads me to Malawi, Africa for 5 weeks. Thus, the title of my blog- la vita di una bella avventura, which means "life is a beautiful adventure" in Italian. If you don't know me, you are probably wondering, why the heck would she title her blog in Italian when she is going to Africa? Well, life is a vast adventure of twists and turns. It doesn't just encompass one adventure. So with the hope that I keep up with blogging, this will prove to not only contain my adventures in Africa, but throughout life.
I hope you enjoy this and that it keeps you all informed while I am away!!
Africa update: still compiling items and packing...day one of malaria medication...(lets see if I have night terrors..}
focal verse: Be still and know that I AM GOD! Psalms 46:10
So why now, you're guessing? This summer I am off on my next great adventure which leads me to Malawi, Africa for 5 weeks. Thus, the title of my blog- la vita di una bella avventura, which means "life is a beautiful adventure" in Italian. If you don't know me, you are probably wondering, why the heck would she title her blog in Italian when she is going to Africa? Well, life is a vast adventure of twists and turns. It doesn't just encompass one adventure. So with the hope that I keep up with blogging, this will prove to not only contain my adventures in Africa, but throughout life.
I hope you enjoy this and that it keeps you all informed while I am away!!
Africa update: still compiling items and packing...day one of malaria medication...(lets see if I have night terrors..
focal verse: Be still and know that I AM GOD! Psalms 46:10
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