While we spent 17 hours in the air plus wait times in various airports, we have all arrived safely home; tired from the journey and a little weary from the experiences in the slum areas of Lilongwe.  It was an amazing adventure.  Our hearts were broken sometimes with the things we saw and experienced.  Our minds were expanded as we saw the wonder of God at work in the widows, orphans, and Somebody Cares people.  We were over joyed to play a small part in partnering with those who are on the ground doing this work with love and care every day.  We have left a piece of ourselves behind – in the art work on the walls of class rooms, in the memories of the widows with whom we sang, danced and played and especially with the children; so many children who wanted to hold hands, get a hug, sing a song and laugh with us.  As well we shall miss the comraderie of our fellow team mates.  We worked well together, were able to encourage each other at just the right moment and share many opportunities to laugh together – a wonderful ability given to us from our Lord – to laugh (and cry sometimes); we’ve cemented relationships and created new ones.  Several on the team are looking forward to the NEXT MISSION TO MALAWI………..  to be continued.

To debrief and unwind from several very hectic weeks we take a few days to enjoy another side of Malawi at Mvuu wilderness camp.  It is VERY beautiful.  45 degrees celcius (that’s right FORTY -FIVE)  Whew!  While there,  we manage to see the most spectacular things – impala, wart hogs, hippo (due to the heat, they all hid out in the water), crocodiles, sable, water buck, and elephants – MANY elephants.  They even put on a show for us one day – 4 of them in the water splashing one another, play fighting (pushing each other with their trunks and tusks).  It was amazing.   We also saw 2 black Rhinos – our guide said that he had only seen 1 in 2010 and here we are seeing 2 on the same day.  They are apparently quite shy.  During the last viewing, the rhino actualy just stood there and let us look at him.  What a wonderful gift from God.

We soon begin our journey home.  So far all the flights are as originally planned and we hope it stays that way.  We’ve had an absolutely amazing time and have been blessed abundantly – we are looking forward to going home to see our families.  Please pray that there are no travelling glitches and that Sharon’s luggage meets up with us before we leave this country.

See you soon.

We’re off to another village today – Chukudzilire, a rural community quite a bit passed the new Somebody Cares location.  Very friendly village, where much progress has been made in assisting the widows and orphans.  The Life Centre has been built and is in full operation.  Once Somebody Cares discovered the special talent of Ben (making characatures n the wall) and the others on the construction team (Bill, Matt & Ron), demand rose significantly.  How wonderful that they are able to leave their ‘signature’ for so many to enjoy for years to come.  This is the 3rd one they have done.  Alas, they did not get the opportunity to make bricks – maybe next time?

The children loved playing ball, skipping and learning hand clapping games.  Face washing was just as interesting here as it was in other villages.  Kids are kids everywhere in the world.  Monica, Lori, Laura and Sharon had a wonderful time.  Everyone wants to know, ‘can they come back tomorrow?’

Andrea, Lisa and Doreen are welcomed by the widows with singing and dancing – with enthusiasm and joy.  So wonderful.  The widows are happy to participate in a Bible Study and in a rousing dance – the hokie pokie – can you believe it?  They laugh and giggle and ask for more.  They too want us to come back soon.

Each of these ladies has left their signature too; its just not so visible.  The love that was shared was evident to all.  Through feedback from Somebody Cares we find that everyone (Somebody Cares workers & volunteers, the widows, orphans) are so encourages to have had us visit them and share the love of Christ.

They have taught us a lot too – Trust God for everything.  Find your hope in the Lord.  Don’t concentrate on what youdon’t have but rather on what you do have.  In everything give thanks to the Lord.

1. photo of spouse beside bed – Matt Hollander

2. photo of cat by bed – Ben (Matt’s room mate, he suspected that Matt would have a photo of Holly and he didn’t want to be left out)

3.  enough clothes to share with Sharon whose luggage decided to have a vacation of its own in Amsterdam and London.  Was to make it to Malawi on Friday perhaps, 2 days before we leave the country.  We’ll see.

4.  Arrived at a 7 am team meeting at 2 am since she had looked at her watch upside down – Andrea (and she brough her room mate Laura with her; both of them wondering why it was so dark!)

5. Who earned the nick name “puppy” – Laura.  She has the wonderful ability to take quick naps, waking up refreshed and full of energy just like a puppy does.

6. who held and fed a baby for the very first time – Sharon and you should have seen the smile on her face (all our faces actually).  It was a very special time and the Crisis baby clinic.

7. Who wants the tuna salad spread to the edge of the bread?  Monica.  It was a simple request.  We make sandwiches each night since it the simpliest way for us to have lunch when we are in community.  Naturally, we had to take the simple request and turn it into something much bigger, all for the fun of it.

8. Whose name became ROLI by the Malawians?  Lori – seems they mix up the ‘l’ and ‘r’ regularly

9. Which male claims his best day so far was at the orphanage holding and feeding babies? Ron – this man has been grinning from ear to ear with all of our various work projects and ministry opportunities.  All the guys and gals loved being with the babies.

10. Tea at any time – Bill.  We set up our cafeteria (sandwich making initially that spread to tea and coffee)  It was also the place where we held our morning devotions.

thank you to all who answered our trivia questions – we’ve been wondering if anyone has been reading our updates!  It is difficult to do regular updates for there are planned rotating blackouts (to save on electricity) and they don’t tell us where or when they will be be, plus ordinary black outs (they just happen) plus the internet is sssooooo slow.

The construction team is building shelves for the library in the new Life Centre in Mngwangwa.  The is only one library in Lilongwe and it is downtown.  Mgnwangwa is at least an hour a way by car.  No one has a car in this village; most people walk wherever they need to go (not uncommon).  It isn’t likely they will ever make the trek into town.  But soon they will be able to borrow a book from the new library.  Books have already been donated – some  in English and some in Chichewa the local language.

Monica is teaching Xcell and giving some pointers on setting up a numbering system for the new libraries.  They are so happy to have this training but they would still prefer that Monica set up the reports and charts for them.

The others are doing some hygene training with the pre-schoolers of Mgona.  Laura is just about swarmed with kids – they love her (we do too).  We are trying to show the kids how to wash their handsand  face with soap and water and also how to brush their teeth.  The children are so cute and totally predictable.  Some of them got their faces washed more than once and others avoided the process as long as they could.  The tooth brushes didn’t stay clean all that long – soon they were being left on the ground or shared with a friend.  In the afternoon, more families are interviewed and photos taken to gather the information needed to make memory books for each one.  Will be very busy since the Memory books all must be delievered to families on our next journey into the community. 

Our time here is almost over.  In some ways it feels like we just got here and in others it feels like we have been here a month since we have had very active and full days.

Part of the team is back at Njewa to do our widows and orphans program.  Interestingly, the widows are intrigued with the “Hokey Pokey” yes that’s right the hokey pokey and ask to do it repeatedly.    We call tell them this is a dance that we do.  Almost everyone of the songs they sing for us has a dance associated with it so this was a version we taugh them.

The construction team is off to Kasakula.  Ben’s ability to paint characatures has been noticed so walls are being painted with cute dancing animals.

Our van is still sick – overheating again.  Little did we know that wen we give up our van (because it is in need of repair) we also give up our driver.  Seems the drivers have specific van’s assigned to them and our driver is not permitted to drive the replacement van.  We are very disappointed.  George, our driver, is a really good guy.  We already miss him.

Another beautiful day in Malawi.  Sunshine every day, not a cloud in the sky but it has been getting progressively hotter.  We are off to church in the community , quite deep into the country side to Nandzuluwa.  Normally it would be about a 70 minute ride but it takes us about 2 hours since the van over heated twice and we got lost!  Not a good thing since Doreen was to deliver the message at Victory in Jesus Pentecostal Church.  The people wait patiently for us – very friendly and welcoming. By the time we find our way out and drop off our extra passengers it is 3 pm( we left at 9:30 am)  so we decide to just relax at our hotel.   Too bad there is no water in the pool at the hotel.

We have had so many adventures together – some planned and quite a few were not.  The team has bonded well; each person holds a special place.

Have a look a the TEAM on another page and see if you can answer the questions below.  Those of you who know these great team mates may be really quick at figuring them out.

Which  team member:

* has a photo of his/her spouse on the night stand

* not to be outdone, this team person has a photo of his/her cat on the night stand

* has enough clothes to share with Sharon – whose suitcase has still not arrived

*who arrived for our morning meeting at 2 am because the wrist watch was on upside down

* who has earned the nickname “puppy”

* who held and fed a baby for the very first time

*who wants the tuna spread right to the edge of the bread (we take turns making sandwiches to take with us into community each day)

* the Malawians have come up with the name “roli” for this team person

*which male claims his best day so far was at the orphanage – holding and feeding babies

*come to help make sandwiches, have a chat or a laugh.  Oh yes, can even serve you a hot cup of tea in this team person’s room

“Children of Blessing” is an absolutely amazing ministry which has only being in place for about 3 years; run by Kathy Bowler and her team of experts.  Their clients are children (and their families) who have epilepsy, cerebral palsy and other such conditions.  “Less” abled children in this country are considered cursed; when in fact they are gifts from God.  Kathy and her team help parents to know how to train or treat their children with exercises and administration of the correct form of medicine and teaching of basic life skills. They have had amazing results.  There are over 150 epileptic clients and about the same number of other special needs children.  It was quite remarkable to see it all in action.  The equipment is often self-developed, made by friends and volunteers and is quite simple when you really think about it. The facility is quite crowded – they have staggered the various treatment times and dates so that everyone can participate.  Care givers (usually parents) can borrow the equipment so the special exercised can be undertaken at home too.  Plans were underway to purchase the building next door so that they could expland the number of clients being served and increasse the type of service provided but the owner of the property decided not to sell even though a legal agreement had been signed.  Kathy is convinced that God has got bigger plans in store for Children of Blessing and can’t wait to find out what they are. 

The afternoon is spent in a Crisis Baby Clinic – they are all under the age of 18 months, 6 workers and 30 babies.  That’s a lot of ‘nappies’ to change before feeing them their ‘palla’ (watery porridge).   Plus there isn’t much time for hugs and play time – - which the 11 of us happen to be quite good at.  Each one of us grabbed a baby to cuddle,  change a diaper, play on the blanket and give some porridge.  It was very hard to leave them at the end of the day.  Every one of us enjoyed the chance to show some tender loving care to such precious and cute little ones. Wait til you see the photos.  We wonder if any of these precious babies would qualify to be our carry-on luggage when we come home????

Mngwangwa – 1 hour from our hotel on dusty bumpy roads but how nice it is to be there.  Much progress has been made in the Life Centre. Our construction crew (Laura, Matt, Ron & Bill) made great headway in preparing the floor for the pouring of cement.  Other helpers joined in to finish the job once the cement finally arrived so our crew move up the road a little bit to Kasakula to paint the interior of a school. With the help of Ben they take on the task of painting characters on the wall – happy elephant, dancing giraffe,  loving monkey and a pink hippo.  How special it is for them to leave behind such a visible signature that will put smiles on the faces of young Malawians for years to come.

Lori, Sharon, Andrea, Lisa and Doreen enjoy the opportunity to be with about 80 widows – singing and dancing together and hearing the stories of where they have come from and what God has been doing in their life.  Many tell of a life of dispair particularly once they become a widow, since there is no assistance and no status for women, particularly widows.  Once Somebody Cares started helping them and teaching them the truth from God’s word, their whole lives changed!  A women with 10 children to care for (some are her own and some are from her deceased sister) tells that previously she had no hope, never expected the children to go to school (her greatest desire) nor did she ever think she would ever be accepted in society.  Now she is part of a widows small group (its not that small really) that provides encouragement, prayer, accountability, biblical exploration and laughter – she (& many others) don’t want to even think about living without getting together.  It is very exciting to learn that these widows all have bibles (obtained through Somebody Cares) – they demonstrate how they are learning to memorize certain passages.  Quite wonderful.  They are SO grateful.  Just for fun we teach them a song and dance, well kind of a dance that they can play with their children – the hokey pokey – you put your right hand in, you put your right hand out……… you know the one.  They love it and shout ‘again’.

A few days ago we reported about a Youth Conference that was happening in this very same area. Some of the widows have youth who attended – seems the content made for interesting discussions at home.  The youth share that they learned they are the leaders of tomorrow, they are the ones who will be leading their families and perhaps even in their country.  The mom’s (or care givers) are impressed that their sons and daughter have been taught that they have been called to live lives differently that those in the world;  to be people with integrity and honesty, to be faithful in marriage and to wait until marriage before they engage in sexual activity.  They are encouraged to be supportive of one another so that they indeed can follow what they have been taught. There were over 500 youth in attendance; local pastors joined the meeting on the last day bringing the total in attendance to well over 800 people – quite remarkable.  The widows say they have never heard their young people speak this way before!

Monica finds there are others who want to take advantage of her computer training – more students today.  Alas there is a power failure which slows down their progress but not for long.  You can see the confidence on their faces as they know they are better able to handle their jobs at Somebody Cares.

In the afternoon, half the team goes back to Mgona where beautifully decorated Memory Books are given out to the families we visited the other day.  SMILES and GIGGLES  – some have never seen their likeness before (there are no mirrors or glass windows in their homes).  Everyone is very pleased to have such a beautiful keepsake for their very own.

In the evening, we are blessed to have dinner at the home of Steve and Kathy Bowler, their 2 daughters Amy and Alissa as well as Steve’s parents who are visiting from Ontario…..  a Thanksgiving dinner that was so delicious.  No pumpkin pie but we did have home made banana cake made with banana’s right out of their own back yard.  What a wonderful treat.  Great fun to talk of their interesting adventures.

Another fantastic day.  Devotions with the Somebody Cares staff at 7:30 am and then off to the various villages.  Monica graciously agrees to teach Excel to SBC office staff – Ramsay, the Section Co-ordinator is curious and thrilled to have this opportunity.  He needs to provide reports on all the various activities in each of the areas being served by SBC so this knowledge will be most beneficial to him.

The ‘construction’ crew is off to pour cement in Mngwangwa but there are not enough tools and supplies for them to complete the project.  So they start getting water for the localswho come along - normally this is women’s work so you can only imagine the surprise when the guys (and of course Laura too) are pumping away filling buckets and bowls or whatever vessel  is handy.  The kids are most impressed and happy when the team starts playing ball with them.  This is an unusual but welcome experience.  Most men here don’t spend much play time with their children; too bad for them, they don’t know what they are missing.  Fun, fun, fun  as well as being a good example to the men in the area – Azungu playing with the children – wow.

The rest of the team is at Njewa, one of the first villages that Somebody Cares started their widows and orphans program about 3 years ago.  Amazing. There were about 188 children involved in the Nursery School and feeding program; learning letters of the alphabet, numbers, songs and bible stories.  Lori, Ben, and Sharon teach them “This little candle (light) of mine”.  Ben does wonders with his drawings on the chalk board of an elephant, monkey and alligator; they get the children  to act out these animals.  Hilarious fun.

The widows of Njewa have been learning and practicing their income generating activities for some time.  They are excited to show us the results of their joint efforts so Andrea, Lisa and Doreen go on a tour.  In February 2009, the last time a Crosslands Team was here, there were 2 skinny pigs.  Today, it would be difficult to count the number of animals in the various piggeries.  They sell some to raise money; give some to other widows groups and keep some for themselves to continue the process and for food.  Plus there are many chickens, ducks and goats who roam the area.  They also show the fields that are being prepared for planting – they will grow maize (corn), ground nuts, melons, soy, carrots, beans, lettuce and more.  They have really expanded the varities of produce they grow.  We also have the opportunity to visit the new site where Somebody Cares will build its new location.  Unfortunately, it has not changed at all since Doreen was here last year (building permits, architechural plans and needed building supplies) but the widows are starting to clear the surrounding lands so they can start growing crops. In fact they were out clearing the land at 5 am this morning.  They demonstrate what they need to do – the hoe’s are VERY crude but the do the trick to get rid of the scrawny bushes, twigs and rocks.  We give it a try – yikesits not as easy as they made it look. Seems that it will take forever to clear this land~  The rainy season starts at the end of November so there is not much time left to finish the clearing and plant the seeds.  These ladies have come a long way and have much they should be proud of – hard work but they say they are up for it.  They thank God for it all and for Somebody Cares who continue to help and support their efforts.

The group in Njewa go back to Mgona for the afternoon to continue their home based care visits; to interview families and take photographs for the memory books.  We start to deliver memory books tomorrow so we will be quite busy tonight using the photo printer, decorating pages and putting the books together. You should see them – works of art, beautiful.    We are tired but enjoy  a nice cup of tea together.  Yes, we went out and bought a kettle so we could relax with our feet up and have tea!

We have rented a van & driver  to take us around to the villages we are working in; some of us in one village and some in another.  The roads are not in great shape and there are rarely road signs.  Fortunately, George,our driver knows his way around. We often offer rides to the Somebody Cares workers; they usually get around by foot and public transit which can take them an hour or more in each direction. In our van, it takes about 15 minutes. The van comfortably seats 10 or 11 people.  Today we had 18 people in the van.  We did not know this would be problem for the legal authorities and wondered why our driver went through so many back roads.  The main roads are quite bumpy; so these back roads – - well we were bouncing all over the place…… in unison since we were packed in like sardines. What a laugh……. so when the workers broke out in worship song (they were praising the Lord that they did not have to walk in the heat) we did our very best to sing along even though the songs were in Chichewa.  What fun!  To get us out – some pulling and some pushing and all of us gratefull that the tight fitting ride was over.

Early to rise today as we are off to Somebody Cares to join then in morning devotions.  Part of the team then departs for Mgona where we are excited to see about 80 children involved in the nursery school/feeding program.  Of course, we ‘azungu’ (white people or foreigner) are a distraction.  Some haven’t seen a white person before; they are not so sure that they want us to come near them.  Ben, Lori, Sharon and Monica do a wonderful job of doing some action songs in English and the children work hard to teach their teachers some songs in Chichewa.  Very Interesting.  Perhaps the song “telephoning Jesus” was the hit of the day!  Washing hands and giving each child their porridge was quite a challenge – some would help themselves to their neighbours portion while others were trying to share – porridge everywhere including on some of us.

Andrea and Lisa lead a bible study for the widows with the theme - “God loves you”. The widows shared with us some stories of the amazing things that God has been doing in their lives.  Quite remarkable, really.  Here are individuals who have next to nothing, some are ill, most struggly to make ends meet daily yet they know that God loves them, that He is their source for life.  It’s a lesson that we North Americans should take to heart.  These people have learned to trust God for everything.

In the afternoon, we are off into the village of Mgona to visit more familys and take their photos so that we can make Memory Books for the family; a scrapbook with beautifully decorated pages containing photos of the family.  This will provide a wonderful keep sake for the children of their mother and other family members. We’ll print the pictures and deliver the books to them later in the week.

Laura, Ron, Matt and Bill are off to the job site in Mngwangwa where they are smashing bricks to use as the base before pouring the cement on the new Life Centre being built.  Somebody Cares trys to build a Life Centre in each of the areas it serves.  It houses the widow’s program, the nursery school, secure storage for food, school supplies and toys and will provide a great location for counselling to occur. There is one being build in Mgona as well.

Another full day – we think we will try to get to sleep early…… zzzzzzzzz

We are privileged to attend the first part of a Youth Conference in Mwgangwa; about 500 youth a present, Jim Cantelon is here to speak to them, Richard Brown is in attendance too,  Theresa Malila, a village chief in her own right and head of Somebody cares, gives some opening remarks..  As is the custom, there was much praise and worship to start the proceedings, all in Chichewa (the local language), with dancing as well.  Its a 3 day conference where the focus will be about living Godly lives even when it is different from their peers, even when society dictates otherwise.  Jim’s focus is on righteousness (love for God) and justice (love for our neighbours – the right kind of love).  Jim pulls no punches – they are instructed in no uncertain term what loving our neighbour, spouse, children should be like – - particularly for the men.   It is not uncommon here for men to take what they want, even sexually, from whoever they choose even if they are married.  To hear that God expects them to live differently is quite an eye opener.  Our teamis very impressed by Jim’s message.

In the afternoon, most did some home based care in Mgona – home based care = gathered water, swept around homes, prayed with several individuals.  The whole idea was to build relationships with some of the Somebody Care’s clients.  It was a very full day.

Our hearts are sad when we see the conditions underwhich so many people are living – perhaps one ratty set of clothes, a few dishes, VERY small home with a dirt floor with the prayer of being able to feed the family one more day.  Those infected with HIV but are on the retrovirals are in much better shape – the medicine with help to prolong their lives and reasonably strong.  For the widows, this means they have the opportunity of learning an income generating activity so that they can earn a living to support their family.  In Malawi, most women do not work outside the home nor do they handle the family finances.  So when the husband dies, she is left destitute unless another family member will support them (rarely happens), she can re-marry (rarely happens) or she becomes employed (rarely happens EXCEPT through the wonderful work of those with Somebody Cares)

In spite of a cancelled flight which we discovered while in Amsterdam, we have all made it safely to Malawi, a day late but safely here nevertheless.  Almost all luggage has arrived. We went ahead with our cross cultural training on Sunday even though we are somewhat tired.

We are currently getting this website ready for the 2010 mission trip to Malawi. Check back soon!