Malawi, Africa: home to over 12 million people. With the per capita income of $210/per year, or less than $1 per day, Malawi also is known as the 3rd poorest country on the planet.
According to a recent UNICEF account, an average of 267 people in the country of Malawi, Africa are infected with HIV each day, in addition 139 people die each day as a result of an AIDS-related disease.
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
A friend of ours read the below prayer in our small group the other night as we talked, reflected, and pondered the things that break God's heart. The words hit me hard and I have prayed it for Daniel and myself this week...and have adopted it as a prayer for the years to come for our family. I don't have to say much as the prayer speaks loud...so I hope that these words hit you the same way as they did me this week. May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God’s creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and
All our neighbors who are poor.
A few weeks back I posted a blog on new beginnings, new commitments…you know, what every blogger writes about at the onset of a new year. It was more of a test to see how many of you out there DO read our blog. No just kidding, really, I did want to hear what questions you had about what life is like here in Malawi…I’m just so thankful that there really is more than 2 of you out there who log into our site.
Before arriving in the summer we had absolutely no idea of what we were getting into, quite literally…we had no idea what kind of living arrangements we would be in (we had decided previously to live with our accompanying friends, the George’s), we had no idea what we would be eating, how we would be getting around, how much Chichewa we needed to know, how we would be doing our laundry or where we would go in case of a medical emergency….it was all quite “faith baffling”…you know, so thrilling and scary at the same time. And just to clarify in case it was misrepresented somewhere, I am no expert in Malawian life, on the contrary I am still very much a novice at all things Malawian…but I am here to share what I know so far in my 6 month African trek. So onto the questions...
First question comes all the way from the ever-so-wise Kelly in Jacksonville, FL. “My questions for you--you mentioned having a date night with your hubby before he headed back to the states- where does one go for a date in Malawi?? And how do you travel from place to place.”
Great question, Kel. Blantyre, though not the country’s capital, is the banking capital and I do believe the largest city in the country (there really is only 2 cities). Though your mind is probably thinking NYC or Chicago, it is hardly a metropolis by any stretch. We were surprised to find that Blantyre does have a few restaurants around town…Italian, Chinese, Indian and a few pizza places. Literally everything shuts down around 6pm when the sun sets but we are lucky that most of the restaurants stay open. You pretty much can’t get around town after sunset unless you have a vehicle. That Friday night we decided on 1 of the 2 Italian restaurants here…the mushroom risotto I had was so yummy and my date was charming and handsome! We do have a vehicle that we own jointly between our 2 families…it makes coordinating a challenge, but we prefer it that way…its one of those things we chose to do in order to live in community. (Maybe the “why living in community” question that many of you are thinking should be my next blog…I can hear your brains churning with questions.)
Second question comes from our always-encouraging friend, Tina in Huntersville, NC. Tina had several questions, but I just picked a few. “Where do you sleep? How long is night? When you say neighborhood, what is that? A village? City block? The three houses sitting together? What is a day like at an orphan care center? Do they spend the night there, too? What are the church services like?”
First, I have to publically thank Tina for all the cards that she has sent our way here…they make us smile and feel loved. Ok, where do we sleep? We have a house that we live in together (the “McGeorge” residence) that is kinda out of town a bit…about 10 minute drive down this very long, dirt, bumpy, and sometimes muddy road. Night begins around 6pm when the sunsets (give or take) and the sun rises around 5:30am (I’ve converted to being a morning person here…love the early sunrise.) Neighborhood is pretty loose term…but yeah, there are neighborhoods here in the city…no strip malls or neighborhood pools to speak of. Village is also seen a little here…a cluster of many houses where a chief still resides over the rules of that small community. You will find bigger and more of a village with huts/thatched roofs outside the city. Sometimes only just a footpath or a road will separate a village from another. A day in the Orphan Care center: each orphan care center cares for up to 100 children under the age of 5 yrs at each center, the children arrive in the morning and stay until noon, they receive a hot meal, vitamins, clean water, education from the trained teachers, support for their families (many of them are orphans but live with next of kin, or maybe a mother is still alive but needs support). They do not stay the night at these centers as they have families to stay with…it is a safe haven and a place where they can be cared for during the day while their family members work. Church services: SIM (the mission we are with) in Malawi works with the African Evangelical Church (a very small denomination here in Malawi)…we attend an AEC church right up the road from our house. Church services are mostly in Chichewa. My favorite part is at the end when everyone lines up walking out of the door, shaking hands and saying hi to each person…its fun to greet each one…impossible for a church back home, but a great part of relationship building. Thanks, Tina, for the questions.
And the very fun and lovely Michelle from J-ville, FL (way to represent J-ville) asks, “My question for you would be about that garden! Did you have locals help you? How much reading did it require or did you already know about that? Do you have to weed it often?”
Well, our jungle…I mean, garden is flourishing but really not because of any of us. We do have a gardener and very good friend who has helped us from day 1. Security is a must around here and a great way to have security is to have someone who is on the property during the day when we aren’t…Nasho, is our gardener but also acts as our daytime security, as well as our very good friend! We simply gave him packets of organic seeds that we had brought over (and a few that we bought here) and told him to go ahead with it. So, no, I really can’t take any credit for the garden at all…I DO take credit for the yummy from-scratch spaghetti sauce that I make regularly with all the tomatoes and fresh basil!
My dear college roommate, Judy from Chambersburg, PA asks, “What do you miss the most about the states? What kind of medical care is there in case you need it?”
I know this is cliché, but I really do miss all of our dear friends and family…and our precious nieces and baby nephews! I feel like I miss our families the most when a joyous occasion happens that we aren’t there to be a part of, like the birth of our nephews (in Sept & Jan) and my brother-in-law’s wedding, Christmas holidays and birthdays, and our church’s big move! We miss our church a lot…I think worship is a big part of what I miss weekly, I will be an emotional mess the first Sunday that I can sing worship songs in English! I also miss Hershey’s chocolate & DQ ice-cream, but I would have sounded too shallow if I listed that first.
As far as medical care goes, we are thankful that Blantyre has 2 private hospitals…a Seventh Day Adventist hospital and another private hospital. These two hospitals have great doctors and nurses. Both Daniel and I have been lucky that we haven’t been sick enough to go to the hospital ourselves, but a few of our friends have and came out in great shape! If we needed urgent care that wasn’t found here in Malawi our insurance would evacuate us immediately to a hospital in South Africa. We are in good hands!
We spent a little time with some of the Samarian's Trust kids yesterday! What a joy they are...ahhhh, our hearts walk away so blessed and so heavy for these children...more of their stories to come later. The boys played football (obvi) and the girls played...drumroll please...NET BALL and we (Kayla and I) also learned some new songs with clapping. 100 Kwacha to whoever can really understand our words in the video below! (ps: the exchange rate this month 146Mk = US$1)
I just dropped Daniel off at the airport here in Blantyre...he's off for 2 weeks in the US for his brother's wedding next Saturday. When we found out the wedding details a few months back I decided that it was best that I stay here...there are so many reasons that I can't list them here...my heart wanted to go, but it was just best for me to stay. Hopefully these 2 weeks will go by fast...Kayla has a lot of things planned for us to stay busy...including a trip to Lilongwe (the Malawian capital, both of us haven't been yet). So, if you are of the praying type, please say a few prayers for Daniel and I...mostly for safety. I know that so many have spouses that travel on a frequent basis, however, it is a little different and odd being the one staying in Africa and he is the one traveling back to the US...seems opposite. I'm counting down the days already!
