June 30 - Livin' the Village Life

Well, after I put up my journal and went to bed last night, I was feeling really queasy.  Soon I threw up the entire content of my stomach on the floor of Jimmy's office.  This was the first time I had thrown up since I was like, 10.  I was absolutely miserable, but I did my best to maintain a positive attitude.  At one point, I felt so awful that I knew I had to get to the outhouse as quickly as possible.  I didn't even put my shoes on.  As soon as I got to the outhouse I threw up again.  I went into dry heaves and my whole body was trembling so violently that I wasn't sure if I'd be able to walk back to the office.  It was pitch black outside and all I had was my little flashlight - all those nice stars were behind clouds at this point. When I made it back to the office,  I felt lightheaded, dizzy,  and exhausted to my core. Jayme was an amazing friend through the whole ordeal.  She even walked to Jimmy's house at midnight to get me some water and loaned me a towel to use as a cool compress.  We ended up falling asleep around 3AM.

Sleeping in sleeping bags on a concrete floor was surprisingly comfortable (or maybe we were just too exhausted to care,) even though I woke up extremely sore and stiff this morning.  My stomach has been a little weird all day, so I've only eaten a very little bit.  I've been trying to figure out the most polite ways to tell Jimmy that I don't want to eat.  I haven't thrown up again even though the sight/smell/thought of nsima makes me nauseous.

This morning we went to Selengo School to give the kids some school supplies that Jayme brought.  They loved them! Jimmy said that some kids don't come to school just because they don't have a pen. On the way back to the feeding center, Jimmy took us to see bricks being made and maize being ground at the mill.  After that, we hiked up to the garden to pick greens for the children's lunch. After the kids at lunch and cleaned up, Jayme and I taught a spur of the moment Bible lesson about Jesus feeding the five thousand.  We sang and prayed with them.  The kids here are adorable!  They have such open and friendly personalities and the simplest things make them smile and laugh. Ahh, I love it.

Brickmakers - picture from Jayme

Kids at the Selengo School - picture from Jayme

Jayme, picking greens in the garden.

We're going back to Teethsavers tomorrow after the clinic! I cannot wait for a shower and a toilet!

June 29 - First night in Selengo

Tonight I am writing from the floor of the Selengo feeding center director's office by candle light. This is Jayme's and my first night in the village.

Comfy beds, eh?

We were picked up at the Teethsaver's house at 9:30AM and driven up here after stopping at the grocery store to buy supplies for our host family and the home visits in the village. Once we got here, we were greeted by Jimmy, the feeding center director, and about ten energetic kids who had just gotten out of school.  They were excitedly shouting "Hello!" and chattering in Chichewa.  After unloading our things, we played with the kids for hours. They wanted the unzungu to play on the playground with them, kick the football (soccer ball) with them, follow them down to the well, anything.  At any one time, Jayme and I had two or more kids hanging on each of our hands. They were so sweet and excited! My only complaint is that it seemed like the only words they knew in English were "Hello," and "Give me -." I even had a little boy ask me to give him my ponytail holder. He didn't know the word, but he said "Give me" and then motioned like he was putting his hair in a ponytail. His head was shaved!

A little while later, the older kids came over after school.  The girls swarmed us, practicing their English with questions like "What is your name?" and "How old are you?"  They taught us to play ball and were better about using our names instead of just "uzungu."  

 This afternoon, Jimmy took us up into the villages for home visits.  Selengo is mountainous, so the hike was gorgeous! Oh my gosh, it was amazing. We even got to cross a creek! The home visits went really well.  Jimmy translated for us so we were able to communicate with the families.  They all wanted to take pictures with us. :)

Delivering our gifts of soap, salt, and sugar

Waving goodbye to kids who followed us out of the village shouting "Uzungu! Uzungu!"

This evening, before eating dinner and watching the World Cup on a tiny black and white TV that was powered by a car battery, Jayme and I saw the most stars we have ever seen before!  With no other lights, the stars looked brilliant and we were even able to see the Milky Way. Wow!

June 28 - Church, Nursery Night Shift, Megan and Tristan go home

Yesterday I went to church with Gerda, Jenna, and Jayme.  We went to the Flood Church and it reminded me of an African Crossroads/Calvary Chapel.  I really liked it!  That afternoon, Megan and I went over to the nursery to work the night shift.  That was a very tiring but rewarding experience. Megan's and my primary role during the night was to rock/console/care for Wanangwa and "Mario" - the two youngest and highest need babies.  Both of them are battling infections right now and cry much of the night just because they don't feel well.  So, around the clock, we fed, changed, rocked, and comforted these two sweet babies.  At about 3:45AM, they were both wailing, and all of the nannies (and Megan) were asleep, so I went into the room and picked up both of them. For about 45 minutes I paced the nursery floor, coaxing these two babies to go back to sleep.  Their helplessness and utter need made me want to cry, but it made it easier to stay up all night with them. I think I got  about two hours of sleep in a rocking chair last night.  This morning, all of the babies were bathed and changed, and then Megan and I helped feed them all porridge for breakfast.  Then I fell asleep on the playmat. The next thing I knew, Megan was waking me up for devotional. We hung around the nursery til about 10AM - I got to wear a baby in a chitenje!  Megan wanted to try carrying two babies (one in front, one in back) so she did. :) It was so much fun!

Megan with Jese and Jestina in chitenjes!

Megan had to get cash from an ATM before her flight left this afternoon, so I walked with her to Crossroads.  Unfortunately, only one ATM was working and we ended up having to wait an hour just for her turn.  We hustled back to the house and made it back in record time - 21 minutes (it usually takes about 30-35!) Tristan and Megan left here around 12:30 to catch their plane back to the States.  I'm going to miss them, but I know they're ready to go home.

After they left, Jayme, Jenna, Mike, and I went to Cafe Delight for lunch, then did a little grocery shopping, stopped by the nursery, and came home in time to catch the 4PM World Cup game.

We had baked potatoes and greens for dinner tonight and played a card game called Yuker (sp?) that Mike taught us until the 8:30 game came on.

Jayme and I are camping in the village for the next two nights. Ahh! Adventure! :)

Oh, I also had nsima (pronounced see-mah) for the first time last night. It tastes like firm, smooth, bland grits. Kind of like a mostly tasteless, but kind of corny, Play-Dough. Mmm.....

June 26 - Market Day

Squished in a mini bus

Today was spent out and about.  We left the house around 9:30AM and caught a mini bus into town. We went to the market and it was insane!  People everywhere, goods in every nook and cranny, noises, smells, and sights assaulting your senses.  It was really cool though! I bought a chitenje (pronounced ch-ten-jee/jay) which is just a piece of brightly dyed cloth, but the women here wear them as skirts, shawls, and baby slings. People also have clothes made out of them.  I'm really excited to wear mine!


After the market, we went to the woodcarvers' market which was even more crazy.  It's here that you can't be timid or nervous, but you have to just bust up in there and haggle away!  The carvers will try to sell you things for the uzungu (white person) price, but if you bargain with them long enough and don't give up and don't back down, you can get some really nice stuff for pretty cheap.  Megan bought about ten things for family and friends, but needed Gerda's help with haggling. :)

A few shops inside the woodcarvers' market.

For lunch, we went to Cafe Delight at Crossroads.  I got chicken kabobs with rice, chips (fries,) and coleslaw for 600 kwacha - that's about $3.50! Inexpensive and delicious.

Lunch at Cafe Delight

After doing some grocery shopping, we came back to the house.  I am a little sunburned and have developed huge blisters on my feet, but I had a great time out!

Tonight we watched the World Cup (as we do every night) and the USA lost. :(  It was a good game though!  Ghana won. Go Africa!

Oh, the power also went off for the first time since I've been here. We played cards by candlelight until it came back on. Fun times. :)

Tristan slept most of the day and was feeling better tonight. Tomorrow we're going to church!

June 25 - First day at the crisis nursery

Tristan and Jayme outside the crisis nursery

Today was my first day at the crisis nursery and I loved it! I just got to play with and feed babies all day! While we were there, the staff was having a party for one of the nannies who was retiring, so we danced and ate lunch with them. Lunch was rice, some sort of coleslaw type stuff, and a kind of fried chicken.  We drank soda out of glass bottles and ate with our hands. Yum!

Feeding time at the nursery!

A new baby came to the nursery while we were there. It was a little girl named Maria who was just a week old.  However, upon undressing the baby to change and clean her up, we realized that Maria was actually "Mario." This little baby's own father didn't know he had a son instead of a daughter.

"Mario" - picture by Danielle

After leaving the nursery, me and three of the girls (Jayme, Megan, and Tristan) all went to Crossroads, a westernized/Americanized shopping center, to use the internet and buy groceries for dinner. We're having to get really creative with the ingredients that are available here. Tonight we had eggplant curry with toast and brownies for dessert (made with mix brought from the States.) We had to bake the brownies in a pot because we didn't have a baking pan. The pot worked well and I actually kind of liked the round brownies.

Walking to Crossroads

Also, on the way home from shopping, Tristan started feeling really sick, so we took a taxi instead of walking back. When we were almost to our street, Tristan threw up inside the car. She would have gotten out of the car, but the door didn't have handle on the inside and she couldn't get it open. Poor thing, she was so humiliated and miserable.  The driver was really nice though and told her not to worry about it, that it just happens sometimes. He brought us all the way to our front door (instead of dropping us off at the path from the main road) and told Tristan to "Feel better, my sister!" She's still feeling sick tonight.

Jenna and our living room at Teethsavers

After dinner, we watched some of the World Cup and I finished a baby hat that I had been knitting.  Megan, Mike, and I ended up staying up talking until midnight.  I was fun just hanging out with them.

I'm learning Chichewa and getting better at keeping up with kwacha. Tomorrow we're going to the market!

June 24 - First mobile medical clinic

Today was my first full day here in the Warm Heart of Africa and I love it! We left for the clinic this morning at 6:30AM. Jenna and I accidentally overslept because our alarm didn't go off, so all I had time to do this morning was get dressed and grab a piece of bread for breakfast on my way out the door.  To give you a hint of my time constraints, the bus honked for us while Jenna and I were still in bed. Yeah...

Kids at Khwamba

Vitals station at the clinic at Khwamba

Anyway, the clinic was really cool. Me, Megan, and Mike (two other summer volunteers) were in charge of taking temperatures.  I was the one who placed one of our four thermometers under each patient's arm and then Megan and Mike recorded the temperatures in each patient's health passport. That means I stuck thermometers under 250+ sweaty, undeodoranted armpits - both male and female, young and old.  I actually really enjoyed it! I loved being able to work that closely and personally with these people, to actually touch them. The only thing I didn't like was that the body odor wouldn't come off of my hands for a long time.  Eh, whatever. Then on the bus ride back to Teethsavers we all had some sort of raisin biscuit scone thing and sodas for lunch. I was super thankful because I hadn't had anything to eat since my piece of bread this morning.

Me and Jenna about to inhale our scones!

 Oh, my bag came in today! It was like getting a Christmas present! :)

The view from the bus on the ride back from the clinic

June 23 - In Lilongwe

Well, by the grace of God, I made it! My luggage got lost, but that's not so bad. I was already mentally prepared to lose it anyway (thanks for the heads up, Marley!), so I didn't worry too much. I knew I had packed essential and/or valuable items in my carry-on, so it didn't bother me too much.  Finnick, one of the Ministry of Hope staff, is going to go back to the airport tomorrow to see if it has come in.  Jenna, another MOH volunteer with whom I'm rooming at the Teethsavers house, lost her luggage too, so we're in the same boat.

Can I just say I love this place already?  The country side is beautiful, the weather is perfect, the house is comfortable, and so far I have really clicked with everyone I've met. Tomorrow morning we're going to the medical clinic, so I'm going to tuck in my mosquito net and get some much needed sleep!

June 23 - in the air

Well, I'm on the plane bound for Lilongwe. I almost didn't catch it because I didn't realize that this flight's final destination is Lubumbashi, and all they announced was "Flight to Lubumbashi, now boarding." Thankfully, there were observant airport employees who noticed that I was sitting at the gate after almost everyone else had gone. They got me where I needed to go, but all of my flights have been delayed by over an hour, so I'm hoping that I still get picked up in Lilongwe!

I haven't been able to get in touch with Mom since Rome (and I'm not even sure I got her then, because she didn't respond to my text) because my international cell phone didn't work in Addis. I am going to try to find an internet cafe in Lilongwe as soon as I can so I can let everyone know I'm ok. I am just praying that my family isn't worried about me. I know I'm fine.

Man, this jet lag stuff is rough. I was so tired and disoriented when I was boarding this plane that I got dizzy and almost fell down the steps up to the door. So far I've been flying for over fifteen hours and have moved seven hours ahead in time zones. So it's about 3AM or 4AM to my body right now. I was able to sleep a couple of hours while it was dark after we left Rome, but I am so exhausted now I can hardly stand it.

I know it's my fatigue that's making me anxious right now, but it's still not a pleasant feeling. I just keep reciting Psalm 121 to myself. I just want to be able to get in touch with Mom and make it to Ministry of Hope. Then I'll be able to relax and do what I came to do. And maybe sleep too.

June 23 - 3AM (over Rome)

"45 minutes in Rome" - that's what Dad told me to title my book. Whether or not I ever do that, the 45 minutes I spent on the ground of the Rome airport in the wee hours of a beautiful Roman morning, to me, marked the real beginning of my grand adventure.  Sure, flying the first eight hours from Washington D.C. to Rome were cool, but now I am actually, physically, on my way to Africa. AFRICA!

Everything has gone smoothly thus far. Mom cried when she and Daddy dropped me off at the New Orleans airport and that kind of freaked me out, but she assured me she was ok. My night at the hotel in D.C. was uneventful except for the fact that I only got about four hours of sleep. Between restlessness and nerves, the alarm clock in the room also went off at 3AM. Ick. So I've been kind of sleepwalking...uh...sleepsitting through most of today, but thankfully I didn't have any trouble at the airport in D.C. As long as I can make the connecting flight in Addis Ababa, I'll be golden!

While waiting to board the plane in D.C., I met a kind elderly man and his wife who are full time missionaries in Nairobi! They had been to Canada visiting their grandchildren and are heading home on this flight. He (I don't know his name, unfortunately) told me that the people of Malawi are "outstandingly friendly" and that I was sure to love it there.  He advised me to be ready to be tested and not to lose hope or become discouraged by what I see there, but rather to ask God to show me how His heart breaks for people in pain, feel the pain, and use it to grow and mature in my faith.  He told me not to feel paralyzed by the scale of pain and suffering, but rather show love and compassion to whomever I had the chance because, while I may never be able to help a million hurting people, who knows if one of those babies I love and hold and nurture will grow up to do just that? You know how we "entertain angels unaware?" I think I did, sitting at gate D23, waiting to board Ethiopian Airlines. :)

Well, I'm going to try to sleep while it's dark in an attempt to ward off jetlag.

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Today's the day! Malawi, here I come!

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One day left!!!

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Today is Saturday. I leave on Monday. Wow.

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I went shopping today for mosquito spray, sunscreen, roach traps, and other travel essentials. All that's left to do is pack!

It's getting really close, isn't it?

The reality of what I'm about to do is settling in more and more each day.  I only have four more days left in the United States of America before I spend forty-two days in the Warm Heart of Africa. Wow.

I looked through a friend's photo albums of her trip to Malawi and Ministry of Hope last summer, and with every picture I saw, my love for the people of Malawi and my excitement to work with them grew. It's amazing the work that God can do in my heart through Facebook photo albums! :)

My anxiety about the trip is minuscule compared to my immense excitement and joy over my upcoming grand adventure!

AHHHH!!!!!





I can't wait. :)

PS. I stole this picture from Rachel R. 

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Breakin' in the Chacos...

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I bought Chacos and registered my international cell phone yesterday. I just have to make one more shopping trip and pack and then I'm ready to fly!

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ONE WEEK!!!

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I have all of my shots, all the support I needed (and more!) has come in , and now I'm just waiting to embark on my grand adventure!

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I was immunized against Hepatitis A yesterday, getting the Typhoid vaccine and picking up my anti-malaria prescription today, and then I'm all geared up for Malawi!

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I can't believe my trip is only two weeks out! God has been moving in mighty ways on the homefront - I can't wait to see what He does on the trip!

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My apologies to my colorblind friends.  16 days til I leave!

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Well, days.

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