Malawi Monday {City Life}

We have officially been city dwellers for a month! Although the past four years we have made MANY trips to the capital city for picking up visitors, supplies, groceries, or just to get away; it is definitely a different experience actually living here. {If you receive our monthly newsletter, you have probably already read most of this list! If you aren't receiving our monthly newsletter and would like to, sign up is here.} Eight Experiences Living in the City:  Traffic here can be a beast! Plan accordingly and avoid certain roads at certain times, or you'll be stuck for quite awhile. Electricity being out means all "working" stop lights go out, too. No electrity= major traffic jams. We live relatively close to the new school our kids are going to. If we leave on time (6:30AM) it can take a mere 8 minutes to get to school. If we leave 5 minutes later, it will take an hour to get to school. yikes!  Everything still breaks in Malawi. This month our refrigerator, car, and water heater all broke. Things breaking is just part of normal life here, but the nice thing about living in the city is that you can usually find someone to come and help you more quickly than when you live way out in the village.  There is a good sized expat (foreigners like us) community in Lilongwe doing all kinds of ministries and work. We were invited to our first dinner this month with a family originally from Texas. We are thankful for the opportunity for community. Church is so awesome in your native language! We have been able to go to an English speaking church every Sunday. This is such an amazing blessing. To sing and worship in your native tongue  weekly is a game changer! For the first time in 5 years, our children have the opportunity to participate in some extracurricular activities at school! The joy it has brought us to watch them try new things, even though they are nervous, has been truly a gift as a parent. They are brave and really putting themselves out there. We are proud! Electricity is pretty good right now. We are in "rainy season" so the water supply is up and power outages are lasting about 8 hours a day (compared to 24-27 hour outages back in hot season). We have mostly had electricity all night (which is awesome, hello fans!). But the nice thing about living in the city is, I don't have to stock pile my groceries or worry about meat going bad. Grocery stores are nearby and all the big stores run on back up generators! So many people speak English here. We are going to have to be really intentional about language learning since it is pretty easy to communicate in English! Chitenjes are not required. When we lived in the village, I always kept a chitenje by the door to throw on if someone knocked. In the city, you see don't see as many people wearing chitenjes, but you do see lots of skinny jeans and Western wear.

Four Years and What's Next

It is hard to believe that this month marks four years here in Malawi. 

Four.full.years. 

How is this even possible?! 

Back in 2013, we arrived in Malawi with four children, ages nine and under. 

Two of whom could not speak English! 

We had a 10’ x 4’ space of our personal belongings and nervous excitement in our hearts.

We really had no clue the ride God would have us on and the lessons He would teach us.

So much has happened in the past four years. We have grown as a family and as individuals. We have developed relationships, started programs, learned a billion hard lessons, made and learned from mistakes, laughed and cried until it hurt. We can hardly recognize the people who stepped off that plane four years ago.

As October has been quickly approaching, marking the end of our contract, we have been deep in prayer for many months seeking God’s will on what is next for our family. 

Through the adoption of our daughters, working with the children and families at Esther’s House, and being able to start a program working with single moms, God has really given us a heart and a passion for orphan prevention. 

So much so, that we feel He is calling us to start a new ministry whose purpose is to reunite families and also preserve the family unit.

After discussing with Pure Mission, our Board of Directors, about where God was leading us, we have agreed to continue to partner together. We will begin the new ministry, called “Ufulu Groups”, under the umbrella of Pure Mission and continue to be governed by their Board. We are also very honored that David has been given a board seat at Pure Mission. 

In January 2018, we will transition from Ntcheu to Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city, about 2.5 hours away. We are really excited to begin this new ministry and to continue to partner with Pure Mission. 

Here are some answers to questions that you may have:

1) What is the vision of your new ministry? 

To empower vulnerable and under-resourced single parents through skills training and dignified work, resulting in family reunification and family preservation. 

We would be happy to answer any of your questions, and you can also check out the website for more information- www.ufulugroups.org (website is a work in progress)

2) What does this mean for Esther’s House?

We are very thankful to still be a part of Esther’s House! We will be coming to Esther’s House once a month to continue to support and help the Hanson family. We adore the Hansons and feel so good about leaving the ministry in their capable hands. We are thrilled to be able to continue to spend time with the kids and staff here. David has accepted a position on the Board of Directors, and we are thankful for the gift of continuing to be a part of the ministry at Esther’s House.

3) How will your children be affected by the move?

When we moved here, our oldest was a 9-year-old 3rd grader. He is now 13 and just started 7th grade. It is becoming more and more difficult to meet our children’s educational needs. We have tried to be creative here by hiring a private tutor. Last year, we even put him in the best school in our district. Unfortunately, it was not a viable option for our family. Moving to Lilongwe will hopefully allow all our kids to attend school with American curriculum, have friends, and participate in activities. The potential for these new opportunities for our children makes us feel relieved and hopeful, as it also coincides with the new ministry God has laid on our hearts. 

4) What does this mean for current financial partnerships? 

The way to partner with our family will not change. You will still be able to support our family and ministry through Pure Mission. More details will come out about this later. Honestly, with our move to the city, we will need your partnerships more than ever! We pray that you all will continue to see the value of what God is doing with our family in Malawi and continue to partner with us. Unfortunately, city life is considerably more expensive than living in the village. With rent and school, our budget will increase significantly, but we feel a peace that God will continue to provide, just as He has done for the past four years. 

AR to AF {Part 13 The Move}

I have had several people ask me, "how in the world did y'all wind up in Africa"?

Most of the time that ends with me stuttering around and giving some kind of a lame answer.
Not because there isn't a really good (non-lame) answer,
but because it is hard to know where to get started.

Sooo, I thought I would begin to share the story that God wrote for us.
It is a looonng story that spans many years.
But don't worry, no chapter book today!
 I will give it to you a bit at a time!

If you want to catch up to speed, you can find:

Part 1 {here}
Part 2 {here}
Part 3 {here}
Part 4 {here}
Part 5 {here}
Part 6 {here}
Part 7 {here}
Part 8 {here}

Part 9 {here}

Part 10 {here}

Part 11 {here}

Part 12 {here}

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This month marks four year of living in Malawi...and I am finally finishing up how we wound up here. This is the last installment of AR to AF!

When we arrived back in the States from Congo, we spent a six short weeks rushing around to get all the girls' paperwork completed so that we would be able to move to Malawi. We finalized the re-adoption of the girls in our home state, acquired green cards, and US passports. God moved mountains and worked miracles to finalize everything so quickly. 

Besides scrambling for paperwork, we tried to spend time with our family and also form  bonds with our girls. You can check out some memories made in our adoption video. We had so much fun re-watching this today!

In October 2013, our new formed family of six boarded a plane to move to Malawi. That day was really surreal. We were ready to move and begin our new lives in Malawi. We were still fully immersed in the hard work of blending our family together. We were nervous, excited, anticipant, yet also really sad to be leaving our family, friends and church. It was a weird mix of emotions.

{Our family at the airport with our friends/BOD members/Co-founders of Esther's House}

After 3 days of traveling, we arrived in Malawi and were warmly greeted by the two families that were on our team (Carneys and Jacksons). We spent the night in the capital city so we could go grocery shopping in the morning. I remember having an emotional breakdown in the grocery store. What does 5,600 MWK for peanut butter mean? Are we going to go broke at the grocery store? What do we need to buy? If I don't buy it now, will we starve? I am so tired!

Oh my gosh, what have we done?!

We drove to Ntcheu and arrived to Esther's House after dark that night. We had nine little smiling faced children waiting for us on our front porch. We entered our home and found our boxes with all of our earthly belongings in the living room and our beds put together (thank you Carneys!). 

We had no electricity. 

We were home.

{First week in Malawi going to buy mangos with the Jacksons. Note how tiny my kids are!}

I don't have many pictures for the next few months after this. 

We were learning how to live in Malawi. 

How to do our jobs. 

Where to buy stuff.

We were learning the culture and how things worked. 

We were learning how to homeschool.

How to cook, find water, manage life without much electricity.

We were learning how to be a family of six.

How to be a working mom with no baby sitter.

How not to get sick when we ate.

How to parent kids from hard places.

 Thinking back on those days, I realize how naive we were. 

How many BIG changes we had just put our family through. 

We had no idea the lessons we would learn, the hurts we would experience, the joy and healing that would come. 

We could not fathom how God would show us how we desperately NEEDED Him, 

minute by minute. 

 By the grace of God, we learned most those things (always learning) and by the grace of God we are still here! 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thanks so much for following along with our family's journey.  I hope you will keep hanging around as new adventures are on the horizon that we will be sharing with you all soon!

Secondary School Graduation {Malawi Mondays}

It's time for a little Malawi Monday ! Today is all about Graduation Ceremonies!

I've been able to attend a few Secondary School Graduations (both government and private) and they are so much fun!

Friday, we attended the graduation of one of our Form 4 (12th grade) students from Esther's House! It's so much fun watching a kid that has grown up in the sponsorship program at EH hit this great milestone! It's a big accomplishment to finish Secondary School here in Malawi!

When we received the invitation for graduation, it listed the start time at 8AM. At almost four years of living here, I did not fall for the start time! Like many African countries, Malawi runs on it's own time schedule and we knew if we showed up at 8, we'd most likely be waiting for several hours. So, we played it safe and showed up around 10 AM. Graduation actually started at 11:30. Honestly, I love the laid back time schedule here. For a person who is perpetually late, I love not stressing about being exactly on time. It's freeing knowing that if you show up late, no one is going to be mad at you and you probably won't miss much!

So, from 10-11:30, we (myself, my 7 year old daughter, one of the EH girls, my sister, and two awesome interns) wandered around the auditorium, took photos, and danced with little kids in the back.

{Essau, the graduate}

{"L", one of our EH kiddos posing for some photos while we wait}

{cute neighbor kids dancing in the back}

{graduates waiting to start}

{guys chillin' while they wait for the program to start}

{My Asher-girl killing some time}

My favorite thing about Malawian graduation ceremonies are the dance-in entrances! 

I love the joy, the moves, the celebration!

So fun!

{If you visit my Instagram page, you can see the actual video}

Our two interns are so much fun and danced in with the graduates.

The graduates were pumped having visitors celebrating with them and ate it up!

The dance- in was followed by all kinds of student led activities. 

Boys' acapella songs, reminiscent of Boyz || Men. Lots of rap renditions, poem recitations, 

and even Acrobat Steve!

There are speeches given by the outgoing and incoming prefects.

The speeches are very free and one even complained about the teachers, to the cheers of her peers.

Many headmen are in attendance and sit in special seating on the front row.

An honored guest speaker gives a speech to the graduates. 

{Acrobat Steve}

{There were cultural dances}

Finally, the certificates are passed out! 

So proud of Essau!

Awards are given to the top student in each subject. 

Another fun thing that takes place in Malawi is when a student wins an award. 

The parents usually run, whooping with joy to hug their student and often give them gifts of money or food. 

It's sweet to see the joy/pride/celebration of the family members. 

Next, all the graduates will take their MSCE (National Exam). They will find out the results of this test in September/October. The results on this test will dictate what they can do in their future. If they pass, more opportunities will be available. Entrance into universities and different schools will depend on what kind of score they receive. 

It's a LOT of pressure!

Malawi Mondays {Rainy Season}

It's been awhile since I have written a Malawi Monday! When we were stateside for our 6 week furlough over Christmas, one of my friends mentioned that she and her kids enjoyed learning about Malawi through these posts. So,  I thought I would add some more about what life is like here in Malawi, through expat eyes. 

It's February, so I thought I would write about what happens here in February....rain, lots and lots of rain. For example, yesterday it rained and within an hour, filled up my 60 liter trash barrel.

In America, we call our rainy season "Spring". Trees and flowers begin to blossom, we start shedding our winter wears, and in the evenings, lawn mower engines are humming in every suburban neighborhood. But, in the US (or at least in the South) we typically receive rain all throughout the year.

In Malawi, rainy season is pretty much the only time of year that we receive any type of precipitation (at least in our area). The rains start in November/December and usually finish up around March/April.

A good rainy season is imperative for most Malawians. Malawi is primarily  an agriculture community. When the rains are "officially here" you will find the majority of Malawians out in their gardens planting seed. You may see some people plant ground nuts (peanuts), green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. But everyone is planting maize (corn). Maize is the primary ingredient to make Nsima. Nsima is the staple food of Malawi. It is typically eaten with every meal. You can read more about Nsima  here. Too much rain or too little rain has life impacting consequences on the people here.

This is our fourth season to be living in Malawi during the rainy season. The first rainy season we were here, it rained off and on. Nothing to extreme from what we were used to living in Arkansas.

The second year, we saw MAJOR rains. As in, rained so hard that the rushing waters took down our 10 foot tall brick wall that had just been constructed in the back of our campus. It rained so hard that many houses and gardens were washed away. A man from a village a mile from our home drowned trying to walk home. The flooding lasted for two weeks and then the rains went away. People tried to replant their gardens, but the rains never returned. The harvests in our area were very small and people went hungry that year. You can read more about how people were effected here.

The third season we were in Malawi, we had a mild rainy season. It would rain for a day and then not rain for two weeks. About the time everyone was chewing their nails that their gardens were going to dry up, another rain would come. Our area had a decent crop, although many parts of Malawi experienced major flooding and then droughts. You can read more here.

This year, we are experiencing rain every day. This has been the pattern since November. The gardens are looking good. The water does not seem to have caused too much damage in our area, although we have heard of flooding in other parts of Malawi.

I had never lived in a country before where the amount of rain received has such life impacting consequences.  Too much rains equals the loss of home and garden. Too little rain also means the loss of garden, which is the primary way that people feed themselves for the year. Most Malawians do not have the money to go buy maize if their garden fails. When droughts and flooding happens, the price of maize sky rockets because it becomes a hot commodity.

The first year that we moved here, I was telling one of our staff members about how much I loved rainy season. I loved the sound of rain on the tin roof of our house. I loved the cool down of weather and I especially was in awe over the beautiful sunsets. I loved how everything turns green, the dust disappears and the country is lush and beautiful.

She explained that my experience was somewhat different than our neighbors living around us in the village. Rain doesn't sound pretty on the rooftop when it is leaking through your thatch roof at night when you are sleeping. Rain doesn't seem peaceful when it is rushing through the floor of your hut. A typical Malawian home is made of mud bricks and uses mud instead of concrete to lay the walls. Lots of water = the potential for your house to fall apart each rainy season. I enjoyed rainy season because the amount of rain doesn't effect how much or little I will eat this year.

My perspective was totally different than my neighbors. Which I guess is how this whole ex-pat thing works? We come from different cultures, backgrounds, experiences. We view things through different lenses. Part of the hard and the beauty of living in another country is learning to see the perspective of  those you have come to live life with.

A Day in the Life {Journal Entry}

I have been wanting to document more of our day to day life here in Malawi. Funny, embarrassing, mundane stuff that I know I will enjoy looking back on one day. 

My past "A Day in the Life" journal entries can be found...

Here
Here
Here

&

Here

11/2013

In our first couple months, "on the field" we had our first "what!?" experience. David had taken the kids out for a bike ride. At this particular time, we were a circus show in the village (now nobody pays any attention to us). Every time we went out, everyone would chase us and point + laugh. It took a bit to get used to...especially for our kids. So on this particular day, David had 3 of our kids and was riding bikes. We had bought the boys' bikes a little big so that they could have a few years out of them and son #2 hadn't quite gotten the hang of starting off his new bike on his own. After a fall, he hadn't been able to climb back on, so he was walking with head hung down as a whole group of kids followed him and laughed. {side note: now he would totally be able to handle this situation, but at the time he was embarrassed and feeling really sad}. 

As the group of kids surrounded him, a bike taxi (njinga) was flying up on the group and totally took out one of the kids; sending her flying into the ditch with an apparent broken leg. Son #2, oblivious to the "hit and run" that happened behind him just kept walking to the house. 

The next day, a knock came to the gate. The mother of the injured child was there. She was accusing our 7 year old son of running over her daughter and breaking her leg. A crowd had gathered and they wanted us to pay for the damages done. It was definitely one of those moments we were like, "what?! 
 that is not how it went down!" After many conversations, translations, and even confessions from the bike taxi driver, our 7 year old son's name was cleared. The mom broke down in tears and said, "I am not accusing anymore, but am begging for help." In Malawi, when someone is hospitalized, a family member must go with the person to the hospital and stay with them 24/7 to care/feed for them. The mom was just desperate for transportation and food for she and her daughter for however long they were going to have to staying in the hospital. 

It was definitely one of those moments that took us  from scared, confused, angry, and  frustrated, to deep compassion. We quickly saw how an injury to a family member can deeply affect the whole family. How even "free" healthcare costs families greatly as they have to figure out a way to supply meals, take time off work (if you have a job), and come up with costly transportation. It was such a clear picture to me of how all  moms are going to do what it takes to get our kid's help. I just may never have had to be in that desperate of a situation before. 

A Day in the Life {Journal Entry}

I have been wanting to document more of our day to day life here in Malawi. Funny, embarrassing, mundane stuff that I know I will enjoy looking back on one day. 
My past "A Day in the Life" journal entries can be found...

here
here
&
here

11/2013

This journal entry was one of our very first "adventures" or "cultural experiences" when moving to Malawi. We had been living here for about a month and decided to go try out the lake with our missionary team (3 families). At that time, we were serving with a sweet, young, newly wed couple and they made the brave decision to ride in our car (with our FOUR children) to the lake (about a 2 hour drive). We made the trip TO the lake and enjoyed a wonderful day swimming, snorkelling, cliff jumping and eating the local chambo (fish) and rice. We left at just the right time to head home before it got dark. The roads to the lake are pretty rough with deep potholes on the edges. Between the potholes, goats, bicycles, and walkers, you don't want to be driving on this road at dark. 

We drove down the loooong washboard dirt road and noticed that our car was starting to over heat. We pulled over to let the radiator cool down and give the other family a heads up that we were having car troubles. At this time, one of our very new-to-us daughters decided to perform one of her epic melt downs, that she used to have back then. In her defence she had only been in our family for 2.5 short months and had experienced 2 MAJOR moves. We had grown used to these and knew how to ride them out, but all the locals were very concerned about the "malawian looking child" with a bunch of Americans who clearly didn't know how to make the child stop crying. We attracted quite the crowd.

Once the fit/radiator had cooled down, we decided to get back in the car and try to make it home. A few feet down the black top road, the radiator blew. Our car was done. Next, began our long 7 hour journey back home. Yes, 7 hours to drive what should be a 2 hour trip. We found a small truck who was willing to pull us with a rope home (for a price). The only problem was that he didn't have brake lights...nor fuel. So, as we putted home in the dark, David (husband/driver) was at high alert trying to strain his eyes in case the truck pulling us was slowing down or stopping. Our brakes and power steering were pretty non-existent at this point, so it made for a stressful driving experience. Every few miles, the driver would pull over and he and his buddies would disappear into the bush looking for black market fuel. No gas stations were on this road and the ones we finally would pass were closed because......yeah, it's dark. We spent many a hour on the side of the road waiting for fuel. So thankful that the other missionary friend brought her laptop with Ducky Dynasty episodes on it to keep our kids semi-entertained. We attracted a lot of attention with every stop and adults and kids alike were all gathered around the back of our car watching Duck Dynasty with our kids.

We arrived home late that night and everyone was asleep, except tired driver. This was definitely one of our biggest life lessons of what to expect when traveling in Malawi:

Expect things not to go as expected. 
Be chill about the unexpected or you will go crazy. 
Pack extra things for your kids like food, water and entertainment in case you trip doesn't go as planned (because it never will!).
It's your choice how to deal with difficulties. You can chose joy or chose frustration. (still learning 
this one)

Single Mom Sewing Program

I am so very excited to share with you a brand spankin' new program we just started at Esther's House.

But, before I get started, I should back up. Several months ago we began praying about how we could eliminate bringing kids into Esther's House. That may seem like  strange thing to pray for, right? Why would we  not want kids coming to our care facility? Well, kids not coming in means kids are not orphaned. That means mamas and daddies are alive and able to care for their children. Families are kept together. Wouldn't it be incredible to shut our doors down in the future because there are no orphans in our villages?

So, we began to ask God for ideas of how we could help eliminate orphans in our community. We started thinking about some of the most vulnerable people in our surrounding villages. Out of this prayer was born an idea to help equip single moms to be able to provide for their children in a dignified way.

Death, divorce, multiple wives, illness, abuse and abandonment are all common reasons women end up parenting alone in Malawi. Unlike the States, there is no welfare system or child support law that can help these women. So, they are desperate to do whatever they can to send their kids to school and put food in their bellies. These are good mamas doing whatever it takes to care for their babies.

We feel if we can support the mom, train her, encourage her, equip her; her family can thrive in a healthy way! If we can empower her to be able to create her own business, her ability to provide for her kids, receive medical care and  have choices has been increased exponentially!

So, in February we started our first "pilot" program. We interviewed and enrolled 5 amazing women from all different villages surrounding our campus. Combined, they have 23 children to care for! These women have committed to come 3 days a week for 6 months and learn how to sew. They are there simply to learn a skill that they hope will help them in the future. And maybe have a little fun too......

 

 During the week, the women will also meet together to study the Bible and participate in a parenting class.

After the course has been completed, the women will receive these brand new sewing machines as a gift to start their business. For a year, we will partner with these women; purchasing items as they build their client base in their villages, offering business advice, giving them the tools they need to succeed.

 

Like most new ventures, we are learning as we go.

Our prayer is that these women will learn these skills and apply them to better their lives!

That they will feel empowered.

That they will be able to send their children all the way through secondary school.

That putting food on the table will not be a problem.

That they will know Jesus loves them and their families dearly.

Would you join us in that prayer?

A Day in the Life {a journal entry}

I have been wanting to document more of our day to day life here in Malawi. Funny, embarrassing, mundane stuff that I know I will enjoy looking back on one day. My first "A Day in the Life" is found here.

2.21.16

There have definitely been some learning experiences while living here. Experiences where cultures collide and you are left feeling totally embarrassed. One afternoon, Azlee (intern) and I were going out to do some home visits. We were wearing our medical pants and had our chintenjes in our backpacks ready to tie them around us as soon as we got to the home. Neither one of us were talented enough to ride our bikes in a skirt. Soon after we left, we saw there was a funeral in the village. A very large funeral with the whole village in attendance along the main road. Funerals here are marked with tree branches. A pile of branches alert you to the beginning of a funeral and again at the end of the funeral. I knew the markers and knew that if I was driving a car, the culturally respectful thing to do is to slow your vehicle down to a crawl between the 2 piles of branches. What I didn't know, was that if you were riding a bike, you should dismount and push the bike until you crossed the branches noting the end of the funeral. As we rode our bikes (oblivious to such a cultural rule) through the funeral, someone stopped us and asked us to dismount and push our bikes. We were mortified and apologized profusely. At this point everyone who was mourning had stopped to watch us. We were already embarrassed and did not want to cause anymore of a scene, so we decided to push our bikes around the backside of the funeral as to draw less attention. We did this and came out on the other side and were a good distance from the funeral, so we decided it was safe to get back on our bikes. As we were climbing back on, another person came to inform us that we had  indeed NOT passed the branches and to please get off our bikes. Oh my goodness! We did it again?! Of course at that moment we look over and see the Sr. Chief and the village headmen attending the funeral and watching us make this huge cultural faux pas. We apologize again whole heartedly and climb back off the bikes and push them further down the road where we finally see the branches signaling the end of the funeral. Rest assure, we did not make that mistake on the way back home.....or ever again. Fortunately, Malawians are so gracious and did not harbor any hard feelings towards us!

Naming Babies {Malawi Mondays}

It has been a long time since I did a "Malawi Monday". My sister has been giving me some good ideas of new topics I haven't put on here before, so I hope to be posting more in the future . If you want to see the Malawi Mondays so far, click here.

Naming babies in Malawi is a little different than how we might name our young ones in America. Traditionally, the first Malawian baby is named by the father or someone the father chooses. The babies born after the first, can be named by the mother. When babies are born at the hospital, which is strongly encouraged (with a fine if you don't) a name must be picked for the baby before the mom is discharged.

Recently, a Malawian dad came to the gate and informed me that he wanted me to name their first baby! I wasn't sure he was serious until the next day, during a glorious Sunday afternoon nap, when I received several frantic texts. "Come on! The family is all waiting for you to come and name the baby." So I jumped up and grabbed my sister and 2 daughters and went to their house. We were warmly greeted by the father, the mother, a sister, and  a neighbor who were seated on the grass mat inside the home. We got to cuddle with the most gorgeous little babe who was a mere 2 days old.

 I originally had picked the name "Noah", but learned there was another boy in the village with that name. When my 8 year old heard the baby's last name was George, she offered up the name "Curious". The family was really contemplating that name and I had to steer them away much to my giggling daughter's dismay. We offered the name "Jude" but with the accent here, it sounded more like "Judy". The family finally agreed on the name "Jonah" after we explained how Jonah was a picture of Jesus' death and resurrection (3 days in the whale).  I was so worried that the mom might not like the name I had chosen. I wanted to make sure she actually wanted to call her kid by that name for the rest of his life. Names are a big deal! Can you imagine letting a foreign woman whom you never met to come name your baby? Fortunately, after offering several names, she seemed happy with the name "Jonah".

Sometimes babies here are named Lonely or Trouble depending on what circumstances the mother was going through when she became pregnant. I have been trying to pick a good strong Biblical name to really speak to the baby's future and how God views the child as a blessing!

We have also had the delight of naming the foster baby that we cared for last year. We were surprised to learn that the family respected the name and kept it even after he was moved out of our home. I have also had the great honor of having one of our staff' member naming his last born after me. I cried when he came to tell me his daughter's name. That was the first time anyone had named their child after me! It was really special and encouraging to me!

{a sweet baby from the village}

 

Any topics you are curious about that you'd like to see on a Malawi Monday?

 

A Day in the Life {2.11.16}

For Christmas this year, my sweet mama gifted me a kindle! I am loving having a library at my fingertips! I stumbled upon an author named Kim Abernethy who wrote 2 memoirs (In this Place & In Every Place). In her books, she chronicles her life serving in West Africa with her husband and 3 daughters. I loved her candidness and transparency as she shares the good moments, hard moments, and even scary times in her journey. Her books were so fun, encouraging and faith building. I wish I had kept a journal of our time here in Malawi starting at the beginning.  It made me  want to make sure I am recording the mundane, every day things so that I can look on them with fond memories one day. So, I thought it would be fun to start today!

2.11.16

Since we have lived in Malawi, my kids have had quite the collection of unique animals. Once the locals find out that you're on a hunt for a pet, the knocks on the gate will begin. I guess it's a good opportunity to make a little cash on critters that are found wandering around the village. So far, the kids have been the proud owners of 3 hedgehogs, 4 chameleons, 1 dog, 3 laying hens, 4 turtles, 2 inherited turkeys, several crabs, and a plethora of random grasshoppers, butterflies and water bugs. The animals have taught the kids responsibility and what happens when you neglect your animal. It's also taught them that some things just belong free and were not made for captivity. Through all the lessons, the "pets" have provided lots of entertainment.

Our old kitchen table (before we bought one from our missionary friends that transitioned back to the States) was unfinished wood. So, I would cover it with a piece of cloth and then overlay that with a piece of clear plastic so that we could wipe off the table. One day, I noticed Asher (then age 4-5) talking to the plastic as she was shoving her hand between the cloth and the clear plastic. I asked her what she was doing and she informed me that she was talking to her pets. In exploring  little more, I realized that Asher's "pets" were tiny little bugs that she was finding outside. She was storing them on our kitchen table between the cloth and plastic. That day we had a good conversation on what counted as "pets" and what did not. We also talked about what kinds of things only have homes outside.

Along with some interesting and harmless pets, we have also been offered some strange and unusual pets. One day a boy came to the gate asking for Grainger (he is the animal lover). He brought in a cup with some "animals" inside, when he turned the cup over, 3 large scorpions came out and scooted all along our porch with their pinchers clapping. I did put  my foot down on that purchase (thankfully none of my 4 were to interested in having scorpions for pets). The boys left with his scorpions and was disappointed he was not able to make a sale that day.

Interview With an Esther's House Intern

We love having interns at Esther's House. They become a part of our family and it's hard to let them go! Brittany did a 3 month internship at Esther's House and graciously agreed to share her honest perspective about what life was like living in rural Malawi.........


>> Why did you decide to intern with Esther’s house?

I was able to join an amazing team last year (2013) for 2 weeks and it just was not enough. I told the kids that I would be back. They just kind of smiled and said, “ No, everyone says that... but they don’t come back.” So basically I just had to prove them wrong. KIDDING.

I loved every moment of that short trip. I guess looking back on it now, I thought the relationships that I made were incredible. I couldn’t say 1/2 of their names, but me saying them wrong and them laughing at my attempts was so worth it. Our team did some evangelism in a village that hadn’t been reached by any other team before, and it was so amazing. The willingness these people have to talk about their faith, lack of faith, hurts, trials, blessings, hardships, and just all the in’s and out’s of life... you guys it is crazy. Americans are just do different, but we will get to that later. Malawi is a breathtakingly beautiful country, and the people man. THEY ARE SO 
BEAUTIFUL TOO.

{These are some of the sweet not so little ones that were in my tutoring class}

>> What were your jobs while working at Esther's House?

I was able to teach a girls Bible study for a few weeks to some of the older girls as well as tutor a Standard 4-6 math tutoring class 3 days a week. There were 2 teams that came to Esther’s House during my stay, and I loved having them there so much! With that said, teams are a lot of work to prepare for. Who knew? I was able to help the on-site missionary families with all the duties that go into preparing for the team, and we sure had a lot of fun! I’m not sure if this was a real title or not, but maybe "relationship builder". I loved just getting to hang with the kids. Pulling my hair out while giving me a new hair style, teaching me Chichewa, watching Pollyanna on my iPad, finding songs on their radio for us to dance to, and cooking with me in the kitchen were some of our favorite things.

I almost forgot my favorite job... campus “nurse”. If any of you know we well, you already know how I am with injuries, blood, talk of your injury or blood, and anything to do with infection. Jesus is always around to be the one to pull us out of our comfort zone, right? It all started with the typical needs of ibuprofen, band aids, and cough drops.   At least He started me off easy. Things then upgraded to learning how to test and treat Malaria. One drop of blood on a test. Whew, made it. THEN. Ya’ll, seriously. The sweetest widow fell into her hot coals after cooking her dinner, and because of her age could not get up very fast. He knee was badly burned. Thankfully after she walked to Esther’s House for a medical clinic day we were able to treat her. Visiting her daily and changing that gauze is something I could never forget. She was so tough though, all Malawian women are. It is crazy.  Word spread around pretty fast and almost daily was I treating a wound of a widow, community kid, or residential kid. I’d like to think I’m pretty tough now, maybe I should check into nursing school. JOKES.

{Giving a malaria test}

{This is Faith. She lost her hands many years ago in a fire. She had such a sweet spirit despite all that she's been through. She would always run out to the road to greet me.}

>> What is a major lesson God taught you while serving in Malawi?

Coming into my internship I wasn’t really sure what to expect, and I am grateful for that. Yes, I had been just 10 months prior, but staying 3 months and not having my trusty sidekick Olivia with me... that’s a different ballgame. It’s a little funny that I love to plan everything, and I live by my “to-do” lists and my planner. The Lord just has a funny way about changing you into what He wants you to be. Life at Esther’s House is quite different from my life as an “American”. Shocker, right? In many ways it is very slow. No one is in a hurry, which can be a good and bad thing (just ask the Wilson’s how long it took to get electricity over here... ;). I guess my major lesson, and it really is hard because I did learn so much, was just to stop planning my path and allow Him to do it. Stop living by my head knowledge or by what seems the most financially responsible and just follow Him. Coming to Malawi this time meant I had to leave many things behind, including my house and I had to leave my job. I loved my little house, and let me tell you I LOVED my job working with students so much. It was hard. Those three little words don’t even make it look like much, but just know I really struggled. Thankfully before I even left a sweet family from my church opened up their home to me. That took so much off of me to know at least I will have a temporary “home”.

There were many nights (pretty much every other night) sitting with Catherine and I was just saying , “What am I going to do , I’m applying for jobs consistently and nothing is happening. I’m getting discouraged because I just thought when I followed His plan, that He would just magically show His plan out before me... and HE ISN’T.” She was such an encouragement to me without even knowing it. I kinda always felt silly talking to this lady about my little problems, when HELLO... she has just given everything to Him and has been serving for the last 2 years with her family. She is just so wise, understanding, and loving. (Catherine don’t delete this because I know you are going to want to. :) I also met a previous intern while I was there named Seth. He reminded me of this truth many times. God can do anything He wants with you right now. "Brittany this is an awesome thing! Jesus could call you to go or to do anything! Isn’t that so exciting?!” At first I just looked at him like he was crazy, but you know, he was totally on to something. Although I was nervous, scared, and worried about my bills that were due soon, and what my life plan was. Jesus knew. Jesus had me. If you would have asked me before this journey if Jesus knew my plan, I would have said of course He does. I guess He just had to really show me how much He cares, and I’m so glad He did.

{These two beauties came to the medical tent and we couldn't stop smiling at each other. Their happiness is so contagious.}

>> How has the journey at Esther’s House changed your worldview?

Literally laughed when I read this. America sucks. Can I say that?
Obviously I knew going over things would be different, but really it wasn’t until I came back that it really hit me. We are so unnecessarily busy. For what? Half of the things that we think we are so busy with are just pointless things. I saw women walk for miles to come to church, and to come to Esther’s house. I saw how hard they work for just a day of food. I saw how long they would stand bent over the river washing clothes. It’s just amazing all that we still complain about. LIFE IS SO EASY here. Well, let me say this. As an American life was so easy there. I think there were 2 times I called one of my closest friends here in Arkansas and questioned my length of stay. A few tears were shed and I would just tell her I missed foods, I missed people, I missed church, I missed driving, I missed my everyday life. You know whats funny though is I worked around the food thing. I met some of the best people I could ever meet in this life. Watching them being able to truly worship all day in church, when we are mad if we don’t get out right at 12. Don’t worry, Suzgo (best driver in the world) taught me to drive. Life is really what you make it. After the first month or so, I was settled. I really didn’t like leaving, and honestly it’s been really hard being home. Things are different. I’m different.

{Reading a book during the Summer Reading Program.}

>> What is something you learned from a Malawian/orphan/widow?

This one makes me instantly teary. I really fell in love with the widows. These women are fighters. They are tough. They are determined. They love on the orphans at Esther’s House, and they loved on me. As I visited many of their homes to check on the children in their care or to check up on their wounds, they were always so nice and welcoming.
Even through a huge language barrier we were able to laugh. I figured out that “hug” is the same word in Chichewa so that worked out nice. We would dance around on Saturday’s when they were all gathering waiting for lunch. Man. I love those ladies.

{Chicken and Dumplings at Suzgo's house}

>>What is your favorite memory of Esther’s House?

This one is impossible for me, here's but something that’s cool. I remember pretty much everything. I journaled almost daily, and I think that helped. I could talk for hours about all that this place means to me and all of the funny moments. Like Miles (the night guard) getting a rat out of the Wilson’s house. Ashley and I stuck in the city looking for a guy we didn’t know... long story. Me showing up on Bonnie’s doorstep one day after riding a bus for 2 hours to get there;) it was all amazing. I was able to buy a kitten from the market and make her a pet so much so that now she won’t eat rats. I made dinner in a Malawian kitchen with the help of Suzgo’s wife Janepher. I was able to see the hospital where Esimy’s baby was born and hang out with babies for a few hours. There were high points and higher points. I will forever love these little and not so little faces.

{I love this picture for many reasons. Mostly because it represents everyone. These families all give so much and I'm thankful for the chance to get to really know their hearts. Left is the Wilson crew, Seth, the Fern family, and the Martins clan.}

If anyone reading this is thinking about going to Malawi. I just want to tell you to do it. Get more information. Know your calling and go there and do it. 

Brittany Whatley better known as Blittany.