Day 19
Monday, Sept. 28
Queen of Sheba Hotel, Addis Ababa

We had a good day of travel today arriving in Addis Ababa around 8:00 pm from Lilongwe, via Lusaka, Zambia. After breakfast at the Kuka Lodge, Morris our faithful driver these two weeks picked us up with the van and Chris with his pickup truck for our luggage.

The Lilongwe airport was all decked out for the arrival of Malawi’s president – guard of honour in full uniform, a marching band, red carpet and all kinds of people brought in by the “truckload” to show support. He arrived by private jet just as we were being taken to our plane. We could see all the pomp and ceremony from our plane seats before takeoff. The extravagance of the occasion, in light of Malawi being 6th poorest country in the world, didn’t sit well with most of us.

The flight to Addis was uneventful. After arrival it took us a while to get our hotel vouchers and the bus to the hotel. But we’re here, had supper while they were still cleaning our rooms. We made contact to Jim and Marion Harris’s friends here (they are friends from PEI who spent a year in Addis as missionaries) who will take us around the city tomorrow.

Day 18
Sunday, Sept 28
Brook's Home, Lilongwe

We attended church this morning at Capital City Baptist Church CCBC with the Brooks. It was an English service, truly international with involvement of many nationalities. We had lunch at the Lilongwe Golf Club (4 nationalaities of us) followed by a long road trip to the Kasase Clinic north of here. On the way back we staked out possible accommodations for a 2009 construction team.

We are at the Brook's home for supper, then another night at the Kuka Lodge and off to the airport in the morning.

Day 17
Saturday, Sept. 27
Kuka Lodge, Lilongwe

We began our day with packing and our final breakfast. Several people came to the guesthouse to say farewell, expressing their gratitude for the work and contribution we have made. All in all we feel we accomplished our mission and we are so satisfied with the malaria net project. And of course everyone wants us to come back!

Our road trip to Lilongwe went via Dedza, up the escarpment on a winding, scenic drive. Although slightly hazy, the views were still spectacular. This is an incredibly beautiful land!
At Dedza we shopped for souvenirs at the famous pottery there, followed by a lovely lunch in their café. From there to Lilongwe, some shopping for famous South African chutney we have all grown to love made by Mrs. H.R. Ball, and then on to the Kuko Lodge, our accommodations for the next two nights.

We’re invited to the Brook’s home for supper, from where we also hope to have Internet access to post our most recent blogs.


Day 16
Friday, Sept. 26
Ngodzi

We wrapped up our mission this evening with the showing of The Jesus Film outdoors at Pastor McDuff’s church. Originally we planned to be indoors but the word in the “street” was that there wouldn’t be enough room inside – they were right and the crowd grew throughout the evening. It was a great ending to our mission.

Kim had a dream she believed was from God in August. In the dream an angel said the word or name “feria.” Myrtis and Mary had done some street evangelism on Thursday and went to a woman’s home whose name was Feria. Kim was able to meet with Feria, who had newly accepted Jesus into her heart. She came to the Jesus film with her three small children. Kim was able to pray with her and an instant friendship was formed. Feria will always hold a place in Kim’s heart.

We held a wrap-up and debriefing meeting with the medical officers to discuss ways that future medical teams could help. We hope to write up a summary of helpful information for any medical professionals who may come in the future, to better familiarize them with the way the clinic operates and how to prepare for being helpful in a clinical role.

In the afternoon we finally got our trip (in Dr. Brook’s pickup truck as the van broke down) to the Mua Mission founded by Catholic missionaries (“White Fathers”) in 1902. They have a hospital and the present long-term missionary since the 1970’s is Fr. Claude from Montreal. He developed an interest in anthropology and researched the history of Chewa people of Malawi. He built a museum at the Mua site, illustrating his research as well as the history of Christian missions, starting with Dr. David Livingstone who sailed up Lake Malawi in 1861 in search of an inland waterway across Africa. The grounds around the hospital and museum are very picturesque.

Mark and Stephen finished their clinical work in the morning, and we all tied up lose ends. Tomorrow morning we will be packing, saying our “goodbyes” and maybe shed a few tears as we say farewell to our lovely “spot on the lake.”

Day 15
Thursday, Sept. 25
Ngodzi

Good Morning Sunshine. Another sunny day in Malawi! The T. today is again 31.

To start our day Mary had devotions on 11 Corinthians 10, challenging us to seek, peace, patience and compassion.

Our jobs today were to tie up lose ends. Hank set up the technical parts for the showing of the Jesus film on Friday night. Please pray that many hearts will be touched and won to Jesus through this film.

Kim , Myrtis and Connie cut bandages and dressings for the nurses to use in the procedure room. It was tedious work but a lot were made and this was appreciated by the staff.
Hank and Stephen met with the HSA’s for a meeting concerning the distribution of more nets following our departure on Saturday to Lilongwe to begin our long trip home.

Mary was busy in the pharmacy counting pills. This is very helpful for Cornelia and Prisca who at times are very overworked.

Mark and Stephen helped to organize some areas in the clinic. Many articles have been donated but little time is available for the staff to get the medical supplies into areas where they are most useful.

After we learned of the need for more bibles in the churches in the surrounding area, we decided to collect some money, amongst ourselves, and purchase bibles. Our final total was 12 bibles in Chichewa and 4 new testaments in English to be distributed to the churches we visited on Sunday and to Pastor McDuffs church. Pastor McDuff said, “ it truly was an answer to prayer.”

This afternoon Kim, Stephen, Mark and Hank went to Salima to get some fuel for the van, post our blogs and do necessary business. Myrtis, Mary and Pastor McDuff went to visit some people in the nearby village. These beautiful people were so appreciative, that white people would visit them in their home. Several asked us to pray with them and invite Jesus into their heart. We were so blessed by the openness and transparency of these people. Mary and Myrtis were truly stretched.

Laugh of the day: Mark picked up some rocks to juggle for the children but they were frightened and ran away leaving Mark to juggle his rocks without an audience. They soon realized this was very entertaining and joined him laughing with excitement.

Day 15

Salima

Here is our latest team picture with our van loaded with the last of the first 1700 nets that we have distributed.

We are winding down with tomorrow being our last day in Ngodzi. Saturday we return to Lilongwe, Sunday we get to see the Kasese Clinic, and then we fly out on Monday.

Thanks for all your love and prayers.

Day 14
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Ngodzi

We began our day with team devotions led by Mark on the Parable of the Sower. He used the different “soils” of the parable to challenge us to think about how we might respond at home to what we have experienced here (from apathy, to temporary concern, to a life change).

Connie and Hank went out on the final net distribution for this week. Tomorrow we will hear exactly how many nets were given out and about plans to continue after we leave. We have already informed the staff here that funds for additional nets (approximately another 4000) have been raised. That would bring the total to about 6000, a significant legacy that we are able to leave behind thanks to the generosity of donors at home. The villagers have been SO APPRECIATIVE and we want our family and friends to know that.

Stephen, Myrtis and Mary went to an outreach clinic at least an hour away, close to the escarpment (mountain). It was a busy clinic, 156 patients seen, in the scorching heat. They were late getting back, so our afternoon plans to go to a museum founded by a Canadian priest in Mua had to be postponed.

The main clinic in Ngodzi was less busy today, as it usually is in the middle of the week. However, there were several severely sick patients that challenged us (a child with cerebral malaria and a newly diagnosed AIDS patient with Kaposi’s sarcoma).

This evening just before supper we were saddened to hear that Kinn’s brother passed away of AIDS at the age of 37 (Kinn is a Malawian lab technician and a very likable fellow who has been sharing a room and meals with us at the guesthouse). This brought the AIDS epidemic closer to home, touching someone we have gotten close to.


Day 13
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Ngodzi

Stephen led our team morning devotions about reaching out to other cultures. After breakfast, Mark did a teaching session with the clinic staff on resuscitation of the newborn.

Today, more nets were distributed, and many given out door to door by the team. The expressions of thanks from the village chief and from some of the recipients were that the nets “were a gift from God”. In the clinic, many if not most of the patients are suffering from malaria, some very seriously, particularly the young children, so the nets will make a definite difference in this community when they are all distributed and used.

Kim saw baby Sophia again in the village; she is the youngest of 8 children. They’ve been calling her Sophilia, so that might stick.

All the women, and Hank, went to the village school today. There are 1250 students and 10 teachers, teaching in 2 shifts mornings and afternoons, class size of about 75 children! Some classes are outside under the trees. We see the work of other organizations like World Vision in the village, with school improvements and a feeding program. Last year’s team helped with building materials for toilets for the school and they are working well.

Then Myrtis and Stephen led a children’s program at Pastor McDuff’s church with over 150 kids. They did a craft to illustrate their message using tongue depressors. The school and the church were happy to receive some of the donated balls that we brought over and the kids wasted no time starting games with them.

The clinic time was busy with some extremely ill patients.

Everyone’s tired and missing home but looking forward to another productive day tomorrow. We have invited the Lifeline Malawi staff and families to come to the guesthouse tomorrow evening for a showing of the Jesus Film.


Day 12
Monday, Sept. 22
Ngodzi

On the way back from Livingstonia yesterday, we stopped for more shopping, and then had to find fuel for the van – and suddenly it was dark as we were headed home! Driving in the dark in Africa is not for the faint hearted. Our driver and all of us were pretty stressed but thankful to get home safely. The deep darkness, all the people and bicycles along the road with no lights, and oncoming traffic make it hair raising.

Today the temperature hit 31 degrees and we are feeling the heat and humidity. Kim was on crowd control during the net distribution today – there was a lot of commotion among the women as they waited for their nets, a real palaver! She calmly confronted the crowd with pointed questions which settled things down so that the rest of the nets could be distributed. Our initial 2000 nets are really only a drop in the bucket to address the needs here, and we are glad that more funds came in after our departure to help address the remaining needs.

We had a good day in the clinic. Mark, Stephen and Hank all worked with a translator and saw lots of interesting cases. Some of them are a challenge diagnostically due to the lack of x-rays and sophisticated lab tests. We do what the regular Malawian staff do – the best with the limited resources.

This afternoon the girls went to see baby Garnet in his compound. They gladly received the gifts the Stewarts had sent along but the baby continued to fuss having his picture taken.

We have started preparing for the Jesus Film which we hope to show on Friday evening in Pastor McDuff’s church. It looks like we will be using a generator and we checked it for reliability. And tomorrow, we (mostly Myrtis and Stephen) will be doing some children’s ministry in the afternoon.

As we write, a breeze has started off the lake and hopefully things will cool down for sleep.

Day 11
Livingstonia
On Lake Malawi east of Salima, north of Ngodzi

This is our first "live" blog since arriving in Malawi. We are north of Ngodzi for a short visit to a lovely beach resort. They have Internet WiFi here!

Our morning services in the local villages went awesome. Everyone was really blessed by the lively African worship. Kim, Stephen and Hank brought messages and the others greetings.

This afternoon we stopped for some "souvinirs" at the "carvers" - and the girls, and Mark, got some great deals. Myrtis can teach us all how to bargain for a GREAT deal.

Love and blessings to all our family and friends. Thank you for your ongoing love and support.

Day 10
Saturday, Sept. 20
Ngodzi

We were awakened early by an elephant in the camp! Apparently he had been regularly making an appearance at night and this morning he was being chased from reception by a staff person. He ended up helping himself to tree branches for breakfast between two chalets, before finally moving on to the river’s edge.

During breakfast we had a visit from a monkey, who stole a muffin from a child’s plate. Apparently he usually targets a child’s food rather than an adult. After finishing our omelettes we were off on our boat safari. Again, there was lots of wildlife to be seen – a couple herds of elephants, lots of hippos, crocodiles and birds.

After the river safari, by 11:00 am, we had checked back and were on our way back to the guesthouse. The power was out when we returned but came on in a couple of hours. For supper we had Malawian food: nsema (maize) and goat (very tough and lots of bones). Then we had a visit from a critter (rodent) that has been making the rounds to our bedrooms at night checking for food. Mark thought he could catch it by throwing the volleyball at it.

Tomorrow we are going to village churches two by two, so those sharing the message have been busy preparing.

Weather today: Hot (30 degrees C). Weather tomorrow: Hot. Next month will be the hottest month of the year here, we are told, sometimes up to 40, so it seems to be headed that way.


Day 9
Friday, Sept. 19
Mvuu Lodge
Liwonde National Park

Since today was a break in our work, we were allowed to sleep in until 7:00 am breakfast, followed by team devotions led by Connie centred on serving the poor. Then, by 8:30 we were headed off to the Liwonde game park for our safari. We arrived just in time for a delicious lunch in the thatched roof lodge overlooking the Shire River, which drains out of Lake Malawi at its southern end.

After lunch some of us enjoyed a refreshing dip in the pool while others had a nap. Then at 3:30 we went out on our safari game drive which lasted about four hours, to well after dusk. The dry season weather was PERFECT for game viewing – all the animals were congregated close to the river. So within minutes of leaving the lodge, we saw a herd of elephants! We were all very excited, especially to see the baby ones. From there it was sighting after sighting of impalas, baboons, waterbuck (“toilet seat antelope”), sable antelope, kudus, bushbuck, mongooses, many beautiful birds, etc., etc. We stopped at the water’s edge to watch the sun set, where we saw a hippo come out of the water, crocodiles, a turtle and warthogs. It was so peaceful with the Land Rover’s engine shut off, listening to the jungle sounds, and we so enjoyed seeing the creatures God made for us to enjoy!

After the game drive, we were treated to scrumptious dinner around an open fire to the beat of African drums and dancers. There was a huge spread which included four kinds of meat. We felt guilty being treated to such a feast while we remembered the poverty of the people in Ngodzi. It took us a while to process our feelings.

At 10:00 pm the generator supplying power to the resort shut off but they have solar powered batteries for backup lighting. Since we could hear the hippos coming up on shore, it was time for the guys to walk the gals back to their chalets. We look forward to the river safari in the morning.


Day 8
Thursday, Sept. 18
Ngodzi

Kim started our morning with devotions based on Philippians 1:29-30 on how we deal with pain. Right after breakfast, Mark did his presentation of “fits” – the local English for seizures. He did a great job and was well received.

The net distribution in the village of Chiwaula wasn’t as orderly today as previous days. Apparently the HSA’s started calling out names from a wrong list (another village) and the villagers became agitated. Finally, things settled and 215 nets did get distributed. Stephen brought greetings and Myrtis also shared on “gifts” – the best gift of all being the gift of Jesus.

Mark and Mary went out to the outreach clinic today. They saw 28 people and 8 were tested for HIV, and 3 were positive. Here at Lifeline, they see about 50 new cases of HIV infection every month.

This afternoon, we had a chance to check out the stores and markets of Salima, the nearest city about 40 km up the lake. Kim found her fix of chocolate (Snicker bars) and Connie found the Coke (cola) she was craving. We stopped at St. John’s Anglican Church for Stephen (same name as his home church) and he went in during a youth choir practice. He exchanged addresses with the leader and took pictures. Kim also wanted a picture of the Church of the Nazarene (her church at home).

On the way back to the guesthouse Kim, Connie and Mark tried the local bicycle taxi service for the last stretch from the highway. They thought it was great fun! Reactions: “I feel more African now” – Kim. “It was fun because of the reactions of the villagers to the sight of an azungu (white person) on the back of bicycle” – Connie.

Fright of the day: A mouse in the girl’s room eating Connie’s and Myrtis’s treats.

Laugh of the day: Mark and Eric examining a patient in a dark mud and thatched makeshift clinic – Eric thought the patient looked pale and Mark figured if you can see him he must be pale!

Weather today: Hot! 30 degrees, humid and no wind – getting hotter.

Evening view: Candlelight (to keep the tiny flies that gather around the lights at bay) and about 40 fishing boats on the lake with lanterns (fishing tiny fish like minnows).

Day 7
Wednesday, Sept. 17
Ngodzi

Mary started our day with team devotions on how Jesus loved children and how we must all be like children to enter the Kingdom of God. After breakfast Mark, Myrtis and Connie went to Malendo to give out 188 nets. As in the previous distributions, the villagers who received nets sign with their thumb print.

Mary attended the antenatal clinic where she saw a 7 month pregnant woman with pre-eclampsia and a blood pressure of 194/120, a potentially fatal condition. After much coaxing, she agreed to transfer to the government hospital in Salima.

Kim assisted in the dressing room today, and dressed a 5 or 6 year old boy who fell into a fire and had extensive burns to his right arm and leg. Her next case was a woman with a heel abscess that needed I&D (incision and drainage), done by Hank. She also treated several tropical ulcers.

In the afternoon, we joined a HIV/AIDS drama group in a remote village where they preformed three skits illustrating various modes of HIV transmission and how it can be prevented. We were impressed by the powerful acting, the attention of the crowd (including the children), and the village chief’s public admission that he was HIV positive, but living a full and apparently healthy life. Hank gave a brief message The village session was closed by prayer from a village elder. On the way home 16 of us squished into a 10 passenger van!

To Kim and Connie’s delight, we had chocolate cake for dessert. This evening Mark is preparing for a talk tomorrow on treatment of the seizing child.

Weather forecast: Becoming more humid (today no wind, temperature 28 degrees Celsius, and humid).

Quote of the day: “We will always be serving in [ministries] where things are wrong. Our response to what we see defines how Christlike we are actually becoming. If we see weakness … our call is to supply strength.” (The Three Battlegrounds by Frangipane)

Answered prayer of the day: Myrtis’s lost suitcase was found at the airport and now baby Garnet will get his presents!

Laugh of the day: Myrtis couldn’t tell the difference between a white ambulance and a blue van!

Craving of the day: Kim – chocolate.

Day 6
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Ngodzi

This morning our team split into three groups. Hank and Kim were off to a village outreach clinic along with a nurse, HIV screener, and pharmacy dispenser to the village of Matowe, about 8 km from here. Together they saw 22 patients and screened several hemoglobins with the portable meter that we brought. Kim dressed a baby’s foot that had been deeply burned in a fire. They are able to give a variety of medications in the field.

Mark stayed at the clinic, observing with Andrew (one of the clinical medical officers). He taught Andrew to do his first thoracentesis to drain fluid off the chest of an older man with pneumonia, probably tuberculosis. Then, he had a chance to spend time in the HIV testing and counseling area, learning in-depth about the excellent program and counseling available at the clinic. About 15% of all tests done are positive for HIV.

The other team members went to Mbalame, another village 10 km away, for mosquito net presentation and distribution. When they arrived, a large crowd of women and children had gathered, and were singing as they arrived. Steve gave a speech (some in fluent? Chichewa) and the HSA’s gave a demonstration and teaching about the use of the nets. We were very impressed by the organization done in advance by the HSAs, with a detailed list of families and the exact number of nets to distribute.

Tonight we had our first taste of traditional Malawian food, with nsema “seema”, a paste of maize flour that tastes a bit like cream of wheat. It is rolled in the (right) hand into a little ball and dipped, in our case, in goat stew. We’re all tired, with full stomachs, looking forward to tomorrow.

Laugh of the day: Mark introduced himself to Pastor McDuff on four consecutive days thinking he hadn’t met him yet!

Day 5
Monday, Sept. 15
Ngodzi

After team devotions and breakfast, we were met by Pastor McDuff and baby Garnet with his mother! This was the young fellow that Garnet Stewart named after himself during the 2007 Team’s stay. He looked healthy but hated having his picture taken; he cried up a storm!

We were then given the tour of the clinic by Eric, the Clinical Officer in charge here. We were impressed by the clinic’s ability to diagnose and treat HIV positive patients, and the compliance of patients in taking their drugs. This is a significant contribution to the needs in the community where AIDS is so rampant.

After our tour we had a meeting with Eric and the Health Surveillance Assistants (HSA’s) about net distribution. Then we were off to a nearby local village (Mwazalamba) and distributed over 200 nets to families previously identified as high risk (children under 5, HIV positive, orphans, chronically ill, elderly). We had a village meeting with chief and Mark made a speech on behalf of our Canadian donors. We then demonstrated how to use the nets and made the presentation of the first net, and were all moved by the experience. The village women broke into spontaneous singing and clapping, so typical of African culture.

The team divided into two groups to go house-to-house and experience the living conditions in the village. A typical thatched roof village house would have been 8’ X 10’, usually one room, no furniture and concrete floor. Children by the dozens followed everywhere. For Janet and Betty, please know that the hokey-pokey still is carrying on in Africa (led by Connie)!

In one home, Kim had the honour of naming a three week old baby girl, and named her Sophia, which means “wisdom”. She and those of us who witnessed it were all moved to tears. This is starting to become a regular event!

Steve and Mark returned to the clinic with Eric for the afternoon. He showed them through the laboratory (can do hemoglobins, urinalysis, malaria smears, acid fast bacillus for TB, HIV testing and CD4 counts) and the lab techs Enfred and John taught them a lot in a short time. They have on their wish list a chemistry machine and the ability to do a full CBC. They can test glucose but have run out of strips and will welcome the ones we brought. Steve and Mark then spent the rest of the afternoon observing in the consultation rooms with the medical officers. Later, after the rest of the team were back from the village, Prisca in the dispensary put us to work putting drug doses in dispensing bags and doing an inventory of available drugs and dosing forms. We also presented the Zip-Loc bags that we brought to help protect the medical records that each patient carries.

Finally, our full day ended with dinner and a beautiful moonrise over the lake as the fishermen were pulling in their nets. (extra beautiful in the dark when the power went out).

Quote of the day: “Let us not be blind with privilege”….

Day 4
Sunday, Sept. 14
Ngodzi

What a great day we had on our first full day in Africa, and a Sunday at that! But not without a fearful night for several team members. Myrtis wrote in her journal: “Our first sleep in Africa; sleep came quickly but at 1:00 am was wakened by a gripping fear—fear of bugs, fear of intruders, speaking in public, fear of what is expected of me—a very real and choking fear. I knew this was not of God. I called in all spare angels not on duty! “In the name of Jesus cast out the demon of fear.” Connie and Kim shared that they too had been wakened by fear and they too prayed through
it. Kim: “One thing I’ve learned already is that I can’t count on me.”

We went to worship this morning at the church which the PEI Team helped build last year and would you believe the white people were late and they had started without us! What a way to walk into a church to the beat of the drums and to hear music as we approached from down the dusty road”. Watching them all dance and sing tells us that we all need to “loosen up”. It seems that we care too much about what other people think of us, how our kids need to be controlled in service, etc. In today’s worship, the children were in the centre of the service, and even the youngest were dancing and singing and free to just be kids. Little children were looking after even younger children, with a few preschoolers with infants on their
backs.
We were given a place of honour at the front of the church and our attempts at singing the Mulango Ali Pano song sounded a lot better with the African choir drowning us out. Hank and Connie were deeply moved to be back in the church they helped build and brought greetings on behalf of folks at home.

In the afternoon we took a stroll along the beach, past the fishing boats on the shore, and through the village. A couple of kids became ten, then twenty, then maybe fifty, all wanting to hold our hands, and have their picture taken by “azungu” (white man). The women were shy but smiled and waved from their homes; the men were more reserved. This must have been how the Pied Piper felt walking through town.

Tonight for supper we had Pastor McDuff join us to talk about his ministry and plans for the upcoming weeks. He was excited that the team had brought “The Jesus Film” in Chichewa language, both to show and to leave with him for future ministry use. We talked about our fund raising for mosquito nets and asked about that. He told us how malaria was a burden for everyone here, including his own family. Mosquito nets are expensive to buy for local people, and the government distribution is limited to some pregnant women and younger children, and not widely implemented. He sleeps with all of his family members under one single net that is old and has holes in it. He has invited us during our stay to his own home, and we will plan to bring 4 new nets to them.
He was a useful resource to learn a little about the family structure and culture here in rural Malawi. We were impressed by his English proficiency, and that led to his testimony about learning the language. He felt called to learn English, and felt that God had given him the gift of English virtually overnight, much in the same way as “speaking in tongues”. A teacher at his seminary then mentored him and paid his way through a diploma program.

Tomorrow we’ll have an orientation to the medical operations in preparation for regular clinics later this week.

Day 3
Saturday, Sept. 13

Lifeline Malawi Guesthouse, Ngodzi

We have arrived safely and glad to be in the guesthouse after travelling for over 48 hours. Our flights were all on time and uneventful, but long, especially the Washington to Addis Ababa leg. We breezed through customs at the Lilongwe Airport with our yellow team tee shirts. We wondered about all the stares, but we found out later that canary yellow is also a political party colour. We were grateful to be met by Dr. Chris Brooks, his wife Heather, and Pat and Ann Laforet. Also there to meet us was a big truckload of mosquito nets, which they had just purchased with the money we raised! We loaded our bags on top of the nets on the “lorry” (truck).

The road trip from the airport to guesthouse was as always for those new to Africa, “eye popping,” to use Myrtis’s words. The extreme poverty, the goats and bicycles along the roadside, and the happy waving children, struck us all. The country side is brown this time of year in the dry season but the jacaranda trees are in full bloom, a beautiful deep violet. And it’s much cooler than we anticipated, and with some breeze off the lake, we reached for sweaters during supper on the guesthouse veranda.

Pastor McDuff dropped by for greetings and Connie and Hank were so glad to see him and give him the photo album done up by Janet and Chelsey Lake of the 2007 team. He was thrilled. We look forward to worshipping at “our church” tomorrow morning; he already mentioned that we need to sing the Mulango Ali Pano song. We were glad to see that the cross, which had apparently been attacked by termites, was up again.

We are all turning in early this evening after Dr. Brooks gave us a pep talk and explained some of the Malawian customs. We’re all pretty sleepy; Stephen was nodding off at the supper table!


It seemed like The Shack was required team reading as we had five copies between us. Several team members used the long flights to read it. Here is a quote that struck us as we begin our mission: “If anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again.”

Day 2
Washington D.C.
Dulles International Airport
Departure Lounge

As we walked through the airport this morning in Washington, a lady wearing Moslem headdress whispered to us, “please pray for me”. We don’t need to know why, our God is great and knows all. Pray with us for her.

We all slept reasonably well last night at the Comfort Inn. Our connections have been great so far; we had no trouble rechecking our bags this morning. Myrtis thinks we are still high on adrenalin! She found out what a great friend Mary is, she offered to let her use her toothbrush. Keep praying for us.

We are sitting waiting to board our flight headed for Ethiopia. We are now entering a new phase of the trip where we are becoming the minority. Some of our eyes are about to be opened to how our God is a God of diversity.

We are all anxious to get our feet onto African soil—Connie would like to be “zapped over there,” so you can probably tell she’s tired of airplanes and airports. Our flight today is a long one, leave this morning, fly into the east, fuel up in Rome, and land in Addis Ababa Saturday morning.

Day 1
Washington, D.C.

We arrived safely in Dulles International Airport in Washington and are bedding down for the night in the local Comfort Inn.

Here we are in Halifax before clearing US Customs. We're all excited but it was hard leaving family. Our flights were on time. Just a moment of panic in Boston when someone on the team temporarily misplaced their passport -- but thankfully found it. Just too many zippers in these fancy purses that Connie recommended!

Tomorrow is our long flight from Washington to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, arriving Saturday morning and then onto Lilongwe.

Commissioning Sunday

As the remnant of Hurricane Hanna poured out the last of her torrential rains over the Maritime Provinces, our team was commissioned this morning in our various home churches.

Here, Pastor Joel Wydysh of Island Wesleyan Church, challenges Myrtis, Connie and Hank to fulfill our mandate, while our church family promises to support us in love and prayers.

Connie and Hank both were part of the 2007 team that helped build the Chilambula church in the Ndodzi area (and Myrtis drafted the words on the cornerstone that we installed), and we look forward to bringing greetings next Sunday to the congregation there.

Please pray for safety and good weather for travel, especially as it is the Atlantic hurricane season and we have a layover in Washington, D.C.

Packing Medical Supplies

One week before departure and the packing has begun! Here are Mary, Myrtis, Kim and Connie packing donated medical supplies. Our stuff is bulky but not heavy, so no fear of our bags being overweight. We pray that they will all arrive safely with us.

Selling Nets in Fredericton, N.B.

Here are Drs. Mark Messenger and Stephen Hart, our team members from Fredericton N.B., selling mosquito nets in the Boyce Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, August 30th. The response was tremendous with enough raised to purchase over 1000 nets! We continue to be grateful for the tremendous response to our malaria net campaign.

We are now just one week away from departure. Tomorrow the PEI team members are packing the donated medical supplies.

Thank You For Your Generous Support

We are just a little over a week away from our departure from Canada on Sept. 11th. We are so thankful for the generous support that we have received in our Malaria Net Campaign. Thank you for helping save lives!

Here I am after a presentation to the children in Vacation Bible School at Island Wesleyan Church. I challenged each child to buy one net, and they came through, raising close to $ 200.00!

And we have had the same response from others - school classes, businesses, and individuals. So a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of you who have donated. We are so encouraged.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers in these last days of preparation.