Christmas Miracles

This is an email I sent on Christmas Eve to family & friends. Wanted to post it here for you as well...

Merry Christmas to You!

This year is ending and it always makes me nostalgic – both for family and friends but also memories of this past year and how God has blessed. Last year this time we were rushing to make up some Christmas gifts from a few things we bought and some donated items so that the hospital employees would have at least “something” from the hospital. We scrounged enough money to barely have a Christmas party with a few snacks thanks to a donation from a friend of mine. The salaries were barely distributed before New Years, let alone Christmas last year. Yet still we remained optimistic and tried to put a good spin on everything so that morale would continue on its slow climb upwards. Throughout this past year we have steadily seen improvements in the financial performance of the hospital. Partly it is due to an increase of about 20% of inpatients over last year, but also our cash flow is improving as well which is really what makes an organization function.

So this week I find Christmas miracles surrounding me – instead of me shopping and packaging Christmas gifts for the employees we were able to buy them pre-packaged (it’s tradition to get rice, oil, sugar, salt, soap, & matches and there are stores that package them for you if you pay for it) and employees were surprised yesterday to hear the announcement that their Christmas package was ready to be picked up! Also people like to be paid before Christmas and for salaries we are dependent on a government grant. We prepared payroll in faith that the money would come through and yesterday it was deposited and people are able to get their money! We have also made our supplies and drug purchases for the month and I’ve signed a pile of checks for various purchases that have been waiting for quite a while. The most amazing thing is that we have money to cover all of the checks we’ve written – which you might not realize but is a miracle in itself!

Last week after being delayed about a month we had a delivery of two containers from AmeriCares (our large donor in the US) full of medical supplies and medication. That was 60 feet of materials delivered in one day!! The stores staff and others worked tirelessly to unload everything and then continue sorting things the days following (a never-ending process). We are so thankful for these donations and specifically the nutritional supplements for the malnourished children – the meals are already being distributed.

Personally since returning from my visit home I have been busy – just keeping up with everything I feel at times that I work non-stop. But thankfully I’ve had the chance to take frequent breaks. In November I climbed Mt. Mulanje with some friends and felt very proud of myself for surviving although we didn’t summit. We had a group of officials from the US doing an “appreciative inquiry” the week of Thanksgiving both here and at Blantyre Adventist Hospital. They brought some welcome encouragement and support. For Thanksgiving about 25 of us got together in Blantyre and made a feast as close to traditional as possible – complete with the overeating feeling at the end! There are more folks from the US now that Maranatha is moving their base to Blantyre from Mozambique as work is wrapping up there.

Overall I am doing well – I have no reason to complain. Cristy and I and some friends are heading to Lake Malawi today for Christmas and we are looking forward to enjoying white sands and a tropical lake. Granted - it’s not like Christmas at home but as I told a friend this morning – it’s white sandy beaches, I can’t complain! J I do miss my family dearly and wish I could be at the table tomorrow and share all of the wonderful traditions that we have. Thankfully we have phones and internet which keep us connected and a time in the future to look forward to being together again.

As 2009 comes to a close I am again just overwhelmed with thankfulness for each of you and your thoughts and prayers. There is still a lot of work to do here but I am just excited to be part of the changes that are happening and continue to happen. I know there are more challenges ahead but I am confident that the miracles of Christmas will continue through the new year. Blessings to each of you!

Merry Christmas!

Elisa

Haven't Posted For A While

These were written on the dates indicated but I just haven't had a chance to post them...

11-23-09

Holidays?

Is it the holidays somewhere? Not in Malawi… we will try to squeeze in Thanksgiving this week but it happens to be the same week as the “Appreciative Inquiry” from the General Conference of SDAs in Maryland. One of my friends thought this term was rather like an oxymoron – along the lines of “freewill offering” or “military intelligence”. I’m not sure what it means exactly (I’ll hopefully find out tomorrow) but mostly it means a group is coming to analyze how the hospital is being managed and how it is performing. There is no licensing or governing power associated so we aren’t really sure what the purpose is. It has helped to get some things done around the hospital – the open wires are covered, window screens are repaired, broken glass removed and fences repaired. We’ve also just started getting new name badges printed and distributed so people are officially employees and identifiable now! Imagine that!?

My recent weeks have been busy and gone quickly. I’ve spent a significant amount of time trying to get some shipments cleared through customs. That has been a painful process and unfortunately the Malawian Government is becoming stricter in an effort to raise funds. They don’t consider replacement parts for equipment as “medical equipment” so essentially you can get the equipment in without duty but if you want to repair anything you have to pay tax. Sometimes working within these regulations is overwhelming.

Our record keeping in the accounting office has been very disorganized and insufficient. After our poor performance on the 2008 audit I had a meeting with the accounting staff and they decided to work extra and come in on Fridays until noon and get things organized. I’ve committed to come in and work with them. I’m proud of them for working hard and taking ownership. Some have really come up and showed some good leadership and I’m excited for the progress. Everyone shows up and works together and they are getting a lot accomplished. However this is my day off so this work takes up my time too.

I have managed to escape the hectic days a couple of times. Two weeks ago I went with four friends and climbed Mt. Mulanje! We only spent one night up on the plateau but it was one of my goals while I was here and I’m proud that I accomplished it! We were about 6,000 ft up and didn’t attempt to reach the summit which is close to 10,000 ft. We only went to the closest “hut” and there are nine huts on the mountain so I’d like to go back again and spend two nights and see more of the mountain. But I enjoyed it – the pain was worth it! I even took Bella with me and she did really well. Maybe next time I can actually carry my own pack the whole way!

Yesterday Cristy, Anthony, & I went for the day again to Mulanje and just went to the waterfalls that we’ve been to many times. It was Friday so I came in to work with the Accounting staff until about 10a and then left them to continue cleaning out files. Even though it is a drive to get to the mountain I am so thankful for that refuge – the peace, fresh air, and water does so much to refresh my soul!

Last Sunday I went and visited one of Malamulo’s remote clinic sites. It is called Mbalanguzi and is about 25 kms from the hospital but takes about 1.5 hrs to get there (and that’s with dry roads). We have a large amount of land with a clinic and a house on it. No one staffs it full time but there is such a need! I met with the chief and discussed bringing water and electricity to the site. There is also a need for a maize mill which would generate income for the clinic. I’m kind of excited about the possibilities out there mostly because of the desperate need for healthcare! They see about 50 patients every week and that day we brought about 10 patients back to be admitted to the hospital. The chief said his main concern is maternity, malnourishment, and those who are sick at night and die on the way. The nearest clinics to that site are 8 kms one way, and 7 the other. Malamulo is the closest hospital but there is no transportation out there except for the occasional lorry or truck headed to Makwasa. Talk about remote! I was wishing that I were a doctor or nurse and could be of some benefit to the people. As I am there is nothing I can do except figure out a way to make it habitable so someone else can go out there – that’s something I guess.

So is it the holidays? I honestly don’t know. I know the calendar says this next week is Thanksgiving and 4 weeks later is Christmas but I’m not in the spirit. I have to be at the Malawi Union year end meetings all next week – maybe I’ll slip out early on Thursday for dinner at some friend’s house. Christmas seems far away and I don’t have any plans. I guess being busy is beneficial in that I don’t have time to miss my family as much. But it also means I don’t have the time to enjoy the people here or the things happening around here as much.

11-27-09

This week has been challenging in many ways. I spent three days with the team from the GC. Both the days at Malamulo and the survey at Blantyre Adventist Hospital went well. Dr. Handysides and Dr. Landless were leading the team and they are both very wise, encouraging, and generous gentleman. They were also quite fatherly to Cristy and I which is always nice. J We like being taken care of! They had many good recommendations for Malamulo but many of the things we were already aware of and most of the things require money to fix or improve. It sounds like they will be able to give us some money but we haven’t heard how much for sure yet. Their visit to BAH was beneficial too and it was amazing to me how wisely and quickly they realized what the issues are. They were very supportive to Kirby and the initiatives that he is working on. They were very direct in their recommendations to the leadership of BAH. A couple named Ed & Ann Zinke were with the team and were evaluating the business side of things. They just sold a large business and are semi-retired. I spent some time with them and really appreciated their insight and encouragement.

The GC surveys overlapped with yearend meetings for the Malawian SDA church. I spent a couple of days in those meetings and then was able to be excused for Thanksgiving dinner. We invited everyone we could find and had about 25 people over at David and Susan Woods house in Blantyre. They have a 7 bedroom house so lots of room for visitors and interlopers like me. He is the country director for Maranatha for Malawi and Mozambique. It is so nice to have a place to relax that is homey. Cristy cooked up a storm and everyone else contributed as well. I guess that is what Thanksgiving is about – food, friends, family, and friends.

What Am I Doing Here?

Ok - I hate to admit it but this question has been going over and over in my head... is the work I'm doing here really making a difference? Am I accomplishing the purpose that I or the organization I'm representing had in mind? Now those of you who know me well, just wait! I don't mean to be-little what I have been doing and play it down. I know my Mom gets after me for not REALLY explaining what I ACTUALLY do when people ask - that is not what I'm trying to say here. But honestly I'm asking myself if I'm really accomplishing what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe I need to look at my job description again - I don't know. But today we had an exit interview with our internal auditors who just finished auditing 2008. The final report is not out but suffice it to say that everything that was on the letter for 2007 reappeared with some additions for 2008. Our qualified opinion for 2007 did not improve! (For you that are not accountants this means that if it was an exam - we failed.) So maybe you can imagine some of why I'm questioning my effect here. Has any of my last 15 months of work made a difference? Maybe you are thinking that it has because they only audited through 2008 which was only about 5 months after I arrived. But the problem is that most of the items they pointed out have YET to be corrected!!!

I find it very difficult to know how to change a culture of this organization. How do we implement controls and motivators to get people to move from the lazes fare attitude into one of commitment and active participation in the mission of this hospital. I'm "all fired up" as some might say and ready to give 'em a piece of my mind. At the same time I can't do this alone and be the only one demanding good performance and results from our employees. I do feel the members of Administration are supportive and in tune with these changes but I'm struggling to find a way to communicate it to the staff members.

I find my "to-do" list growing too... big things like "customer service training for all staff" and "job evaluations for all staff" - which by the way first requires a training on how to properly evaluate an employee before evaluating all 200 employees. Another thing is policies for all departments. Wow! I think if I can do half of my list I'll feel good.

So yes - I'm still searching for the answer to my question. What is my role? How do I focus on these big things and let the every day items be handled by someone else? This is my daily challenge and I am learning about limits and commitments as well. I bet you didn't think mission work included things like this, huh? So when you pray for the "missionaries and colporteurs" tonight before you sleep you might have a different viewpoint of missionaries these days... and realize a little bit more clearly what kinds of things we struggle with. Thank you, by the way, for those prayers. I think that is what keeps me from losing it some days!

Life Goes On...

But how does it go on? How do the living pick up after the dead and sort out what was left behind? What do you do when it’s sudden, unexpected, and unprepared for? How do you encourage those left behind wandering through the mine field of grief? The words of an old song summarize it all, “how can I help you say goodbye?” Maybe these questions would apply even if you expected to lose someone but this week it was sudden and unexpected.

These questions have been bombarding my mind and I find myself wishing to just erase a day from history – is that possible? Can we rewind and do things differently? I wish with my heart we could and mostly that we could have seen the signs of depression or a loss of a will to live before this happened. I could go on and on with “what if’s” but I’ve already realized that is not profitable or even realistic.

So you’re probably wondering what happened by now – I’ll try to explain without being too long-winded. He worked in our business office as the “credit controller” or the one who recorded payments patients made on their account and collected money from the insurance company and other payers. He had only been in this position since the first of the year and before that he was manager of the inventory and stock warehouses. As you can imagine I’ve worked quite closely with him over the last year that I’ve been here. The week before last it was discovered that in an effort to be “helpful” he offered to turn their money in for them and give them a receipt from a different book (still Malamulo but not from the cashier so not “on record”). The accountant met with him that day and then the next business day was I along with several members of management met with him and gave him a letter of suspension and explained we would be reporting this to police. The amount of money was not astronomical but we felt it should be reported to authorities for documented back up for termination.

He was calm and admitted to everything both verbally and in writing. There was no anger visible although he was understandably nervous. Afterwards we planned to take him to the police department so he went back to his house to lock up the doors. So a little while later I went with the accountant and the HR manager to report it to the police. We wanted to take him with us but couldn’t raise him on his phone. We all tried several times but thought we’d just go anyway and make the report. We brought the police officers back with us to find him. All of this should only be done, they told us, after we contacted his closest relative. After realizing he had no wife or children his next closest relative was a cousin who works at the hospital. We stood and discussed things for a while – should we break in? What if he’s not there and sues the police? What if he is there and we are wasting time?

Finally we went to his house and decided to break in. They quickly opened the door (amazing how easily they know how to break in!) and it was confirmed that we needed to RUSH him to the hospital as he had taken something and was non-responsive. We hadn’t come in a car but were right behind the hospital in the housing block so I took off running to find the ambulance or some vehicle. (Picture me in a dress with 3 inch wedge heels RUNNING past all the ladies chatting that I had just walked calmly by.) I got to the front of the hospital – no vehicle! Someone else ran to general ward and got a canvas stretcher. I turned around and was trying to call at the same time to find the driver – phones weren’t working!! On my way back (by this time I took off my shoes and was barefoot) I saw Cristy and urgently called her to come with me and told her briefly what I knew. I thought if there was anything that could be done at the house she could help until a vehicle came. We walked/ran back to the house and both cars were there that I had been looking for!! (Thank God for Malawian telepathy!)

The next two hours were spent intermittently waiting, praying, comforting people and grinding charcoal into powder. The team of doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel worked frantically to bring him around. Things started to calm down and they moved him from a treatment room into a patient room. I had to go check on some things around the hospital so left. I was hopeful in what seemed like “stability” so figured things would be okay. As I was coming back about ½ hour later someone told me that he had just passed away!! I was in shock! I walked in and saw Cristy who was visibly shaken as well. I went into his room to pay respects and tears overwhelmed me.

I cried because I was sad for him… sad that he felt this was his only solution… sad that I had just seen and talked to him and now he was dead… sad that I hadn’t been able to see his pain or help in some way. I stayed around as employees came and filed into the room. After they’d come they lined up outside the ward on the lawn, in the hallways, and everywhere they could. They were sitting in respect and mourning. Some were crying but most were silent – no chatting, no questions – just quiet. (Something I value about grief in Malawi – the practice of just being present.)

Meanwhile I spoke with some family members and close friends, the police, found Don and walked with him up there, waited for decisions to be made, and generally just tried to absorb the feeling of sadness and grief that filled the air. The funeral and burial were the next day at a nearby cemetery. It was a different service than I had attended before. There was no singing and very little preaching. As we walked from the house where the funeral was to the burial there was no singing and actually not much weeping. After asking about why these differences it seems that the community acts out their judgment on someone who takes their own life saying that “God is angry” and “there can’t be any singing when someone kills themselves”. Apparently even the short homily by the pastor was not really acceptable in this situation! I was surprised at the harshness and a sentence of damnation pronounced by those who are left behind. Obviously a difference in culture and religious beliefs but also doesn’t portray the God that I believe in.

So the days move on and we do have to pick up after the dead – whether we know how or not. We are busy sorting through the office he left and the work he did or did not do; moving people into places and at the same time being gracious at the accusations that are flying very unfairly. The verse in Paul’s writings that say “My grace is sufficient and my strength is made perfect in weakness” keeps ringing in my ears and I believe it! His grace IS sufficient and has been the strength that I am relying on.

a living prayer

a song by alison krauss has become very meaningful to me here in Malawi... It's called "A Living Prayer" and once again i play it and am comforted by knowing that there is One who holds my hand even though at times i seem to be quite alone...

Yesterday and today have been extraordinarily difficult. One of our employees whom i've worked closely with and considered a friend decided to end his life. Within 36 hours of death he is buried and it is essentially over. but i feel that this loss will linger on and it has been a blow to the staff at the hospital. Most are sad, some are angry that he didn't seek other help, all are questioning "why?". I don't have any answers and my heart aches that he felt this was his only solution to the troubles he faced.

Mostly this song expresses my desire to really BE a living prayer; that my life will be such that it brings honor to God and brings others to him. "Take my life and let me be a living prayer, my God to thee." That is my desire and that is the reason I exist.

the lyrics are as follows:

"A Living Prayer"
In this world I walk alone with no place to call my home
But there's One who holds my hand
The rugged road through barren lands
The way is dark, the road is steep
But He's become my eyes to see
The strength to climb, my griefs to bear
This Savior lives inside me there

In Your love I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to thee

In these trials of life I find
Another Voice inside my mind
He comforts me and bids me live
Inside the love the Father gives

In your love I find release
haven from my unbelief
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to thee
take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to thee
(http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alisonkrauss/alivingprayer.html)

And..... I'm Back

Well I've officially been in Malawi a week now - hard to believe! I can say I am completely unpacked as well which is nice after living out of suitcases for two months! On the way back I spent 2.5 days in England with Clare (a friend working in Malawi from England). I got to see some of the countryside and have a real English experience. We visited Windsor Castle and Salisbury Cathedral as well as go to the pub for fish & chips, ride the train, eat tea at 4pm, and eat breakfast in the garden (i.e. back yard). It was fun and Clare's family were very hospitable.

Being back has brought a flood of unexpected emotions and thoughts but I am doing well now. I didn't expect to face the feelings I have, but with some prayers, tears, and encouragement from good friends I've moved through that and am just trying to be open to what God is teaching me here. Probably the biggest thing is just not expecting to be so overwhelmed so quickly!

It has been good to see my friends here in Malawi again. Things are still doing fairly well at the hospital. We have had some major personnel changes - one being the Business Manager who was called to our SDA clinic in Lilongwe. I worked very closely with him so this change has made a difference in my work. However the accountant has stepped up and filled in that role and is doing a good job. We are still making a profit year to date for which I am thankful and I can say this is probably one of the first years in MANY that there has been a positive net increase! Praise God!!

One sad note is that our car got broken into while Cristy and I were both gone. It was parked in front of our house and someone apparently was looking for a home stereo system so they took the stereo, speakers, battery, all of the cds, and broke the window to get in. It has made me a little more wary of my safety but also thankful to have a big dog sleeping by my bed while I'm alone!

Speaking of the dog - Bella - was well taken care of by Kelly and Wes & Chrislyn although I think she missed her mom. She has lost some weight and wasn't eating well but seems to be getting back to her self. Yesterday when I was putting away my suitcases she was worried and started hiccupping and whimpering thinking I was packing to leave again. Funny how animals are just as attached as we are to them! She will be good as new when Cristy gets back. Hobbes, the cat, mostly took care of himself and stayed around the house. Masa fed him every day but he was definitely glad to see me and I'm thankful that they are both back home and doing well.

I'm going to pick up Cristy from the airport on Sabbath. Masa has never been to the airport before (can you imagine??) so I am going to take him with me! Should be exciting for him! I will be happy to have her back and then the team here will be complete again.

God is certainly blessing although at times I struggle to know why it is so difficult for me. I think this is a part of my journey that I won't really understand for a while. I long so much to understand and be in the center of God's will but I'll never understand or see the big picture that God is creating.

There are good things happening in Malawi though - one big exciting piece of news is that Blantyre Adventist Hospital is officially COMPLETELY debt free! They have worked hard over the past 4 years and have finally reached this big goal! The work in Malawi is definitely moving ahead although there are so many road blocks. Yesterday we had a media team from the Hope Channel in South Africa doing some filming here and one of the gentlemen had been here about 4 years ago and he told me he can tell a big difference and improvement in the hospital since then! That is so encouraging to hear!

So thank you for your prayers and interest. Please continue to pray... some specific needs are:
*New Human Resource Manager
*New Business Manager
*Solution for good internet service
*funds for building/repairing housing

Summer Fun

Life is what is happening here. I'm thankful to be able to share life with my family for some time this summer. My Mom and I spent about a week together and traveled to Arizona. We rented a car and drove up to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon the day before the ASI convention started in Phoenix. The drive was unique and HOT but the canyon was amazing. It was something neither one of us had seen so even though we were only there a short time it was well worth it. The majesty and beauty of that place is incredible. I hope to go back again sometime and explore it some more – maybe even take a pack mule trip into the bottom. The rest of the week we spent at ASI where it was nice to see Cristy and her family (which are like a second family to me). There were many interesting people to connect with and some good meetings. Loma Linda had a booth so I spent some time there and also did a couple of short presentations during the seminars. On Sabbath Dr Hart did an afternoon presentation about Loma Linda for Alumni and interested people and asked Cristy, Greg, Audrey, & I to talk about our respective projects. It was really interesting for me to learn what is happening at Loma Linda as well. They have some exciting plans for the future and have an amazing focus on mission with AHI being a big part of that.

After ASI I flew out to Orlando to see some friends. I stayed with Allen and Tangie in their new house. Braelyn is 2 yo now and quite talkative. They invited a few friends over for dinner Monday night so it was good to see everyone. I also got to meet up with Jason & Becki from Chicago on for lunch one day. It was amazing that it worked out that they were down for a wedding the same weekend. Mostly my visit there was just relaxing. I spent time at the pool (working on my tan), read a book, watched a couple of movies and generally just relaxed. On Thursday morning I did a short presentation at Adventist Health System for their staff meeting. It was so nice to see all of my former co-workers and share with them some of what I'm doing now. I really miss having that community of people to work with and to give guidance. Thank you to Phyllis, Amy and all of the employees for their interest and support.

Loma Linda School of Public Health has been working on a proposal to the Presidential Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (www.pepfar.gov) for Malawi related specifically to lab equipment and training related to AIDS. This is an extremely large grant in conjunction with John's Hopkins and University of North Carolina. At ASI Dr. Hart told us that the grant had been approved! This will impact Malamulo significantly as it will be a CHAM center of training for the southern part of Malawi. This coincides with the coming of a husband and wife team from the Philippines who are lab technicians. They will be coming to Malawi in October and will be key in implementing the grant and the upgrades to the lab at Malamulo. I don't know all of the details yet but I am going to be helping to manage and implement the grant in Malawi so I'm sure I will learn all about it soon.

Speaking of which I will be going down to Loma Linda next week to meet with the people at LLU School of Public Health to discuss and learn about this grant. Because of this my time has been extended. I will be heading back to Malawi on the 6^th of September. I am stopping along the way in London to see a friend for a couple of days. If any of you have recommendations of things to do in the London area let me know!

So this week is basically my last week of "hanging out" before I leave. I'm enjoying being with my nephews and all of the adventures that we have. Today they discovered a dead animal in the nearby field and then they saw the vultures circling and had to go and investigate again. Last night Nicole and I slept out on the deck and barely survived the cold and damp night. Maybe next time I'll try a tent. J On Friday I went with the two older boys to OMSI in Portland with Randy and his class. We went hiking up to Abiqua falls where the boys caught lots of big crawdads. I've been able to see several friends and also spend time with my parents while I've been home. I was up in Kelso on Monday and we went to the farmer's market and we had lunch with one of my Aunts. I think I'm up to my limit of clothes and other goodies to take back to Malawi although the stores are still tempting me!

Since I don't want to bore you with more measly details – suffice it to say that this break has been good – no better than good – it's been relaxing, restful, adventuresome, challenging, affirming, and encouraging. I'm so thankful to be in a family and a situation to be able to live and work in Malawi. I don't think I have all of the answers and in some ways going back to Malawi is more intimidating then going the first time: now I know what lies ahead and what kinds of challenges I am facing. One thing I forgot to mention is that I've been asked to be the director of finance for the Malamulo College of Health Sciences as well. They have been struggling over the past couple of years and are in the process of coming under the umbrella of AHI. I need prayer in this area because I don't know quite how I will manage everything…

As I was saying – sometimes it's even more challenging to go back… Something that is encouraging though is to re-read some of my journaling from last year and to see how God led me to make the decision to go. My family was and is so supportive and that is a big part of me being able to work effectively. I have so much to be thankful for – I can't even list them all. My heart is overwhelmed with blessings and thankfulness.

Picasa Web Album

I've posted quite a few photos of Malawi on Picasa and wanted to give you the link... http://picasaweb.google.com/elisa.brown

I've just finished four days watching my three nephews on my own. It was fun! We made some art projects, went swimming, worked in the garden, went to the library, spent time with Grandma Brown, Grandpa Sowa and just generally tried to survive the heatwave that hit the Northwest. Ryan and Nathan discovered the butterfly net and caught a few butterflies. The thrilling screeches of "Auntie!!!! I just caught a butterfly!!!!!!!" will stick in my mind! I brought them a new "Complete Guide to Insects and Spiders" so it was fun to identify the bugs and butterflies that they were catching.

Thankfully I'm feeling better since I had a cold the first part of the week. It was so nice that my Mom came down and helped out over one night. The days were up about 100-105 F too so that made it worse - with no AC!!

It has been good to chat on the phone with friends while I'm home. I'm looking forward to next week with Mom and seeing friends at ASI. I'll be traveling for the next couple of weeks but I'm sure I'll still be online - of course!

Blueberries, Dirt Piles, & Sunshine

Summertime! I've decided that I'm a warm-blooded person! It was cold for about 2 weeks in Malawi (cold is relative – down to about 50 F) before I came home to 80-90 F days! This is what I like! Since I've been home I've enjoyed spending time with my parents, brother & his family, and we even got to have a picnic at my uncle's house with my aunt from Southern Oregon. It was a treat to be able to share some stories and photos with them too! We've gone to pick blueberries 3 times in 2 weeks and have enjoyed eating most of them fresh! The garden is starting to produce now so we get excited to be able to have entire meals fresh from the garden! What a blessing! Of course there is the river on the hot days and sitting on the deck with a glass of ice tea on the long summer evenings (I forgot that the sun doesn't set until 9p here!).

I had to get some shopping in (after none for a YEAR!) and was excited to find some good deals at the outlet mall. Of course there are some fun clothes here at home that I've forgotten all about! Nicole and Randy are going on a 4 day cruise next week so she and I decided to go and get a pedicure. I am getting so spoiled – I guess it has to last for the next year so… I don't mind. J BUT I am watching the 3 boys for them while they are gone so it was nice to have a "girl's morning".

On Thursday I got the urge to "get away" so I found a hotel in Lincoln City and headed to the beach for the night and the next day! What a beautiful part of the country! I enjoyed the fresh salt air and the endless waves crashing on the rocks. I even found a few rocks to bring back to Ryan for his rock collection! Part of my time at home is needed to refuel and refresh to be able to face another year of work in Malawi. Not that the work is impossible but it is definitely draining emotionally and physically. With the encouragement of friends and family and some time with God I think that I will be able to function when I go back. I am reading a book called "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson – I recommend it!

I don't have much more news… I've done a presentation at the Woodland SDA Church and am planning to do a short presentation in Orlando at AHS. I will also be at ASI in Phoenix so if any of you are around there look me up. I am probably not getting a cell phone so email is the best way to contact me.

Almost Home

I've waited for a long time to type that! Now just one week from tomorrow I'll be boarding a plane to go home for a visit. Some have asked if this is the "amen" of my time here. No – I'm only going for a vacation. I am looking forward to it in SO many ways – even more than I can list here. Mostly I'm looking forward to being with my family and resting. My emotional reserves are completely gone and I need to figure out how to refill them as well as just being physically tired. Of course there are things like Tillamook ice cream, fresh blueberries, camping, Mom's cooking that I can't wait for. I don't know how to explain it to you – if you have been somewhere like Africa for a long period of time you might understand. I will miss Malawi though – for sure! The friends I've made here and of course the dog and cat will be sorely missed.

While I'm home it would be great to see you but I'll have to admit that my priority is my family. I will be around though so if anyone is at the following places it would be great to connect!

• July 11 – Woodland SDA Church Woodland, WA – I'm speaking for church about Malamulo and Malawi
  
• July 18 – Oregon Conference Campmeeting – Gladstone, OR
  
• August 5-9 – ASI conference – Pheonix, AZ
  
• August 9-13 – Orlando, FL – hanging out with friends
  

I will still be online of course (probably much more quickly). I'll hopefully be getting a cell phone so that I can communicate with you. I ask for your thoughts and prayers as I wrap up this last week with meetings, board meetings, a volunteer group here and packing. Please pray for angels to fly with me as well.

More when I reach American soil.

Bella

Meet Bella - cross between bull mastiff and lab/retriever. She is 9 weeks old and just came to live at our house on Friday. She already weighs 18 pounds and is destined to be a small horse soon! She prefers toes to chew on but will steal your heart with her big, gray eyes and long ears. Hobbes, the cat, is going through sibling rivalry and is learning to share his space all the while giving Bella the evil eye. We are happy to have a puppy but I remember again why I'm not a "dog person". :)

Wish I Were There

Funny how whenever you find yourself there you end up wishing you were somewhere else… I've found myself in this boat many times. I have anticipated something coming soon – a trip, an event, a new job, new town – only that when I get there I find myself thinking somewhere else might be better. I guess that is why the phrase "the grass is always greener on the other side" rings so true. So today – I'm in Malawi – AFRICA – a place that many people only dream of visiting and I'm living here and working here! Today didn't go like I had planned – I needed to get to Lilongwe today but I couldn't get through to the bus company to make reservations this morning. (Phone systems in Malawi are less than ideal let alone people actually answering their phone.) So I decided to drive the hour into Blantyre for the 2 pm coach hoping there would be space. I got into town and found out the coach leaves at 4 pm and it was FULL. Then I decided to wait, hoping someone wouldn't show up but waited at the wrong place realizing about 2 minutes before the coach arrived that there was no way I would be able to get a seat on this bus. My only back up plan (since the hospital vehicle had long since gone) was to sleep in Blantyre tonight at some friends house who are at Malamulo but assure me they are coming back to Blantyre tonight.

After realizing all of this and making arrangements for the 7am coach tomorrow morning I walked over to a hotel across from my friend's house to wait. And this is where I find myself contemplating the "greener grass". You see I'm at a place called Ryalls Hotel which is like stepping into a Hilton. The contrast is startling. From the midst of the biggest city in a small, poverty stricken country into soft lighting, dark wood accents, air conditioning, soft American music playing, easy and fast wireless internet, and waiters bringing me coffee. This is not Africa. This is one of the only places I can come and actually not have someone come and chat with me or ask me 20 questions about my country of origin. I crave places like this. I long for a place to be anonymous; where no one is calling me "azungu" or "give me money" or "what is your name?" So the comfort of this place makes me wonder why… why do I want to be somewhere else besides the "normal" Malawi? Why do I look for these quiet havens with some resemblance of western life and culture? I've chosen and even been excited to come and live in Malawi and yet I find this place like a salve for my soul that at times feels overwhelmed by the cultural adjustments and demands.

I am feeling emotionally taxed these days by myriad of things. So I value these quiet spaces of comfort and a taste of the "greener pastures". I guess that is my answer although I am still learning to enjoy where I AM – with all the unusual questions and demands – and not longing for "there".

Elections

Tuesday, May 19 are general elections in Malawi. We are hoping for a calm and peaceful week. Here are a few things I've learned about politics here:

• There are two main parties - United Democratic Front (UDF), Democratic People's Party (DPP)
• Presidents are in office for 5 years and can serve two terms
• The current president - Bingu - is the DPP party and favored to win
• The country is represented by MPs and they are all re-elected every 5 years as well
• The House of Parliment is disolved in March of the year of elections and there are no representations in the capital for those three months until new MPs are elected
• Almost everything halts until after the elections - especially government funded projects
• Everyone has to register to vote and on voting day they go to their location early in the morning and stand in line - sometimes all day to vote.
• Candidates get votes by giving gifts - soap, food, fertalizer, seeds, etc.
  

We are closing the outpatient part of the hospital (except for emergencies) on that day. Most employees will be gone voting anyway. I'm planning to just stay home mostly this week! The US Embassy recommends to stay away from urban areas and any public gatherings.

It will be interesting to see how it goes. We are guessing that the exchange rate with Dollars and GBP will change dramatically after elections. Even now there is almost no foreign currency available in the country which limits importing and is raising the price of supplies and food. Right now the bank rate is 140:1 USD but at the exchange houses it is 180:1 and we expect it to go over 200 with the bank rate going up as well. This just means that the Malawi Kwacha is losing value and that the cost of EVERYTHING will go up. Salaries cannot keep up with this inflation.

So if you were wondering - yes, the global economy crisis is effecting Malawi albeit slower than the western world. It is also effecting aid to the country which is what is propping up the economy. We are seeing our donors tightening their expenditures and being more cautious about how money is used. I expect it will effect the medicines and medical supplies eventually as well.

I guess we just wait and see ---

The Angry Giraffe and Co.

A Break – FINALLY!

Happy Easter to all! First I just want to say that the reason I have faith and believe in salvation is because of the holiday that was just celebrated. Although it was not really emphasized here at all I am still thankful for the death of Jesus and his resurrection from the grave. It is certainly reason to celebrate and rejoice in the gift of grace and salvation.

Because of the holiday I got a few days off of work and decided to take a much needed break. My friend here Ali (a VSO volunteer from the UK) suggested I look into Zomba Forest Lodge. She said it had a lot of "character" and that I would enjoy it. So I called and booked two nights there – Sunday and Monday – and came back Tuesday. It is an old colonial house half way up Zomba Plateau. It has been re-done into a guest house/lodge run by a man named Ronald from South Africa. He and his dog Obs live there and they have a staff that prepare the food, clean, and keep the grounds. There is no electricity although a warm shower and running water. It gets cold at night so my bed had a down comforter and there was a huge fireplace in the front room for the long evenings. Plenty of kerosene lanterns lit the rooms so I didn't even miss not having electricity.

I decided not to have an agenda while I was there so I enjoyed the beautiful flowers and grounds, laughed with the other guests who were there, read a book, took a nap, and just generally enjoyed my time there. On Monday morning I drove up to the top of the plateau (about 10 kms) and went horseback riding. It was a beautiful, cloudless day. The horse was wonderful and it was just a beautiful time. Then I ate a small lunch at a picnic spot along a creek while I read my book. (For good photos of the horses and Zomba Plateau visit http://web.mac.com//plateaustables.) I can't explain how it was but just being out in nature, with a clear blue sky, and peace and no agenda was amazing! I was a little "saddle sore" for the next couple of days, but definitely worth it!

At the lodge there were other guests – a couple from the UK, four from Norway, the South African owner, and myself. It was quite the cultural mix - made discussions around the dinner table and fireplace quite interesting. They were either there on holiday or working in Malawi with some kind of humanitarian project. The man from Norway is an orthopedic surgeon working at the government hospital in Lilongwe for a year. Another lady from the UK that came the next day is in Malawi for a year working with a project that provides meals for 350,000 children in primary (grade) schools around Malawi. It is funded by an organization in Scotland and she is running the whole thing.

Time has just flown by since this little "outing" of mine. We have been busy with 14 guests from Loma Linda, CA. Eleven of them were 4^th year medical students, along with Dr. Jim Matiko and his wife Becki. He is an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Loma Linda and their son was one of the eleven students. They just left today after being here for three weeks. They were a big help around the hospital and one of them said last night that she feels like she learned more this month than she has in all of her other rotations this year. We had fun showing them around Malawi a bit as well as eating with them, chatting, playing games, and a movie night thrown in. Dr. Matiko was a big help with several surgical cases and also got to volunteer in town at a couple of the hospitals there. He even got to attend an orthopedics conference where the highlight was treatment of crocodile bites!

One of the big things they did to help was distribute the 96 hospital beds that ADRA donated. I didn't realize how big of a job that would be but the students from Loma Linda worked hard to move the old beds out and put the new ones in their place. Some of the old ones can still be used so we are going to donate them to other mission hospitals or other facilities as well as keep some here for back up. The new beds came with nice, proper hospital mattresses too which will be a wonderful change from the 4" foam (or less) that they have been sleeping on. We are steadily working to make things a little bit nicer with new linens at the annex, new curtains (made from hospital divider curtains) and other little things around campus.

It has been busy with visitors lately. Cristy's parents were here for two weeks from West Virginia and we certainly enjoyed their visit. It was nice to have some "mom food" and I know they were especially encouraging to Cristy to have family here. Also while they were here Donna (her mom, and a nurse) helped organize injections for all of our employees for Hepatitis B vaccine. We had gotten it several months ago but hadn't been able to have staff available to give the injections. This is a huge benefit to our staff as it is good for life and something that no other hospital offers. Cristy's Dad was also a big help to her in the hospital doing rounds and some teaching. Donna also got really attached to Hobbes, her "grand-cat". He was certainly enjoying being spoiled with always a warm lap to sit on. We decided they should come and visit several times a year.

Today Faith Lukens and her husband Charles arrive from Kentucky for 10 days. Cristy and I went to Southern with her and she and Cristy lived together during med school. We are looking forward to their visit. In May there is a couple coming from Loma Linda looking at Malamulo as a possible place for mission service. They will be here for a week. We have various visitors for the day coming and going as well – ADRA Sweden is here today and back again next week to look at our water project. Also related to our water project, Wes & Chrislyn Lutz are coming with their two little ones to volunteer for 6 months to manage the installation of the new water system. They are planning to come the middle of May.

I find myself quite overwhelmed a lot with the role that I am in here – not just Malamulo but the other facilities in Malawi. There are certainly good things happening and the devil is causing some trouble. Please continue to pray for the personnel and leadership at Blantyre Adventist Hospital and Adventist Health Center in Lilongwe. I was able last week to spend some time with Florence who runs Adventist Health Services, the organization that has the 18 clinics around Malawi. Now that I have a car I am freer to spend the time in town that I need to. I hope to go in again and meet with their business manager soon. Their biggest challenge is maintenance of the buildings. They just got a 680,000 pound (~$500,000 USD) grant from the UK for a mother and children project that is running over 4 years. There are some excellent things happening there.

There and Back Again

Well, well – where do I start? I don't want to write a book here but it has been almost a month since I've written anything. The major reason is because I was gone for five days on an AMAZING road trip around the country of Malawi!! This was somewhat last minute and unplanned – thus being all the more exciting! As I've mentioned before there is a group of college students planning to come to Malawi in June. As part of the trip they will be doing evangelism/Bible teaching meetings for 7 nights in the respective locations. A volunteer evangelist, Jonathan Leonard, has agreed to work with the students and coordinate the evangelism and so to do a better job at that he came to do some site planning for two weeks. Jonathan was here last summer for 2 months and actually met me at the airport when I arrived and then left a week later. So it is nice to have someone I know to work together on preparations for this trip. So – a long story shorter – we met with the leaders of the fields (like conferences) in Blantyre and realized it was imperative not only for him to go but for me to go as well to arrange for accommodations, volunteer projects, get costs of things, take photos and make vital contacts for when the students come. We are hoping to have 60 students and sponsors spread around 5 sites in Malawi doing a simultaneous mission trip. (I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it!!) Thankfully we were able to take our new car (perfect timing on having wheels) and Blantyre Adventist Hospital fronted the money for fuel for the trip! Jonathan and I drove about 2,000 kilometers in 5 days and visited 3 of the sites that are in the Northern part of Malawi. It is a beautiful country – now I can say that officially since I've seen all but the very northern part that boarders Tanzania. Thankfully we were able to meet with many people, make good plans, and we had no mishaps with the car. It ran perfectly – even through the 20 kms of deep mud that I got to try the 4WD out on! While coming back we drove along Lake Malawi for about 200 kms and thoroughly enjoyed the view along the way. Unfortunately Jonathan didn't have his license so I ended up doing all of the driving! Needless to say I was exhausted by the end of the trip and ready to stay put for a while!

Overall it was a great trip and even better that we got along well and didn't drive each other crazy! Jonathan is doing a good job organizing and coordinating the evangelism part of the trip and it was helpful for me to go along for the other parts as well. God blessed and I'm thankful to have someone like Jonathan to work with on this project and to travel around the country with.

Here are some photos from the trip:

L to R: the man who owns the land where we are going to hold the meetings at Lakeview, the pastor, and Jonathan.

Every good trip needs a photo of the road…

We stopped to eat lunch near this field of sunflowers.

The trusty car with Lake Malawi in the background

In other news –

Cristy's parents, Steve & Donna Shank are here for a 2 week visit from West Virginia. It has been so nice to have them here! Not only for the wonderful treats they brought us – it was like Christmas when they came – but also for the time to chat, hugs, "mom" food, and the blessing of having a full house. Cristy has certainly enjoyed having her family here and this weekend they are getting away to Liwonde Game Park to stay in the lodge for a few nights. Cristy certainly deserves some days away for a rest.

Yesterday I went to the airport to pick up a group of 14 people from Loma Linda. They are eleven 4^th year med students along with an orthopedic surgeon and his wife – here for three weeks. It certainly is fun to have more "azungus" around (white people). They all seem excited to be here although last I saw them they were quite exhausted. They will be here for three weeks so they will have some good times I'm sure.

BUNKBEDS!!! We had planned to have bunkbeds made for the large group coming in June and so decided we would try to get them done for this group of 14 that just arrived. Well procrastination seemed to catch up with us and suddenly Mr. Santos, in the workshop, only had one week to make 6 sets of bunkbeds!! Needless to say he did it!! He welded 6 sets of bunkbeds which doubled our capacity in the guest house from 6 to 12 – four in each room. They were generously provided by the SIMS department at Loma Linda University who originally built the guest house many years ago. Thankfully Mr. Santos is very creative and did a WONDERFUL job in a short amount of time! They were putting together the beds and putting the new mattresses on when we got back from the airport last night.

So yes - *deep breath* - there has been a lot going on. I have to admit that I'm close to exhausted. Between not sleeping in my own bed (it's in use by the Shanks) and all of the traveling and "busy-ness" of each day I am tired! There is also turmoil continuing at the other facilities in Blantyre and Lilongwe and that worries me. I am striving for the "peace that passes understanding" but have had a hard time finding it lately. Realizing that some days are more than I can handle and being allowed to struggle through them with the support of Cristy and Don and others has been a blessing. Please pray for me here and for wisdom and patience to deal with the daily challenges that come.

Welcome With Both Hands

This morning Mrs. Petani came to my office asking if I could come with her to a youth HIV/AIDS awareness program that they were doing in a village about 5 kilometers from the hospital. Even though it was the last minute I cleared my afternoon and was able to go. It was literally at the end of the road! The road wound up and down some hills and the view was amazing out over the maize and tea fields. We ended up in the village at the school (one of the nicest I’ve seen here) and the kids were out in full force! Being the only white person there (and extra white at that) I felt like a celebrity might feel with everyone staring, waving, and trying to touch me. (It didn’t help that we were driving through the villages with a loud speaker on the back of the truck and the music cranked up!) I don’t like that feeling at all and it’s hard to explain to my Malawian friends that I would like to just blend in. As usual though, the welcome was very warm and friendly. The headmaster of the school greeted me and in the traditional way said, “You are welcome with both hands”.

The program was all in Chichewa but still entertaining and interesting. They have some older youth groups that do dramas for these programs and they are quite good! It is teaching basic things like where to go to get tested for HIV (Malamulo has a testing day in this village once a month), where to go to get treatment (ARVs), how husbands should accompany their wives for antenatal treatment, and other things. Many of the teaching tries to overcome the traditional and social stigma or mis-information that is out there. It is a long process to educate them but the programs done by Malamulo are well known and successful.

In other news – I’ve been busy so haven’t written here for a while. The biggest news of all is that Cristy and I have finally (after searching on and off for 6 months or so) found a car! It is a 1995 Toyota RAV4, manual transmission, 4WD. It is older but low mileage and to be honest, cars here are expensive so it is what we could afford. It is so nice even just to know we can go somewhere if we want to. The very next day after we got it was a public holiday so we took a road trip to a game park about 2 hours away (I’ve posted pictures from there before here). It was great!

Things at the hospital are going fairly well. God continues to bless us and some of the efforts that we started when I first came are now becoming successful. We’ve also just restructured some in the business office due to one person resigning so that is a positive change as well. As I was just telling the Business Manager, at times we have to move in faith and support the activities that are really bringing in the revenue and eventually we will pay off the other things we owe.

Many of you have asked how the meeting with the Malawi tax people went. We are still waiting to hear from the head office, but in the meantime they said “you’ve never kept your promises so we want to see the lump sum payment you promised”. Don and I took that to them last week so we are hoping to hear from them any time. It is nice that they are supportive and doing what they can to work with us. Thank you for your prayers related to this!

We have had another answer to prayer too – a few weeks ago four of us got together to pray specifically about the financial and personnel issues at the hospital. It was a wonderful time of worship and community. THE VERY NEXT DAY we got an unexpected check for a donation of $6,600 from Loma Linda Alumni Association!! Wow – and me being a little dense took a day or two to realize this was part of the answer to our prayer – though not all we are still SO thankful!

There are still areas of concern – specifically now at Blantyre Adventist Hospital. The employees are making unreasonable demands on the CEO and have even tried to strike. Don and I have been there several times for meetings and just to be as supportive as possible to our sister institution. I can’t share all of the gory details here but please remember the hospital and Kirby Kasinja specifically (the CEO) during these next few days. He is doing a good job but is extremely stressed.

I end with a photo of Hobbes and me. For some reason he loves to sit on my shoulders or whatever point is the most precarious. He causes trouble (as most teenage cats do) and knows when we aren’t looking to jump on the counters or try to climb in the fridge. But when he’s sleeping or tired he is very sweet and he loves to play. He has been a good companion and friend for Cristy and I. He makes us laugh and is practicing his hunting skills with bugs and worms. We are hoping he will be ready for rats soon but not sure the ceiling will hold up if we put him up there!

We are looking forward to lots of visitors in the next couple of months. I’m sure I’ll post more about that later!

Overwhelming Joy

This week has been good for two reasons in particular…

One was Tuesday evening. We met after work as leadership for a time of prayer and reflection related to the hospital and the needs here. This is something I have been thinking about and feeling prompted to do for a few weeks and it finally worked out. Don had asked me to lead out so over the past week or so I had been thinking about how best to do this. We invited about 20 people but only four of us ended up meeting. [For those of you that know me well you know I’ve been involved in lots of different prayer experiences and learned and studied about prayer. But every time an opportunity comes like this I still feel a little bit nervous about how best to lead because each group of people and situation is so different.]

As I was thinking and planning during the past couple of weeks, I felt it was important to go step by step and incorporate scripture into prayers and listening. We first considered being in the presence of God (Revelation 4), then moved to confession of sins (Psalm 15 & 51), then making requests (Luke 11), and finally thanksgiving. It was just nice to pray together and it seemed like God’s spirit was present. Everyone participated and I think gained a blessing. I’m not sure if it will be a regular thing but it was a blessing to me to have friends to pray with. Some of the things we prayed about was the financial situation (asking for a miracle), guidance & wisdom, for the staff, for our sister institutions – Blantyre Adventist Hospital, and the clinic in Lilongwe.

The second thing that made this week good happened on Wednesday. This one is harder to explain but I’ll do my best. Ali had gotten several donations of children’s clothes and stuffed toys and decided that Wednesday was the day to give them away to the kids in the NRU (this is the ward for the malnourished children where food and care is provided free). The NRU is full right now with 21 kids because this is the “hungry time” where food is scarce and they are even more susceptible to being undernourished.

So we divided everything that she brought into 21 piles to be able to give them all out evenly. There were brand new socks, clothes, knitted sweaters, and small stuffed animals. Ali, the 4-5 employees and I passed out the piles to each mom and child. If I could put into words the smiles on the faces of some of the children I would – but it seems impossible. Before long every child had something new on – socks pulled up to their knees, a shirt 4 sizes too big or a pair overalls that didn’t even come together (size wasn’t really an issue apparently). Usually the kids who are here are not well and really unresponsive or scared of white people. But there was one little girl named Alice who had the brightest smile I’ve seen. As soon as she had her new shirt on her little face lit up! Ali and I were standing talking to her and making her laugh and it was so sweet.

In the bed next to hers was another little girl who had gotten a small stuffed teddy bear. She was hugging and rocking the bear like a baby with a huge smile on her face! How sweet! I can’t explain to you how unusual this is because the kids here are not used to having toys and usually when they get them they don’t know what to do. This little girl’s mom was playing with the bear and giving it back to the baby like any mom would do.

Ali and I just spent some time there after handing things out greeting the ladies and chatting with them in broken Chichewa. They were saying “zikomo” and “takhosa” which are “thank you” and “we are thankful”. By this time more people had come to the door to see what the commotion was and watch (even though they didn’t get anything). Pretty soon the ladies broke into song and they were clapping and some were dancing. I was clapping and laughing and just celebrating along with them – I have no idea what the song meant but that didn’t matter. It was clear this was an expression of overwhelming gratitude.

The amazing thing to me was just the thankfulness and joy that just spilled out of them. The music and movement came from their hearts and although we didn’t communicate through language it was clear to me how thankful they were. The “realness” of their appreciation was just overwhelming to me! Even if I had pictures I don’t think they could capture the feeling that is in my heart and the memory I will keep of that morning.

From that experience I caught a glimpse of the spirit that is flowing through the staff and patients of this hospital. The staff members at the NRU were just as excited as Ali and I at being able to share some nice things with the ladies and children staying there. I hope that this kind of energy and experience happens more often here. Through these times I am reminded that THIS is the purpose of our work here and THIS is what Jesus would have us do – to bring smiles to hungry children’s faces and to celebrate in the small gifts that come along.

Mission Moment

AmeriCares is an organization that I have mentioned before that funds some community projects here at Malamulo. I work closely with two ladies there - Megan and Elikem. Recently Megan asked if we could send them a story for them to use in a 5 minute "mission moment" that they send to all departments on Monday mornings so that other areas can have a taste of what happens in the field at their partners. Today (the deadline for the story) I was finally able to get a story and I wanted to share it here. This is the reason I'm here...

Ethel Matewere’s home village is Khwethmule Village about 5 kilometers from the hospital. She is a divorcee with four children. In 2005 Ethel was tested for HIV/AIDS while she was pregnant and found to be positive. After delivering her baby and participating in the PMTCT Program her baby was tested at 18 months and found to be HIV negative. This was a success story for Ethel, her family, and the Malamulo Project. She was selected by her community in 2006 to be trained as a Home Based Care (HBC) volunteer. After attended HBC training as part of the AmeriCares project at Malamulo Hospital she has been working in her community for the past three years. She is now on ARV’s and is actively following the information given to her during her HIV counseling session. She is well and active with her family and community.

Upon joining the HBC program and completing the training she was given a backpack and a bicycle. Every month she comes to the hospital to submit her report and collect the supplies like gloves, drugs, and condoms to take back to the people in her village. Last month there were five people chronically ill with HIV/AIDS in her village and she was visiting them regularly (2 of which recently passed away). Her responsibilities include visiting the chronically ill, encouraging the ill people to go to the hospital as soon as possible, and teaching people how to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS to their babies. The biggest encouragement to her community is when she is able to share her story of success and explain the process to the expectant mothers.

Ethel is also an active member of a mother support group at Malamulo Hospital. This group of 50-70 mothers is all HIV positive and some come from Ethel’s home area. Often these mothers are sick with infections and Ethel visits those within her community to care for them. When asked about AmeriCares Ethel said, “I appreciate the services that are being rendered for my community from AmeriCares through Malamulo Hospital.”

New Addition

This picture was taken the other day. This little girl is SO adorable! Many kids are afraid of me and start crying if I look at them but she came up to me and held my hand! So sweet!! I had to take a picture!
The news of the past two weeks is that our household has been increased with a new baby. He cries and plays and eats a lot. He is also quite cuddly and loves to be close to us. Although I’ve seen several small children I would like to bring home (see above) this baby is a kitten – not a child (don’t worry, mom). :) He was born November 6 to Dr. Bateta’s cat and he looks like his momma. When we got him he was already litter box trained although he will eventually be able to go outside too. We have named him “Hobbes” and he is clever and wily just like his namesake of the comic strip. He chases anything that moves and loves to stand ">in between my feet when I’m cooking in the kitchen. This adds up to him being the definition of “under foot” and has gotten kicked, stepped on, and had his tail closed in the refrigerator door multiple times. We have been feeding him the small dried fish that are sold in the market – he can’t get enough of them. They have Whiska’s cat food too so that is a treat for him too. Overall he has become very snuggly and quite good company and entertainment. We are hoping he will be a good mouser and catch whatever is running around in our ceiling.

Other News:

Water Project – last week everything worked out last minute for Wes Lutz to fly down at the end of his trip to Gimbie hospital in Ethiopia and spend a few days looking at our water system and the project in progress. He is an engineer and works in a family business installing pumps and the electrical system going along with it. He and his wife have a passion for missions so we thought he would be invaluable as some leadership and consulting on this project. He was able to provide some good guidance and advice while he was here and he has gone home to discuss with his wife the possibility of coming back for an extended time to oversee the project. We are all just thankful to God for his hand in arranging the circumstances to make the visit work out.

Malamulo Hospital – this is malaria season so our hospital has been overflowing with children and adults both who have been sick. The government put a kink in our process by deciding the Central Medical Supply where we get much of our drugs and IV solutions closed from January 10 to March 5!! Suddenly we had to figure out how to purchase enough stock to keep us from running out before they open again. That put a big strain on our financial situation but thankfully we were able to scrape up the money. A common method is “rob Peter to pay Paul” – not preferable but seems to be our only option. The other big issue happening is the enormous debt for past errors that we owe the Malawi Revenue Authority. They have called a few times threatening to seize our assets but only because it is a hospital they hesitate. We owe about $150,000 USD for past things that happened and they fined us for. The difficulty is that people don’t like to donate money for debts but would rather donate for new projects and something more glamorous. It seems like a 500 lb gorrilla hanging on the back of the hospital that keeps us from getting ahead.

We have a new matron – Mrs. Kamwiyo – and she is such a blessing! She has started an ethics committee, meeting regularly with her staff, managing the housekeeping staff, and setting up training for the nursing staff. It is so nice to have someone capable and energetic in that position.

Other Facilities – this apparently seems to be the season of challenges both financially and personnel. I think because of my position I end up being a “sounding board” for many of the challenges that the leadership are facing. Often I don’t have any ideas or any way to help but I still feel bad for the stress they are facing. Please pray for the personnel at both the SDA clinic in Lilongwe and the SDA hospital in Blantyre. I am finding that greed and materialism knows no boundaries. Those in leadership at those institutions need strength and wisdom to know how to handle the challenges they are facing.

Mission @ Malawi – in November a few people from LLU came over to do a planning trip for the large student group coming over to Malawi in June. I have offered to help coordinate things on this end and be in touch with Emelly who is the main coordinator on that side. The background of this trip is that all 12 of the SDA colleges and universities in the US have decided to fundraise for the Malamulo College of Health Sciences. Their goal is $100,000 and they are close to $20,000 already. As part of this focus they are planning a large mission trip of about 5 people from each school estimating 60 people to come over the end of June for two weeks. The group will then be split into 5 locations around Malawi doing simple maintenance, clinical, and evangelism at each site. As you can imagine this is a huge logistical challenge especially when the person coordinating everything is in California. Hence my offer to help – I’m not sure if I am in over my head with this but hopefully it will work out smoothly.

Life in General - We got to watch the Innaguration this week live on CNN at a hotel in Blantyre. There was a group of Americans getting together and Cristy was invited so Don, Gail, & I tagged along. It was certainly a historical event and for some reason being in a foreign country makes me more interested in those moments and makes me feel patirotic.

Sue and Kelvin and 2 yo Lilee have moved into an apartment in Blantyre near the SDA hospital since he is working full time on their new ICU. This weekend I took them up on their offer of hospitality and am staying with them for a couple of days. I was getting to the point where I needed a break from everything so thought this would be a good opportunity. It has been nice to rest, eat yummy food, and just generally have a change of scenery. I’m continually thankful for good friends.

We are counting down the weeks until Cristy’s parents arrive in March. We mark the weeks – we are at 8 ½ now and we agree weeks are better than months – they change faster. This last week we also finally got our Christmas packages which was fun. My mom had individually wrapped many small gifts along with a variety of other goodies like packets of mayo, candles, soap, note cards, and other fun things. It is nice to feel loved and remembered. I have posted a photo of Cristy working on the ward with some patients. She will be featured on the flyer that the Loma Linda University Auxilary is making for a vespers in March. They are committed to raising $50,000 to help the Operating Rooms here at Malamulo.

Christmas Photos

This was taken Christmas day - Cristy and I at the Sawyers - it was so hot! We aren't sweating we are "glowing"!
Clare Lawrence and Ali Buchanen are both volunteer nurses from the UK. Clare is up in Lilongwe now but came down for Christmas. They are both great to have around!

At the hospital Christmas party - me and Foster Chiwanda, the business manager trying to get into the holiday spirit.

Cristy and Dr. Mwafulirwa (try pronouncing that 10 times fast) greeting the staff at the Christmas party.

Creepy Crawlies

Okay – well what would Africa be if there weren’t a whole bunch of weird bugs? With the rains coming to make everything green it also brings out every imaginable kind of bug. And if you think you’ve seen a big bug – just forget it – they NEVER freeze here so they just continue growing and growing until some are the size of a small dog !! A couple of months ago I had a horned beetle in my room on my curtain. That is probably the largest insect I’ve ever seen. The photo doesn’t do it justice! Cockroaches aren’t really that big of a deal anymore – although very gross still! With the rain the season of flying ants has come. These creatures come up out of the ground at night drawn toward the light and they fly around and eventually lose their wings and die. In the morning the porch (or your kitchen floor) are covered with wings and the bugs have disappeared. The locals like to catch them and fry them to eat with their nsima. Apparently they taste like peanuts!

The other day we saw a praying mantis in our kitchen which was kinda gross but we didn’t do anything about it. The next morning it was eating a fly so we decided to let it stay! We have several geckos that live on the walls and eat all kinds of bugs – mosquitoes, moths, termites, etc. The problem is that the other day I was making my bed and out from under my blanket on the floor was a lizard (this was not a gecko) about 10 inches long – black with a blue-ish tail. Yes it is harmless but I still screamed! It stayed in my room over night then I saw it the next morning. Last I saw it was hiding behind the stove in the kitchen – maybe it has been cooked by now.

Mosquitoes are also a menace here although they aren’t very big there are hordes of them. They carry a nasty strain of malaria which is currently infecting the majority of the children in the surrounding area. We have at least 10 beds in the hallway of the pediatric department with some beds holding more than one patient each! This past week or two the census has been between 60-80 just in peds! Imagine – each child has at least one guardian! We won’t even talk about what that ward smells like!

We were having dinner at Clare & Ali’s house the other day and suddenly Clare saw a scorpion on the floor! Yikes – that is actually scary! She dropped a big shoe on it and just left it till morning. We have plenty of spiders and occasionally they are scary looking too (although Cristy is sure that every spider is out to get her). The flat wall spiders don’t bother me but the big, ugly brown ones are worthy of the DOOM!! (bug killer) We keep a can handy in the kitchen and the bathroom for any bug that might encroach on our personal space.

Today I had a surprise – it was pouring rain and people were just milling around in the entry of the hospital watching the rain (seems to be the thing to do even if they are working inside – to just go out and stand and watch the rain). It had gotten dark inside with the rain so I went to turn on the light. The light switch is in a wooden box on the wall that looked like it was locked. There was something like a pull string on the edge to open the box. So I pulled the string and it was a praying mantis – not a string!!! I shrieked (quietly, mind you) but there was a group of guys standing right next to it that just busted up laughing at me. The bug flew away and was fine, but I was startled! I turned around and they were still giggling so I gave them a hard time and said, “no laughing!” Ewww I can still feel the bug in my fingers – it was kinda cool to the touch and a little squishy. Oh well – glad to be some entertainment!

The other gross thing that comes out in the rain is the snails. They are giant sized here and their shells are more like – well I can’t describe them. They are like slugs with shells and they are “snails on steroids” as Cristy says. They climb up the windows or are in a heap procreating somehow. They are disgusting!

Well before I gross myself out any more I’m going to stop this discussion! Let me just say that my tolerance is being tested AND I am enormously grateful for my mosquito net that keeps all kinds of creepy crawlies out of my bed at night!!!