A BITTER-SWEET FAREWELL

This is my last day in Malawi and I am sitting in the patio in the Lilongwe Hotel, anticipating my flight out tomorrow at 1:30 pm.  I have not sent an update on the blog for about eight weeks, because I did not leave the plateau for that period of time.  There are efforts afoot to get internet at Livingstonia, but it yet may be some time before that happens.  So we all, including the students, have to wait until we can get to “the city” to send emails or do any research.  This is a great need.  Can you imagine any university in the states trying to teach sophisticated subjects without internet access?  It’s a matter of money of course, and finding the right arrangement.  Several people have been working on it.  

I have loved teaching!!!  It has been a challenge, as I’ve not taught at university level before, and three subjects have required much preparation.  But I’ve sure learned a lot!  The greatest joy has been the connection with the students.  I had eight students in two first year classes: Old Testament and World Religions.  Then I also had a second year class for Church History in which there were 20 students.  So twenty-eight students have become very dear to my heart, as well as a number of other students who weren’t in any of my classes.  In these past few days I have been amazed at the appreciation they have expressed and the sadness with which they bid me farewell.  I have formed special bonds with some of them, as one does with no truly explicable reason.  Parting is, indeed, sweet sorrow.  

I return home with eighteen letters in hand.  Each letter is written by a student who has a heart-rending story to tell.  These students come from very poor families—this is because most families in Malawi are very, very poor.  They are bright and promising young people who will, with encouragement and support, contribute greatly to a developing Malawi.  I trust that your church or a particular group will want to “adopt” one of these students and make their continuing education a reality.  I’ll be sending out further communications on this project, but please give me a call if you might be interested.  

Giving final exams and saying goodbye was bitter sweet.  I realize I have entered rather fully into Malawian life—in relationships with individual students and faculty, in connecting with local Malawians who have suffered significant tragedy (like one pregnant woman named Collida, whose husband died about three weeks ago leaving her with seven children, some hers and some orphaned relatives, who has no source of income or sustenance whatsoever), and in the joy of just being in the “warm heart of Africa,” which it truly is.  

I look forward to sharing my stories, pictures and video with anyone who wants to take time to listen.  This is a beautiful, burgeoning land, steeped in tradition and open to a new hope in the larger, global community.  The people are real and magnificent.  The Christian faith is alive here, and, at the same time, in need of dedicated folks willing to step in and give their love and support.  

The university needs more qualified volunteer instructors.  I cannot stress strongly enough the joy of being involved on the ground level.  If you have an area of expertise, especially in the sciences, and think perhaps you’d like to teach, I would love to talk to you about spending a semester or more in Malawi.  You will never regret it.  

So now as I leave this place—and I am anxious to see my family at home—I feel a mix of nostalgia, sadness, satisfaction, gratitude, fullness, and hope for the future.  

I’m glad I came!  Thanks be to God!

Melody

October 15, 2007
TRULY DESPERATE NEEDS

Up until now I have written about events, surroundings, and various personal experiences of this Malawian sojourn. Indeed I am thoroughly enjoying the many sights, sounds, and smells of Africa, and hope to convey that to all of you. I sometimes have to remind myself that I’m actually here, and I am still awed by the fact. But now I need to describe a crying need that is also altogether real.

The University of Livingstonia – College of Education is where I am teaching. The school provides classes, housing and meals for its 160 students. Some of the faculty live here on the plateau, and a number of adjunct faculty are paid to come up periodically from Mzuzu (a three-hour trip). So there are transportation needs all the time, repairs and improvements needed to buildings, some of which are more than 100 years old, and a myriad of other administrative costs. All of these operations are expensive to run. And even though many costs here are only a fraction of what they would be in the states, there is the constant pressure of not having enough funds to keep the doors open. Of necessity tuition fees were raised this academic year, from 65,000 kwacha to 105,000 kwacha (the equivalent of about $750 per semester). This is an astronomical amount of money for most Malawians. So students have to beg, borrow, but hopefully not steal funds to get to school. I’ve heard many of their stories about anxiously taking the entrance exam, learning with joy and astonishment that they’d been accepted, and then frantically trying to scrape together school fees in order to come. I know…it’s the life of a college student the world over. But this is different!

Let me tell you several stories:

Bandera
Bandera comes from a family in which her mother died years ago, her father remarried, and now the step-mother makes life very difficult for the children of his first wife. The father is a carpenter in a village and barely makes enough to support his immediate family; on the side he does what he can for his original children. Amazingly he was able to deposit MK50,000 for Bandera when she came to school in September, but on the way here her money and the bank slip were stolen, so no fees have been credited to her. She made an appointment with me the other day to explain her situation and wept through most of it.

Zizwani
This is a second-year student who was living with her elderly mother, a retired school teacher who has no source of income now. Last year when the fees were lower, they were barely able to meet the requirement. Now there is no way the mother can come up with more than about MK30,000 and sees no hope whatever in finding the rest. Zizwani is a good student who frequently volunteers as a lay leader at worship. She wrote me a letter today with a plea for help with her fees, but I must not do so for one since I cannot do so for all.

Marko
Marko came to school three weeks late because he was trying to find the fees. His story is a truly tragic one: both parents died several years ago, one sibling had died before that, and later two others also died. He didn’t say why—I’m assuming it was HIV/AIDS. All this in the past seven years or so. So Marko and his remaining two siblings have had to shift for themselves as best they can. Marko knows that the only way he can ever provide for his little family is to get an education, but fees were absolutely impossible for him. He went to the office of the Synod of Livingstonia in Mzuzu and spoke directly to the General Secretary. After two or three visits, Rev. Nkoma honored his persistence and desperate need by finding a benefactor who would cover Marko’s first semester fees. Marko is an extremely attentive student, but his eyes are haunted and profoundly sad.

Gavele
Here is a young man who has no living family. He had to postpone his education for many years while he worked to save a little kwacha for school. His employer promised to pay the tuition fees for him this year, but apparently has not done so. Gavele has been trying to contact his former employer, but he is proving to be unreachable. Gavele will have to leave school if he cannot find another source for fees. When not worried about fees, he is a very motivated and capable student—one of those hopes for the future of the country.

These stories are only representative of many more. The students I know are all delightful individuals who are typical of young Malawians striving earnestly to improve their own lives and that of their nation. But the problem right now is that the University is forced to require the total amount of fees from each student in order to be able to continue its vital role as the first Christian university in Malawi. Students are being sent home to somehow, some way raise the balance they still owe. Not only is this disrupting the process of teaching and learning, but I’m afraid many of these students will be unable to return. And that would be a tragedy indeed….on top of the already tragic stories so many of them have to tell.

So my point is that Olympia Presbytery and other donors could make an immediate and dramatic difference in the lives of these very worthy and now desperate folks. You could adopt specific students, or better yet build a scholarship pool that will enable all these and many more fine young Malawians to realize their potential. Only in a country with many dedicated young minds in higher education can hope become reality for a brighter future.

I am therefore making a plea on their behalf. Won’t you please, please help? Contact the Presbytery office for directions about getting your gifts here as soon as possible.

Passionately
Melody

QUITE A WEEKEND!

Last Friday Michiko (our Artist in Residence, a delightful 31-year-old woman from Centralia by way of New York and Paris) and I donned our backpacks and set off for a one-day mini vacation to Lukwe, a tourist camp about four miles down the Gorodi Road.

Someone suggested we take the short cut to get there—we later determined never to try “short” cuts again. Actually it was a real adventure traversing the footpaths between villages, following a Malawian woman and child down a steep dirt path, across a beautiful valley of planted fields, and up to a picturesque village on the opposite slope. There a young man took over as our guide and we again found ourselves on some steep and challenging trails. It was a very hot day. In Malawian style I learned I could hold my chitenge (large piece of African cloth usually used as a skirt) above my head for shade. Thank goodness there was just enough breeze to catch the cloth and keep me from getting too, too hot.

It took us two and a half hours of sweaty hiking to reach our destination, but we were totally thrilled with what we found. The camp is owned and run by an American named Bruce who bought it several years ago and uses eco-techniques for everything—like composting latrines and recycling of “used” water for landscape vegetation. On Saturday morning we had an interesting conversation with the owner, who is quite a character.

Our accommodation was a cabin constructed of bamboo and thatch with a shaded, comfortable conde on stilts perched on the edge of the escarpment. We enjoyed ourselves, slept very well, and feasted on sumptuous food. Upon departing Saturday morning we visited a “perma-culture” garden nearby developed by a couple from South Africa to demonstrate how relatively arid land can be transformed into a lush oasis paradise. It was fascinating and we were loath to leave, knowing the rest of our return hike would be uphill, hot and dusty.

But we chose a trail that skirted the cliffs up to the top of Manchewe Falls which is dramatic to see even from a distance. At a tiny little “restaurant” overlooking the falls, we hired a boy to guide us to the caves behind the falls we’d heard about. Part of the trail to the caves was a real challenge, with questionable footing and sharp drop-offs, but we both managed to negotiate even the steepest rock surfaces without accident, if not without quickness of breath and rapid heart beat. The what an exhilarating experience it was to be right behind the thundering waterfall. To cool off I even climbed down into the falling water till it pounded on my head and drenched me thoroughly from top to toe. Being thus saturated, I could keep from overheating on the climb back up, although my tennies got encrusted with mud from the thick red dust.

From there we hiked the road….long, hot, and constantly uphill. I have to tell you, this old lady was challenged to the extreme before we finally topped the plateau. Good conditioning I guess, but grueling. I’m surprised I’m not really hobbling around now two days later.

The other event of the weekend was the visiting choir from Zambia, a group of about twenty who sang at a gospel concert Friday night, a choir festival Saturday afternoon, and at worship on Sunday. They were here to connect with the Livingstonia Church women’s choir and enjoy the plateau for a few days. We attended the farewell dinner for them last night at the stone house. It was a thoroughly Malawian affair with the usual “banquet” cuisine of chicken, beef, rice, nsima (thick, thick maize porridge) and tomato sauce. After dinner they passed fresh roasted ground nuts to the fifty or so guests. Then the real ceremony started. There was singing by each of the choirs, gifts presented between the officials of the two groups, including Rev. Baloyi, the head of station of Livingstonia, and the pastor of the Zambian church who was leading their delegation. The Zambian women presented the Malawian women with chitenges of their celebration cloth, and our women gave them our own university graduation cloth. Next was cutting and sharing of a cake of friendship and sodas all around. Then of course there was more singing followed by lengthy speeches by all the important people.

All of this to show gratitude and cement the relationship between these two inter-national churches and peoples. I was pleased to observe another window into their rich culture. The only drawback was that the whole business lasted from mid-evening to well after 11 p.m. and the Zambian group was scheduled to begin their return journey by 3 in the morning.

I got to sleep in on account of it’s Mother’s Day and I don’t have class.

Blessings to all,
Melody

IT’S MOTHER’S DAY!!

Today is a Malawian national holiday – Mother’s Day. Interesting that it was declared such by the first independent Malawi president, Kamuzu Banda, at a time when the status of women was honored very little. Now there is an emphasis on the education of women, and more and more women are moving into higher status positions in both the public and private sector. That is not to say that there is a sense of total equality, only that there is considerable change in a positive direction.

Older women especially are still viewed mostly by who their husbands are, and are afforded honor on that basis. In a home setting, or any social or public setting, women often defer to men, and may segregate themselves for conversation. When a woman speaks to a man (most especially an older man), she approaches with slightly bent posture, eyes cast down and hands folded together, and actually bows to him – well it’s more like a curtsy than a bow. Jenny is good at this, saying it is an easy accommodation to cultural tradition. I, on the other hand, very seldom try to bring it off. My natural tendency is always eye to eye straight across, which probably puts me in some kind of a brash-but-tolerated mzungu (white) female category.

This deference and showing of honor is not only female to male, however, as younger men acknowledge older ones in a similar fashion. And “reverends” in this society are honored by all….even I get some of this.

Malawian women are exceedingly hard-working. They usually have a number of children (average seems to be between four and six), and have great concern about the education of their children, at least through primary grades. It’s a delight to see so many babies carried on mother’s backs with their dark eyes feasting on the life around them. Breast-feeding an infant in public is absolutely routine, even in church or when walking along a road. Few even glance their way. Of course I suppose this isn’t surprising in a culture that began wearing western clothing only three or four generations ago.

Clearly the women of this culture are very proud, generous and good-humored. The backbone of the culture essentially rests on their shoulders. (I know that’s an anatomical distortion, but you get my point!) In a society strongly built on human relationships, the women of a church or of a village naturally maintain strong interpersonal bonds with each other. I see very little evidence of jealousies or squabbles that so often affect the society of women in American. It may be there, but I’m just not aware of it. Together Malawian women are supportive, energetic, exuberant, and very welcoming.

They take an active role in the working of the church, forming a powerful force called Umanyano, the Women’s Guild. Again, this may not reflect total equality in church involvement – you will seldom see a woman leading in worship, but they are strongly represented on governing boards. Their role is evolving. Although women are allowed in formal ministry, less than 2% of clergy in this Synod are female at this time. It is encouraging that an increasing number of women are seeking theological education.

So while traditional African culture has dictated fairly circumscribed and demanding roles for its women, the African woman of today is clearly coming into her own. I see women of tremendous personal strength, confidence and vitality. Roles are not synonymous with individual personhood. And I am suspecting that traditional roles are progressively becoming more form than fact.

The young women students in my classes exemplify a more modern breed, even daring to wear trousers at times, and most definitely functioning on an equal footing with their male counterparts. They are eager to learn and envision a dynamic future for themselves which no doubt will stretch the traditional envelope in a variety of impressive ways. It will be fascinating to watch the impact they have in the Malawi of tomorrow.

So happy Mother’s Day beautiful women of Malawi! May you enjoy a dazzling and dramatic future!

Signing off,
Melody

THE DAY WE ALL WERE WORKING TOWARD

A week has now passed since that most anticipated event finally arrived – Commencement for the first graduating class of the University of Livingstonia. I have mentioned that His Excellency, himself, Dingu wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi, personally attended and bestowed degrees to thirty-five graduates, eager to begin teaching in the secondary schools of the country.

“H.E.,” as we call him, arrived by helicopter amid much pomp and pageantry, surrounded by a multitude of security people, and took the seat of honor in the quadrangle of the school building. It is the only site that could hold the many hundreds of people who attended – from invited dignitaries, including the US Ambassador to Malawi and his wife, several members of Parliament and national Ministers, to the whole student body, families and friends of the graduates, and at least a thousand residents of surrounding areas anxious to see the President. You cannot imagine the hard work everyone had put in to be ready for the big day!

A large pavilion was built to shade the president, other dignitaries, faculty, synod ministers, media technical folks, military guards, etc. A second and third shelter had been built to shade the graduates and their families. Everyone else was seated on the hundreds of chairs, gathered from places unknown, or standing where they could see something of the festivities. At moments you would have thought it was a political rally with groups carrying signs…singing, dancing, and chanting their support for this very-popular-in-the-north president. The undergraduate students were beyond exuberant jumping up and down on top of benches, singing and waving banners touting the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party). What joyous excitement!

I processed in with the rest of the faculty in their black robes (only I wore my white alb), academic hoods, and blue Unilia stoles. We all took our seats in the right side wing of the pavilion, from which unfortunately I could not see much of what was happening. I didn’t even get a glimpse of HE until he was leaving the venue. All I could see was a portion of the crowd, most of the graduates, and the hyper pumped-up section of the student body. Still it was an awesome experience.

The speeches were grand. Henry’s, as Vice Chancellor, was eloquent, giving a moving rendition of the history of Livingstonia, the fulfillment of a hundred-year-old dream with the reality of higher education here, and a marvelous metaphor of the university as a baby born in good health but as yet without a birth certificate (formal accreditation from the government). His extensive remarks were well received by all. Jenny delivered a masterful address of appreciation for all who have contributed to the amazing miracle of the university and this first graduating class.

The graduates came forward one-by-one to bow before the president and receive their degrees from his hands. They transferred their tassels to the left and returned, awed and grinning, to their seats. The crowd was going wild the whole while, barely being able to hear as each name was announced.

Then it was time for the president’s speech. He has a commanding, velvety voice and spoke eloquently about his support for this nenw institution, acknowledging the great effort it has taken to bring it to reality. He concluded his remarks with a series of promised gifts: a new bus for the school, five thousand kwatcha for each graduate, seventy-five thousand kwatcha (about two-month’s salary) for the top student in the class, forthcoming accreditation, a promise to look into government student loans, the building of a one hundred-bed hostel for women students, and a personal gift of one million kwatcha (about $7,500) for the school. He also promised desperately-needed improvements to the two roads that lead up to the plateau. As if the crowd hadn’t already been excited, they were now positively rapturous. Even ladies in elegant dresses and big fancy matching hats got up to dance with enthusiasm. A day no one will soon forget!

Apparently HE is going to follow through on his promises, too, although similar things have been said in the past without real action taken. The bus will be a mixed blessing, for it will require expensive gas (about the same as in America), maintenance funds, management, etc. Of course the most prized commitment in the long run is approval of accreditation which will enable Livingstonia grads to get jobs in government as well as the private sector. The new hostel and road improvements will be fantastic indeed; student loans, if they become available, will be a tremendously welcome help to all.

Now, as Henry and Jenny pack to leave, they are immersed in final meetings and budget talks with key university staff. I can see it is not easy to step back and leave the myriad affairs of running a university to others. As Jenny says, “Well, we have to leave in order to come back!” It will be a little lonely around here after they are gone, but we still have an expatriate community of about ten.

Farewell for now,
Melody

A Little Flora and Fauna

I am loving the African surroundings here, although in many ways it could be Anywhere, USA—there are trees, grass, flowers, birds, people, etc. But a good deal of it is very different, too.

Take the monkeys, for instance. They have expressive black faces and stand, when full grown, about two feet high. It’s always great fun when we find them in sight while we’re walking along the road. Of course they observe us as much as we them, and sometimes will play a kind of peek-a-boo game behind a tree trunk. On the ground they might posture and pose while we approach, or scamper up a tree and jump from branch to branch or even tree to tree. The babies ride on the underside of the mother, with their arms wrapped around her middle, until, I suppose, the mom says, “you’re too big to carry,” just like we do to our offspring.

I’ve already mentioned the chickens—which are much like U.S. chickens—except that they run free all day in constant pursuit of food, returning to their homes in the evening to be fed a little grain and roost for the night. There are many, many chickens on the plateau – one day Sherry counted 57 as she walked from home to Mbutu Hall (about a mile and a half). I am always fascinated to see the great varieties of colors and markings of these birds: brilliant copper and gold, vivid blue-black, black and white speckled, red and white patches…and all combinations in between. They are spectacular!

There are chicks of all sizes scrambling helter-skelter, but sticking close to their respective mothers the whole while. We have noted that some broods dwindle in number as the days pass, this from encounters with predators I imagine. One day I heard a big squawking in the yard and looked up to see a hawk of some sort pick up a chick and carry it off. Another time we heard loud dog and chicken noises at the same time, and that did not bode well for the young chicks. Such, however, is the way of life.

Geckos. Yes we have geckoes. (I’m not sure which way to spell the plural.) We see them mostly after dark on the walls where a light is shining, waiting for insects to be drawn into their ambush. They congregate primarily on the brick walls in the breezeway between the house and the kitchen where Sherry and I enjoy talking to them. One night we counted 13 brown geckos, including a fat one with a stubby tail that we always recognize. Did you know that geckos make a kind of clicking/chirping sound?

I’m trying to find someone who can tell me the names of all the varieties of trees, plants and flowers. A hundred years ago in Robert Laws’ time they planted pines and blue gum trees which are flourishing today. Only now we are learning that these kinds of trees make the soil very acidic and it is beginning to cause trouble with the water supply. So the locals are now being encouraged to plant only true native trees.

This morning Jenny and I went to visit a large gardening project at Vungu-Vungu, a nearby village. The women there are using new farming techniques to grow coffee, maize, macadamia, and now vegetables of many kinds. Hopefully these crops will become solid income-producing endeavor for the community. The project is rather avant-garde for Malawians as they have developed an extensive irrigation system and are beginning to compost. Sherry Jorgenson met with the “garden club” of 26 women several weeks ago to explain how to make and use compost, so that will now become part of their efforts. All in all it is a most inspiring and productive venture, filling the people with pride, and giving God the glory!

I wish you could all be here. This plateau, officially Khondawe Plateau, but most often called Livingstonia, is incredibly beautiful. Cooler than the lowlands, more richly vegetated, with bright red-orange dirt lanes lined by picturesque pines murmuring in the breeze, and flowering plants of many sorts. The lightly rolling terrain is punctuated by the magnificent red brick buildings of the school and mission station amid smaller brick homes with thatched roofs. And the vistas all around would take your breath away. It’s got to be a little bit of heaven!

Til next time…blessings,
Melody

Of Chickens and Dignitaries

Here I sit on the peaceful conde (veranda) at the Kirk’s house, gazing over the hazy hills (always hazy due to smoke in the air), watching the chickens of many sizes and colors – de colores! – especially delightful with their chicks peeping and pecking and running after their mommas, contemplating what a unique little crossroad this Livingstonia Plateau is.

It is Sunday and we will soon be heading over to the beautiful big red brick church built by the Scottish missionary Robert Laws more than a hundred years ago. Today is a special day, as the former president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, will be here to worship with us. He is now a man of 80 or so and this visit will be a “coming home” of sorts. His father, who was born in the Robert Laws era at Livingstonia, went to Zambia as a missionary in the early 1900s. Kenneth was born there and grew into a popular public figure, serving as president for some period of time. The word is that his party is leaving Mzuzu this morning at 8:00, so we will have to be patient for the start of the service whenever he arrives. The trip usually takes around three hours. We’ll have to send someone over to the church to save places, even in a sanctuary which holds up to 800 people.

Of course we are also all anticipating, in very busy excitement, the presence of His Excellency Dingu wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi, at the grand celebration next weekend of the first graduation from this fledgling university. Yesterday more than fifty people from the president’s staff were here to check out security, determine the physical locations for HE (His Excellency), and all the other protocol involved. It is amazing the myriad details they have to attend to. This is going to be quite an event. In the meantime the celebration cloth (60,000 meters were printed) is selling like hotcakes at 250 kwacha a meter. Graduation day will see a sea of turquoise blue with gold accents and the symbols of the synod, the plateau, the university, and Robert Laws. It will be fabulous! I already have my dress of the fabric, created by a tailor in Mzuzu. It will be fun to model it when I get home.

Sherry Jorgenson and others have been buried in sewing and painting….creating huge marvelous banners for the celebration, stoles for every graduate and official, and a variety of other items. Buildings and classrooms are being cleaned and painted; grounds spruced up, welcome banners prepared, food planned for about 400, and all the other preparation necessary to be ready for the big day. All planning and decisions have to be done by a large group of people, so the process is quite arduous.

Henry and Jenny are going down to Mzuzu after church today, so I will have to send my blog thumb drive with them to email to Nathan for posting on olypres.org. I will write later about my first week’s experience of teaching. Farewell for now.

Blessings,
Melody

Dear Friends,

This past week has been an exciting one, Henry was able to procure a new (well, used) vehicle from an NGO in Blantyre. It’s a 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser that has only been used on tarmac (surfaced roads), so it’s in far better shape than the one we usually ride up and down Gorodi Road. We sent two guys down to Blantyre on the bus – about a ten hour trip – to fetch the car to Mzuzu. There was great celebrating with its arrival, and we had a formal dedication/blessing for it the following morning. One of the synod dignitaries prayed, we all put our hands on the car, and then a bunch of folks piled in for an initial drive. But it wouldn’t start!!! How disconcerting and somehow Malawian the moment was. They had to push it to get it going for their brief drive. Turns out it was a dry battery and nothing more serious – it’s now running fine. And what a blessing it will be, as the vehicle we’ve usually had access to is literally falling apart.

The second big event was the arrival of the “celebration cloth” for graduation on the 15th. It is a Malawian custom to commemorate any major event with specially printed cloth. Ours was designed by Michiko Tanaka, our “artist in residence,” and incorporates the university logo, the synod logo, the plateau secondary school logo, and a white dove representing Robert Laws, the Scottish missionary who developed the plateau and had a vision for higher education here a hundred years ago. Anyway, a great deal of this cloth was made and is being sold for the big day. Already we have been to tailors to have outfits made of it. I think this is a delightful custom, and I can’t wait to see all the people dressed in fabric made uniquely for this occasion.

I’m currently busy with final preparations to begin teaching next Monday. Since we have no textbooks, and only a few single-copy resource books, we make one photocopy of specific sections to have available in the library for students to come and read. It’s an awkward but workable process to give access to students fairly for learning the material. Clearly my three courses—Old Testament, World Religions, and Church History—will take much work on my part to produce lectures that cover the important details. What an opportunity for me to learn…. I hope it will be as effective for the students!
The students arrive this weekend and we begin teaching on Monday, but as yet there is no structured class schedule. I’m pretty sure my OT class will be on Mondays from 8 to 9a.m. (following morning devotions at 7:30); CH will be Wednesdays from 10 to 12; and WR Thursdays from 10 to 11. But I don’t yet know what classrooms I’ll have. Again….this is a Malawian “things will happen as they happen” approach which I am still trying to get used to.

Please know how very grateful I am for your encouragement and prayers while I continue this energizing and inspiring African sojourn. Blessings to you all….

Melody

THIS IS LIVING…. Malawi Memo #4 I feel like I’m in a completely different world here, but it is really very enjoyable living, although activities have to be creatively adapted to the limitations of what is available. There are five of us residing in this three-bedroom house built of bricks on the outside with interior walls of whitewashed mud plaster. It is not large, but very comfortable. We all share one bathroom (shower and basin), with a separate toilet room. There’s quite a system of determining what’s in use when. We have no water heater – only cold water – but the shower head has a device that heats the water just before it sprays out (warm at least, if not hot). Or, if we’re lucky, the wood-burning stove in the kitchen has been on a while and the water reservoir above it has warmed up some. In the kitchen across a breeze way from the main house water is heated in an electric pot for use in hot beverages, doing dishes, etc. There’s a good two-burner hot plate unit for most cooking, as well as a wood-burning stove with an oven. The counter work space is a built-in cement ledge about 18 inches wide along the length of the room which is rather narrow but fairly long. All-in-all it’s really quite an efficient operation. Richard, the cook, creates marvelous meals with minimal equipment and supplies. I was concerned about having an awfully limited diet here, but such is not the case in the Kirk household. This past week we have had beef over rice, fried and baked seasoned chicken, yummy macaroni and cheese, several varieties of greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, and salads of cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, apple, avocados, and onions. Richard makes wonderful soup for lunch each day from the leftovers. Beverages are either a few kinds of bottled pop, or “Sobo,” an orange-flavored concentrate to which you add cold water. With cereal we use Sterimilk, which comes in small plastic bottles, tastes like canned milk, and doesn’t need refrigeration until it is opened. We also have coffee, both brewed and instant, tea, and an interesting kind of hot chocolate. All things considered, I’m afraid I’m going to gain weight, not lose it! I have discovered that my electronics (computer and cell charger) can run on either 110 or 220, so do not need a step-down converter only a plug adaptor. I have yet to use my hair dryer or curling iron….and I have not used hair spray once since I left home! I have a bedroom all to myself that measures about 8x13 ft with a closet, twin bed, desk, bookcase, and window. The view from the window is the sloping yard with several trees and a variety of flowering bushes, beyond which is row upon row of rolling hills/mountains fading off into the distance to the south. It’s a grand and peaceful scene. A veranda runs along much of this side of the house and is called the “conde” in Tumbuka. It gets dark here around 7:00 pm, and in the evenings we join Maclean, the night watchman, on the conde where we all enjoy coffee and cookies while chatting for a half-hour or so. It’s a lovely tradition. The third member of the support team is Simon, the estate manager. He cares for the yard, the house, does laundry, and many other things. Laundry is done in the bathtub, hung on clotheslines outside, and then everything (I do mean EVERYTHING) is ironed on a cloth on the counter in the kitchen. These three men are all diligent, delightful, and devoted to the household. But I’m still working on getting comfortable with having “staff.” Of course they are the wage-earners for their families and this is good work. It is now 10:50 pm. Jenny, Henry, and Carol just returned from a day’s trip to Mzuzu; I helped them put away foodstuffs; and now I’m heading straight for bed. Gonane macora! Melody

AT LAST IT’S HERE!! Malawi Memo #3

Monire Mose (Greetings to you all),

These have been busy days! This past week we have been attending to the long-awaited container. It arrived in Mzuzu last Monday; on Tuesday Henry and Jenny went down (to Mzuzu, a three-hour trip each way) to arrange for the unloading and storage at a warehouse there. Henry said that as the goods emerged from the tightly-packed container, they swelled in volume like a sponge does when dipped in water. Remember the container measured 8’ by 8’ by 40’! With the many hands they hired from the Synod, however, it took only a few hours to complete the task. Quite a crowd gathered, too, so that they had to hire a couple of police to control the area. The Kirks, exhausted, returned to the plateau late that night.

We’re all so excited that everything arrived intact, for we’d heard that the seal was broken and didn’t know what we might find. But it was all there – every bit of the extraordinary love and generosity of Olympia Presbytery church members poured out in gifts and supplies that will produce overwhelming joy to so very many.

We couldn’t wait to bring things up to the plateau, so on Thursday the Kirks, Carol Johnstone, and I hit the Mzuzu road again. We took with us three young men from the FCE group (see last memo) to help with the loading (along with others) of three hired 10-ton lorries (that’s what they call trucks here), and to ride with each lorry on the difficult trip back up. These are extraordinary young men….Theunes (tee-ens) from South Africa, Alex from Namibia, and Dapuni from the far northeast corner of India. We had a truly delightful time with them, learning about their lives and countries, laughing with them and having fun. They were also very motivated and smart workers with the loading project.

It was late at night by the time all the lorries made it to Livingstonia. Nevertheless, an energetic FCE team gathered to move all the boxes, furniture, bikes, and one pedi-cab into a storage building here. What a scene! Now we will have many days of sorting and distributing.

That brings me to tell you about FCE (Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education). It’s an international organization that accepts bright young (and not so young) Christians from all over the world to be in training for about a year in wholistic mission evangelism….building their faith and spreading the gospel by the demonstration of their lives. Each year a new group comes to Livingstonia to spend two weeks working very hard to help ready the school for the fall term: cleaning, building, painting, etc. This group of 22 students (black, white, and Asian) and several leaders and their familes is based in Zambia, but they come from eight different countries. Their time together produces an amazing cross-cultural, inter-generational bonding, love, and zeal. They are a true inspiration to know – it will be hard to say goodbye to them next Sunday.

But now it’s time to say goodnight – here it’s 9:00 pm on Monday – there it’s Monday noon. Have a great day!

Gonani macoro (sleep well),
Melody

This is the day we will land in Malawi.  Jenny Kirk and I are traveling together.....

I begin my journey, 1 day before take off, double and triple checking my packing list.  I have been to Malawi before but never for this length of time nor I have I been away from my family for so long a time.  Malawi is nearly 24 hours away by traveling time and I will be taking off tomorrow, August 7.