Whew!

Well yesterday we woke up in Malawi and 20 hours of plane riding later... here we are back in Atlanta. My mom and Luke's parents were waiting for us and it was a great feeling to see them at the baggage claim! We are up to our eyeballs in laundry but through all the craziness of today we have been overcome by a feeling of gratitude. God has truly been good to us during this past month- especially when we think about all of our travelling to and around and from Malawi. We are so thankful to be home, but even more thankful for the friends we met over there. We are processing everything a mile a minute- and again thankful for friends here with whom we can share and process this trip. So if you are in Atlanta- come around so we can give you a big hug and tell you a story! And we want to know what's been going with yall too!

love, js and luke

We have indeed been blessed in our short stay here in Mzuzu. We have really enjoyed our time at the Crisis Nursery, and we know it will be really difficult to say good-bye to all of the infants and toddlers this afternoon. We see how many of them, especially the older ones, have all developed such unique and wonderful personalities. The Hellers have told us how difficult it can be once these babies start walking, and it is time to take them back to the villages. On the one hand, it is a joyful occasion, as these babies in most cases are going back to family members who love them and want to provide for them. Sometimes, however, the families (and the entire villages) are so poor that you know the child has little chance of being adequately nourished, clothed, and cared for. We all feel strongly that the babies should go back to their families, but it is difficult when you know the villages are so full of children that the babies’ chances of receiving individual attention and loving attention are slim.

Yesterday I (Luke) went with Jim McGill, the water and sanitation coordinator for the Presbyterian Synod in Livingstonia, on an all-day tour of various latrines, water pumps, and other sanitation devices. I am sure that all of you in the US are so jealous that I got to spend all day looking down at latrines in grass huts! In all honesty, it was pretty interesting for me to see how many of the new latrines and sanitation projects are coordinated by local schools and communities. Each primary and secondary school in this district have a sanitation committee that encourages proper hygiene and promotes proper use of the new latrines. Many of the new latrines are ingenuitive designs, whereby you mix ash and soil with the human waste to create an excellent fertilizer. The latrines then essentially become a compost, where after a year the fertilizer can be used to improve crops and increase yields. We saw some latrine systems that really were being tended to well, while we saw others that were being neglected. We discovered that while non-profit organizations and churches can install compost latrines and clean water pumps all day long, ultimately the success of this technology depends on strong leadership in the communities and the communities’ willingness to take ownership in it.

This morning we went with an Irish missionary woman who has organized a Montessori school here in Mzuzu. She is the Education coordinator for the Livingstonia Presbyterian synod, based here in Mzuzu. It was amazing to see the stark contrast between the supplies and resources in this Montessori school and the lack of supplies in most of the village nursery schools. They had all of the geometrical shapes, patterns, puzzles, letters, and words that I remember from my time at Montessori way back when! It was also refreshing to talk with an educator here in Malawi who is really committed to child-centered learning and bringing this to the 300 village nursery schools under the synod’s supervision. (Quite a big job!)

(Jan Scott typing now…)
We leave Mzuzu tomorrow for Lilongwe and like Luke said, we will definitely be sad to leave. We have met some wonderful people- including a longtime partner and friend of Myers Park Pres in Charlotte (my home church). Rev Highson Gondwe is the pastor at a big Presbyterian church in Mzuzu and we had a wonderful visit with him over tea on Tuesday. He sends his love to everyone at MPPC! (especially the Tuckers and Lydia, the apple pie lady ) He actually got to meet both of my brothers last summer- so that was fun!

We also met up with Owen, a driver for the synod who has driven many of our friends- especially from Myers Park. He was so excited to take us to his home to meet his family. Martha, a woman from Peachtree Pres, visited Malawi almost 10 years ago and was so touched by her friendship with Owen that she has helped him build a house for his family. He took us in every room and was so proud of his home- as he should be. After spending just a few hours with him, we could see why he was so special. God has certainly blessed us with wonderful people like this here- what a gift!

Not sure how internet will be in Lilongwe, so this may be our last post until we are back home in Atlanta on Tuesday morning! (Bring on the Chic Fil A! Kidding… kind of…) Keep checking if you’d like, as we hope to post a few more pictures once we are back home. We are still processing this whole experience. The time has gone by quickly, but we also feel like we have experienced so much! God has absolutely stirred our hearts (sometimes shaken them up!) and we feel truly blessed to have spent a month here in Malawi. We are sad to leave but we are really excited to come home and see all of you and share!

Blessings sweet friends!

xo, js (and luke)

BABIES!!!

My cute, darling, adorable, baby sister sent these today. Do y'all see why Madonna keeps stealing them? Thought so.

the [last] 2 are from when we took some on a walk- the nannies tied junior on to me with a chitenzie- very malawian :)

the [first] 2 are quite typical- us being tackled by several babies as soon as we sit down. the babies usually win...

thanks bro!!!

-Raymond

More pics

JS's descriptions:

1. Luke doing an impromptu puppet show at an orphan nursery school

2. women and children waiting for the Ekwendeni Hospital mobile medical clinic (where they weigh babies, get vaccinations, etc. ) And we think we have to wait for a long time to see the doctor! Luke got to assist these mobile clinics in both Ekwendeni and Embangeni. Because the hospital serves an area of over 600 square km, these mobile clinics are essential for reaching women in the most remote villages.

...And I've been promised crisis nursery pictures tomorrow! All you baby lovers get ready.
-Raymond

Ministry of Hope

Hello all!

We made it to Mzuzu and the Lord has yet again provided some wonderful people to take care of us during this last week in Malawi! I can't believe we head home just one week from today!

We got to Mzuzu Friday night- we left Ekwendeni a bit early because not much happens on Saturdays at the hospital. The McGills (Presbyterian missionaries) had invited us to church in Mzuzu on Sunday so we decided to go ahead and move on to Mzuzu. Debbie Chase, another Presbyterian missionary who teaches at the Ekwendeni seminary, picked us up and took us to dinner Friday night. It was such a blessing to process some of the past 3 weeks with her over chicken and rice. This weekend we also took advantage of the proximity to beautiful Lake Malawi and take a day trip on Saturday. It was amazing- it felt like a day at the beach. We wont tell you all the details of how we got there and back... lets just say it involved a van, circa 1992, packed with 20 people and a door falling off the whole way back to Mzuzu.

One Sunday we joined to McGills for church with their six sweet children and then Luke led a Bible study for the Gideons in the afternoon. He did a great job and the men really seemed to enjoy it- they didn't want to let Luke leave!

Sunday night the McGills invited us to come to a dinner they were having to welcome some Scottish missionaries back to Malawi. It was a wonderful chance to meet many missionaries- from the US and other places that we have been emailing with all winter. We were so encouraged by all the wonderful people we met! These people are certainly called by God to be here doing what they do- teaching, preaching, healing, leading- whatever! It was really nice to spend time with them.

Today was our first day at the Crisis Nursery. It is such a special place. I think Luke explained it a bit, but most of the babies have lost one or both parents, and the nursery takes care of the babies until they are healthy and a family member is able to come and care for them again. The nursery does follow up visits to make sure the children are being cared for by their relatives. A few are HIV positive, but all are healthy. The wonderful nannies this morning were telling us each baby's story. There are 2 sets of twins, and Prisca, one nanny, told us one set of twins came in so tiny- just bones she said. Their mother had died and their father was in such mourning and he thought the twins would die too so he wanted nothing to do with them. They spent 3 weeks in the hospital and were slowly nursed back to health. Today they are happy and giggly and this morning they were clapping along when we were singing songs. Now, Prisca told us, their father comes back once a month (on family visit days) and wont leave- he cant wait to get them back! The newest child is a one month old baby girl who was found in a pit latrine- can you imagine?!? She was totally abandoned! By God's grace she was unharmed and healthy. Thank God for this place! I'm so glad we will spend our last week here- This organization is called "Ministry of Hope" for a reason.

Love to all!

ps- I learned how to change a cloth diaper today. Woohoo!

New Pics from the Farmers

Everybody's favorite older brother here, again. JS sent me these this morning. Check out JS's very appropriate duds in the first 2 pictures. Who said anything about a comfort zone?!? I think they got some pictures mixed up (there is supposed to be a hiking picture from July 4th, which was traded for the ATL shirt on the little boy with Luke). However, I think that one is some of the students she worked with in Embangweni. The mass of children in somewhat of a circle is a Duck, Duck, Goose game! It's from an orphan nursery school (see the post below). From personal experience, I know that JS and Luke's mere presence is like a magnet for every child within 10 miles to come running up to them. It might make playing DDG a little tricky, but all the more fun. Enjoy!
-Raymond

The Faces of AIDS

Hi Friends!

Just taking advantage of the good internet connection here in Ekwendeni. Yesterday we had a pretty intense day where we looked AIDS right in the face. We traveled out into the community with the director of the AIDS program for the hospital- Esther. This woman wears many hats at the hospital, and wears them well. The AIDS programs that she coordinates includes an orphan care program, a home based care program (visiting patients at home), youth education, and HIV testing. She also has to play business woman, and raise funds for these programs. Government pays for some things- like selective drugs and testing, but that only goes so far.

We piled in a truck and headed out to get feed for the pigs (a fund raising part of the program) from the maize mill. Believe it or not, we are getting pretty familiar with maize mills here in Malawi. Then we headed out to a tiny village- 30 minutes down really bumpy, dusty roads (again, we are getting really familiar with these as well...). We arrived in a village with about 5 mud huts and met Green, a man living with HIV. He invited us inside his house- no bigger than a small bathroom in the US. We went in with Webster, who runs the Home Based Care program. Webster explained that this man had contracted HIV 3 years ago and was having reactiong to the ARV drugs. He has some skin rashes and was having difficulty even standing up, but was actually doing better- and was walking with a homemade cane. He told Webster he was feeling no pain, but he was trying to renovate the roof of his house because it leaked in the rainy season. Webster told us the Home Based Care program was helping him fix his roof because they knew when he died, his 3 young children would need to be looked after. I couldn’t even imagine those preparations. Webster also advised him to come back to the hospital in one month to be checked out. Again- I cant even imagine his journey to the hospital- walking down those dusty roads for hours, hoping someone picks him up. As we sat there in his tiny hut, hearing about how he shares it with his 3 children and young wife, I realized that this was what AIDS looks like. A man, only 34, trying to prepare his home for his small children that he will inevitably leave behind. And his wife- dutifully cleaning his wounds and cooking for him and her children, knowing what is coming. And yet, God is using this man Green- he volunteers to keep the pigs that the AIDS program sells for fundraising. He was so proud of them and we took many pictures. Luke asked me what I was thinking when we left- and all I could think about was how we complaining about our small house in Atlanta.

From there we went to see a nursery school- mixed with orphans and non orphans (so as not to discriminate). Every village that the hospital serves has a one of these orphan nursery schools- over 300! These children were so happy and full of life, you might forget that most of them have experienced so much death already. But Esther pointed out several that had been badly burned, blaming the lack of supervision after their parents have gone. The community really does step in and take care of the orphans, as most of the teachers are volunteers. And at the nursery school they get at least one nutritious meal a day. The teachers keep the children busy with songs, dancing, games, counting, ABC reciting—all kinds of activities. Esther said the aim is to keep their mind off the sadness in their lives. But I kept thinking about how lonely the nights must be- with no one to tuck them in or say their prayers with them. Please pray for the orphans, and pray for a cure for this horrible disease.

Tomorrow we leave for Mzuzu to spend our week in the Crisis Nursery. I am excited to get back to those precious babies! What joy and hope there is in a baby’s face! Jim and Jodi McGill (Presbyterian missionaries who we met in Atlanta) and their 6 children have invited us for dinner Sunday night. Luke has also scored yet another teaching engagement with the Gideons in Mzuzu- word is out on the Divinity grad in town! We are also looking forward to connecting with other friends and friends of friends in Mzuzu- I think it will be a great week to end our time here. We miss everyone and appreciate your prayers so much!

xo, js (and luke)

ps- We heard the internet is great in Mzuzu so we hope to send lots of pictures there!

Updates on the young travelers

Raymond here. Luke sent me this to post. Enjoy!

This is Luke. Now I have been waiting for the Internet to load for the past 45 minutes, I don’t have too long to actually write anything. We’ve discovered that’s about par for the course for Internet in Malawi. But at least we have access.

A lot has happened since we last updated. Back in Embangweni I was asked to preach at the Loudon CCAP Presbyterian congregation, the church at the center of Embangweni mission station. At first it was a bit stressful. I had to type my notes for the sermon out on 3 separate computers, and there was only one printer in the entire station that finally worked. I spent the better part of one day walking around trying to find a computer and a printer that would work together. Yet the Lord was faithful in helping me preach clearly and energetically on Sunday morning. The church is quite large, with no sound amplification expect for the stone floors. So I had to shout the sermon at such high volume that I felt I was a televangelist. Being the loving, amazing wife she is, Jan Scott sat in the church on Saturday and listened to the sermon twice to help with my volume control. Ultimately, I think the message was clear and faithful to the text. I preached on 1 Corinthians 12, discussing the importance of unity in the body of Christ.

Tuesday we found out last minute that there was going to be a free ride from Embangweni to Mzuzu, on an ambulance of all things. So we hopped in the back of the ambulance (which is a big Land Cruiser 4x4 here) and rode to Mzuzu over bumpy dirt roads. When we got to Mzuzu, our clothes were covered in dust. We looked as if we had been rolling around in a ditch.

We had the blessing of briefly meeting Paul and Darlene Heller at the Crisis Nursery in Mzuzu. This was a wonderful place to rest after our bumpy journey. We washed our hands and took off our shoes before entering the nursery, which is home to 12 babies, ages 0 to 18 months. Most of the families of these babies are temporarily unable to care for the infants, either because of financial reasons, sickness, or death in the family. The best news is that while most babies stay here until they are roughly 1 ½, many return to their families afterwards. The babies were really cute indeed. Jan Scott was clearly in baby heaven, and there were a few that wooed me as well. It was amazing to see how even at such a young age, babies have such distinct personalities. We will be going back there later this week, so more on the Crisis Nursery later.

We caught a ride to Ekwendeni from Mzuzu with Jodi McGill, our missionary friend who we had met in Atlanta! We really enjoyed getting to catch up with her, and we look forward to spending more time with her and Jim next week back in Mzuzu.

We arrived in Ekwendeni last night. We are still getting acclimated, but have really enjoyed it so far. There is only one physician here, a Dutch woman, but I enjoyed shadowing her today. The saddest thing was seeing the number of small children with really severe burns, in severe pain. Apparently this is quite common here in villages, as the poor have no other way to stay warm in the cold season than to light a fire right next to their beds at night. There was also a drunk guy who was about to die with a blood sugar level of 0. They gave him an I.V. of glucose, and he recovered quickly. We have met several other British medical students in our guest house as well, and have quickly made friends. Today Jan Scott weighed babies (meaning she wrapped them in sarongs and put them on a hook scale exactly like the ones we weight vegetables on in grocery stores!) and organized drugs to be handed out to AIDS patients.

We thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We hope to write again soon!

Love,

Luke and JS

Our week in Embangweni!

Hey friends!

Happy Fourth of July! I'm sorry its taken so long to post- we are in a really remote area of Malawi and just to give you a picture- I'm using the only Internet connection in the village right now, through a cell phone!

We got here on Sunday and have really loved our time here. Embangweni is a mission station here in Malawi- meaning it was founded by Presbyterian missionaries. There is a hospital, a church, a school, and also a school for the deaf. The "head of station" is the pastor of the church- Reverend Gondwe. We have really enjoyed meeting him and his precious 2 daughters. He actually talked Luke into preaching to English service tomorrow morning! What an honor and quite an experience!

Luke has spent the week at the hospital shadowing Martha Sommers, an American doctor sponsored by the Presby church. He has also spent lots of time observing surgery (saw his first C sections!) and with Joyce, a nurse who runs the family planning and prenatal care clinic. One Friday he went out with the Mobil Clinic team into the villages to give vaccinations, educate people about HIV, and do check us for babies. He has especially enjoyed the pediatric ward where he has seen many cases of malaria, malnutrition, and other things we don't really see in the US. I'm not really doing his experience justice. He has found this week eye opening, interesting, and completely challenging. He has made friends with 2 "surgeons" (who actually have less training than our doctors- maybe only 2 years) who have been so impressive. Everyone at the hospital does such a great job- even with tragedy right around the corner. We actually went hiking with them this morning.

I have spent my week teaching in the primary school. The students start having all their subjects in English starting in Standard 5 (grade 5) so I taught there all week. Because I cannot teach Agriculture (yes, that's a subject. The teacher asked me how farmers in the US learned how to farm is we don't have Agriculture in schools?), I have been teaching math and English. It has been a blast, but SO different. There are almost 100 children in the class, and the rooms are just concrete blocks. Not chairs, desks, teacher table. Just a chalk board (when was the last time you saw one of those?) and rows of children sitting on the dusty floor. When I say, "Good morning!" All 100 stand up and say, "Good morning teacher! How are you?" Its quite a change... I have just been soaking up everything. One of their subjects is Life Skills where they learn about HIV and Malaria- almost every lesson is packed with lessons about contracting disease. Nothing US children have much to worry about. The other Standard 5 teacher is really great. She asks so many questions- Do you have AIDS in the US? DO children walk to school or ride buses? How many children are in your classes? In the US I hear they have machine for everything, even washing the plates and cups- is it true? On Tuesday I played my first game of Net Ball with the teachers after school- really fun. Overall its been a great week, but I don't how the teachers do anything without ANY materials. I taught my class how to "kiss your brain" when they did well during the lesson. They loved it. Actually everywhere we go children seem to follow us. They shot out "Mr. Luke! Mrs Farmer!" Luke is quite popular. :)

I also observed the nursery school. Pictures 40 children, ages 2 to 5 packed in to a 10 by 10 room, sitting on the concrete floor, shouting out their ABC's. It was hilarious. The teachers are all volunteer and do a pretty good job, again with no materials. They play duck, duck, goose. They kids are so full of joy- just like children everywhere. I taught this class the "Tooty Ta" song we do in my Pre K class. They were all laughing- such joy.

I think JOY is the one word we can use the describe the people here. We discover everyday why people call Malawi the warm heart of Africa. And for that we are thankful.

Please continue to pray for us- the culture shock is a daily thing- even though our trip is almost half way over! Oh and one more thing- we have enjoyed getting to know a group of Scottish students who are staying here. Last night they had a Scottish Caleigh (like a square dance) at the high school that we went to. And today we went hiking with some friends fro the hospital. So even though we are missing being in Montreat for the Fourth of July, we still got our square dancing and hiking in- Malawi style!

Love to everyone!
JS and Luke

ps- Happy late birthday to Cecil and early birthday to Blair! xoxo

Last days in Lilongwe

Hi friends! Today is our last day in Lilongwe. Tomorrow we leav our wonderful hosts Walker and Katie and drive north to Embangweni with Rev Vasco Kichipapa and his sweet wife Mada. Its hard to describe this first week- whew! We feel like we are just settling in and getting familiar with everything and now we have to take off. But we are really excited about our week in Embangweni where Luke will get to shadow some nurses and doctors and I will get to work with some more children. I think the routine of next week will be good.

Our last few days here have been packed. During our time wirh Rev Kichipapa we have realised that he is not only the Director of the Nkhoma Synod Youth, but he is also a business man! The Youth deparement has several money making projects to help support their work. Without thee projects, their work would be limited. Two projects that he took us to ( that Peachtree has helped sponsor) were the dairy farm and the corn mill (maize mill). Can you imagine is your youth pastor had to take time from his schedule of preaching and meeting with students to tend to the corn mill 100 miles outside the city? It was really exciting to see these projects in action! The most exciting thing was today was visiting a youth meeting at a high school. It was kind of like a young life meeting with singing and dancing and a message. It was a fitting end to the week- seeing all the hard work and money raising in action.

Yesterday we visited 2 hospitals. I think we can both agree that this was the most intense experience so far. After a few days of visiting different sites and feeling a little "bounced around", I have been praying to feel really connected to this trip-- and I think this is what God had in mind. This hospital was like nthing I have ever seen. WOmen were everywhere. They come from the villages and the poorest parts of the city to deliver here. They do 1000 deliveries a month- a MONTH. And the women bring their mothers, aunts, sisters- anyone who can cook for them and care for them during their stay there. They deliever in one big room for delivering- no privacy at all- and only one surgery room. There are several big wards full of women and family members- some sick, some in early labor, some post natal with babies. The doctor who toured us (kind of like a Bono of doctors) gave us some pretty shocking statistics. He told us that for every 100,000 mothers, 600 in Malawi die of childbirth (compare that to only 19 in the United States). It was hard to see such injustice. The doctor argued that these statistics have to do not only with the poverty of Malawi, but also with the status of women in this society. Women essentially have no voice, especially in the poorer villages. In many cases, they are not valued, and their babies are valued less.
We felt blessed that our day ended on a much brighter note. The Morrises then took us to the new public district hospital (called KCM), which was built by a foundation they are working with. The brand new hospital was beautiful. Nothing elaborate, just a clean, quality facility to provide basic quality care for the people here. Our hope is that this new hospital will serve as a symbol of hope to at least some of these young families and mothers. It's claim to fame is that it's supposed to be the first hospital in Africa where a poor, non-paying mother can still have her own private room during delivery. There is something about this that goes beyond money and progress and improvement. Providing this space for every mother who comes in, regardless of class or background, makes a serious value judgment. It's saying that each of these mothers (and their unborn babies) is a child of God. They all are worthy of love, and as God's creations their bodies deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Please pray for these owmen and health workers. Also pray for rest- we have not quite adjusted to the time and night noises. We'll touch base again soon!
Love, Luke and JS

Pics from Lilongwe via Raymond

Despite what the blog may tell you, this is not Jan Scott or Luke. However, I am Jan Scott's hero and older brother and Luke's favorite of all his older brothers-in-law, Raymond. JS asked me to post some pics for you all to show you they really are alive and that she hasn't started running/swimming westward, yet. Here's the captions she gave me, but I can't seem to get them in order.

0236, Third: me at the women's training school with my hand made doll (they gave me one as a gift!)

0266, Second: visiting dyna (our friends' marshal and amy's sponsored child) and her family at the world vision area development project

0316, First: dancing with simidi's family (our friend's laura and marty's sponsored child) at the world vision ADP

148, Fourth: our room at the morris's (complete with the mosquito net!)

Enjoy and keep them in your prayers!

-Raymond

Quick note

Just a quick note from Jan Scott...

We just wanted to say we love the comments from everyone! Please continue to pray for us as we settle in. We are finally adjusting to the time change and are getting on a good schedule. Like Luke said there is a lot to take in and we are slowly processing everything God is showing us in this beautiful country!

Love to everyone!

ps- Happy anniversary to my sweet parents!! And good luck to Lydia on Sunday in the Iron Girl- you go girl!!

World Vision Visit

Yesterday we went to the Nkhoma ADP (Area Development Project) that’s sponsored by World Vision. Everything about this experience was intense. This ADP was a 20 acre tract of land encompassing about more than 150 villages and around 25,000 people. This was an amazing statistic for us when we saw how rural and remote the area seemed. The villages are so tiny, and it’s amazing to see how many children and adults live in such a small area.
The setting was like something out of National Geographic. I have never seen anything like it before: thatched roofs, barefoot children, and mud roads that are more like ditches. It was a wonder we were not deathly sick riding in the back of World Vision’s Land Cruiser.
During our time in this arid, rugged, mountain terrain, we saw four World Vision children that our Peachtree friends sponsor. (Laura and Marty, Marshall and Amy, She and Jessica, and Staci) In every case, the children were shy, but the entire village came out to greet us. As we approached the village the women were chanting a traditional welcome song. Then the presentation of gifts was an elaborate affair. We would sit down and present a small gift to the child while 50 other children looked on. Then we took lots of pictures, and then we were presented with a gift from the child’s family. We received peanuts (they call them ground nuts over here), potatoes, and a bamboo basket that the ladies had hand-weaved in order to dry dishes with (Marty and Laura: this was your child’s family, so be looking out for a straw basket when we get back to the states!) We were told that people have been given live chickens and goats before.
In the last home we went to, the village had prepared a most elaborate welcome, with songs and dances. Then the family actually welcomed us into their home for a meal. There Jan Scott and I sat on the earthen floor of a 2 room mud house with a thatched roof, and we ate a meal of sima and pinto beans. Sima (pronounced seemah) is their national food, much like grits except blander. We were taught to roll it up into a ball in our hands, and then you dip the ball into the beans, which they call a relish. It was an intense and powerful experience to accept genuine hospitality from people who were so poor and yet truly generous with what they had.
We were especially impressed by the World Vision leaders who accompanied us through the ADP. They were all extremely knowledgeable about Malawian politics, world affairs, and the struggles of non-government organizations (NGO’s) to promote sustainability in some of the poorest countries in the world, like Malawi. We both really felt that God has these organizations here for a reason, in addition to the church, to be part of His mission in the world.

First week in Malawi!

Hello all! Greetings from the "Warm Heart of Africa!" We cannot tell you how crazy the last three days have been- overhwhelming, amazing, tiring, eye opening, wonderful, sad, joyful-- and sometimes all at the same time. We got to Lilongwe on Monday afternoon and got settled in with our wonderful hosts for the week. The Morris's have been SO accomodating and welcoming!

Let's see if I can give a brief overview of our time here so far... so much has happened in the last 48 hours its hard to believe its just been 2 days! We met up with Reverend Vasco Kichipapa on Tuesday morning and it was so wonderful to finally meet him! He is the director of the Youth for the Synod of Nkhoma (youth = age 5- 30!) and he is a partner with Peachtree Pres. He took us to his office and then out to see the Youth Camp run by the Synod where he does trainings (kind of like conferences) for youth who are leaders in their churches. Clearly his job is huge. He has over 100 congregations and does not have a reliable car. The youth camp we visited was about 35 miles out a dirt road- and when i say dirt road- imagine a road with ditches on both sides and sometimes in the middle. They close the camp in the rainy season because it is too hard to navigate. People ride by on bikes carrying other people, firewood stacked 4 feet high, 100 pound bags of coal- whatever! And everywhere children are running and women are carrying babies on their backs- tied on with cloths- straight out of National Geographic. People are everywhere! Every mile or so there would be a "village" of huts and maybe a "storefront." It is like nothing I have ever seen. At the camp we met Absalom who is the camp manager. He became a Christian when he attended the camp as a young man and now runs the camp. He was really a man of God.

After the camp we visited a Woman's Training School also run by the Synod. They have courses for women to train them to be teachers, in computer literacy, and other skills. This was a big highlight for me because the day we got there the women were preparing for their "final examin" to be nursery school teachers. The lack of teacher training is huge in Malawi, and these women are some of the few who get training at all. BUT because these women live in villages where supplies are not guarenteed, they are trained to make EVERYTHING from scratch. They had made beads (for fine motor development- they told me- just like we use in my class) from cutting up reeds along the river. They were finishing up their hand sewn dolls. They has designed and constructed a jungle gym with local carpenters. All the concepts that we use in my PreK class were there- they were just using completely homemade materials. (Erynn, Akilah can you imagine?!) While we were having coffee with the missionary who runs the training school, one of the students brought me a gift from the women- one of the homemade dolls! It was beautiful- such a treasure.

Just writing about all of this is exhausting and that's exactly hos we have felt at the end of each day. Exhausted, but inspired but the great workd God is doing here in Malawi. Amen!

We made it!

(To South Africa at least!)

One huge plane (a B777 for those interested), 2 cozy seats, 18 refills on water, 2 and a half movies, 15 hours, and 2 very helpful sleeping pills later... We made it to Africa! The flight was not as bad as we anticipated and we both slept a lot. We checked in to our airport hotel, had a nice dinner, and are getting ready to fly out to Lilongwe, Malawi tomorrow to meet our friends and wonderful hosts for the week Katie and Walker Morris (Kate Morris Stanley's parents). We feel like just making here was a big part of our journey and we can't wait to get to Lilongwe tomorrow. Judging from the super slow connection at the hotel... things may get shaky on the blog front once we get to Lilongwe, but we'll try to keep you updated. Please pray for safe travel tomorrow (and for our bags to get there!) and for us to have a spirit of flexibility, thanksgiving, and enthusiasm as we begin our work.


Love to everyone!!

Here we go....for real this time

We're headed to the airport. In about an hour. Let's give a special shout out to Aunt Jane and Uncle John, who graciously offered to take us to the airport. Pray that check-in and the flight itself will run smoothly, and that we will get at least a little sleep on the plane. We'll write again when we get there!

Love,
Luke and jS

Pack it up!

Now here's a packing challenge... get all this into one bag... Yikes!

But here's a packing blessing... Look at all these wonderful donations! Our Sunday School class (shout out to all the Proclaimers) collected cloth diapers, medicine, and stickers. My awesome PreK team donated lots of extra colored pencils and markers for children in the World Vision Area Development Project (ADP). And even sweet KJ Saffold let me take his baby carrier over to use in the Crisis Nursery (see their blog link- Suffer the Little Children). Luke's dad went through all of his old ties for us to take to the men, and we also got some tea towels for the women. My favorite gifts were these sweet finger puppets my dad bought for us in Montreat at Ten Thousand Villages. We tried to pick out African animal and US farm animals. Every child loves puppets right? Aren't they sweet?

What a blessing it has also been to hear from so many friends!! Once we sent out our prayer calender and blog link we have gotten the sweetest notes and encouragement. Keep the comments coming! Thank you! God is good!

(and now I know how to post pictures- yes!)

Here we go...

Welcome to our blog! Neither of us has ever done this before... and we are not sure how much Internet access we'll have once we arrive in Malawi but its worth a try!

Luke and I leave in 5 days (!!) for a month long mission trip to Malawi, a small country in southern Africa. Its know as the "warm heart of Africa." Why Malawi? You ask... Well we have both always wanted to go to Africa to see God's work there. last summer, both of Jan Scott's brothers, Raymond and Owen went with groups from Myers Park Presbyterian Church and had life changing experiences. When we realized that we had this month free this summer, we decided to explore the possibility of a trip with our church, Peachtree Presbyterian. One thing led to another and before we knew it, God has us heading to Malawi! Along the way we have felt so encouraged and supported by friends here in Atlanta, at both Peachtree Pres. and Kairos Church, friends far away, and of course by our families.

While we are not always the first to step out of our comfort zones (especially me- Jan Scott!), we know we go covered in the prayers of many who love us. And most importantly, we go in God's hands to be a part of His plan. Our prayer during our preparations has been for flexibility and peace, and we continue to meditate on Jeremiah 29: 11-13.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

So here we go. Let's get this journey started!