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!