Where There is No Hospital...

Yesterday I had the phenomenal opportunity to be a part of one of Ministry of Hope's Mobile Medical Clinics. What this means is that a team of volunteers and medical practitioners (Clinicians, lab technicians, and doctors from Lilongwe) take a big bus to a rural community that would otherwise have no access to a hospital, dentist, doctor, or medical care. On this particular trip, we departed early in the morning on a big bus and drove until we reached Khwamba, a village where we were able to see 604 patients during the course of the day! These people were treated for all sorts of medical issues including malaria, muscle skeletal pains, infections, sepsis, worms, and more.

What I found out is that where there is no hospital... 

...pastors, teachers, students, and anyone can become a pharmacist for the day...

...people will walk for hours to receive FREE care and medication...

...ordinary people make an extraordinary TEAM...

...but for the kids, perhaps the most fun and exciting part of all may not have been the medication, but the STICKERS!!!

Until next time, blessings to you all from my heart to yours!

Beyond Blessed...

Have you ever come to that point in your life when you realize that you are BEYOND blessed? This is more than just feeling happy or satisfied or content; it is joy that overflows in your very heart. I have been feeling this way for awhile, but just now can put my finger on a couple of reasons that I am feeling this way.

I have been blessed with a wonderful Malawian family whose members are patiently teaching me Chichewa (just a few words and syllables at a time... Despite being a teacher, I have discovered that I am a very slow language learner!) My family is fantastic! I share tea time with them, meals, jokes, laughter, and a home.

I have also been embraced by an American family living here in Malawi for the next couple of years. Mark and Melanie and their amazing kids have taken me under my wing... and may have even spoiled me with pizza and ice cream! This past weekend, they (and their two wonderful friends Beth and Katherine visiting from the United States) took me along on their family's safari! There, I was overwhelmed by the creativity of God, who made a plethora of phenomenal animals... monkeys, impalas, warthogs, hippos by the dozens, beautiful birds, crocodiles, and more! And even though we had been informed at the safari's beginning that we may not see any elephants, we ended up seeing a huge herd, and even an elephant stomping his feet only 15 feet away! Wow!

 

 

 

I have been blessed in so many ways... meeting new people and making new friends, a visit from a Canadian friend this weekend for a welcome touch of home, trying new foods, and gaining new insights and wisdom from those God has put in my path. Truly I can say that "my cup runneth over!" May you find reasons today to say and to feel that you are "beyond blessed!" 

This is a place...

Greetings dear friends and family! I can hardly believe that it has been over three weeks since I said good-bye to all of you in Canada and was welcomed to Malawi! It seems that during each week here I have lived what feels like a lifetime. The colours, sounds, smells, tastes and experiences of Africa are hard to put into simple words... perhaps that is why a very wise person noted that a picture is worth a thousand words! With this wisdom in mind, allow me to share just a small taste of my everyday life here in the warm heart of Africa...
    Obviously, this is not everything there is to the beautiful continent of Africa... it is simply a glimpse of the Africa that I have so far experienced...

    This is a place that is filled with the sounds of people, strong smells, bright colours, and busyness! It is a place where at the market, bartering is the norm, and sellers compete to have you purchase their produce...

  This is a place where transportation is a game of discovering just how many people can get from one place to another in the smallest amount of space... (Note that all of the safety transportation precautions we cling to so dearly in Canada are far from heeded here!!)

 This is a place where your food may or may not be staring at you as you eat it...

 This is a place where in rural areas, children run after the car and scream “azungu” (white person) as you drive by... though whether it is from excitement or sheer terror I may never know... Sorry for the fuzzy picture; I just couldn't resist sharing it!

This is a place where children are resourceful at having so much fun with so little stuff!

This is a place where in the midst of poverty... at a time when the harvest is not yet ready, and resources and food are in short supply, a community prepares a feast to honour us as their guests. I am told that when a community kills a chicken to prepare for your arrival, you are welcomed indeed! (Just in case you were wondering, this is a place where we eat food like this with our hands!)

    This is a place where I have been welcomed in extraordinary ways... This is a place that even in the midst of great poverty there is profound hope. This is a place where joy abounds. And yes, this is a place that I have come to love!