South Luangwa National Park

The South Luangwa National Park is an amazing area.  Ellis and I have loved spending time here and have also learned a ton about animals, birds, and vegetation found in this area of Zambia.  We picked this safari based on recommendations from people who had been here before and we have not been disappointed at any point.  The concentration of game around the Luangwa river has 60 different animal species and over 400 different bird species.  The rhino sadly is not found here because it was poached to extinction.

The river runs just outside of where we are sleeping and we have seen elephant, crocodile, hippos, baboons, monkeys, giraffe, bushbuck, impala, puku and kudu right here at Thornicroft.  We have had elephant, monkeys, lions, hippos and baboons visit just outside where we sleep, some in the morning and night and others just at night.  If it is dark, we have to wait for the night watchman to walk with us to the main lodge area.  We have learned that elephants are silent, hidden and dangerous in the dark.  Seven people in the village have died this year from elephants.  Inside the park we have seen all of these plus others, such as warthog, leopard, zebra, giraffe, hyenas, buffalo, serval, porcupine, mongoose, scrub hare, squirrel, genet, jackal, waterbuck, and civet.  We have lost count of the types and number of birds we have seen, but include several types of herons, buzzards, vultures, eagles, sparrows, owls, guineafowl, doves, kingfishers, bee-eaters, hornbills, weavers, and storks.  Each type of bird has several varieties within and our guide has superb knowledge of the name and what makes it distinct. 

We have learned how our guide looks and listen to for the signals from the animals and birds on what is happening in the park each day.  Tracks and “poop” are signs he follows on the roads we travel in the park. We have found lions each time because of the signs from the animals.  The baboons bark to warn of danger, the kudu whistles, the giraffe swishes the tail and stomps the front leg, the vultures circle and nest in trees near the kill of the lions, the bushbuck look in the direction of danger, the squirrel has a call more like a bird to indicate danger.  Our guide knows the paths each animal travel and where they go for water.  Recently one if lion prides was broken and split by three young brothers.  They chased out the male in the pride.  This change has disrupted the normal patterns and the entire area is still in flux due to the change of leadership.  We found the male who was kicked out late yesterday and he was on the outskirts of where the game drives occur in this area.  He had four older females with him who are more attached to him.  We have had lions staying near our lodge also because of the disruption.  There are 3 females and one cub that we’ve seen.  This is the only remaining cub from the lion male who was kicked out.  If the three brothers find this one before it matures more, they will kill it too.  The good news for “Three Musketeers” is that the pride will be very stable for a while with them in charge because it is unlikely for younger males to try and take over three.  There is another pride further out that has six males, all brothers.  Leopards are common in this area and we found one waiting on a warthog to come out of its’ burrow.  It never took note of us and was only ten feet from our vehicle.  The wart hog was spooked by the vehicle engine starting and darted out, which led the leopard to see if babies were inside the burrow.  He went all the way in, disappeared and then came out without a meal.

We have seen areas of the park that are barren and look like a wasteland.  This occurred over 50 years ago when there were too many elephants for the land to support.  Apparently the entire park looked like this and slowly vegetation has returned and eventually will return in these barren areas.  Some elephants here have tusks and some do not.  When the poachers killed so many elephants, the species adapted and produced elephants without tusks.  We have learned about the African Sausage tree and how the hippos come at night to wait on the sausages to fall so that they can eat them.  Many animals like the sausage but the hippo is the largest consumer.  The sausage is spongy on the inside, much like our cucumber, but not edible for humans.  Some areas of the park look like a golf course – absolutely amazing!  The colors, water, and rolling landscape are stunning, manicured by the animals, and changing with the seasons.  Our mornings start very cool at sunrise.  We have put on every layer we have with us and then they provide additional blankets.  It is so cold even with all of this…yet by 9:00 a.m. we have shed most of our layers and are enjoying the warm sunny clear blue skies.  The evening is similar; we add layers as sundown approaches and then are cold by the time 8:00 arrives.  This park stays open until 8:00 p.m. which allows night drives providing a chance to see animals hunting along with more nocturnal species.

I must say that visiting here has been a very special treat.  Since Malawi is an entry point for this national park in Zambia, it is also easy to come here before heading back to the US.  The area is large and we have often felt like we have the park to ourselves.  The guides have respect for each other and share what is happening when we do pass other vehicles.  Ellis thinks the tea time is one of the best parts too of being here.  Yesterday a monkey did steal her cake she was having with her tea.  We decided the monkey knew we were easy targets because we backed away as she got closer.  The monkey was quite “cheeky” as our Australian friend, Dale, told us though to come under the main lodge area and take it from Ellis.  The staff here has been wonderful too us and again we’ve enjoyed meeting people from Zambia, Malawi, England, South Africa, Netherlands, and Australia.  I think this has really opened Ellis to so much of the world.  It has fed her desire to see other parts and learn other cultures as this has been such an incredible experience here in Africa.  As we begin our journey back to the US, it will take us three days since we have a day of travel to get back to Lilongwe, Malawi, then a day to Johannesburg, South Africa, then a day to the United States.  We both cannot believe that are sad to be leaving Africa and how fast our time has gone while here.  Once back home, we look forward to sharing pictures and reflections with you.

Off to Zambia and Kenya

We have arrived safely in Zambia and are staying just outside a national park called South Luangwa.  Yesterday we were in the capitol of Malawi in Lilongwe.  Jim and Jodi McGill, PCUSA missionaries, and family had just arrived back in Malawi after spending a year in the US.  It was wonderful to see them and thank them for all their help with our mission trip to Embangweni .  We missed the opening games of the Olympics – TIA!  There was a problem at our guest house with the cable TV and the internet – both were not working properly.  So after dinner at the guest house we all headed to bed.

Our main driver in Malawi, James, told us sad news before dropping us yesterday at the guest house.  He had learned two days prior that his mother died in the northern region of Malawi, in the town of Mzimba.  After talking to him we learned that this was not his birth mother because she too had died earlier in his life, but this mama had been the one to raise him.  We are keeping him and his family in our prayers.  Many, if not most of our friends we have made here have a similar story.  Parents dying, children dying, and extended family raising those left behind. 

This morning we said goodbye to the Dubose family as they were flying to Kenya.  We will miss them SO much and cannot express what a joy they have been to travel with this entire time.  Ellis will especially miss Ellie, Cara, Jack and Ben.  We look forward to sharing and comparing our final time here in Africa.

Our safari group, Land and Lake, picked us up in a 4 wheel drive vehicle.  We picked up a newly married couple from England named David and Catherine and the four of us enjoyed getting to know each other.  She is a teacher and he is fire fighter.  Between the drive, customs, exchanging money and lunch, it took us about 7 hours to get here.  The exchanging money made us feel extremely wealthy when the Zambia kwatcha is about 4,000 to one US dollar.  The land and people were very similar to the areas we have seen in Malawi.  Zambia is much larger and therefore did not appear as densely populated.   Again, every village or town we passed had produce for sale and always the cell phone minutes from Air Tel.  In the midst of just about nothing you will find a small concrete building selling the Air Tel minutes.  Our vehicle had a flat tire along the way and while our driver changed it, children came running to greet us.  We played simple games with them.  They were all mesmerized with Ellis and just continued to smile and stare at her.  We also learned how to spot a funeral or a broken down vehicle.  Leaves are used to mark the road from both sides.  We saw an example of both today as we drove.  Leaves are also used outside the home of the person who died to identify the family who has suffered the loss.

The Zambian government is constructing a paved road leading to this area with the national park.  Our driver told us this had long been debated because some thought that having a good road would increase the number of animal poacher.  In the end, they decided that development would win.  The park is over 9000 km in square diameter.  We will depart tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. to enter the park.  Today after arriving we had a view of the river that runs alongside the lodging area.  Just on the other side of the river we spotted giraffe, elephant, hippos, crocodile, monkeys and several other animals and types of birds.  It is beautiful and peaceful here.  We heard stories over dinner of the hungry lions coming across the river and going into the nearby villages and eating twelve goats.  The river is low because it is winter and the dry season.  Food is scarce therefore the animals come looking on this side for food.  Thankfully, there is a night watchman making sure we are safe here.  The people in the village may beat drums all night to keep the lions away but apparently sometimes that does not always scare the lions.  Right now it sounds like a party is going on in the village!  We saw hippo and elephant tracks from last night just outside our door, so we may hear visitors during the night.  The internet here is just about as tricky as Embangweni, so we cannot post too much as you buy internet time in 10 minute increments.  We look forward to posting pictures once we are back in the US.  We wanted you to know we’re safe and enjoying the beauty, people and animals of Africa that God has created.  Tucked inside our mosquito nets, we are saying good night.

Friday - the simple things are the best!

It is noon here and I am checking my email before we depart for Lilongwe, although we are supposed to have high speed Internet tonight where we are staying. It is beautiful and sunny here today with steady breeze from the lake. We've watched the baboons play outside our room and just can't get enough of watching them. Cara and Trey took a kayak out this morning. The children have entertained themselves with homemade bows and arrows from sticks all morning. The funny story is that Jack spotted one yesterday on our hike that a child in the village had made and then cried when he had to give it back. One of our guides made another one for him, then Ben cried that he did not have one. Brown, our guide made Ben a little one, and both times a very nice man gave him string from the net he was making by hand at the shore of the lake. Today, Ellis decided she wanted to make one for Ellie and then made a tiny one for herself. The simple things have been what they have enjoyed so much on this trip, which is wonderful. They all have enjoyed each day so much and have made many many friends quickly. Having the children with us has enriched the trip beyond measure. We are hopeful to see the Olymipic opening ceremonies tonight.

Mama and baby just outside our door

 

From Embangwni to Lake Malawi

Lauren and Ellie, our friends from England wish the children goodbye

We departed Embangweni and drove about six hours to see Lake Malawi before we leave the country.  There were tears, hugs, wishes for traveling mercies along with prayers for our families and our church.  I cried every time one of our new friends said, “you have blessed us so much by coming and sharing your time with us in Embangweni.”  I tried to say in the midst of holding back tears that we are the ones who have been blessed… we have received far more than we have given.  We all already miss Embangweni.

We passed people walking, riding bikes, walking cows, goats, and ox carts as we drove out of Embangweni.  Once on the paved road we saw buses and more cars, goats, and cattle.  The bats and mice on sticks were being sold again, as well as tomatoes, potatoes, onions, maize, sugar cane, charcoal, and firewood.   As we moved further south, we saw bamboo things of all kinds being made and for sale by the road, such as chairs, baskets, mats, and couches.

Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in the continent of Africa and eighth largest in the world.  Now that we are here, we can see why everyone told us, “you cannot come to Malawi and not see the lake.”  Because we are departing on Saturday morning from Lilongwe, we choose to come to Singa Bay, which is about 90 minutes from Lilongwe.  The lake is absolutely beautiful and so large that we cannot see the other side.  The feeling is more like being at the ocean as the wind blows waves in to a sandy rocky shore.  Where we are staying has baboons running all around as well as rock rabbits and regular rabbits.  The Dubose family has a special rabbit named, Eleanor.  After lunch today we hiked along the river and slightly inland to look for hippos, but we did not find any. 

The temperature and terrain is different here from northern Malawi.  It is warm and the homes have thatched instead of tiled roofs.  On our way the landscape was beautiful and we can only imagine how lush it is in the rainy season.  We have not had a drop of rain yet and only a few clouds the entire past two weeks. 

Chichewa is spoken in the central region, so our Tumbuka is not too helpful here.  A few words are still the same, such as “azungu” – white people.  The children shouted that over and over again today.  Ellis learned a new saying that meant “Let’s be friends” which you say and give a pinky handshake at the same time. 

While we miss our friends in Embangweni, it is helpful to reflect before heading back home to Greenville.  We look forward to sharing reflections and more pictures because we have left a very special place and a part of our hearts.

Lake Malawi just before sunset

Our last day in Embangweni

Kimmie and Trey both taught a lesson at the hospital to the staff following chapel and morning reports.   They received many compliments for the knowledge they have shared.  I took the children for a short visit with Henry Mvula - Head of Station and Pastor of CCAP and Synod of Livingstonia.  We discussed some of his goals and plans for the church. Kimmie was busy seeing all sorts of patients, not just women, while Trey, myself and the children completed the painting of chalkboards at the Deaf School.  At the end of Kimmie’s day, she taught the clinical officers and medical students from England how to tie knots.  Lloyd, pictured in the July 23 post caught on quickly and promised to practice every day.  This small lesson could really have lasting effects for the patients in surgery at Embangweni.  Kimmie also saw a condition in a female patient that she has never seen before and this was also a first for the clinician, Lloyd who was with her.  She was called early on the morning of July 25 to help deliver a baby whose mommy needed an emergency C-section.

Wanting to seize the last of our time here, we saw a lot of people in the afternoon.  I met the coordinator of projects for the Loundon Presbytery, which consists of 9 congregations.  The projects focus on connecting churches with the needs in the Loudon Presbytery.  While here, we have heard of many needs in Embangweni and Kalikumbi from small to big size projects.  The other seven have needs far larger because they are not connected to any supporting churches.  He also helps coordinate micro loans to help women, as well as coordinating a sponsoring program for children.  It is hard to even understand the level of need when we are just wrapping our heads around the needs in Embangweni.  At a minimum this was a good contact to make as well as a new contact for WPC.  

Joseph’s children, Wiseman and Abigail, came by the guest house to see us.  We gathered to express our thanks for being such good friends to us in Embangweni.   Our visit would not have been the same without meeting them.  Elizabeth, a very special friend from VBS, also ten years old spent time with the children in the afternoon.

The children were collected by Little Ben to go to the Manse.  He wanted to remember them with some pictures.  From there they walked a short distance to have another visit Rose, her family, and of course her baby chicks.  Next, Catherine Nyrinda came to the guest house to collect us for a visit in her home.  What an amazing woman!  She is almost 72, rides a bike due to back pain, retired from her job at the hospital last year and has raised 5 children.  She is now raising 3 great grandchildren and 4 grandchildren due to parents of the children who have died.  Her youngest grandchild living with her is 6.  We learned that her 12 year old granddaughter was in the VBS group we had last week.  The generosity and hospitality she showed was truly humbling.  She had Cokes for everyone (including the 3 friends that accompanied us from the community) and two plates of cookies.  These are the first store bought cookies we’ve had in Malawi.  The children were SO excited and found the cookies to be a welcome delicious treat.  We brought M&M’s to the gathering and she did tell me that not just the children love these, but she likes them too.  She showed us her tame doves (which looked like our pigeons, but she said, “You know these are the birds that descended when Jesus was baptized,”) chickens, variety of fruit trees, and cows at her son’s home next door.  Catherine wanted to give us a gift to take back with us.  Remembering a story, Lydia had shared about the gift of a live chicken carried back in a plastic bag for dinner, I thought, “Oh no, please don’t let it be a chicken!”  Sure enough, Catherine said, “I want to give you a chicken to take back for dinner.  Mama Lydia knows this is the tradition here in Malawi.  You are our honored guests.”   Long story short, we did not walk home with a chicken and I pray we did not offend Catherine.  We regretfully told her we would be departing tomorrow and could not accept her kind offer.   She is one of those people who touch your heart and she made me cry again when she told me that we would be in her prayers and that she was very honored to have time with us. 

We departed to go have tea with Mr. Hara, thankful that the friends of the children who were with us showed us the correct way back to the Guest House.  Each day the trailing number of children who accompany us around Embangweni  grows larger. 

Kimmie being on call at the hospital was not able to join us for tea.  Joseph helped show us the way to Mr. Hara’s home.  The towns are set up that schools and hospital have housing close to the campus that is provided because of your job.  It was great to have time to develop our friendship with Mr. Hara and meet his wife, 2 of his 4 daughters and his son.  The tea was delicious because they served warm milk! Sounds strange, but we have not had any real milk, only powdered.  Mrs. Hara also made popcorn, roasted peanuts, and donuts.  Ellis was asked to bless the food and tea by Mr. Hara.  We experienced a black out during the tea and the power came back just before we departed.  Mr. and Mrs. Hara walked us back to the guest house and on the way we all stopped to look at the church owl with our torches.

The school is truly amazing and I know we would have LOVED meeting the students.  This school is the only one for the northern region of Malawi.  He travels to villages to help families understand how the school can help their child.  A child enters the school at the age of five or older, depending on when their need is identified.  The school helps not just deaf children and also helps hearing impaired.  There is no age limit to being in the school – generally the students are older than their grade due to beginning at five to learn the very basics of communication.  As they progress, some are integrated into mainstream classes and others are taught trade skills such as carpentry or sewing.  Mr. Hara expressed how glad he was to renew the relationships of Westminster with the school.  He is committed to the continual improvement of the school and helping each child meet their own personal best.  His oldest daughter has been assigned the task of helping her dad get set up on Facebook as a way to share more news from the school.  We talked about sharing pictures on the page once set up and he commented on the small number of digital cameras in Embangweni.  He does not have a digital camera but thought he might be able to borrow Joseph’s. 

I can see that the continual improvement of the internet will transform Embangweni when you think how much communication has changed since Hots first traveled there and ham radio was the only means of communication.  We did notice many people have cell phones and carry them in a little fabric case that hangs around their neck.  It seemed a clash of two worlds to see a woman carrying a bucket of water on her head with a cell phone case around her neck.  All the phone plans seem to be a pay as you go system.  So many places sell scratch cards that buy you more minutes.

We arrived in time for dinner with Lauren and Ellie from England.  These are two of the nicest young ladies we have ever met.   We all fell in love with them and cherished the time we spent together.  After dinner and exchanging contact information, we walked outside to gaze at the stars before going to our rooms for the night.  Tonight we found Scorpio, the Southern Cross and the Milky Way.  We looked at the moon through binoculars and all commented on how incredible the night sky is in Embangweni. 

Pictures from July 24

 As I write and post it is almost midnight here in Embangweni.  Again, our challenging part is the internet, as it seems to work late at night and early in the morning!  Yet, as I read from a devotional book Ellis and I have shared each evening of this journey, I have a sense of peace as we close soon this chapter in Malawi.  We are reading, Grace Notes: Daily Readings with Philip Yancey.  From the reading today, I want to quote the end as perfect  summary to many of the emotions we have felt.

Yancey writes; Love, too, it why I believe.  At the end of life, what else matters? “Love never fails,” Paul wrote.  “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  He could only be describing God’s love, for no human love meets that standard of perfection.  What I have tasted of love convinces me that a perfect love will not be satisfied with the sad tale of this planet, will not rest until evil is conquered and good reigns, will not allow its object to pass from existence.  Perfect love perseveres until it perfects.

Finishing up the painting today with great helpers!

A visit to see Henry Mvula

A special friend, Elizabeth, also ten years old

A message to the children when they return from winter break

Catherine, Trey and Susan before departing for her home

Catherine showing the children her tamed doves in the backyard

Mr. Hara with his family

An Amazing Monday

Our Monday was a wonderful day with friends, blessings, and amazement - filled with teaching, working at the hospital, painting chalk boards, tea with Mr. Tembo and finally - the Malawi sunset.

Kimmie giving a lecture after morning chapel

My favorite shot of the day - me in scrubs!

Lloyd and Kimmie at the hospital

Jack, Trey and Ben painting a free standing chalk board with Wiseman watching

Mr. Hara, Headmaster of the School for the Deaf - always the teacher!

Cara, Jack and Ellie painting at the school for deaf children

Little Ben - the first to reach the top as the sun was setting

Finally!  The Malawi sunset - an incredible way to end our day!

Sunday Worship and Fellowship

The morning had a hectic start when Rose knocked on our door at 7:20 and told us the time for church had changed from 8:00 to 7:30!  We rushed to get out the door and walked to the church – the girls were all trying to fix the chitinjis to wear them the proper way.  We had a quick lesson from a kind woman named Miriam on how to tie the chitinji before walking in to find a completely empty church!  We wondered, “are we in the right church?”  Soon after arriving we saw a few people who were setting up things for worship so we asked them, is the English service in this space?  “Yes,” they said, “it starts at 8:00 or 8:15 a.m.”  Thankful to be in the right place, we decided to be glad we were early for church!  The service was wonderful and followed the same order of worship as our service back home.  Our children sang the songs we practiced and it was beautiful.  Ellis even led the singing of “I have Peace Like a River.”  After singing the children were dismissed for Sunday School and our children decided to go and join them.  Visitors were asked to come up front for an introduction.  A group from Denmark was also visiting.  The sermon was delivered by a pastor who is originally from Malawi but lived in New York after studying at Union Theological Seminary and now has been in Taiwan for almost ten years teaching at a Presbyterian Theology school.  His sermon was GREAT!  We all enjoyed worshipping today here and would like to have more than one Sunday.  At the end all us joined the praise team to sing and dance to “I am a winner.” 

Before lunch Kim and I went over to the hospital for her to check on several patients and I worked on collecting information to help a mission team from First Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg coming in October.  The hospital has  list of things that are not working and our job is to collect information about model numbers, type, manufacturer, etc. so that they can bring as many parts as possible to fix these when they are here.  Parts are VERY difficult to find in Malawi and many have to come from South Africa if they are available in Africa which means they are very expensive.  Tomorrow I’ll go back and see the hospital technician who can tell me more.

The afternoon included the arrival of Martha Sommers, PCUSA missionary who is a physician practicing in Eckwendeni.  Since Martha lived for many years in Embangweni, everyone was excited to see her.  We all went to Rose’s house for a visit and tea, where we were also joined by Mr. Hara and Gertrude, from the hospital.   The children all went to the chicken coup and later played card games and tag outside Rose’s house.   Ben pretty much stayed with the chickens the whole time and brought different baby chicks to the den to show us.  We enjoyed tea and African cake that Rose made.  Sugar is very expensive here, so most sugar it seems is used for tea.  The cake tasted like a slightly sweet cornbread.  We all thought it was delicious!  Around 4:30 we went to look for the football match, but it did not happen today.  TIA – apparently the team coming could not get transportation.

Martha joined us for dinner at the guest house.  Kim and Trey talked with her about the medical side of things here in Embangweni.  She had several great suggestions as well as confirmed that a lot of what they have already done will have long lasting effects.  Having the expertise of Martha who knows the language, culture, and people so well was extremely helpful to us as we think towards future trips and Westminster’s involvement in Embangweni. 

A fun and full Saturday

The morning for me and Ellis was more relaxed today, but Kim was called about 5:00 a.m. for a C-section delivery at the hospital.  After breakfast we walked to town with our friend and Peace Corp Volunteer, Andrea Thompson.  On the way the children had the opportunity to try pumping a deep well where a family was gathering water.  The market in town was very different than the market we saw on Friday and was better because we could really take it all in.  There was a vegetable area with maize, onions, potatoes, peanuts, tomatoes, and greens.  Andrea said she always buys anything different when it is at the market because there is not much variety, just the items which are in season.  We found more chitenji fabric and let the girls pick out patterns they liked since they did not get to shop yesterday.  We are all wearing our chitenji fabric to church tomorrow.  The market also had fresh meat, eggs, underwear, clothes, shoes – even a tailor who was making clothes.  Again we attracted a lot of attention but here in Embangweni we feel welcome and there were many who wanted to greet us as well as thank us for coming.  Andrea suggested we try what looked like a large orange fruit loop – Kim and I decided it was an African rice cake.   Everyone loves them here!  We also tried donuts and bought peanuts which the guest house roasted for us.  We passed a shop where the sign read, “Barber and Welding.” 

We arrived back at the guest house to meet a new guest who is a PCUSA missionary, Nancy Collins.  She is a regional liaison who lives in Zambia.  She joined us for lunch and we enjoyed hearing about her work and ministry.  Jack joined us after he went with “Little Ben” to pick some bananas at the manse just up the road.  Joseph gave the children Embagnweni Popsicles, frozen Fanta and Coke that he put in very small plastic bags and froze.  The loved the popsicles!

From our late lunch we walked to Rose’s home to see her 5 day old chicks as well as her other chickens, pigeons and pigs.  The children LOVED the tiny chicks and held them until Rose said it was time to see the pigs.  We walked about 3 – 4 minutes from her house to where they keep the pigs.  Again the children LOVED seeing the pigs and were disappointed that they could not pet the pigs! 

Walking back from the market

By then it was 3:00 and it was time to meet at the church and practice our singing.  The church is beautiful on the inside.  Rose helps lead the children along with a man we named, the Embangwni Mark Kemp.  We practiced two of the songs we taught them.  It was great to see the children again and most were proudly wearing the cross we gave them at VBS.  We stayed to listen to them practice their own songs too.  The music and movements with the songs are amazing.  As they were practicing we noticed that Trey found a local football game (better known as soccer to us) just across from the church.  The players were INCREDIBLE and many played without shoes.  It would have been great to stay longer and watch more but we had to leave and meet Joseph at the guest house to walk to his home for a “fry.”

Joseph and family after the "Fry!"

Joseph, Cecilia, and family warmly welcomed us to their home.  We again attracted the attention of children as we approached their home and yelled “azungu!” over and over.  The children loved saying, “How are you?” over and over, smiling, laughing, and following especially Jack and Ben around.  Joseph and all the family were hard at work along with Andrea preparing dinner for us.  Vanessa, their oldest daughter, taught us how to prepare the pumpkin leaves and let us help cut them before they were boiled with salt, tomato and onion over hot coals.  All the cooking is done outside and their youngest son who is 4 years old cooked popcorn while were prepared the food.   Everyone in the family made us appreciate the invitation even more.  We enjoyed an absolutely delicious dinner of rice, pasta, chips, fried eggs, chicken, spinach, and pumpkin.  There were so many of us that we could not all fit in the den to eat together.  After dinner they served tea and we contributed M&M’s for dessert.   Everyone came in the den to enjoy fellowship, watch some TV and play cards.  Joseph, Cecilia, and their oldest son, Wiseman, walked us back to the guest house.  Joseph carried Jack the entire way because he was sacked out from a busy,  fun, and memorable day in Embangweni.  

A Visit to Kalikumbi

Kalikumbi Health Center

Maternity Area

A guardian preparing lunch

Ben and Ishmael riding in the hospital ambulance

Inside the church with the Pastor and Head of Station for Kalikumbi and the pastor in training

Staff at Kalikumbi with Trey and Kim Dubose

The day started by learning that Kim delivered a healthy baby boy last night and was not called back to the hospital after the delivery.  Trey learned that the 14 year old who suffered a seizure died after he left the hospital last night.  He was able to give a lecture this morning to the staff before we departed.

We traveled in the hospital ambulance today about 28 km today to an outlying health center, Kalikumbi.  Our church helped build the original building.  We were very thankful to Ishmael for arranging our transportation and the opportunity to see one of the four health clinics that the hospital serves.  As we drove in there we passed many people walking, riding bikes, and several oxen carts.  Needless to say our group attracted a lot of attention and many cries in their language of a group of white people.  The didrt road was bumpy, and dusty.  We passed a very large market near Kalikumbi where our driver blew the horn for people move out of the way for us to pass.  This market only happens on Friday and is at the Zambia border.  There were thousands of people shopping and selling all sorts of wares from clothes, shoes, fabric, vegetables, radios, bike parts, dried fish, blankets, and just about anything you could need.  On the outskirts of the market was an area where people were drinking “Malawi beer.”  It sounded more like grain alcohol as Ishmael described the process for the beer.

Kalikumbi Health Center was busy but not overloaded like they are during the rainy season when they see so much malaria.  We met the chief clinical officer and staff.  The main focus is maternity with vaginal delivery, pre-natal, malaria, and HIV.  On average the health center sees 35 – 40 patients each day.  The four health centers then serve 23 health clinics, so you can see how vital each is in offering care to those who are not able to get to the hospital.  In addition to the main building there was a toilet area for men and women, cooking area (although the roof was collapsed so this was not being used currently it seemed), and two homes for staff.  We met some of the guardians for the patients on the tour.  They were all sitting together, some with mothers waiting to deliver their baby, and some were cooking for the patient and others were knitting little baby clothes. Most of the guardians are the mother or mother-in-law of the patients.  The health center has several challenges that we discussed such as a roof that allows dust and dirt to come in, lack of running water, lack of equipment for delivering babies, and lack of medicine.

We walked from the health center to the home of the Pastor and Head of Station for Kalikumbi where we learned that his church serves about 1600 people and includes the church plus prayer houses.  There were many similarities between our churches except that their pastors can only stay in one location for four years and then have to request to stay but it is not typical to stay.  We also met a pastor in training.  As congregations grow, they are divided and a new pastor is assigned once finished with his/her theology training.  The pastor in training calls the senior pastor, “Father” and is always connected to seek guidance as he/she grows into a congregation of their own.  We did learn that there are some women pastors.  We have observed that the culture is for women to be submissive to men.  Women curtsey or kneel on their knees to greet us as well as cross the left hand over the right elbow as an additional sign of respect.  The older women tend to always get on their knees when greeting and the younger women tend to curtsey.  The church was a beautiful building with stained glass in the windows.  It was built by First Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, VA.

We ate our “to go” lunch inside the home of the Chief Clinical officer.  The lunch was packed by the guest house kitchen in my smallest suitcase and included chicken, rice, tomato sauce, and peas.  We sat on the floor and on crates holding Fanta and Coke bottles turned on their side.  Ishmael and our driver, Andrew, joined us for lunch.  The wife of the Chief Clinical Officer, brought out the typical Malawian tradition of water to wash our hands before the meal.  We were not sure this was happening because they were not joining us to eat and so we had just put our hand sanitizer away when out comes the bowl of water for hand washing! 

We met the next set of visitors after lunch who were also there to tour Kalikumbi which included the new Director of the Health Department and the Embangweni Hospital Chaplain plus several others.  The children enjoyed playing with a soccer ball while the adults did so much talking today.  They are having such a good time. 

On the way back to Embangweni, we stopped to get everyone a drink and then at the market.  We bought the traditional Malawi fabric.  Ishmael went and inquired on the prices before we went to look.  Trey and I were the shoppers.   Kimmie stayed in the ambulance with the children.  It was a different feeling to be the only white people in the midst of thousands of Africans.  While we shopped Ishmael bought tomatoes for his family.  On the way back to the ambulance, Trey snapped a picture of an interesting grill cooking chicken and chips.  He bought a piece of chicken for 250K which equals about .80 cents.  The ambulance attracted people in the beer drinking area that came to the window, trying to shake all of our hands as we maneuvered through the crowded road.  The containers for drinking the beer was an empty 2 L bottle filled with a white milky liquid.

Tonight we lost power while finishing dinner and so we walked back to our rooms with one small flashlight which allowed us to really enjoy the stars and see the milky way which was absolutely incredible.  Cara Dubose said, “Daddy, can we live here all the time?” 

We may be going to a Malawi BBQ tomorrow at Jospeh’s home as well as going to Rose’s house to see her 5 day old chickens, watch a Malawi football match, walk to town, and practice our singing with the children at the church.

I have my warm bucket of water waiting and will layer my PJ’s to stay warm tonight.  It quite cold at night and we are sleeping in our winter PJ’s, socks, and layering as many textiles on our bed as we have in the room.  The days have been beautiful, warm, and sunny, so by 10:00 a.m. you are comfortable in a short sleeve shirt.  The blue sky during the day is just as amazing as the bright stars at night. 

Embangweni Hospital Update from Trey

Greetings from Embagweni Hospital, Malawi.  Kimmie and I have been working with the clinical staff at the Embagweni Hospital for several days and have already experienced numerous highs and lows, moments of exaltation and despair.

We have been amazed at the breadth of knowledge of the Clinical Officers at the hospital.  While these people only have three years of formal training, they can swiftly move from treating malaria, to setting a fracture to performing a c-section.  Much like everyone we have met in Malawi, we are always greeted with a smile here in the “Warm Heart of Africa.”  We have also been blessed with the kindness, experience and wisdom of Dr. Ross, a retired OB-GYN from Scotland who has, as he puts it, donated himself to Malawi. 

Both Kimmie and I have had our clinical boundaries stretched.  You quickly realize how dependant you have become on modern technology when you are faced with a sick patient and little more to make the diagnosis than a translated history and your physical exam skills.  It has been many years since I have been to the lab and looked at blood samples under the microscope to make clinical decisions, but it brings back all the wonder and excitement that you had as a first year medical student, looking at slides for the very first time.  It was good to feel that passion about the practice of medicine, something that you fear gets lost in the daily grind back home.  Kimmie has also had to make some adjustments to her normal style.  While it is challenging enough performing surgeries in a strange world, with unfamiliar equipment, imagine what it must be like when the power goes out in the middle of a c-section!  Thankfully, mother, baby and doctor all are fine.

We have experienced our share of heartbreaking moments as well.  It is frustrating to see a 19 year old boy lying in bed without a proper diagnosis, when we know simple blood tests or x-rays would help us help him so much, but they simply are not available.  We also have suffered power outages everyday for the past six days and this directly contributed to the death of an infant who was on oxygen therapy, but died after several hours without the electricity needed to run the machines keeping him alive.

So often, we give our tithe to the ether, hoping that our money is being used for something worthwhile.  From being here on the ground in Malawi, I am certain that our efforts are making a difference in so many lives.  I can promise that this will not be my last trip to the Warm Heart of Africa as our family has left a part of ours here.

Day Two of VBS

We had a very busy day but fantastic day with the children again and the bible school activities.  The power did come on during the night but still no water this morning….Jospeh who is the Guest House manager told us the well would begin pumping now that the power was back and that we should have water later in the day – which we did except still no hot or even warm water… but at this point we are SO glad to have any water and cold does not seem bad at all!  Both families requested a bucket of boiled water for the children to warm bucket baths before going to bed.

The children are absolutely amazing here!  This has been the most enjoyable teaching experience for all of us.  Our new friends, David and Toby helped today along with Helen in the morning session and Ellie and Lauren, from England, helped in the afternoon session.  David had previously been a camp director for children with disabilities so he taught us all two new camp songs that were great ice breakers.  We practiced “Amen” and “I Have Peace Like a River” with the children.  Our plan is to continue practicing each day so that we are ready to sing for the parents on Sunday at church.  We sang several of the beautiful and fun songs they taught us again today.  The teachers of the children shared a list of who came with me and the names are also as amazing as the children, we had Precious, Remnant, Praise, Trust, Wiseman, Charity, Precious as well as Ellen, John, Matthew, Sarah, Andrew, Victoria, and Jane just to name a few.  One person working in the hospital is named, Almighty.   The friendship bracelets packs made by our “It’s Elementary!” children during the year, were a BIG hit today.  We had enough to let them each make one and take a pack to share with a friend. 

We were invited for afternoon tea at Henry and Grace Mvula’s home, the Pastor’s Manse built in 1905.  Grace is an amazing cook!  She prepared not only tea and coffee, but freshly roasted popcorn, donuts, biscuits, scones, and homemade jams – what a treat!  David, and Helen joined us as well for tea.  As we talked and shared stories the sun set and thankfully Jack had a torch for us to see the way back to the Guest House. 

Trey and Kim were called back to the hospital for two different emergencies.  Kim was in the “theatre” or OR and Trey is trying hard to help a 14 year old girl suffering from a seizure.  Kim is on call again tonight and delivered a baby after dinner.  This morning they were saddened to learn at morning report today that due to the power outage yesterday, a premature twin baby died due to the lack of oxygen.  Again, resources are scarce; they did not have petrol to run the generator….the girl having the seizure needs to be transferred to a larger hospital, but they cannot drive her tonight….we are confronted by many emotions and pray for the patients, the staff, the doctors, and the families.

On a positive note, we met a most delightful friend again today of the Kellett’s and Easley’s, Catherine Nyrinda.  Having never met her I could quickly sense the mutual love between Catherine and the Kellett’s and Easley’s.  She told me, “I pray every day for Bill, Lydia, Hots, and Elliott, and I know they pray for me every day too, and that we will meet again in heaven someday.”  She is 72 now and rode a bike to come see us at the hospital chapel.  What amazing people we are meeting here with amazing faith!  We look forward to seeing her again at church on Sunday.

Jack turns 6 in Malawi!

Today was a special day in many ways.  Celebrating Jack turning six here in Embangweni was very special.  Ellis and I loved being a part of the Dubose celebration as well as the celebration of Jack’s birthday with everyone today.  I believe we lost count of how many times and ways he heard  the “Happy Birthday” song.   Jack got his wish of a pocket knife, Meer cat magnet, and matches.  We taught a new version of happy birthday to everyone here, dubbed the “South Carolina” version that includes the “cha cha cha!”  The matches and birthday candles stuck in the roasted potatoes for dinner were quite a hit since we were eating by candle light because the power has been out since lunch.  We have not had a “dessert” since arriving in Malawi outside of local fruit that can be peeled.  The last two days we have had amazing little bananas.  Chicken continues to be the biggest hit of all with the group.  The boys yell “I want chicken!” when the food arrives at the table and since I don’t eat meat, there is always one extra piece that they fight over.  Today Jack received the extra piece at lunch and dinner. J  We have not had water since early this morning and therefore each room received a bucket of sanitation water as the evening approached.  It was bucket baths by torches (known to us as flashlights) for all tonight!

We LOVED the vacation bible school activities today and commented many times on the wonderful manners, beautiful singing, artistic abilities, and overall delight to sing, learn, and share the good news of Jesus with each other.  They taught us songs and we taught them songs.  The many years of singing at WPC “It’s Elementary!”  and choir was so well received today that our group has been asked to sing at both church services on Sunday - the English service at 8:00 a.m. and the Tembuka service at 10:00 a.m.  Trey, Kim, and I were proud of our children today as they led songs, acted out bible stories, and interacted with the children. 

The hospital was not too busy today, so Kim and Trey were able to join us for VBS activities and go back and forth to check on patients because we were in the chapel at the hospital.  We needed the help of everyone for our afternoon group of younger children because they doubled from when we started to when we ended.  The word is spreading that we are here!  Thankfully we came prepared with enough activities and extras that we have a game plan for VBS tomorrow.  Our friends from England, Lauren and Ellie, also want to help tomorrow as well as two new friends of Helen’s we met today that are staying at the Guest House.  Helen’s friends, Toby and David, from Dallas, TX are traveling the world and are half way into their one year journey.  Good news too that Toby is an IT guy and has helped us figure out the Malawi internet - which is still slow but now we can get it consistently and post pictures!!!

Trey taught a lesson to the hospital staff on heart failure as it related to the case of a boy at the hospital.  Kim was able to check on her C-section patient from yesterday and see the new little baby girl.  I had the opportunity to meet several special friends of the Easley’s and Kellett’s.  We have enjoyed children stopping by to see us at the Guest House and have shared bubbles with them which they absolutely LOVE!  Tomorrow we hope to see a Malawi sunset from a hill that is about 8 km away where we’ve been told you can see all the way to Zambia.  The stars are absolutely amazing tonight with the lack of power.  So even in the midst of no water and power, I’d have to say it’s a day I hope I never forget!

July 17

July 17

Today was another wonderful day in Embangweni but we have experienced some of what Lydia calls TIA – this is Africa!  The morning chapel at the hospital was an incredible way to begin our day.  The music, words, and prayers were familiar but new at the same time.  The music was moving and beautiful.   After the service, our group was welcomed by Ishmael and everyone there.   I think most of all the people enjoy seeing our children and really appreciate that we made the effort to come to Embangweni  when there are many other places where we could send a mission team.  We were all quite humbled with the words of thanks.

As Kim and Trey stayed for the morning meeting at the hospital, the children and I headed back to the guest house to prepare for our visit to the School for the Deaf.  While I worked on the preparations the children played in the grounds outside the guest house and met a sweet girl who just stared for a long time and finally our children invited her to play.  They were practicing with flying plastic airplanes sent by Donn James and those drew not just the interest of the children but the adults working at the guest house too.  Everyone enjoyed them a lot and we hope to see our new friend, Tako, at Bible School tomorrow.

Helen Zimba and her three sons came to go to the School for Deaf as well as Helen’s sister Mary and nephew, Martin.  We first met Mr. Macleod Hara, the Headmaster and the 12 of us sat down in his office.   It was great to see the smiling faces of our WPC member, Bill and Lydia Kellett, and Hots and Elliott Easley on the bookshelf in his office.  We presented a donation of behalf of the church to the school and the words of thanks were again very moving and humbling on behalf of Mr. Hara and the entire school.  The government cut the funds for the school this year from 6 million kwatcha to 2 million kwatcha – which meant all the food supplies were completely gone just before the winter break – the donation was very timely to help them prepare for the new school year which will begin in September.  We also brought some chalk as well as chalk board paint.  This is also needed as they cannot find chalk to buy here and boards have not been painted for many years.  We had a tour of the rooms we will help paint.  As the adults talked the children found other children from the community to play with and a game of soccer had started as well as more fun with the flying airplanes from Donn.

Kim had a good day at the hospital and helped deliver a healthy little girl via a C-section.  Trey moved from the hospital to the school with us and back to the hospital helping with morning and afternoon rounds and cases where his expertise as an Internist is needed. 

The power and water went out in the morning.  Then the power came back midafternoon but no water…. We thought this was strange but apparently you can have water and no power or power and no water.  The water came back some tonight but not enough pressure for a shower, so we all had bucket baths.  I must say I was  VERY thankful for a little trickle of water since we had been all day with no water.  Thankfully the guest house has bottled water as well as boiled water for cooking and drinking, so our lunch was cooked again over the fire.

Our afternoon was filled with trying to use the internet which is the hardest thing of all to do here, as well as a visit with the Head of Station’s wife, Grace Mvula and her nephew (a grown young man), “Little Ben.”  We named Ben Dubose (4 years), “Big Ben” to know which one we were referring to while visiting.  They have a stunning two story brick home that was built in 1905. The children enjoyed the visit and liked the back part of the home the best where the chickens, ducks, cat, and dog live and where the cooking and food preparation takes place.  I had a visit with Henry Mvula at his office and met one of the teachers working with him to prepare for bible school.

We are ready for bible school tomorrow and Kim is “on call” tonight for the hospital.  We are thankful for another good day.

Ellis’ friend Holly sent her a note we read tonight and I wanted to share the two quotes she added:

To handle yourself use your head; to handle others, use your heart. Thomas A. Kempis

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else. Charles Dickens

July 16

Our first day in Embangweni was wonderful.  The morning started with the crowing of the rooster and music.  The sun was up early and it was warm by the time we ate our breakfast.  I wish we could send pictures with the blog but look like those will have to come later.  The most challenging part so far has been the internet connection.  The people have been extremely warm and welcoming.   We met many people today of all ages.  We practiced our Tambuka and said “Monire” many times as well as “Yewo, Muli Uli, and Nili Makola.”  Thank you Lydia Kellett for giving us Tambuka cheat sheet to be able to say, “hello, thank you, how are you, and I am fine.” 

First we met the Head of Station and Pastor, Henry Mvula and we discussed the plans for Vacation Bible School this week.  Helen Zimba came to greet us and we all walked to the hospital to find Ishmael Nyienda, Chief Clinical Officer at Embangweni Hospital.  Henry introduced the office staff and we presented a donation from Westminster Church to the hospital which Henry graciously accepted and thanked not only us but everyone who made a contribution from Westminster.  He also assured us that the money was very much needed and would be used to buy medicine.  From there we had a tour of the hospital.  The children were so patient and mostly waited outside all of the areas while we went inside.  They did come in to see some tiny babies who were all premature and in the incubators.  This time of year is slower for the number of deliveries, so the beds were not all full.  They said during the busy time of the year all the beds are full as well as the floor.  We discussed the need for more incubators because it is not uncommon for babies to come early and they do not have the space for many preemies.  I have talked with a PCUSA mission team from Virginia coming in September who hopes to bring parts to fix some of the items in the hospital that are not working such as additional incubators.  It is virtually impossible to find the needed parts in Malawi, so we hope we can bring back information to help this team find parts to bring with them.  Westminster also supports the Medical Benevolence Foundation which is connected to the Presbyterian Church.  MBF sends containers on a regular basis of donated items from the United States.  This could be a way for the hospital in Greenville to donate working incubators to Malawi when they are no longer needed in Greenville.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Guest House that everyone loved.  It consisted of nsiema which is sort of like think grits, cooked greens, cooked vegetables, roasted chicken, fried eggs, a tomato sauce for the nsiema, chips (a.k.a. French fries) and papaya fruit.  Look out Regina, because Ellis said the chicken was the BEST she had ever tasted!  The ironic part was the lunch was little late because the power went out and they had to cook it all over the fire.  We decided that was the secret ingredient for the chicken!  After lunch Kim and Trey went back to the hospital and spent the afternoon there.  They discussed several challenging cases they saw in a boy who is 14 and a woman who is 72. 

Speaking of chicken… they are all around here.  The boys, Jack and Ben, really like the chickens.  Jack keeps talking to the roosters and they seem to answer him back most of the time.  The Guest House manager noticed how much the children enjoyed the chickens and invited the children and me over to his home to see his baby chicks as well as meet his four children.  It was a short walk to his house and on the way we were able to see the church, the Deaf School in the distance, and some of the community.  Joseph pointed out the area where the family of patients stay while the family member is in the hospital.  As we approached Joseph’s home,   the children were so excited to see us coming.  They yelled “Musungu!”  Which mean white man or white person.  They smiled and waved while yelling “musungu” over and over.  We met LOTS of children.  Our children LOVED seeing the chickens and asked to come back tomorrow as soon as we had to leave.  They also enjoyed meeting Joseph’s children and Ellis played a round of chess with the oldest son, Wiseman followed by a round of checkers, which they call “Draft.”  Joseph treated us to little bags of roasted popcorn that his oldest daughter, Vanessa, makes and sells.  He also treated us to Fanta and Coke.  After our snack, drinks and games, we walked back to the Guest House.  

Macleod Hara who is in charge of the School for Deaf Children came and greeted us at the Guest House.  We will go see him in the morning.  We also met two medical students who are here from England.  Kim and Trey enjoyed working with them at the hospital and they are also staying at the Guest House. 

A delicious dinner was served which was spaghetti, tomato sauce, cooked greens, beans, papaya and a fruit we named “yellows.”  Trey told Jack we have a fruit which is orange that we call oranges, so why not call this one yellows.  It was much like a grapefruit.  After trying the internet again without success and a couple of rounds of crazy 8’s, we went to our rooms for the night.  We reflected on what a peaceful place this is, how accepting and welcoming everyone is, and how we hope we can reflect God’s love back as warmly as we feel it here.  Tomorrow we begin our day with chapel at 7:00 a.m. at the hospital.  Everyone is excited to worship with our new friends.