I wanted to go ahead of post my update letter for everyone to read. I mailed it out to those who were able to financially support me, but that in no way excludes those of you who supported me with prayers, good thoughts, and by supporting Jason and Nico on the home front. So here's my letter, enjoy!
A little fun fact before you start reading --- I was in the air for 22,540 miles on this trip!
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Dear Family and Friends,
Muli bwanji?
Ndili bwino. Kaya inu? (How are you? I am well. And you?) Greetings again, this
time I’m back in the States after three amazing weeks in Africa. I am still
taking a bit of time to process what this journey has meant for me, but I can
assure you every day of it was an amazing experience.
The first two
weeks I was in Malawi for the mission trip. Our team of 12 got to know each
other well! We had long and busy days of serving the people of Malawi in
various capacities and at night time after a funny version of what the cook
thought was “American” food and sort-of lukewarm showers (IF we had running
water), we’d stay up late playing games and talking. I was quickly known as
“Doc” since there was another Diana on the team, and I was even called “Mama
Doc” a few times since I was the only mom on the team. I was also a good 10-11
years older than most of the team, so I’m just glad they didn’t start to call
me “Grandma Doc!”
We spent our
first full day there doing cultural immersion where we were paired up in teams
and spent a day in the village of Mgwayi with a local family. The family I was
paired up with had six children ranging in age from 2 to 17 years old. We
helped the mother clean dishes, lay a new layer of mud on the kitchen floor,
get water from the well, prepare dried maize, played with the village children,
and helped prepare their night’s meal. All of the children loved for their
picture to be taken and will politely ask for “one picture” about 105 times.
The focus on the
VBS program that we put on for children with special needs and their caretakers
was “God’s Big Story.” All of the skits, Bible teachings, and crafts related to
how they are all a part of God’s larger story, how they are important to God,
and how He can use their own stories to impact His kingdom. During the crafts
portion of each session I took a group of caretakers outside for our meetings.
We split the caretakers into different groups based on the villages they were
from. The caretakers in my group consisted of mothers, grandmothers, siblings,
and “aunties” and translators that work in the children’s homes. They used that
time to share their stories, the issues that they face raising a child with a
disability in their village, how they have seen God work in their lives, how
their story can be a part of God’s larger story, and how they can help others
in their village. At the end of our meetings they each commented on how they
appreciated a bit of “adult” time and they enjoyed getting a chance to share
their story but also hear each other’s stories. They said that they knew they
struggled but they didn’t realize so many other people struggled too.
We spent one
morning doing NiceServe at a local clinic. Our church in Orlando hosts NiceServe
several times a year, where all the congregations join together to volunteer and
serve in various locations around Orlando together as a group. For our time at
the clinic, we swept, mopped, and cleaned from ceiling to floor. When you think
of a clinic you might think of a place where people go for small issues, but
this is the only medical care available for many. During our time there I saw a
teenage girl go into an epileptic fit (she was also burned very badly on her
arm and face where she had fallen into a fire during a previous fit), and
children get tested for malaria. There was even a baby that was born while we
were there. This clinic gives out medicine
for malaria, HIV, and epilepsy, in addition to treating the sick and delivering
babies. I and several others had an opportunity to talk with the doctor there, and
he said they see at least 300 people a day.
We also had a
lot of fun with the children and their caretakers! One afternoon we treated
them to some time at a local play place called “Fun City.” Think: trampolines,
small carnival rides, inflatable bounce houses, and playground equipment all in
the same outdoor space. The kids and their families had a blast! On the last
afternoon on the VBS program we hosted a water day. There were thousands of
water balloons that were popped, a large slip-n-slide, and fun water sponge and
water squirter race games that were played. I opted to stay dry that afternoon
and instead helped with the teacher training program that was also happening
during our time.
The teacher
training program was focused on cooperative learning strategies for primary and
secondary teachers. Most of the teachers who attended were secondary teachers,
since all secondary courses and university courses are taught in English. I was
on the team that helped prepare the materials for this training before we left
the US, and I was able to spend one afternoon as a part of this team. It was a
great experience to get to see the teachers think of new ways to engage their
students in learning.
On the Sunday we
were there, we went to a church were we were asked to come up in front of the
crowd of several hundred, introduce ourselves, and sing/dance to a worship
song. We did learn a few songs in Chichewa while we were there but it’s still a
bit nerve-wracking to attempt a song in a new language! Thankfully we had our
translators with us and they were all amazing singers. My favorite songs that we
learned were “Palibe (There’s no one like Jesus)” and “Ndiwoyera (You are holy).”
Most of the team
also got the opportunity to spend a day touring a few Africa Windmill Project
sites. This project was started by a member of our church after he went on a
mission trip several years ago. Traditionally, Malawians produce one crop of
maize a year. With Malawi’s high water tables, there’s not a reason they can’t
produce more though, so the project seeks to train farmers on how to properly
farm and irrigate their crops to produce more than one crop a year, and how to
diversify their crop. Last year (2014) they had 150 farmers complete their
training and this year there are 300 farmers going through the training. Many
of the fields being used are community fields, so their new farming techniques
can help to impact a whole village. One of the things the farmers are taught is
how to properly budget their family’s food use throughout the year, and not to
sell too much of their maize so that their own family doesn’t go hungry. They
can sell their excess crop and reinvest in seed, etc. for the new season.
On our
team-building day we went to Lake Malawi, in typical Malawian fashion, they
told us it would take maaaybe 1-1.5 hours to get there but it actually took
more like 2.5 hours! We had a fantastic time together though, walking on the
beach, laying in the sand under shade huts, enjoying a fancy lunch, and taking
a boat ride to a rock island. We were hoping to spot a hippopotamus or a
crocodile, but no such luck. We all climbed to the top of the rock and it was a
momentous occasion for one of the girls who is very afraid of heights. The
girls cabin took a group shot from on top to commemorate this feat (below). It
was also the first time one of the translators, Stephen, had a chance to see
underwater using a mask. He peeked underwater several quick times and was
amazed to see the beauty God had also created under the water. He said he
thought it would just be all dark with no life. How wrong he was, and he was
thrilled to have gotten a glimpse under the water.
On
the last day there we hosted a special lunch for the children who are sponsored
by team members. I invited a 12 year old boy named Lukasi, and even though I
don’t sponsor him I was able to spend some special time with him and leave him
with some toys and gifts. If you’re interested in sponsoring a child through
Children of the Nations, please reach out and let me know – we met so many of
the children from the three main villages they work with in Malawi, and
sponsorship makes a huge impact.
The monkey hut (girls cabin)
Atop a rock island overlooking Lake Malawi
So yes, I acted
(eep!), I sang (out loud!), I danced (in front of people!), I ate (still
vegetarian!), and I had a fantastic time bonding with the wonderfully warm
people of Malawi and my teammates. Malawi is called the warm heart of Africa
and I can clearly see why. I was out of my comfort zone the whole time, but why
else would I go to Africa?? I was ready for a challenge and gladly accepted
this change of lifestyle to make an impact on some very special children and
their caretakers. My mind has been spinning about figuring out at what age Nico
would be up for this challenge.
My caretaker
group: Madalitso, Auntie Diana, Agness, me, Gladeysi, Rebecca (translator), and
Pilirani. These ladies all made a large impact on me during my time in Malawi.
Now, on to the
last week of the trip! On the same day that the team was headed back to the
States, I took an early flight down to Johannesburg, South Africa to meet up
with Nicole. We spent a good part of the day touring around a hip neighborhood
and eating too much food. That evening we took a flight out to Windhoek,
Namibia to start our adventure! We stayed the first night in a backpackers
lodge and were up bright and early to pick up our rental 4x4. Nicole was just
learning how to drive a manual and I’m about 7 or so years out of practice, but
we did a great job! Our truck was not only a 4x4: it was manual, it was diesel,
it had a reserve tank, it was right-hand drive, AND we lived on top of it for a
week! As adventurous as we fancied ourselves, a large number of the rental
trucks we saw had tents on top of them too so we weren’t alone in our endeavor.
We spent the
first 3 days driving around Etosha National Park. We saw giraffes, elephants,
zebras, white rhinos, black rhinos, impalas, kudus, springboks, gemsboks,
jackals, honey badgers, lions and lionesses, wildebeests, ostriches, baboons,
warthogs, eagles, hyenas, klipspringers, and more! We did take one guided night
drive since you’re not allowed to drive around the park at night. The
highlights of that drive included hyenas, a male lion, a striped polecat, and 5
black rhinos.
The four
pictures below: Our truck with the tent set up; First meal being cooked on our
tiny gas stove; Gemsbok drinking at a watering hole; Black rhinos on the night
drive (including a baby rhino)
After Etosha, we
drove to the coastal town of Swakopmund for one night. We stayed at a
backpackers lodge in a private room which provided some much needed shower
relief and we enjoyed a nice meal out at the town’s fanciest restaurant. The
rest of the trip consisted of driving further south to the dunes of Namibia. We
hiked up Dune 40 at sunset and Dune 45 at sunrise the next day. We also hiked
around Sossusvlei (Deadvlei… picture below) and Sesriem Canyon before heading
to our last campsite of the trip. Nicole and I had a great time together
celebrating the completion of both of our PhDs and catching up in general.
She’ll be headed back to the DC area in about a month to start a postdoctoral
fellowship with the EPA. Yay Nicole! (And for the record, we did actually have
to use the 4L 4x4 gear to get out of high sand and navigate a water crossing.
We’re tough!)
A huge and
sincere thank you to everybody who supported me through donations and prayers.
Your prayers were especially felt during travel days (no delays!) and on days
that team members started to feel sick. At most, people were out for about a
day at a time and no more than 1 or 2 people were ever sick at the same time.
This allowed us to still run all the programs at capacity and not have to
reschedule anything. A huge blessing!
Our next family
adventure is coming soon! Jason and I are traveling to Hong Kong for the first
time in four years and taking Nico along. She’s a pro at being flexible but
we’ll see how she does on her first long-haul flight!
Where exactly
are Malawi and Namibia? Malawi is the light peach sliver towards the north of
Mozambique and east of Zambia. The lake is much larger in person, and you can
barely see to the other side. Namibia is just north of South Africa on the west
coast of Africa.
