One More Thing...

So, here I am in the Kenya airport awaiting my flight to London. I have 7-1/2 hours to kill, so figured I'd sit in the Internet Cafe for a bit. :)

I forgot to include that we went to Lake Malawi the day before yesterday, which was really neat. It is very large, I'd say bigger than Lake Tahoe, but not quite as picturesque. I guess there are hippos in the lake, but usually much farther up from where we were. Monica and friends have been to the lake swimming many times, without ever worrying about the hippos. Well, guess what decided to cruise right up the shoreline that day? Yep, a big 'ole hippo cruised right in front of us. I haven't seen men in fishing boats try to get out of the water faster! They fear hippos more than we fear sharks, I think! I got a picture of Mr. Hippo, but didn't have my zoom lens on, so he's kinda fuzzy. I thought he was pretty cute though.

And we had an awesome night last night. We went back to Mtsiliza (m-SLEEZ-a), which is where we spent a lot of our time with the kids. Wednesday night is "Get together" night, where the villagers bring something for potluck, and they have some singing, and a little encouraging message from the pastor of the church. It was all by candlelight, since the village has no electricity, so it was quite an experience. The building has a concrete floor, with open windows and a high beamed roof, so the sound was just incredible. I couldn't have had a better final night!

I was very sad to leave Malawi this morning though. What an amazing time I have had! Every day was wonderful and I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to go and experience everything that I did. Every day was packed from start to finish. I am actually pretty excited about my 9-hour flight to London so I can catch up on some sleep!


It sounds like Monica will be going back to Malawi with COTN in June of 2008 (when school lets out), so I am really hoping that I can join her for that. I would love to go back and see everyone, and see how Violet is doing. Violet is the little girl we are now sponsoring in Mtsiliza, and I got to meet her. She's got SIX brothers, none of whom are sponsored, and her dad passed away, so it is surprising that I didn't sign up to sponsor all of them! ;o)

I look forward to seeing each of you soon. In fact, I brought home some goodies to prepare an authentic Malawian meal for you! We'll have to have a picture party and you can try nsima and some other African treats. No, I didn't bring home any of the mice on a stick, but I may make you eat with your hands like the Malawians do... LOL

Lots of love to you all!
~ Pam

Time to go Home Already...

Wow... I can hardly believe that it has already been nearly two weeks since I left home. What an amazing trip this has been! Every day I say to myself, "THIS was the best day of my trip." I think I will have to let all these experiences soak into all the nooks and crannies and see which ones really permeate deep. They have all been wonderful.

In a nutshell, here is what I have done since I left home:

1. We had a long layover in London on the way here, so we took the "tube" to Parliament Square, where we saw Westminster Abby, Big Ben, the London Eye and the London Bridge. We had fish and chips in a pub, then headed back to the airport.
2. At the Feed the Children organization, we helped with repairs and restoration of a couple of their buildings (sanding, painting, etc.).
3. We worked with the kids doing physical therapy, and arranged for some "fun time" for the moms where they got to create beautiful watercolor paintings, necklaces and bracelets from beads and twine.
4. We spent time with a friend who is building an orphanage outside of Blantyre with his church, Acts III Global Ministries. That was interesting to see the site and how construction is done, i.e., concrete is made on-site and wheel-barrowed one load at a time for the foundation. The leveling is done by hand and with a big board that they pound the concrete until it is level.
5. Visiting a Feed the Children orphanage where they support 87 kids with food & housing. The adults and the kids were singing African songs as we entered and their songs just shake your insides because they are so awesome. I didn't know I was such a big fan...
6. We visited Naming'Omba Tea Plantation one day and I got to see how tea was harvested, dried, processed, and packaged. That was pretty neat - we even got to do some tea tasting! (Not as fun as wine-tasting, but still pretty cool. ;o)
7. We had lunch at the base of Mount Mulanje, the top of which is the highest point in Malawi. That was absolutely breath-taking scenery - almost like being in Hawaii with all the trees and foliage.
8. Our mock village in Salima is awesome to stay at. Each one has its own little sink, but the restrooms and showers are public (3 each for men and women). I think I have gained weight since I have come here though, because we have been fed VERY well!
9. I got to help distribute food at one of the COTN (Children of the Nations) feeding centers. THAT was tough. About 400 kids come through twice a day with their bare feet and dirty plastic bowls -- some even with plastic baggies. They would kneel down by the big bowls, get a scoop of rice and a half of an egg with a little sauce, always saying "Zikomo" or thank you before getting up to leave. The kids that get fed are the ones who have "sponsors" through COTN, so most of them take their food back to share with their whole families. Not much at all...
10. Getting to meet Violet, which is the little girl I signed up to sponsor through COTN. What a special moment to meet this little girl, shake her hand, look in her beautiful eyes, and know that you are helping her to LIVE. Probably her family too, since she will be sharing her food with them. Pretty incredible. (Check out www.cotni.org to see how you can sponsor a child - you can come with me to meet them when I go back to Malawsi in 2008! :o)

Some images that will stick in my mind after I return home:
1. The kids that wave to you when we drove through the villages. They would smile big, wave hello and yell out, "Azungu! Azungu!" which means white person, but is a term of endearment.
2. The kids who would chase behind the car waving and yelling after we would drive past. They would follow the car smiling, waving and yelling -- so cute!
3. All the "shops" on the side of the road. The people here try to sell anything they can to earn an income. You'd see everything from fruit stands to furniture stands, bicycle repair shops to coffin shops (LOTS of coffin shops since death is so prevalent here), and then some of the gross ones like skinned goats hanging to dry or the guy selling mice on a stick (yes, I am serious).
4. How the kids LOVE to look at pictures of themselves on the camera display screen! They are all such little hams and would absolutely pile on top of you to see the picture you just took of them. Then they would laugh hysterically at themselves and their friends for all the funny faces and poses.
5. All the livestock running free in Lilongwe. It blew my mind to see all the chickens, goats, donkeys, and cows that just hung out on the side of the road. I guess they are all actually owned by the people in the villages, but it was just amusing to me that they weren't tied up or penned up and just hung around.
6. The Welcome Programs that families put on. When they invite you into their homes for meals or tea, they get the kids together and sing some songs. What a blessing to listen to those kids singing together - and someone usually plays drums too! It is the coolest!
7. Us girls doing the story of Noah's Ark for one of the classrooms during Sunday School. We hand-painted the ark and made animal stick puppets and did funny voices and had a great old time! I don't know if the kids laughed harder at the Americans being silly or if they really enjoyed the story, but we all had a lot of fun. We water-colored rainbows at the end and the kids loved it!
8. The family trees painted on the walls in some of the COTN (Children of the Nations) homes. The trees would take up an entire wall and the leaves would have all the kids' names (as many as 30!), while the trunk had the parents and aunties' names. I think it is a great idea.
9. Church on Sunday. It was SO AWESOME! They do so much singing and dancing and it is really a fun way to start the day! It was really encouraging, refreshing and uplifting. :)
10. The farms at the various homes that COTN supports. Each home has at least a little land that they farm to provide food for the household. One of the farms had livestock, a fish pond, a chicken house, and was extremely impressive.

The above is just a glimpse of what I have experienced here in Malawi. I think I would have to write a novel to get it all down on paper. It has been amazing and I will be sure to share pictures when I return.

Look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Lots of love,
~ Pam

Even Better Than I Thought!

All I can say is, "WOW!" The trip is definitely more than I hoped for... ALREADY!

Let me just start by telling you that our first hotel is great. We have a real room, with a toilet, a shower, and a sink, there is a little restaurant where we get real food (i.e., eggs in the morning & chicken at night), and it is quite comfy here. Something funny though is that the power has gone out almost every night (usually at shower-time), and the water has gone off as well (also at shower time). But we are in Africa, so I wasn't expecting perfection!

Our time with Feed the Children has been amazing! What a great organization they have! The center currently houses children who have severe disabilities, usually caused by malaria. We have been helping with physical therapy, and other things where we can. We have even been doing crafts with the moms. It is amazing to see them paint with water colors and how their eyes light up at getting to create something beautiful! We have also been busy stripping and painting rod iron on the windows of the buildings of the center, painting the little playground, doing some weeding, and other basic clean-up. Pretty tiring days!

Yesterday was probably the most incredible day of my life. We went to an orphanage that Feed the Children provides food to. As we were coming up the walkway, we heard this beautiful African singing! It was all the teachers and helpers who greeted us with song and dance! As we got closer to the classroom, the kids were sitting on the concrete floor and singing very loudly as well! We walked in that room and I was blown away and completely lost it. What a joy. We got the tour of their small and sparse facility, but I was so glad to see that they support such a great place.

Tomorrow, we are already on our way to Lilongwe. Our time in Blantyre is already over and I can't believe how quickly it has gone. Before I close, let me tell you the three things that stick out the most for me about Africa so far:

1. People walk everywhere -- and very far! It has been so surprising for me to see the number of people that walk on the roads here. Often barefoot, they carry things on their backs or, yes, on their heads, to get things where they need to go. Mostly, the roads are very good for getting from city to city, unless you are going to the smaller villages, where the roads are dirt.

2. Malawi is BEAUTIFUL! I thought Africa would be flat and dry, but that is not the case here. It is actually almost tropical in places and there are rivers and lots of trees and bushes. The land is immaculate and the people take good care of it.

3. I don't think poverty in America can compete with Africa. Those lean-tos, dirt floors, death rate, pit toilets, no electricity, no running water, etc. There are rivers in Malawi, and there are always people doing their laundry or cleaning other things in them. The evidence is everywhere, and I almost feel guilty for sleeping in a bed each night.

Okay, I better run - Internet access is expensive here too! But you all will be very glad to know that I am doing great, can't wait to tell you all the stories, and am looking forward to my next week in Lilongwe with Monica and Children of the Nations! Thanks for all your prayers - they are helping immensely!

Lots of love to all,
~ Pam

What an adventure!

Hello, everyone!

This is my first time setting up a "blog" and I cannot think of a better reason to do so. This "blogspot" will be my primary source of communication with you all - my share partners in this adventure to Africa. I am so excited to see what God will reveal to me on this trip, I can't even begin to tell you! Going to Africa is something that I have longed to do for many years. The coolest part is that I get to actually DO something when I am there -- I get to GIVE BACK a little bit -- and I couldn't be more happy about that.

We will depart from San Francisco on Friday, May 25, 2007. It will be a very long flight with many stops.

We will arrive in Blantyre, Malawi, Africa on May 27, 2007. We will be traveling with the Feed the Children organization (http://www.feedthechildren.org). Feed the Children runs an orphanage in Blantyre that we will be visiting and helping at. There is an orphanage, a large kitchen and feeding area where many people are fed each day, and there is also a hospital on-site.

On June 1, 2007, we will travel to Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa. We will be visiting an orphanage that is run by Children of the Nations (http://www.cotni.org/). I am especially excited about the time here because I am friends with a gal named Monica who lived there for six months last year. She came home for a few months over the holidays and has recently gone back to Malawi. I can't wait to see many of the sights she has seen and meet the children (and grown-ups!) that she has already impressed upon my heart. This organization also has a widow ministry. Due to AIDS, there are many widows in Africa. This ministry provides them with knitting needles, yarn, and the skills necessary to create things like clothes or table linens that they can then sell for money. This provides the widows with a much-needed income that they would not have had previously.

I will depart from Lilongwe on June 7 and return to the States on June 8, 2007. I have no doubt that I will have seen many incredible things and know that my heart will be changed. It will be an interesting and introspective drive from the airport on San Francisco back to my home in Folsom...

Be sure to check-in with this blogspot on a regular basis! I don't think I will have much time to write individual emails to everyone when I am there, so this will be my one depository of information. While I would love to update it daily, I don't know that my schedule will allow me to do so. I will certainly update it as often as possible.

Thank you so much for your support during this trip. What a blessing to have you go along with me on this amazing, life-changing journey. I cannot WAIT for it to begin!