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
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. 
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)
