Homeward bound - the final leg of the journey

Hi again, it's Marc Mandel here. Lots of folks have asked me when the team will be back home and what flight they'll be on so they can keep them in their prayers as they fly home. Well, for those looking for this information, they're on South African Airways (www.flysaa.com) and the flight number is 203.

You'll see below, that according to the website they're due into JFK in New York at about 7:40am Monday morning which means by my estimation, it'll be close to 10:30 before they're back in Liberty Corner.

Here's to safe travels and an on-time arrival.

See you Monday morning at the church for the big homecoming!

Marc

UPDATE: You'll see on the screenshot enclosed that the plane has already made it to their refueling stopover in Dakar on the Northwest coastline of Africa and arrived there early! A great sign. Just an hour to go and they'll be back in their air heading over the Atlantic.

At the lakeshore - Friday update

Oh what a beautiful morning...
We woke up along the shore of Lake Malawi and enjoyed the quiet reflection the camp provided.  There is a different feel to the south as the lakeside villages do not have a shortage of crop and the lake provides for fresh fish, as partaken by many of us last night.

The roads are another story.  We are all surprised that our van is still running after the jarring miles we have traveled.  The shocks must need replacement often.   Many a close call with goats, cattle and pigs as they commonly cross the roads.

Four of our women left at 5:45 am yesterday to work in the Mobile Medical Clinic - a 32 seat bus that travels to a feeding center monthly to provide care to those who have no other way to receive it. They saw over 100 people in extremely cold and windy conditions.  The most prevalent ailments were malaria and respiratory problems.

Today we head to Mvuu camp to conclude our retreat.  Pray that the hippos stand down :)

Love to all

Thursday update

Good morning, all!

I am so excited to relay that the irrigation system in Matapila is in place and functional. This will enable planting so that the children in this feeding center will have greens (mustard seed, kale, etc) to supplement their meal. Currently, they are feeding 3x//week, but only have nsema (maize meal) - there are no more provisions of beans or greens, so the diet is filling at best; very little nutritional value.

We honored the Ministry of Hope staff at dinner last evening.

Cherie, Karen, Jackie and Caroline left at 5:45 am this morning to travel out to Chimwang'ombe to serve with the Mobile Medical Clinic where they will treat the hundreds of villagers that will be anxiously waiting for the monthly service. The remaining folks will enjoy today at the Crisis Nursery caring for the 21 babies.

Once they are through, they will travel back and we will all head south to begin our retreat - time of reflection and planning for next year.

Please keep this specific prayer in your hearts today -- we learned last evening at dinner that 3 babies were recently turned away from the Crisis Nursery because they don't have the means to take in more babies. While the monthly budget has allowed for caring for 27 babies, funding is actually at 50%, so the funds only allow them to manage 15 babies. In order to support 27 babies, they need Mk8K a month, which is roughly $46 US/month. While this seems insignificant, the worldwide economic crisis continues to affect giving and they have no choice but to manage to the funds they have. Please pray that they can raise the needed monies to restore their services to the 27 babies. Please know that there are story after story of how this nursery has saved babies lives and don't have another place to turn.

Please pray for our safety as we journey south today and conclude our service with the babies and the feeding centers.

In Christ,
Malawi Team 2010

Wednesday Update

The team is venturing out for our last day in the field - back to Matapila to lay the tubing for the irrigation system. We woke up to a very windy and sprinkling day - while this may sound unattractive, this is the first time we've seen rain in Malawi, so it is a nice change of pace.

Our devotion this morning was on impatience and it was quite timely as we learned that our pre-shipment will not arrive during our time here. Due to a strike in South Africa, the pallet was moved from Durban to Jo'Burg, but will not arrive in Lilongwe for another 10 days (or so they say). This is a bit disappointing as we hoped to be able to distribute the gifts, build the bookcases and start the libraries, etc. But, all in God's time. We can't control some of these things.

Diana and Caroline will stay at the Crisis Nursery today as the rest of the group heads out to the feeding center. More of us were going to go to the nursery, but due to us coughing and sniffling, felt it was best not to expose these susceptible babies to possible germs.

The experience at Khwamba is still weighing heavy on our hearts and we are struggling to process the intensity of the situation in those villages. We're unsatisfied with the small contribution we are making and are looking to God for guidance on how to improve the conditions. Emotions are bubbling over and that is a good thing as we encourage each other to share our feelings -- looking forward to the retreat in a few days so we can further dig into this trip. Those of us who have done this before know how hard it is to acclimate ourselves back to our lives after having this experience.

Almost forgot to mention that we had a fabulous traditional Malawian meal last night with Nsema, beans, rice, chicken, and it was very filling. Don't be looking for any of us to have lost weight -- these carbs are tough!

Love to all and we can feel your prayers with us.

Team of 10. (LD)

Tuesday update from Malawi

We had a wonderful day in Khwamba yesterday; as we were driving into the village, the children saw the van and began to cheer and scream "Mzungu" (white people) - they were so excited to have us back again. In our devotions this morning, we contemplated the sheer joy they have in just having us smile, play and touch them. They are starved for touch and it has such a healing quality that is just lacking.
One little boy that was playing with us yesterday had a wound on his foot. He got stepped on and it really opened it up. As he cried, we rushed to try and treat him. He was so brave as Karen and I cleansed and bandaged the wound. Other children pretended to have sores, just so they would be touched by us.

One of the other differences we've noticed in these children is that they lack underwear. Seems so hard to think of this as a privilege - many cute little butt cheeks were exposed. This has really gotten be thinking about drives and fundraisers for next year.

We had a great day and are excited to go back out today and finish our projects. We will dedicate the swing set, install the soccer nets and release the balls and wrap up ouor VBS program in a ceremony where the children put their paper hands on the big tree to show their commitment to serving each other, as Jesus would have us do. Today, we will also visit 4 orphans' homes and meet with their caretakers. We find this to be one of the most special moments of the trip and we hope to find new friends today.

The biggest challenge in visiting Khwamba are the roads - after we get off the main road, it is all pot-hold dirt roads. We've had our fair share of bouncing in the van.

Weather conditions continue to be perfect - 75 degrees and sunny, AGAIN!

Have a great day. We hope you are enjoying these updates.

Monday morning in Malawi

It is hard to believe we are already into week 2. We spent a relaxing Sunday in Chimwang'ombe, one of the feeding center areas supported by Ministry of Hope. The 4 hour church service was fabulous and we enjoyed 7 choirs, an uplifting sermon by Paul Sigmund on the fall of man and the relationship we get to have with God as restored by JC. The offering was spectacular as the congregation is on their feet singing and dancing in praise of how they get to support the work of the church. A far departure from the LCPC congregation and the exercise of managing to keep services within a set time frame. The 4 hours was short due to our request that we needed to get back. Ordinarily, these folks devote Sunday to the Lord. You need to see the videos. Words cannot do justice to the sheer joy of this experience.
While our pre-shipped pallet has still not arrived, we were able to announce the forthcoming donation of a new drum set. The congregation went wild with applause. (Thanks, Keith G.).

On our way back to town, we ventured into the shopping district for some fabric and wood shopping. While not as busy on a Sunday, this is a rich experience as we see life as a local.

Today we head back to Khwamba for more bubbles, crafts, VBS and hopefully the completion of the swing set and soccer nets. The emotions of the team are welling up in our hearts as we truly feel the desperation and need of the orphans. While we are playing a very very small part of providing some hope, it is hard to imagine how much worse the conditions could be if it were not for the MOH. So much to think about and process.

We know the work we are doing here is successful due to your prayers and we thank you from the bottom of our collective hearts.

We are energized, prayerful and excited about the work for the next few days.

We can't wait to share pictures to help bring these words and experiences to life.

MVT 2010

Tough times in Khwamba today.

We speak to you today with heavy hearts as we return from Khwamba where the children are  much less healthy, engaged and fed than what we've seen so far.  It was tough to see them licking their plates from the one Meal they get today and watching their tattered clothes hang off their bodies. It is also cooler here and their aren't any coats, blankets hats or shoes.  There was also a prevalence of coughing, developmental issues and visible illnesses.

One boy appeared to have an umbilical hernia, many had skin ailments that lacked treatment and one had a poorly bandaged foot.

A bit overwhelmed and need to process and feel good about what we can accomplish here in the next few days.

There were some really bright moments.  The gardens around the feeding center are plentiful and they have a maize mill that provides enough funding for four secondary school scholarships.  Also, the tree we made with their handprints will leave a nice memory of our time together.

All in all a positive day and the team is feeling good about the work we are doing.

Please keep your prayers coming as we enter week two of this trip.

Love your Malawi team.

Reconnecting with Valentina & Toothbrushes!

We had such an Awesome day today in Matapila.  Two highlights:

3 years ago I met and fell in love with a baby at the crisis nursery and we visited her home today to check on her progress. Valentina is now 3 and a half and still feeling the effects of malaria.  Being able to continue this relationship has been wonderful.  It was good to see the Winnie the Pooh blanket we gave her last year.

Valentina and her grandmother - we were lucky to get a facial shot, as during our visit she buried her head in her grandmother's chest - afraid of Mzungu (white people). 

The kids were so excited to receive their very first toothbrush and tube of toothpaste.  Karen demonstrated the proper methods of brushing and used the kids as "actors" for the teeth.  Cam should be very proud of Karen's thorough demo :)  While the kids will take these home, they were also shown how to use their finger after their meal at the feeding center to brush their teeth.  With all the sugar cane these kids eat, this is truly a blessing!!

Karen Witt and Joseph (FC Director) showing proper technique

Demonstrating how to properly brush - the kids are the "tooth
actors"

Special thanks to Colgate-Palmolive for their incredible donation to make this possible!  You can see below how excited the kids were.  This received more cheers and applause than our puppet skit :)

Friday morning update - Swingset complete !

We are so excited to report that the swing set is complete and it was wonderful to hear the laughter when the kids experienced this for the first time. Something so simple.

The kids also enjoyed making the coin purses as they studied Zaccheus and the importance of giving back:

Early start today as we head back to Matapila to go on home visits and see what life is like for the orphans and the widows.  We also need to lay tubes for the irrigation project.

The team is working so well together and all are healthy.

More later.  Love from the Malawi team

Muli Bwanji!

The team spent all day in Matapila, a feeding center 30 km out of the city of Lilongwe. We have noticed improvement in the road from 2 years ago. The locals enjoyed helping us construct the swing set which we hope to finish tomorrow. The group also fed children their daily meal of porage and beans. The VBS program went surprisingly well and the children left with the message of the importance of serving friends. We will be back here tomorrow to install an irrigation system, etc. Despite having perfect 75 degree weather, we are missing you all.

Love
The Malawi 2010 team