Our First Baby- By Kris

 

          We finally got our first baby on the 28^th of this month!  We are so excited to finally have our own baby to take care of!  The baby’s name is Mphatso (im pot so).  He is 5 months old and his size is that of a 2 month old.  He is not very strong so he can’t support his own head yet.  The only thing that is strong about him is his lungs, meaning he can scream plenty loud!  Mphatso also is very cute and small.  He has a small cold and a sore throat, so in the middle of the night he wakes up screaming because his throat hurts (of course, waking up everybody in the house).  So far I’ve learned that babies aren’t as fun as I thought they would be!

 

Vwaza Marsh Trip- By Matthew

A short while ago, we took a day trip to Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. When we got there, we had to have a guide. (By the way, Vwaza is by Rumphi.) After 15 minutes of waiting, our guide arrived with a M16-A1 rifle that looked like 1970 army surplus. We found a group of elephants in the brush 80 yards from where we parked, and then got within 30 yards of them! We walked down a dirt road for another 15 minutes, and then got to the shore of a lake. Vwaza should have been named Hippo Marsh instead! Hippos were EVERYWHERE!!! There were at least 60 there! We walked along the shore and saw antelope (Kudu, Impala, & Bushbuck). Next, we saw a whole troop of baboons, and 3 warthogs! Suddenly, we got back to the road, and the car!

We ate lunch, packed up, and left. On the way out, we saw more baboons! One had its baby clinging like a tick to its chest!

We had been there for 2 to 3 hours!

All in all, it was a welcome break for all of us, and a good chance to see African wildlife.

 

 

New Email Address

Hi All,

 

We are changing internet providers, as Malawinet is hard to get on and very slow.  Our new email address is alangdon [a][t] africa-online (d-o-t) net. (sorry about the anti spam measure)  The old address will work until September 2^nd.  Thanks.

 

Andy

The People by Kris

Just about all of the people in Malawi are very nice. They are also very happy. It is a rare occurrence to see an unhappy Malawian. All people here smile even if something is troubling them. The only problem is that they also try to look miserable and hungry to get money. Beggars very rarely accept any food from you even if they say they are hungry. It goes to show how hungry they actually are! All they want is money!

If you come here you will probably notice that most people here are not all that tall. Most Malawians here average about 5 feet, so Jared doesn’t have to feel so bad about being short, he is actually about the same height as an average adult.

Another very interesting thing that I enjoy very much is their singing. Their singing is so much different then what I’m used to. They harmonize very well in most songs. One thing that helps is Malawians tend to be more upbeat, so slow songs are not heard here. I can’t explain it all very well so you will have to come here yourselves to hear and see it.

Kris

THINGS WE DIDN’T EXPECT IN MALAWI by Matthew

When we got to Malawi, we had doubts about Entertainment centers (TVs), etc.

Here are a few things we didn’t expect:

1. Television is NOT scarce in Malawi.

2. Soda drinks are a very POPular (get it? POPular?) Drink and Coke, Fanta, & Sprite are most common.

3. Ketchup and French fries are common too.

4. Toy collector’s item aircraft are available at 50 Kwacha (about $0.35).

5. Video games can be found as well, at reasonable prices.

6. Cookies are available at around $0.25 a package

So, now you see, things aren’t as bad as we thought!

Matthew

Life after the Robbery by Jared

Ever since the robbery, I have had a problem sleeping. We have 2 night watchmen who, throughout the night, periodically check the burglar bar doors to make sure that they are locked and secure. They do this by rattling them, which immediately wakes me up and makes my heart race and my mind start off on a long imagination of what could potentially happen in the next hour or so. When I finally calm down, I realize that it was just the watchmen doing their job. It is the same story for car horns, the nightly chorus of dogs howling, and other hard to identify noises.

After the robbery, we had a lot done to the house. First, we installed the aforementioned burglar bars. These are door frames made of solid metal with rows of solid metal welded in the middle to make a pattern with spaces small enough that nobody can crawl through them. We also have had a security company called “Securicor” install push button alarms. If we push one of these buttons, about 5 minutes later a response team will arrive armed and ready to drive off any unwanted people. The brick wall surrounding our house is also being built higher. There is one spot that is only chest high to me. It will be built up a couple of feet higher.

During all of this, my life is starting to return to normal. I am starting school, which is great becomes it prevents me from wandering around aimlessly and it keeps my mind off of the robbery. Right after the robbery, I trusted nobody, but my trust in the common people is slowly being built up. Also, we have been making trips to Lilongwe and establishing many connections that will be useful in our future ministry to the orphans. We have made more progress since the robbery than we made the first 1 ½ months we were here. Thank you for your prayers during this experience. Please continue with your prayers because “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Jared