Home

We arrived in Seattle yesterday evening and had dinner at my sister's in Tacoma.  It was so great to be home and see our family again.  My dad and his wife, my mom and both my sisters were there.  We had bbq'd chicken, corn on the cob and watermelon and it tasted so good. 
We then drove from Tacoma to our home and arrived after midnight.  Our faithful dog, Midnight, was very happy to see us and we were happy to see him.  We love Malawi but home is well, home and there's no place like it. 
We slept pretty well last night but feel worn out today.  Andy is enjoying his coffee from his new coffee maker that he bought before we left.  Ray and Catherine did a fantastic job of taking care of our property for us.  There are no weeds in the garden so I'm thinking that we need to leave every summer and have them stay here :)

Bittersweet

Today we performed our last skit at the nursery and had a good bye ceremony.  As is in the custom here, there were speeches and gift giving.  They expressed their sadness at our leaving but our prayer is that they will see God as their hope and not us.  Sarah had made cinnamon rolls for everyone, which they enjoyed, and they sang songs for us.  There is something about their singing that we just love to hear.
We are leaving on Sunday morning, two days from now, and our leaving is bittersweet.  We are all anxious to get home but we are also sad to leave the staff at the nursery and the sweet babies.  The caregivers are all very dear to us and it feels like family when we are here. We have enjoyed spending much of our time here at the nursery and they have enjoyed our being here.  The babies will probably cry next week when they aren't being held as much as they have been for 7 weeks.  We have definitely spoiled them but it is easy to do.
Even though we won't be here to update you on the nursery, please keep these ladies who work so hard at caring for these tiny ones, the babies and the management in your prayers.  Donations are down and they are concerned about the financial situation but we know that God will provide and we have encouraged them to focus on Him as He loves these babies more than us.
More than 80 babies have passed through these doors and we saw 3 who were in our care in 2006 and were so impressed at how these children have developed.  We truly believe it is because of the love and care of the nannies that these children are so well adjusted and bright.

Our family with the Crisis Nursery Staff and a few babies

Andrew's Birthday

Andrew's 15th birthday was on Tuesday and we celebrated it with the staff at the nursery. 



No Langdon birthday in Malawi is complete without samoosas, a big birthday cake and a crate of minerals (pop).  We all had a great time celebrating his birthday with our friends.





A TRIP TO TOWN

Going into town here in Mzuzu is one of the most unique experiences possible. It is a very fun ride, and every time is different, though not always in a good way.

The vehicle we have used up to now is a 1993 Mitsubishi Delica van that has been used well past its limit and behaves like a 1940s model. It was previously owned by some good friends of ours, the McGill family. At present, it is owned by a Malawian guy who rents out cars to those who need them.

The one thing this van hated doing the most was starting. It often took a bitter struggle on the part of Dad and Kris to get it to sputter reluctantly to life. At present we are sort of using a small Toyota station wagon, but because of the current unrest, we are using the nursery car instead. This is partly because the vehicle is owned by a Malawian member of parliament belonging to the DPP, the political party the mobs are targeting, and partly because the tires keep going flat.

Once the car is started, it’s a white-knuckled (for those in the front) ride down the long hill into downtown Mzuzu. Once in town, there is a leisurely dodge through the traffic circle, around bold (or clueless) pedestrians and through the dusty wake of drivers who don’t know any right of way except their own.

One of the most noticeable things about downtown Mzuzu is the number of banks. For being a country where a typical daily wage is smaller than the average American’s pocket change, Malawi is host to a surprising number of banks. In Mzuzu, there are around seven different banks; National Bank (NB), Standard Bank, NBS, OIBM, First Merchant Bank (FMB), and the FDH. National Bank, which Dad uses, has built a massive new building on the edge of town. The Malawian government is also building a new National Reserve Bank building on the southern outskirts of town. It is being built by an Italian contractor, which also constructed the buildings for the Rafiki Foundation’s compound outside of town. I can’t help but wonder where the money comes from for all of these projects, since the Malawian government can’t even supply reliable electricity, and there can’t be that much money in NB’s accounts. Hmm…

The next thing that draws attention is the gas stations. Mzuzu has almost as many gas stations as banks, which is odd, since at present fuel is a rare thing. The main filling station chains here are BP, Total, and Petroda. Petroda has no presence within Mzuzu proper, which leaves BP and Total to fight it out over the town.

On any day of the week, you can find long lines of vans, semi trucks, lorries (the English term for flatbeds), and other miscellaneous cars just parked along the roadside for dozens of yards alongside the gas stations, waiting for the arrival of a fuel shipment. When a fuel truck comes barreling down Main Street, blaring its horns constantly to announce its arrival, there is a mad scramble by the loitering drivers to get to their cars before someone else takes their place in line. In general, the truckload of fuel is gone within an hour or so. With the way they do things here, it’s no wonder their fuel shortage is still going.

The largest, most prominent store in town is the PTC (People’s Trading Center). It is actually part of the biggest retail chain in Malawi, much like Walmart at home. Due to its prominent location on Mzuzu’s
Main Street, it is a popular stop for the tour buses that are on their way through town to other, more popular tourism spots. Naturally, this also means that all of the bums and salesmen in town congregate on this store, and it is very difficult to get past them to the store.

One African art salesman in particular and his cronies seem to have us marked. It is almost impossible to go to any large store without being accosted by him. As you get out of the car, the first warning is when you hear a somewhat oily voice saying, “Hello, my friend(s).” From there, he is almost impossible to get rid of, and every attempt to extricate oneself from his sales pitch only results in him digging out still more things to try and sell. As I have mentioned, he tends to have two or three buddies along with him to deal with any other potential customers that might escape. The thing that I find really disconcerting is when the sales gang begins a rather invasive questionnaire, including such queries as “Where do you live?” “Do you have cell phones or cameras?” “Do you have US dollars?” and the timeless classic “Do you have a lot of money?”

We all tend to avoid answering such quizzes, and generally give away no information. It does make me nervous, though, and also raises questions of whether or not these guys really are working with any gangs to sniff out houses to rob.

Well, this blog is running longer than I anticipated, so I’ll finish it now. Goodbye!

- Matthew

More Skits

Last week we performed our puppet skits for two more places.  On Saturday we presented the skits to children in grades 2-5 at Rafiki which is an orphan village that is US run and located outside of Mzuzu. At Rafiki, English is the primary language so the kids were able to do the skits without a translator.  They were thrilled as it isn't so hard on their arms and shoulders. 

Rafiki children watching the puppets

On Sunday morning we went to Mzilawayingwe Prayer House which is a small building used mainly for Sunday School for children.

Mzilawayingwe children listening as Chiku translates

It was very cold on Sunday morning which means that it takes a while for the children to come.  We ended up with 70-80 children watching.  It is such a blessing to watch these children as they are watching the puppets.  As the kids perform and Andy speaks I am always praying that God's word will penetrate their hearts and minds and these little skits will somehow make a difference.  Most of these children are very poor and yet they come to this little prayer house for Sunday School. 
Salome, who is a Sunday School teacher at this prayer house and at Katawa CCAP where we also performed, was so thrilled that we had come to teach the children.  She asked for copies of the skits so she could continue teaching the children based on the skits.  On Sunday we gave her the copies and also gave them "Good and Evil" books which is a comic book style Bible story book in Chichewa.  Her comment to me was, "We are so rich now."  It was a blessing to hear as most of the time people are asking for money from us.  She instead realized that our treasure is really in God's word.
We have also been blessed with great translators.  They add information about the skits for the kids and are very animated as they translate.  They are fun to watch and really add to the performance.

The Market

The market is the place to get your groceries fruit, vegetables and other household objects. All markets are open are but still smell bad. Going to the market can also be fun or disgusting. Normally in a large town or city there are two or three markets. When you enter the market there are generally two or three ways to get into the main part of the market the best way is to avoid the fish section of the market. The fish section is the smelliest part of the market because most of the fish are sort of fresh. Once mom and I where looking for some vegetables, as we were walking up a street we could see two venders arguing about something and when we got to them they stopped arguing long enough to ask if we wanted something from them. There are many venders of the same thing so you can find good prices. The market is so busy that the ground littered with garbage. Most of the people are very nice and try to help you to find what your looking for (normally at there own stall). There are so many venders that the stalls are very close together. Some times it is so crowded it is hard to move. All in all the market is fun and very entertaining.

Andrew

Road conditions

Roads in Malawi are very low quality. In Malawi there is one main road called M1. M1 goes from the top of Malawi to the bottom. It is only two lanes but is decent to Malawi standards. On the edges of smaller towns like Mzuzu the roads are unpaved and bumpy. In the rainy season the roads are muddy and hard to get through. In the dry season the roads are dusty and very bumpy.  Some of the paved roads on the lesser traveled parts of the country have lots of potholes and re narrow. Even on M1 the bridges are narrow and falling apart. So if you plan on coming to Malawi prepare for a white knuckled ride.

By: Andrew

Unrest in Malawi

We always thought of Malawi as a peaceful country as it is called the "warm heart of Africa."  Last week we saw another side of Malawi and it wasn't peaceful.  As Matthew mentioned in his post, a peaceful march turned into something quite the opposite.
After the government told the marchers they couldn't march, the marchers turned on the police.  Police used tear gas and bullets to stop the riot and it left 9 people dead and many wounded.  The people then went on a rampage and destroyed many shops owned by the Chinese and looted everything in them.
The nine that died were hailed as heroes who died for democracy.  Not everyone holds that opinion.  We were told by a Malawian that the dead were all looters.  It is hard to know what the truth is but it doesn't really matter now.  Because those that died were "heroes" the people wanted them buried in the same place and designated that they died a heroes death.  The government said no which didn't make the people happy.  Everyone was bracing for another riot and it was very quiet all over Mzuzu as we waited to see what would happen.  Thankfully, the government let them be buried together and another riot was avoided. 
During this time, we stayed very close to home.  We are a few miles from town which was somewhat comforting.  Most of the shops in town were closed from Wednesday to Friday, with some open on Saturday.  Since shopping here is from day to day, the few shops that were open didn't have much left.  We have a small store and market within walking distance so we were able to stock up on a few items.
Today we ventured into town and it was just another Monday--crowded and no cash at the ATM's.  Actually after waiting a while we were able to use an ATM.  We stayed away from the main downtown as I had no desire to see shops destroyed.
For now things are safe again but there is another protest scheduled for August 19th.  We will be home by then but hope and pray that it won't turn violent.

AFRICAN POLITICS

One of the most noticeable things about politics in Malawi is the almost deification of the president. Every government billboard has a giant picture of the “Honorable Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika” on it. Political cartoons attacking the president are unheard of, and I have never yet seen a newspaper article in Malawi criticizing him or his policies. All of the Malawian presidents have had this policy of “no criticism or else”, and it has finally caused a lot of trouble for Malawi as a nation.

The UK’s ambassador to Malawi sent a government message to London some time ago, in which the Malawian president was referred to as an “autocrat” and his policies were strongly questioned. Somehow, the Malawian government found out, and the UK ambassador was called to the Foreign Ministry of Malawi and informed that he was being expelled from Malawi.

Upon hearing of this, the UK government retaliated by withdrawing all fiscal aid from Malawi. This is not the first time this has happened. In another incident several years ago, the UK withdrew £3 million of aid from Malawi when the president spent £8 million on a brand new executive jet. The official reason the UK gave for its withdrawal of aid is poor fiscal management and lack of responsibility on the part of the Malawian authorities.

That the Malawian government is fiscally corrupt is undeniable, but I doubt that the UK’s reaction was entirely due to this. One reason I think this is that the UK retaliated to Malawi’s action by kicking the Malawian ambassador out of England. I would say that revenge is one major factor in the UK’s response.

Following the UK’s lead, the EU, the World Bank, and Germany (among others) have also withdrawn their aid from Malawi. This is a very serious situation for a nation in which 40% of the economy is stimulated by foreign aid.

The situation definitely took a turn for the worse when the DPP (the current ruling party) made its move regarding peaceful protests planned by the opposition for yesterday. They passed an injunction in the Malawian Parliament making any form of protest illegal. When the protestors learned of this, they proceeded with their demonstrations. Youths turned violent against DPP members, burned DPP houses, and damaged DPP vehicles. Other troublemakers not involved with the protests took advantage of the chaos and proceeded to loot stores, break into banks, and wreak havoc in general. Here in Mzuzu, all of the Chinese-owned shops have been looted, and the police have been turned out to deal with the rioting. Numerous people have been injured, and at least seven have been killed. The police are blocking off central Mzuzu, which is where the rioting is centered. Out by the nursery and our house, which is where we are remaining for now, there is practically no evidence of the damage being caused downtown. Only the occasional faint gunshot or the occasional police vehicle passing is indicative of trouble. Apparently, the actual riots have been limited to Mzuzu and Karonga, with a slight skirmish in Lilongwe that has been mostly quelled. Blantyre and Zomba have been largely peaceful. Hopefully the unrest will end soon. Joyce, the director of the nursery, says that things were fairly calm this morning, which sounds promising. I hope that things return to normal soon, and that there will be a quick resolution to the problem.

Matthew

(P.S : The first house we were originally to stay at was the house of a DPP member of parliament, and is under police guard because of the risk posed to it by the mobs. It looks like God knew what he was doing when we got a different place to stay at.)

Land

When we were in Malawi in 2006-2007 we obtained a plot of land to build a permanent nursery facility.  This was nothing short of a miracle since the plot was already assigned and it only took about 6 weeks to get all the paperwork in order.  Here the land is almost exclusively owned by the government and given by 99 year lease.  One of the requirements is that improvements to the land need to be made in 6 months or it may be reassigned to another party.  Due to financial circumstances after the land was assigned to Minsitry of Hope, no improvemnts were made and now the land has been reassigned to someone else.  We were told the Ministry of Lands would find another suitable plot in the same area, but when we visited them on Friday, the person we talked to didn't act like he had heard of this discussion and no effort had been made to find another plot.  We go back on Tuesday to find out the status.  Please pray in the meantime for a miracle of the Lord, as the human side of things looks bleak if not impossible.  We place our trust in Him and not in the arm of man, and ask that His will be accomplished in this area.

Andy

Nature in Malawi

Malawi is a narrow country between Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia. Malawi has a warm climate even in the winter (July through August). Almost all of Africa’s well known animals live in Malawi. Also a home for all kinds of creepy crawlies. God has landscaped Malawi very well.

Andrew

The Fun Side of Africa

Being back in Malawi has been exciting for us. On the serious side of things, our puppet plays have gone well, and Dad and Mom’s Bible teachings have been well received. On the humorous side of things, there has been plenty to laugh at.

For instance, some days ago, Mom melted baby powder-scented Vaseline in one of our cooking pots at home and mixed it with herbs to use as a balm for the nursery’s babies. That very day, Mary, our cook/housekeeper, made us a local-style lunch of nsima, beans, and green beans. Upon the very first bite, we knew something was wrong with the green beans. They had a flavor that was reminiscent of the smell of a baby’s bottom. It took us a bit to figure out what was wrong with them: Mary had cooked the green beans in the same pot Mom had melted the baby-scented Vaseline in! Even though Mom had washed it out with hot water and soap, the scent and flavor of baby powder had remained, thus giving us a rather unique pile of green beans.

The majority of us were ready to toss the Vaseline Beans into the trash, but Mom insisted that they were still edible. Her opinion won (naturally), and we started to do battle. After 15 minutes or so, the last baby powder-flavored green bean was swallowed, and the day was won.

Looking back on it now, it’s easy to laugh. At the time, nobody was laughing. Ha, Ha.

In town, there are plenty of things to be amused about. Store signs like “The Drunkard Tavern”, “Califonia Street Shop”, and even “Profeshonal Office Suppliers” are quite enjoyable, but the real fun comes when you go inside a shop. They have a Jell-O imitation here called "Jelly". “Pansoanic” and “Semsong” DVD and CD players are easily found in stores. No, those were not typos. They do sell those brands here. I will include pictures of them. These are quite clever imitations of the real thing, but even the Malawians themselves have figured it out. One person we talked to at the nursery said that it works this way:

“The Chinese manufacturers are given a product design to manufacture, such as the iPhone, Blackberry, or even a TV type. They then produce the original for the USA and Europe, and produce an imitation for Africa.”

The person who said this owns a Blackberry phone imitation called an “Alcatel”. Not exactly a blatant imitation, but…

One last funny thing I can think of is the odd business name I saw in Lilongwe. The sign said “Humongous Gym”, but the building it advertised was roughly the size of a motor home. And I thought US companies over-exaggerated their products!

Of course, Malawi is not all funny. I plan on keeping records of the serious things that happen here as well. My next blog post will be about the town of Mzuzu, I hope.

- Matthew

Bible Studies

Bible studies here are always interesting.  Most of them are very one sided, at least at the start.  It seems because we are foreigners that we have credibility regardless of what we really know.  This means that everyone listens to you until you run out of things to say.  Last Sunday’s study following church was no different.  When my store of “canned” comments was done, there were a few that became bold and asked questions.  Overall the discussion was quite good.  It showed that some really know their bible.  But there are also the normal questions that don’t seem to apply much and catch you off guard.  Last week a couple of these were- “was Paul baptized?”, and “are there any gentiles still living?”   These were taken in stride, the last causing some smiles and snickers among most of the Malawians as well as us.  Then there were some deeper issues, such as people telling them that if you didn’t speak in tongues, then you weren’t really saved.  Keep praying that God will give us the wisdom we need to answer all of these questions and more and lead the people we are ministering to into a much deeper understanding of His truth.

Andy

When you get frustrated with government bureaucracy…

you need to visit the Malawi Immigration Office.  We had to go yesterday to get our visitors visa extended for 30 more days.  The office is in a government building downtown with the prison office and office of registry.  I showed up a little after 9 with all 8 passports and 40,000 MK (about $250) to get our extension.  The entrance to the Immigration office was guarded by someone who was directing all the throng of people to various windows or rooms.  I expressed my need and was told to go to room 2 (which is the boss’s office).  I fought my way down the 4 foot wide hall that was full of people lined up to get to a window and got to room 2.  The officer was very helpful, gave me the 8 forms (a miracle in itself, usually they are out of forms and have to send out for more, or you have to go get your own copies made) to fill out.  After giving him the filled out forms and the 40,000 MK, he said to follow him to get them processed.  We made our way back toward the mob at the windows and he handed off our package to a man standing there with some other passports and cash in his hand.  I asked if I should wait, and he told me to return in 2 or 3 hours and they would be done.  Since 2 or 3 hours ended up at lunch, I waited until 2 to come back.  I took Alina with me so she could have some adventure as she gets bored sometimes just sitting at home or the nursery.  As we arrived, they were just opening up after lunch hour, so the crowd was even thicker.  We hit gridlock about halfway up the stairs to the second floor where the offices are.  There was a small line of people fighting their way forward, so we followed them.  When we got to the main hallway, it was completely full of people waiting and you could barely fight your way through the mob.  After about 10 minutes of jostling, we made our way back to room 2, but the boss was still out to lunch.  We waited for another 15 or 20 minutes and he showed up.  We were ushered into his office and he said he would go check on the passports.  He returned with the passports and the stack of forms and receipts for payment.  We verified payment for all 8 and he left to get them processed.  He came back in about 5 minutes with a stamp to extend the visitors visa.  He started to stamp and at the same time deal with the 3 other people who had come into the office.  After stamping them all, he asked me to interpret what the stamp said about which date went where.  The stamp was so worn out you could barely read what it said, but we finally figured out one date was the new end date for our stay and the other the current date.  He filled out all the dates and then got another stamp to make it official.  After stamping them again with a different stamp, we were good to go.  Thankfully the crowd hand dispersed some by this time and there was actually a pathway to walk between people waiting.  Two trips, a couple of hours,  rugby scrum, lots of stamping and we can now stay until August 13.  I have a whole new perspective on the U.S. Passport Agency.
    Andy

Another Presentation

Since being in Mzuzu our puppet presentation hasn't been as in demand as we had hoped.  We were a little discouraged at first but then decided to leave it with the One who called us here.  If He wanted us to perform then He would need to break through the barriers.  When we quit worrying about it and prayed more then we received a call to present the skits at another CCAP Sunday School this past Sunday.
Originally, we didn't think we could be at another church on Sunday since we are doing the skits at the church we attend.  CCAP Sunday Schools start at 7 am and our church doesn't start until 9 am which gives us time to do both churches.  It makes for an early morning but it is well worth it.
We arranged to meet someone at the church at 6:45 am who would show us where to go.  We arrived at 6:45 sharp but no one was there and those who were knew nothing about us.  Because we know that the Lord is over all of this we weren't anxious but just prayed that the Lord would work things out.  This is a difficult lesson for some of my kids as they get quite agitated when it looks as if things aren't going to work out but a necessary lesson for them. 
Finally, someone showed up who knew we were going to be there and took us to a small room and then decided that it was too small for the amount of kids that would show up.  She took us to the "hall" which is an unfinished building but has a roof and walls but no flooring and no windows or doors.  They brought in mats for the children to sit on and then began singing while we set up the puppet stage. 
We were told we would have an interpreter but no one seemed to know who that was so a man who teaches the kids was asked and he agreed to do it.  We performed 6 skits with Andy teaching for a few minutes in between.  The kids did a great job again and are learning to pause while the interpreter speaks before continuing.  It makes for tired arms but they are getting use to it. 
There were about 300-400 kids present as more streamed in.  We were finished at 8:30, packed everything up and ready to go to our church by 8:45.  They asked us to come back and perform for the adults and the interpreter said there is another church we need to perform at.  We are returning on Saturday to perform for the youth or high school age kids and they want to discuss doing the skits for others at that time.  We got off to a slow start but God is working out the details.  We are trusting Him to order our steps.  Please pray that His word will touch the hearts and lives of those who are coming.

Toys

Here is a picture of toys at the nursery that have been washed and are out drying in the sun.

The Weather

Most of you are enjoying summer weather right but here in Malawi it is winter time.  June and July are the winter months and here in Mzuzu it can be very cold.  Mzuzu is in the mountains at over 5000 ft. elevation.  When we came the last time we had no idea how cold it could be.  Since the houses are brick and have no heat source when the sun is not out and the wind is blowing, it can feel very frigid in the house. 
Since arriving, the weather has been very pleasant with mostly sunny days and cool nights.  We weren't huddled under blankets once the sun went down.  Then July hit and boy have we been cold.  The wind has been blowing and the sun has been hidden behind the clouds.  On Saturday, we had quite a bit of rain. 
The house we are in now is somewhat smaller than our first house and tends to be warmer but it is still cold.  We go to bed early just so we can get warm. 
When we decided to come to Malawi again, we didn't want to come during June or July because 1) it is very cold during these months, and 2)we were robbed both times in June.  Obviously, the Lord had other ideas about our time table and we know that we are here at the right time.  We will just keep the layers on and drink a lot of tea and coffee to stay warm.

My Malawian Birthday Party

Most excitingly, my birthday is on 7 July. Ever since we came home from Malawi in 2007, I’ve dreamt of having at least one more birthday in Malawi. Well, I got my wish (and prayers) answered. When we were here before, my family and I had grown too really like an Indian type of food called a somusa. At every big event that we had here we would always buy a lot of somusas and minerals (pop). On the morning of my birthday, Jared my older called from America to wish me Happy Birthday. It was really nice of him to call considering that calls from any where out of the country was expensive. While I was talking to Jared, my dad slipped a small box into my cup. When I sat down and noticed the mysterious little box, my brothers went crazy. What had once been a civil “opening of a gift” routine, turned into a bedlam of boys yelling, “Don’t open it yet!” “Let me get my camera!!!” “Argh!!! My camera is dead! Don’t open the box yet!” and “OK, wait…..Alright, go ahead…..” J So now, I had 4 cameras all taking pictures of me opening a small gift box. And they all had the flash on!! My mom told me if I ever became a movie star, the publicity wouldn’t be bad at all, I’d be quite at home.

            My birthday party was to be held at 3 o’clock that afternoon. Along with the ever delightful somusas and minerals, oh yeah, and cake. ( no ice cream because the ice cream here gives one serious indigestion, my dad would more than likely go into more humorous details, but I’ll just say that) Quite a lot of nannies came to my party, along with the watchmen, security guy and the gardener. They sang some really nice songs with the traditional dances which is a treat for the mazungus (white people).  After 2 songs they called a halt to have cake, minerals and somusas. Then, we had them sing another song for us. Jennifer, the cook on duty that day led the singing and dancing. She was really energetic and that influenced the others to be enthusiastic in their singing and dancing. To clarify “dancing” their type of dancing isn’t guy and girl together, but just doing a jig but everyone doing just a slightly different thing but all keeping the same rhythm and beat to an invisible drum that it seems only they can hear. It is amazing how God gave the African people a sense of rhythm. My mom and I figured out that the reason not very many people these days can’t do without the additional drums or instruments when singing is that it has basically been bred out of us with always having accompaniment for every little thing. While the Africans have not had the comfort of our cushioned lives so have learned to have their own rhythm. This in my opinion is the best music out there.

            My brother, Andrew is hinting to me that I should get back to the topic of my partyJ I got 2 gifts from some nannies at the nursery. To me, they might have been a gift of a million dollars, to know that these women cared enough to purchase the chitangis (cloth that the women wrap around their skirts); headbands and set of earrings were the best gifts I could have asked for. God is so incredible! The sets of chitangis I received from 2 different people were of the same material!! Veronica and Joyce got me a chitangi at a different time, not even knowing that Grace was even getting me anything. And Grace didn’t know that Veronica and Joyce were getting that color of chitangi. I still can’t believe it. I know there is some reason for that. Out of the whole Tyifa Market, I got the exact same chitangis. God is so wonderful.   

             Sarah Langdon

Questions

If any of you that read this blog have questions about Malawi or a question for one of the kids, please let us know.  We would love to answer any questions you have or something you are curious about.

Life in Malawi

When you live in Malawi, you generally hire some watchmen, a housekeeper, a cook and a gardener to work for you.  The watchmen are a necessity or at least you think they are to keep you from being robbed.  Even though when we were here before we had watchmen, a dog and alarm buttons and we still were robbed two times! 
The house we have rented already had a gardener and 3 watchmen that worked for the previous tenants so we kept them on to work for us.  I did hire a housekeeper as the house desperately needed cleaning and to be honest it is nice to have someone do your laundry and clean your house for only $50/month.  With hired help comes the added responsibility of being their health care, loan officer and helping with any other needs they have. 
At 4:30 one morning we heard a tap, tap at our bedroom window.  Andy got up to see who it was and it was one of the watchmen who asked to use our phone to call home about his sick child.  After calling he asked if we could go get his daughter and take her to the hospital.  Since it was 4:30 am Andy declined to take her (which of course makes you feel guilty) but somehow they got her to the hospital that day.  After a week in the hospital for pneumonia we paid MK4000 or $30 for her stay. 
About every other night we get a knock on our door from the watchmen requesting some kind of help.  Even though they are paid every two weeks they always need a cash advance for transport to visit a sick relative, reconnect their electricity or pay for getting a driver's license.  We deduct this from their pay (not the health care needs) and when pay day comes they get their pay minus the advances.  They can get their pay one day and the next they will ask for an advance.
It is easy to get frustrated and cynical but they are very poor people who don't know how to save and live for today.  If their family has a need and they have money they will help them which isn't a bad thing.  After thinking about this, I realized that they aren't really different than Americans.  Most Americans live beyond their means too.  We just have credit cards, bank loans, welfare, health care and other services provided by the government to help us out when we either spend too much or have some adversity happen to us.  We, as rich Americans, are to these people, what our government is to those in need in the States. 
This is again another reason why we as Americans need to count our blessings.  Even for those of you that have suffered hard times, it is nothing compared to the poorest here in Malawi.  We are thankful that we can help these people if only for a little while. 
The reason we are here is to not just help their physical needs but to give help them see that Jesus is the Bread of Life and He is who they really need.  We will be gone in a month but He will never leave them.

"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"

Babies at the Nursery

I realized that I hadn't posted any pictures of the babies here at the Mzuzu Nursery.  Right now, there are 9 babies.  Their maximum capacity is 15 but they have had 18 at times.  With 3 nannies that means 5 babies to a nanny when they have a full house.  If they have more than 15 they hire part-time nannies to help.
As you can imagine, my 3 girls only want to spend their time here holding babies.  They are a big help to the nannies.



Twins - Jerrine & Darlene






The two fattest babies - Joseph & Flyness





Bridget with Temwa





Twin boys - Moses & Marman



Prices

Trying to eat and live like an American is expensive in Malawi.  It is a lot cheaper to eat like they do.  Here is a list of what things cost:
30 eggs - $6.50
1 large cabbage - $1
20 bananas - $1.25
4 carrots - .75
5 tomatoes - .75
small bunch of rape (like swiss chard) - .06
1 apple - .50
loaf of bread - $1.
8oz. tomato paste - $2.00
very large avocado - .35
cheese - $9.50/lb
butter - $7.30/lb
hamburger - $3.25/lb
10 lbs. sweet potatoes - $1.50
coffee - $9.80/lb
rice - .70/lb

The typical Malawian meal is rape with tomatoes and onions, eggs or some type of meat (if they can afford it) and nsima (like polenta).  Compare the cost of that meal with the meals tht we like to eat and eating Malawian is the way to go.  We do eat a lot of rape, cabbage, tomatoes and onions but since I don't know how to cook nsima, we eat our relish (that's their name for side dishes) with rice and beans.

What's for Breakfast

Here in Malawi, breakfast consists of tea with a lot of sugar and 2-4 slices of white bread with margarine.  My children think it's a fine breakfast but after a few days of it the novelty has worn off.  Just because we are in Malawi, doesn't mean we have to eat like them but it is difficult to find something else to eat.  They have cereal but a box of Corn Flakes costs anywhere from $5 to $8 and isn't any more nutritious than the bread which costs $1.00.  In Lilongwe you can find oatmeal which costs $2.50 for 1 lb.  We are not in Lilongwe but Mzuzu where it is harder to find things. On Friday, we went to a store and they had oatmeal so we bought 2 big boxes.  When we go next time they won't have any. 
What I have been doing is making a baking mix that I can mix into muffins, pancakes, etc. when I need it.  Initially, I couldn't find brown flour (whole wheat) so I used white flour but tastes better than the bread.  Last week I found some brown flour so now we have some nutrition in our breads.
At the bakery you can find scones which are really good and we have those a few times a week.  They have another type of roll which is good that they call "Obama" and I don't know why.  Apparently the Malawians love Obama so they have named this bread after him.

Matthew's Views

Adjusting to Malawi has been surprisingly easy for us (at least for most of us). Considering that we haven’t been here for four years, getting used to Malawian culture has been surprisingly easy. The one member of the family who has been having the hardest time is Dad. The reason for this is that he is the one who is driving. Having to drive on the left side of the road while dodging Malawian traffic (synonyms: hectic, crowded, busy, dangerous, generally unsafe) has not been fun for him.

Andrew is more than content here, jabbering continually about the local food (and the quantity of it), the quartz which is everywhere in Mzuzu, and the size of the bugs and other creepy-crawlies (no, I’m not kidding). Yesterday, Andrew was letting everyone know about the giant spider he and Jotham (the nursery gardener) uncovered in a dirt bank. He took pictures of it, and like it or not, everyone had to see them. As a matter of fact, he was trying to get me to write this blog post all about the local insects.

Sarah is in the world of her dreams, with more than enough cute little butterballs (er, that is, babies) to cuddle, rock, sing to, and love to death. She and Kris are the ones who spend the most time with the babies. They both love to hold babies. It makes a lot of cute pictures.

I, on the other hand, find very little that is appealing about holding a drooling baby on my lap. If I wanted my shirt dripping wet, I would probably pour water on it. Maybe if I were older…

Okay, I repent. Maybe I do find them cute and adorable, not to mention fun. There is a certain kind of happiness that comes from holding a little 1-year old baby. However, my point on drooling (and diaper wetting, and spitting up) stands. The first day we were at the nursery, a baby threw up all over Alina. She didn’t smell very nice afterwards.

Bridget is having lots of fun at the nursery. She loves to hold babies. It makes a rather funny image to see Bridget holding a baby that’s half her size. It’s hilarious to see Bridget grunting and staggering under her burden, while the baby’s eyes bulge and its tongue hangs out from being squeezed so hard. The babies obviously don’t share Bridget’s enthusiasm.

Overall, our family has had a very good time here. The puppet ministry is doing OK, although we have yet to perform elsewhere in Mzuzu aside from the nursery and the local Brethren assembly. This is shaping up to be our best Malawi trip yet.

(P.S.): Just this morning, I once again had my opinion reinforced as to holding babies. I was holding one of the cutest ones when she spat up all over my hand and pants. A nice little gift, but not exactly my idea of a pleasant time. Oh, well,,, She made up for it with her cuteness.

-Matthew

Bridget's Day at the Salon

One of the benefits of being here is that I can get Bridget's hair done for almost nothing.  If I want to have someone cornrow her hair in the states it costs $75 and if you add extensions it's around $150.  I asked around and the gardener's wife was recommended so on Monday she came to the nursery to do Bridget's hair.  I brought some hair extensions from the states that I wanted her to use.  It was amazing to watch.  She was in such contorted positions but didn't want a chair.  Eventually Bridget fell asleep which made it easier.  Needless to say it came out beautifully and it cost me $3.50 for almost 3 hours of work.  If you can make that much a day here it is a lot of money.

How We Got Diesel

As I've mentioned before, we were running low on diesel in the van we have and there was none to be found.  Ironically, the man we rented the car from gave us this van instead of another because he said that diesel was easier to find and the other car used gas.  Things have obviously changed!
One day we saw a huge line for diesel but Andy didn't want to sit all day so he was going to go back in the morning.  The diesel was all gone by night fall so we learned that you don't wait.  Sometimes you can wait in line for hours and when you get to the pump it's all gone so it's a very frustrating process. 
The interesting thing is that they let people with gas cans fill up in between the cars.  We hired a friend from the church here who is out of work to take our gas can and go all over town looking for diesel.  By 5:00 that night he had filled up the can and called us to come get in.  With that amount we were able to fill up the van to almost 1/2 full.  I think we will use this tactic again.

A Gift

One of the babies that we cared for was named Gift.  He appeared to be mentally disabled as he never responded unless you were right in front of him and sang and clapped.   Then he would smile and wave his hands.  We thought he must be deaf. The nannies wouldn't interact with him because they thought it was a waste of time.  I had to remind them again and again to love him anyway and talk and sing to him which they finally did. 
I didn't know what happened to him but assumed he went back to his grandmother.  I have been praying for him and hoping that things turned out for him.  For some reason, he had touched my heart in a way I couldn't explain. 
When we arrived at the nursery I asked about him and was told that he lives in Mzuzu with his grandmother and is a normal little boy.  It felt like another miracle.
We met with his grandmother yesterday and asked her to bring him to the nursery so we could see him.  She brought him today.  We expected him to scream as most young children here aren't used to seeing white faces and they run screaming.  We were in our car when we saw them walking towards us.  We stopped the car and he started smiling at us.  He even let me pick him up and he said, "hello."  I started singing a song that I always sang to him and he smiled the sweetest smile.  It was such a great feeling.  God does love the little children, doesn't he?

Gift

Puppet Performances

We performed Skit 1 for the nursery last Friday and on Sunday we presented it at the church we attended when we lived here.  Skit 1 is about creation and compares who God is with who Satan is.  Andy followed it with more in-depth Bible teaching. Everyone loved the puppets and Andy didn't think they were as thrilled with his teaching but I noticed that many were listening attentively.
We will present one skit a week at each place.  On the week following our skits Andy will teach the men from the church and I will teach the nannies at the nursery a more in-depth Bible study that will reinforce what was said during the skits. Please pray for Andy and me to be led by the Spirit in our teaching and that God will open the ears and hearts of those that attend.

Ladies, babies and some men watching the puppets



Andy teaching at church with Adam & Eve in the background

The Nursery

Baby Room

We have been here in Mzuzu for almost a week and we visit the nursery every day.  We have been blown away by what good stewards they have been of everything here.  Since the nursery was first our home, we left all our furnishings, kitchen items and most everything else here when we left.  We left a boom box with some CD's and we were shocked to see that it is still here and it works!  Even the CD's still work.  Every day the ladies will show me something that we left and it is still in working condition.  To some of you this may not be a big deal but for this culture it is huge.  They just seem to have a way of ruining electronics especially which I'm sure is because most don't have washing machines and modern appliances.  The staff is very proud of their work and they have done a fabulous job.

Very organized blankets & clothes

We are in Mzuzu

We used the Crisis Nursery vehicle to get to Mzuzu yesterday.  Augustine and Kris stayed with our rented car with the plan to leave after the mechanic fixed it.  We arrived about 4 pm and Augustine arrived at 9 pm.  The rented car was supposedly fixed but Kris said it had hardly any power and there was no way our family with all our luggage would have made it.  But thank the Lord it all worked out.
We went straight to the nursery and they came running out on the road waving flowers and branches and singing to us.  It was very wonderful and we were all in tears.  They continued singing as we drove into the nursery compound.  Almost all the nannies were there to welcome us.  It was like seeing family again.

Lilongwe Crisis Nursery

If you really like to hold babies, the Lilongwe Crisis Nursery is the place to go.  We have been able to go there a few times over the last few days and have some pictures of some really cute babies.  Be careful!  These pictures might make you want to come over to hold them!

Kris

This is Hoseya, my favorite baby (I held him most of the time we were there!)

This is Dad and baby (not sure of the name)

This is Teresa (she was adorable and very fun to play with).  She is close to two years old.

This is Bridget with Teresa

This is Sophie (Sarah's favorite baby)

Does anyone need a secreatary?

Life in Malawi

We have enjoyed our stay in Malawi alot so far and have taken a few couple pictures that we would like to share with you that show alot of what Malawi is like.

Kris

This is the place to get a hold of professional help

How is that for some scaffolding?

Another Puppet Presentation

On Sunday we performed our puppet skits for a children's Sunday School Class at Msonkhamanja CCAP Church here in Lilongwe.  CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) is the main denomination here in Malawi and Msonkhamanja is the biggest CCAP church in Lilongwe.
We arrived at 6:30 am and there were a lot of kids already there.  By the time we started at 7:15 there were at least 250 children ages 2-10 or 12. 
Our kids did a great job with the puppets and the children watching really seemed to enjoy it.  They were a little noisy during Andy's short talk in between skits but that's understandable. It was really a blessing to be there sharing God's word with these children.

Children watching puppets

Our Visit with Mphatso

The first baby we took into the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery was Mphatso.  He was 5 months old but looked about 2 months.  He became very dear to our family.  He was adopted by a German couple who live in Lilongwe and on Saturday we visited him and his family. 
He was very shy and pretty much ignored us but he did play with Bridget and Alina.  It was so great to see him and it was very obvious that his mother and father adored him.  We had a wonderful time visiting his family and so amazed at how God can work in the lives of these orphaned children.

Bridget and Mphatso Together Again

Change of Plans

This morning we were  up bright and early to get ready to return to Mzuzu.  We have all been so excited about returning and seeing the nursery and all our friends there.  The car was loaded and we were on the road by 8 am. 
The trip to Mzuzu takes about 4 hours and goes through some steep mountain passes.  As we got out of Lilongwe, Andy commented that the clutch was starting to slip so we prayed and hoped that we could keep going.  As we started going uphill it became obvious that we wouldn't make it.  We turned around and headed back to the guest house. 
At this point we aren't sure what we will do.  We are looking into renting another car but that has the same possibilities as the car we have.  Augustine is planning to come from Mzuzu this afternoon and we can go back with him tomorrow.  We , of course would love to go today as everyone is more than ready.  Thankfully God is who we trust to guide us and we are waiting on His plan to come to fruition. 
We are so thankful that we didn't get stranded somewhere between here and there and that we could return safely to Lilongwe and that we can still stay at our guest house.  God is faithful!
"Lean not on your own understanding, but in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct they paths."

Power Outages

Since coming to Lilongwe (LLW) we have had many power outages--at least 2 a day.  This makes it challenging to cook so we have had a lot of PB&J sandwiches even for breakfast but we are thankful for that.  Most days it has been on through the night and if we get up before 7am we can boil water to make tea and coffee.  Coffee from a french press never tasted so good!  It also goes off some time during the day. 
The kids like the power outages because we have been buying samosas in town as most stores have generators.  Samosas are meat and/or vegetables wrapped in a thin dough and fried.  They are not very healthy but they are very good.
Yesterday the power was on for 24 hours so we were able to cook dinner and eat it with the lights on.  It was off this morning and the Malawians that are in the guest/servants quarters asked if I wanted him to bring their charcoal cooker so I could make lunch.  I thought it would be fun to try.  Just a few minutes later the power came back on so I guess we'll have to cook the normal way today.
We are so blessed to have the many luxuries we have in the States.  Count your blessings!

Our first puppet presentation

We performed for the first time yesterday at the Lilongwe Crisis Nursery.  The kids did a great job and the ladies seemed to emjoy it.  Our crowd dwindled mid way as babies needed tended and some of the staff had to leave but many returned for the last skit which was about trusting God to protect you from Satan and a message that they desperately needed to hear. 
Sarah caught a cold and wehn we got to the nursery she looked like she was going to faint and didn't think she could perform.  We prayed over her for healing and by the time we started she was much better and was able to participate.  God is faithful! 
We have been more sure since coming that thiese messages must be told. We've had more sickness starts and sleep lost to spiritual battles at night (the sounds at night will convince you that there is demonic activity all around).  God has kept us and will continue to keep us for that we are convinced.
Even though the audience was small the supervisors thought our message was very much needed and would have an impact wherever we presented it.  They were also impressed that our family worked together to present the message.  She said that they never see fathers, mothers and children working together as each goes his/her own way. They wished we were in Lilongwe longer so we could go with the Mobile Medical Unit that goes to villages every Thursday.  They said that while they are helping with the physical needs we could be helping with their spiritual needs.  We are considering coming back to Lilongwe a few days before we leave and going with them then. 
Please continue to pray for healing and protection for our family and that we will see where God wants to lead us.
I am hoping to post pictures when we get to Mzuzu as I would love for you to see those who we are ministering to.

The Trip

As you all know, we all made it safely here to Malawi, but I'm going to give you more details as to how the whole trip here went.
Our first flight from Seattle to London, started with a small technical problem with the plane (while we were still on the ground, fortunately) which caused and extra 1 1/2 hours of sitting on the plane at the airport seeing what little can be seen from an airplane window.  After the long wait, we were finally on our way!  The flight to London was about 8 1/2 hours, which sounds really long, but it wasn't too bad since we left around 7:50 PM, which made most of the flight overnight.  We landed in London around 12:30 PM (London time)
Our layover in London for this next flight was going to be 7 hours, but due to the delay in Seattle, it only ended up being 5-6 hours (it seemed really long anyways).
I am not sure if anyone is interested in our travel details, so I will try to make the rest somewhat brief.  Our next flight was to Johannesburg, South Africa.  This flight was only 10 hours (no problem).  Fortunately, it was an overnight flight so we were able to sleep some of the time.
We arrived in South Africa with no problems, had a 3 hour layover, then continued out journey on another plane to Lilongwe, the capitol of Malawi.  This flight was only 2 hours, 10 minutes.  It went by very fast.
We arrived in Lilongwe at 12:30 PM.  It was a great feeling to know that we were finally here!  I still can't believe we are actually here!
I want to thank all of those who prayed for our safety as we traveled.  It was appreciated.  Now that we are here, please pray that God can use us to minister to the people here.  I am really looking forward to seeing God work through us here.

Kris