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