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.