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