Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Home Again
We departed Lilongwe on 1/2/09 at 1pm; we arrived LAX on 1/3/09 at 5:30 pm, Add 10 hours of time change in the air (we were chasing a sunset for several hours) and you get our return trip travel time. I am no longer exhausted - but I woke up at 4 am today - strange. We are collecting our thoughts, and preparing presentations and articles reporting on our adventure. We are grateful for travel mercies and returning home un-harmed. Thank you for all of the prayers we received.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
January 2, 2009
We got up early today and packed up. We had had our last meal with John and said good-bye to "Salima Village". We had some time to meet with the senior management: Yobbie, Tom and Lillian. It was a pleasure to share our experiences with them and a time of prayer.
We boarded our first plane in Lilongwe at 1 pm, Mary greeted us at LAX on the third at 5:30 pm. Add 10 hours of time change and our return trip took just 38 1/2 hours. It felt like 39.
New Year's Day
Pike joined us for breakfast at Salima Village, then we walked together to Mgwayi village (about 1/2 mile from the Njewa / Salima village complex). Pike is the contact between the village partnership program and COTN. His college training, and his heart are in community development - bot
h spiritual and improving the community's health and nutrition. He recognizes that a family's situation can be significantly improved through improved animal husbandry in this rural community.
h spiritual and improving the community's health and nutrition. He recognizes that a family's situation can be significantly improved through improved animal husbandry in this rural community.In this village, COTN helps poor families with school supplies for younger children, and helps pay for school fees for older children.
Pike introduced me to several familes that were keeping animals in the village. One man was raising pigs in a very progr
essive way - on a cement floor, with good health care procedures. He was proud of his accomplishments and credited the methods he used 
for improvement in his familily's situation. We also met families raising goats, ducks, pigeons and chickens.
essive way - on a cement floor, with good health care procedures. He was proud of his accomplishments and credited the methods he used 
for improvement in his familily's situation. We also met families raising goats, ducks, pigeons and chickens.I am looking forward to working with Pike to further encourage good animal husbandry in the village. We took some time to discuss how we may work together in this area of community development.
In the afternoon, we drove into town (Lilongwe) to do some shopping, and later we accepted the offoer to relax and watch some television at Michelle's rental house at Njewa.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
12/31/08 (New Years Eve)
Definition - "The Squawk of Dawn": the time before sunrise when birds begin their twittering.
Clayton woke at the squawk of dawn to enjoy the breeze off the lake, lack of mosquitoes, and the chance to photograph a beautiful African
sunrise. He took one last swim with the fishes while I slept in. We enjoyed breakfast on the island and left paradise behind. On the way back we passed fishermen in dugout canoes.
Our driver (and the car with air conditioning) were there to meet us. At my dad's request Shannon McPhearson had arranged for u
s to visit Stuart Grants Fish Farm (http://www.lakemalawi.com/) on our return. The route was up to Salima then over to Senga Bay. We ate lunch at "Cool Runnings" a camp site with rentals available on the lake shore. After a short drive south on a very poor road be arrived at the fish farm. My dad was in bliss. They had a very large and complex series of tanks that he would be glad to tell you about when we are not so pressed for time.
Our instincts so far have been to flinch and look away when riding on the roads at speeds up to 150 km/hr through the people, bicycles, potholes, goats, chickens, and cows that live on the roadway. We have suppressed these instincts enough to closely observe the traffic traveling along the roads.
The people on the roads: some have shoes but most are barefoot. Most walk, a few have bicycles, some bicycles have pedals - some do not.
On women's heads we have seen: (for example) water, wood, maize (large bags), machette, umbrella (closed - not raining), and baskets of tomatoes.
On bicycles we have seen: huge stacks of firewood (think at least 10 feet high), charcoal, 50 kg bags of maize (about 5 bags to one bike, sometimes more), and last but not least a live goat.
Minibuses (usually a minivan or sometimes a 3 ton) offer public transportation on "major" "roads" - which are filled to at least triple capacity plus whatever those people happened to be carrying with them. Near the lake we noticed fish being transported by hanging outside of the minibus - off the rear hatch, dangling from antennas, or in front hanging from the windshield wipers.
We arrived "home" to Salima Village in time for Jeremiah's spaghetti dinner. We spent a few hours chatting with Michelle and Grandma Pat (and using their computer to update this blog). They spent several days after Christmas at the northern lake shore. We called home to wish our family Happy New Year (WE GOT THERE FIRST!) and turned in for the night.
Clayton woke at the squawk of dawn to enjoy the breeze off the lake, lack of mosquitoes, and the chance to photograph a beautiful African
sunrise. He took one last swim with the fishes while I slept in. We enjoyed breakfast on the island and left paradise behind. On the way back we passed fishermen in dugout canoes.Our driver (and the car with air conditioning) were there to meet us. At my dad's request Shannon McPhearson had arranged for u
s to visit Stuart Grants Fish Farm (http://www.lakemalawi.com/) on our return. The route was up to Salima then over to Senga Bay. We ate lunch at "Cool Runnings" a camp site with rentals available on the lake shore. After a short drive south on a very poor road be arrived at the fish farm. My dad was in bliss. They had a very large and complex series of tanks that he would be glad to tell you about when we are not so pressed for time.Our instincts so far have been to flinch and look away when riding on the roads at speeds up to 150 km/hr through the people, bicycles, potholes, goats, chickens, and cows that live on the roadway. We have suppressed these instincts enough to closely observe the traffic traveling along the roads.
The people on the roads: some have shoes but most are barefoot. Most walk, a few have bicycles, some bicycles have pedals - some do not.
On women's heads we have seen: (for example) water, wood, maize (large bags), machette, umbrella (closed - not raining), and baskets of tomatoes.
On bicycles we have seen: huge stacks of firewood (think at least 10 feet high), charcoal, 50 kg bags of maize (about 5 bags to one bike, sometimes more), and last but not least a live goat.
Minibuses (usually a minivan or sometimes a 3 ton) offer public transportation on "major" "roads" - which are filled to at least triple capacity plus whatever those people happened to be carrying with them. Near the lake we noticed fish being transported by hanging outside of the minibus - off the rear hatch, dangling from antennas, or in front hanging from the windshield wipers.
We arrived "home" to Salima Village in time for Jeremiah's spaghetti dinner. We spent a few hours chatting with Michelle and Grandma Pat (and using their computer to update this blog). They spent several days after Christmas at the northern lake shore. We called home to wish our family Happy New Year (WE GOT THERE FIRST!) and turned in for the night.
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