Sharing our success!

Now that we are all home and feeling rested I wanted to share with everyone some of the specifics of what we were able to accomplish on this trip to Malawi.

To start our main focus was to provide all of the children and house mothers of Mtendere Village with new mattresses. Once we were on site and saw what the children and others were sleeping on we were glad we had made the decision to take on that task. As you have seen in our blog new mattress were purchased and delivered! After counting heads and beds and mattresses (several times) we came to understand that some of the children had been sharing one twin bed. As a team we made the decision to purchase wood and tools in order to build beds for the children who had been sharing. Leaving Mtendere we felt good that we KNEW each child not only had been given a new clean mattress, but also each child was now sleeping in their very own beds. Our project was able to expend even further with excess money so we decided to take care of purchasing a few other needed items. As we watched the children at meal time some of the volunteers realized that many of the children didn't have plates and cups. The Malawians are resourceful people so some of the kids had been given old pencil cases to eat out of and others were using plastic lids and other odds and ends. Katie and Susan and myself ventured out one of the days to the local market and were able to purchase 150 matching plates and 150 matching cups as well as new mops and buckets for each of the children's houses. We knew that providing these things was the right thing to do and because our donors had been so generous we could not only solve the bed situation but also solve some other challenges that the children and house mothers were facing.

Our fundraising effort was so fruitful that we still had the problem of MORE money. Three donors after finding our that the mattress and house clean up project was complete agreed to reassign their funds and participate in the FIRST ever Malawi Global Ambassadors For Children scholarship. For the past few years GAFC has been lucky enough to enjoy the same driver for all of our trips to Malawi. Isaac has not only been our driver, but also an important member of each of our trips. He has shared so much about Malawi and also shared his skills and been able to help with many of our projects. His stories and presence on these trips has been invaluable to all who have met him and been lucky enough to learn from him. This Summer Isaac lost his sister which led him to now be supporting not only his own children, but also his sisters. He and his wife are now providing for 7 children and each other. Isaac's oldest son graduated high school last year and this fall was ready to start college. With this family tragedy that occurred Isaac was unable to provide money to send his son on to college. Isaac felt it was very important that this son continue his education because if he didn't Isaac knew that if something were to happen to him his son would not have the education needed to get a job that would allow him to step into his fathers shoes and support this large family. While we were in Malawi classes at the Malawi School of Accounting had just begun. With the help of a few contacts in Malawi and the research skills of 2 members of this Malawi trip we as a group were able to get Halide registered and on the path to a college education. As we flew home to the United States he was attending his first class and catching up on what he had missed. I have been sent word that he is doing well and that Isaac and Halide are both so thankful for the opportunity they were given. It seems that we were in the right place at the right time and had some donors willing to agree to reassign their donations in order to provide this amazing gift to the Mtonga family. This scholarship has taken care of the first 2 semesters of school and the books and exam fees. After Halide completes these semesters we will speak with Isaac and find out how we can work with him and help his son continue with the accounting program. As a group we decided that giving a "hand up" was better than a "hand out" and we are excited to work side by side with Isaac and his son and see were this journey will lead. I will continue to update this blog as all of our projects continue to grow in Malawi.

Thank you again to everyone who gave so generously to this project. I hope you all see what wonderful things happened because of you.

The trip has come to an end and everyone has arrived back home safe. I know as I reflect I am just so excited at what was accomplished. I feel as I do at the end of every trip that I am lucky to have learned what I did about myself and about the people of Malawi. I have made new friends that I hope to have for a long time. Each person who was along on this trip gave in their own special way and I am thankful for everyone. What an adventure it was and the memories will remain with all of us forever. I think when looking back we will all be surprised at what an impact we were able to have! The good we did is going to continue to grow and make changes in the lives of the people we touched.

I am missing all of my travel mates this morning and missing Malawi as I have my coffee. I hope everyone is telling wonderful stories to their friends and family.

I will post some pictures to this site today and maybe try and put up some video as well.

Thank you to everyone who donated money to make our project a success and thank you to all the volunteers who truly made this experience what it was.

Zikomo!!!!!

Goodbye is never easy...

Our last day at Mtendere was bittersweet. We knew we had to complete the projects we had started and then we all knew we wanted to spend time with the kids and house mothers before we had to say goodbye.

A group of us quickly headed to the store room where we still had quite a mess. It was our goal to complete the organization of that room before noon. Some of us quietly had doubts that it would happen, but we pushed forward and kept working through the morning. Boxes of trash were taken around back of the building and a fire was started so that everything being thrown out could be burned. Luckily we figured out a few hours in that the windows did in fact open and it was a gift to get some fresh air blowing through the very dusty room. Shelves were moved, bins were emptied and refilled with supplies in an organized way. "Zones" were created for crafts, school supplies, and personal items. Tita helped organize all the medical stuff and made sure some of the staff knew what many of the items were used for on the shelves.

Larry and a few others were making sure beds were being finished and getting put in to the houses where they were needed.

Some of the team was helping the other team who was staying at Mtendere prepare for the birthday party that was taking place in the afternoon. The main hall was decorated, balloons were hung, a tent was put up on the grounds for dancing, and food was being prepared.

Noon came and to our surprise we were all able to complete our projects. In the store room there were high fives and relief that we had not created a big mess and then just left. It felt good for us to see our hard work when the store room was clean and organized and we could lock the door and know we really had done a good thing. All the new beds were lined up in the dirt and Larry had a proud smile on his face. It was now time to set up games and activities for the kids to play during their birthday celebration. Our group was in charge of a coloring station, a relay station, and a parachute play area. Once we were set up we were all invited into the main hall with EVERYONE from Mtendere and some of their family and friends. Before we all sat down Gracian asked that Ellen or I make a speech since it would be our last day with them. I voted for Ellen since she speaks in front of groups of children all the time and I tend to get a bit chicken in those situations. Ellen agreed :) We were both invited (or told) to sit up in the front of the room at what looked like a "head table". The room was as full as I have ever seen it with smiling kids and many others. The rest of my team was standing in the back of the room. The ceremony began with the division of children because there were going to be groups they were rotating through for a carnival. Then, as is tradition at Mtendere, the ceremony opened with a prayer. From there a member from the other group made a speech. I made my speech (this is Ellen now...) and it was short and sweet but relayed how grateful we were to be invited and that we were able to help. I also mentioned how much they teach us instead of us teaching them because that ALWAYS seems to be the case. From there Gracian made a small speech thanking both of the teams and then the celebration began! Cokes were distributed to everyone along with a handful of cookies. Members of the office staff had pitched in money and purchased a gift for the small children of Mtendere. They proceeded to the front of the hall where they began singing the Malawian style of "Happy Birthday." The kids' gift was inside of a container and we were all just as curious as the little ones. It ended up being sweeties, which is candy in Malawi. The children were all given a large handful that they immediately wrapped up in their shirts. Some were unwrapping the candy and popping them in their mouths. Others were stuffing the candy in their pockets. And a few scampered off to their houses to stash it away for later. By the time this little ceremony was over, everyone had received their Coke and we all made a toast. After that we broke away from the ceremony and got our stations ready to get started for the carnival!

Shortly thereafter Erin and I were beckoned back into the hall by Gracian. He told us lunch was about to be served which consisted of chicken, rice, and greens. Erin and I had already eaten lunch with the team and we told Gracian this and that our food should be given to someone else who may go without and he adamantly refused. He said we were guests of honor and we needed to eat. So we sat down and we were told to wait because we needed to wash our hands. Quickly a bucket and water was brought to us and we washed up. After this Gracian looked down at us with his wide smile and said, "Dig in Malawian style! You must use your hands!" Erin and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and dug in. Everything was delicious!

After lunch, the kids joined us at our stations. I hung around the coloring booth and was explaining how the crayons worked because some of the children were not understanding. Once one of the children understood, everyone caught on and we ran out of sitting room for the children. The parachute game was a huge success and there were smiles all around at that station. Andrew and Patrick took on relays and they said they had a blast. After stations, we moved under the tent and put our dancing shoes on. Having most of the kids of Mtendere and people from the outside village under a party tent dancing around is almost like a scene from a movie. These kids have got rhythm! We were picking kids up and spinning them around. There was a conga line developed (by Jan). We had groups of kids put us in circles and dance around. All in all... everyone had fun at the dance and had a few more special moments with ones we had already made a connection to.

After dancing for a couple hours, it was time to say goodbye. Everyone was dreading this part of the day and no one wanted to begin the process. There were tears all around from the children, the house mothers, and our team. It was evident that everyone had made connections but it was interesting to see what personalities had connected. Everyone at Mtendere was so grateful but I think in the end we were more grateful for the time we had with them and the stories and experiences they had shared with us.

Today we head to Lake Malawi (which means no blog tomorrow...). We will be stopping at a large woodcarvers market with hopes of finding that perfect 'something'. As our time winds down, we all have realized how lucky we have been to have had this experience. We will SEE you all soon! :)

another project comes up..and we are happy to take it on!

Yesterday morning we all were up and moving a bit earlier than usual. We needed to bring all of our donations to Mtendere and some of us needed to exchange more money so before leaving the hotel we took care of some business and then headed off. We had one stop to make to pick up our packed lunches and we ended up sitting in traffic for a while, but then we were on our way.

We arrived at Mtendere ready to complete some of what we had started. There were beds to build, beds to repair, and some counting to do in order to make sure that before we leave Malawi we are SURE every child at Mtendere has a new mattress and every child has a bed to put it on. There was more corn to "shuck". We have all decided that saying we are "shucking" corn probably isn't the best way to describe what we actually do with the corn. When we sit to do this work the corn has already been shucked and dried. The kernels are hard and need to be removed from the cobs. Using your fingers or using another cob that has no kernels your are picking each kernel off the cob....if that makes sense. In the end you end up with a large pile of dried corn kernels and a large pile of cobs.

Since I had been busy running around the city for the past few days spending time seeing my friends at Mtendere was a gift. I was able to play on the playground with Ellen and some of the children for a while between jobs and I can't wait to share that with everyone when I get home.

When it was time for us to put our donations in the store room we were surprised to see that the store room was in need of some major reorganization. I asked the secretary if she would allow us to clean and organize this room and happily she said we could. With her help a few of us started to tackle the mounds of personal items and school supplies. This might seem like an easy task, but once you all see the pictures of what we were dealing with you will understand. Box by box we began to unload and put away each of the items. I know for me it was a job that came with a little 'fear". I was worried that under each box or at the bottom of each box I would either run into a spider, a rat, a mouse, a dead rat, or a dead mouse. All of us just kept working away and soon Linda spoke up that we had our first dead mouse that needed to be removed. She was quick to scoop it up in paper and hand it off to someone who took it outside. As we dug deeper into the piles in the store room and began reshuffling shelves we realized this was a bigger job than we had first thought. We had committed to do it so we just continued to work as best we could and knew that the next day we would be there to finish the job.

Some of the group were still working on making and repairing beds and others were doing tutoring with the children in the school room. When word spread at Mtendere that we had purchased tools and wood to make the beds we stared to hear of children who had beds that were damaged or missing slats. Some of those beds were carried up to where the carpenters and our team was working and with a few boards we were able to make the repairs.

Today will be our last day at Mtendere Village and I am prepared to see some tears once our time there ends. I know that many of the volunteers have become quite connected to some of the children and house Mothers and it will be tough to say goodbye. There is a birthday party planned today that we have been invited to attend by another group from the US that is staying and working at Mtendere. They have asked us to help with some of the activities they have planned and we are happy to take part. There will be dancing and food and lots of birthday fun. It will be another great day Im sure and when its all over we will leave knowing that we did make an impact here.

corn corn corn....and other adventures

Yesterday started out with a trip to the local government run clinic that Tita had been working at. When we drove to drop her off for another day of volunteering I thought it would be good to offer the group a chance to take a tour and see what health care really looks like for the people of Malawi. The group was told this wouldn't be a "fun" trip, but should be eye opening. When we arrived everyone was shocked at the number of people waiting in line to be seen. This clinic is mostly for pre-natal and post-natal visits and also labor and delivery. There is a walk in clinic for others there also. The lines were long and it was difficult to navagate up to the door, but we were able to find a nurse kind enough to give our group a quick tour. Ellen and I waited outside since we had seen the clinic before and we wanted the group to be as small as possible becuase it was so busy. While waiting outside Ellen and I got to see a line of Mothers with their babies waiting to get them weighed. The would wrap the baby in cloth and then hang them up on a scale that hung from a tree in the courtyard. It was really interesting to watch and before long the women were asking us to take their pictures with their babies on the scales.
The group came out of the clinic and I could see their somber faces and right away knew that seeing what they had seen on the inside of the clinic had surely made an impact. Later in the day a few volunteers talked about how they felt about what they had experienced. One volunteer (Patrick) told Ellen "Being there and seeing that clinic makes me want to fulfill my dream of being a doctor even more"...thats what its all about. Sometimes putting yourself in an uncomfortable position is the best way to plant a seed of passion in your heart that will bring you back to help here and other places.
We were ready to head to Mtendere and get started on our work there. We had wood that needed to be bought so that some of our group could get started building the 8 beds that were needed. Some of us needed to head to the market to purchase some of the household items the house Mothers had requested. Some of us were going to spend time shucking corn, and others of us needed to do a double check on the mattress situation so that we would be ready for the 32 remaining mattresses that were to be delivered "sometime" that day.
I took Susan and Katie to the market with me and we went on our hunt to find 150 plates, 150 cups, 18 mops and buckets and some cleaning solution. That was an adventure! The market became a buzz when they all figured out the amount of things we needed to buy. We had shop keepers running from shop to shop in order to fill our large order. It took about 2 hours, but in the end we had collected what we needed. We wanted to make sure we bought plates and cups that were "good" quality and since there were 2 kinds of plastic I picked up a plate in order to test its strength. SNAP the plate broke right in 2...the three of us gasped and the shop keepers eyes were wide as saucers. I was quick to pull money from my bag and pay for the boken plate. He tried to give me change and I just told him to keep it. In the end he was laughing and so were the three of us. We had figured out which plastic was stronger so we went on with our buying.
Back at Mtendere......(Ellen's turn)....
As Erin had said, we split into teams and tried to get much accomplished. Some of us walked around the village and put bed covers on beds where children are wetting the bed. The house mothers were so greatful for this small luxury, that every single house I went into the house mother wrapped me up in a big hug. This did not take long because Patrick, Andrew, Linda, and I had a system going and were quite efficient. After this, we checked in with Larry, Jan, and Chelsea who were bringing wood down to the village. This was a hard and tedious job and soon the teenage boys were also helping. The other job was shucking corn because they go through 8 fifty pound sacks of shucked corn in a week! Needless to say, this is a neverending job. So we sit outside of a house and shuck. Many of us had already tried our hand at this the day before and had sore thumbs and hands but we did everything we could to continue working on this small project because we knew how important it was. The neat thing about sitting out in the open village is that a number of children will wander over to us and begin helping. We get to know them and have great conversation as well! After the corn has been shucked, the cobs go into the kitchen and they use them in the fire. When I took a load of the cobs in, I saw that there was much chopping to be done. The kitchen is a very tough place to work because there is not any ventilation and they cook over an open fire (Yes... they build a fire INSIDE the building.) I went back to the corn group and asked if anyone would like to go work in the kitchen. Jan and Linda quickly jumped at the opportunity to do something different as we had been sitting baking in the sun for a good hour at that point. After no more that an hour, they both emerged from the kitchen blinking heavily and coughing a bit because it had gotten so smoky in the kitchen. Like I said before, it is a very tough job and the men who work in there 5 days a week are amazing. Before lunch, the boys and Larry had finally transported all the wood down the hill. We saw this as a good break and decided to take it.
As we were digging into lunch, Erin and her team came back with all of the supplies. We decided we should probably label the buckets and the mops for the house mothers so that there was no confusion. Andrew, Linda, Jan, and Patrick took on this task. Andrew was painting numbers on everything while the other 3 were busy counting out plates and cups to hand out. After the paint had dried, Andrew began running all over the village handing out all the new goodies. The trail of children behind him was funny because the children knew what we had but they also wanted to be a part of their own house mother's excitement when they saw their gifts. While all this was going on, we were still shucking corn....................
At lunch time Erin had to leave to go to the city and run an errand with Chelsea. We were to meet her back at the hotel after 4 o'clock. At four o'clock, I loaded everyone in the van and thought we were leaving. The driver turned the car on and then the mattresses came around the corner. We all jumped out of the car and handed them out to the remaining children. They knew the process from the day earlier so needless to say, this went very quickly. Everyone was so excited to finally have their beds and we left eager to see how they were going to sleep.
Chelsea and I were at the hotel waiting for the group when they got back. We all got cleaned up and headed out for dinner. It was a great dinner and we have all started to see that we all get along really well and have a lot of laughs and chats over our meals. Ellen and I decided that after dinner we would meet in Jans room and do a quick 1 hour "team building" exercise. A few volunteers joked about what would happen if they skiped out, but in the end everyone was up for it. It turned out to be a great opportunity to get to know a little more about each other and hear some personal stories about each of our lives. There were many more laughs and even a few tears.
I am starting to get a little sad knowing that this trip is on its downhill slide. We have accomplished so much and had such a great time and even though I know there are more days ahead and more adventures I do start to think about life back home and being there without the group. From Malawi thinking of getting back into the swing of things in the USA seems difficult. All of us will do it just fine, but from here it gives you a bit of a lump in your throat.
Off to another day of work at Mtendere!!!

Mattress Success!

Monday was a big day for us in Malawi. We were able to see our project come full circle.

First thing in the morning I needed to go into town and finalize the mattress "deal". We had agreed on a price, but the shop keeper wasn't sure he could provide all 152 on Monday. I also needed to pay the bill and of course wasn't willing to until we knew exactly how many we could have delivered Monday. Linda and Susan wanted to join me and Isaac so they rode along to experience what doing business in Malawi is like. From the stories they had heard me tell they knew this could be quite an adventure. We first went to the shop I had been at the day prior and met the man I had been dealing with. As it turned out he was unable to fill the order I wanted so he was sending me up the street to make the purchase from another man who "maybe" had the 152 mattresses we needed. That shop was to open at 8am. It was 8:30 before it did, but that is also very typical here. While we waited Linda and Susan and myself wandered through a couple of shops and Susan had the pleasure of a large cockroach falling from a shelf onto her jacket. A small shriek and a few laughs from the customers and workers and a good story to tell the others. Soon the store was open we were able to go in and speak to the man who owned it. He only had 120 mattresses that could be delivered that day, but promised that the other 32 would come the following. He asked that I go to the warehouse at 11am and ride with the truck and the mattresses to Mtendere. I paid him (thats a story in itself and one I"ll save for when I have more time). We headed back to pick up the team and drive to Mtendere to start our day. We now knew that 120 beds were coming and we needed to get the children's rooms ready.

We had made a plan the day prior to have a meeting with all of the house Mothers first thing in order to sort out how the mattresses needed to be distributed once they arrived. Since the price of the mattresses was less than expected (I must be a good Malawian negotiator) we knew we had some funds to help get the houses cleaned up and also provide the Mothers with some cleaning supplies that they had been asking for. In the meeting Ellen and the team were also able to write up a list of what the Mothers "wishes" were and they were told we would look over the list and see what we were able to provide. Some of the things on the list were mops, buckets, gloves, toliet brushes, plates and cups for the children..etc...etc....more on that later...

I left the team with Tita so that I could take her to the government run clinic up the road and drop some medical donations and also speak to the head matron there about having Tita volunteer there for the day. Tita is a nurse from Australia. The matron was happy to have the supplies and started using many of them right away. I was amazed at what the clinic was lacking, but glad that Tita had brought things that were really needed. I told Tita I would be back later to drop her lunch and check in on her. The group will tour that clinic today.

Then it was back to the city for me to go to the mattress warehouse and meet the driver who would deliver our order.

Ellen and the team were back at Mtendere busy removing old mattresses and counting how many beds were being slept in so we knew which beds needed to be replaced first. ....now Ellen will take over here....

We were trying to communicate with the mothers on how we could remove all these mattresses quickly and efficiently. We talked to one of the mothers who spoke the best English and she followed us around barking out orders to the other house mothers. What we found while removing the mattresses is not something we will all soon forget. Some mattresses had holes in the sides of them where rats had burrowed in and the children were literally sleeping with rats inches from them at night. There were a few mattresses that we carried out that rats came jumping out... we of course were all screaming and the kids simply laughed at us. Some of the mattresses were so heavy because of moisture that it took 3 or 4 of us to remove them. Some of them were so badly worn that there was more than a noticeable "breaking in" if you will. The only way I can really describe it is that is was a dip... I do not know how they were any sort of comfortable to sleep on. We also would find clothes and personal belongings under the mattress and in between the bed frames. I asked Mama Kita why there were clothes there and she said they put them there to press them. We found toys, pictures, letters, and an entire assortment of other things with the removal. Once the teenage boys realized what we were doing, they jumped in to assist us as well. As the mattresses came out, they became jungle gyms for the younger children. We finished the removal and began helping the house mothers to clean their houses. We finished up this task pretty quickly because most of the chores had already been completed. We were walking across the village to go into another house to begin shucking corn and I looked up to see a truck coming into the orphanage. The mattresses had arrived! We all stood there in amazement because all 120 mattresses were stacked up in the back of the truck. Someone said... "How are they not falling over?!" I did not really have an answer to that because I was wondering the same thing. The truck pulled into the middle of the village and the children that were there gathered around the truck with eyes wide and full of excitement. The ones who could reach (the little ones were all running around as well) over the cab started feeling all the mattresses and there was much discussion in Chichewa about the new mattresses. I am by no means fluent, but I could tell they were satisfied with what they would be receiving. We started pulling the mattresses of the truck and piling them into stacks of 10 to make sure we had them all. Kids were jumping around on these as well :) Once we realized we had them all, we started refilling the bed frames we emptied earlier. We were all carrying mattresses on our heads (even the 4 and 5 year olds) and we very quickly handed out the mattresses. I followed one of the teenage girls in with her mattress and asked her to lay down on it once we had it in the frame and she broke out in a huge smile, giggled and said, "It is good!!!"

After we were sure all of the beds that needed to be filled right away were done we took a break for lunch. After eating lunch we knew we had to clean up the mess of all the old mattresses that were now stacked outside each house. The ones that could be saved had to be stored in an empty room and the ones that needed to be thrown out needed to be pilled next to one house. As Ellen said many of these old mattress were very heavy and many of them had "critters" jumping out of them as they were moved. It was quite a job, but the team did great and all the children worked along side of them. Doing the bed counts and removal we realized that a few of the children had been sharing single beds. Now that each child had their very own mattress there were some new beds that would be needed. With our additional donations we created a plan to purchase some lumber and build 8 new beds. We will get started on that today and everyone is egger to pick up a hammer and help.

All in all it was a crazy busy day. Ellen and I were running things tag team style most of the day and I was so grateful to have her with me helping. I could not have done all that needed to be done and had the mattresses paid for and delivered in the same day if she had not been here to help direct the team while I was gone.

Everyone was filthy (as you can imagine) and feeling like a hot shower was needed. So we headed out to get cleaned up eat dinner and prepare for our next day.

We ate out at a very nice place that was recently purchased by a friend of mine here in Malawi. It was wonderful food and even though there wasn't any power (welcome to Malawi) we had a lively meal together to celebrate the day.

More adventures in Malawi......

Sunday was another beautiful day here in Malawi. The sun was shining and most of us came back in the evening with a bit of color on our cheeks. The morning started with a plan to attend church with the children of Mtendere. We were told that the service would be held at their village so we headed out in time to be there by 9am when the service was set to start. I warned the group that it would surely be 9:30 or later before it was starting, but we wanted to respect the 9am invite we had been given. I was to drop the group and then head into town with Isaac (our driver) to go to several mattress shops in order to negotiate the cost and transport of our mattresses. The group was dropped and Ellen walked everyone down to Mtendere to get ready for church. After Isaac and I were on the road for a bit Ellen called to say plans had changed and another group had decided to take the children to church in town. Since they had left already Ellen made the decision to walk the group into town (about 2 miles) to meet everyone at the church. It was a good thing she had taken that walk before so she knew where she going! They arrived a bit late, but were able to enjoy plenty of the service.

Isaac and I arrived at the mattress shop he recommended and I was shocked at how small it was. It wasn't long before we figured out they really didn't have what we needed so we went back out on to the street to see about another shop. As I spoke with Isaac I learned that there were 2 main sellers of mattresses in the area. One was the "Indians" and the other was the "Malawians". Isaac told me that the quality was better at the shop run by Malawians, but the price was going to be more. Mattresses in Malawi come in different sizes, not only bed sizes but also thickness. At the first store (Indian shop)I had made the decision that I wanted to get 6inch singles, but after my talk and all that I learned from Isaac the decision was made that I would purchase Malawian mattresses and get a higher quality so in exchange for that would down grade to a 4inch. I felt good about getting something that was higher quality and also buying from someone who was from Malawi. We wandered across the street and could see that the Malawian mattress shop was closed. It was Sunday so we knew a few of the shops would not be open. To our luck there was a guard outside and he and Isaac chatted. Once the guard understood the large quantity we wanted to buy he gave Isaac the owners phone number and we were able to call him. He agreed to come down in 20min and open the shop to negotiate with me. At the end of that adventure we had a price and a promise to deliver the next day as long as he could find 152 of what we wanted in his warehouse. If not it would be Tuesday before they would deliver, but since he had agreed to give me delivery for free I was happy either way.

Isaac and I hurried back to Mtendere with the hope of being able to collect the group at church and drive them back to the village instead of having them walk the 2 miles again. We went to the church and started to look for everyone. Forgetting I had my walkie talkie we drove up and down the road hoping to find them. By the time I remembered I could "walkie" Ellen they had arrived back where they needed to be. These type of adventures are common here so everyone was fine with the walk and the group actually said they were glad they had the experience of taking the walk to and from.

As a group we needed to start finding out about bed sheets for the children and making sure that by the next day when the new mattresses arrived all 152 had a clean set of sheets. A few of the volunteers divided up and went house to house bed to bed seeking out sheets to see what needed to be washed. Susan went to the kitchen to help cook lunch, Linda gathered trash with the children and a few of us were needing to do some repairs on the playground. The first order of business with the playground was to unravel the broken swings and attach the new ones. I walked into the main hall to find a chair to stand on. I found 5 or 6 of the older girls sitting and chatting there so I tried to explain what I needed. When they figured out that I had brand new swings and was going to attach them they all jumped up and started screaming with joy. I was tackled with hugs and they ran outside with me to watch the repair. It was a great moment.

We spent the remainder of our day trying to complete the tasks we had been given and then headed back to the hotel to have a group meeting and organize all the donations we had brought with us from the US.

After our quick meeting and donation organization we headed out for Chinese food (yes folks there is Chinese food in Malawi). We enjoyed dinner, had some laughs (as we always do) and came back to the hotel for sleep!

Another big day today and hopefully mattresses will be delivered!!!

Love to all who are keeping up with us on this adventure. We could never share all the details here, but can't wait to share ALL of them with ALL of you once we are home.

More nsima please.... :)

After our bonding the night before, everyone was eager to see the children. There was much discussion about what to expect and what they were going to see. When we got to Mtendere, we first had tours of Blessings Hospital and the VitaMeal Plant. Blessings Hospital is a private hospital that has been closed for a few years. It just reopened two weeks ago. They are still in the rebuilding/reorganization phase, but it looked as though they are off to a great start. The nurse who gave us our tour told us that they had one patient in the hospital and the reason was because so many people still thought it was closed. They are working to get the word out that they are open and ready for business! Everyone was shocked at the lack of medicine and supplies that they had and how different it was from an American hospital. After the hospital, we went to the VitaMeal Plant. VitaMeal is ground up corn, soy, and vitamins that is mixed together and put into bags to distribute to surrounding villages and all over Malawi. We saw everything from start to finish and the state of the art equipment that was being used. We learned that one bag of VitaMeal is enough to feed a family for a month. To make the VitaMeal, they mix it with water and it becomes a porridge. The government consults the chiefs of the villages who then decide who will receive the VitaMeal. It is a wonderful program and the Malawians who work there are very proud.

Then we received a call that the children were ready, waiting, and eager to meet us. Instead of eating lunch as planned, we went straight down for our welcome ceremony. As we walked down the dusty path through the gates of Mtendere Village and came around the dusty bend, we heard the children's voices beginning to sing. One of the volunteers, in shock, said, "Oh my gosh... is that the kids?!" The children have such beautiful voices that sometimes it is hard to believe that they are standing in an orphanage in the middle of Africa. They had ten chairs set up in the front row that we were told to sit in. The head man (Gracian) asked Erin and I to sit on either side of him so he could take us as his wives. (Now before you all drop your jaws... Gracian is happily married with a family and constantly jokes about taking our Passports so we cannot leave.) We were introduced to security guards, teachers, house mothers, aunties, gardeners, cooks, and finally the children. Then the children performed traditional Malawian songs and dances. At one point, many of us were invited to dance along with the children. After more singing, another group of children came out and started to perform what we called a 'wooden dumbbell exercise." Two more of our volunteers (Patrick & Andrew) were asked to join in these exercises and tried to mimic the children. They were a little skeptical at first, but quickly loosened up and entertained all that were present. It will be hard to forget Patrick with his waving around in the air with his wooden dumbbells in the air dancing around in the circle! :) Andrew had an intense look on his face as he tried to copy the moves of the children with precision. In the end, the house mothers (and the rest of us) were all laughing hysterically and acknowledged their efforts with a Malawian scream.

Finally, we were set free to meet and greet the children. Basically what happens is they just turn the kids loose and they all come and surround us asking what our names are, how we are doing, and where we came from. The kids bounced from volunteer to volunteer introducing themselves and handing out handshakes and hugs. The children are very prideful when it comes to showing off their houses and where they stay. Soon many of us were hand in hand with children and they were escorting us to different parts of the village. While everyone was getting a tour of a house, I caught up with old friends. As I started to see some of the volunteers emerge from the houses, we gathered for a quick lunch because everyone was eager to get back with the kids. After lunch, we went and saw the garden which feeds the kids and also stepped into the kitchen and dining area. It was lunch time for the children and we got to see a very large pot of nsima (the traditional Malawian dish) simmering over the fire. I was watching the faces of the other volunteers as the nsima was being dished up and they were astounded at the large portions they were receiving! As we were leaving Susan said, "I have GOT to cook in there." She will get the opportunity to do that today. As we walked through the dining area, we walked out the door and walked over to the playground. Earlier, Erin and I turned the corner into the village and both looked at each other and said, "It's still there!!" It looks beautiful and is still as strong as the day we poured the cement. Soon the kids started gathering around and began sliding with us and playing tag. They also taught Chelsea and Katie how to play marbles. Patrick showed off his gymnastics skills by awing the crowd with numerous back flips on the dirt. Andrew joined in a game of volleyball. Jan sat with the younger kids and learned some songs. Susan sat with a few boys as they read to her, as they were eager to show off their English. Linda and Larry also enjoyed visiting with the children.

Erin and I wrote this blog together because after the welcome ceremony she left to go pay condolences to a friend's family who had tragically died last year. This adventure (as many do in Malawi) took longer than expected, Erin may add a a blog about this experience in a few days. She isn't sure she is ready to put into words what she experienced. Some of us were able to hear her talk about it and were shocked by what she went through.

As always, we are keeping all our family and friends in our thoughts and will be eager to share pictures and stories when we return!

Learning about history and life in Malawi

Good morning from Malawi! It is just before 6am and Ellen and I are the only 2 up. The birds are singing and I think coffee is brewing (I hope). Today will be a big day for the group and they are all excited to finally get to meet the children at Mtendere Village.

Yesterday we spent time learning about Malawi's history and government. We drove to visit the monument that honors Malawi's first president which just opened in 2007 and then traveled up the road to see his mausoleum. We were lucky to have a local historian there to go into great detail about Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his life. We were also able to see the new parliament building that was completed a few months ago.

The next stop for the day was the local market in Lilongwe. This is the market where the local people shop for vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, spices, rice and all the other things they need. Because the market was so crowed it was impossible for the group to stay together. We were able to split up into small groups and wander through the market that way (Ellen and I are loving the walkie talkies). Everyone really enjoyed the sights and sounds and especially the smells coming from the booths there. There is an energy in a local market like this one and I am glad the group was able to experience it. Leaving the market we drove past the mini bus station and were all surprised at the chaos there. All those buses and all those people and everyone seeming to know how to get where they needed to be. It looked to us like a mass of confusion, but some how organized if that makes sense.

The day was bright sunny and we had beautiful blue sky all day long. We ate our lunch outside and everyone took a bit of a break just to enjoy the weather and chat over lunch about the morning.

After lunch we decided to tackle the local wood carvers market. This is always a fun experience especially for people who haven't experienced what its like to barter. Once we all walked up we were approached by a crowd of vendors and then quickly each led to a stand where we were encouraged to make our purchases. Its hard to put into words what that is like, but it is really fun and always makes for some great stories. After 2 hours of shopping in the market and everyone getting what they wanted or what the vendors told them they "needed" we got back in the bus and compared purchases. This is always interesting because it is very rare that 2 people pay the same amount for the same item. There are always cracks made about who was the best barterer of the group and who was the most naive :) I won't give away who was who, but I will say this group for sure had both.

With our first day at Mtendere being on Saturday we wanted to meet as a group in the evening to talk about our plan and what we would be experiencing while there. We ordered pizza (yes folks there is pizza in Malawi) and had a "pizza meeting" in one of the hotel rooms.

Pizza was handed out and our discussions about what we had done and what we were going to do over the next few days began. I was excited to see how well this group was able to come together and talk about their experiences and expectations. Everyone was talking and listening and seemed very comfortable despite the wide age range we have. Its always great when the moment happens that you feel the team has really come together as a family. Last night was the night we were able to see and feel that as a group. Our meeting lasted 2 hours and when we were done everyone decided to meet at the restaurant and continue to chat. We had a table of people playing cards and a table of talkers, but soon the two tables were joined and the talking went on until peoples eyes began to get heavy.

This is an amazing team and what was accomplished even before we arrived was big. There are great plans for the money that was raised and I know the team is excited to get their hands on some mattresses over the next few days!!!!

pants, elephants, mice, and shotguns OH MY!!!

We have spent the last 2 days in the National Park on safari. While we had no luggage we were still able to have such an amazing time! Taking this trip early in the schedule has allowed us to come together as a team and be ready to work at Mtendere once we get there.

I was so excited to see the faces of everyone when they saw what a beautiful place it was that we were going to stay at. The people working at Mvuu Camp were amazing and we all settled in and enjoyed the grunting of the hippos and the many monkeys running crazy around the camp. The first night we went on an evening safari drive through the park. We could not have ordered better weather for that drive. It was sunny and the animals were out and if enjoying all of that wasn't enough the sunset was AMAZING! We were able to stop and take a few pictures enjoy a cold drink and just sit and soak in that African sunset. Quickly it was dark and our drive continued viewing all the night animals. Although we didn't see any elephants that night we came back to the camp feeling as if we had just had the best safari ever.

The next morning brought the opportunity to go on a walking safari. In order to go you had to be up and ready at 6am...needless to say there were only 3 of us that showed up for the walk :) I could never explain in this blog what happened, but I will try to tell the story once we are home. Lets just say it involved elephants...MANY elephants...a quiet morning in the bush...and a shot gun that WAS fired! It took the 3 of us a few hours to get our hearts back beating properly.

Once everyone was awake the group enjoyed a boat safari on the river. I stayed back to take care of paperwork, but when the team returned I was told that there were elephants and hippos out in numbers wandering the banks of the river. I am so happy that everyone had the chance to see so much of Malawi's wildlife.

I packed the team up and we boarded the small boat to take us back across to our car. On the river I told the team that on the other side instead of getting in the bus we would be taking bike taxis through the countryside and then visiting a local village. The entire team was up for the adventure and as a trip leader I was beaming with pride knowing that everyone was ready and willing to do whatever was next even if it meant getting on the back of a 2 wheel bike and having a Malawian take charge of their fate. We drove in a line through the fields waving at the children in the surrounding villages and enjoying the sun on our shoulders. The village was expecting us so once we arrived we had a tour and learned about local traditions. We were able to meet the village healer and hear about the traditional forms of medicine. While we walked through the village many children approached all of us and were eager to hold our hands or be carried. There were big smiles both from the children and the team as this was the first time they had met a group of small children in Malawi. We learned that the village was plagued with malaria and that many of the children had been orphaned due to malaria and AIDS. The joy on the faces of my team as these small children climbed into their laps and watched all the singing and dancing was something I wont soon forget. This was a great introduction into what Malawi is all about. There was a lot of poverty, but at the same time more joy that many of the volunteers had ever experienced.

Our drive back to Lilongwe was about 3 and a half hours so many of us rested. We also asked a lot of questions to Isaac our driver and continued to learn as much as we could about Malawi from him.

There was a moment in the van after Isaac got off the phone that the entire van screamed with joy! We had received the call that all 14 bags HAD arrived and our missing team member had also arrived and was waiting for us at the hotel.

We got back to the hotel and were able to meet Tita and our luggage. Everyone went straight to their rooms to shower and put on CLEAN clothes. Dinner was wonderful because we all were able to share with Tita our favorite memory so far from the trip and she also shared with us the adventure she had in Ethiopia on her "lay over".

The team will have a tour of the city today and learn about the history of Malawi's government. We will also head to the local market and experience where the locals shop.

I failed to mention that on the drive to the national park we had one volunteer stop along the road to enjoy a "malawian sausage".For those of you who have not been to Malawi that means mice on a stick. Think of it as a mouse kabob. They are cooked whole over a fire and then served in stacks of 5 or 6. I don't want to give away who in the group ate the mice, but you can imagine we got MANY pictures and a great video of that experience along the side of the road.

We are all thinking of our families and friends and can't wait to share in person the experiences we have already had. Its hard to believe we are only 4 days in and we still haven't been to the orphanage yet. There is much to come and we will keep you all updated.

Pants anyone????

Ten of eleven passengers have arrived safe and sound in Malawi. We arrived yesterday at lunch time and quickly began to see what being flexible really means. We also have had a lesson in the pace of life here in Malawi...nothing moves quickly. We appreciate all the prayers that brought us here safe and sound. We do however wish we would have asked for some of you to pray that our luggage also arrived safe and sound. Currently we have 10 people and one suitcase. 14 suitcases did not arrive. We took a trip to the market yesterday and were able to purchase some supplies like toothbrushes and underwear, but clothes were hard to come by.

I woke up this morning wondering if the clothes I had washed in the sink would be dry enough to put on. I suppose if this is our biggest worry then we are lucky. We are learning the difference between "needs" and "wants" and despite this bump in the road everyone seems to be in high spirits. I know that everyone spent the last few days packing their bags and making sure they would have all the things they "need", now we all laugh and realize that all we really "need" is each other and the clothes on our backs. We had a roof to sleep under and a wonderful dinner to fill our bellies with so we are living better than many.

Today we will journey to the national park and enjoy safari. Everyone is excited and not worried about what we don't have. Instead we remain focused on what we can learn about Malawi and what we can learn from this experience.

To start a trip like this without anything except what we carried with us is a wonderful way to see how we can adapt and come together as a group. I have no doubt we will get through this and be so thankful when the luggage does arrive. It is supposed to arrive Thursday afternoon so I will update you all then and let you know if we are still sharing pants at that point or if the luggage made its flight on Thursday.

We are also missing one volunteer who was traveling from Egypt to Ethiopia to meet us yesterday. She was not able to make her connection and with no other flights to Malawi until Thursday she will hopefully join us along with our bags.

Keep us in your thoughts and know that we are all thinking of our friends and family as we begin this life changing experience together (without our pants).