The harvest was very poor last year in Malawi and right now the 25,859 people living in the Nkhoma and Chilenje valley have little to no food. Y-Malawi U.S. has developed a plan, with Louise Laubscher of FTS (Fishers Trainers and Senders), Amos Chibasa of Chief's Ministry, and Nkhoma Hospital to feed those in dire need. Attached is the proposal and a way for you to give. Jon and I personally know the people disbursing this food, and we are confident that all donations are going to save lives right now. If you feel comfortable, please share this need with others who may be looking for a good cause. Thanks.

Thank you for sticking with me on this journey to process the 7 days I was in Malawi.

Our visit to the Nkhoma Hospital (www.nkhomahospital.org)

We visited the Nkhoma Hospital Monday, November 4. Our first stop was the maternity ward, to deliver baby blankets that had been donated by members of the San Clemente Presbyterian Church MOPS program, thanks to Joy Innes, who let them know the need. Two big bags were taken with our team in July 2013, but there was still a large bag's worth of blankets to be delivered. We met Nyathipa Mhango, the Maternity Clinic Officer (this is me making sure I spelled her name correctly).

She and the Administrative Assistant Jane Chidawati helped us unload all the blankets in her small office. Then they invited Ligina Chimutu and her baby *Million to pose with me for a photo. Nyathipa lovingly wrapped Million in the first blanket to be given away. What a blessing to see these gifts being given to a baby who was wrapped in a dirty cloth prior to this.

*Regarding the baby's name. Malawians have a unique way of naming their babies. They often select a word related to some personal experience that the mother or father go through at the time of conception or birth of the baby. We have giggled a bit at some of the names, but after conversations with some whose names have causes years of distress, we realize that not all cultural practices are the best, especially for a child.

After delivering these blankets, we headed to the hospital's medical supply warehouse to deliver the other medical supplies our church had collected. We were not sure exactly what the hospital needed, so I was concerned that they might not be able to use what we brought.

We were warmly welcomed by Estelle du Plessis, Mphatso Mkochi and Aline Hanskamp. The steril gloves were the first items they came to in our bags and although we only had the small size, they were so grateful as these are greatly needed. Then they came to the bags of syringes. The smiles and meaningful words of thanks were such a relief. The manager commented that the syringes we delivered had saved their budget for the year. Now, that is the kind of response we want to have when we bring medical supplies to our friends at the hospital.

For future Y-Malawi teams, here is the list of most needed medical supplies for the Nkhoma Hospital:

1. Steril gloves (sizes 7 and up)
2. Syringes
3. Dressing trays
4. Wound dressings
5. Blood glucose monitoring system for diabetics -- SDCheck Gold and strips

Later in the day I met with Dr. Rey TerHaar and Dr. David Morton to find out how the Y-Malawi partnership can best support them and the work of the hospital. Their ideal team would include a doctor who could come and work for 2 months to provide a break for the missionary doctors who are their full-time. But since that isn't always possible, they requested doctors who will come for 2 weeks and repeat over multiple years. That way the doctors can get to know the hospital and provide real help when they are there.

The other part of our Y-Malawi partnership with the hospital is our support of the Indigenous Doctors Training Program. They are currently training Rodrick and are thrilled with his commitment to the program. Past members of the program have left for better paying positions. The hope that Dr. TerHaar and Dr. Morton is to one day transition the hospital over to local doctors, so it is imperative that local doctors be trained. Your gifts to Y-Malawi allow us to financially support this ministry. To see all the uses of our Y-Malawi donations, go to www.y-malawi.org/blog.

Food Shortage in Malawi

I had the opportunity to visit with both of my family’s World Vision sponsored children. Our little girl lives with her four siblings, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. They are all amazing women and I am always so blessed to visit with them. Our little boy’s family is challenged by divorce and he lives alone with his material grandmother since his mother remarried and in Malawian culture the new father does not want another man’s children.

I was moved by the challenges these young children face, like only getting one meal a day during the dry season. The last harvest was not good in Malawi and now many are facing days without food. Please pray that the rains will come soon, so they can planT their fields. Then pray that the rains will be slow and steady from December through March, so the harvest will be better next year.

When our church team visited in 2012, we saw the work that FTS and Chiefs Ministry are doing to introduce Farming God’s Way. Farming God’s Way is not just a technology, but a well-balanced biblical, management and technological solution for the agricultural domain, to come out of poverty with what God has put in their hands, and to reveal the fullness of His promised abundant life. Farmers who have begun to use Farming God’s Way have reaped harvests that our multiple times bigger than their neighbors. Pray that more farmers will try this method in order to provide more food for themselves and take better care of the earth.

You can learn more about the trip to Malawi, our Y-Malwi partners and the possibility of an SCPC Y-Malawi trip in 2014 at the “What’s up with Y-Malawi?” presentation on Sunday, December 8 during both the 9:00 am and 10:45 am services in Room 207.

I forgot to give photo credit. All the pictures in the FTS Celebration post came from Kobus Louw, the nephew of Louise. Thank you so much for sharing these great images, Kobus!

I looked back through my posts and realize that while I was in Malawi I didn't have enough time to fully describe the FTS 10th anniversary celebration, which was the initial reason why I went to Malawi. So I will post more photos and try to describe the amazing experience of 5.5 hours of praising God for the work He is doing through some pretty amazing people.

Had to start with a photo of my two favorite women in Malawi -- Louise and Kim.

Before the event, Louise gave us a tour of the half-finished guest house. When our SCPC team visited in 2012, there was just a foundation here. Now, most of the bottom floor has walls up. There is still plenty of work to be done and the first contractor did not do a great job, but FTS is trusting God to provide what they need. They will use this facility to house out-of-town folks who come for FTS training. When their ministry is not using it, they hope to rent it out, in order to bring in a little revenue for FTS.

The morning of the celebration -- me, Louise, Mhpatso (Louise's Malawian daughter), Kim, Amos Chabiso (head of Chiefs Ministry), Heather Colby (Nkhoma Hospital Guest House Manager) -- an amazing group of God's servants.

Louise and I prepare for our talks later during the program. Yes, as an "honored guest" I had this nice cumfy couch to sit on throughout the 5.5 hours, while everyone else had plastic chairs.

The banner says it all!

The FTS Nkhoma Youth Club Choir sang a few songs for us.

Some of the FTS Nkhoma Youth Club members recited Bible verses -- many had memorized long passages. What a testimony to their leaders, who were trained by FTS and serve in their communities.

I already posted one photo of a little boy praying, here is the little girl who said her alphabet. I loved that the teacher was so "hands-on".  :)

 The FTS staff got us all started singing and dancing to Malibongwe, which means "Be Praised" and is my favorite Malawian song. I'll see if I can post a video, so you can hear the music.

 We had two huge tents filled with people. Because it is the dry season, the breeze which cooled us also blew dust all over everyone. But it was a small price to pay for the moving air.

 Here I am giving my speech. I shared a bit about my experience in Malawi and then read from the letter Y-Malawi US President John Gash wrote to FTS. Louise also shared about her years of experiences serving in Malawi. Many other Malawian leaders spoke about the impact that FTS has had in Malawi and the amazing faith of Louise. She has been serving in Malawi for over 20 years -- first as a missionary nurse and now as the founder of FTS. It brought me to tears many times to hear the stories of her amazing faith in God and her commitment to the ministry He has called her to. Her confidence is firmly set on our awesome God who is leading this ministry.

At the end of the ceremony, we planted four trees (2 mango and 2 avocado) to commemorate this occasion.


In appropriate Malawian closing, "Hallelujah!" (and then everyone responds) "Amen!"

I've been home for three and a half days and my subconscious is still in Malawi. The first two nights I woke up in the middle of the night convinced I was in Malawi but was so confused because there was no mosquito net over my bed. Since then I am just dreaming about being in Malawi. Maybe writing more about my experience will help me process and get some sleep (waking up at 2:30 am is not helpful when I have to go to work today). Yawn!

My first thought is to ask those of you who have been reading this blog to pray. Here are some requests that our Y-Malawi partners either shared with me or I observed first-hand. I'll start with the Chiefs Ministry and then do posts for other ministries as well.

In the 8 years that we have had the Y-Malawi partnership in the Nkhoma and Chilenje regions of Malawi, the Chiefs Ministry has grown from 5 Chiefs Centers to 19. We visited the 19th, which was started just four weeks ago by a chief who had been traveling a long distance to participate in a Bible Study and finally decided to start one in his community. This one center includes all the people pictured below: chiefs, their spouses (there were two female chiefs), and their committee members (maybe like the elders at a church joining the pastor). The testimonies we heard were about changed lives and the desire that these chiefs and leaders have to share the Gospel with their villages. They need our prayers to live out their changed lives and learn (there was only one Bible in the group) the Gospel. Many of them face communities that are caught in the fear of witchcraft. There is much that needs to be transformed. 

Amos and Zuze are the only two staff members who serve these 19 Chiefs Centers as well as centers across Malawi. The centers are places where the chiefs and their leaders gather for Bible study each week. There are also some ministries that have started that are teaching some skills, like sewing, to those in need of additional income to support their families. Pray for these two faithful men who are training volunteers to work with the chiefs. They have a huge responsibility and very limited resources, but their faith is in a God who owns everything and empowers us to do everything He calls us to do. Here is a picture of Kim and me with Zuze (red and blue striped shirt) and Amos, so you will have a picture in your mind when you pray for them.

Thank you for joining me in supporting our brothers and sisters across the world in Malawi through your prayers.

To continue to get updates about this and the other Y-Malawi partners, sign up for the Y-Malawi blog at www.y-malawi.org/blog.

Sunday evening, after our day with the Chief's Ministry, Kim presented Zuze and Amos with some suit jackets and night collared shirts. Kim had noticed on her last trip to Malawi (3 months ago) that it was very important for the men to wear a jacket to church and other special functions. She was able to bring these and Amos and Zuze were thrilled. 

We said good bye to Amos and Zuze on Monday morning but had a wonderful time while we were with them. Peter, our driver took them to catch the bus back to Lilongwe, and while we waited for him, Kim started peeling potatoes for our supper. 

The Nkhoma Hospital Guest House is a very comfortable and beautiful place to stay, if you are ever in the area. :)  Let me know, and I'll give you Heather's contact information.

When Peter returned he drove us to the Nkhoma Hospital, which was just around the corner from us, but we had two large bags of baby blankets and medical supplies, so we needed to take the van.

The baby blankets that we had to offer were gratefully accepted by the staff members present. One mother, with her two-day old son Million (Malawians give their children very unique names), received the first blanket, here is Million with the medical staff person. A big thanks to Joy Innes and those from our church's MOPS program that donated the blankets.

Then we were taken to the medical supply room where the sterile gloves and syringes were accepted with great excitement. The manager kept saying that these would save their budget a lot of money. A big thanks to the medical professionals from SCPC who donated these a few years ago. They were expired, but the nurse present said the syringes would still be very useable. I also took notes of the types of medical supplies they can really use for future trips.

 After our trip to the hospital, we returned to the guest house to prepare lunch and make plans for dinner. Kim met with the kitchen manager and our cook.

Then we took a tour with Heather, Guest House manager, of the three options for accommodations at Nkhoma. It was so helpful for me to see the various locations where our Y-Malawi teams can stay while they are on their mission trips. While touring the Theological Guest House (where our church teams have stayed the last two trips), we learned that the new CCAP College that just started is using that facility to house all the students who have come to the school. In the evening we met with the man who manages that facility and learned that it will only be available during a few weeks around Easter and during the months of July and August. But now that Heather and I have met and been able to talk, I know we'll be able to do a better job of coordinating all the Y-Malawi trips next year.

On Tuesday morning we drove to the villages where my sponsored children live. First I got to spend time with our little girl and her mother, grandmother and great grandmother. My camera also went out in the middle of this visit, so the photos of the visit with our little boy are on Kim's phone and will come later. I had a wonderful time with our little girls' family. She practiced a little of the English she is learning and I got to meet all but the oldest of her siblings. These women are amazing. They presented me with gifts of pots, eggs, tomatoes and ground nuts (peanuts). Our boy's family is just him and his grandmother and they are not doing as well financially. There are many challenges as his mother has been married to four different men and her current husband is not our boy's father, so he cannot live with them. We did learn that due to the poor harvest last year most of the people in the village only eat about one meal a day.

After the visit to the village, we walked through the local market in Nkhoma, bought a few carved wood items and then headed back to the guest house for an afternoon of resting.

I took a walk and got some photos of beautiful flowers around Nkhoma. Here is also a photo of Mt. Nkhoma.

Wednesday morning we were up early and I got this shot of the sun through the trees before it was up too high and hadn't heated everything up. We prepared our tradition breakfast of scrambled eggs, tomatoes and onions but this morning the eggs and tomatoes were from my sponsor child's family. What an amazing gift to enjoy these fresh food items from the family we are coming to know and love.

On our way from Nkhoma to Lilongwe I got a shot of this ox cart.










We drove straight to the CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) Youth Department office were we met with Pastor Tad Juma, Dave and Kennedy (pictured below from left to right). I had the privilege of presenting sports uniforms that had been donated by a school in Orange County. Then I was thrilled to meet our friend Kennedy's (we met him in 2012) son Nathan.

 The men and baby outside the office. Pastor Tad and Kennedy both live with their families in houses on the same compound where the office is located, so we were thrilled to get to see Kennedy's wife Maureen as well.

On our way to Mukani (FTS headquarters) after our meeting with the Youth Dept., we stopped by our driver Peter's home so we could drop off some of our leftover food that we had given him.

At Mukani, after a good, long meeting with Louise, I presented a few pillow case dresses, that were made by a woman from our church. They will be given to the daughters of the FTS guards. Here I am with Stondard Banda, the Depute Director of FTS.

Then we were off to look at a number of different lodges and possible accommodations for Y-Malawi trip teams. We loved the name of this one:

After driving for a few hours around Lilongwe, when we were all good and tired, Louise took us back to Madidi (our lodge in Lilongwe) for a shower and rest before dinner. Davidson was waiting with his daughters, since I had a package to deliver for him. It was fun to see him, Tandy and Temwa again (they were just in the US a few weeks ago). Here is also a photo of Kim in our Madidi room (our home away from home in Lilongwe).

Before heading to dinner with Louise, Stonard dropped by this a gift for San Clemente Presbyterian Church. Kim and I accepted, on behalf of our church, this beautiful carving in the shape of Malawi. I am sure we'll find a great place to hang it in the office.

After dinner, we took final photos

with Louise before saying good bye.

On our way to the airport Thursday morning, we went right by Peter's wife Grace's place of employment, so we got to meet her and snap a quick photo before we headed to the airport. We arrived around 10:00 am (plenty of time before our 1:00 pm flight), so we did some shopping to use up the last of our Kwacha, and just rested in preparation for our 40+ hours of travel.

After 19 hours of dark, from when we arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, until just before we landed in DC, this was the first sign of the sun. Then I got this great second shot as we turned toward the sun, getting ready to land at Dulles.