Pray for the Harvest

A Glimpse of Malawi

2009-02-13T16:49:00.037-06:00

“What does Malawi look like?”

This is a common question, so we thought we'd share a small glimpse...

City buildings

Mountains

Rivers

Villages

Flatlands

Lake Malawi

And the best part...there are people everywhere you go!

Friends

2009-02-03T11:20:00.021-06:00

We are thankful for the opportunity to visit with old friends and new ones. The family pictured here with Mike is Abusa (pastor) Dimba’s family. Abusa Dimba is from the village of Chidyamaani and works with Larry and Mandy on the orphan care program there. The photo taken at Lake Malawi is with the Makiyi’s. Mike worked with Mr. Makiyi on agriculture/government extension two years ago in Monkey Bay. Michelle and Modesta became fast friends. It was nice that they were able to travel to meet at Senga Bay. There was much discussion about the current agricultural situation as well as catching up on each of our familys’ news. The lovely lady pictured with Mike is Queen. She was a co-worker of Mike’s that became a good friend. The final photo is of two Christian Church pastors from the Southern Region of Malawi. Abusa Gama is on Mike’s right, and Abusa Kachipeso is on his left. They were in the Central Region to encourage a newly planted village church at Mphanda. There are other friends we were able to meet and visit with, but we do not have the photos to share with you; our host and hostess, Larry and Mandy Renfo, the Mama’s at the Crisis Nursery, several co-workers of Mike’s, and many more.

Michelle gets to the Crisis Nursery at last

2009-01-28T10:15:00.027-06:00

Oh what fun!! There are 20 babies in the nursery right now. The youngest was born January 16. The other day she ate a few ounces and snuggled right up to sleep…melting my heart. I was so busy enjoying her that I didn’t get her photo. The smiley one of the bunch is Chisomo Joseph, I got his picture and he smiled on cue!

He is a rambunctious little one that loves to hear me sing. When I would stop, he would reach for my mouth and squint his eyes in a funny way. I really enjoy playing with the babies, seeing them reach for toys, listening to them giggle and feeling their little hands in mine. Each of them is so unique and precious, it is hard to leave each day.

Malaria, Yep Michelle’s got it

2009-01-21T09:40:00.005-06:00

Malawi is one of the many parts of the world where Malaria is a big problem. People contract it when they are bit by an infected mosquito. Only certain species of mosquito carry it and only the females actually bite. Even with the precautions like bug spray, bed nets, and preventative drugs; a person still has a chance of being infected. Michelle received a few bites early in the month. After feeling slightly ill for a few days she was encouraged to get tested. It was positive and a mild +1. The degrees of malaria are graded as +1 through +4, +4 being the most severe. It is a common occurrence here, maybe similar to having the flu in the states. Each time we have been in Malawi we have known people who have had malaria. This time I guess it was our turn. In Michelle’s case it is very easily treated and not terribly painful, but for many people without access to testing or medication it can be painful and deadly. We are reminded of Tokhosani Dimba, a young boy who had a special place in our hearts that died from malaria last year.
In Africa it seems there is closer contact with issues of life and death. Sometimes it can be very depressing. Other times it is refreshing because you remember that today may be all you have, people here tend to live in the moment knowing that tomorrow may be gone. It reminds me to “Pray for the Harvest” because the Bible promises an afterlife in eternity for all … one way or another. Let’s Pray for the Harvest so more names will be written on the Lambs Book of Life.

Bwandilo Drive-thru

2009-01-21T09:33:00.006-06:00

The market area near the house we are staying is called Bwandilo. On the way to the house, and actually in many areas of the city, you can find street vendors selling everything from cell phone minutes to fresh fruits. Below are some pictures of today’s fruit purchasing.

Church in a village/ Week in review

2009-01-15T09:18:00.022-06:00

Church in a village
On Sunday we had the opportunity to worship God together with a newly planted church. Larry taught the Sunday school lesson, Sam presented the Gospel message, and Mike gave the communion meditation. We all sang together. Several people asked for prayer. There were about 60 people in attendance in the small grass church.
In the villages people suffer with the burden of poverty and oppression from evil. A struggle for many rural churches in Malawi is to have a trained pastor to preach even once a month. It is a difficult to grow in Christian discipleship with out someone to present the Bible message in word and example. Lets pray that we can all grow in faith and action.
Week in review
Mike again has been working this week traveling to different fields along the Zambian border. It is the rainy season now and, in most areas, the rains have been arriving as expected. The countyside looks lush with the green everywhere. The hungry season(when food gets scarce until the next harvest comes in)is starting, but in most areas, it is not as bad as we have seen in the past.
Thursday, January 15 is John Chilembwe Day, a national holiday here in Malawi. Mike has the day off so we have spent time in Lilongwe getting a few groceries and catching up on internet communication.

Below are a few photos to let you have a little view of the week

First Week in the Fields

2009-01-10T05:44:00.006-06:00

Mike has been in the fields this week monitoring development of the crops and planting a small trial. Most of his work thus far has been on large estates. It is not an aspect of Malawi that he has been exposed to before; the majority of the farmers are small holders with less than 2 acres. There is a picture above of a field at a large estate. The crop looks outstanding. Another picture is at a different estate that has a very poor looking crop but a beautiful landscape. The third picture is of the planting process. The soil was prepared then holes are made with the stick along the wire for the seeds to be placed, the seeds are placed in the holes and covered with soil.

Visit to Chidyamaani

2009-01-10T05:32:00.013-06:00

It was wonderful to see familiar faces and a few new ones. Pictured here are Agogo Ellen and her sister to her left. Agogo is a title of respect for an elderly person. It is always a blessing to visit Agogo, the oldest woman in the village of about 200 people.
While visiting I took a tour of the fields where they try to grow food to supply the orphan care program, walked to the dam that is being constructed for irrigation, and saw the brick kitchen that is being built. I shared many greetings with the orphans, and other villagers. Pictured here are a few young boys helping to carry seed, older boys fixing a thatched roof, and a few boys playing with a homemade car.

Where there is water…

2009-01-10T05:25:00.006-06:00

Access to clean water in not always available. Below is a photo of a woman who has done laundry in the mud puddle in the street. She then layed the clothing on the bushes to dry in the sun. It is amazing how clean the clothes look.

Just Getting Started

2009-01-04T23:01:00.006-06:00

Life has been quite a roller coaster the past several days. We are sorry that it has taken so long to blog. Between jet lag, internet struggles, reuniting with old friends and preparing for the week ahead, the time flew by. To fill you in a bit, our flight left Wednesday, Dec. 31. We arrived in Malawi on Friday, Jan. 2. We had good flights along the way, but the luggage did not arrive when we did. Fortunately it was only missing for 24 hours. That’s a huge improvement, in the past it has been missing for a full week! We feel blessed to have this opportunity. Your prayers and encouragement are appreciated. Please continue to … Pray for the Harvest.

Returning to Malawi

2008-12-03T16:44:00.025-06:00

Sometimes we can't believe it, but if all goes as expected, we will have another short term opportunity to serve in Malawi. The scheduled date of departure is December 31, 2008. We will be in Malawi through the first week of February. Mike will be working on an agricultural project for his company. Michelle will help out at the Crisis Nursery again, as well as working with the Orphan Care Program at Chidyamaani. We are privileged to stay with missionary friends, Larry and Mandy Renfro. As we endevour to provide some comfort to people in need; please pray that the Eternal Hope which only Jesus can provide is shared as well. Please "Pray for the Harvest"...

Farewell

2008-01-31T02:09:00.002-06:00

Our time has come to end here in Malawi. It has been a very good trip. Each trip God seems to remind us that relationships with people are more important that what you do, what you own, and what is on your schedule. It is a good lesson to learn. Our last evening here, our friends, Abusa (pastor) and Amayi (Mrs) Dimba came to visit. As we said our farewells, Amayi Dimba presented Michelle with a 4meter piece of cloth called a chitengi. You cut it into two pieces and use it wrapped around your skirt. As Amayi Dimba showed Michelle how to wear it, she told Michelle, “Remember you are now an African Woman and I love you.” Such an honor! Here are photos of the two of them, each wearing half of the cloth.

Thank you to everyone for all your support, your prayers, your blog comments and emails. We have been so encouraged the entire trip. We are blessed to have such loving family and friends. We are sad to say good-bye to the many friends we have made here, but we are excited to return home to all of you. God bless you all.
<><>

Fabulous Faces

2008-01-24T13:01:00.005-06:00

Here are some photos from the Orphan Care Program in Chidyamaani today. The kids asked for prayer and asked us to greet Larry and Mandy, and the crew that came from Kewanee in August.

Ngumbi

2008-01-24T11:26:00.013-06:00

On the road to Zomba there are many people selling this Malawian delicacy. It is called Ngumbi (pronounced: goombe). In English it is called flying white ants.The ants are harvested and fried in oil. Monday we were on our way to Zomba and Mike decided to buy some from this young girl.

We pulled over and bought a small container full. Mike really wanted to try them, but after we drove away he smelled them and couldn't do it.

Crisis Nursery

2008-01-17T10:09:00.000-06:00

Michelle loves visiting the Crisis Nursery! She knows many of the children by name now, and has fallen in love with them all. There are 5 full time nannies and several other workers and volunteers to help care for the 27 children. Michelle took the photo above of the ones she was watching this morning, and she was holding an infant while taking the picture!

Babies are brought to the nursery for different reasons: the parents have died, parents or relatives unable to care for them, or they have been abandoned. Right now, the age range is from 2 weeks to 26 months. The children are separated by age into 4 different bedrooms. Each child has his own bed, except the set of twins share a crib. The twins shown here are named Moses and Miriam.

The nursery wants to keep Malawian tradition as much as possible; therefore after the children are ready for more than formula, they are fed porridge for breakfast and nsima for lunch and dinner. They are fed on the floor with volunteer hands (rather than utensils) until they learn to feed themselves. They are routinely fed, changed, played with and laid down for naps. In these photos, Mrs. Lucy feeds three of little ones nsima (boiled corn flour). You can see that Sharon, below, is enjoying it!

There is a nurse on staff that makes sure every child gets their vitamins, any medication needed, and their appropriate immunizations. On Michelle’s first visit, Nurse Alice and a few of the others took 12 of the infants by van to get their shots. Quite an undertaking!

In addition to loving on the little ones, it has been a blessing to be a part of the 8am worship and prayer time. It is a joy to start off the day praising the same God, even in a different language.

The remaining photos are Fiuni on the drum, Thereza with the block, and Bekaru on the pink pillow.

Orphan Care Program

2008-01-12T06:53:00.004-06:00

On Thursday, we were in the village of Chidyamaani for the Orphan Care Program and the meeting with the chiefs. At the meeting, Mike spoke to the chiefs. He encouraged them to continue in their leadership in providing for the orphans. Several of the chiefs spoke and mentioned the struggle that it is for them to provide for the program and asked for prayerAfter the meeting the children started to arrive. Over 200 orphans come to the program each Thursday for a lesson, a meal and some fun. Pastor Dimba has been challenging the older children to memorize bible passages. This week many of them recited James 1: 2-8. In two weeks they were challenged to have memorized Mathew 6:25-34. Michelle greeted the children introducing herself and thanking them for their hospitality. Many of the children remembered Michelle from her previous visits. Several of the children spoke and the young girl you see pictured in the red shirt thanked us for coming and asked us to come back again and bring our tall son. Many of the kids remembered Steven from the time he came to Malawi in 05/06.The pictures are from the orphan care program.
Next time we will try to write more and post pictures from the crisis nursery which so far has been the highlight of Michelle’s time here.

Blantyre/ Zomba trip

2008-01-12T06:43:00.016-06:00

The electricity at the house went out yesterday and has not come back on yet, so we are posting this again from the internet café. We were in Blantyre, and Zomba early in the week visiting University of Malawi and private cooperator corn and cotton demonstration plots. We also visited one of the Millennium Village clusters at Zomba to learn about the efforts of the United Nations Development Program in agriculture and community development. Here are a few pictures from the trip. The children you see are a few friends Michelle made along the way.

Quick update

2008-01-11T09:52:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has been so long since the last post. We have not had internet access for sometime. We are at an internet cafe now. As soon as we can, we will post pictures, hopefully tomorrow. The meetings with the village headmen went well, thank you for praying. The village headman and children ask you to continue to pray for them. Pray that they can maintain the orphan care program. Michelle has had long days but is enjoying taking care of the the infants at the crisis nursery. She had 10 infants at once this morning! More on that later. Better go for now.

Sunday Update

2008-01-06T05:51:00.001-06:00

Sunday here, just returned from church. It was wonderful to be able to participate with others in worship today.

Mike left on Thusday and returned Saturday from an excursion to the northern region of Malawi. They planted a trial and demonstration plot of improved corn varieties.

The difficult issues of improving productivity aren't just technical, but also social. To be effective and long lasting, community development must be done in the local social context.

As Malawian pastors plant and water seeds of faith in spiritual development, we are desiring to assist their ministies working in community development. So many families struggle to feed themselves and meet basic human needs.

When we visit the orphan care program on Thursday the village headmen(chiefs) and area village headman(chief of chiefs) will be present. Mike has been asked to address them. Please pray for Mike as he speaks. The chiefs have been taking more responsibility for the program and Mike will thank them and encourage them to continue.

The primary battle here and elsewhere, is a spirtual one; against the forces of evil that breakdown the family and other relationships. The challenges are great and the goal may not be reached in this short trip, but we must engage in the effort. Please continue to pray for the people in Malawi, and Pray for the Harvest.

The Sifting

2008-01-03T06:48:00.001-06:00

Mike purchased a bag of flour for 800 Kwacha, which is about $5.50. The flour was full of pests. Too expensive to throw away, and with no guarantee that any other bag would be any better, we decided we needed to remove the bugs.

The first step in the process was to freeze the flour to kill the bugs. Straining them just proved that the pests fit right through the holes! A few trial and error methods later, the tea strainer seemed to work most effectively.

Transportation

2007-12-31T11:19:00.001-06:00

We are thankful that we now have transportation (Toyota Corolla). We arrived in Malawi knowing that we needed to find a vehicle, as the vehicle we were planning to borrow had been wrecked. (see picture at left) All of the borrow/ rental options that we anticipated either didn't work out or won't be possible until later in the month.

Mike was greeting the man who lives next door and mentioned about being unsuccessfull in getting a car. The neighbor contacted his sister who sometimes rents out her car to friends. She brought it by Sunday night and we negotiated to rent it.

We had been very frustrated Sunday, without much hope to find a vehicle. The situation turned so quickly and we were so excited. Later we learned through a friend that the church at home had been praying for us just about at the time this all took place. Praise the Lord for this provision! Please continue to Pray for the Harvest.

Communion

2007-12-31T08:11:00.000-06:00

Since arriving in Lilongwe we have hosted Pastor Rutherford Banda, Bonface Gauti, and Pastor Oswald Dimba who work in church planting and the orphan care program. They were all doing well. After the New Year holiday we will have the opportunity to assist them.

We had arranged to get a ride to attend church on Sunday, however, our ride called in the morning to let us know that he was ill and could not go. The heavy rains kept us from walking. The day started out gloomy and sad, and we were very frustrated, but through the day it got better.

That afternoon, we decided to bake. Michelle made a chocolate cake (from a recipe that didn't require eggs as the market had been out on the day we went) and Mike made Bible bread. Bible bread is a recipe from a second grade Sunday school class he taught several years ago. So, with the unleavened Bible bread and the grape juice, we had communion together. It was a true blessing.

Arrived Safely

2007-12-27T13:09:00.000-06:00

After 3 airplane rides, visits to 5 airports, an airport sleeproom in Nairobi, and a truck ride into Lilongwe we are here! We were greeted with hugs and the smiling faces of our friends Bonface, Miriam and Bonnie. This photo is an aerial shot of rural Lilongwe. You can tell by some green, that the rains have come. That is great! Keep praying for the harvest.

Prayer Service Send Off

2007-12-24T15:16:00.005-06:00

Thank you for such a wonderful night! We are so blessed to be a part of such a supportive, loving and encouraging church family. We may have spent the hour praying and worshipping in the cold youth shed...but our hearts were greatly warmed by all the love everyone extended. Thank you!

Getting Packed

2007-12-23T15:22:00.006-06:00

We are almost ready to go. We have a few last minute things to pack. Unfortunately, Stephanie and Steven are too big for our suitcases...but Owen isn't!!