AROUND BLANTYRE

There are dozens and dozens of these little shops along the highway into downtown Blantyre.

Ali Baba: Mum's favourite pizza/chicken hangout for taking a much-needed break.

What does it say about a country where these are for sale along the road?

Another shop

And another shop...

Full moon on the drive back home. The sun sets at 6:00--full dark by 6:45.

Lunch at Chichiri Shopping Centre

Different...

Sign for the PAOC church downtown.

Not everyone in Malawi is poor.

Hump and Rice

LONELY

Jan. 7th

I had my first cry last night. I'd watched the music videos from Christmas and looked at some pictures--and then I cried for the rest of the evening. I miss my family.

Today's the first day I haven't had a schedule to follow, so I think that's made the thoughts of my family harder to put aside. That, and not being able to connect to the internet for 2 days. Mum says she doesn't even try if it's cloudy and raining.

Today I feel cut off from my "other world." It would help if I could see what other people are doing on Facebook, or email Marty, or update my blog.
And now I think I'll try to have a nap. I've learned over the years that things are easier to handle if I'm well rested.
I love you and miss you all.
Jan. 9th update:
The 3rd day was sunny and yet my computer would still not load Explorer. I asked Mum about her internet stick--and Explorer loaded for her, no problem. I began to suspect that my prepaid internet stick was out of time. Today I asked Arnold to check the stick for me and sure enough--out of time but not showing it. Guess I'm not used to this different way of using Internet.
I tried twice to upload a video, and I think this used up most of my prepaid data.
So: photos I'll upload from home, but videos will wait for the internet cafe in Blantyre.

I feel much better!

RAIN

Jan. 6th, 8:00 p.m.

I knew it was rainy season, but now I KNOW it's rainy season. It has come down as mist, drizzle, downpour--and even torrents for an hour or two at a time. The river under the bridge that I traverse daily to get to the school/church property, was barely a trickle through the boulders, rocks, and vegetation 48 hours ago.  When I crossed back at noon after my Form 3 English language class, it resembled Baker Creek. And, we've had a LOT more rain since noon! The water from the mountains contributes to the rain in the river. Between 4 and 7 p.m. it was what I called "shower rain" in Prince Rupert (the fishermen called it "pissin' rain"--but I'm more polite;). It eased off for maybe half an hour, and now it's been givin' 'er ever since. I will go down and take a picture of the river and the bridge in the morning.

We went into town--Chichiri District--for lunch and shopping. I chose hump from the menu, just because I knew my friends in Quesnel would find that more exciting than chaumba (tilapia), which is a local fish. By the way, Arnold told me that there are more than 100 different species of fish in Lake Malawi. What is hump, you ask? Glad you asked! It's from  Malawian beef: their cattle have a hump in the middle of  their shoulders. It was served cut into strips and fried. It tasted like the outer edges of a pork chop: a little greasy, but good.

After lunch, we browsed the Chichiri shopping centre.
Here are some price equivalents (keep in mind that our teachers earn a tenth of an average Canadian salary):
 -cheapest generic 8 kg bag of dog food: $18
 -cheapest 500 g raisins:                             $  5
 -fresh loaf of unsliced white bread:        $   1.80
   (There was a queue of more than 30 people for the bread.)
 -plastic 750mL drinking bottle:               $  6
 -6 eggs:                                                          $  1.55
                (the egg cabinet was NOT refrigerated)
 -package of Orbit gum:                             $  2.39
 -1 medium Granny Smith apple:             $  0.57

While Mum and I were shopping, Arnold got in line for petrol (gasoline). After 2 hours of waiting there was none left, so he drove to 2 other stations to look for gas. None there either. Then he spotted a man selling a 5L can of gas--for a markup. He bought from that man and 1 other, filling his tank to the 1/4 mark. Two and a half hours for a quarter tank of gas...

Someone asked me if we should promote sponsoring a teacher.
Mum says that it would be better to sponsor a student. That way, a child gets to go to school, AND their fees help to pay the teacher. Could you sponsor a student? Will you? If you can commit to a regular monthly amount, automatic debit can be arranged through Ruth Martz at FOMF in Edmonton. Or, you can send any amount of money designated to "fill the gap" where needed. You can get a tax receipt from either FOMF in Edmonton or Bethel Church in Quesnel.
There are lots of needs. The small pickup truck desperately needs repairs to get it roadworthy again. Lumber (which is really expensive) is needed to build Mum a decent path/stairs to the gate at the bottom of her yard. That's the way we get from the house to the school. The wooden steps and bricks are in a terribly dilapidated state, and she needs to be able to walk safely.

I used 1/2 the package of raisins and 3 of the new eggs to make rice pudding tonight (these eggs were okay--sigh of relief). No vanilla, but the pudding turned out fine. I sliced up one of my 2 Granny Smith apples and covered it in pudding--supper :)

Time for bed.
Good night--someone hug my family for me, please.
And, I'd love a personal email or letter.

Teaching

Jan. 5th

Yesterday was my first day of teaching--and busy. I had four classes, the first beginning immediately after chapel. I went right to class because the bell rang, unaware that the principal was sitting in his office, expecting that I would go to the office and wait for him to take me to the class. When Mum came in he asked where I was. She said, "If you listen, you can hear her teaching." "What?" was Mr. Banda's startled reply. "She's fast!" Mr. Banda made it to my 4th and final class of the day to introduce me to the students. He did not sit in and observe any classes, to my aunt's surprise. I taught 2 classes of Form 3 (grade 11) English Language (mechanics of English) and 2 classes of Form 4 (grade 12) English Literature (an anthology of Malawian poetry--great stuff!).

This morning at chapel I sang for the first time ("Awesome God" and "God of Wonders"). I'm now on the chapel staff devotional schedule for Thursdays.
Today I had just one class: Form 1 (grade 9) English Language. I've been editing and labelling pictures, catching up on email, and reading others' FB statuses (statusi?).
So--I'll post this and start uploading photos for you :)
Fridays are half-days at school. We are going to the market to look for guitars--and textbooks. There are NO student texts for the poetry OR the novel study: just a teaching guide. The government does not make texts available to private schools to purchase.  They sometimes show up in the
market but they are expensive. God, please bless these teachers for how HARD they work, and with such joy.
P.S.
Teachers were being paid today as the student fees trickle in. Please, PLEASE pray for funds to pay these amazing teachers. Some had not eaten for two days...

Cockroaches, Spiders, and Mambas...Oh, My!

Jan. 4th
I really HATE cockroaches.
It's cockroach season. Mum says her previous house did not have any at all, but this place is infested--particularly the kitchen. She just killed one with her finger, by the way. She said they feel furry. Ick with a capital I!
I don't mind the baby ones so much. They look like any other very tiny bug or beetle in Canada, and they're easy to squash (NOT with my finger!). But the big ones? I really HATE the big ones. Most have been about the length of my thumbnail. I've been keeping a shoe handy to squash them. They move FAST--and if they see/feel you coming they will drop to the floor from the fridge or counter and hit the ground running for the nearest crack. Yuck.
Mum read that eucalyptus leaves are toxic to cockroaches, so she picked leaves and placed them everywhere. When she got up the next morning the cockroach babies were munching on what was left of those poor leaves. So the battle rages on.


The fridge had been smelling horribly since the night I got here. Mum had cleaned it out twice, yet the stench of rotten meat remained. Turns out that the bones Arnold got from the butcher were smelly and he'd left them in a bag on the kitchen floor overnight! But removing the bag still left the stink behind. The fridge was cleaned again--and 4 rotten eggs were found in the door holder. Peeeyeeewww! Tonight Mum bought more dog bones--from the same butcher. When we carried them out of the store...yep, they smelled bad, too. Mum stuck them in the fridge freezer for the night. (Jan. 5th update: I got a small, plastic wrapped package of eggs out of the fridge to make rice pudding for Mum. Two of the eggs had cracked and had tiny flies and maggots all over them. Double Ick with a double capital I!)


I had said that I would post photos and videos. One small problem, though: Wednesdays are blackout nights. There are weekly blackout periods from place to place across Malawi because of the suffering economy. Power is supposed to come back on at 10:00 p.m. So, that's why I didn't post photos and videos tonight.  No electricity.
Oh--and no water since last night, either. The city is adding some pipe to an area, so they shut off all of the water here. Yesterday the school had no water. Today, it's the other way around.


So, I'm off to bed: smelly from sweating all day, blocking the thoughts of cockroaches from my dreams, and hoping there's power in the morning so I can print off a chart because I'm going to play and sing for the first time at school for chapel.


I hear the puff of "DOOM" bug spray coming from the kitchen. Mum is feeling sorry for me, I think ;) Did I tell you that I really HATE cockroaches? Just sayin'...


P.S.
I saw two big spiders and a baby black mamba (snake) yesterday. The spiders are on the inside wall above the office door. Linda says they're harmless. I took pictures of them for Rachel. She offered to go get a student to remove them but I told her they didn't bother me (too much). Mum and the principal (Lawrence Banda) were showing me the little unused room that will soon be my office. A student picked up a piece of bulletin board off of the floor as we turned to go. He dropped the board and jumped away, and I saw a little coal-black snake wiggle into the corner. It was about 40 cm long.  Baby mambas can bite the day they're born. Not to be messed with. Mum handed the student a nearby broom to kill the snake.

Spider #1

Spider #2

----------LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE :)----------

Lady: she decided yesterday that she's my special friend :)

Simba: letting it all hang out ;)

Rosie

Solomon

Another market: on our way to visit a

KVChurchesAfrica executive member

Part of menu from Ali Baba Restaurant:

Mum's favourite place

Does $930 sound like a lot for a small pizza?

There are about 167 Kwacha to 1 Can/US dollar.

So in our currency that would be $7.63 (no tax).



I'm in AFRICA!

January 2nd
Yesterday my plane got into Lilongwe, around noon local time. Happy New Year! 2012--a year of big changes.

My luggage arrived, but not my guitar. It was left somewhere between Amsterdam and here by Kenyan Airways. It seems they have a reputation for delaying/misloading/forgetting baggage. We reported it missing to institute a trace on it. My guitar was eventually located (not sure where) and was flown to Blantyre today. I'll pick it up next time we drive into town.

Mum  (my aunt Phyllis) took Arnold and me for a pizza lunch. Then we headed over to the bus station to wait for the coach. About an hour into the drive, the female assistant (she made announcements over a p.a. speaker at the beginning and the end of the trip) handed out individual plastic containers containing a corn muffin and a meat pastry. We also had a choice of pop or water. It was a very scenic drive from Lilongwe until it got too dark to see anything.
(vid to come)

Speaking of driving:
1) People drive on the left side of the road, and the steering is on the right.
2) Lots of people walk on the sides of the roads--a LOT. When it's dark it's a little scary to see how close they are to vehicles.
3)Roadblocks: there were several, with police looking for illegal aliens from China or India, as well as searching for illegal imports.
4) The main road is in pretty good shape. The side roads or off roads? Well, I think they're being pretty generous using the term "road." More like a track in the hills: bumps, lumps, twisting and turning up and down little hills. Elaine, your road is GREAT compared to these;)
5) The coach (like a Grehound bus) deserves mention. The washroom (by the way, I got blank stares when I called it that--here the term "toilet" is used) was not at the back of the bus, but in the middle. It was set low, so that the bottom was actually where the floor of a Grehound's luggage compartment would me. One had to carefully walk down 4 steep steps to the door. When we met a roadblock and heard talk of everyone having to leave the bus, I figured that I'd better use the toilet. Well, things had...splashed. The floor was wet, and the toilet paper roll was wet on one end. I decided that, since my clothes were already dirty and I was sweaty and smelly, I wasn't going to think about it too much.

My first night--it was hot and HUMID. God prepared me by experiencing Cuba at the end of September, I guess. Nothing to do but let 'er sweat!

I had a good first night's sleep in the little room Mum prepared for me. I slept until 11:00 a.m.
I tell you, that cool bath the next morning felt wonderful! We hung around the house all day.

There are mango trees in the yard. The mangoes are gathered up as they fall from the trees. Mum made mango juice yesterday. I had some along with my peanut butter toast for brunch. I spent my first day unpacking suitcases, going through photos with Mum, organizing my belongings, and just talking together about anything and everything.

Mum has 6 dogs! Sara, Lady, Solomon, Rosie, Twila, and Suzie Q. They help guard the school property at night. I just heard that the night guards decided to celebrate New Year's Eve, and the day guard came at 5 a.m. to discover that all but one sink from the girls' washroom had been stolen! Thieves don't take a day off.

Tomorrow morning I will go to the 7 a.m. chapel. After the 20 minute session, I am to meet with the principal to get information on my teaching assignment.

Thank you to those of you who are praying for me.
Good night.
Love,
Inez

Plane lands in Lilonwe

People on airport shuttle

Mum in bus station

Arnold (business manager) in bus station

Road through market to Mum's house and the school

Men walking down the road through the market

HOLLAND

Dec. 31st
6:30 p.m. at home, 4:30 a.m. here. "Here" is an hour and a half away from  Nairobi. Just had a light breakfast and a welcome hot cup of tea.

Yesterday I walked and walked - and walked. All over Haarlem. Such a beautiful place! Churches so magnificent it brought an awe of God fresh to mind once again. I bought a dozen peach coloured tulips and a little package of Gouda. I walked until my legs gave out and it hurt to move.
Finally back at the airport, I took a painkiller and a generous portion of Gouda. Lovely, lovely! The tulips I passed along to a tired-looking young woman at checkin security.
At 6:00 a.m. I'll land in Nairobi. Then it's on to Lilongwe, arriving at 12:15 p.m. THEN I will finally BE there. A long, long trip.
Here I am Lord.
Your servant.

TAKE OFF!

Dec. 30th

Well, here we go: after shedding what felt like a litre of tears yesterday, the last goodbye, hug, smile, kiss, I am on KLM flight 682 bound for Amsterdam.
I videotaped our special "horsey song" (as Xander calls it), bouncing him and Liam along to my singing. You can listen to it on Facebook.

One last kiss (okay, it was 3 or 4 ;) with Marty at the Prince George airport. Marty: "So, you've written down for me what day to come and get you?" Like I'd wait that long to communicate? Love my "smarty Marty!"

All of you people were right who said I'd feel better once I was in the air. I still feel the pain from separation, but it is less.

I met up with my cousin, Paul Forseth at the Vancouver airport. We shared our family histories from the last 40 years, since that was about the last time we'd heard directly from each other. Paul is my "famous" relative: he served as an MP for several years. I also had a quick visit with my uncle Dennis and his truly lovely wife, Eleanor. They brought along their good friends, the Mickelsons. My wild and crazy uncle got his left ear pierced--twice!! I guess one is never too old to get a little rambunctious. Look at his grin!

Tomorrow morning (about 11 am local time) I will arrive in Amsterdam. I plan to use the 9 hour layover to do some sightseeing.

Gouda, I love ya!

10 Days Left /10 Days More

10 days left...

1. Husband to have and to hold--separation by agreement for a higher purpose.
2. Grandboys to hug and kiss: "Granny loves you!"
3. Sons and daughters to leave (daily, as always) in God's hands.
4. My grandson's 4th, my daughter's 20th, and my husbands's 55th birthday.
5. Friends--dear, dear friends.
6. Bethel youth--love you guys.
7. Stuff? not really...

Pastor Monte, me, Liam, Marty

10 days more...

1. Flying, traveling. Love it!
2. Visiting with my uncle (Phyllis's brother) Dennis and his wife Eleanor at the Vancouver airport before departure.
3. Visiting Corrie Ten Boom's house in Amsterdam.
4. Seeing the "real thing"--Rembrandts and Vermeers!
5. Meeting Dave & Connie, Malawi's directors of "Village of Hope" orphanage.
6. Hugs for my aunt (now renamed Mum).
7. Meeting my "big brother," Arnold.
8. Encouraging my new teaching coworkers.
9. New friends.
10. King's Victory church youth--lots to teach you (and for you to teach me)
11. Students to teach, to help, to advocate for (who all WANT to be in school)
12. To grow in ways I cannot yet imagine.
13. To know God MORE.

This is my FAVOURITE photo of my aunt Phyllis in Malawi!

She was taking a team up a mountain to a village.
They could only take the truck a certain distance: from there it was a hike up the mountain with all the equipment and supplies.
She was offered a motorcycle ride--and went for it!

23 Days Until Departure

     My emotions have been up, down, sideways - all over the place this past week. One moment I'm smiling and enjoying watching my grandson Seth sing with enthusiasm at his school Christmas concert, and the next moment I'm tearing up over the thought of how much I will MISS my 3 grandboys.    
     And I will miss them. But even more than my 3 treasures, I know I will miss Marty (my husband of 30 years). Even as I write this, the tears threaten to spill out onto my laptop. We're practically joined at the hip these days: most nights I stay up until he gets off work, going to sleep when he does. We truly are each other's best friends. I don't know how I'm going to get through 6 months and 20 days without him - but God knows. He knows.

     The grand adventure awaits.