Back Home

It has taken me about a week before I can write this post.  It took me a bit to re-calibrate myself to life here in Texas.

The last day (Sunday) in Kalembe I went out with Father Joe to mass.  It was in a village not too far away but the problem was that the rainy season had started.  I am sure many people have driven in mud so they know what it is like, it was an interesting trip none-the-less.

We finally reached the village and everyone was waiting outside for us.  So we parked and went in and began setting up.  People started to come into the church and sit down and the mass began.

Here is Father Joe during his homily.

There were also baptisms that day so we had a whole ceremony for that.  I think there was around 20 kids to be baptized.  I was laughing the whole time watching the kids get all nervous to be baptized.  But it was a lot of fun and we were glad to get them all baptized.

Here is one girl looking forward to be baptized.

After we finished mass the villagers cooked some lunch for us and gave us a bunch of food.  It is mango season and we got 3 basket fulls of mango's, along with a bunch of other food.

On the way home we stopped and bought some goat because we were going to barbecue that night.  We went home and finished up the night at home just hanging out.

Here is Father Livinus, Me and Father Joe in front of their new rectory.

The next day Father Joe took me to the airport and I was off.  The plane rides were not too bad but my plane from Ethiopia to Toronto was delayed 2 hours.  So we finally got on the plane and what they had decided was to skip Rome on the flight schedule so we left from Ethiopia straight to Toronto.

The great thing was that the plane was almost empty and I got to lay down the whole time across 3 seats.  It turned out to be a very quick plane trip because of that.

I made it home and my mother and I went and got a burger right afterwards.

It is not a few days after Christmas and everything here is fine.  I have not been doing much, just planning the wedding and eating as much as I can.

It turns out that after this 2 1/2 months in Malawi I lost 8 lbs. which I was not happy about so I am trying to eat a lot.  I head back to Malawi near the end of January.  I was advised by the Priests to spend time with my fiance here, so I am.

Anyways everything else is going good.  It is raining now in Malawi and the crops are growing.  We are preparing to drill more Bore Hole's this year along with other projects.

I thank everyone for their support and prayers.

Kalembe

Kalembe (in the region of Chamama) is where I am now.

It has been a while since my last blog post because we have no internet out here.  It is just as of 2 hours ago that we got internet.  So since Sunday I have been out here and what a week it has been.

I try to say that with the least amount of drama as possible.

Sunday morning, Father Joe, Father Livinus and I left Bowe at 6:00 in the morning heading for Kalembe.  We stopped in Kasungu and did some shopping before we headed to Kalembe.  The rectory was just finished the week before and we had to buy furniture and different appliances to furnish it.

So we did shopping and headed to Kalembe.  There is no water here yet, they are working on drilling a well and actually today they found fresh water so hopefully they can begin drilling soon.

Here is the Rectory.  The piles of bricks are for the fence being built for the complex.

So three bachelors in a house we started to get creative with cooking.  The first night we brought some food home from Kasungu but the rest of the nights we cooked in the kitchen.

The rest of the week we spent arranging and re-rearranging the house.  The rain came this week and so it has been colder than usual.  The downside to all of this was that the bugs really really came out.  So the first night there was about 500 bugs in my room which was not fun.

The next few nights it got a lot better.

This is after one of the first nights I was there.  I had to cut the sun out because it was too bright.  The light painted everything orange.

Other than that I have just been working on the different projects all week.  There are a few things we want to change on the church at Kalembe.  And there is the Commercial Center at Bowe I am working on.  Tomorrow we are having a barbeque to wrap everything up and then on Monday Father Joe and I are leaving at 6:00 in the morning.  My flight leaves at 3:30 pm but we are going to make a stop in Bowe to see everyone there before we leave.

This is after a rainstorm.  I am standing up on a hill above the rectory.

I am excited to get home and see everyone.  I made a request that I eat no chicken or rice while I am home.  Other than that I am going to enjoy the sweets the steaks and all my friends and family.

To The Bore Holes

I cannot express the amount of knowledge and experience I am gaining from staying here in Africa but can only say that it is a lot more than I expected.

At the beginning of last week I was making preparations to go out and survey Bore Holes in Kawiya (Kuh-vee-yah) Zone.  Timeyo and I were going to spend Friday and Saturday out driving around and then Monday also.

So as the preparations got under way I made sure that I had all the equipment I needed.  Mostly a GPS so I could record the positions of the Bore Holes.  So with everything set we left at 6:30 on Friday morning.

One of the many Bore Holes.  The Catechist is standing next to the Handle Here.

As we went from village to village I noticed that the villagers were ecstatic about having us come there.  They wanted to show us their graciousness and gratitude for bringing them water.  So in the two days we did this I ended up collecting 1 got and 12 chickens.

Here I am receiving the goat:

As we continued on from village to village there were certain pieces of information I was collecting.  Not only the lat/long of the Bore Holes but also the population of the village and the surrounding villages.

So Timeyo and the catechist we were with liked to talk a lot so I had to push them along because I wanted to get to as many Bore Holes as we could.  But while they were talking and talking and talking I was having fun with the children and was playing little games with them.

The first day ended and we visited 20 Villages and recorded 20 Bore Holes.

I came home that night and was pretty exhausted.  I ate some food and went to bed early.

The next day was the same routine but we left at 6:00 this time.

We went all day and went to a total of 18 villages.

Now I have to say, going to a village is much easier said than done.  Most of the roads we traveled on would be highlighted on a Extreme Sports Channel for offroading.  There were some really nasty roads.

So we finished the day spending 12 hours out.  When we came home that night I had a strange feeling in me.  So I ate some dinner and went to bed.

The next day (Sunday) I could not even get out of bed.  And I stayed there the rest of the day.  I think it was from exhaustion but I was having all sorts of symptoms.  So I rested the entire day and then went to sleep.

Today I feel much better although I am resting again today.

Big E leaves for Nigeria tomorrow and I will be heading out to Kalembe to finish my stay there.  I have two weeks left here so not much time at all.

When at Kalembe I will work with Father Joe and the contractor to get the Guest House Underway.

To the North

It was about 9:30 Tuesday night when I heard Big E calling me from the hall,
"Luke.........Luke," I came out of my room, "Yes Father?"

He replied, "Father Joe and I are going north to Mzuzu tomorrow, would you like to come?"


"Yes Father"

So I got up this morning at 4 am and got everything prepared to leave for Mzuzu.  I was not sure what to expect, I had never been to this part of the country before.  Mzuzu is about 2 1/2 hours away.  It is at a much higher elevation in the mountains.

So we were off by 5:30.  We wanted to go to do a few errands in Mzuzu but also to see the bishop.

Here is Father Joe before we left:

It was early and I had gone to bed late so once we got on paved road I went to sleep.  The Father's told me to sit up front because I had never seen any of this before.

So I fell asleep and was out for about an hour.  What happened next I was not prepared for.  

I woke up to the following:

I was speechless.  Where had this come from?  Where were we?  I know we are in Malawi but I have not seen this since I have been here.

Well we had climbed so much up the mountains that we had reached the point where the climate had changed.  It was cold, raining and foggy.  The fog was so thick at points that we had to slow the car down to a crawl for safety reasons.

I was still awestruck by all of this.

While we were driving we came across this:

You can only see two vehicles here but there is a third one underneath the white trailer.  We saw blood but there was nobody around and there was maize all over the ground.

We continued on and remarked how unsafe drivers were in Malawi.  People would drive at unsafe speeds and accidents would happen all the time.

As we got closer to Mzuzu I began to get a better idea of the place.  Unlike the central region where Bowe is, there is an abundance of wood here.  Houses were made entirely of wood and not a brick was to be seen.

Here is one of the many timber yards which we passed:

Also as we got closer the trees got bigger:

We finally reached Mzuzu and met with the Bishop.  He had caught a cold and was not feeling too well.  We had a few other errands to run there which included going to the immigration office and visiting different convents and seeing the sisters.

We went to two different convents and at both the cooked us lunch.

At the second convent I was telling them about the church in Pilot Point and how they were coming next year to Malawi and how I was getting married and my soon-to-be wife would be coming back with me.

They were so excited and they want to meet everyone.  So they are coming to the inauguration of the new parish at Kalembe next June so they can meet everyone.

After we finished with this, the rain had stopped and it was starting to warm up.

We hopped in the car and headed back for another 2 1/2 hour drive.

On the way back though the scenery was much different as I could see what was beyond 5 meters:

There is a lot of timber yards there and this is part of a forest which they harvested:

Reflecting back on this day I felt my spirit renewed just from a change of scenery and weather.  I was so happy on the trip up for the cold weather, as the two fathers were sitting in the back shivering.

But it was very nice to have this experience.  We are anticipating the rains to come soon to Central Malawi.  The farmers are praying for them so that their crops can start growing.

Everyone is worn out now and I am going to bed early tonight.  The rest of the week we are working at Bowe and hopefully on Friday I will go out with Timeyo to document and map more Bore Holes.

Christ the King

8 1/2 hours later I am beat.  I have had days like this before.  Days that have been this long and sometimes longer of driving around.  But not with this heat.  The sun is unforgiving and so is its heat.

Today is Christ the King.  The last Sunday before advent starts.  This is a big celebration.  Because of this there have been big plans for today.  Instead of just having church in Bowe the priests decided this year to spread out and hold two masses each at different locations so people could celebrate this.

I looked to see where the priests were going and decided that traveling with Little E was the best option.

So we set out at 7:30 this morning.  The first mass we were going to was in Pohka (Pole-kah).  After Father told me about this I told him about polka in America (because they sounded the same) did a quick jingle for him and he got the point.

So we made it to the first village and I went off as they started mass to the Bore Hole.  Because there is a shortage of the fuel which is already in shortage......there is not much fuel around.  So planning ahead and combining trips is the name of the game.

So I got the information about this borehole and all the necessary things.

I continued back to mass where it took about 2 1/2 hours to celebrate.  It was a lot of fun and the people sang and danced well.  I enjoyed it.

After this mass we were already late for the next one.  And the next village was 1 hour away.  So we hopped in the car and headed on our way.  My conversations with Little E were mostly agricultural and political.  Which are of interest.

The first rain came last week and people planted early in hopes of the next rain.  Well the next rain has not come yet so they are hoping for it.  When it does they can spread their fertilizer and watch their crops grow.

I have noticed that when we head out to mass now I am beginning to recognize people again and they all recognize me so we have a good time about it.

The second mass was full of great song and dance.  But the ventilation in the church was pretty bad so everyone was sweating.  I tried to follow along some more and found myself picking out words here and there of what people were saying.

Finally we finished and ate lunch and headed back.  Little E was quite the sport and we stopped at a few villages on the way back and he let me inspect the Bore Holes.  So I got quite a bit of information about that today which was great.

This will help next year when we make trips to drill and repair Bore Holes.

Little E and I got back to Bowe just after 4:00.  And I told him how I would like to enjoy a beer tonight.  I have taken two days off from exercise but that is not on my mind at all.  The weekend is here and I am relaxing.

Tonight there is a big futbol match between Manchester City and Chelsea which is going to be quite a match.  I think the house is divided on support.  So it will be a lot of fun and a good way to end the weekend.


This coming week I hope to take 1 or 2 more trips with Timeyo into the villages to record more Bore Holes and then take a trip out to Kalembe to get the work started on the Guest House there.

A Quick Trip

This image was sent to me by Margarita.  She was one of the people who came on the last trip.  This was during one of the pharmacies.  I remember that I was smiling at the boy in the middle and he got embarrassed.

It i Friday now.  We did not do much for Thanksgiving last night.  The cook prepared a large pot of rice with a side of chicken.  It was good.  I have decided to become more pro-active on the next trip I make out here and bring different spices and goods with me to make some special food.


On Wednesday, Father Joe and I went into Lilongwe.  He had a meeting and I had to renew my visa.  So I got up at 4:30 and we were gone by 5:00.  The fuel shortage before was bad, but now it is worse.  Fuel is becoming harder and harder to find and the prices are continually going up.  So we had to plan this trip well and we had to stop along the way to get some black market fuel.

When we reached Lilongwe we went to Teresa's house and grabbed a quick snack (it was about 8:20) then we went and dropped Father Joe and Father Livinius (he was already in town) at the Cathedral and Timeyo and I went to the immigration office.  When I got there, there was no line so I got right in and went to renew my visa.

I had to argue with the guy forever because he wanted to charge me for a 2 month visa and I was only going to be there 1 month and 4 days.  But in the end he won so I paid him his money and went on my way.

The rest of the day I spent at Teresa's house playing with the girls and napping.

Father Joe was in the meeting all day and he returned around 5:30.  We had a quick snack and were on our way back (at this time it was about 6:30).  We stopped and grabbed a couple pizzas and headed on the road.

My seat was located on top of the emergency brake and my footrest was just shy of the gear shifter.  So it was not a very fun ride.  But as we went and we were eating pizza, Father Joe and I ended up singing Christmas Carols the whole way home.  The trip went by fast to say the least.

But when I got home I was tired and grabbed some food and went to sleep.

Transportation has been extremely limited.  There are very few cars on the road now as fuel has reached about $10 a gallon and rising.

Before

So the rest of the week will be spent at home and working here.  I finished re-organizing the pharmacy today and now all the medicine is in alphabetical order with labels.  I took care of a few spiders and roaches on the way which I was happy about.

 After

After

After

No Light, No Water

Well what a weekend it has been.  As I said to Little E on Sunday, "Africa teaches you something new every day."

This was at the end of the weekend after mass.

Well this weekend is no exception.

I woke up Saturday morning getting ready to enjoy my day of rest and relaxation, reading philosophy and sketching Africa.  I of course always look forward to Skyping with my fiance when she wakes up.

So the day was getting started and not too long after breakfast the power went out.  Well not a big deal it is pretty common, it should be back by 2 or 3 as it always does.

So we all went about our business and lunch came around and we ate.  As time went by, it was around 5 or 6 and there was still no light.  So I went and worked out and showered and went for dinner.  After dinner we started up the generator because we wanted to watch the English Premiere League.  But we figured light would be back by eight.

well for the rest of the night there was no light.  This was the beginning of a bad weekend.

When I went to bed that night I took a cold shower and went to sleep.  Only to be awoken a few hours later by stagnant heat and being drenched in sweat.  So I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, hoping that light would return, but it never did.

The next morning I went out with Big E into the village (Chakuwi) to celebrate mass.  We also went there to do a survey of the current water situation.  They requested a Bore Hole so we wanted to see.  When we went to see where they were drawing water from (and another 15 villages) I was quite astonished and disgusted.

So we took into account what we saw there while this woman was fetching water.  And we interviewed the villager there to find out everything that we could.  So hopefully we will be putting a bore hole there soon.

During mass, right after Big E's sermon, a snake decided to visit us in the church.  It was amazing how the whole church stopped to watch.  Finally the alter server came with a giant stick and beat the snake to death. So we made a few jokes and finished with mass.

When we returned home we finished up lunch and I went and napped.  When I woke there was still.....no light.  So I worked out and then went to shower.  And to my surprise (I should have known this) there was no water.  The water pump stopped working and hence no water.  So I grabbed the closest bucket with water and cleaned myself as good as possible.

As the night came we started the generator again so we could watch another futbol match.  Once that finished I retired and just hoped for light.

I was laying in bed when all of a sudden I heard my batter charger come on.  BAM we had electricity.  As I quickly looked up and saw the light emanating from the charger I just as quickly saw the power leave again.

Well it was going to be another hot hot night.  I did not sleep much that night either as again it was hot and I was drenched in sweat.  

This morning I woke up, hoping for light and there was still none but that was okay, so I got along with my daily routines.  Just before lunch, I was doing some inventory in the guest house when I saw the white fluorescent light flicker on above me.  Well praise be to God.  I was so happy.  I can finally take a shower again.

So now I am sitting in my room writing this, taking full advantage of my fan and preparing to go out for a run soon.

I have to say that although this event only  lasted 2 1/2 days, I learned quite a bit from it.  I think that everyone who is or aspiring to be an architect should come experience what I did.  After you do, all the Go Green, Green Week, Green-a-palooza, will seem like a giant joke to you.  It helped me to solidify my understanding of sustainability and what it requires.

So tonight, I well enjoy the last match of the English Premiere League with a cold beer.  I set off to stay at Kalembe at the end of this week and within the next 2 weeks we will break ground on the Guest House.

I return home on the 17th and excited to do so.

The mantra for the weekend was, "No light, no water"

A Week in Malawi

Well what a week it has been.  After the group left on Monday I fell ill with something.  I think it was from exhaustion or something, not sure.

Anyways I spent the week at home recovering, which worked because Big E was out for the week running errands with Father Joe.

So I spent time writing and reading but also going out in the evenings and mingling with the villagers.

One thing that I have gotten used to is taking runs in the evenings.  It gives me time to reflect on what has happened during the day.  I also develop a nice appetite for dinner.

On one of my runs this week I went West towards the river.  it is about a 15 minute run away but once you are down in it you are running in sand and jumping on rocks and dodging water.  It is quite fun.  Plus you can get quite a few kids to run with you.

This image here is in the riverbed which is mostly dry.  In about 2 weeks the rains will start and this river will be full of water.

While I was there I also ran across two girls who had dug down in the sand until they had reached water.  They were then scooping the water out and putting it in buckets.  I thought at first they were just playing but I believe they were using this water for drinking.  The same which the animals use.  I wish I could have told them that there was a bore hole just up the hill.

So I find this as a problem which needs to be remedied in Malawi.  Clean Water needs to be provided to everybody.  Since the infrastructure here is almost non-existant bore holes are the way to go.  So I have kept this in mind.

This last picture is of a bunch of kids I ran into who were playing around in the river bed.  Their parents had pulled ox driven carts into the riverbed and were scooping the sand out.  I could only guess this was to be used as an aggregate for a mix of concrete.

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The last is a picture of the kids I meet while I go running.  I was going through a village and the kids decided to run with me. I have tested this on a few different villages and have realized how good of shape they are in and I can only sprint for so long.  But we have a lot of fun and I spend time talking with them afterwards and asking them about education and school.

The Medical Missions

Well what a week it has been.  I only have time now to write about it because I was exhausted every night last week and ended up sleeping at 8:30.

I just saw everyone off to the airport today, we celebrated mass at 5:00 and then they headed on their way.

So let me start from last week and tell you what has happened.

After I got back from my bus ride I was waiting in the village and the people showed up around 4:00.  I was so excited to see them, the priests and I went outside to greet them.

There was 4 of them on this trip:  Ray, Jennifer, Rochelle and Margarita.  Rochelle was the doctor and this was her second trip and Ray is the director of the charity.  So I had finished packing that day for our medical mission so we just chilled out that night getting to know one another.

Over the next 3 days was quite an adventure.  We traveled to three different villages.  The first was Chakuwi.  The second, Ndanowa.  And the third was Chisuulu.  The first of these villages which we went to was a lot like one of the previous trips where when we got there you could just feel the sickness.

The people were in a very defeated kind of mood and there were few smiles.  We set up shop in the church there which was fine.  So Margarita and I were in charge of the pharmacy while Rochelle was being the doctor and Jennifer was doing triage.  Ray was going around speaking to the people (Ray is from Malawi and speaks the language).

The church on the first day (Rochelle, Big E, Jennifer and Ray)

The second day, in Ndanowa, was a more prosperous village which had a school in it.  So when we arrived there school was in session and we enjoyed seeing all the kids there.  There was not a lot of people there at first but I knew this would not last.  We set up in one of the schoolhouses and got to work.

The pharmacy and Rochelle in the Background

About halfway through there were these torrential winds outside and we could see dust blowing everywhere.  About 20 minutes after the winds came a huge storm which lasted for about an hour.  There was so much rain and it was so loud that when I gave instructions of how to take the medicine I had to shout to the translator.

We ended up not seeing everyone and people were almost pushing to get inside.  Luckily we had a good man working the door to monitor the flow of traffic.

I do remember during that clinic we were  working overtime because we knew that we would not see everyone.  So I was filling out this order for a child who was very sick because he was getting a lot of antibiotics.  So it took me about 15 minutes to fill the order and when I went to give it to the child, I realized the mother had already taken her away back to the village.  So I grabbed the translator and we rushed out the door and ran down the road to catch them.

Finally we did and I gave the instructions to the mother for the child and then left the mother with a few choice words.  Nothing bad but more about being considerate for other people.  Then we left.

We went home that night and it was nice and cool from the rain.  We packed up all the medicine for the next day.

The final day on the road we went to Chisuulu.  And this was an interesting one.  We set up shop in the church......but the problem was that the roof of the church was made of grass.  So I said a quick prayer that we would not get rain.

The grass roofed Church

We started seeing people and it was great.  The people were much more lively here and the leader of the village was a great man with a wonderful daughter.  So we finished up through lunch and because of the rain the previous days we had to take the long road back so we had to leave early.  About 4.  So we finished lunch and came back to work and were going away when......the wind picked up again.  So we knew what was coming.

And sure enough about 15 minutes later it started raining, and it was raining.  So we had to pack everything up and leave early from there.  I think we were out by 3:30 which was not too bad but we would have liked to stay longer.

When we returned we unpacked everything and prepared for 2 days at the clinic in Bowe.

That night we did not hesitate to have a few beers and laughs from the hard work of the week.

It is now Friday and we went to church and opened up the clinic at around 8:00.  We were not in a rush because it would take a while for people to get there.  Plus there was a funeral that day so many people were gone.  I have to say we worked quite well in the clinic.  And that first day we attended to every single person which came!!!!

Working in the Dark

I was so happy about this.  We ended at 5:30 and went back to the house for some more beers.

The next and final day we opened up a little later because we were nearing the point of exhaustion and we started seeing people.  Besides the power going out for almost all day it was a smooth ride and again we ended up seeing everyone.

One of two new shelves for the pharmacy (These are all students, the man squatting is the carpentry teacher)

It was fun because all the friends which I have made here I got to see at the clinic and all of them were doing good.  Healthy and fine.  So it was good.  We finished that day at 4:30 and relaxed and relaxed.  With each prescription which we hand out we always include a bag of 30 multi-vitamins for the people.  It is amazing how much each one of the vitamins help them and provide for them.

Circulation of patients on each day

The final day, Sunday, we had mass at 10.  So I tried to sleep in but only got till 7:30.  We celebrated mass which happened to be also the day when farming season was opened.  So all the farmers were there and their seeds were blessed.  It ended up being about 2:45 for the mass, which was not too bad.  We ended with a giant feast and then I napped.  After waking I talked with everyone and it hit me they were leaving the next day and I was very sad about this.

The setup for Sunday's Mass

So we finished with a few beers and laughs and went to bed.

I have to say it was a great week because of all the people that we helped.  The final count for each village is as follows:

Chakuwi - 134
Ndanowa - 142
Chisuulu - 148
Bowe Day 1 - 110
Bowe Day 2 - 115

Total : 649 people

I find it hard to express the emotions which I feel about this.  I am overwhelmed that we could help that many people in such a short time.  I know that these people will live longer and healthier lives because of our help.  I thank all of the support from the people back home and the group which came here to help.

It is now Monday and everyone is gone.  I am relaxing with a cup of tea and toast.  We have deemed in necessary for me to take today off and relax.  Soon though we will pick up again.  I have finished drawings of the guest house in Kalembe and we will soon break ground on that.

We are close to finding land for the commerce center and so plans can be started on that.  Besides this the rains are coming in about 2 weeks so farming will truly begin then.  All the farmers are waiting with hesitation to begin and plant crops which will feed them and their families next year.

The Bus Ride

Well what a weekend it has been.  Friday, Big E and I left for Lilongwe, we had to make it there early because I had to submit my ballot to the US Embassy.

Along the way we saw lots of children walking and Big E was telling me that these children could not afford their school fees and were leaving school.  Since the devaluation of the currency, there has been great inflation and it is still going up, this is including school fees which is making it difficult for kids to go to school.


After the US Embassy we ran a few more errands and then went to Teresa's house.  We spent the whole weekend there.  Of course we had a list of things to do.

While there we had ordered more medicine from the pharmacy there because we are running health clinics this week.  So we went by on Saturday to pick it up but lo and behold they were not there, although they had told us they would be.  So not getting upset because we were used to this in Malawi, we continued on the rest of the day.

I went with Teresa in the afternoon to go buy food at the market and then go and see a house she was building.

That night I held a talent show with Teresa's four daughters and it was wonderful.  They performed all sorts of magic acts and plays and different songs.  I had brought some candy for them so I handed that out.

The next day Big E and I went and visited the sisters and had a long talk with them.  We then headed to see a fellow Nigerian priest and see what he was doing.  While being introduced Big E told them my name was Luke and there was a big Ahhhhhhhh so you are Luke.  I asked them what they meant by that and they said the Archbishop has visited them during the week and was talking about me.  So I am going to have to call up the Archbishop now.

After finishing there we went home and I ended up getting a bad case of allergies and spent the rest of the night in bed.  Although I did come out to split a beer with Big E.

The next morning we were up at 5 (Today) and Teresa took me to the bus station.  We got there and the next bus leaving for Mzuzu (Bowe is a stop on the way) was not until 11.  We told them forget it and went to another bus station.  Those buses left aonly to Blantyre in the South.  So we tried one more station and there was a bus going to Mzuzu at 8.  Perfect.

It was about 7 in the monring when we got there so we paid for the ticket and Teresa left me there and I just sat on the bus waiting.  Well as it turns out there are some very shady people that hang out at the bus station.  I wrote down in my journal the full length description of what I saw but to censor for everyone I saw a handicapped man get robbed, two guys start hitting each other and then one guy get mobbed by two guys ( I think he owed them moeny) or at least I figured that after they started hitting him.

So I was glad wehn the bust left an hour later and we were on our way.  I sat at the front which turned out I think to be the best seat because nobody was standing next to me.

The total trip took 2:37 which was not too bad.

I am not back in Bowe and have prepared all the medicine to be taken out tomorrow.  Big E is returning from the airport as I type this with the 4 Texans and we begin our trip tomorrow.

On reflecting back on this weekend I realize how much of an effort it is to raise 4 girls.  I was there for 2 days and they wore me out.  So I commend and congratulate all the parents out there for what they have done.

The Archbishop

Well what a weekend it has been.  It is only now on Monday night that I can post this, I have been too busy before.  This story goes all the way back to Saturday.

Saturday the priests and I awoke at 5:00 in the morning for departure to Lilongwe at 6:00.  We were going to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sisters of the Medical Missionaries of Mary in Lilongwe.  So mass was at 10 and it takes 2 hours to get there.

So Father Stephen and Little E took one car and Big E and I took another one.  Well about 10 minutes out there were problems so we had to turn back and get another car.  Well this car worked and we were on our way. .......2 hours later we arrived at the sister's house where they had tea, bread and jam waiting for us.  This made me very happy.

This was a very big mass and was referred to as a jubilee.  I met all the sisters beforehand and they were just wonderful.  The mission started out of Ireland and a few of the sisters were Irish which was nice to see.  To say it was a big event is underplayed.  There were 12 priests, 2 bishops and the Archbishop to celebrate mass.  

After Mass had finished Big E and I left and went over to Teresa's house.  Teresa has four girls and she had declared that I am part of her family now.  I brought some different gifts for the girls and was somehow able to give them to them amiss the barrage of questions.

So here I am with the 4 girls.

We finished up at Teresa's house at 4 and headed home.  We got back at 6 and I was dead tired, so I ate and just went to sleep.

The next day we had to wake up early again because the Archbishop was making a visit out to Kalembe where the other parish is.  And since he was visiting on Sunday he was going to celebrate mass.

This time it was just Big E, Timeyo and I who went out there.  When we got there we toured the newly finished rectory which was very nice.  Then the Archbishop pulled up.

Well I was not prepped on the formalities beforehand......so when we went up to meet him people were bowing and kissing and saying all these different words.  Well when it was my turn to greet the Archbishop I just threw out my hand with a smile and shook his and we greeted each other.

The Archbishop then took a tour of the entire village including the rectory.  While walking around the village we got to talk a bit about who I was and what I did, he seemed to be interested.

We finally got around to mass and went to celebrate it.  Well 3 hours later we finished and it was time for lunch.  But we had to take a few pictures first.  So we finished that up and headed for lunch.

When we got there everyone let the Archbishop go first while I took a seat on the sidelines.  But as I was sitting there, Father Livinus told me to grab a plate and dish up.  Dish up behind the Archbishop.....well alright.

As I finished, Big E told me to take a seat next to the Archbishop.  So I sat down next to him and we proceeded to talk about all sorts of things for the next 45 minutes.

Here is another one of the Archbishop talking with Big E and Father Livinus

We finished up eating with speeches from both Big E and the Archbishop.  And then proceeded to say our goodbyes and as my turn came around the Archbishop came up to me and shook my hand and told me, "Please come out to my cottage by the lake so we can have some coffee and tea."  I told him that would not be a problem.

After the Archbishop left we hopped in the car and headed back to Bowe.  It was not a very fun ride but we made it and I had to sit back with a cold one for a while.

Now it is Monday night and we have been working on the clinic all day and running to different schools to check on sponsored children.

I am preparing for next week when a group is coming from the US to do health clinics.  We will spend 3 days out in the villages and 3 days in Bowe.

Getting Accustomed Again

Well it has almost been a week since I have been back here in Malawi and I have to say it has been tougher than I thought to get accustomed to life here again.

Adada preparing the coals for cooking

Just the other day after morning mass I returned to my room and felt sick.  I went to sleep for 5 hours after that.  It was quite strange.

The other problem is that I have picked up a book on St. Augustine called The Restless Flame and I have been staying up too late reading that also.  It is quite a fascinating book.

So in-between discussions on philosophy with the priests I have allowed myself time to get re-acquainted with the villagers.  I have been meeting new ones and old ones.

Some of the villagers pumping water

Yesterday the boys from the school invited me to join in on a futbol match.  So I did and I realized I needed to get back into shape.  But we are playing again tonight so that will be good.

There have been a few projects which I have been working on since I have been back.  The commerce center for Bowe, the guest house for Kalembe and documenting/mapping Bowe.

But as I have learned all things take time here.

What I have learned is that I have become more comfortable with the priest's and I have found myself challenging them more philosophically.  Posing questions to them about morality and values.  Not so much to make them fumble their words or stutter or even to prove them wrong.  But to have a discussion with them about these things.  I am very happy I can do that with them.

On Sunday, Big E and I went to mass together.  The village was about an hour away.  when we got there not many people had showed up for church, but we started anyways and soon people started to trickle in.  At the head of the village asked two questions to us:

1)  Can we help finish the roof of their church.  The roof was half metal and half grass, which was not a problem until it started raining and the grass did not do much.

2)  Can we bring them water.  The closest water source for them was 4 miles away.  And they had to walk it everyday.

This was the church we went to.  You can see where the metal roof ends and the grass roof begins.

Today was a very special day.  Today we decided to go back and see the blind girl (who is being sponsored by the charity) whom we dropped of at school when I was here last time.  There were 5 of us who went.  Big E, Dinge, Amama, the girls mother and I.

The girl did not know that we were coming to visit.  So we took the 35 minute trek to the school and went into the principal's office and we all sat down while the principal went to get the girl.

We were all sitting around talking when we saw them enter and so we kept quiet.  The girl was not too sure what was going on until her mom uttered a single word and the girl jumped into her arms with a big smile yelling "mama".

We sat down and talked with her for a while and she was doing very good, a very sharp girl and was learning braille quickly.

We finally departed and headed back to Bowe.

It was good to see that and to experience it.  To see that the support which people provide from all over the world is helping this little girl.  Soon she will be able to do everything by herself and will not need to rely on people to help her around.