Friday, November 6, 2009
Still kickin'
Anya has been bumped up to a higher-skill swimming group (she’s a shark now, not a stingray!) and her legs are often sore but her ego is soaring since she wins most of her races. She also had a field hockey tournament where her team won both the tournament trophy and the “spirit award”. While she was in as mid-field, her team’s defenders never saw the ball (puck?) because it never got past her! She loves our new Rotweiller Jake and her pet chameleon that lives in the tree outside our window. We also had a brief relationship with a hedgehog (quite cute and only a little stinky) but we couldn’t get it to eat anything so we released it in the dog-free yard of our friends. She stayed up until 1am crying about that one!
We had a meeting with Ethan’s teacher, and discovered that he is excelling at blending consonants with vowels, counting, and telling stories…not so much at sitting still and ‘responding to correction’. We, of course, were shocked at this report (HA!). At least his teacher assures us that he is adorable and totally lovable even while he is not listening.
Isaac is crawling at lightening speed, standing for brief seconds, clapping and waving good-bye. He is amazingly skilled with his two teeth and eats absolutely everything—when he wants to and not a moment sooner. He is equally skilled at taking bites as if he’s hungry, and then spitting it out with impressive force. You can often identify all 3 meals for the day by these dried missiles on my clothes. (I’ve given up changing when things get dirty early in the day)
We’re plugging away at language, enjoying ourselves most days. We’re making slow but steady progress. Of course I did tell our guard, “Gonana bwino” instead of “Gonani bwino” the other day. Just one vowel different…no biggie right? Except that I told him to sleep WITH ME well instead of to sleep well. It might have been funny to see a Malawian blush had I not been so mortified! Does that count as making yourself a fool for Christ???
It’s hot here, and we’re anxious for the rain. There’s not a blade of grass alive in our yard, so the dust is totally out of control. Of course, once the rains start it will be mud I’ll be cursing instead! Oh well. There is nothing quite like enjoying an ice-cold Coke while baking in the sun to make you feel ready for Thanksgiving, I always say!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Health Education
We traveled 3 hours north to the small town of Mzimba the last weekend of September. The Robertsons and Rudds, fellow IMB missionaries, are there doing evangelism, community development, and leadership training with 2 of Malawi’s 14 Bible schools.
Once a year the students' wives travel to the Bible schools to attend class, and this year I was invited to teach health education. I readily accepted, but I was shaking in my flip-flops before I began. How was I going to connect with semi-literate village women on matters of health and wellness!?! After working with migrant farmers in Yakima, Washington, I've been used to suggesting the inexpensive home remadies whenever available. But it's a whole new level when you're talking to people who can't afford to heat water because firewood is so expensive, or who don't always have the means to buy salt for gargling or who have never even seen a band-aid.
But God was present, and God was glorified! The 14 women were attentive, hungry for information, and open during the discussion. It did not take long for questions to turn from basic health (when gargling salt water for a sore throat, should the water be hot or cold?) to matters of discipleship (if I already have 8 children but my husband won’t allow me to use birth control, can I as a Christian woman use it without his knowledge?) I confess I was more prepared for the former than the latter, but it was wonderful to see Michelle Robertson, much more experienced than me, and the pastor’s wife guide the discussion. I left Mzimba with a new, deeper respect for the issues facing Malawian believers (especially the women) and their true desire to honor God despite the many challenges.