This is a beautiful sunset from the Rafiki Village Malawi. We have gorgeous sunsets nearly every night here.

This picture is one of the teachers. The young children have shaved heads or at least very closely cut.
Once they reach standard 7 or 7th grade they are allowed to grow their hair and most have it braided similar to this as soon as it is long enough. They braid one anothers hair and do a fine job.

Days here are busy, but a lot is being accomplished in the libraries and I am getting to know the children here. On Saturday I will spend some extended time with the kids doing some crafty things.
Likely we will make some friendship bracelets.
Today it rained in the morning this has been typical and then it is sunny and warmer in the afternoon and cools rapidly in the evening.
I have made a decision that when I come to the guest house after school that is when I will shower as it is the warmest time of the day. I generally work well into the evening.
I would have to say I do love Malawi

Malawian Insights

So I saw a couple of things today that I found unique.
We went to church in Mzuzu.
The service was in a combination of the native language and English.
No one was at the front of the church but hymnals were passed out and someone would call a number for the hymn and then we would sing it.Chechiwa which is the main native language here. I could follow the progress in the hymal but I can't begin to pronounce the words correctly. The words are long on consonants and short on vowels.
After singing for a while there was a short break and communion was served and then we sang hymns in English, Then another short break and we had a sermon delivered in English and translated to Chechiwa line by line. Very simple teaching on obedience.
I have not been to a church where no one leads anything before and no one is in front until the sermon is given.

Traveling both to and from church we encountered accidents.  There were no police or official vehicles and the disabled vehicles were not cleared from the road.
They had however set leafy branches on the road before and after the disabled vehicles. I guess this is what you do when there are no cones or traffic flares.

I also have been sad that there is no salt available at meals here in the village. I learned today that most people here run high blood pressure so it is not allowed in the dining hall.

Tomorrow will be the first day of the new school term. The children are excited. I can tell they are becoming more comfortable with me as they are asking more insightful questions and the little boys Praise and Emmanuel wanted hugs tonight. Mwowy is the youngest in the village and is much doted upon he is not in need of attention so has not made friends with me at this point. It will come.

I heard it is 95 today in ND. I doubt it warmed to 60 here today. A bit chilly.

3 Days in Africa

So I have been in Rafiki Village Malawi for three days and a few hours.
Some first impressions have formed.
The climate in the village is pretty relaxed.
The country side is pretty beautiful.
The children are delightful.

The journey to get here was daunting. I was on airplanes for for twenty + hours and in airports another 7, then there was a four hour car ride out to the village which was hard to embrace after so long already in transit.

I feel like Malawi is similar in several ways to other African countries I have visited. Many brick houses without much more then 4 walls and a tin roof. Much of the soil is very red some rocks remind me vaguely of the badlands. Some are very much reminiscent of a volcanic past. Some areas are rain forest like and I did see a monkey some areas are much more open and barren.

We eat with the children and meals are simple and feature a large serving of either rice or Nsima, which is a corn based starch similar to bland tasteless mashed potatoes. Small flavorful sides are served with it, beans, meat in sauce, scrambled egg with vegetable and sauce. I am also eating lots of greens, cabbage is common here.

I have met all but one of the children, there is one very ill girl here who I haven't seen. I don't know many of them to match face to name as all but the oldest girls have very close clipped hair. I think I can recognize Shadrach, John, Frankson, Patrick, Harriet, and the little ones Praise, Emmanuel, Mwawy, Patricia and Janet. That leaves me with a lot more to learn.

Thursday was kind of a day to settle in and we did tour the whole village and meet a few people. We ate with the children noon and supper and watched a netball match. I don't fully understand netball. It's kind of like ultimate basketball. I also visited Proverbs cottage to share stories and devotions.
beaded
Friday was the last day of GAMES for this break and we, two other mini missionaries and I shared crafts and activities with the children most of the day. We made beaded name necklaces and that helped me become more familiar with the names, doesn't mean I can match them with faces very often.

Today I started working harder on books. There are many that need to be processed into use. I had talked to Paul Klouke and he said it was fine to let them take the new books I brought and a few others from the boxes I am processing to read with an informal checkout system. Most every child has a book to read this weekend that is new to them. They seem to be voracious readers.

We had dinner with the full time staff in town tonight at an Italian Restaurant run by Italians that is open air and includes a campground. They had live music by a group from Kenya which was the big attraction tonight. The food was good. I had a chicken samosa and a chicken and rice main dish with eggplant, cole slaw and green beans. It was a nice evening.

Church is at 9:20 tomorrow and I am planning to sleep in and try to complete my recovery from jet lag. cannot load photos tonight.

On the road again

Not at my cleverest in writing titles tonight. However I am resurrecting this blog to add thoughts and experiences from my upcoming trip to Rafiki Village Malawi, near Mzuzu Malawi.
Tomorrow is July 4 and there will be no visit to a local fireworks display instead I will drive from Bismarck to Minneapolis, St. Paul by way of Staples MN. My daughter Emily will take me to the airport around 4 am Tuesday. I will arrive in Mzuzu about 7 PM local time there on July 6th having spent about 46 hours in and around airplanes, airport and in a transit vehicle.
Right now that is about what my adventuresome spirit can absorb about the next several days.

I will be on the ground in Malawi about 6 weeks and hope to accomplish much in that time span.
There are 100 resident orphaned children in the Rafiki village and they also provide education and 2 meals a day to some 130 area students on weekdays.

Hopefully I will organize and stream line some libraries and do some tutoring and teaching of all subjects and crafts and drama as well.

Looking forward to seeing new country and meeting some special children and hopefully leaving good things behind when I depart for home.

Lori

Ethiopian Culture

Here are just a few observations I have made that are new or changed from last year.
Ethiopian coffee ceremony is a highlight of life and hospitality here. We experienced Ethiopian coffee ceremony in a private home of one of the teachers today. We were all invited to test the aroma of the fresh roasted beans by wafting the steam near our noses.
We enjoyed a lovely meal of many dishes made in our honor which were mildly seasoned. The lentils were especially good. We had stuffed hot peppers as a side dish which were intense but tasty. Hot peppers are just very much what you eat here and of course injera.
Yesterday we visited Addis Ababa for shopping. The name means new flower. I don't find Addis that fresh or new looking and I don't see it as a beautiful city. We visited a shop which is somewhat a fair trade shop and a market where you can barter and there are lots of store like shops. There are beggars around. Miss Sherrie says don't make eye contact. It's a sad thing that there are people who will disfigure children to make more money begging. As in America it is most often best to work through a knowledgeable charity.
On the road we saw small tef farms. The tef is always the neatest looking stack even in the most minimal looking households and everyone has a fence. Some are wire, some are corrugated metal and some are sticks and thorn shrubs. I have read of fences like this in fiction but not observed before. They seem pretty effective in appearance to me.
We learned some food customs here as well. We as guests as well as the head of household, teachers father were served first. The men get to eat and the children, the women wait and eat what is left. Teacher Zemen's husband fed her large bites of his food. She said this is customary among couple who love each other very much.
It is common for couples to live apart large amounts of the time. Zemen's husband mostly lives in Addis. He is the head consultant for Prison ministry in this nation. He told us a bit about the prison system. I was pleased to hear that is not common for there to be long unjust imprisonment in this county. Despite living apart at times people here value family and children. I don't think I would find a child here unattended and decide to sit on my lap for a long time. Someone would be watching closer.
We have also been able to see examples of cultural dances. Each tribal group has their own style. Some move the hips, some the shoulders, some have different fluttering hand motions. The PP3 children did a song with bits of cultural dance in it for recitation. It was very very cute.
One more passing observation that is not so much cultural as it is observation of the people. I find the Ethiopian people to be very very attractive. They have I believe what is called a patrician nose and high foreheads. Their skin color varies from very dark to almost a darker tan color but the nose and forehead seem to be a strong trait of the people.

That looks like the angel of God

Both here in Ethiopia and while in Uganda I have noticed how natural it is for the children to speak of God.
Last night after supper I was walking with one of the P.2 or second grade boys. There was a hole in the cloud cover with sunbeams shining through. It was quite striking and beautiful. My companion told me it looked like an Angel of God. He talked on about how it was moving with us. Than told me he thought that was something Noah might have seen after the flood had dried, along with a rainbow of course. He than went on to talking about football which is always a hot topic and more so because they have a pretty new playing field with real goals and one of the male teachers does a weekly organized practice with them.

When I visited Eden Cottage the boys sang for me. 3 verses of Holy Holy Holy from memory. It was last weeks hymn of the week so was sung at morning assembly daily. They obviously absorbed a lot.

I am struck too here by how much the same in stature and appearance many of the children look a whole year since I have seen them. Working with a few one on one and seeing how they behave in school and at play appearance is not everything. They have gained so much ability in reading, and phonics and sharing and taking turns.

Today at lunch the 3 kindergarten girls all wanted to sit by me. Segen ended up the one who was one seat off and there was no pouting or discussion. I told her she should come sit on my lap for a bit when the meal was over because I was so impressed that she had not fussed about where to sit. I am also happy that she is not one of the Kg kids who needs tutoring. Her phonics are coming nicely and she has greatly improved English language skills. The first graders this year are sailing along in reading and the second graders have made great improvements. This is no small thing because they also learn Amharic letters, sound and spelling etc. and some Oromo. I think they are amazing.

So to me it seems like God's angels and spirit spend a lot of time here showering many blessings.
Feeling blessed myself to see them first hand.

Blessings all around me

So felt blessed and thankful for things accomplished and friendships founded in Uganda. It was hard to say good bye to some. I will continue to pray for my little friend Nisha. She is in a less than ideal family situation. Yesterday I went to talk to Patty Lafage and she assured me again that Ethiopian Air is wonderful and no one would confiscate my dreadfully overweight luggage. She was right.
I was supposed to be allowed one checked bag at 20 kilograms and on carry on at 10. The carryon was close to what was allowed by checked bag was probably 60 lbs, which is way over 20 kilograms which is about 44. They checked and didn't say anything about the weight so I didn't either. I had worried about security flying an African Airline. Security was tight. My carry on's were x-ray screened twice. I am pretty sure that is the most rigorous I have ever seen security.
I got on the plane feeling peaceful. Than an hour later we landed in Kenya. Not a place I wanted to be in light of recent terrorism there. I guess I was not the only one who didn't hear this was a planned stop to add passengers because there was a lot of confusion. However we did get underway to Addis after a while and the snack that we got was really a very adequate supper with well seasoned poached chicken breast, cold slaw a bun, and tomato and cucumber slices. Such American sort of food. I and my stomach were thankful. I am a little worn out on beans, or peas and rice.
Arrived safely in Addis, tired but confident having been through Bole airport before. Got quickly through and transported and settled at the Jupiter Hotel where they took very good care of me. I even got to upload some pictures from Uganda this morning after eating to much breakfast including croissants. YUM
Got here to Rafiki Village about noon and unpacked a little while watching for the residents to come from church. Guess what? They really do remember me and wanted to hug me and for me to read with them and sing songs I taught them last summer. Even little Adonay who was just 2 last summer remembered me and had to have 2 hugs. Miss Elisabeth for whom I refrained from chopping off my hair for this summer says it is beautiful. How can I not love that.
I am mostly unpacked and eager to play some now. Have looked over my work schedule and it is wonderful. I have lovely students to tutor, Books to read and process, Children to read to and play with. Counting my blessings more than twice today!