Last Day

by Selise Miller

This is our last full day in Malawi. We headed to worship at the Cathedral Church on the ELCM campus where Pastor Kelly was preaching. Church started at 9:30am and people were still coming in for worship at 10:10am - must be a Lutheran thing!  The music was beautiful--youth choir singing and drums being played--music truly is a part of this nation. 

Pastor Kelly had a wonderful sermon with an interpreter delivering in Chichewa. We finished church about 11:15am and headed back to get ready for lunch. After lunch we started packing to head home and hoping that suitcases were under the weight needed. After dinner we gathered to reflect about our trip.

On Tuesday, we were up and ready to leave at 9:30am for the airport and say our good byes to Dereck and Mphatso.

So long Malawi, we will keep you all in our prayers.

Drive to Lilongwe

by Selise Miller

We said good-bye to Lake Malawi and headed to Lilongwe with a stop over in Dedza for lunch. We left Luther Cottage with fish tied to both side mirrors and the wiper at the back of the van--yes I said fish!!! Mphatso assured us they would be ok and be refrigerated once they got home.

He also told us we were taking a short cut to Dedza, which use to be a dirt road with unbelievable potholes, but was now a paved road. Boy were we in for a surprise and the ride of our life! He told us to look at the mountains ahead for we were headed up them.  The view at the top was unbelievable as was the ride! 

Lake Malawi's elevation was about 1600 feet above sea level and  Dedza about 6500 feet above sea level--up the mountain we went. There were villages scattered along the road, selling of produce, and many folks walking or pushing their bike with a 50 lb. sack of flour or metal sheeting for their roof on the back of the bike.

We arrived at Dedza Pottery and Lodge where we ordered lunch from a menu that had many American dishes--yippee! We headed over to the  pottery shop to make some purchases while our food was cooked. Lunch tasted so GOOD for it was not the usual rice and chicken dish.

We finished up with lunch and headed to Lilongwe. We arrived back on the ELCM campus to meet a group from Germany that will be traveling to their sister parish in Balaka. We settled in for the night. We were greatly thrilled to find out we had hot water!

Lake Malawi

By Selise Miller, member of St. Philip Lutheran Church

We awoke to the lapping of Lake Malawi in front of Luther Cottage at Monkey Bay. It was so peaceful to lay in bed, reflect over the past 2 weeks, and give thanks to God for bringing us safely this far.

We gathered for breakfast and then headed out to Malembo Health Center where patients are tested and treated for malaria. We meet John Bvumbe, an ECLM worker with the HIV/Aids-Malaria Program and Dr. Faustin Kabanmand for the clinic. We ask many questions about this disease and what is being done to help eradicate malaria, a disease that is deadly to many, especially babies and children.

Patients walk as far as 12- 15 miles for a simple finger prick and are told within 20 minutes if they have malaria or not. If a patient should test positive, they are given medicine (if it is available) and are told to follow up if symptoms should not improve. All pregnant women and babies are given a mosquito net to cover their beds at night. John told us that through educational programs they have seen a drop in malaria cases but they have a long way to go.

We left the clinic and headed to the village of Malembo, where once again we were greeted with singing and dancing. John introduced us to a group that have established a "savings and loan program" for their village. If they are a member, they can buy shares and receive dividends monthly and take out loans that have to be paid back within 30 days.

The members meet once a week, have no age limit to be a member, and will never have more than 25 members. Many members have a small business; maybe selling rice, oil, sodas, cookies or goats, that they were able to start with a small loan.  They are able to buy netting to sleep under, improvements to their home such as iron sheets, or donate money to the Health Clinic with their profits.

After eating with the new Abusa, we headed back to Luther Cottage to see what the vendors had made for us and pack as we were headed back to Lilongwe in the morning.

Safari and a Day of Rest

By Kathleen Radtke

After a long drive to Liwonde, we spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning in Liwonde National Park.  Seeing the variety of God's creations was amazing.  Some of the animals that we came across were elephants, hippos, baboons, kudus, impalas, hartebeests, warthogs, crocodiles, monitor lizards, guinea fowl, mongoose, and bushbucks.

We then made our way to Luther cottage in Monkey Bay.  I could not have imagined a more serene setting right on Lake Malawi.  Local villagers set up a small market just for us, and we enjoyed a very peaceful afternoon searching for shells and relaxing by the lake.  Yet again another example of God's wonderful work.

Chigumukire Feeding Center

By Kathleen Radtke, member of St. Philip Lutheran Church

We started on our journey to the Chigumukire feeding center on Tuesday morning with a quick stop at the house of the dean of the parish.  Dean Mawkala has been instrumental in helping the people of Chigumikure make the feeding center self sustaining.  It was great to see a community pull together to take care of the young children (ages 1-5) on their own.  

The church helped them get started, but since 2009, they have been growing the maize and soybeans and making their own cooking oil.  Combined with water, they are able to make a very nutritious porridge 6 days a week.  It is inspirational how the feeding center assistant volunteers his time to make all of this happen.

After helping to serve the porridge to the children, we all gathered in the church for a bible lesson led by Pastor Kelly.  We then gave out health kits and cross bracelets (made by the children of St. Philip).  Some of the younger children were frightened coming up to Azungus (white people), but it was so cool to watch the older kids that weren't getting kits help them come up and get one.

We left the same as we were greeted, with lots of singing and dancing.  The smiles and laughter of a united village will never get old and will always fill my heart with love and joy.

Celebrations and Dedications

Dedication of the borehole well built with support from St. Philip.

by Abusa Kelly

Over the weekend we had multiple worship celebrations.  On Saturday, we gathered with Mponela Parish, Bishop Bvumbwe, several choirs from Lutheran Hour Ministries Evangelism Team.  We gathered to dedicate the bore hole well and the feeding center.  What a celebration!!  Three hours of singing, dancing, speeches, drama, thanksgiving and so much praise to God!  The people of Mponela are so very thankful for good, clean water.  This will greatly reduce the amount of disease coming from water borne illness.  They are also so thankful for the feeding center; it will open in October to feed many children from the area.  Some of the church youth did an absolutely hilarious drama, with a powerful message of caring for the well and the feeding center.  Such a gracious and gifted people!

On Sunday, we worshiped for 6 hours - no joke!!  But it was a magnificent day!  Worship included the ordination of three new pastors in the ELCM.  I processed in with the other pastors, which felt just like we do in the ELCA when we gather together for synod assembly.  One of my colleagues translated the service for me, but apart from the difference in language everything was the mostly the same.  We follow the same liturgy for the order of worship.  We pray the same creed.  We say the same Lord's Prayer.  The pastoral candidates even said the same words of promise that I said at my ordination.  I got teary-eyed as I pondered the incredible gift of the one body of Christ - across the street and across the world.  God is good, all the time; all the time, God is good (they even say this same phrase here in Malawi!).  We processed out to a song based on Romans 8 - "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus."  That's a great theme for this trip - both because of our connections to the people of Mponela but also because of our continued connection to all of you back home.  We are all one body of Christ and we cannot be separated from God - ever, for any reason.

Today (Monday), we spent some time with Chitenje Congregation - part of Mponela Parish, where we had helped build the vestry on Thursday.  Today I led a bible study with the congregation, then we had a Q&A with one another.  As a sign of the oneness of the body of Christ, which had been the focus of my bible study, we all sat together in the congregation (usually visitors are placed in a seat of honor at the front of the congregation).  Such great questions - both from us and from the people of Chitenje!  We learned so much about each other - how life in the USA is different from in Malawi but also how it is the same.  A fantastic way to end our time with our sisters and brothers in Mponela Parish.  They gave us gifts to share with you all when we get home.  But mostly they have given us the gift of the love of God in Christ Jesus. 

Thank you for your prayers while we've been gone.  You all are in our prayers as well.

Mulungu akudalitseni (God bless you!)

Peace+

Smiles, Songs, Joyful Praise

By Heidi Speakman

Friday August 1 - We made a very long drive on a dirt road today to Mphemba.  On the way, we had the opportunity to stop in Kagwamtipenya to see their newly built church.  We then traveled to Mphemba to make bricks.  We made 820 bricks in the morning.  They did not have a well in the village, so when water was needed to make bricks, they had to walk to a nearby river and carried it back in a bucket on their head.  Kathleen helped the ladies cook this time. 

Lunch was at 2:15pm with eggs, greens, pork, rice and nsima.  Then we had the children perform for us, singing and dancing.  Two of the men had instruments.  Thank you Lord for the smiles, the songs, and the joyful praise.  And thank you for all we have back home. 

We have come back to the hotel to change into skirts (after working in pants) and went back to Mponela congregation for a music presentation by the Lutheran Hour Ministries Evangelism Team.  

1500 Bricks, Stomp Rockets, and Electricity

by Heidi Speakman

Thursday July 31 - We made a short drive to Mponela, another congregation in the Mponea parish.  We made bricks with the people of Mponela which are to be used to build a parsonage.  We made about 1500 bricks.  Wow are we sore.  The children watched in the morning, but after we played with them during a break, they joined in and helped make bricks.  We played with the children in Mponela with stomp rockets, jump ropes, and a frisbee.  They were so excited for us to be there and loved having their picture taken.

Lunch was again at about 2:30.  A truck load of people from Lilongwe (The ELCM Evangelism team) came and helped clean out the feeding center and assisted with the building of a sign near the borehole well.  Abusa Innocent invited us to see his house on the other side of the village.  The children all followed us there.  Abusa was so happy with his small house (this house has concrete floors and electricity which his old house did not), which reminds us of how happy we should be with all that we have in the United States.

To the Village of Chitenje

By Heidi Speakman

Wednesday July 30 - Today we went on a long bumpy ride on a dirt road to the village of Chitenje to help them build their church.  It is a congregation in the Mponera Parish, so Abusa (Pastor) Innocent went with us.  Most of us helped with brick laying and I went with the women to help them cook the meal on open fires.  We had cooked greens with tomatoes, goat meat, and Zsima.

Lunch was at about 2:30pm and then we played with the children.  During our bible study with the children, Pastor Kelly told the story of creation with the children helping us learn the words in Chichewa.  Each family also received a mirror with stickers to decorate the outside, to remind them that God created each of us in his image and loves each of us.

Why I'm excited to be on this trip

by Lizzie Franz, member St. Philip Lutheran Church

When people asked me why I wanted to go on this trip, I didn't really have an answer.  Mostly, it was just "why not?" I never had any emotional pull towards this trip in particular but a few days before we left, I realized why I was excited to be going.  Now that I'm here I can totally agree with everything that I was feeling.

I worked at Caroline Furnace for four full summers and one of the reasons I always love going home (there) is because it was a place of little worry - from the outside world at least.  I can go there and just be.  Be myself and be in the moment with those around me. This summer when I was there, I found myself using the wifi that was available too often.  I was very excited about why the wifi is there - so that we can share the real world of living with God with what we often think of as the real world back home - but instead I found myself snapchatting and using imessage to chat with friends and not focus on the world around me. I finally realized afterwards that I have become so attached to technology that I can't even go one day without seeing if I have any Facebook notifications or any funny tweets on my Twitter feed. That was when I realized that I really need a break to break me from that habit and what better way than to travel into a country where none of my technology works.

My favorite thing to do is be with other people, enjoy their company and have genuine relationships with them. That's hard to do when you have a cell phone in your hand that is distracting you. Here in Malawi, they do actually have cell phones but they use them to make "arrangements". Before we came, Kathleen and Pastor Kelly explained to us that we would be living on Malawi time - a flexible, ever changing schedule and so far that has definitely been true.

We arrived at the Lilongwe airport which was pretty easy going except that we weren't allowed to walk the 100 yards to the terminal.  Instead, we had to wait for the bus to come back since the people on the first bus wouldn't scoot over so we could fit. It took us a little longer to get through the airport than we would have liked, but that's ok because we were taken off earlier than originially planned to the grocery store.  We got the opportunity to visit with the representatives from the Northwest Wisconsin Synod on their last day and learn more about their partnership with the Lutheran Church in Malawi.

Our first plan for the day on Monday was to meet with the Bishop, but since it was a holy day, that got postponed until Tuesday. Instead we spent most of the hanging out and being with the people of Malawi, which was so fun.  We got to play frisbee and soccer with some of the children.  We also got to go to the mill, but instead of getting to see them ground the corn into flour, we got to watch them try to fix the machine and in the meantime teach each other English/Chichewa.

Tuesday morning we met with the Bishop and got on the road a little later than we were originally supposed to. We also are now staying in Mponela instead of Madisi because of a power outage, but that's all ok.  We got to visit with two of the ELDS projects that are going on here in Malawi and both of them were extremely cool to see.  It's amazing what God's people can do with a little help from their brothers and sisters figuring out what they need and getting them there. After these three days here, even though our plans have changed many times, I don't feel like I've missed anything. In these moments, being with the people here is all I need.  We are able to enjoy each other and what is happening, even in the craziness that is Malawi time.

Don't get me wrong - I still want to know how you all are doing and what you've been up to while I'm gone, but it can wait until we can have a nice long chat and really enjoy each others company.  And I still will snapchat you but I hope you can understand if I don't respond to yours right away. 

The need to feel known and loved is most truly satisfied by really being with the people around you.  Having your phone attached to you is a hard habit to break but it's one that's worth it. Even in the past three days, it has really come back to me how great a feeling that is.  I'm excited to return to my real world and live a life where I can focus more on the people around me than technology.  Sometimes God gives us gifts that will satisfy us in ways that we didn't imagine originally.  I am so blessed to be given the opportunity to be here, be with the people around me and be reminded of ways that we can show God's love to those around us.

Why I'm Going to Malawi

by Heidi Speakman, member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Martinsville, VA

First of all, my youngest daughter (Kathleen Radtke) asked me. Then it took me a long time to make a decision, because it was out of my comfort zone. I took the time to identify what God wanted me to do. It was a tough choice, but certain scriptures talked to me and some ladies at my oldest daughters church prayed with me and for me.

Now I am embracing the joy and peace that my relationship with Christ gives me and looking forward to sharing this love in Malawi.

Malawi Bound in 3 Days!

On July 25, Pastor (Abusa) Kelly, Lizzie Franz, Kathleen Radtke, Heidi Speakman, Selise Miller begin their journey to Malawi.

While in Mponela they will make bricks for the parish center and do some plaster work on another church in the parish. They will also have the opportunity to have a couple of bible studies with the adults and five bible studies with the children.

The team will worship in Mponela on August 3.  They will also dedicate the feeding center which was a joint effort between Habitat For Humanity, Thrivent Builds, and the ELCM.  The borehole well, which was provided by St. Philip, will also be dedicated.  The second week of the trip will be spent traveling to different villages to share bible studies and other experiences with other congregations, a day on a safari, a chance to help feed 150 children at a feeding center, and a day of worship in Lilongwe.  The team will leave Malawi on August 11, arriving back in Roanoke on August 12.

Thank you to everyone that donated health kit items, money for health kit items we will buy there ($95 was collected at the June noisy offering), and money for the two extra totes of supplies.

Please keep the team, their families, and the people of Malawi in your prayers.  This is a wonderful opportunity as a church and community to strengthen our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Malawi.