In March my husband and I had the great opportunity to visit Scotland. Our son graduated with his Master’s Degree in Philosophy, Science, and Religion from the University of Edinburgh.
Because of Covid graduations were postponed. The school set a date and invited those who had completed their work during the pandemic to come for a special graduation.
Graduation was held in the beautiful McEwan Hall. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful accomplishment. Afterwards we walked around the campus and attended a reception for the graduates. The receptions were held by department.
This was the reason we were in Scotland but there was so much more to our trip I will try to share soon.
Isn’t this a funny question? So am I a morning or evening person? I find this is more of a question of sleep patterns. When do I sleep best?
Every test I read to determine whether I am a morning or evening person deals with my sleep patterns and energy levels during the day. That’s probably a good measure. Some studies suggest that morning people are happier than evening people. When most of the world is on your schedule you would probably be happier too.
Childhood
As a child, I could sleep deeply through anything (rain, storms, morning wake-up calls, fights, etc.). I could also stay up late reading the last few pages of a captivating book. I never remember having a bedtime. I do remember being sleepy in school.
My natural tendency is to go to bed early and rise early. I am thankful that I have a lot of energy and can be flexible with sleep and other things too. When I wake up early, I feel excited about a new day. I have a lot more energy in the mornings and get a lot done. Yesterday, I woke with a lot of energy, and by noon I had accomplished a long list of things and hit 10,000 steps!
Motherhood
After the birth of my first child, Micah, I was never going to sleep the same again. Yes, Daniel Redding, all conversations lead to childbirth. Even when you sleep, there is a heightened awareness of sounds. After having 11 children in 22 years, I learned to survive on a few hours of sleep. When my children became teenagers, I couldn’t sleep until I knew they were safely home. I was up early with babies and late with teens. I treasured our late-night chats. In the 1990s, when I was pregnant every year, if I was a morning person or an evening person, I don’t know. I was surviving.
Working
In 2014 I went to work after 35 years of raising children. My early schedule meant another change in my sleep patterns. I could function at work on 6 hours of sleep for a day or two, but I usually needed at least 7 hours of sleep. I loved the early schedule.
Empty Nest
Now if I wake up in the night, it is not to the sounds of a baby crying, but it might still be my children or friends in different time zones. Or I might awake thinking about one of my children. I use this awake time to pray for my children just as I did when I was rocking and nursing them back to sleep long ago.
I am an adult now. I can sleep whenever I want to!
Today is Pi Day! Do you know what Pi is? In basic mathematics, pi is used to find the area and circumference of a circle. Have you ever memorized Pi? When my children were at home they had fun trying to memorize the first 100 digits of Pi. Maybe you are like me and prefer to memorize pie recipes. This occupied them for hours.
I am not sure who holds the record in my house but according to the Pi World Ranking List the world record for reciting the most digits of pi belongs to Suresh Kumar Sharma of India, who recited pi to 70,030 decimal places in 2015. It took him 17 hours and 14 minutes! That’s a long day of work.
Do you want to try this with your kids? For fun check out the bottom of the page for the first 100 digits of Pi. Maybe you can make pie while they work on this today. Here’s my signature pie recipe.
Signature Desserts
Another thing we did as a family was eat Blueberry Crunch Pie. Almost any holiday or special occasion called for it! Chances are if you have visited my house you have tasted the yumminess of Blueberry Crunch Pie. This accidentally became my signature dessert. That’s how memories are made many times by accident.
Blueberry Crunch Pie is a quick dessert to make. In fact I can make it in less than 30 minutes. While the crust bakes I mix the filling and then it is all ready to go as soon as the crust is cooled. Sometimes I cheat and put the crust in the fridge or freezer to cool it faster.
Blueberry Crunch Pie
Version 2
A few years ago I made a little change to my recipe. I still use the same ingredients I just tweaked it a bit. Below you will find the Blueberry Crunch Pie Version 2 Recipe. When my children were home I doubled the recipe.
Recipe
Blueberry Crunch Pie Version 2
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup self rising flour
1 cup nuts (divided – save 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top)
1 stick margarine softened
11 oz cream cheese
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling or homemade
Whipped topping 16+ ounces
Instructions:
Layer 1 — Combine flour, nuts and margarine. Press into 13×9 pan, bake until lightly browned about 15 minutes at 350° F or until lightly browned. Let cool.
Layer 2 — Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Stir in a cup of the whipped topping. Spread on cooled crust.
Layer 3 — Spread 1 can blueberry pie filling ( or homemade) evenly and gently over layer 2
Layer 4 — Spread with whipped topping
Layer 5 — Sprinkle with nuts.
Do you have a signature dessert? Please share it in the comments or email it to me! I love reading recipes!
Try Memorizing 100 Digits of Pi for Fun!
Here are the first 100 digits in case you want to memorize them today!
Let’s have a gratitude attitude. Can we? Yes! How do I cultivate an attitude of gratitude even when things are not going so well? Or during what I call downtimes? We have had a lot of downtimes with Covid these last two years but there is still lots of room for gratitude.
Count Your Blessings Even When You Don’t Feel Grateful
I need to acknowledge the innumerable things I have to be grateful for each day. Count them, write them down or at least mention them out loud. It lifts my spirits when I confirm the goodness of God. My head knows God’s daily goodness to me but sometimes I may not feel so grateful. So remembering these blessings in a tangible way makes me feel better.
Count Your Blessings
Read Your Bible
Keep this one routine. Read your Bible! If you think you don’t feel like it, deciding to read one verse and thinking about it will help. This one routine will help you stay on track and lead to additional benefits. I just pick a book of the Bible I haven’t read in a while and start working my way through it whether by one verse or several. When I complete a book of the Bible I write the month and year on the title page. I am always glad I did!
Read Good Books
Reading good books helps me insert something positive into my day. When I may not be very motivated to do a lot whether it’s from sickness or the blues I can feed my mind on learning something beneficial. I love to read non-fiction and memoirs as they share the struggles and the best of times. This helps me find perspective in my day when I realize we all have them!
Helping others is great therapy when I am feeling down or struggling with the blues. Get moving! Having a plan for the day instead of sitting helps me to adjust my attitude, I feel better when I am moving. If I can’t bring myself to do much or I am unable to do a lot physically I can give an elderly person, a shut-in, or an old friend a short call just to say hi. I guarantee you will feel better.
Examples of Gratitude
I have two great examples from ladies I have known. One was Eva Lee Smith. She was in her 90s and couldn’t get out much. One day I went to visit the hospital and the lady I was visiting was on the phone with Eva Lee. She couldn’t leave her home but she was checking on others and you know she brightened their day. The second lady, Mrs. Renfro was 86 when I met her at a yard sale. She told me a Bible verse that became one of my favorites, Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is my strength”. She also told me she helped little old ladies and that sure made me smile. What a joy she was, it was obvious she was enjoying life!
What are some things that keep us from having a gratitude attitude? Focusing on our problems. Forgetting to notice the little blessings. Thinking only of myself. Feeding my mind on the wrong things. Having no goals or plans for the day. All of these can steal our joy and keep us from having an attitude of gratitude.
Have a beautiful day full of gratitude! It’s up to you today!
Today I am thinking about patience. I am thinking about how I respond to people. I consider myself a fairly patient person. Being a mom of 8 boys and 3 girls requires one to acquire some. Books help me with my patience, so I usually have my Bible or a book nearby just in case I am stuck in traffic or anytime I am waiting so that I can trade a joy for a frustration. But even patient people have their moments. So this is what happened this week.
Surgical Center
On Monday I drove my mother for a procedure at a surgical center. The procedure was short and due to Covid and my broken foot I dropped her off at the door. The staff had my phone number and sent updates by text.
Beautiful Day
It was a beautiful autumn day. The sun was shining as I sat under the shade of a large tree with my car windows down, listening to an audio book. The procedure went great and soon she was walking out the door chatting with the nurses. Her folder was complete with contact info should we have any questions, photos and follow up instructions.
Beauty!
Quick Stop at the Pharmacy
The center had called in her prescription so our first stop was the pharmacy. My mom and I chatted as we waited our turn in line. When I reached the window I found out that her prescription had been called in to another pharmacy down the road. As a result I had to choose: they could transfer it or just pick it up at the other location. This would be faster they said. I chose to go to the other pharmacy. On the way I swung through the Panera drive through and got my mom some soup to take home.
Second Pharmacy – Thinking About Patience
As I drove up to the other pharmacy I noticed there was no line.At the window there was a sign that said no pharmacist on duty. Picking up my cell phone I tried calling the first pharmacy and was on hold 20+ minutes before I arrived back and got in line again and gave up the phone option.
When I reached the window I was a little frustrated. I explained what had happened and they seemed to have a hard time believing me. I told them my mom had now been in the car driving around after her procedure for over an hour! They explained this was not there fault that they were very busy and understaffed. They told me there was pharmacist at the other location now. I said no transfer the prescription. She told me it would be an hour. I said do it! I took my mother home and waited over an hour and went back for the prescription.
Third Trip – Thinking About Patience
As I sat in the long line for the third time I was not very happy that this had taken so long. If fact it was taking longer to get her prescription than the whole procedure had taken. It was a bad situation for me, for my mom and actually for the pharmacy.
How Should I Respond?
How should I respond in this situation? I realized I had a choice to make. It is true that this person did not really cause the problem. Could they have done a better job? Yes! What are my options? I could take my frustration out on this technician who actually showed up for work today. Wouldn’t I be justified? Or I could call corporate and complain. Google revenge, I could give them a bad rating on google. Or I could smile and say thank you. I chose the latter.
An amazing thing happened. I felt a lot better as I drove off. The frustration was gone and I finally had the prescription.
Today I Am Thinking About Patience
I wondered to myself, what would happen if I chose to give patient responses or showed kindness instead of frustration, even when it didn’t seem to be deserved? What if I did this for a day? What if for just one day I gave up my rights, my expectations, my will? Could I for a whole day treat everyone with patience and kindness even in situations like these? What if everyone chose to just be nice especially in bad situations?
As I tried this, I noticed so many nice gestures people made: Helping open doors, offering a chair to someone, carrying boxes for people, and just smiling. It’s amazing what you see when you look!
Maybe you do not struggle with this at all. That’s great. However, if you do struggle then try this challenge and see what happens.
Let’s Try This!
In conclusion, let me challenge you to try this for one day or even one week. Make a choice to respond with a smile or at least patience and kindness even if someone makes a mistake on your order, even if they drop your call after you’ve been on hold for almost an hour, or deliver your package to the wrong door or mistakenly send you to a closed pharmacy.
We arrived home in April from Malawi and life hasn’t slowed down a bit! We had planned to make a big trip to Washington state to get our house ready to go on the market. Before we could leave for Washington we had a couple of Malawi presentations to do. We also had to celebrate a few milestones.
Esther our last born child turned 18 years old! How could that be? On the same day, our church celebrated the 2021 graduates. Not only is Esther graduating but our firstborn granddaughter is also graduating. We had a wonderful day at church together. My mom came down for the evening banquet and celebration given in the kid’s honor. The girls were showered with cards, gifts, hugs, and well wishes. It was a beautiful day for all. I feel such gratitude to those who have invested in our church kids, especially mine!
Graduation BanquetFamily!A. ReddingE. Redding
On Monday morning James and I headed for Washington state. We arrived in Tacoma just in time to meet Sarah and Eowyn for Wednesday night Bible study. It was nice to see them and our Lakeview church family!
Our Trip Begins
James and I spent 5 weeks painting, cleaning, mowing, etc. getting our house ready to market. What a job! I treasured the time I got to see my kids and old friends while there. We visited our friends in Aberdeen, Tacoma, Seattle, and a couple in Everett! Treasured days!
A few opportunities allowed me to share about our work in Malawi! That is always close to my heart. I am thrilled to have friends who love God and have been such an encouragement to us through the years and continue to be even now! The response to our message was so encouraging.
It was so nice to see an old friend I hadn’t seen in almost 30 years. She was part of a Bible study group and became a Christian during this time. We were young moms last time I saw her and now we are grandmas! We talked for hours and took a nice walk around the park and enjoyed a salad lunch together.
Finally, James and I got our house on the market and we were ready for the return trip home. I had so much fun making the trip to Washington and back with James. We talked, studied, worked hard, listened to podcasts, and so much more.
We arrived home with a day to rest up before my family reunion with my cousins, in Alabama at Jasper City Park. It was so nice to see everyone after our two-year break. We had lost a few family members but we treasured the day together. My mom and her brother are the only surviving siblings of 10. It is so sad to lose this generation.
The CousinsCousins!
After a nice day with lots of fun and laughter, rain, and a leaking shelter, we gave our last hugs goodbye and I headed to East Tennessee to meet my husband. Lawrence was preaching the next morning at Byrdstown, Tennessee.
Red Hill Church of Christ
We enjoyed a nice morning with the church family and lunch with a sweet couple from church. Then we headed home.
I woke up with an upset stomach this morning which is very unusual. Nothing I ate should have caused this. When I travel to other countries I have never gotten sick. (other than the time many years ago when I got chickenpox in Malaysia.)
Mbwenu leaves to deal with the car which broke down yesterday while Wanangwa goes to the shop. Today is market day! Today will certainly be a stay-at-home day for us.
I heated our bath water and had my Bible reading. Today is a good day to work with Lawrence on World Bible School. He has gotten so many students so fast that he is a little overwhelmed. I spend some time helping and then some time writing on my blog. We stay so busy and we do not always have internet so I try to make use of this downtime to do some writing. I write in my paper journal every day and then try to write and schedule posts when time allows. So the posts are actually behind schedule.
For lunch, I make stir-fried rice with our leftovers and pumpkin and sardines. I skipped the sardines.
Kids
Khwema is home for the day so we are babysitting if you can call it that. There are always kids around and they are so creative. Most of the morning though they beg me for coloring sheets which they call shading. So I happily give the crayons and papers to color. The boys make a maze from some Jenga blocks we brought and catch some bugs to let run through the maze. Water is a big deal around here and that even shows up in their playtime. This is the second day the kids have gathered containers and a very small hose and build a “borehole”. We call them wells. So they play with this for hours. They show me how it really works. I love their creativity. They have homemade toys and they have a great time with them. On the other hand, they are fast and mean soccer players!
Bore Hole (Well)A Maze complete with crawling bugs
Mushrooms
A lady comes by selling mushrooms. She sells them by the bowl. Which she says 100K. My mouth drops open that is certainly too little. I pay her 150K. Esther really loves mushrooms and wants to cook these. They are a different variety than what we find in the grocery store.
Walking
Lawrence and I take a walk in the afternoon to the vegetable garden that we eat out of most days. It has really grown since our last visit. Today Lawrence is really struggling with his walking. I am not sure what has happened but he is having a lot more trouble with one of his feet. A podiatrist visit is on the list for when we get home.
Senior Pictures
Esther and I take a walk to take some potential senior pictures. All the children follow us and our plan doesn’t work very well because the kids always want to be in every picture. We go back to the house and Esther changes clothes and we try again. I have been wanting to walk the perimeter of the family farm here to see all the houses. It really doesn’t go back as far as I thought. There are 8 houses all relatives because this is their family land. The fields are all around the houses. I enjoy the walk and we laugh and take some silly pictures as well as some good ones.
Lovely kidsEveryone wants in the pictureLovely EstherEsther in the flowers which grow along all the roadsEsther
No Electricity
When we get back it’s time to start dinner. Just as we get started our lights go out. The solar is depleted from the cloudy day. I turned on the stove to discover we are out of propane. I head outside for the small charcoal stove. Tulumba, the 9-year-old next door runs and gets some hot coals for me from the neighbor and she helps me start cooking over the charcoal. Tulumba has better survival skills than I do.
After dark Wanangwa gets home and with Rapha’s help we get the propane stove working and finish cooking dinner. Wanangwa brought some LED lights home which help a little. We eat and all go to bed early. I think it is probably good to have a slow day occasionally!
Day 36 Two Funerals
Last night we had the heaviest rain I have ever heard. I had trouble sleeping so I got up early. My stomach is still upset so I head to the outhouse and hope that today there is not a line. There really is never a line but it seems that is the only time of day I have competition for the toilet. Malawians have the best hearing. If anyone is occupying the toilet they will knock from the inside before you ever get near. They hear you coming.
Sunday Doughnuts
Raphael cooks our usual doughnuts for Sunday morning breakfast. He also cooks some sweet potatoes. We eat breakfast and get ready for the day.
There are two funerals in the neighborhood. When someone dies everything stops. There will be no church today because of the funerals. Being without a car again means we will stay home for another day.
Wanangwa and Mbwenu leave early for the funerals. The funeral starts at 8 am and they are walking. One of the funerals is for a man we worked with during 2018, Peskani (approximately 40) died from a heart attack, and the other for Wanangwa’s 27-year-old cousin (death by suicide).
Both have been working in South Africa and died there. This is heart-wrenching to the families. Their bodies have finally made it home to the final resting place. So many men and some women go to South Africa to try to make a living and send money home to their families. Some never return, remarry and start new families. We so wish the families could stay together and have more opportunities right here in Malawi to make a living.
For lunch, we have either goat or beef. I can’t tell the difference. We have rice and Esther prepares her mushrooms. We still have no electricity today and all the rain and clouds will not help the situation.
Young and Old Love to Color
Lots of people young and old are here coloring turtles, bringing WBS lessons, and just hanging around practicing English with Esther. We found out today that one of the teens will not be going back to school. She had to come home because she got malaria so she will finish her schooling at the local school.
Mbwenu and Wanangwa arrive home. We find out that they actually went to two different funerals. In the afternoon Wanangwa goes to her shop with Mbwenu on the motorcycle. I tease them about being two young lovebirds going off on the motorcycle.
My stomach is still not good. I feel guilty for not cooking dinner. Wanangwa cooks meat, rice, avocado, soup, and cabbage. I can’t eat. We sing some and discuss the plan for tomorrow before we head to bed.
Day 37
I slept really well last night but my stomach is still not right. Today Esther will go to the shop to work with Wanangwa. Motorcycles come to drive them. Esther loves this!
Motorcycle taxiEsther and Wanangwa travel to the shop
All three of the boys left for school at about 6:30 am. Matthew Phiri is coming around 9 to take the three of us to Mzimba to do some shopping and work on the car repair. We also need more WBS lessons copied. Always running out!
I told Wanangwa I would cook dinner tonight so I am hoping we get back in time. We stop at the print shop first and leave our copy order. Then we check on the car. The mechanics are behind some shops just out in the open. There is a shed that appears to house their tools. They are still checking out possibilities for our car problem.
Auto mechanic
Mini Microscope
I keep a mini pocket microscope in my backpack. I take it out and we play with it while we wait. We show it to Matthew and he enjoys seeing the fibers on his close and a hair under the microscope. Lawrence and I take a short walk and I buy a Coke and a chitenge and we walk back and wait some more. Matthew says waiting is boring. He wants to take us to a nicer place to sit. As we are driving we see the Chipku store and remember we need water. We make our purchase and then he takes us to The Grace Kitchen.
Grace Kitchen
The Grace Kitchen is a nice place to eat. We ate here last Monday. The owner greets us and tells us she has birds today. We are not sure what she means. We sit for a while and drink water. The restaurants are really nice about letting visitors wait at their tables even if they are not eating. We were not ready for lunch and decide we will wait on Matthew and Mbwenu for lunch, they are off doing errands. Soon they stop back by and say they will be right back for lunch. They tell me the restaurant owner is a village princess!
I decide to walk to the Private clinic around the corner to see if I can purchase some antibiotic ointment for Esther. She has a spot that looks like a spider bite and it is infected and a toe she hurt playing soccer. I wait a few minutes and the receptionist comes out and helps me. He takes me to the pharmacy and gets the ointment. He speaks great English by the way. 2000K for the ointment. When I get back we order lunch.
I get the grilled chicken, rice, greens, soup, and salsa are to share with Lawrence who orders the same thing. Mbwenu and Matthew come a little later and Mbwenu orders the same grilled chicken. It is delicious. Matthew orders the birds with nsima. (Quail) He says it is so tender.
Best grilled chicken
After lunch, we go to do our shopping. I buy some beans for 900K from the outdoor market. It starts to rain. I run for the car. Next, I stop at my favorite place for meat. I buy some ground meat and some sausages to go with our sauerkraut for dinner. The ground meat will go in the freezer. I pick up some seasoning for Wanangwa. The heavy rain continues and it is decided that Matthew will take us home and Mbwenu will bring the rest of the shopping list. They are probably concerned about the roads getting worse.
Diet Coke
On the way out of town, we stop to pick up Matthew’s license plate which is newly painted. I run next door to Big Mart and notice for the first time that they have Coke with no sugar which tastes like Coke Zero. When I bring it to the car Lawrence wants one and also some peanuts and cookies. Matthew stops out of town for a ginger soda for himself.
Diet Coke
Esther is Malawian
Mbwenu calls on our way home and suggests we pick up Esther. When we get there we can see she has been to the beauty shop and has her hair done in tiny braids and beads all over her head. They say she is a Malawian now.
Esther visits the beauty shopEsther is Malawian
Matthew drops us all at home. Tawonga Chomene! Thank you very much! I cook sausages to go with our sauerkraut for dinner. First, we all have to sample the sauerkraut. Matthew likes it very much and I make a small jar for him to take home to Neema. We make rice and soup and cucumbers in vinegar to go with our sausages and sauerkraut.
Sauerkraut
The electricity is still out so we cook with an led flashlight. Wanangwa and Mbwenu are very late and I message and ask if I can feed the boys. We feed everyone but only Raphael likes the sauerkraut. We gave Charles a taste of the sauerkraut and he does not like it at all.
Mbwenu and Wanangwa arrive and eat dinner. Wanangwa does not like the sauerkraut either. Mbwenu eats his with mayonnaise as Lawrence does sometimes. He makes a phone call and gets the lights to work. We sing for a while and head to bed. I wake up in the night and hear noises. I assume Mbwenu is leaving for a workshop.
Day 38 Malaria comes to the house.
When I wake up I find out that Khwima is sick. That was the noise I heard in the night. He was throwing up and has a fever. Wanangwa takes him to the doctor to test for malaria and he tests positive.
People People Everywhere
The morning is very busy as everyone seems to be stopping by for WBS lessons. One person brings us a lesson to copy because we have run out of lessons. Kondwani comes by with a completed lesson. Next, Charles comes by and wants his graded lesson. Chimwemwe comes by for hot water to take to milk the cow. Then one of our workers Daniel comes by he has run out of the 20 WBS lessons we gave him at the last meeting. We give him some more as well as some graded lessons.
Rocky Mountains
Daniel tells us he has been thinking about the Rocky Mountains. I show him pictures on google of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. Then we talk about birds. Daniel is so smart and has studied so many things. I loan him a book on animals of the high mountains. He has such a thirst for knowledge.
Wishing for a Library
My heart longs to have an amazing library for this area. Did I really write that? Books have been such a huge part of my whole life and there are so few books here.
Today my main goal is to make Chow Chow! I have most of the ingredients but none of the spices. I am looking for some green peppers everywhere I go.
Esther Has Malaria
Esther isn’t feeling well. I check her temperature and she has a 101°. I walk to Cadamanja’s house to ask for a ride to the doctor. He is not home. I go back home and soon I get a message that he is on his way to take us to the doctor. We meet up with Wanangwa in Manyamula. First, we try the Private Clinic but the doctor is out of malaria test kits.
Government Hospital
We go to the government hospital and no one is around. Wanangwa walks to the houses nearby and comes back with a doctor who gives Esther the test. She jokes with us that she is not going to give Esther the test because we don’t have her health record. She tells Esther to take two pills a day for 5 days and ibuprofen for three days.
We go home and start dinner. Raphael brings meat for dinner. I cook beans, cabbage, tomatoes, and onions which I later blend with the ground meat to serve over rice.
Beautiful beans
I can’t find the peppers I need for the Chow Chow and I have asked around. A young man shows up at the door with a bag full of peppers. I am thrilled to pay him 1000K. His uncle grows them on his farm.
I make the Chow Chow for dinner and we all eat.
Before I go to bed my stomach is upset again and finally settles down and I sleep.
Today is Martyr’s Day, a Malawi holiday. It is honoring those who lost their lives in the battle for their freedom. This is not the day they got their freedom but it was the beginning of an uprising that led to them getting their freedom five years later.
I got up early and got my bath. We had breakfast before getting ready for my morning class with the ladies.
Setting Up the Printer
Lawrence and Mbwenu are working on setting up the printer today. There have been some difficulties since we do not have a disc drive and the driver is not available on download from the internet.
This printer scanner is to scan lessons and print letters to the students about their lessons. We have also used this to make copies for ladies’ class.
Clinic for 5 and Under
I leave for class with other neighbor ladies. We arrive and there are a lot of people at the building today. The church lets the five and under clinic meet in its building until the clinic is built. They have laid the foundation for a community clinic across the road. This is a much-needed clinic and helps provide local health care for nearby residents with young children. Most households do not have transportation of any kind so this truly meets a need to have access to healthcare nearby.
Ladies’ Class
We wave and head to the bakery for our class. The ladies are excited to see me and Esther and to be together for another Bible study. Today I give them a coloring sheet with a Bible verse on it and hand out the markers as we wait for everyone to arrive. Everyone loves to color! We have our class on Proverbs. I am taking lessons from a book we studied in ladies’ class at home. Life Me Up by Alice Cravens Moore. We finish class and head home as the baking ladies start their baking.
Life Group
We rush home for lunch and wash the dishes just in time to go to a life group. This one was rescheduled from yesterday. Today’s life group is hosted by Samuel Nyirenda one of the elders at the Tombolombo Church. Lawrence gives the devotional talk on Romans 6.
Aaron is at the life group today (you may remember he suffers seizures). He really looks good today. Aaron sees Lawrence’s water bottle with the red lid and says Coke. I am so glad to see Aaron is walking today and saying a few words.
After life group, we go to Manyamula for some shopping. Bags for school supplies, 200 notebooks, 200 suckers, water, tissue, and Coke.
We head home for dinner and bed.
Day 25 – Stay Home Day
We get our bath, breakfast, and dishes all done before we get ready for the day’s work.
Baby Bags
Today I have a lot of preparation to do. First I make cards to go in our baby bags for the clinic and then Esther, Wanangwa and I assemble 30+ baby bags. We are ready for tomorrow!
Wanangwa goes to the shop to work this afternoon.
School Supplies
Next, we start on the school supplies. We are making 200 bags. We have 178 primary-age kids in our church and satellite churches. With the help of some young people, we get all of the bags assembled. They seem to enjoy helping and it sure made the process easier. I rewarded them with suckers.
Maureen came by. She works at the clinic in town and has asked me to come to work with her. They need me she tells me! She will come back later since we are working.
The tailor brought the dresses for the little girls and a skirt for Talumba. They are so excited to see them. I take the girls to their moms to try the dresses on. I think their moms are as excited as they are. Katie is a bit shy but I finally snap a photo of these cuties.
One of our students came by for his results on his WBS lesson. I have to tell him he must repeat this lesson. The students must make 76% for a passing grade.
Wanangwa and Mbwenu get back home and we have dinner. I try unsuccessfully to order flowers for my mom’s birthday!
Day 26 Maternity Clinic and Baby Bags
This morning we got the news that Wanangwa’s 27-year-old cousin has passed away by suicide. He is working in South Africa. This is heartbreaking, to say the least.
They decide we will go ahead with our plans to visit the local maternity clinic. A midwife greets us at the car and walks with us to the clinic. There are actually two parts to the clinic. One is for maternity and deliveries. The other is a family clinic for all ages. People are lined up to be seen. I see the line and think oh no we don’t have enough. Then they lead me around back to where the moms and dads are waiting to be seen.
Introductions and Greetings
They bring a chair and have us sit. They love to have formal meetings and greetings. The head midwife comes out and introduces herself and she chats with our group in Tumbuka. They have me stand and say something. I was not prepared so I told them I was a mom to 11 children and they all looked shocked and clapped. Take good care of yourself and your babies I encouraged them. I would have been happy just to greet each one individually and give them their gift. When you are in Malawi you do as the Malawians and that includes gratitude and ceremony.
Next, they had the moms to number off. The ladies gave each mom a baby bag with a blanket and a hat. I explained that my mom had made each blanket and some other ladies had made the hats. The young moms were very excited to get the bags and one was chosen to formally thank us. 5 moms were not there yet so we left bags for each of them.
Tour of the Clinic
As my group headed to the car one of the midwives gave me a tour of the delivery room and maternity ward. They are in the process of getting the building next door ready for moms. They have about 30 births a month at this facility.
We stopped in Manyamula and I bought sodas for the ladies who came with me. Then we went to visit Emmanuel (13 years old) who has malaria. He looks very sick. He is already on medication so should be feeling better soon. We prayed for him and left.
As we were driving home I saw a sign. Lovemore Nursery School. This is the new location for Glory’s school. I was so surprised. They stopped the car for me to greet her. I happened to have just enough tiny suckers to give each child so I handed them out the window to her.
After this, we continued on home for lunch.
At 3:00 the church is going to comfort the family. This is one of the most heart-wrenching things I have ever participated in doing. The women went inside with the other women and sat on the floor. I was silent except for the tears I was shedding with and for this family. Outside the door, the men read scriptures and sang songs of comfort as we sang along. We were there for about an hour.
We were all drained with grief when we got home. I made fried egg sandwiches for supper with tomato slices. I was impressed the kids would try something new.
Today I taught ladies’ class, 13 ladies, 1 baby. I taught them Ten Lessons on Honor from Romans 12, one of my favorite chapters. Romans 12 has a lot to say about how to treat one another. There were a lot of discussions afterward. Especially, questions about repaying evil with good.
Some ladies mentioned they cannot read and how this is helping them to understand the scriptures as if they were reading them for themselves. It’s. humbling.
These sweet sisters were also concerned for their sisters who are not receiving this teaching or understanding these scriptures. We talked about our example and sharing with their sisters what they are learning.
No-Bake Cookies
After the class was over I gave them a no-bake cookie. They really like these. I told them I was teaching Wanangwa how to make them and they teased they were not sure they could trust her to teach them.
Baby Blankets and Hats
When all our discussions were over we took out the baby blankets and hats and discussed the best way we as a group could use these for God. It was decided that most of them should go to the local maternity clinic. We will make little cards with a scripture on them and the church name. Four ladies will go to distribute these to the new moms. During our discussion, I found out that at least one lady can crochet. I have seen yarn in several shops but so far not the needles needed. I am excited to try to get crochet needles for these ladies to crochet.
Baby packsBlankets made by my mom and hats by the women at Woodson Chapel Church of ChristBaby packs
We said our goodbyes and went home for lunch. Wanangwa had a driving lesson and drove us home. The roads are not great but the rain has made them worse. Frequently, cattle are on the road.
Cattle in the RoadMuddy RoadsMud
Shopping Day
After lunch, we went shopping in Mzimba. I am out of kwacha so I exchanged money. We had so much fun shopping together. Wanangwa ran into a friend of hers who wanted to know where I was from. When I answered Tombolombo there was an uproar of laughter.
How Much Beef?
I have been wanting to make chili for the family. In one of the shops, I found ground beef and told them I wanted to 2. I meant pounds but they thought kilograms. That was a lot of beef!! We had enough beef for four meals and that was being very generous with the meat.
Local Farmers
The local farmer area of the market is one of my favorites so we went there. I bought some beans to go in the chili. We also purchased some tomatoes, onions, and peppers from a sister. Then we found some fresh green peas and bought some of them too. I was offered some things which look like bugs. They are roasted. They really wanted me to taste them. Wanangwa said they eat them on sandwiches and like them but she told me not to eat them.
Bugs?
On this shopping trip, I found some cool square containers for school supplies and a basket with handles which I put on my head and caused a lot of laughter.
My little basket
When we got home it was too late to cook the beans so I made a spicy meat sauce to go over rice and pumpkin for our dinner tonight. We also had bananas and fresh pineapple. Everyone liked it.
As we continue our Malawi Journal, Esther and I met with the tailor next door this morning. He made me a wrap-around skirt for 1500 K which is less than $3 US. He also made me two matching masks. I showed him a picture of a dress Esther wanted to be made from some chitenge we found at the market. Both items were finished today.
Today was a. rather slow day. I played with the kids, let the kids color pictures, and read Bible stories to the neighbor kids. The kids played with the soccer ball we brought for. hours in the yard.
Soccer playing for hoursKids coloring picturesNeighbor kids love to color picturesKids coloring
WBS Work
Lawrence met with the elders and the four workers and talked more about the plan for the WBS (World Bible School) work. After the meeting, Lawrence prepped for the training meeting he will conduct tomorrow for the four workers. He also ordered some more World Bible School lessons from Zomba.
I did some Bible study for my next class and then spent the afternoon organizing our belongings. I finally managed to get the mosquito nets hung.
The internet was not stable today so I could not do any work on the computer. Less technology can be frustrating at times but most of the time it is a blessing.
Esther spent the afternoon playing with the kids. They love teaching her their language. She is a much better student than I. There is a lot of laughter floating around the house.
Day 12
I was up at 6 this morning. Most days are early here. Most people follow the daylight hours for working. Many are up at 3 or 4 and into the fields. I feel lazy in comparison. This morning I wash the dishes from the night before. It is dark by the time we finish supper so the dishes are always washed in the morning. When the water is hot I take my bath.
Driving
We drive to the building to drop Lawrence off for the training meeting. Our spare tire falls off of the car. We have to call a mechanic to come from Manyamula to fix it. We pay him 2000K (about $3)
Then I drive me and Wanangwa to Manyamula to do some shopping. My shopping list may look a little weird: flip-flops, tissue, pegs, copies, sugar, notebooks, zippers, cookies, and Cokes for the training meeting. The weird part about my shopping list is that my husband wanted some flip-flops! That is a story in itself.
I am rather enjoying driving in Malawi but I am not really excited to get on the more populated roads yet. Driving on the rutted roads makes me want a jeep or something that sits up high.
It is common to be greeted from the roadside and we frequently hear asungu (white person). Today was the first time I heard them laughing saying asungu driving. It was especially humorous to them because I am a woman.
We drop the snacks off at the training meeting and I visit the bakery next door. The one lady is baking but nothing is ready for purchase yet. I will stop by later. I go home and wait for the call that the training meeting is over and Lawrence needs to be picked up.
Modester kneading bunsHot buns fresh from the oven. The best!
After some time at home, Wanangwa decides she needs to take the transport to Mzimba to make purchases for her shop. I drop her off at the bus stop and stop back by the bakery just in time to purchase hot buns coming out from the oven, 300 K for 7 wonderful buns.
While waiting on my buns walked through the cornfields to speak with Edward about translating. He was spraying weed killer and my legs soon began to sting.
Lawrence completed his training meeting and gave each man a WBS Bible, pen, and notebook to do his work with besides the lessons.
A good day. If you have any questions about our Malawi journal or the work please send me a message or post your question in the comments.
