Day 35 Stay Home Day
Upset Stomach
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.