Doyle and de Smidt

Hello! Miss Doyle here, to update you all on our visit to the lake and triumphant return to Blantyre.

Friday morning - bright and early! - we hopped on board the Squid Bus and headed to Lake Malawi. The ride was long and hot, but the group bonded well and enjoyed the camaraderie. We arrived around 1:00, just in time to sit down for a wonderful lunch buffet. After lunch, some of us enjoyed the sunny weather with a swim in the pool (complete with slide!), while others opted to rest in the rooms. Dinner was another yummy buffet, and after dinner we had a casual evening hanging out by the beach and going to bed early.

Saturday morning we had breakfast together and then devotions with Mrs. Soetje right on the beach. Everyone enjoyed worshipping God with the waves right beside us and the sun rising behind the mountains. Saturday was a great day for everyone to just relax, catch up on rest, and revitalize their spirits, whether by visiting the on-site zoo, jumping on trampolines, playing on the see-saws, or just enjoying the huge swimming pool. After dinner that night, we had a special birthday surprise for our three birthday celebrants on this trip - chocolate cake! After cake, we watched native dances by a secret society, performed in elaborate masks and costumes. The masks scared some among us, but they intrigued others. After the dancing ended, we went to bed pleased with the day.

Sunday we repeated our breakfast and beachside devotions, this time from Pastor Ken. Then we went around the circle sharing what we felt God had placed on our hearts to take home from our trip so far. Even though we were only halfway through our trip, every one of us had at least one takeaway lesson already - praise God! Then we packed up and headed back to Squid Bus to drive to Zomba, the original capital of Malawi, for lunch and fancy views of the whole country. The hotel where we ate was beautiful, and there were wonderful crafts being sold by the side of the road, but I think the highlight of the afternoon for most students was the pack of baboons that hung around the eating area. Ken and Avisha warned us all to watch our food carefully, telling us that many times the baboons had been known to sneak food off the plates of unsuspecting tourists. We watched carefully, and while they were never able to steal food from any of our plates, one did steal a packet of chili pepper from a nearby table. Many photos were taken, so look forward to those!

After lunch, we piled back into the bus to head "home" to Grace Bandawe in Blantyre. Everyone was eager to unpack and rest before dinner, and afterwards we opted for an early night. (Do you sense the theme of tiredness and early nights of resting?) But everyone went to bed excited to wake up the next day for another high school visit and our return to the Malawi Children's Mission to see the kids!

Monday morning we went to South End High School, a much wealthier school than HHI, where we had visited the previous week. There was some nervousness, because our students were going to be discussing many issues in a forum with South End students, and we had even been told the press might come. (They didn't, for which our students, at least, were mostly grateful.) After some ice-breaker games to ease the tension, we started the discussion, and it went very well. Talking about it later, our TKA students said they had learned a lot about the way these Malawian students felt about a variety of issues, including Madonna's adoption of Mercy, a Malawian child. The students - both South End and TKA - were eloquent and respectful, and I think we all counted the visit a success.

After leaving South End, we grabbed our sandwiches for lunch and drove out to MCM to play with the kids again. Needless to say, it was a wonderful reunion - there were high fives, handshakes, thumbs-ups, and big hugs all around. We played games, sang songs, and shared the story of the prodigal son with the kids. Then we did a wonderful craft where the kids got to color in decorative designs for sippy cups that they could then keep (as well as the crayons they had used to color). All the kids were so excited to go fill their cups with water and drink from them, though many had to be taught how to use the straws, as they'd never used them before. After another hour of play time, we had to head back to our hotel. After a bit of rest, we found out the we would be having hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, which elicited countless shouts of joy from all the Americans. After dinner, we had planned to have a second sing-along with some of the Irish missionaries, but sadly, they were held up in their work and didn't get back in time. Instead, we opted for yet another early night.

We are all excited to see God's plans unfold in these last days of our trip, as we work on very practical ways we can help at MCM - painting, clearing play areas, etc. Thank you all for your continued prayers, and we can't wait to see you soon!

Many blessings, Kari Doyle

P.S. Tina: Aymie's dad is going to pick us up, but are you free for dinner Saturday night? I need someone to keep me awake until a somewhat reasonable bedtime. :-P

Hi All, This is Karen ...
Kari and I are at our friend, Avisha's, this morning - helping with laundry and baking cupcakes to take out to MCM as the children will each receive one today...and get to use frosting and sprinkles. Believe me, this will be a treat as many of them will not have eaten one of these before! Yesterday, was a tough day...we were all tired and getting a little scratchy with each other. I truly believe that this will be the week of testing ... as we need to persevere, love others and each other and practise the fruits of the Spirit in the remaining three days. Yesterday, while we were singing at MCM, one of the little girls fainted and really hit her head hard on the concrete floor. She clearly had a mild concussion as she was out...she came around and we cooled her down, not knowing what she was suffering from. Her mother arrived (she only has a mom)...and arranged for her to go to a nearby clinic. I asked how she was going to get there...but was told that transport was being arranged...a bicycle was being hired and the two of them would ride on it together. Talk about being worlds apart...I know we would have dialed 911 and had an ambulance there in 7 minutes! Another of our little boys was also taken to the clinic while we were there....it is suspected that he has malaria as he has been sick for quite some time. These things are hard to watch and yet still there remains an incredible spirit of joy. I wish you could hear our Malawian friends sing and watch them dance. They are an amazing people with so little...I pray that we always remember that. Until next time, please keep praying for us - you have no idea how much we are coveting your prayers - for health, stamina, joy, patience and gentleness.

Love to you all, Karen de Smidt