HS+MCM, MBC+VV+MCM, MKT+MCM+QECH+SWTI

TUESDAY: HS+MCM = High School visit and Malawi Children’s Mission

It is already Saturday, but I thought I would go back and give you all a few bits-‘n-pieces from earlier in the week. On Tuesday morning we walked over the road to the HHI Secondary School. The students were on Winter break, but a huge group traveled in all the way from their homes (in Uniform) to visit with us – Humbling!

HHI is a Presbyterian Christian School and the students gave us the by now usual, very WARM Malawi welcome (this is truly the Warm Heart of Africa). We exchanged the also by now familiar greetings first from the HHI Students with a response from one of our students (Natali).

They sang to us and then we sang to them (they

are WAY better!! :) … we have used the song they taught us with the MCM Kids … “It is well with my soul … give me J, give me E, give me S, give me U and another S” all sung with the African-style lead singer (Ms Doyle) and the group following, and then all the letters acted out … awesome! The whole group then sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kylie :)

We then all exited out of the auditorium and played a game … there were half a dozen teams and each person had to run up, reach into a bag and EAT whatever they extracted as FAST as possible … apple, broccoli, a smoked sardine, yoghurt cup, … much FUN!

After the game we went back inside and Bayana had the students share about their struggles as teenagers noting how similar the issues are although we are from different hemispheres, continents and cultures.

Bayana then interviewed Karen and I about Marriage and opened the floor for us to answer questions about the struggles and challenges of teenage sexuality, how to maintain purity and keep ourselves for our future wife or husband …

We then all went outside again and held hands in a huge circle to pray for Africa and America … then it was time for the Group Photo and a tour of the first Church in Blantyre, built in the 1800’s.

After walking back to GBCC we headed out to MCM to:
1) Play with the Kids (frenzy of activity with balls of all sizes bouncing everywhere, balloons, bubbles, etc…)
2) Help with feeding (washing hands, handing out plates loaded with Nsima, Beans and Cabbage, handing out cups of water)
3) Singing (“This little light of mine” and “It is well … give me J…”) – Ken explains the words each day in Chichewa as they learn the songs.
4) Bible story (Woman at the Well, Daniel in the Lions Den, etc… interpreted by Ken, with our students doing Mime and a Leader summarizing the message)
5) Crafts in groups (the best in my opinion was when we took Polaroid instant photos of each child and then they decorated their foam frames and put the photos in them – they TREASURE these !!!!)
6) Games (relays and all kinds of creative fun …)
7) Goodbyes (the Kids sing a goodbye, we pray and then we are escorted to the Squid bus with many high fives and hand shakes before we pull off with EVERYONE waving … all one can do is SMILE !!!!!!)

WEDNESDAY: MBC+VV+MCM = Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Village Visit and Malawi Children’s Mission

On Wednesday morning Bayana took us for a tour of the Government owned National Radio Station Headquarters. We saw both the live broadcasting from the “Radio 1” (AM) and the “Radio 2 FM” stations and had Q&A with the Radio 2 FM DJ. We saw where the News is produced (both Local and International) and where radio programs are recorded in the studios. Bayana hosts his “Wings of Hope” program on Sundays on Radio 2 FM and is branching into Radio Theatre (we saw the studio where the plays are recorded with multiple people/voices, sounds effects, etc…)

We then visited a typical Malawian Village – what a Welcome !! The WHOLE village turned out and greeted us with singing, traditional dance and verbal greetings.

We gave out gifts of Vaseline, soap and sugar to 100 designated family units and the Chiefs. I then greeted everyone (with Bayana interpreting), honored the Chiefs, explained where we have come from, our long trip, who The King’s Academy are, who the King in TKA is, why we are here, and thanked them for their wonderful greeting.

We then visited a few houses and saw how people live in the village … they don’t have much, other than JOY !?!? The verse about Godliness with Contentment is Great Gain came to mind.

Then we were off in the Squid bus to MCM for our afternoon program …
THURSDAY: MKT+MCM+QECH+SWTI = Blantyre Tourist Market, Malawi Children’s Mission, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and Singing with the Irish

On Thursday morning we headed for the souvenir market and tested our bargaining skills. Some of us are better at this than others … with a few early rip offs :( and then with the help of Ken the bargains followed :) … we discovered that Cailley could work for Priceline as she is quite the “Negotiator” :D

Then we headed off to MCM earlier than normal and left early around 2:30pm to head back to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital. We visited various Children’s wards as well as the Male and Female wards, giving gifts of Vaseline and soap for the Guardians and lollipops for the Kids and praying over each and every patient … a great privilege! We were more prepared this time, but still overwhelmed with the NEED … the Male and Female wards are overcrowded with some beds on the floor :( One of the special wards to visit was the nursery…these babies were precious…and there were so many of them. Most of them are much smaller than they should be…what was heart-wrenching for us was seeing the Moms watching over these little ones…desperate that their babies get better. The other thing we learned was that unless families bring food in at the end of the day, these patients will not eat as there is no food service provided due to lack of Government funds!

After dinner and our evening meeting/devotion we joined up with a small Irish Team on a similar Short Term Missions Trip for a time of worship in song. WOW :O … we sang the roof off for 2 hours and learned some English praise songs that are to Irish tunes and enjoyed the Irish/Gaelic drum they had brought with them. It was wonderful to experience the joy of our unity in Christ … a taste of Heaven.

God is Good All the Time … All the Time God is Good … that is His nature … WOW!
This is an extended saying we have learned while here in Malawi and we shout it out as a Team in one voice often :)

Friday we left for the Lake … lots more on that in another Blog Post.

We LOVE you all and SO appreciate your ONGOING prayer … we need it !!
~In His Grace, Kevin