Over the River and Through The Woods

You know it is getting hot when even the Africans say it is hot. Today they said it was hot. I knew that!

After just a week in the county we are just about comfortable with the lifestyle again. It always takes a few days to get out of the clock watching, time clock punching, moment by moment, appointment driven life style of the west. I’m still impressed with people who don’t start meetings until everyone is there, and with people who seem to relish the moment so much they forget there is past behind them or a future pressing down on them.

“It isn’t far,” Tembo told me. For what that means I’m afraid we might be in for a long morning! It was true, but when we finally reached our destination, a most beautiful valley between two high peaks in southern Malawi, it was worth every minute of the hour trip, and the 20 minute walk down the mountain, across the stream, and up the other side to the tiny village where Maggie lives. At 48 she has never been outside this tiny group of six village huts in her whole life. Her longest trip was to the top of the mountain we had just walked down in order to be at the handing over ceremony where she received a new wheelchair from the Namikango Mission, Free Wheelchair Mission, and the Malawi Project. How did she get to the meeting? They took her up the mountain in a wheelbarrow! Well, we were must later getting back than I had planned, but who cares when you are having this much fun. I could go out on these missions every day. So much is being done by this wheelchair program I cannot put it into words that really fit the situation.

Back to the mission in Thondwe by 10:30, and another hospital has sent a large truck, about a 3 toner it appears, to pick up much needed supplies. Two hours later they are on their way with the truck packed tight. Now how many lives is that going to affect?

Then it is up to the house for a quick lunch.

Two PM and we’re back at the medical storage warehouse where a distribution of goods is about to take place with the families of the staff of the mission and the clinic. The only thing that slows the excitement of this program is the second heavy rainstorm of the season. Cloudburst. Indiana in April. No it was worse than that. Take a look at the picture on the blog for yesterday and push “duplicate” and you will see today.

Most of the evening was spent filling out reports, writing stories, and rearranging our plans for the next 10 days. That is what you do each evening. You lay out the plan for the next day, then the next day you change it, then the next night you adjust the schedule to what you actually did and layout a new plan for the next day. That’s Malawi.