goodbye's are hard!

Yesterday was the last day of school! There were a LOT of tears. It was really hard to say goodbye to all of our students. The hardest moment was when one of my students mothers started to tear up...that really got me! We have both loved all of these kids so much, and it was so hard to give them the last (hopefully just last for now, maybe we'll see them again someday!) hug.

At one point, my camera was stolen by the 9th graders. The following picture is a great example of the first 10 pictures on my camera. This is Nell, who I absolutely love and am going to miss SO much!

Here's Chloe, one of my 8th graders. I am going to figure out some way to see her in the next few years because she lives (well when she's home on furlow and vacation) in Canada.

This is Caroline, another one of my 8th graders. She's moving to Botswana this summer!

The two boys with glasses are Shea (his parents work at the college) and Adam (from Zimbabwe, his mom teaches at the Academy), and Amungwa is hiding out in the back.

This is Charlotte, Nell's little sister. She is my best ballet student (well in the youngest class)!

As if goodbye's at the school aren't hard enough, we have had to start saying goodbye to other ABC missionaries. The McDonalds and Dehnerts are leaving this morning for a missions trip to Austria. So last night the Dehnerts came over to say bye, then Janelle and Amber came by today to give us goodbye hugs. I don't even want to think about next Tuesday and having to say goodbye to everyone else, especially the Ketchums. It is going to be a sad day!

But we are also so excited to see our family and friends. I know I will probably go through culture shock, but I will be so excited to see my parents and brother and sisters.

1 week left!

Alright, we are in full on countdown mode! 1 week left! We have gotten a lot done, but there is still more to do.

We have sold our car and our table. We both turned final grades in today. We have somewhat packed. We are moving in with the Ketchums on Saturday (because we need to give our beds to the buyer then), so we need to be all packed by then!

The past few days have been totally filled, but very fun. Awards day went really well. Here are some of my girls getting their awards: Catarina (Portuguese), Shannon (Zimbabwean), and Se-gyo (Korean).

On Saturday, I worked on yearbook while Bech helped slaughter pigs. Ugh! Then we went to a "braai" (South African word for a cookout) at some South African friends of ours, the Le Rouxs. We had a great time spending time with this sweet family!

Then on Sunday, we went to church with Lucius. His family goes to the Catholic church in Kauma. Well this Sunday was a special Sunday, so they went to a big church service celebration at another church. Seriously, everytime we visit a Malawian church, it ends up being some sort of special celebration Sunday-->which means twice as long of a service!

The first funny part of the day was when we pulled up to pick Lucius up. We figured it would be Lucius, his wife, Esther, and his two daughters, Tadala and Jesca. When we drive up, we see three other women and two other children with them. I say to Bech, "I think they are planning on coming with us," to which he answers, "No they aren't...they wouldn't even be able to fit." Oh but they did! Jesca sat up front with me, Bech drove, and 4 adults and 3 kids sat in the backseat.

Then we got to the church. The service was from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Part of the reason it was so long is that there was a parade of sorts where everyone followed the priests around (but the priests were under a tent) and sang songs. Then everyone would suddenly stop and kneel. It was very strange. I have lots of Catholic friends and have been to mass many times, but they have never done anything like this in America. Please fill me in, if you know anything about this.

The best part of church was that the President (His Excellency Bingu wa Mutharika) was there. He spoke a little at the end. It was really cool to be that close to a President.

We then went to Lucius' home to eat lunch. We stopped and bought some soft drinks and a bag of Malawian chips. Tadala loved the chips, as you can see in this picture!

Here he is: His Excellency Bingu wa Mutharika!

Here is Bech at our interhouse athletics day, last Friday. He looked hilarious!

Here I am with Annelise Stauffacher. Bech and I worked at the records and certificates table.

We will be home soon!!!!!!!!!

2 week countdown!

We are at the 2 week mark. 2 weeks from today, around this time, we will be landing in the Johannesburg airport and saying goodbye to Josh and Emily Ketchum (at least we get to fly to South Africa with them).

We don't have much left to do! I am working on Jr. High awards day certificates. Our house is almost empty of furniture and everything is strewn on the living room floor, waiting to be packed.

This week is our last full week of school, and it's not even technically a full week. On Friday, we have an "athletics day" (which is just the British term for a field day), so we don't have any classes. Then we have next Monday, and grades are due that afternoon. So Tuesday will just be a fun day, because grades have been turned in. And Wednesday is our last day of school, but it's just until 10. So we only have 2 1/2 hours of school.

Many of my students are leaving. Several of them are going to boarding school in South Africa, others to the British school here in Lilongwe. I have one student going to boarding school in England. The other day she looked at me and said, "I am excited and sad at the same time...how is that possible?" I feel like that perfectly sums up how Bech and I feel. I am so excited to go home. I don't think I could say it enough. I miss my family so much. But at the same time, I love this place. I love my students. I am starting to feel comfortable here. I am just a huge mix of emotions all at the same time!

Finally, because I know how much more fun picture posts are, here are some pictures of some students at ABCCA. These aren't my Jr. High kids, just some of the other kids that I love and will miss!

Here's Mrs. Ketchum's 3rd grade after recess the other day. I absolutely adore this class. They are just so much fun!

Megan is in front. She did ballet and is in the 4 year old reception class. She has the funniest personality! I think she is the greatest. Today she "plaited" (as she called it) my hair. I wish I could take this little girl (and so many others) home with me, so you all could meet her! You would absolutely adore her!

Here is Megan again, joined by Simone and Kara. Kara is the one sticking out her tongue. All three of these girls took Ballet with me. Simone is a giggler but semi-calm. Kara is another story. She is always all over the place (in a good way). She has boundless energy and boundless hugs.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. We just got our May report and were blown away by your generosity! We were short on our support in April, and expected to be short in May again. But, wow! Ya'll are amazing!

Okay, false alarm on the internet...it's not back on! But we did have a prayer answered...we sold our car! I feel so relieved. That was a big issue. We sold it to another missionary on campus, which helps her out (we lowered the price) and us out (we get US dollars, not kwacha!).

Actually, I am feeling a whole lot less stressed as of today. We had a sale with some other people leaving, and sold a bunch of stuff! We set a goal of how much we were hoping to make (enough to pay our rent here), and we made it! The to do list has now gotten significantly shorter. All that is left is grades, finishing up yearbook (and I have gotten a bunch done this week!), and packing! And now that everything extra is out of our house, packing will be a LOT easier.

Today was the college graduation. It was really fun to go to. It was super long, but I still enjoyed it. Like I said in my last post, it is fun to see the culmination of these students hard work. These students worked so much harder than most American college students, as far as paying school fees and such. I actually took pictures at this event, so I will be posting them soon. Not today, though! I am tapping into the next houses wireless (so I am standing in the kitchen) and it is NOT comfortable! Plus, the internet is even slower than normal from this location.

Anyway, I feel like I have been posting so much lately. I think its because I am using blogspot as a procrastination outlet!

We have internet at home again! Yay! Ya'lls prayers sure do work quickly! I am actually posting this at school.

Last night was the senior banquet for the college. I forgot my camera, but I am going to get some pictures from friends who brought theirs. It was so great. Sometimes, because I spend almost all of my time at the academy, I forget about the college. And that's why we're here! We help the college run by providing a school for the college professors children. And, of course, the academy has turned into a ministry of its own. But we are here for African Bible College! Many of the seniors spoke. I loved hearing how thankful all of them are to be graduating from ABC. Many of them talked about struggling to pay school fees, and how God provided for them! We enjoyed the evening so much!

We got done very late, though, so I am exhausted! By late, I mean 10:00, so we were home about 10:30 to 10:45. But that is late for us! Except for driving from our old apartment to campus, I have never been on the roads that late at night.

I just got done with a fiesta for my 8th graders. We had a blast eating chips and salsa.

All that's left on the list today is a quick trip to Lucius house, potluck, and the College Band Finale. Plus a nap!!!

as promised, here are some ballet pictures:

becca and i with alice ann and ruthie jones! i absolutely LOVE these girls (and their whole family). john, the dad, is from richton, and emily, the mom, is from ft. payne. they are moving to indianola next year, so we will get to see them! i have already made plans with their 4 sweet children to hang out in the grove. only alice ann is in the ballet class, but we couldn't leave ruthie out!

some on my youngest girls: charlotte, bess, megan, martha, and simone.

on a side note, pray for me not to go absolutely insane!!! there is a problem with the internet, so we don't have it at our house right now (its okay most other places on campus). and i need it to work on the yearbook! ahhhhhh!

We will be home so soon!!! Aghhhhh! That is such a crazy thought.

We have been insanely busy the past few days, and I think its going to just keep getting busier here.

Let me give you a rundown of our life lately:

Friday (May 29th): Ballet and Band Recital...done! It went really well!

Saturday (May 30th): Bech helped out at a school fundraiser in the morning. I went to the high school graduation in the afternoon. We went out to eat with friends that night.

Sunday (May 31st): Bech went to church and then the college baccalaureate service. I worked on yearbook all day...literally, ALL day!

Monday (June 1st): I went to the Northstar awards last night. It was really great, but sad! Everyone is leaving!

Today, we have a farewell luncheon after classes. Then I need to start packing and keep on working on the yearbook!

Wednesday: Bible study, Liwonde house practice

Thursday: Ballet party! We are watching High School Musical 3 and hanging out. Then we have the college senior banquet.

Friday: Potluck

Saturday: we are having a yard sale!

Not to mention, we have school, grades due soon, we are still working on selling our car! So please pray that we will get everything done!

security

The other night, I thought I heard something outside, and couldn't sleep for an hour or so because I was so scared. But I was reassured by how protected we are (well, for the most part).

First of all, we have guards (students at the college who are trying to earn some money for school tuition) who walk around the campus at night. Well sometimes they fall asleep, but they are still out there, which comforts me.

Also, we have a wall and gates around our campus.

Lastly, we have bars on our house. We live in one of the first houses built on campus, so our bars are a little different than the newer houses. Our main rooms (the living room, dining room, and kitchen) have windows without bars. We do have bars we put across the doors, though. Here is a picture of one of the windows. The side windows do have bars, but the center window is completely bar-less, which does not protect us against break-ins!

Ergo the gate! This gate is in the doorway from the living room to the hallway (with the bedrooms coming off of it). If you lock it, then no one can get back into the bedrooms.

Here is a view from the closed gate into the living room.

The windows in the back all have bars on them.

In case of a fire or another emergency, one of the back window bars can be unlocked and swung out. Then you have to slide the glass slats out, break the screen, and climb out.

These precautions make us feel pretty safe. The upper campus has had some break-in issues this past year, but the lower campus (where we are) has actually been fine. But, in the late 80's and 90's, the lower end of campus had a lot of break-ins.

One fun little story: When we went on spring holiday, we locked the gate to the hallway after putting some valuables in our bedroom. Bech put the gate lock key on his keychain. When we got back, he forgot to take it off of the keychain and hang it inside the hallway. Some nights we don't lock the hall gate, and we didn't that night. But then Bech heard something outside, so he got up to lock the gate (forgetting that the key was on his keychain in the kitchen).

The next morning, when the alarm went off, Bech realized that he had locked us in the back of the house. I was not very nice to him about this all (don't worry, I apologized to him later). Bech unlocked the emergency bars, pulled out the slats, and climbed out the window. He then broke the screen on one of the living room windows, and pushed off the door bar, successfully breaking into our house. So we weren't locked into our back rooms for that long. But it still wasn't a fun feeling at 5:30 in the morning!

changes!

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. We have had a crazy last week!

First of all, I am now teaching History and Literature. The teacher for these classes went back home over Christmas, a new teacher came, who is a science teacher. So the switched worked out! I am really excited to be teaching these classes. But basically, I had been working the first two weeks of break on lesson plans for science, so I had to get to work on my new classes!

Second of all, we are now on campus! The Boersmas (the dad was our current doctor) headed back to the states at Christmas. Their house is really the High's (the future doctor) but they aren't able to come yet. So until they come, we get to live in the house. But, the downside of that is, if and when they come, we have to move out. We will get a months notice, so that we can try to find another off campus place. We are very excited to be on campus now, but we also don't want to get too attached. We know that we might have to move before the semester is up, which would be hard. But the new doctor is really needed! Oh well, I am a good little Presbyterian, and will just trust that God is in control!

We are also sad to be leaving one of the gardeners at our old complex. His name is Lucius, and he's a really great guy.

One of the upsides of living on campus is cheaper, unlimited internet! Yay! Which means, more picture updates! We might even get ambitious and try a video internet...I wouldn't be counting on that anytime soon, but we will put pictures up more often!

Okay, I guess that's about it for now!

prayer...

well i feel like everyone has been putting post up about zimbabwe, but i'm going to do it too...this country has really been on my mind and heart lately, and i am not sure people in america realize how bad it is over there. in fact, i know they don't. bech's brother and sister-in-law are really up to date on everything happening in the world, and josh said something like, "oh yeah, we can't go to victoria falls on the zimbabwe side, because there some stuff going on in the country" (okay so that was a total paraphrase...i don't remember what he said exactly, just the idea, like oh yeah i don't think zimbabwe is doing so great right now). i use that example because josh and mary elizabeth keep up with everything, so if thats all they really know about zimbabwe, most people probably don't know much about it all.

this country is dealing with major stuff right now. there is a huge outbreak of cholera. inflation is insanely high. aid groups aren't allowed in. people are being killed or forced to leave. i knew a lot of this before i came (well the cholera outbreak is pretty new), and i was sad for the country. but now i have met so many people that are living in malawi because they have HAD to leave zim. i mean, their lives were at risk. and when you talk to these people and realize that its not just a news story, this is their home they have had to leave, its heart breaking.

so basically, please pray. pray that something will change, that mugabe will be punished, that aid will be allowed in. pray that people won't be killed anymore. this was once a really beautiful country...pray that it can be again one day!

Wobbly Pots and Homelessness

Here is a picture of the potter's wheel I drove down to pick up in Blantyre. The wheelhead spins, although it is not level. I'm actually excited to see how the imprecise construction of the wheel will influence and shape the work I make on it. It is a single speed, unbelievably heavy, and unnecessarily ugly. I haven't used it yet; I'm waiting for a man at the college to come and grease it up--it's been sitting outside for almost four years, unused.
Marley's parents and brother and sister are coming on Saturday, and we cannot wait. It may be the most exciting thing to happen since we have been here. We still can't believe they're coming! Marley's parents will be bringing some of my pottery tools; my loving wife left all of them in Brookhaven the day we left for Africa. For some reason, I wasn't upset, and then, when we arrived, I really wasn't upset. I immediately realized that not having my pottery tools was the least of my problems. School is going O.K. for the both of us. I'm preparing for the International Day Art Sale. Below is a picture of my "office" which existed from around October until November 16, 2008. You can see from the top of the tent that part of the frame which supports the tarp is broken, and no longer extends the tarp up and flat. Well, the rainy season began this past weekend, with two all-night rains. The rains collected in that cavity on the right side of the tarp and ultimately crushed the tent. I probably could have prevented it. So, I'm homeless and on the road again, and this space in between these classrooms looks sad and empty, the grass worn in two patches where I sat and prepared paper and paint and worked and read and drank coffee in between classes. All that remains are the pink and blue bookcases, and a few plastic buckets of clay. It sounds funny, but that really was my office and my classroom, and it is really discouraging to have lost it.
On the left you can see the cart that Gilbert Mdembo made for me. At least I still have my cart.

Preschool!

This is the new Guest Lodge up at the top of the African Bible College Campus. The finishing touches are still being applied. The school's vision is bigger than the college's construction crew, so ABC has temporarily converted half of the new lodge into the Preschool. I meet with twelve 3-year-olds for thirty minutes, twice a week. I feel more professionally unprepared with this group than any other on campus. Fortunately, this group is the least judgmental, and the most cheerful one on campus.Below are Hyun, and Clara.


I also posted these pictures of the lodge (and guest houses to the left) because I love the architecture and the materials used to construct these buildings. It is an amalgamation of building techniques, both old and new, traditional and modern. The walls are constructed out of bricks made in small batches both inside and outside of the city. These stacks are seen everywhere, both in Lilongwe, and out in the villages. I'm pretty sure each family produces its own bricks. These mud-bricks are made by forming the wet mud with a simply made wood and mesh wire mold. The bricks are stacked in what is called (at least by Westerners') a "scove kiln." Malawians fire the stacks by stoking the openings in the bottom with wood for about seven or eight hours. This creates a brittle stack of bricks inconsistent in their strength and porosity, but consistently beautiful and varied.
This structure of the roof is made of bamboo, blue gum trees, and then thatched on top with grasses, and finally shaped with a plane, I think? I love these buildings.

Pinch Pots and "Mixed-Color Paintings"

I found about a hundred pounds of clay in one of the junior high closets when I first arrived. Over the last few months, in my constant hunt for materials, I realized I had the few things I would need to mix the clay. The first graders, third graders, and fourth graders made coil and pinch pots, which was bitter sweet. I was so happy to be using what felt like my medium, and I felt confident and at ease all week. It was painful to wedge clay and then give it away. I wanted to go make a refined, thoughtful dinnerware set, but instead, we transformed it into the pots below. This is Sally Changaya, another bookmaking second grader.
Here is one of my fourth grade students, focused and intent on finishing his "Mixed Color Painting" while everyone else packed up to go home.
This is Charles, another fourth grader. He was reluctant to let me take his picture with his painting. He thought it was garbage; I loved it.
This is James, a South African, on the left, and Se-rem hiding on the right.

Bookmaking and Plein Air

These are pictures of my students. I'm looking over one of my second grader's shoulders while he and his classmates are making books. This book project was a collaboration between me and the two second grade teachers. The books haven't been completed yet. We worked on them for at least four or five weeks. I think the second graders were ready to kill me. The last bit of work is for me to do. I'm going to sew up their signatures, cover the boards, and laminate their dust jackets.
I'm developing my philosophy and approach to elementary art everyday. I feel that each time I meet with these students I'm sending them down one of two paths: one ends at the steps of the Met or the Louvre, the other, the automatic sliding doors of Wal-Mart. (Not that there are Wal-Marts in Malawi.) The two things that I think influence and guide them on this journey is my choice of materials and the way in which I encourage them to work and think. I rarely feel successful, and I have not yet found very many inspiring and beautiful materials.

If this boy keeps thinking this way, by third grade he'll be ready for his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design--his book is about tigers, and so he has incorporated that element even into the letters of the title.
This is Hannah. I love this child.
Mikey, from Zimbabwe I think. He is in the four-year-old Reception class.
Kondwani(left) and Emma(right), also in the Reception class. Kondwani often comes to visit me in my "office" after school, demanding supplies like paper, clay, and sticks.
From left to right: Al-baatin, Megan, Vandell, and Zobran. Megan hangs on to me constantly, which makes me wish (even more) that I was a father tomorrow with lots of girls.

okay, as promised, a picture post!!!

here is bech eating gelatto at mamma mia's at old town mall. this is a special treat we love to do. the ice cream in malawi is gross...but the gelatto at mamma mias is wonderful!

here we are on our holiday at nkhotakota.

here our my 7th graders on reading day. 2nd row: caleb (usa), robert (new zealand), amungwa (half american, half malawian), sho (japan), gerald (malawi), gerteen (holland), sion (korea), maria (malawi), shalom (i think malawi), shannon (zimbabwe). 1st row: me (duh!), shea (usa), layomi (um, nigerian, i think?).

2 others weren't there yet, yodit (half american, half malawian) and caterina (malawian)

this is my favorite baby at the crisis nursery. i have no idea how to spell his name, but its something like chikoko, maybe? isn't he beautiful?

there i am with chikoko and delola. emily and i call delola "miss priss." this nickname totally fits her...she has tons of attitude and is so much fun!

okay, so i have been horrible about updating! and i won't have pictures on this post...and i know i promised :(

i will try to add pictures tomorrow.

let's see...what have we been up to? grades were due monday, so i was pretty busy with all of that. yesterday and today we have parent/teacher conferences. yesterday went well...lets hope today goes well! emily, bech, and i went to the crisis nursery last friday and had a great time. we learned more of the kids names.

we realized yesterday that we have been here almost 3 months...that is insane to us! somedays we feel like we have been in malawi forever, other days like we have only been here a week. my parents and blaise and ansley will be here in less than a month (almost 3 weeks!) and we are both SOOO excited to see them. i am not looking forward to saying goodbye to them. katy will be here in march and bech's parents are coming in april. josh and mary elizabeth may be coming in february. we will be the most spoiled missionaries at ABC!

a lot of people are asking what they can specifically pray for. i have a big prayer request: wisdom in lending. we are often asked if we can lend people money. this is a strange request for us, because no one ever really asks to borrow money from us in the states. i mean, that would just be weird. but here its not. we have lent some and refrained some. we just aren't sure how to decide when to lend. sometimes it is for a lot, sometimes it is for only a little. i tend to have a hard heart in these instances and not want to lend at all (especially because sometimes it isn't really lending, it ends up being a "gift")...bech is much kinder than me and tends to want to lend. in girls bible study this past week, we read in luke 6:32 - 36:

"If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

i felt really convicted by that verse, but we still want to be wise in our lending. one guideline we have set is that we should not lend an amount out if we have to have it back. by that i mean, if we won't have enough money to buy what we need if we don't get that money back. one loan we have been asked for was about $500...we just can't do that. but $20 is a lot different. so i would love prayer for us in this area, and also any advice ya'll might have in this area.

i really will put pictures up soon!

Art, Inside and Out!

Here are the first pictures of my students. The classroom pictures are Reception Two, which is the second group of four year olds. I teach three year olds to sixth grade. By Friday afternoon, I have had fourteen different art classes! The Reception classes are some of my favorites. I don't know if all four year olds are good-natured and happy, or if this group is an exception.
Each teacher is required to participate in the afternoon activity program. The program includes soccer, swimming, netball (a British game), cross country, etc. Since I'm so athletic, I created my own activity: the Outdoor Arts and Crafts Club. Below are pictures from our second meeting. Our first project is a fence for our very own garden. Three campus gardeners--Mustaf, Jonah, and Fenton--are sharing some local knowledge and their time to teach us how to build a fence with some typical Malawian construction materials: bluegum tree trunks, bamboo, and reeds.
Here is the plot for our garden. In the left 1/3 of the picture you can see Mustaf (wearing the denim jacket), Jonah in the middle 1/3, and Fenton walking out of the picture on the right. Truth be told, these men have done all of the hard work. Hiding behind the right half of the fence is Emily Ketchum, the third grade teacher (and neighbor) who runs the activity with me.
Many of you will recognize this Outdoor Artist and Craftswoman. This is Amber McDonald, oldest daughter of Sam and LeAnne, from Faith Presbyterian Church in Brookhaven. She is the unofficial president of the club and a true artist.
I was nervous that Outdoor Arts and Crafts wouldn't be as "cool" as the other activities. We had over fifteen come today.

1 month update

well we have been here over a month now! we have learned alot but still have a way to go. the car is great. if you had told us a year ago that we would be this excited about a toyota carina (its a japanese brand, not even done in the u.s.), we would have thought you were crazy. but we love our little car...it takes us places, and thats what matters!

we got our camera this past week! my parents bought it and sent it overnight to a team that left from seattle. so we will put a picture post up either monday or tuesday. we have just been so busy! we have school from about 6:45 (well it starts at 7:15, but we are supposed to get there at 6:45) until 1:10 (but we are supposed to stay until (1:40). then on tuesday and thursday, i teach ballet from 3 to 4, and bech teaches outdoor arts and crafts on tuesday from 2-4. plus staff bible study on wednesday night and potluck on friday night. plus grocery shopping takes like 3 hours to do! hopefully this week i can start going to do some orphanage ministry stuff...thats what i am really excited about over here.

we have visited two different churches the past two weeks. mclaude (pronounced mcleod, though) works at the academy and took us to both. the first was a combined chewa/english service at an anglican church in lilongwe. it was interesting, but very long. the malawian music was really good. bech LOVED the music! then this morning, we went to a CCAP church called Kafiti (i think...oh and CCAP stands for Central Church of Africa Presbytery). we went to the 2+ hour chewa service. we were the only white people ("mzungus") there, and we couldn't understand anything they said. we went with mclaude and nweene (pronounced, neh-way-nie...sorry, i have been studying my vocab cards for the gre, so i am really into pronunciation today) his wife, and katherine, his niece.

we went to the market yesterday with vicky (from england) and rachel harper (from jackson, ms). we took them to the largest market, which can be intimidating. they really liked it. i got my first present for a family member...playing cards that say world cup 2010 (bc its in south africa). obviously, these are for blaise. we also got some peanuts and boiled them when we got home...so good! it reminded me of the summer we boiled peanuts from my uncle mikes land.

anyway, i wanted to do a couple of praises and prayer requests, so, if you are praying for us (and if you are, we are very thankful for it!), you know what to pray for specifically...

praises:

* the carina!!!

* our sweet students...they make teaching fun!

* our new friends

* our one year anniversary is a week from tomorrow, so we are going to the lake!

* our new camera

prayer requests:

* they "fixed" our water heater last week...um, its definately not fixed! we are still just able to take baths, because the water is either burning up or (when the hot water runs out) freezing cold)! we are going to call again this week and see what can be done!

* our stove broke! the top part works, but the stove itself doesn't work. this is definitely not good, because the apartment manager isn't responsible. you have to provide the stove and fridge yourself. we got these from an expat leaving, so if it isn't fixable, we will have to buy another stove!

that's all for now...it's almost bedtime for us! we will try to put pictures up soon!

our

We have a car!!!

Sorry for no update in the last few days! We have had a better week than last week, but also a busier week! School started! We are both excited to have started our job here.

We have some great news…we got a car! Technically, we don’t have it yet. Allen Shaba (a Malawian who found it for us) is letting us drive it until we pay him on Friday. The whole payment should be pretty hilarious…the largest amount of money here is the 500 kwacha bill. But 500 kwachas is about $3.50. So to pay for a car, we have to have a LOT of 500 kwacha notes…like think ransom money or mob scenes! We are going to call the car "the Shaba," in honor of Allen...but here it is pronounced sha-wa, which makes it even more fun to say!

We had a not fun incident last night, though. The car key is broken and falls of off the ring easily. Well it fell off yesterday about 4ish from Bech’s keys while he was outside working on our herbs and his composte pile. He realized it was missing about 30 minutes to an hour later and we frantically looked for it. We couldn’t find it anywhere, and were really worried that one of the guards had taken it! Allen Shaba took the lock from the car this morning and had a new key made for us. But then the cook next door told us he had picked it up from the sidewalk in front of our house. We’re not sure why he didn’t tell us yesterday and we hope he didn’t make a copy of it! But we are glad to have our key back!

My students are great! I have kids from so many different nationalities in my classes…Malawian (duh), Ethiopian, Dutch, Zimbabwean, South African, Nigerian, American, German, Egyptian, Indian, Canadian, etc. The children’s accents are beautiful! They aren’t all crazy about science, but they seem to be pretty attentive and respectful so far!

My parents were able to overnight another digital camera to a group leaving from Seattle on Friday. That means we should have another camera by Sunday!!! I will try to put some pictures up from the academy and from the markets.

Everyone, thank you so much for your comments! We miss everyone so much! One thing I have already realized in our short time here is how much I love Mississippi and the South!

christmas in august...

okay, not really. but it does feel a lot like christmas! we have been working on/anticipating four things since we got here: internet in our apartment (we have been using the internet at the academy), a cell phone, hot water in our apartment, and the container (with our beds!). this week we got all four! we ended up having to buy a cell phone here...the one we brought with us was messed up. it was not fun to pay $60 for a phone we could have gotten for free in the u.s. (you know, one of those free for signing a plan kind of nokias), but now we can be reached! our number is 08211021 (and if you are calling from overseas, i think it is 265-8211021).

our hot water was fixed on wednesday...it is still messing up a bunch. like it is either freezing or scalding. but we can at least make a bath by mixing the two extremes. and that seems to work well.

they hooked up the internet on thursday. unfortunately, something is wrong with the ethernet hookup on my mac. it started messing up when i was at ole miss, and i never got it fixed. so we had to buy a wireless router. again, it was way more expensive than it would have been in the u.s., but now we have really fast (well really fast for here) internet.

and the container came thursday night! we slept on a real bed with our sheets last night. and we used our towels today! it is nice to have comfort items like that...well, maybe i am the only person who counts towels as comfort items. bechs mom and my mom both packed us suprise boxes. my moms is separated into september, october, november, and december, so we haven't opened those yet. but we got to open bech's moms box...it was great! she packed it full of jambalaya mix, cajun seasoning, red beans and rice mix, party cups, etc. ohhh yeah, and party lights! she is from new orleans, and the box was totally new orleans. we loved it! one of my favorite things is the gingerbread house kit for christmas...i can't wait to use that!

i have a big prayer request. the people in the apartment before us hired a lady to clean and do laundry. we kept her on, because she needs a job...she does the laundry in a concrete sink outside and then hangs it to dry, then irons it all...crazy! mercy is very sweet, but speaks no english. i am not very patient with her. if you know me well, you know that i am super o.c.d. about how i want everything arranged. mercy likes to reorganize everything! she is trying to be sweet and clean, and really everything she reorganizes looks very good, but it is driving me crazy. i need to learn to be patient, because she is just trying to do what she thinks is right. so please, pray that i will be patient, and maybe that i will learn enough chichewa to explain this all to her.

this monday we start orientation. we are excited about this! i am ready for school to start, but i am nervous as well!