Finally, my final post...

Today (Sunday, 11/4/12) we experienced an African High Mass, a three hour outdoor celebration. The occasion was to thank God for their many blessings, to ask God to bring rain as the new planting season begins, and to ask God to bless the famine foods they will exist on until the harvest.

It was a beautiful day, warm with a light breeze. Chairs had been set up under temporary stalls with mat roofs to provide shade . The choir, dancers and drummers were ready. There was quite a large crowd gathered. We had front row seats, the alter was decorated, and a new fruit tree had been planted.

Even though we were sitting in the shade, I managed to get a pretty good sunburn (approprately, a farmer's tan) because the malaria prevention medication I am on increases sensitivity to the sun. I knew that, just forgot.

After the mass, there was a luncheon feast for the special guests that had traveled to Bowe for the event. There was rice, nshima, noodles, two types of chicken, beef, cabbage, and papaya. It was kind of like Thanksgiving but with Malawian food.

The rest of the afternoon and evening we piddled around and napped, started packing up and thinking about our goodbyes. We've all been reflecting on the journey this week has been.

Please enjoy the videos from the worship service and photos of the people in Malawi who are so generous with their time.

The entrance procession and hymn               http://youtu.be/ggQtPNgW8D0 

The prayer and blessing by Little E                http://youtu.be/xPaWqKWjdQU

The blessing with holy water                          http://youtu.be/-0rey94jUv4

African/Catholic culture                                  http://youtu.be/FhYBbSMD8g4

Big E receiving the bible for the readings       http://youtu.be/JNVNAPe3cOA

Mr. Mbamba.  He cooked many meals for us and did a wonderful job! 

Temayo. A young man who spends long days helping us by interpreting Chechewe to English and back. 

Dingiri - She works tirelessly cleaning, doing laundry and ironing for the priests.

Marie, my African daughter and Mrs. Gondwe.  Marie was orphaned at the age of nine and has been raised by Big E.   Mrs. Gondwe has helped and encouraged Marie to be strong and continue her education.  Mrs. Gondwe is now a beloved headmistress at a school in a nearby parish. 

Stefano (left) sits interpreting for me.  He is very active in the village in helping care for the poor and ill.

Guest post from Ray Misomali, Director of ORANT charities

Greetings everyone!  We've had a great week in Malawi.  While we've 
encountered a lot of heartbreaking issues in the patients we've seen,
we've also had our hearts warmed by the love shown to us by our hosts
and the communities where we've served.  The joy and happiness that
radiates from the smiling children in  Malawi is infectious.  One
forgets they are in such desperate conditions when they see the happy
faces of the children here.

We've had a great week of serving in Malawi.  We spent three days out
in the villages neighboring Bowe Mission and two days at the Bowe
Mission clinic. The Bowe Mission clinic is probably the best stocked
pharmacy in this part of Malawi.  It was also recently furnished with
an examination bed which was built by the students at the Bowe
Mission carpentry school.  And yesterday, the students added some
shelves for the pharmacy.

Looking back on our week here, it is easy to be overwhelmed,
frustrated, and disheartened because the poverty here is overwhelming.
But when you look into the happy faces of the little children, the
hardwork and cohesion of our mission team, the grace and generosity of
our hosts, the men caring for their children by bringing them to the
clinic, or hear about the decline of funerals in this area because of
the medical mission trips over the past couple of years, there is a
sense of quiet celebration and hope about our time here.

Thank you for supporting us through your thoughts and prayers.  There
is  lot of work to be done in Malawi.  We have seven trips planned in
2013.  Would you consider joining us?  Let me know at
rmisomali@orantcharities.org.  By the way, I, Ray, recently joined
Orant Charities as its first director just over a month ago.  I was
born in Malawi and have lived in the US for the past 12 years.  I am
excited to be working with a great group of people who are so freely
giving of their time and resources to benefit the poor in Malawi.  As
we see the delight on the faces of those we are serving, we are
experiencing the joy of giving and feel blessed to be a part of this
work.  I would like to invite you to join us in this adventure.

Food for thought...

I went to sleep to the sound of drums and singing from the village last night. I can only imagine the dancing that was going on as well. That was after seeing a local soccer match where when your team scores everyone runs the length of the field rejoicing and I'm talking a couple hundred folks – mostly children.

In our clinic here in Bowe, I saw a 72 year old man (already beat the averages) with an apparent enlarged prostate, in excruciating pain because his bladder was distended above his waist putting pressure on his kidneys and gradually causing renal failure. I had nothing to offer in our meager clinic but to pay bus fare to the only decently equipped hospital in this country in Lilongwe. There they will place a catheter through the skin above his pubic bone into his bladder to relieve the pressure. This he will keep the rest of his life, and the concern will then be the risk for infection, which is quite high.

This was also after seeing 5 year old child who had bumped her chin in a fall and had such a terrible infection in her face I thought she had the mumps when she walked in. Thank the Lord we have a good supply of antibiotics in our clinic. This is the type of thing a child dies from here. I asked her father to bring her back to see me this afternoon, even though the clinic will not be open – the day of rest and all that.

It is difficult for me to process and reconcile such complete joy against such terrific suffering, when I can't recall experiencing or even witnessing either to that degree at home.

Just food for thought...

So unbelievably tired....

And I feel terrible saying that when I see how these people live day to day. We finished our clinical work today and are going to rest tomorrow.  Mass is at 10:00 am, then lunch, then apparently visitors from the government to press the flesh with.

I am hoping to publish a guest post soon from one of our team members, Ray Misomali, who is the new director of ORANT charities.  Power was out from 5:30 am to 7:00 pm here so that's a limiting factor.

Look at these and understand why so many adults came to clinic with the chief complaint of  "general body aches".

Nkanowa

It's 2:30 am and you know it's raining hard when there is no wind, thunder or lightening and the sound of the falling rain wakes you up – especially when you're as tired as I am. I'm thinking the rainy season is making an early entrance this year. I feel so worried about people in the villages as many have not finished re-thatching their roofs. We've already had two afternoon rains.

We went to the remote village of Nkanowa today. We had a private Mass in the chapel before breakfast (grilled sardine and onion sandwiches – Big E's favorite) because it was All Soul's Day and the main mass was at 7:00 am. Big E wanted us on the road by then. I can understand why village trips are not possible when the rain comes. The journey was a core workout on a dry road.

Nkanowa appeared to be the poorest of the villages we have visited this week. I have no idea how many patients we saw today, but once again it wasn't everybody. We are such spectacle here. No matter where we go, there are crowds of children peering through the windows. Then as soon as you look or move towards them, only the bravest don't disappear. 

My office in Nkanowa. 

The church/school/clinic in Nkanowa .

The not yet re-thatched ceiling.

The exam room.

The most amazing medical mission crew!!  L to R: Margarita Padilla, Jennifer Verner, Luke Robinson, and Ray Misomali. 

Our amazing pharmacy personnel, Margarita Padilla and Luke Robinson.

Beautiful, curious Malawi children.

More spies on the mzungus.

A pop-n-squat.  I now empathize more with men and their aim. 

 A silo for ears of maize.

We arrived back at the mission around 4:30 pm and I sat on my bed to start editing photos. The next thing I knew it was 6:45.  I had been gone. I walked over to the priest's house for dinner and my one Carlsberg beer – the thing that really keeps me going each day. What a surprise to find that Father Levinius and Father Joseph had driven in for dinner and the evening from Colembe, a new mission site.  These guys are like five rowdy brothers when they are together.

The most amazing Christians I have ever met. They don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk.
 L to R: Father Levinius, Father Stephen, Father Emmanuel (Big E), Father Emmanuel (Little E), Father Joseph. 

Pics from yesterday - delayed posting due to power outage.

The road to Chekuuru.

Another one of ORANT charities water pump wells along the way.

The school where we will set up our clinic today.

Women walking to the clinic to be seen.

Each day in the villages we are served lunch in the home of the village chief, who is the most well-off person in the community.  The custom here is to not dine with your guests.  Cuisine clockwise from 11:00 o'clock: Rice,
Nshima, the traditional starchy food made from maize - it is like grits but much finer and cooked to a paste that is used to sop up the other foods. Flatware is rarely available.  Greens - aka stewed pumpkin leaves. More rice. Chicken stewed with tomato and onion.

L to R: Yours truly, the headmistress from the Chekuuru school, Jennifer Verner.

Those still waiting to be seen when we had to leave.  This village was over an hour from the mission and we were instructed to leave in time to be back on the M-1 before dark.

The school children so excited to see the mzungus.

The beautiful evening sunset over what used to be the jungle.

Chikuuru

No pictures tonight guys, I'm too tired.  I'll try to add them tomorrow. The village today was quite far away and we were very busy. The clinic was held at a school and the poor headmistress had great difficulty controlling the students.  They were very excited to see the " mzungus".  This is what they call white people. It literally means traveler or journeyer. Every village has a guest book and all visitors sign it. They were very happy as we were visitors from the furthest destination yet.

On our way we saw 4 or 5 wells that ORANT has put in. You can literally see the difference in the communities when they have convenient clean water.

We cared for about 140 patients today in spite of the weather. The rain is not suppose to start unti late November, but after a west-Texas style dust storm, we had two pretty impressive thunderstorms. And the classroom we were working in had a tin roof. NOISY!!

I have been quite spoiled, but today had to use a traditional village latrine. This is what my youngest daughter calls a "pop and squat". Picture to come.

We mzungus celebrated Halloween by throwing dum-dums to the children in the villages on our way back to the compound. We felt like rock stars. Too much fun. They don't worry about taking candy from strangers here.

We were given chickens yesterday and today as gifts of gratitude. This is quite the sacrifice.

I am coping so much better than last year. I feel well and understand better this time around that  you can't do everything, but you can do something.   These wonderful priests who run the mission here once again make me believe there are true Christians here on the earth.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

A little more Chekuwi

Providing instructions for treatment.

Jennifer, Ray and Temeo triaging patients.

So we have settled in for the evening.  We found out that our remaining bags have arrived, so Big E and Ray will head to Lilongwe tomorrow and Father Stephen will escort the rest of us to our village mission, Chisuuru.

Chekuwi

Today was crazy busy and a very good day.  After Mass at 6:00 we had breakfast at the rectory, then loaded up and drove out into the bush east of the M-1.  I have no idea how far off it was because we sort of got lost, but Big E was driving and you know how men are about directions.  It must be universal.

We set our clinic up in the village church/school.  There were about 25 people waiting to be seen when we arrived.  We had seen 76 patients by the time we broke for lunch and somewhere around 123 by the time we quit at sundown.  There were about 75 people waiting to be seen when we had to leave.  We saw a wide variety of problems including several impressive chronic wounds.  I will not post those pics, you're welcome.  One of our patients was the village chief and I think he might have lost his big toe from recent trauma if we hadn't had antibiotics and dressings. We saw people from at least six different villages that walked there to see us.

Chekuwi women walk at least 8 km to get fresh water and bring it to their homes.  ORANT has drilled and repaired many water wells in the Bowe area, but it is expensive.  It would cost $10,000 to put a water in or near Chekuwi. Donations anyone?

When we returned this evening the Malawi children were running along the rode by our vehicles waving and laughing.  They are so beautiful.

Girls walking home from school in Bowe.

Downtown Bowe.

Family field plowed, ready to plant when the rain starts.

Luke setting up our pharmacy as we prepare to see patients.

Malawi

WE"RE HERE! With 3 of 5 of our checked bags... oh well, we have plenty of supplies to begin our work today.

Father Emmanuel picked us up at the airport and drove us north on the M-1(the only paved road running north-south) to Bowe.  I am very happy to say my impression is that there is much more commerce this year.  I am seeing more produce stands, stores appear to be stocked, and the little fields are all plowed (by hand or ox) and ready to plant when the rains start later this month.

We even stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Kusungu.  The place is run by a Scottish ex-pat, and apparently a hot spot for Peace Corps members.

Photos are loading very slowly, so I will add more this evening when I have a bit more time.

I cannot believe the progress that has been made at the mission since I was here a year ago.  Volunteers from ORANT charities and students here in Malawi have constructed a clinic with a reception area, two exam rooms and a pharmacy.  One of our jobs this week will be to organize the pharmacy according to government regulations.

Big E says he used to officiate up to five funerals a week.  Since our medical work began here, he says he now sometimes goes an entire week without there being a funeral.

We are heading into Chekuwi, an outlying village today.  More later with photos.

Nairobi

Good morning everyone,

We are here in Nairobi, safe and sound but pretty worn out.  We board in about 2 hours and should be in Lilongwe around 11:00 am (2:00 am for you).   I'm almost glad TSA threw the 10 pounds of peanut butter away as I might have ditched it myself by now.

Today I hope to get a team photo and introduce us to you. The drive from Lilongwe to Bowe will be at least two hours more.  Last year there was a fuel shortage and gasoline was nearly $8/liter on the black market.  I believe the shortage has resolved.

Other than the minor TSA issues, the journey so far has been uneventful.  We are excited to get to the mission, settle in and get organized so we can start work tomorrow. Typically, Mass is at 6:00 am, breakfast follows and then off to see patients until sundown.

London

A very long day and night. First, the TSA threw away 10 pounds of peanut butter I had purchased for the priests.  In retrospect I might be glad as there was already more checked in our bags and now my carry-on is much lighter.

I was able to sleep some on last night's flight so I didn't feel too bad when we got to London at 8:00 am (3:00 am at home). We were able to leave our luggage at Heathrow and ride the train to the British Museum. It's so awesome and we only saw about 15% of it.  Then fish and chips and ale in a pub and back to the airport.  Ray ran into some security issues and they destroyed his hand sanitizer and toothpaste, then searched him. Glad we got here early because that took about an hour.  I know somebody who probably would have gotten himself arrested if that had happened to him.

Now another overnight flight to Nairobi (9 hours) , a two hour layover, then a short flight to Lilongwe.  The priests will pick us up there around noon and then a 2 1/2 hour drive to Bowe.  Again, so far so good.  We are all doing well and will catch up tomorrow.

This is a guest post by Jimmy. Rochelle is at DFW airport. She asked me to put the pictures from last fall's Malawi trip on this blog. But there are 139 pictures, so I'm just going to give you a link to Mike Heatley's SmugMug page where they are all online. Click 2011 Malawi photos

Ok, so I think I'm packed.  The thing about Malawi, is if you forget it, you can't buy it when you get there.  Malawi is a very poor nation, but is nicknamed "the warm heart of Africa".  The average life expectancy is 39 years.  The primary vocation is sustenance agriculture.

Last year I was pretty overwhelmed and found myself in tears at least once a day.  So much that when Father Emmanuel introduced me, he would say " and this one, she is full of tears".  I think I'm better prepared both emotionally and physically this time around.

Our flight departs at 6:40 tonight and is an overnight to London.   We than have another overnight to Nairobi, and will arrive in Lilongwe Tuesday around noon.

The bunkhouse where we will stay.

Our waiting room.

Last year's team. L to R: Scott Beathard, Mike Heatley, Heidi Cordi, MD, Esteban Lucio, yours truly, Leslie McKown.

The wonderful priests who care for the poor people of Bowe, Malawi and who will be our generous hosts. L to R: Father Levinius, Father Joseph, Father Emmanuel (Little E), Father Stephen, Father Emmanuel (Big E).

Ok,  need to do a last minute check and head to the airport within the hour.  All prayers and thoughts are appreciated!

Ok, wow.  I've never done a blog before, so here goes.  So many people have asked

me about the Malawi mission, that I've decided to embrace technology (with the help of my awesome techie husband, Jimmy Verner) and try this blog thing.  Who came up with the word blog anyway?

We have a team of four departing tomorrow on the final medical mission of this season.

A little history...

Many of you who know me well, know that I hit one of life's walls almost exactly a year ago.  As part of my reassessing my situation, I had the opportunity to join the inaugural medical trip to the mission run by the St. Paul missionaries in Bowe, Malawi.  ORANT charities is a small NGO (non-governmental organization) that does work in Malawi as well as Cambodia, Mozambique and Guatemala.  They had a trip planned that they were going to have to cancel because one of the doctors had to have surgery somewhat urgently.  Because I was just standing there staring at the wall I had run into, I signed on, dragged my adorable niece along on the adventure and we did good things, I believe.

As soon as I figure out how, I will post a link to photos from last year's journey.

More soon.