Hip, Hop, a Hip Hip Hop....

To say christian hip hop is popular in Malawi is an understatement. The music world is thriving and there's constantly artists arising in this country. Most of the time the lyrics are a mix of english and chichewa. I've had the privilege of taking pictures for a few of the artists in Lilongwe. The photos are being used for posters to advertise for their upcoming performances and for their upcoming album releases. These guys go around Malawi performing at colleges, churches, etc. You name it they'll perform there.

Some people don't like hip hop music at all. Actually, to be perfectly honest with you, a lot of the missionary staff don't like it when hip hop is played at the sporting events. BUT, it's absolutely alive and a channel to spread the gospel in Malawi. I'll admit, there's times I don't like singing hymns or blue grass, but that works for people. That's a channel that reaches people. It's interesting being on certain sides of the situation.

Again, I'll let the pictures speak of the heart and passion these artists have for spreading the gospel through music.

The first few pictures are of Cos at one of his shows. These are not being used for posters the ones below him are.

ONE of my fans of Cos performing in February

Yami performing at Gusu

Now, the pictures from the "photo shoots" I did for 1 Lord Records.

YES, these guys are insane....

These guys were so easy to take pics of. They just "worked" the camera. If the internet was faster I'd post nearly all the pics I took because the guys "worked" it THAT much!

paperwork... paperwork... memories...

We had to visit Hollis' home village to have the father sign some more paperwork for the US side of things. Usually, Hollis doesn't like crowds of people, but he did beautifully interacting with everyone. They wanted to see him, hold him, touch him, and comment about how "fat" he was becoming. Needless to say, I was very proud of Hollis' behavior. He took pictures with his biological brothers, his step mother, his cousins, his grandmother. You name them, we've got pictures with them. Again, I'll just let the pictures explain the day.

The gathering that came to see Hollis

One of our favorite agogos

Hollis' maternal grandmother...we think he looks like her

Two of Hollis' three biological siblings

10 yrs old

5 yrs old

Hollis' biological father and step mother

two of Hollis' cousins

The lady second from the left is Hollis' mom's sister...his mother and her look alike! The kids are his cousins

His mom's voters registration card

his grandmother on his dad's side

Interesting story...this lady helped breastfeed Hollis when he was little...eeesh

Hollis' dad and grandmother

All the kids in Hollis' community wanted to see him...they were literally pouring through the door!

All I Do is WIN WIN WIN....

Please excuse the title of this post....this song has been stuck in my head lately.
The different sports have kicked off their seasons and it has been intense! Our football team, netball team, women's & men's basketball teams, and volleyball have started games. In all the sports, the overall theme is preaching Christ through sports. Some of the games get intense and I am continually encouraged and proud of the students for emulating Christ, especially in the heat of the game.

Game time means picture time in the White household...so instead of posting different posts for all the sports, I'll just update everyone on the sports world via pictures!

OH, yes, she likes her some ABC B-BALL

 Raph MAY be the cutest ABC Lions B-Ball supporter

He looks like he's either scared of the player pushing him...or he saw something scary on the sidelines :) 

 wall

 it looks like he's doing a dance move

No, we don't have any jewelry on....check!

Jane, the coach, plays on the Malawi National Team