1 Year B-Day catch up post #4

OK, It’s no surprise that Shaddy and Meesh are our favorites at Crisis. Their birthday was December 22, so we decided to throw them a mini birthday party. We made brownies and brought crates of drinks for the mommies that staff the nursery. We let the kids have some of the brownies as well, and it was a disaster. The kids, I guess, had never had something that sweet before, and the moment Caroline (one of the mommies) sat on the floor and tried to hand each kid a small brownie, they swarmed her and the plate of brownies was all over the floor! We also brought balloons, but most of the kids were afraid of them. Kondwani (one of the older kids) ran away from me, terrified of the balloons. Of course it was entertaining so I chased him around the nursery with the balloon. Meesh had fun trying to bite the balloons and after the first two popped I decided he didn’t need to be playing with the balloons anymore.

We were able to sing happy birthday to Shaddy and Meesh, and we got to Skype with my mom and sister for a bit. They also sang them happy birthday. It was fun to get to celebrate their one-year birthday, because birthdays are not celebrated very much at Crisis. It is very busy and stressful for the mommies, and there are more than 20 kids there, so it’s hard to remember EVERY single child’s birthday. That’s why I’m glad that we were able to provide a tiny birthday party for them. It’s fun for the kids, but also fun for the mommies. After we got back from the party I was looking through my pictures of Shaddy and Meesh when we first arrived in Malawi. They looked tiny compared to their one–year-old pictures. I think it’s neat how fast children grow and change, and I don’t think I realized how much Shaddy and Meesh had grown until I saw the pictures from July.

Anyway, Shaddy and Meesh have recently gone to a foster home (late Feb is when they were placed in the foster home). The foster family goes to church at IBF which is on the ABC campus. I have not seen the boys since they’ve been placed, but I hear they are thriving and doing well. While Jeff and I miss them terribly, we know they are in a great home being loved on and raised in a Christian environment. And now we’re extra happy we took pictures of them when we got here up until now, because we can share those pictures with the family. So when the boys grow up they will be able to have pictures of themselves when they were younger!

Happy Birthday Shaddy and Meesh!

It’s ALL About Jesus,

Carson

Birthday boys!

I like Shaddy's sweet smile in this one!

Whoah, surprised Shaddy in this picture!

This was the "attack of the kids" moment...notice Meesh reaching in for more brownies

This picture was taken when Shaddy and Meesh came to stay with us for a weekend because both of them had really high fevers. Amazing what Tylenol and Ibuprofen syrup do around the clock. We had them playing and splashing in the tub in no time!

Shaddy had figured out how to splash himself in the face...

splash wars!

the plastic bottle was more interesting than any of the toys we had for them to play with

oh, Jeff's hat was more interesting than the bottle

sleep-drunk Shaddy

random day at crisis

Shaddy's Mr. T hairstyle is in full swing in this picture!

Esime-catch up post #3

In early December Crisis nursery had received another baby from a family about an hour from Lilongwe. The baby was tiny (2kg or 4.4lbs), and the 7^th born in the family. The mother died from post partum hemorrhage (a VERY common thing in Malawi) and the father was too overwhelmed/couldn’t care for this baby as well as the 5 others at home (the 6^th born died from HIV complications at 2 years of age). Upon receiving the child at Crisis, the director (Mwawi) called me to come get Esime. She was very concerned because Esime had a rattly chest and was breathing very rapidly, as well as being malnourished. I brought her to Tiyamike (our children’s ward) and Dr. Young assessed her. She was placed on strict feeds and antibiotic injections. Esime thrived and grew very quickly. She was only at our ward for about 2 weeks, which looking back on it now was incredible. These kids that are brought to our ward are simply amazing. Becky, Dr. Young and I always say how astounding it is that these kids can thrive when all the odds are against them. It’s moments like these that remind me of how powerful God is, and how there’s no earthly explanation of why these kids thrive. It is simply the work of Christ. That is why I really like our motto at the clinic, “We Treat, God Heals”. It couldn’t be more evident than in these kids. I’ll be posting a recent picture of Esime soon, you won’t believe how big she is now!

It’s ALL about Jesus,

-Carson-

Gosh, she's just huge, isn't she? NOT! 

TINY!

I think she was tired of me taking pictures at this point

I think she's saying, "enough already!"

Zikomo-giving

Zikomo is thanks in Chichewa. Actually, zikomo can mean a lot of other things as well, but it’s the word used for thank you. Anyway, this Thanksgiving was fun, different, and memorable. We had most of the “normal” American foods. We even had sweet potato casserole (my favorite!). Initially I was kinda bummed because I wanted sweet potato casserole, but sweet potatoes weren’t in season during Thanksgiving. BUT momma Dehnert is smart and put some sweet potatoes in her freezer to have to make sweet potato casserole to share with everyone for Thanksgiving. Turkey, dressing, veggies etc were all served. Of course, there was pie. Lots and lots of desserts were available, and the most coveted dessert was the pumpkin pie Becca Hiroto made. When it was time to serve dessert everyone rushed to the table to get a small slice of her pumpkin pie. Becca was smart and had some pumpkin puree from the States shipped, so the pie was not only good, it tasted like home. I tried to make pecan pie with the pecans the Franklin’s sent us, but I didn’t have corn starch, so I kind of made pecan pie/pecan mush. Either way, it was tasty and it too tasted like home.

Also, Chisomo had been improving so well he was able to attend Thanksgiving dinner! Becky and her family are fostering to adopt him (after all the crazy paperwork goes through) so below are some of the pictures of him. He looked 10 times better than when we had rescued him only 2 weeks prior to that! He was the center of attention, and he loved every minute of it!

So this is my catch-up post #2.  I hope to be caught up to present day soon!

Carson

Yes, I was a LITTLE over enthusiastic about the sweet potato casserole. Thanks momma Dehnert!

Chisomo and Jeff at Thanksgiving dinner

He is such a ham!

Chisomo playing with Becca and Kellen

I couldn't post this picture in my last post because the internet was too slow to upload the picture, BUT this is the picture of the things the lady heaved up. The rock was not in that paper we just placed it in there for the picture. But the note was ripped up, and that is the red string that was tied around the woman's abdomen.

Fuel Shortage

Since last Saturday, April 2, there has been a fuel shortage in Malawi. Friday I got out of school at 1:10 and went to sit in a line of cars waiting for fuel. The tanker had not actually dropped the fuel off yet because the tanker was not in Lilongwe. I waited about 2 hours before the tanker arrived with the fuel. Once the line started moving I was thinking it would not take very long. I was wrong! Once I got close to the front, I realized they were letting people with all types of bottles and cans get in line to get fuel as well. As far a I know that is actually illegal in Malawi when there is a fuel shortage. Then they were letting cars in 2 different entrances which created an even bigger problem with traffic flow. I finally got to the front and heard they were only allowing people to fill up with 5,000 kwacha (about $30) worth of fuel but we were on empty and needed about 10,000 kwacha. I started talking to the manager about 3 cars from the pump and asked him how much I could have. He asked how much I needed so I told him, “10,000K.” He talked to me until it was my turn and filled me up! I took a few books to read while waiting and I am glad I did because I sat in line from 1:30-6:10. I was actually never frustrated or mad because I went in thankful that fuel was even available. Pray that the fuel problem ends soon as it is still not readily available!

Because of Jesus,

Jeff

Singanga

I know it’s been QUITE a long time since I have posted. I sure hope everyone had a great holiday season. Believe it or not, the holiday season in Lilongwe was still just as busy. Even though we didn’t have the constant commercialized reminders that it was Christmas time, we were still just as busy. So, I figured I’d post the latest happenings one post at a time until I catch up to current day.

On Monday, November 29^th it was a normal Monday at the clinic. About 7:45 am a woman arrives with her husband. Her husband said his wife woke up in the night unable to move her legs. I immediately thought, “oh great, drama before 8am.” We get her to lay on the bed and when we ask what’s wrong, the woman can’t speak but mouths that her belly hurts and she’s unable to move her legs. We take her vital signs and nothing is abnormal. Dr. Young looks in her mouth and there’s nothing obstructing her throat or anything. We start asking her husband multiple questions and the woman starts heaving violently. Becky and I grab an emesis bucket because she looks like she’s going to puke. After a full minute of the woman heaving, a rock, piece of plastic and piece of paper come out of the woman’s mouth. No mucus, no vomit, no spit, the paper was dry and the rock was about an inch in diameter. We were puzzled. Then the woman was grabbing her stomach so we pulled her shirt up and saw a red piece of cloth tied around the woman’s abdomen. This is a sign that the singanga, or witch doctor, had been to visit her. I opened the piece of paper and it had 3 crosses written on the top. The letter was in Chichewa, but the husband said it was a death note. It was a definite indicator that the witch doctor had come to visit this woman. The husband was spooked and asked if he could take the contents to his church. We wanted to burn them, but he insisted that he take them to the church the couple attends weekly. We allowed them to take them, but not before we got a picture of everything. The husband was asked to gather family members to pray and sing over his wife. People arrived and they sang and prayed. About 2 hours later, the woman was able to walk out of the room on her own two feet with no problems. Weird? Yes. Crazy? Yes. Explanation…Jesus is in control and the devil is very much alive.

            Jeff and I constantly say how much we try to rationalize things like this when in fact they’re complete evidence of how God is in control and the devil is working. Could there be some scientific explanation of why this woman’s airway didn’t close up? I’m sure. But the truth is the devil is alive and working all around the world. We were very scared and spooked by this whole situation. When asking some of the college students around campus about these types of incidences, they all can give some sort of account of an experience they had with a singanga. But if these things were to happen in the States we would blow them off and give some sort of “rational” excuse of why it happened. It’s very interesting to me how much we can “rationalize” situations in the States, but here in Malawi they accredit these incidences to the singanga. I almost feel as if they have it more figured out than we do, like they give God the “credit” more than we do in the States. 

God & Sports

I have some new updates on what the next year will hold for me at ABC. The athletic director (AD) for the College, Derek Breuninger, is returning to the States. He had committed for 2 years and his commitment is done in July, so I will be taking over the sports program in July. Being the AD will involve many things. I will be the head of all PE classes for the College but will not be teaching them all. I will be responsible for finding teachers for all the classes and making sure a syllabus exists for all PE courses. I will also be the head of team sports for the College. Again, I will not be coaching any of the teams, assuming each team has a coach, but will be the coordinator for all the team sports. We currently have 5 team sports: men’s soccer, basketball and volleyball and women’s basketball and netball. Along with being the AD, I will continue teaching Christian education courses in the College and being the coordinator for student sponsorship at the Malawi campus.

I am super excited about this new opportunity and using sports as a tool to share the gospel with many people in Malawi. It is amazing to look back and see how God has prepared me for each thing He calls me to do. I was involved and ran Upward Sports for 5 years at First Baptist and it was a great training for being involved in College sports and PE since it laid the foundation of using sports to reach people for Christ! Also, coaching recreational and competitive soccer teams has helped me understand that sports can be fun and competitive at the same time. I sometimes wondered why I committed to coach the teams I did even when “I didn’t have time.” I now see God pushed me to do those things in order to prepare me for ministry.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me through sports, both playing and coaching. There were many times I was not qualified or messed things up when coaching but the parents and players always supported me! Also, thank you to everyone who never gave up on me during my playing days. It is probably hard for most of the parents and my teammates to believe I am now using sports to share the gospel at a Christian college, but God has mercy and grace and for that I am truly thankful! And a huge thanks to my parents for always doing everything they could to help me be successful in sports but never forcing me to play. It was always enjoyable because I knew my parents would be completely okay with me stopping and pursuing other things.

I pray as this new opportunity arises that God would use it to bring glory to Himself and make His name known among the nations! As it gets closer to time for me to officially take over as AD I will let you know more about what is going on in the world of ABC Sports.

I am truly grateful for the prayers and support of family and friends. I thank God for you!

Because of Jesus,

Jeff

Sports & Other Happenings

Things have been going well lately. I have started playing some with the men’s volleyball team and really enjoy being around the guys and playing. They are doing quite well and we actually played the Malawi National Team a few weeks ago. It was a great experience since I have never played a national team in any sport. We lost but the first 2 games we kept it close.

Spiritual Formation class is going great as well! Many of the students are telling me they are growing spiritually and learning some new things. The ones that I have talked to seem to be very encouraged in their spiritual lives because of the class so that is super encouraging and exciting for me!

My Academy classes are also going well. We have 11 weeks left of class now (with a 2 week Easter Break in April). It is still exciting being able to share Christ whenever I want with the students. We are studying Ancient Egypt in 6^th grade and we did a contrast paper for Egyptian religion and Christianity. One of the books says that the 3 major monotheistic religions worship the same God so we spent ample time talking about how our God is different from all others (mainly Jesus Christ)!

For the next few weeks things are pretty normal around here as far as I can tell but we are looking forward to the summer when Carson’s mom, my dad and a group from Faith Baptist come to visit!

A few things to pray for are teachers for the Academy for next year (if you are interested in teaching in Malawi let me know), Spiritual Emphasis week at the College to go well, College midterms starting March 21, and continued good health for Carson and I.

Thank you for praying for us and loving us!

Because of Jesus,

Jeff

College, Friends & Ministry

A lot has happened over the past month in our ministry. Classes have started at the Academy and the College. The college class has been a huge encouragement to me and the ministry that God has placed me in. I am teaching Spiritual Formation (mainly focused on practical application of the Spiritual Disciplines). It is only offered to sophomores and it is an elective so it is not required. The class limit was set at 50 and we only had 50 books available. The first class I had 53 students so I knew that they were not all registered for the class. The following week I had 60 students. We made a deal with them that they were responsible for borrowing a book and turning in all assignments but they were welcome in the class. So 60 students are taking the class and seem very eager about learning the disciplines of the Christian life and applying them to their lives. We are using Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney if you are interested in pursuing Godliness (1 Tim 4:7) through the spiritual disciplines.

Our visitors, the Long’s, have returned to Wichita Falls and it was great having friends from the States! They took tons of pictures while they were here and some of them will be used in making new brochures for ABC as well as for the College and Academy yearbooks. Things at the Academy are going well also. I am enjoying more and more getting to talk about God in relation to history and having a Christian worldview. I am still learning classroom management and those kinds of things that come with teaching middle school students but by the grace of God I am improving. It is helping me rely on God in everything I do because I do not have all the answers or knowledge.

We went to an orphanage about 2 hours away from Lilongwe where 2 ABC graduates are involved in helping organize an orphanage of about 60 children from babies to high school students. Another ABC graduate is a high school teacher in the same trading center (small town) where the orphanage is located. We are praying about if and how God wants us to be involved there. We also visited a feeding program, nursery school and other various projects called Bright Vision with our friends, Kellen and Becca Hiroto. They have helped sponsor this ministry while training a Malawian (who is originally from the area that Bright Vision works in) to actually run the day-to-day ministry. It is also something we are praying about being involved in and if we do get involved, what that would mean. These would be extra ministries added on to our main focus at ABC. We truly believe that through education and the ministry at the clinic we can have a more broad, long term impact than by any other means. That does not mean we will not be involved with these other things, it just means our main focus is our ministry at ABC.

Thank you for praying for us, loving us and encouraging us in Christ! We appreciate all of you and thank God for you! If you ever have questions please let us know!

Because of Jesus,

Jeff

Long Overdue!

I am back to blogging. Sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted and kept you updated on our ministry and life in Malawi. We pray that you had a great Christmas and a wonderful start to the New Year. The Christmas break was very relaxing and a much needed break for us. We were able to take a short vacation to Cape Town, South Africa, and see some of the most beautiful places on earth. It was absolutely stunning to drive down to the Cape of Good Hope and see the incredible things that God has created.

The Academy has started back and we finished finals for the first semester January 20-21. I feel much more comfortable planning and teaching this semester. The College starts classes on Wednesday, January 26 and I will be teaching a spiritual formation class which will focus on learning and applying the spiritual disciplines. I am using Donald Whitney’s book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, as the textbook and drawing from many other sources for the class as well. If you do not know much about spiritual disciplines, I would suggest this book for you.

We received some friends, Scott, Beverly, and Raquel Long, on Sunday, January 16. They are staying until February 10. We are excited to have people come serve alongside us and encourage us in our ministry. They have already been a huge blessing to us and many other staff and students on the campus. They are taking tons of pictures so make sure you check out their blog for updates and pictures (http://www.blongphotography.com/). We have a lot of stuff planned for their visit and pray that God would bless their time here. They also brought a lot of stuff from the States for us (thanks to everyone who gave stuff) which is nice on those hard days. Among the things are Starbucks coffee, Hot Tamales, Reese’s Pieces, tons of DVDs, shampoo, conditioner, travel coffee cups, a few college football game recordings and many other things. Thank you, thank you, thank you if you sent stuff! The Hiroto’s also brought us things back as they went to the States for Christmas and a wedding. We are so blessed to have people who are involved in ministry with us!

I plan on updating more often now that school is back in session and there is a routine. If you are interested in coming to visit and minister with us, please let me know. We want people to come and visit and see what is happening through ABC and in Malawi. You are always welcome! Thanks for the love, prayers, support and encouragement! We love you!

Because of Jesus,

Jeff

Dzaleka in Pictures

Brian Carlisle holding sleeping Samuel. He chatted with these guys for a long time!

Sunga and me

Some of the kids performed for us

Humphreys, Eunice and others dancing

Lifton Square

Can you guess where they're from originally?

Some of the kids that sang for us

Melissa entertaining kids....who'd have thought twirling was so popular? Danie's in the background in the white shirt

These kids were booty dancing, no joke

Lifton teaching us some dance moves

The beautiful Mingoli girls....Linda got cut out of the picture, sorry!

Mingoli performed while we were at Dzaleka. They did a GREAT job!

Praising Jesus congo line style

Mike dancing with the kiddos during the congo line

I caught Larry joining in the congo line

Lifton catching his breath after the congo line!

Mike and this guy were buddies for the day 

I wanted to post some pictures of our day at Dzaleka Refugee camp. We were humbled by the stories of everyone we met. I think each family there could have a book written about them. Their experiences are so humbling, and I can't begin to try and understand how they feel. I want to have faith like the people of this camp. They are true examples of praising Jesus through the storm.

It's all about You, JESUS

Carson

Refugee Camp & God

On Saturday, November 20, we took a trip to Dzaleka, a refugee camp about an hour drive outside of Lilongwe. Kelly Dehnert, a music professor from Wyoming, set the trip up and about 35 students went on the trip with about 20 missionaries. In the morning, we met with a church who had people to translate for us. We split into 8 different groups to spread out across the refugee camp and listen to people’s stories about fleeing their countries and ending up in a camp in Malawi. Our group had 6 students, Carson and me. Our translator spoke Swahili and was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), so we went to the area of the camp with people from DRC. We first listened to the story of the translator while sitting in his home. His wife left him recently because she could not handle the hardships of living in a refugee camp. He was left with 3 children to take care of. In the corner of the room we were sitting in was a bag of maize with the label “a gift of Spain” written on it. We found out that the people in the camp cannot grow gardens but are dependent on UN aid for all of their food. It is also very difficult for them to have jobs since they are not Malawian citizens.

We moved on from the translator’s home to the home of 2 more families. Their stories were similar. They fled DRC because they supported the presidential candidate who lost. The president who won started killing people of the opposing party. They ended up in Malawi because it was the closest refugee camp. They are totally dependent on God to provide all of their needs through other people and do not have much in terms of material possessions. This camp is probably the worst form of poverty I have ever seen but one thing stuck out to me even in the midst of suffering. Each time we asked what we could pray for and the response of the people showed me what true faith looks like. They simply said to pray that God continues to provide and protect them as they are in the refugee camp.

What?! No prayer to get out of that place? No whining because they are in a difficult situation? This is the faith that I believe we are all called to but I know I do not live daily in that kind of faith. I am American. My needs are provided. I am always safe. I do not have to rely on God for those things, right? Well, I am starting to view things in a different light. God can take it all away in an instant and would I say, “God please provide what I need today and keep me safe?” That is my new prayer that I would live in such a way that God is my All in All and my Sovereign. I want to rely on Him for everything and not depend on myself.

I am completely and totally thankful that I was born in the States and that God has blessed our nation so tremendously. I do not take that for granted, but I do not want that blessing to be something that I replace God with. I will go back to the refugee camp to continue to minister and share the gospel with non-believers and encourage the believers while being ministered to and encouraged at the same time.

After we had lunch, a group of students who are part of our college band, Mingoli, performed a concert. Jonathan Robson, a professor, shared the Word of God with the crowd and more music followed. As the music resumed, people started dancing and singing with the band and overall having a great time.

Thank you for supporting us and praying for us as we have the opportunity to minister with the ABC students in places that change us as much (or more) than it changes those we went to minister to.

Because of Jesus,

Jeff

Rescued

Chisomo in August 2010 prior to his placement back in the village

2 months later

Jeff and Chisomo napping

At ABC Clinic

Same chair, same pose, only 2 months later

"Malawian baby stroller" He was exhausted and I was tired of holding him

This past Saturday I had the privilege of going to do a village assessment with Mwawi (the director of Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery) for a child that was recently placed back in his village for the 3^rd time.  Chisomo was first placed in the Crisis Nursery at age 1 month due to his mother’s inability to care for him.  She has mental issues and is in and out of the mental hospital. His father has never been in the picture. When Chisomo was placed back in his village at one and a half years old he deteriorated because his family neglected him, and three weeks later he was back at Crisis Nursery. In August, walking, talking, independent Chisomo was placed back in his village again because his great uncle wanted him back. In Malawi, even though it doesn’t seem right, if a family member wants or shows interest in caring for a child of a family member who’s parents are not around or able to care for the child, then he or she must live with that family member. So, even though Mwawi knew he would not thrive well, he was placed back in his village. When we arrived at Chisomo’s village he was nowhere to be seen. We saw a hut about as big as some people’s pantry and Mwawi said the first time she rescued Chisomo was in that hut, where he slept with 7 other people. The hut was sad, and the thatched roof was so bare it wouldn’t have held up in the rainy season. Mwawi asked the great uncle that had originally wanted Chisomo back where he was, and he pointed to another hut. We walked to the hut (which was tiny) where Chisomo’s grandmother had him strapped to her back. His hair was discolored, his feet were extremely swollen and he was very lethargic. His hands had dirt caked on them (and he sucks his thumb a lot, so no telling what kind of bacteria was on his fingers), flies swarmed around his mouth, nose and eyes, and he had nothing on his bottom to catch urine or feces. I buried my face in my hands and cried. He had a high fever, and his grandmother said he’d had fevers for about 3 weeks. Mwawi told the village chief and the great uncle she was taking Chisomo and they would never see him again. She told them they were killing the child and she would not stand idly by and allow that to happen. Chisomo also has an older brother, but the village will not release him because he can work in the fields, and they don’t want to lose manual labor. After some harsh persuasion from Mwawi (which was interesting to witness because culturally a Malawian woman is not allowed to talk to a man in that manner or tone) the village chief and great uncle released Chisomo to Mwawi. The grandmother strapped Chisomo to Mwawi’s back and we headed for the car. When we arrived back to Crisis Nursery Mwawi did a full assessment on him while Becky and I helped and watched. Chisomo had been on malaria medicine and some antibiotics, but he was extremely sick. We went to Dae Young Luke (Korean mission hospital) and he was diagnosed with pneumonia, 1+malaria, severe malnutrition, and septicemia. He was 10.2 kgs prior to being placed back in his village he now weighs 8.7kgs. We took him to our clinic where Becky and I attempted to start an IV literally 15 times. He was so frail and wasted we couldn’t find veins on him. After some time we finally were able to start an IV and we started him on IV antibiotics as well as IV quinine for his malaria. We also started the formula feedings for his malnutrition. The first 24 hours were scary. His respirations were about 90 per minute, and he was so weak he couldn’t cough up the phlegm that was packed into his lungs. Becky and I gave him around the clock feedings, IV antibiotics, and care. He stayed mostly at Becky’s house because she and her family were attempting to adopt him before he went back to his village. We’re now on day 3 of his rescue and Chisomo’s looking great. His fevers have subsided; he’s drinking his formula (when Becky and I hold him down and force feed him) and starting to talk. He smiled at Becky and I yesterday and we were excited to see that sweet smile again. Oh, and he still loves chips like you see in the picture. He loves Cheetohs. He still has a long road ahead of him as far as recovering from the malnutrition, but between Becky and me I think we’ll get him healthy in no time. He’s staying with us (Becky and me) until he can feed on a regular basis. On Saturday when we rescued him Mwawi only gave him a 50/50 chance of survival. He’s responded so well that we think he’s going to make it. Thank you everyone for the prayers. I posted a few pictures on facebook and asked for prayers, and this little guy has felt your prayers.  I’ve included some pictures of Chisomo in August before he was placed back in his village. I will keep everyone updated on his condition as we continue to care for this little guy.

It's ALL about You, Jesus.

Carson

2nd place...

the ONLY time I saw all the Malawians during the race

The start

The finish!!!

Lucy and I after the race. We usually run together but she decided to whoop me this day

Danie and I in front of the Half sign

By second place I mean I was the second azungu (white person) girl to cross the finish line. When the race started I saw tons of Malawians in worn out shoes with their tattered clothes and stick skinny legs, and I never saw them again. They took off in a dead sprint and I knew then I was going to come in dead last. I’ve never ran a half in this kind of heat before (approx. 90 degrees), and never have I tried to run that many hills. I stopped counting the hills after 21. The winner’s time (of course he is Malawian) was 1hr 7 minutes. He competed in the common wealth games this past October and came in fourth place. The first Malawian woman to cross the finish line finished in 1 hr 24 minutes, second Malawian woman finished in 1hr 27 minutes. Of course the Malawians were all of five feet tall, maybe. I finished the race in 1hr 59 minutes. The first azungu girl to cross the finish line finished in 1 hr 55 minutes. Usually the girl that finished first and I run together, but she proved to be the better runner that day. All in all it was a great time. Danie, another ABC missionary ran it as well. Peter Bartlett, the audiologist from Australia was the first azungu male to cross the finish line in 1hr 32 minutes. We had a great time, and I was able to cross off one of the items on my bucket list. I will definitely run this race again next year!!