Ndikuthentha....aka it's H-O-T.

Yah, so you move to sub-saharan Africa and expect it to be hot, right? So, this is just to state the obvious. It's H-O-T hot now.  My mom always says, "Africa hot," so since we live in Malawi, we'll call it "Malawi hot." Hot season means it's dry season, so we don't always have water. We do have tanks that we use when the water is out, but sometimes those are dry too. So, when there IS water (i'm not trying to be dramatic here, we only go short amounts of time without water. Some places go days if not weeks without water) Hollis likes to play in the sprinkler.

Hollis and Esime, needless to say, are lost without each other.....

B.V. Mobile Clinic

A group from California traveled to Malawi for their annual mission trip. The church has hosted trips several times to Malawi. Last year they raised funds to drill a bore hole at Bright Vision. This year they requested to host a mobile clinic. To my understanding, this would be the first mobile clinic Bright Vision had ever conducted.

Since Becca and Kellen are away, I was a little nervous setting up the clinic. You would think it'd be easy, but without having done a mobile clinic previously in this area, it was hard to know the patient load, the types of illnesses we'd be handling, and how MUCH medicine to procure. Stanley, who runs Bright Vision, did an excellent job prepping the community and the staff to help the mobile clinic run smoothly. At the end of the day, we saw 375 patients.

I always enjoy mobile clinics with groups that are not medically-minded people because you can see their joy and the love there express, even when they're totally out of their element. I let one of the church group members give an injection to a woman that was on her death bed. She had to be transferred to the hospital that was 45 minutes away by ox cart because her lungs sounded like an organ and she was swollen in ever place imaginable on her body. For less than $10 we were able to transfer her to a hospital that would be able to give her SOME kind of treatment that the mobile clinic could not offer.

A lot of times when we hear groups are coming, I'll admit, some of us grumble. We grumble because we know they're going to ask "interesting" questions, they'll be a little high maintenance (sometimes), and they're tired from the plane ride. Being exhausted brings out the interesting side in people. All in all though, I've learned to love groups coming. Why? Because in my short term mission trip I was broken, changed, and called to Malawi. In 2006, on the floor of the central hospital where I was weeping I was called to return to Malawi. So, instead of grumbling when groups come, now, I relish the fact that some people MAY have that same calling and shattered heart that I received in being here on my short term trip. Now, does that mean every day is peachy and great and I like being around the people? No, but it does mean that I should love them through their heart's breaking and the reality they see first hand.

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!