Wrapping up

As we prepare to leave next week, I have been getting very sad about all the things I will miss about our life here in Malawi. There are sooo many, but I will only mention a few. Oh, and Eli is ready to see America again :)

Friends!
I can't picture them all, but these are some of the people who mean a lot to us. As well, we will miss all of those who have loved on Eli.

I never thought I would say this, but I will miss the food here in Malawi. I won't be able to buy such delicious organic fresh foods in America at such great prices. Just look at that huge avocado!

Mama Mia Cafe has become our little get away spot. We've gone for breakfast, lunch and dessert many times as a way to spend time together outside these ABC walls. It's a cheap way to escape the heat as the ice cream is only 250 Kwacha!

Our friends at the MOH Crisis Nursery

Our students!
Teaching has been such a blessing this year. I have really enjoyed spending time with the older kids. I've also enjoyed sharing with them something that I love, French!

Last but not least, the sun sets. Since moving up the hill this year, we have enjoyed a beautiful sun set each and every evening. I will really miss this beautiful sight.

Our last day of school is tomorrow. We leave next Thursday and have a lot to do before then. Please pray for us. It is tempting to get stressed and freaked out about all the upcoming changes. There are still a few unknowns in our future and we need to trust in the Lord and continue to pray for His peace to surround us during this time. Thank you so much for all of your continual support throughout these two years. We know that we have not done any of this on our own or in our own strength. Thank you for lifting us up in prayer and for helping us carry our burdens as well as rejoice with us in times of joy.

Snakes all around

Lately, I've been having a lot of scary dreams about snakes. It might have something to do with all the snakes that have been spotted in the last month. I've seen two in the same area Eli likes to play by our front porch. Dan and Andy went on a snake hunt earlier this month, but once they got their shoes on and flashlights ready(it was at night!), the snake was already gone. Just a few weeks ago, our friend Josh ran over a spitting cobra right in front of our house! I am hoping it was the same big snake that Dan and Andy failed to find earlier. Go the their blog to see pictures!!!

I've mentioned before that snakes have been found in laundry rooms and closets here on campus. My fear of them increases with each new snake spotting. Please pray for our safety. Actually, no one has been bitten yet, and I'm sure we will all be fine. I guess just pray that I can sleep at night!

Kanga and little Roo

In the mornings, if I am going to the school(at least four times a week) or stopping by a friend's house here on campus, I will often walk with Eli in the sling. There are so many workers on campus right now with all of the building projects. The Malawians LOVE watching me carry Eli in the sling. They all stop to point and look when I walk by. It's hilarious to me because they are not discreat about it at all. It is obvious that they think I look funny. Well, yesterday, a man flat out told me how funny it looked to him. I was walking home from the school with Eli in the sling. I was walking about 15 feet behind two men that work for ABC on campus. They saw me and both turned around and kind of laughed while talking to each other. I walk pretty fast and within a few seconds, I had caught up to them. We greated eachother in true Malawian style. Then, one man said to me "You take him like a kangaroo, it is funny". I laghed and said "yeah, I guess it is like a kangaroo. Americans like to carry babies in the front so that you can see them and interact with them more." The man replied "yes, I see. I will tell my wife to take our baby like a kangaroo, too."

It was a funny interaction, but it was kind of nice to actually talk to someone about it rather than just be pointed to and laughed at. It also accured to me that it makes no sense for Malawian women to carry babies on their front. Their daily activities are so different from mine. They walk everywhere, usually with bundles on their heads and in their arms. I use my car and Eli rides in his car seat. They work the fields, fetch water from wells and do a lot of cooking. If I were that busy, I would want Eli to be out of the way, but still close enough to me while I worked. Keeping babies on the back is the perfect way for Malawian women to care for their babies and get all of their work done at the same time. Most of the work I have to do is in my own home where Eli can play while I check things off my list. I've also seen women who are able to breastfeed their babies when walking by bringing them to their side while still keeping them tied at the back. It is actually pretty amazing. Malawians are great at multi-tasking.

Either way Eli is held, he loves being close to me (and Christina and Happy) and I love having him close to me, too. I like to think he doesn't have an opinion on the issue as long as he isn't left behind.

Spring break 2009!!!!

When ever I think about spring break, I think of all the popular kids at my high school who would drive down to Florida to spend spring break on the beach while I stayed at home and worked extra hours at a Thai restaurant. Sadly, not much has changed. Spring break started last Monday, and since then, all we have done is worked on taxes and done our laundry while our friends traveled to Cape Town, went on Safaris and spent days on the beach. Speaking of laundry, we have a working washer and dryer for the first time in 5 months!!!!! Now, if we only had enough water to shower and do a load of wash......

Anyways, even though we aren't headed to the beaches of Florida, it has been a nice break. The temperatures have been pretty low (for us) and we are taking lots of walks in the evenings. Eli is working on his walking skills and Dan is getting caught up on his distance class with Covenant. I finished my Paris scrap booking project today and am working on a list of items we will be selling here soon. Needless to say, we have found ways to keep ourselves busy.

On Tuesday, we are headed to Zomba which is about 4-5 hours south of Lilongwe. It is supposed to be beautiful and cold, so we can't wait!


This video is such poor quality, sorry! We are hoping to get a new camera soon...ours is slowly dying. Anyway, this is an old video but it shows Eli being super cute with Uncle Andy. Since this video, Eli has learned how to move from couch to couch with no help from us. He has lots of confidence, but still not enough to take a step on his own. He will walk forever holding just one hand, though. I know he can do it, he just needs to buck up.

Playing in the front yard

Eli with a mint soul patch

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday as you stop to reflect and remember the life we've been given through Christ's death and resurrection. It was Easter 6 years ago that God revealed Himself to me and I understood Christ's death and resurrection to be the most important thing that has ever happened to mankind since creation. I cannot believe all the life He has given to me during these past 6 years. Because of His death, I am His and He is mine. He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Bathing outdoors

We were without water again this week. The water in our bathroom comes out looking like coffee. We got enough clear water out of the kitchen sink and were able to boil it and give Eli his bath for the week. I know he should bath more often, especially knowing the things he finds to play with and all the people who pass him around both on campus and off campus. But what can you do when there is little to no water?

Happy Gardening!

Happy is our cheerful gardener here at ABC. He works hard to keep the plants and veggies watered and the lawn slashed. Yes, I said slashed, not mowed. He uses a slasher (pictured below) and slowly cuts our entire lawn with it.
Happy goes to our church, too. I have loved getting to know him over the months. He is a hard worker. He is just another person that makes up the "village" that helps us to raise Eli here in Malawi.

Eli loves Happy and often wants to be with him while he works hard in the yard.

Eli learns how to slash.

Eli helps Happy water the plants

Happy 10 months lil' guy!

Eli is 10 months old today. He has just recently started doing all sorts of new things. He likes to "flirt" with people. He will look at you, then suddenly squint his eyes, tilt his head, and kind of giggle. It really seems like he is flirting! He also wants to walk without help. He will only let you hold onto his left hand to help him walk, but gets annoyed if even touch his right hand. He is cruising from the couch to the table and back to the couch. He pulls up on everything, including my legs. He has been responding to discipline which is encouraging. Thankfully, I started early and have been using the same word (gentleness) to teach him that his whining/complaining is not ok or when he is being too rough with his baby friend Esther. He actually calms down when I whisper it in his ear, he's so smart! He claps if he hears us say "Yay" or anything similar to it, like "okay". He is just growing so fast and I can't get enough of him. Here are some recent pictures of our lil' guy.

Going down to the Academy

Good cheap fun-kitchen sink and water. Oh, and so much for "winter". It's been hot all week! ARG!
Driving the truck (well, not really, just posing). Eli loves sitting on our laps as we drive around campus. I can imagine he will be pretty annoyed when in a few months, he will have to be in his car seat a lot more than he is now. Maybe uncle Jesse will let Eli help him mow the lawn.

I can't imagine that he'll be walking in a few months. He still seems so little!
Have I mentioned how blessed we are to have Eli in our lives? I can't say it enough! Dan and I often talk about how we really don't know what we did before we had Eli. Life is so much more fun, now! We are so thankful.

ABC park dates

Lately, Eli and I have been going to the ABC park. Well, it's really just the Academy play ground, but we like to pretend. Eli loves the little swing but even more, he loves watching the kids play during their recess time.

These sweet girls love Eli. Sometimes they stop by on a Saturday afternoon just to visit Eli (they live on campus). They had a one legged race for "King Elijah" and even gave them their Accelerated Reading team sash to wear. He felt honored.



This picture says so much. I am usually not a sentimental person at all (much to the disappointment of my mother and sisters, who are very sentimental) but every now and then, I get a little feeling of "awe, that time in my life is over...hmm". It passes quickly, but I had one of those short moments the other day, and this picture explains it all. Eli (my newest joy and responsibility) is swinging while a Reception class (the same grade I taught last year) was leaving the Library and heading back to their classroom. This time last year, I would have been leading that line of little 4 and 5 year olds, of course my line of kids would be a lot more straight as I was known to be a line nazi.

Yesterday, papa came with us to the "park". The boys had a great time playing on all the equipment.

Eli even got to ride home on papa's shoulders.

I love how he holds onto Dan's ears like reigns.

Proof that I was there, too. I think we need to hire a photographer to follow us around (ohh...i guess like the paparazzi) because I am never in the pictures!

The weekend is here already. I go tomorrow morning for my root canal. Please pray that it will go smoothly and that the electricity will cooperate. Honestly, I'm pretty scared. I guess it can't be as bad as natural child birth, right? Actually, a friend here on campus told me it was. Apparently, when she had hers done here, the anesthesia didn't work, so she felt everything! PLEASE pray that won't happen to me!