A greatly abbreviated synopsis

In late July 2005 I traveled to Malawi, via Atlanta and Johannesburg, South Africa. For two weeks I was honored to live with Keith and Bronwyn Eden, South African born missionaries. They serve in Malawi on Grace Farm which funds a small orphanage. At this time 12 orphans call Grace Farm home and are joined by several village children daily in play and for meals. Grace Farm is located in the village of Namwera, which is close to a larger village called Mangochi. It is a four hour drive out of Blantyre--all on paved roads until one reaches the village where the roads are composed of inches deep dust in the dry season and inches deep mud in the raining season.

Grace Farm has 150 seasonal workers and bits of land leased out to villagers in addition to what their 150 workers cultivate. They grow maize, peanuts, soybeans, sunflowers and sugar cane. They raise sheep, goats, beef cattle and chickens for meat and eggs. They seek for the orphanage to be self-supported by the profits from the farm, but experienced a drought this year and lost money on the crops. They have only been in operation for 3 1/2 years. They have one house with twelve orphans and two house mothers. They have two more houses built, but do not plan to fill them with orphans until the farm can support the costs. They are a faith based organization.

Spending time with the children was amazing. I am touched with how well adjusted they are despite their circumstances and the things in their culture that throw me for a loop. After the orphans and I spent the first day staring at each other we began the second day with a craft which broke the ice. We played, laughed, did arts and crafts, played a few entertaining games of baseball with a wiffle ball set, jumped rope with long grasses tied together, played Net ball, made jewelry and I saw the boys display amazing gymnastic abilities in a pile of peanut shells left over from last year’s peanut harvest. We had competitions to win "sweeties", daily Bible lessons, hiking, games, beadwork, painting (most of them for the first time), etc.

With the missionaries and some Europeans working in the area there were a few teas and even a going away party for a young orphan girl who was being adopted by Arizonians. In the evenings I played Uno with Keith and Bronwyn, who have added some creative twists to the rules to make it more interesting. After a thousand games of Uno I guess you look for some ways to spice it up...

Zoe, a bright and inquisitive two year old who loved to get into my bag and find my lipstick, was a pleasure to behold. She is the very much loved and doted upon daughter of Keith and Bronwyn. We took several walks together and visited the baby chickens a few times. She much preferred them to the cows which made her nervous. One day we picked some flowers to surprise Bronwyn. It was remarkable that we found flowers. The area had not have rain for about eight months and most of it had been burned by the small fires the nationals are always setting, supposedly to rid the land of evil spirits. Yet we found these gorgeous pink flowers blooming in an area surrounded, like everything there, with dust and ash.

The nationals speak Chow(sp?) and live in a primarily Muslim area of Malawi. I wore long skirts all of the time I was there. The native women and girls wear long skirts with an additional large piece of cloth wrapped around them called a gatinge. It is completely taboo for the ladies to show their knees or thighs and only prostitutes or female police officers wear slacks. In the bush the ladies are very modest about their legs and while sitting frequently check to make sure their legs are not exposed.

I was there in Malawi around two weeks. It took me five days to reach my first destination. I was deeply touched by how three different families who knew nothing about me took me into their homes during my time in Africa because I needed a place to stay as I traveled through the continent. I learned much from their hospitality. I’m challenged to begin opening my home to people.

Keith and Bronwyn are young—in their mid twenties, full of energy and passion to reach the Namwera people for Christ. They speak English, Afrikaans and Portuguese and are missionaries from South Africa. Keith is in charge of biblical teaching, Bible study and Bible lessons for the orphans, but while I was there spent much of his time working around the farm on machinery and dealing with sheep who were falling sick of an unknown virus. They do not hold church services for the adults as in a Muslim area the people are not willing to be seen attending Christian services.

The Edens were missionaries in Mozambique, a nearby country where they served until their daughter was born. As a new mother Bronwyn felt the need to be a little closer to civilization and they moved to Malawi where they are only four hours from a hospital.

They have an 18 year old adopted son from Mozambique named Geronimo. He was there for about a week during the time I stayed with them. He rides public transport to come to stay with Keith and Bronwyn during his school holidays. He left to return to boarding school wearing some clothing that I had brought from the states, donated from some people in Fayetteville.

Grace Farm has clinic that meets most of the medical needs of the orphans and farm workers. They also have a shop where the workers can purchase goods. They are in a primarily Muslim area where Islam is twisted with what the witch doctors tell them.
One of the things that breaks my heart the most is the poverty as a result of the adults not possessing job skills and vocational initiative. They seek food for survival of each day and do not plan ahead to have a better future. They are incredibly poor. For example—to have a regular job such as being a house boy or a night watchman is considered very fortunate. For a house boy to make the equivalent of $200 in a year working six days a week is very good.

In the immediate area around Grace Farm the people were noticeably thin but often smiled and were always busy doing something or walking somewhere. However, away from the farm and in the village I saw the swollen bellies of the children along the roads and in front of the huts. I saw the desperate faces of the adults as they stood or sat in front of their huts or hung around the front of businesses in the village. The lack of hope and peace in their eyes broke my heart.

After two amazing, enlightening weeks at Grace Farm I flew to Port Elizabeth, South Africa and stayed in the guest house of Jared and Kelley Graham. They are American missionaries. There my living conditions and conveniences were a thousand times greater but I pined for Grace Farm. Port Elizabeth is a city of about one million with a very wealthy side contrasting with the other side of town consisting of huge slums without even electricity or running water. I slept on the wealthy side of town. In the guest house each night I was accompanied by one of their Jack Russell terriers for a watch dog as I walked through their massive, walled property. I ate delicious food, including fabulous Cadbury dark chocolate (all forms of chocolate were greatly missed during the two weeks in Malawi) and had access to TV and internet, hot showers and restaurants, supermarkets and even a mall. I went to the beach three times (swam once, it was very cold--winter during this time of year). I also went to a museum, an Elephant park and visited some churches. I kept thinking that that comfortable week could have been spent, less comfortable, but happier --back in Malawi hanging out in the peanut shell pile with the orphans.

I did spend two days and a night with a family in the middle of town to get a better picture of the average life of a Port Elizabeth, South African—I’ll share more about that experience another time.

I returned home a changed girl. Living in America is like living in a bubble—sure we have our poverty, abuse, crime and tragedy—-but we don’t all live with it right in our faces every day. I’m so grateful for the many ways God has provided for me and blessed my life. I’m eager to be less comfortable, to share my great fortune spiritually, financially and physically with precious lives in Africa.

Don't let yourself get too comfortable. For comfort can drain you of the ambition to follow your most treasured dreams.—Ralph Marston

I inserted, or should say, attempted to insert several pictures in this blog but they failed to become visable. You’ll get to see the images, promise! I welcome your advice on how to get them to display.