Welcomes, Warm Hearts, and Warthogs

Warm winter greetings from the mountains of Malawi, everyone!

(My apologies in advance for the lengthy post – with minimal opportunities for internet connections, posting regularly can be tricky so I’m trying to catch up!)

Wednesday our group traveled to Balaka, LuAnn’s companion parish, where we were greeted by a large group of church members – the closer we got, the louder the singing was!  (Oh, how I’ve missed the singing!)  As we got out of the van, people greeted us with ‘hellos’ and handshakes, and we were escorted to a group of chairs that someone had thoughtfully arranged for us.  After their pastor (Abusa Francis) welcomed everyone, Mphatso offered kind words of thanks, John offered introductions and greetings from our synod, and expressed our deep gratitude for the companionship our churches have, and LuAnn offered greetings from Christ Lutheran in Menomonie.  The people, grouped together in front of us seemed equally excited about our relationship.

The building where we met for this visit is a relatively new structure – 4 red brick walls on a small rural hillside with a branch awning out front, empty spaces for windows, and no roof.  This structure is used for worship, school, and now a feeding station that serves meals three times a week to children. 

After the formal greeting, we heard from the choir, and then met inside the building where young children were gathered with their teacher to share a demonstration of a typical school lesson.  Guided by their teacher, the children sang their letter sounds and stood there looking adorable.  I’m extremely happy we’ve had the opportunity to interact with so many children on this trip!

After singing and lessons, and singing some more, some of our friends prepared a delicious meal of chicken and rice that we got to enjoy in the roof-less building….in the dark, by the light of the moon.  It was wonderful, although it was a somewhat difficult to eat this beautiful abundance of food while the other 100+ people waited with nothing…it left me feeling gratitude, humility, and guilt - I just wanted to share...   

Later in the evening, we returned to our lodge where Julia and Maddie and I had the chance to chat about our experiences in Malawi this week – I asked what had been most memorable so far, what a favorite activity had been, and where they saw Jesus show up.  Our conversation quickly became a flurry of emotions as we shared what was resting most deeply in our hearts – the joy, curiosity, and playfulness of the children, the incredible hospitality of Malawians, how “Biblical” it felt to gather with the parish on that hillside, and how completely genuine and spirit-led our time in that space was. For a country that seemingly has so little, they sure have a wealth of time, love and generosity to offer the world. 

I was deeply moved by the blessing that John offered to the Balaka members that night – it was powerful to watch a pastor from the ELCA lift hands of blessing over the Christians in the ELCM…..this is what companionship looks like – praying for and supporting one another, and praising God through it all – such a simple message, but one that too often gets lost in layers of things that are not relevant to our faith.   

The following day we traveled into Balaka to another congregation (a note: Abusa Franklin serves 14 congregations in the Balaka parish…) where LuAnn brought gifts from Christ Lutheran to share with their parish.  We also brought a couple of soccer balls and a few frisbees which Hannah, Julia, Ella, and Maddie willingly used to interact with the kids for the entire afternoon!  

A few of the kids began to take a shine to the girls, asking lots of questions, touching their hair, and taking photographs together.  There were a lot of new relationships built and a lot of laughter that was heard around the church building on Friday.   This group of kids and our four girls were inseparable until it was time for dinner where we were invited to Abusa Franklin’s home for chicken, rice, spinach, and bananas (still THE best here), and some wonderful conversation. 

Back at the lodge, the four girls and I stayed up  late, laughing, and playing cards – I LOVE THESE GIRLS!  They are intelligent and kind, have big hearts for Jesus and others, and are a delight to be around.  They are becoming good friends on this trip, a bond that will be uniquely theirs and will hopefully last a long time…

Friday (our “bonus” activity day) we packed our bags into the ELCM van and headed to Mvuu Camp (Mvuu means ‘hippo’ in Chichewa) in Liwonde National Park.  As we traveled, it was nice to see the changes in the roadside markets – much more food for sale, and many different things to choose from -  it seems that the harvest was better this year – good news all around. 

We arrived at Mvuu just before lunch and were immediately astounded by this place.  The first impression was made by the staff who were attentive, helpful, kind and gracious.  After we ate lunch (which was atypical for us, as we could eat the fresh greens and fruit – what a treat!) we headed to our chalets; these tiny homes were open on all sides so you could see and hear African nature and wildlife around you, and they sat at the edge of the river.  They were incredible, beautiful rooms that were a part of the open park.  We were given specific instructions about walking the grounds at night – we could not go anywhere after dark without a guide because these chalets were tucked in the park where there are no fences, and animals are free to roam.  

As we unpacked and settled in, the girls explored around our chalets and found lots of monkeys,   some lizards and Ella even spotted an elephant across the river.

After “tea time,” we climbed onto a large jeep and headed out to the bush to see some native wildlife.   Among these African creatures were warthogs, kudu, water bucks, impalas, monkeys, baboons, and hippos.  

I am impressed with the knowledge and passion the guides have – they seem to be conscientious about both plant and animal life, and do their best to ensure the longevity of both.  After some incredible encounters with wildlife, we stopped in an open field where we enjoyed sundowners (a beverage and snacks) as we watched the sunset.  It was gorgeous.  Then we headed back to camp and, after a little free time with the wifi connection we had, we fell asleep to the sounds of native African wildlife.

We woke very early on Saturday morning; after a quick (and pleasantly hot!) shower, I heard crunching on the ground and expected to see a meandering hippo, as they are everywhere around this camp – to my surprise it was an elephant!  I shook Julia and Maddie awake – we watched it walk right in front of our chalet door…..10 feet away from us…so awesome!   With hearts still pounding, we finished getting ready and left to meet the group for a chance to see the cheetahs - no such luck.  But, we did get to see some beautiful wildlife up close on the trail enjoying their morning routine.  Soon after breakfast we boarded a boat and took a safari cruise down the river to see what kind of animals were awake and ready for a photo shoot.  We saw dozens of hippos, several species of birds, more warthogs, impalas, lots of crocodiles, local fishermen and a fishing village.  A good, full, exciting, beautiful day. 

Saturday afternoon we traveled upward to our new home, Annie’s Lodge in Zomba which is nestled near a mountain.  We enjoyed a late lunch and some quiet time to rest up and prepare to jump right back into ministry tomorrow morning.  Mphatso arranged for Abusa John to preach and I was asked to give the children’s message – although the text is not particularly “child-appealing,” I am anxious and excited to be sharing about Jesus with the kids at worship tomorrow.  And, I can’t wait to see the girls’ reactions when they participate in singing, dancing and a spirit-filled time of praise and prayer.  All this in addition to the wonderful conversations I know we will all enjoy.

I am grateful for my 8 traveling companions – they have a heart for Malawi and we’ve enjoyed some great conversation.  I look forward to the next week with them.  

My prayer for today: That we trust God enough to take some risks in our lives, particularly when we are responding to our faith; that we can take time to appreciate and care for the amazing and unique creation that God has entrusted us with; and that we become attentive to the ways that God might show up – Amen. 

Anxiety, Jet Lag, and Joy

Hello from Malawi, my friends!
Well, here we are again! Nearly a year after my first experience in Malawi, I have returned to this beautiful country and among the incredible group of travelers are my own two oldest girls, Julia and Maddie. LuAnn, Ed & Dianne, John, and his two daughters Hannah and Ella round out our group of nine who will experience Malawi together. After months of fundraising (thank you, by the way, to EVERYONE who helped us make this trip possible! – we are so grateful for you!), the trip seemed to sneak up on us and we were on our way!

Saturday morning, July 1st, we dragged ourselves out of bed at 3:00 a.m. (ok, I didn’t sleep at all, worried that I would miss my alarm!), and all six of us packed into the van. We left a bit early, excited to arrive at MSP and meet up with the rest of our group. But, our excitement was quickly replaced by anxiety when our van got a flat tire on the freeway. I began silently assessing the situation, thinking about every alternative solution if we couldn’t get the tire replaced with a spare. We stopped in downtown Hudson and parked in an empty lot where Nik (my husband and hero of the day) calmly and swiftly changed the tire without any complications. We were back on the road in less than 15 minutes. (Sure glad we left early!)


After arriving at the airport, we met up with our travel companions where we checked ample amounts of luggage (10 suitcases of gifts for our friends in Malawi), waited in unusually long security lines, and made it to our gate with a few minutes to spare. The first leg of the trip was to New York City (our overnight layover) where we took a guided tour around Manhattan. Some highlights: The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the 9/11 Memorial, John Lennon’s home and Strawberry Fields, and Grand Central Terminal. We ended the day with some fantastic Indian food and fun conversation. It was a good day! 

Day two was a little less exciting – we traveled from NYC to Johannesburg (no layover or stops)…a 14 hour flight that offered plenty of time for sleep, movies, reading, coloring, a little food, and conversation. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, we switched planes and were immediately of to Lilongwe. After securing our visas, we made our way through the airport in Lilongwe, collected our luggage, and were warmly greeted by Mphatso (ELCM companion coordinator) and Derrick (our driver). It was wonderful to see both of them again! As we wheeled our four carts of suitcases out to the parking lot and began to load the van, it became evident that we were not going to fit all the suitcases AND the 9 of us in one vehicle….hmmm…. Mphatso approached another driver, and we were able to secure some extra seats to the ELCM compound in a second vehicle– problem solved!

As we drove the 30 minutes into the city, so many things were familiar – buildings, roads, the smell of the air… As I glanced around the van to see the kids’ reactions, I laughed to myself as I watched their heads droop with jet lag exhaustion. So tired. Soon, I found myself in a similar state. How is it possible to be so tired after sitting for so long?! 

We arrived at the ELCM compound, unloaded the bags and got our room assignments. After dropping our belongings off in our rooms, the four young girls and I explored the grounds, and with every building and path we passed, memories of my time here last summer began to replay in my mind. Such a tremendous experience. As we walked, I silently prayed for these four girls, that the Spirit would show up in big ways during their time here, and that Malawi would leave an indelible mark on their hearts. After eating our first Malawian meal, everyone was asleep before 8 pm. 

Tuesday morning we had the opportunity to visit the preschool at the compound – we were greeted with curious (and somewhat nervous) eyes as we brought in soccer balls and spinners to share with the kids in the classroom. Initially, it took some time to warm up, but after a few courageous kiddos tried out the new toys, Hannah, Julia, Ella, and Maddie jumped in, offering kindness, laughter and generosity to the preschoolers as they demonstrated and taught how the spinners worked, took pictures with the kids, and played catch with the balls. Ed was also busy as he took pictures in the classroom and printed them off for the teacher to keep and to share. There was so much joy…


The afternoon brought opportunities to play some card games as we waited for our meeting with the Bishop. As we entered the ELCM office building, we were greeted by some familiar faces, Agnes and Mabel, who offered warm welcomes and hugs. It was good to see them again and introduce them to Julia and Maddie. I feel proud and lucky that my girls can be here with me.After another delicious meal, including a Malawian staple, nsima, we showered (now that the water was working again), and headed to bed. Now that jet lag seems to have dissipated a little, I think we are ready to dig into some more companion work here with our brothers and sisters here. Tomorrow we will be traveling south to Balaka parish (LuAnn’s companion parish) to visit the communities there – we are excited to explore more of Malawi!

My prayer for today: that trust in God will always overpower anxiety, that we can recognize when we need to slow down and enjoy our moments with one another, and that no matter how old we are, we remember to embody the uncomplicated joy of a child. Amen.