Back to Civilization!!

Right now, I'm smiling as big as this guy!

I finally have the internet again!! Today is my birthday, and I couldn't ask for a better present (pretty sad huh?... I'm such an addict!).

For the last 2 weeks, I have been out in a small village, living with an older missionary couple. It was a really amazing time of learning about the culture and people of Malawi, because both of these people have been living in Malawi for all of their lives (60+ years). So, they definitely know the ropes.

I also was able to get away from the busyness of city life and focus in on some simpler things. When all your comforts get taken away from you (i.e. communication with other people), you really begin to see things within yourself. I got to spend a lot of time reading books about the Malawian culture and about the traditional religions of the Chewa people, and it has absolutely blown me away. It's almost too much to comprehend. However, it's really nice to get a grasp on some of these things finally.

Another reason for being in Salima (the village I was at) was to focus intensely on learning the language. I am getting much better at understanding people and actually saying a few things myself. This was becoming a huge frustration for me, so I am really determined to learn as much as I can.

And, while I was there, I was able to check out an orphan ministry that was really an amazing program. It really challenged me and was refreshing to see something that is really working well.

A few of the not so spiritual highlights of the trip were...

Eating goat intestines for the first time! It was right after sitting through nothing less than 5 hours worth of church on Sunday morning in the village. I'm all up for long church services and all... but this one was 100% in another language. And... the night before, I slept on the bed of a truck, under the stars with 2 Malawians that constantly were rolling over on top of me. So... I was just kind of ready to get back to the place where I was staying, take a shower and drink a Fanta.

Then... right after the service, the Abusa (pastor) came up to me and informed me that I would be eating in a "special house" over there with some of the other "important people". I knew exactly what that meant! The insides of the animals (goats, chickens, ect.) are considered a great delicacy around here, and they are only reserved for the honored guests. I was praying that they would not like me that much... but, turns out my skin color gave me away!

So... as we were blessing the food, this is honestly what I did. I just bowed my head and started laughing to myself. I said, "God... you are gonna have to make this taste like a nice filet mignon, some roasted potatoes, and some juicy veggies." And to my surprise, everything tasted quite edible. So... if you're ever offered some goat entrails in the future, go ahead and try some!

The other high point was being able to go to the lake for a Saturday morning. It was quite nice! I wish that a plane ticket wasn't so expensive, because I would definitely like to vacation there more often. It's just like being in the Caribbean except there is no salt! WONDERFUL!

Well... now I am in Lilongwe (the capital of Malawi). I will be here for the next few weeks, working with an AIDS clinic called Partners In Hope. I am really excited about all the things that I will be learning while I am here. I will be staying with a family from New Zealand (the Youngs... you can see their picture by scrolling down a ways)... so, I'm sure my accent will be quite tainted by the time I'm done here. New Zealanders have a crazy wild accent!

There is so much more that I want to write about... but this is a little thrown together in a rush. I will try to get my thoughts together and post some more in the near future.

For now, enjoy some of the pictures that I have taken in the last 2 weeks...