Back in Malawi

Christmas and New Years
Was Wonderful visiting the United States of America! (photos and more info to come)

We visited some churches that have been some of our large supporters. We were able to do some presentations and sharing what we have been doing in Malawi. We visited:
Zion Lutheran, Stillwater
Zion Lutheran, OKC
St John’s Lutheran, Lawton OK
Emmanuel Lutheran, Breckinridge OK

Our flight back was an adventure in itself! We got into Johannesburg and were supposed to meet our friend Ben. Who was a PCV in Malawi also, but he was nowhere to be found… and it would be hard to miss Ben. He is the tallest person I’ve ever met. He’s the one I went to South Africa for my knee surgery last year. He’s a great guy and he had the idea for the hostel we would stay in, but because he was not there we found a hostel on the net and grabbed a taxi to it. The hostel was just so-so but we felt safe and were thankful for a shower and a place to lay our heads!

The flight from South Africa to Malawi was very nice and then we ended up two checked bags short which came yesterday. That was an amazing story in itself. As we waited for our bags to come watching the baggage claim conveyor belt people started to get there bags and disappear and still nothing… finally I started getting a little worried when there were only a few (10) of us left and they started telling us that all the bags were on the conveyor belt, but then two of our four bags came and my hope was renewed just to be crushed again when the other two ended up lost.

By the time we decided our bags had been left in South Africa the other ten people were deciding the same thing and some of them were starting to get very upset. We were told we should go stand in this one line and tell the person the particulars of our bags. Many of the people in this line were very grumpy about loosing their bags. I figured, it’s Africa, what do you expect, it’s bound to happen once or twice. So we told them our particulars and our bags came the next day, but the thing that upset me was the way some of the people were treating the baggage claim guy who they were telling about the lost luggage. They kept belittling him as if it was his fault that their bags were lost talking about how incompetent Malawians were and how it always seemed to happen to them in Malawi when flying in… The thing is, who really lost their bags? It wasn’t the Malawian they were talking to; it was the people at the airport they had just come from! So, why are you getting all mad at the guy who is trying to help you get the bag back?

I found it made me feel better being civil to the baggage claim guy, and I think that made him care a little if I got my bag back. I don’t know if this is true or not, but we got both of our bags back and South African Airways will pay us back for the taxi ride when we go there on Monday. What an adventure!

What’s Next?
This week is our COS (Close of Service) conference. This is were we put in our extension request for our third year, only we have already identified the site to move to and we are moving soon so really just the paper work needs to go through. The conference is held at a beach resort, Peace Corps way of saying thanks.

Yes, we are moving! We are excited to tell you we are moving mid February God (and rain) willing. We have seen the place our home is very much like our current one only slightly smaller. We will post pictures and more info when we get it!

Alright once we have pictures from anyone of these events we will post again!