Barb and I were blessed to have another housemate, Katie II, for the last few weeks, and she leaves on Monday to head back to the States for school. She has been working with the audiology clinic for about a month, and was able to have quite a few Malawi adventures along the way - outreach up north, and a safari weekend in the south. She got back from the safari this evening, and walked into the middle of pizza production! Barb and I worked together to invite all the single staff, and make enough pizzas and no-bake haystack cookies for dessert for the whole bunch! We ended up with about 20 people coming over, and it was a lot of fun to chat and intermittently eat (cooking 7 pizzas in 1 oven takes a long time!!), and it was great for everyone to get to spend some off-duty time together. Once the evening wound up, we tidied, and then sat down to have one last housemate conversation before Katie left. It was lovely having you, Katie, and we are already missing your presence!
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On the last night of our orientation at African Bible College, the whole staff went out to the Kumbali Cultural village for dinner. We got to eat traditional Malawian foods including nsima (corn meal porridge), steamed pumpkin leaves, and beef in tomato sauce. We were also greatly entertained by a sort-of singer named Scott Gray, who has written an album of songs that portray the Malawian quirks in a light-hearted manner. I thought you might also enjoy hearing one of his songs - 'Beep Beep... Odi' is about the public transportation system: minibus. I love my church! The people that make it up are so loving and genuine, and I can't wait to see them every week! We are doing a really great series this year, as our pastor is casting vision for the church. The first three months were about Integrity - or, our personal relationship with God and how that works out in our lives. The second three months were about Family - how we interact in our families as Christians, and how that looks; and the third set of three months, which we are currently in, are about Church - how families and individuals work together to build up the church. It is awesome!
Sunday mornings typically run from 8:30 until 12:30. There is a one hour Renovate Class that happens Sunday mornings before the service, where we learn the foundational truths of the Bible. Then we have our regular service, which opens with about an hour of worship, followed by a sermon that is around an hour long, and we end the morning with some time of talking with each other before heading out. This week and the last have both been absolutely crazy! I have been putting in 12+ hour days at school getting the classroom ready, going to orientation meetings, sorting through the resources in the classroom, learning the curriculum, and preparing lesson plans. On top of that, both my housemate and I got sick at the beginning of the week, and have been struggling to get healthy again while having very full schedules. To give you a picture of how boring yet busy our life has been, tonight I got home from school at 4:45, which was about an hour and a half earlier than most nights. My housemate, Barb, was feeling well enough to be able to speak again, and with those two things, we decided we must have a celebratory evening! So for dinner we ate instant soup... because it doesn't hurt her throat, and it doesn't hurt my stomach. Oh well! The adventure will continue, and it is going to be amazing! The first week of school has been a lot of fun for me! Our mornings start at 6:45 with staff devotions, then from 7:00-7:15 the children begin to arrive and play on the playground. We make our way inside and do a welcome routine, and then settle in for the meat of the day: phonics, maths, reading, writing, Bible, science, and social studies. We have taken, on average, 4 bathroom breaks a day... I keep trying to reduce the amount of disruptions these have on our routine, but these little bladders seem to need more time to reacquaint themselves with a school routine. The children also get a snack break and recess in the middle of the day, and head home just after 12:00. My teaching assistant, Miss Moyo, has been a huge help to me - she is already familiar with a lot of the procedures that are in place at ABCCA that I just haven't had the chance to learn - i.e, the ABCCA walk: children stand single file with their hands clasped behind their back, and walk silently from classroom to classroom. I officially have a class of 19 five year olds, and they are full of energy and raring to go! I keep ending the day needing a nap and throat lozenge, but I have been told that after a few months, you get used to this and are able to manage better! I am still working on putting the bulletin boards together in my classroom, and definitely have some more supplies to add to the shelves, but it is almost there! We learned a Chichewa worship song in orientation this week. I have actually heard it sung before, but never saw the words written out - and having a translation with them was awesome! It even has actions!
I have officially been back in Malawi for one week. As I walked home from preparing my classroom at the school today, I got to watch the beautiful pink sky as the sun set behind the Lilongwe hills, as I listened to the (newly repaired) megaphone from the mosque, calling people to prayer. Stopping to chat with neighbours on the way home, I get to watch a one year old practice running on his wobbly legs - he started walking yesterday, a group of children playing with their dog in the yard, and enjoy the place that God has brought me to. God is good. He whispered to me on Friday night, while I finished unpacking, "I'm going to make this place your home". I am settling in, finishing up orientation and classroom preparations, and hope to soon be ready to go for Monday morning when the first of twenty little ones that I am being entrusted with, arrive with their parents to meet me. The excitement is building as the stresses dissipate! Thank you for your prayers as I go into this last bit of time before the big day arrives!
Oh I had a little bit too much fun this week! A friend in Malawi texted me and asked if we could chat soon, as we haven't gotten a chance to speak in a while. Well, I was in the throes of finalizing packing details and going to the cottage one last time with the family, and told him that it would have to wait until I got back from the cottage...
I sort of neglected to tell him (or the others in my bible study), that I would be leaving directly from the cottage for Malawi! So, I had a lot of fun when I arrived today, as they hadn't settled on a place and time for this week's bible study. I texted our group messaging board and asked if they could please just pick a date so that it wouldn't be so much back and forth... and then promptly offered to host it at my house! That got a few virtual groans... 'yeah Katie, we'll definitely meet you in Canada', and then... 'ARE YOU BACK?". It was a really fun way to surprise everyone, and we had a lovely time on Saturday night, sharing and eating a potluck dinner together. Orange dust stuck to my feet, warn sun on my skin, and absolute exhaustion. Yup, I have arrived back in Malawi! I touched down today and was picked up by ABC staff at the airport. I am working on moving in to my house, which is a 4 bed, 4 bath home - I am currently sharing with only one person, but after Christmas, we'll be full! This weekend is time to move in and get used to the time zone (so, of course, I'll be up early and out the door to visit with friends and catch up!!), and starting next week will be orientation and frantic prep of classrooms. I apologize for the quietness of the blog during the summer - it was busy at home, and I wanted to really settle in and enjoy being with my family. So, I kept track of things I wanted to share, and as I have time, I will write and back-post them! Thank you all for your support and prayers - it means the world to me! I am so thankful and amazed that not only did I make every single connection, but all 4 of my checked bags did too! Not only that, but I had enough of a layover in Amsterdam that I was able to leave the airport and spend a few hours exploring the city. It made an otherwise long and tedious journey a lot more interesting!
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Katiana and I am a development professional pursuing my dream to live out Isaiah 1:17 to the best of my abilities. I am passionate about teaching and working with vulnerable families and children to improve their lives sustainably.
CaveatThis blog is composed of my personal opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of institutions or organizations that I may be or have been affiliated with.
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