We have been in Malawi for over two weeks now and I am only just now sitting down to write a blog. So much has happened in the past few weeks I don’t know if I can even remember it all, but I will try!
When we arrived in Malawi I was immediately so excited to be back in Africa! After getting our passports checked and going through baggage claim, a few of us headed to the restroom. This was when I really knew I was in Africa, the energetic bathroom attendant was SOO excited to meet us. She hugged us and asked if we wanted to dance with her…and of course we wanted to dance with her! So we learned a little dance right there in the bathroom and she sang us a song. Her contagious excitement made me feel even more excited to be in this beautiful country of Malawi which is known as “the warm heart of Africa”.
We left the Airport with Pastor Prince, one of the pastor’s at the church we are working with. Pastor Prince was also very warm and welcoming and told us about how in Malawi everyone is friendly and eager to make new friends. From the airport we headed to the bus station and found a bus that was going to the city of Mzuzu which we were told was 6 hours away. 12 hours later we arrived in Mzuzu! LOL. This was our first experience with “Africa time” which is basically anyone’s guess when something will happen or how long it will take. When we arrived at Mzuzu Pentecostal Church at 2:30 in the morning Pastor Prince showed us to our rooms inside the church and then told us that we could sleep in the next morning…so to be ready at 7am. WHAAAT?! Yes, this is an early morning culture. Luckily we got to sleep in until 8 and praises, we have coffee every morning. Phew!
Now, that we have gotten settled in to Mzuzu, we have been able to get to know the head pastor of the church and his family. Pastor Moses and his wife Susan are so great and I have been enjoying spending time with them and becoming involved in their church. We have done women’s bible study, house groups, bringing people food at their homes, and helping with school.
When we were first told we would be helping out with the school, I thought that I would be helping a teacher with the class plans or maybe working with a small group of children on the side…but I was in for a huge surprise. I got assigned to the pre-school class…and not just one pre-school class, it is two pre-school classes combined because the school building is still not finished being built. So, I have 25 kids between the ages of 3 and 5. If you have ever had the opportunity to be in a room with 25 3-5 year olds then you know how surprised I was when the teacher looked at me at the start of the first day and said, “OK..what is your plan?”. Ahhhh. I had literally just found out that this was my age group 30 seconds ago…so needless to say, I did not have a plan. Thankfully my team mate Deb was also assigned to this classroom and together we improvised games, stories, singing, and dancing. When I had the chance to get to the Coffee Den later that night for wifi, I was able to search for what this age group should be learning in school and put together a plan for the rest of the week.
After the first day of school we were a little discouraged because of the number of kids and the difference in the age and level, it seemed like we were not going to be able to really make an impact or actually teach anything…we were wondering if this month was going to be just trying to get through the day without anyone getting hurt or running away. But on the second day, I became so encouraged when I drew some shapes on the board and the kids yelled, “rectangle” and “heart”, two shapes that they had not known on the first day. I realized that although some of the younger kids fall asleep in the middle of lessons, and I rarely have everyone’s attention, the kids are still learning!
As the week went on, we started to get a hang of when the kids are most attentive, how to get them back on track, and how to be very, very patient with the process. I am loving teaching pre-school and how cute and crazy the little ones can be! Our time here has shown that Malawi truly does live up to its name, the warm heart of Africa.
