July 4, 2018
Happy fourth! Malawians don’t celebrate their independence day until July 6. This morning, we woke up at 5 o’clock so that we could walk with two high school girls to the secondary school. The walk is 3 miles. It took us an hour and a half to get there in another hour and a half to get back. We got to visit the school while we were there. We met the teachers and some students. Some of the students had aspirations for after high school. Others will go and get married. The students wanted to be doctors, nurses, and engineers. They knew what it would take. We visited the Physics exam that was today. They actually use a scale and flasks in the exam. The science program seemed pretty good there. They had a biology, physics, and chemistry. It seems like that they take all three every single year. Pamoza supports 30 students there with their school funds at this school. When we got home, after another long walk, we went to family ministry. It was nice to see families have the opportunity to come together to learn about the gospel. Then we came home and washed your laundry by hand. So much harder than it looks! Next, we took a break and ate lunch. We got some delicious french fries today. They were homemade. We also got some sugar cane. You had to peel off the bark-like skin to get to the sugar. Next we traveled to a Bible study in a small village. We sang songs. I always sing along in Tumbuka. It’s funny, I try to say exactly what the leaders are saying while they are saying it. The people loved us there. They talk to us and prayed with us and told us more about God. One of the woman we visited yesterday has a husband who was there. I only know him as Jesse‘s husband. But anyway, he was very kind to us and had a big smile on his face. We are always taking pictures of them, but this time they were taking pictures of us. We took pictures with the woman but then, the men felt left out so one called me over to sit next to him and then we took a picture. The only way I can describe it is all smiles all around. They presented me peanuts as a gift. When we got home, we played with some kids who showed up. We played pass the ball, hit the ball, and hot potato. So much laughter!! The lady who gave us peanuts came to get her pot. This is custom after giving someone a gift. After that we visited a woman and her family in a little village. She had a chicken and some little baby chicks which were so adorable. The woman was afraid to talk because her husband was around. She had five kids, two were sick. One had ringworm, and the other had an ear problem. We are praying for them. On our way there, passed the soccer field. There were silly boys there and they wanted us to come over. They were trying to communicate something to us. They were mining some soccer skills and I have no clue what they wanted. Today was a good day. I learned a lot. One thing that really made me laugh was my conversation with to seventh grade girls to stop by. They wanted to learn more English, so they were talking to us. We were all laughing the whole entire time. Someone got it on video. The language barrier is not a problem for me. I will still talk to everyone. The sunset here is the best you ever see. Pictures just don’t do it justice. I am having such a great time and I am having so many ideas of how I can help more. I am filled with joy to know that I can actually do something more. If I didn’t come, my observations wouldn’t have been. My future is brighter because of this trip. It helped me create more opportunities to serve. I would stay here longer if I could! My hope when I return this to show others what I learned so that I can bring others to Malawi to do the work of God. I feel that I am truly touching the hearts of others!
-Anna Rago