from the files...

Every spring I'm reminded of the two months I spent interning in Malawi in 2009.

I can't believe six years have passed since my first international trek...

Here are a few old photos taken during a brief village stay at my language helper's house in June 2009.

sweeping the front walkway

crushing ground nuts (peanuts)

...those hands never let go of that bucket!

cooking ugali

breakfast: white sweet potatoes and groundnut sauce

washing the dishes

Jungle Camp!

Out in the forest (as they say in Canada) on the NTM base is a little area called Jungle Camp.

Jungle Camp is part of an intensive training for folks who want to travel the globe to serve in middle-of-the-sticks areas. Participants practice survival skills and practical ways to make life work in an incredibly rustic setting...

...we're talking build-your-house-out-of-sticks-and-wrap-it-with-plastic sorts of skills!

Not only do participants build themselves houses... 

they are also required-- kiddos and all-- to live in said houses for a few weeks.

I have great respect for Jungle Camp grads.

Simaubi

I booked a field day with the economic development team recently… my last field day.   :(

We were visiting several Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups. Despite the temperature soaring near 100F (which you might not be able to tell from the pictures if you focus on the fellow in the winter jacket…), it was a fabulous day.

Conrad opening the meeting

Heather- these guineas are for you!

did someone say buns for tea?!?

I found myself sentimental and sad as we drove home through the bush. What a privilege it’s been these past two years to work in tiny ways alongside the church’s economic development field officers as they reach out to communities and share the gospel holistically.

stopping to buy charcoal on the way home

PS- the pronunciation of “Simaubi” is actually very much like the sound of “See-a-movie” spoken quickly :)

rest

[October siesta in Zambia-- our agricultural field officer]

Here, chickie, chickie, chickie!

{Chicken structures from our Sesheke visits}

One recent workshop covered rearing village chickens for profit. Challenges in raising chickens include:

• Predators—snakes, birds, or small animals snatching chicks
• Disease—knowing what it is, how to treat it, where to get medicine (and then following through with the knowledge and actually getting and using the necessary medicine)
• Food—if there’s not much food to go around in the family, there’s definitely not enough to feed the birds!

introducing:
chicken castle on stilts

smart, eh?

some of my faves :)

hello?? hello in there!... can you hear me?

food = nshima

to eat = to be filled

Out in Sesheke, the pastor asked for a few "snaps" with the workshop participants as they 

were eating one afternoon.

that is one.very.big.pot.

the cooking sticks used for stirring the large pots of nshima