Today I saw some very cute babies and wished you could be here to see them because I know many of you would love to ooo and ahh over them. I learned how to say cute baby: awana okongola.. The mothers love to laugh at my attempts to speak the language, but I am trying and learn about 3 new phrases a day.
Every Wednesday morning here we have a chapel service. Quite an experience 🙂 They sing hymns in Chichewa and English. While singing the pastor man is basically hopping from foot to foot around the front of the chapel to the beat:) then the best song was ” let us dance and praise the Lord”, repeated over and over. Each verse had a different Action in place of the word dance which we of course acted out: laugh, handshake, and finally “fly” where we moved our arms like airplane wings. Then a man named Chiconde got up with a box like a clarinet case he opened it, pulled out a tube connected to it and started blowing into it and pressing keys – it turned out to be an instrument ( like cross between an accordion and small piano) and he played and sang some songs on this. I knew about Chiconde even before chapel because the others at the guest house talk about him as the Ray Charles / Stevie wonder of Malawi because he is mostly blind. We walk around the guesthouse singing Chiconde songs.
Yesterday I had a surprise tour of a factory! There is a program here called PB & J for peanut butter and Jesus. They distribute enriched peanut butter/ nutrient packets to malnourished children around the area. I heard others had gone with them to deliver some packets so I wanted to ask if I could go once. I was told I can go later, but first I should “see what they do here”. I was not sure what that meant, but it turned out they are a factory and not only give out but MAKE the peanut butter/nutrient mix right here next to the hospital. It is on the hospital property but is a separate Malawi owned business with 10 employees. They use all Malawi ingredients and start from peanuts which they roast themselves. The locals call the mixture Chiponde. There is another company that makes Chiponde in Malawi, but this company is different because they have some donors so they are able to give some of there product for free to Heath clinics that can’t afford it. I met the owner and loved seeing the small factory – complete with an awesome machine that package the PB in little packets! Also it was awesome to see the Malawi owned business and the high standard they held – we had to wear shoe covers, hats, coats and gloves just to walk thru.