Hey everybody,
This Saturday night at 7:0o p.m. we will be having a night to show you all about the people of Malawi. It will be at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship, 515 N. Syndicate Ave.
I really encourage everybody to come out. Come out and experience what Malawi was like. See the hearts of the people. I'm still so over whelmed from the whole experience. Since we've arrived home, we've already had 2 deaths of people that we knew and connected with. The first was a mom of two sets of twins under the age of 5, she died of Aids. And then a 12 year old girl fell sick and died within 3 days. These were both treatable diseases and they just lacked either the knowledge or finances to help them get better. It just breaks my heart. Everyday people die unnecessarily. Only because they don't have what they need. It's time we stand up together and help these people. They need prayer and finance. Look forward to a brand new web site soon that will allow you to step out and help this nation.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Looking Back
I've just spent a little time going back and reading most of Jaako's blog and reading people's comments. I'm amazed and so very grateful for the support that we have received from so many of you. I thank God for each and every one of you. When Jaako came to me back in May of last year, I could never at that time have imagined all that has happened and all that is still to come. I just sit back in awe of all that God has done.
When Jaako and I stepped off the plane in Malawi, I was still unsure of exactly what God wanted for me. Jaako was pretty clear - he had come to help the children. As we started going village to village, a passion grew inside of me to see these people not only get by, but to prosper.
The Malawians are great people. They have a silent strength in them. They carry the weight of their situation with no complaint and most of all they carry hope in them. They are a nation that have not given up. They work very hard and will do anything to meet their needs and the needs of their families. They are very relation oriented. Family is a very big deal. You will see a working man not only supporting his own family, but he will support his parents (if they are still alive) and he will also support any of his siblings and their families if they are in need. They are not a greedy nation. They will give until they have nothing left to give. I watched this in awe and in wonder. Hope arose in me as I watched them. I believe they are a nation that will one day prosper.
Jaako and I had so many experiences in Malawi. We saw many great people, awesome animals and we also saw and witnessed much despair and sadness. We battled many emotions at the same time. It took awhile to adapt. We also battled much sickness. Our North American bodies just weren't up to speed to the Malawian way of life. We were off and on being sick the first 2 weeks, nothing that stopped us from going out to the villages, just enough to make us feel blah. The last week we both got pretty sick from the different foods we had eaten in the villages as well as the parasites we got when we got stuck in a flood. (I will write more on the flood on another day) We continued on to the villages right up to the day before we left. In the flood we picked up a disease called Belharzia. It's a parasite tape worm that moves through your body laying eggs. The eggs hatch in about 3 months causing you to be extremely sick. Many lose their hearing, sight etc.... God lead a lady to us who told us about Belharzia and that we should get a treatment before we left Malawi and take it when we got back to Canada. If once you've taken the treatment and you don't get sick then you did not have Belharzia, if you do get sick then you do have it. Well Jaako and I both got sick. Jaako got a really bad migraine that lasted over 12 hours and a fever. Then he was fine. I turned yellow and I was really weak, disoriented and fevered. A few days later I had stomache cramps like I never had before. I thought I would have to go the ER as I was beginning to lose my mind. It was pretty bad. All of a sudden it just ended and for the next few days I just broke out into a sweat every now and then. We are now feeling much better and we thank everybody who prayed for us.
Sue
When Jaako and I stepped off the plane in Malawi, I was still unsure of exactly what God wanted for me. Jaako was pretty clear - he had come to help the children. As we started going village to village, a passion grew inside of me to see these people not only get by, but to prosper.
The Malawians are great people. They have a silent strength in them. They carry the weight of their situation with no complaint and most of all they carry hope in them. They are a nation that have not given up. They work very hard and will do anything to meet their needs and the needs of their families. They are very relation oriented. Family is a very big deal. You will see a working man not only supporting his own family, but he will support his parents (if they are still alive) and he will also support any of his siblings and their families if they are in need. They are not a greedy nation. They will give until they have nothing left to give. I watched this in awe and in wonder. Hope arose in me as I watched them. I believe they are a nation that will one day prosper.
Jaako and I had so many experiences in Malawi. We saw many great people, awesome animals and we also saw and witnessed much despair and sadness. We battled many emotions at the same time. It took awhile to adapt. We also battled much sickness. Our North American bodies just weren't up to speed to the Malawian way of life. We were off and on being sick the first 2 weeks, nothing that stopped us from going out to the villages, just enough to make us feel blah. The last week we both got pretty sick from the different foods we had eaten in the villages as well as the parasites we got when we got stuck in a flood. (I will write more on the flood on another day) We continued on to the villages right up to the day before we left. In the flood we picked up a disease called Belharzia. It's a parasite tape worm that moves through your body laying eggs. The eggs hatch in about 3 months causing you to be extremely sick. Many lose their hearing, sight etc.... God lead a lady to us who told us about Belharzia and that we should get a treatment before we left Malawi and take it when we got back to Canada. If once you've taken the treatment and you don't get sick then you did not have Belharzia, if you do get sick then you do have it. Well Jaako and I both got sick. Jaako got a really bad migraine that lasted over 12 hours and a fever. Then he was fine. I turned yellow and I was really weak, disoriented and fevered. A few days later I had stomache cramps like I never had before. I thought I would have to go the ER as I was beginning to lose my mind. It was pretty bad. All of a sudden it just ended and for the next few days I just broke out into a sweat every now and then. We are now feeling much better and we thank everybody who prayed for us.
Sue
Friday, February 16, 2007
Hello for the first time!
I thought that I would share a little bit about my experiences about going to Malawi with my son and Clint. It truly was a wonderful experience full of laughter, tears, joy and heart-break. I'm not a super emotional person (as most of you know) but boy, did I ever shed alot of tears in both Malawi and here at home. (Before I left and after) I will start from the beginning as much as I can and interject modern day in here and there, just for interesting reading!!)
God spoke a mighty word into my son back in May 2006, and being his parents, Andrew and I had to honour what God had told Jaako to do. It was our job as his parents to ensure that Jaako was able to walk out in what God told him to do. It was both an honour and a chore at times. I've wept many hours asking God how this was to happen. You see, Jaako's faith was much stronger than mine. In many times, it was Jaako's trust and faith in God that actually carried me through when I wanted to quit. But we have now been to Malawi and back and God has put in me such a passion for the people in Malawi. God has given me my own vision that compliments and works with Jaako's vision. We serve a faithful God guys. In the beginning I never imagined that we would actually make it to Malawi. But we did and God enabled it every step of the way. We had alot of bumps in the road and we prayed lots and worked hard and it was very rewarding.
It was an honour and a joy to be led by my son in this mission. A child shall lead.........
I'm so very proud of Jaako and what he has done. He could have just ignored God's call and went on playing hockey and playing with his friends. But he didn't, he grabbed a hold of what God called him to do and he made it happen. He hounded me until I agreed to help him. Thanks Jaako for teaching me how to be led. It's been a wonderful experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything!!! Thanks to everybody that partnered with us to make this happen. I know that many of you have prayed for us countless hours and it is so appreciated!! Most of all I thank God that he chose to use a child to accomplish His Will and allowed us to see that our children are leaders. They have the right to lead and we have the obligation and honour to follow.
God spoke a mighty word into my son back in May 2006, and being his parents, Andrew and I had to honour what God had told Jaako to do. It was our job as his parents to ensure that Jaako was able to walk out in what God told him to do. It was both an honour and a chore at times. I've wept many hours asking God how this was to happen. You see, Jaako's faith was much stronger than mine. In many times, it was Jaako's trust and faith in God that actually carried me through when I wanted to quit. But we have now been to Malawi and back and God has put in me such a passion for the people in Malawi. God has given me my own vision that compliments and works with Jaako's vision. We serve a faithful God guys. In the beginning I never imagined that we would actually make it to Malawi. But we did and God enabled it every step of the way. We had alot of bumps in the road and we prayed lots and worked hard and it was very rewarding.
It was an honour and a joy to be led by my son in this mission. A child shall lead.........
I'm so very proud of Jaako and what he has done. He could have just ignored God's call and went on playing hockey and playing with his friends. But he didn't, he grabbed a hold of what God called him to do and he made it happen. He hounded me until I agreed to help him. Thanks Jaako for teaching me how to be led. It's been a wonderful experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything!!! Thanks to everybody that partnered with us to make this happen. I know that many of you have prayed for us countless hours and it is so appreciated!! Most of all I thank God that he chose to use a child to accomplish His Will and allowed us to see that our children are leaders. They have the right to lead and we have the obligation and honour to follow.
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