Sue's View

So mad!!

2011-04-11T02:59:00.003-04:00

Okay, I am officially pissed off. At me and at many people around me. I just received news today that a really good friend of mine in Malawi has deteriated quickly in his illness and things aren't looking good. This man has a wife and a young family and has worked so hard to just provide them with a good roof over their heads and food to eat. He has now had to return to the village because he just can't work in the city more. Now he will no longer have any income, as well as being really sick. I don't understand this. How could we in good conscience go about our daily lives when there are families losing Dads and Moms or both. Parents are grieving the loss of their babies, dead in their arms because they starved or had Aids. How do we not care??? Me included! The great Malawi visionary who thinks she's done so much. I haven't done nearly enough!! Even tonight I was bitching about the fact that we were 3 dollars short to register one of our boys in soccer. Bitching about it, meantime my other dear friend in Malalawi is having to compose me a message telling me the news. Really, I can get frazzled over a mere $3.00? Things in my life don't line up as they should, and I can probably say they don't really do in yours either. Now seriously, I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on you or guilt you into giving money to Hope for Malawi. I don't care where the money goes, if you have extra give it away! Yes, it is that simple. Saving for that rainy day that never comes? Give the money to needy people who sometime only have a few days left unless they are nourished or started on Aids Med. And if that rainy day does come, well sit around a board game and enjoy an evening with your family. I sincerely apologize if I come across harsh. I'm just so angry at myself. I have been so unkind to other humans on the other side of the world. Why? Because me and my family come first. Now yes, we have sacrificied alot to bring money and needed supplies into the country. But is it enough? If I search the very corners of my heart I know it's not enough. Everytime I buy the unneeded pair of pants for my son, it is not enough. Everytime I buy extra treats or desserts in my house, it is not enough. Everytime I download that book or music just because I think I MAY like it, It is not enough. Everytime I cook way too much food and coldly throw away the left overs, it is not enough.
Friends hear me when I say this, IT IS NOT ENOUGH!! We are not doing enough!! My friends are dying in Malawi! Again, I want to explain, we're placed on this side of the earth for a reason, to prosper. In this wealth, it is perfectly normal and good to enjoy the riches you have worked so hard for, we shouldn't all live in grass houses sending all our money to some 3rd world country. If everybody in North America, saved up the value of one thing that day that they didn't really need, and donated it to a good cause, then, that is charity. Charity is a heart attitude not merely just a physical motion. I vow, here today and now that I will continue to put un-needed purchases aside and start saving up again in our Malawi account. You can't deprive yourself of needed family vacations, a roof over your head or even clothes. It's so little what we have to really give in order to actually make a difference. But that's my rant for now.

Please accept my apology again for the rant. I do that sometimes when I'm in a foul mood :)

Yours Truly,

Sue

At long last

2011-03-03T01:20:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged. Our last trip to Malawi in August 2010 was successful but very different from our other two trips. We went with a smaller team this time. Just Jaako, myself, my 10 year old daughter Janika and our friend Hannah. We spent the majority of our time travelling project to project seeing how our money from previous trips was spent and which projects would receive more. This is a process we find the most difficult. It's always heartbreaking to have to say no, or give less than they have asked for. But when you are going with a certain amount, we need to know that the money we bring is used in the best way possible.

It was wonderful seeing Malawi through my daughter's eyes. She saw the things I first fell in love with, but through the busyness I had lost sight of us. Like the smell of the tree's and flowers, the beauty of the natural surroundings and just the over all feeling of the country. It's sooo beautiful but with so much poverty. It's almost overwhelming at times.

We suffered the most illnesses on this trip. Fortunately, Janika and Hannah just suffered from your regular stomache troubles and tiredness from our hectic travels. Jaako and I did not fare as well. Jaako had braces put on prior to our trip and when a bracket fell off in Malawi, a speedy search for orthodontests and dentists proved a much harder task than we had thought. We finally found an orthodontest who fixed the bracket but in the process the wire moved and it began to dig into his gum until it permanently got stuck in his gums. We were by then hours from the capitol city and I somehow managed to pry it out and we stuck cotton on the end of it to prevent it from poking back in. His gum became enflamed and I knew we had to head back to Lilongwe. This was hard to do because I was in bed ridden with malaria. I was so sick that I could barely lift a cup to my mouth to take my meds. But I finally got all 13 pills (kids dose) down and within 2 days I was able to make the long journey back to Lilongwe to get Jaako's wire fixed. In Lilongwe, we found a dentist that had studied in BC and we were so happy to know we were in good hands. He gave Jaako an antibiotic, rubbed ointment on the infection and cut the wire. So Jaako was set. Or so we thought......... That night Jaako began to complain about a sore back. A mosquito bite he had gotten at the lake had become badly infected. He had a golf sized cist on his spine. Our dear friend Nunga tried to squeeze the pus out, but it just got too painful and Jaako was overwhelmed. We then brought him to a clinic, where they gave him 6 freezing needles and squeezed the cyst clean. Poor Jaako! It was such a horrible ordeal. We managed to stay healthy for the last 5 or 6 days then and we returned to Canada. After being home for about 3 or 4 weeks, I was hospitalized for a Malaria relapse. The dose of quinine I was in killed that virus and my gallbladder in the process and 4 weeks ago my gallbladder came out! But now we are all healthy and recovered. I am ready to begin to document my trip. Hopefully the saying "Better late than never" applies here.

I told the story of all our illnesses not to gain sympathy. But to let people know that although a trip to Africa is awesome and I would highly recommend it, it can't be romanticized and it's not a holiday or vacation for us.

Either way, illnesses or not, I would never trade our trips to Malawi in for anything. Being able to help one child, one family, one school at a time is all we need to keep going. It is absolutely rewarding!!

I hope to in the next few weeks, begin to blog about each village we visited and give you a snap shop of what Hope for Malawi did and how we were able to help.

I want to thank you for your support these past years. Hope for Malawi exists because of caring people like you!

Until next time,

Sue

Sorry no internet

2010-08-15T03:23:00.000-04:00

Good Morning,

I must apologize for me and the kids not keeping our blogs updated. But this trip has been the worst so far for power outages, no internet signals, etc... etc......... We went an entire 10 days without any kind of internet access. It was quite frustrating!

But anyhow, my last blog mentioned the beginning of our trip and this blog is close to the end of our trip. We've had a very busy time here in Malawi. Driving place to place and visiting project after project. To the point where my head is slightly spinning and I'm trying to remember with the quick notes I scribbled, what I saw where!!

We went to check out two of the schools we left retrofit money for last time we were here. Unga 1 had done amazing things with the money we left. They even kept every receipts, documented where all the money went and presented me with a budget of items that are still quite urgent to complete. We will definately be leaving them with some more so that they can continue the good work. They are all about involving the community and the students. The students actually have a class on brick making, so that is how alot of the bricks for the school are made! It gives students ownership in their school as well! Brilliant!

Unga 2 on the otherhand, did not spend our money well. I couldn't see any sign of change from our last visit, things had just continued to deteriate even further. Although my heart goes out to the students who attend that school in those horrid conditions, HFM sadly can't help them. Unless the head master, teachers and community are willing to take the money and work hard to make it stretch and do what work they can on their own, they're school will not move forward. We have to sow our money into projects that are making a difference with the money we leave. But it really broke my heart to see those students with so much hope in their eyes. It was a very difficult decision to not leave money with them. Hopefully a lesson will be learned, and on our next trip we see that they have truly tried to help the school on their own and we can again begin to assist them.

We then met up with my very dear friend Katherine, my amai in Malawi. (My Mom) I love her dearly. She is a fantastic 75 year old woman who had us pooped out by the end of the day with the speed she was showing us progress on her projects!! Katherine has assisted many communities with starting up preschools for kids aged 2 to 5. They come, learn English and have a warm meal. The kids were so proud to show off their alphabet and calendar skills! I was very impressed!! Adorable little kids! And this time they weren't as scared of the azungu's as last time!! (foreigner) Only a few screamed in utter fear at us! lol Poor kids.............

We then visited some of Katherine's dams. The dams are usually built and run by woman that are HIV positive. This allows them an income to support their families and themselves. They stock the dams with fish and use the water to water the crops they have planted in the area. It was wonderful! The woman took such care of it and their crops were so green and healthy! Better than anywhere I had seen so far!

Well, this post is getting long. I'll continue more tonight. Tomorrow we leave on safari and leave the country on Thursday. It's always with bittersweet feelings that I leave. I'm sad to leave my friends here and worry about them until we come again. But then I'm so excited to see my little boy at home and Andrew. Coming on these trips sometimes seems at a high expense. Not just money wise. But I've left my 6 year old boy at home, 3 times now for a month. I miss him dreadfully when I'm gone. I have to actually not allow myself to think of him too often until the end of the trip. Then I can't wait to get home. This time we will lay over in Nairobi for 3 nights. Although I'm so excited to see my childhood friend Maria, I think I might be just a bit anxious to just get going home! lol

Until later..........

Sue

Ps. I'm not spellchecking this as we are in a rush to leave..... sorry about the many mistakes I'm sure I've made!! lol

Another Day in Malawi

2010-08-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Well, another day is drawing to an end here in beautiful Malawi.
Yesterday we visited Area 25 in Lilongwe and handed out Bags of Hope and taught the kids some english songs. It was really fun!

Today we visited an orphan feeding centre in Namitete. We were told to prepare for just under 100 kids, so we made 110 bags. We were 56 short! This was one of the worst feelings ever!! Having kids sitting on the benches watching the other kids open their bags. It was awful!! I couldn't even look because I was on the verge of bursting into hysterical tears!! What a hard day. The director of the centre took down all the names of the children that didn't receive a bag and we are going to send them once we have made them up tomorrow.

Well, I'm signing off before the power goes down! That seems to be a constant problem every evening here.

Sue

We have arrived in Malawi!

2010-08-01T14:43:00.000-04:00

Amazing! So blessed to have returned to this country again!! It wasn't without trials, but all that is behind us and we are here!!

A snap shot on our journey here. We left Thunder Bay airport Wednesday night the 28th at 7:20 p.m. All went without a hitch. Flight to Toronto was uneventful and so was our 2 hour airport layover. We left Toronto around 11:35 to fly to London, England.

We arrived in London in the morning and took the tube into central London and spent about 3 hours walking around checking things out and riding the London Eye. We then took the tube back to the airport and I pulled out my boarding pass to see which Terminal our flight was leaving from. UNKNOWING, THIS IS WHEN EVERYTHING WENT SOUTH AND QUICKLY!!! UGH!!!

There was no terminal printed on our boarding passes, this quite often means you are leaving from the same terminal as you arrived at. So, we went back to terminal 3 and saw that the Nairobi flight was departing from Lobby A. We decided to clear security right away so we could have a bite to eat before our flight left at 8:00 p.m.

We passed through security and showed our passports AND BOARDING PASSES to three different airport staff and were cleared for our flight and wished a pleasant journey. Once thru security I check to see what gate our flight was leaving from, it wasn't listed yet and showed that our flight now did not depart until 9:00 p.m. I didn't find this odd as flights are delayed quite often.

We went and ate and around 7:00 p.m. decided to check out some duty free shops. Upon purchasing Janika's pillow the store clerk who needed my boarding pass for the transaction, gave me a really odd look when I handed over my boarding pass, but he did not say anything. So I paid for her pillow and off we went.

We went to sit by the monitors so we can wait for our gate to come up. As we were sitting there, I started to feel really uncomfortable about the flight. I decided to get a closer look at the monitors, no info change. I went and sat back down. The feeling kept getting worse and at about 7:15 I decided to pull out the itinerary that the Thunder Bay agent said I didn't need because everything is electronic, but I of course kept it so I can scrapbook it later!!

I read on that itinerary that our flight was leaving from TERMINAL 4!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Talk about instant panic! I told the kids and Hannah to pack up and run! We ran to a help desk and they confirmed we were in the wrong terminal and couldn't believe that security had cleared us!! We had to get from one end of Terminal 3 to the other to catch a bus to Terminal 4. We arrived at the bus pick up location at around 7:25. The bus was there but wouldn't allow us to board!! They were on the other side of a glass so they couldn't hear our exclamations! We were in major panic and tears! And then he left............

Another bus arrived a few minutes later and parked outside. The driver was talking to somebody and I was frantically waving out the window and pointing to my watch (well Pirkko's, but that's a different story) and he just kept calming putting out his hand saying hang on! We kept waving and what seemed about forever, he finally let us board. I explained to him that our flight left at 8:00 p.m. and we were in a hurry. He asked you have to board at 8? I yelled NOOO, our flight leaves at 8, we have 20 minutes to be on that plane!! Well, he took off like a shotgun! We were stripping off belts, sweaters, socks etc so we would be ready to clear security AGAIN! What a site we must have been!! He drove so fast we were stumbling all over!

We arrived at security at about 8:47ish and must have cleared in about a minute or less! We were pro's at this now!!

We located a monitor and our gate? WAY ACROSS THE AIRPORT!! I told Jaako and Hannah to take off and run to the gate and Janika and I would follow. Due to a poor knee surgery, I can't run, so I walked very, very fast! Jaako being the awesome son that he is also took my pac and the laptop that we didn't pack up after security and began to run. I told Jaako not to separate from Hannah! So they took off!

As Janika is running, and I am walking very, very fast we start hearing announcements, "Would the Polkki family and Wilson family please board the aircraft at gate 8. We kept hearing the page. Then it got worse we heard "Would Polkki and Wilson please come to the gate right now! You are delaying your plane!!" A few seconds later, "Polkki and Wilson, your luggage is being removed from the plane so that the flight can depart!" I'm thinking oh crap Jaako and Hannah hadn't made it! And I'm yelling, no don't we're coming!! At this point I see Hannah just ahead of us and Jaako is nowhere to be seen!

Jaako decided to run ahead once Hannah grew tired. Although he didnt listen to me, I have to admit he made the right decision, Jaako saved our day!! He was just running up to the gate when that final announcement was given. If he had listened to me, we would have certainly missed our flight. With a plea full of emotion he explained what had happened and explained how I couldn't run! At this point I sent Janika running as well, I figured the more of us that showed up, the more likely they would be to hold the plane!

I then got there and the staff were very understanding and we boarded our flight! The time was 8:00 p.m. on the nose! How had we run clear across two terminals, taken a bus ride and cleared security and arrived at our gate all in 35 minutes??? A miracle! We couldn't believe it! We were so shocked that we had made it.

As we boarded the aircraft all the passengers were glaring at us and when we sat down, some guys said with a laugh "So you must be the Polkki's and the Wilsons!!" We all cracked up! They announced to the whole flight that we were holding them up! The worst part? Once we boarded, the plane didn't move anywhere for about 15 minutes!! What the heck?!?!?!

But anyway, we were on our flight, high fiving each other for making it and probably annoying everybody even more!! Ha ha ha

We arrived in Nairobi at 6:30 a.m. and had major flight delays. We were exhausted and just wanted to get to Malawi!! We finally left and arrived in Malawi quite late, but we cleared customs wonderfully and we were in Malawi. Our second home!

What a feeling to just walk out of the airport and smell the air that I love to breath and see the smiling faces of my friends! This is always one of my favourite moments. My lungs just fill with Malawian air and my heart soars to be here once again. I can't describe the feeling, but it's a great one.

I will write more tomorrow about our days here. That is if we have power. We have had black outs every evening here so far. Tonight the power came back on early enough for all of us to blog.

So until tomorrow..............................................

Sue

Another trip planned

2009-10-11T11:38:00.006-04:00

Well, it's official. We are heading back to Malawi in August 2010. I realized this summer that I really missed my friends there and it has been over a year since I've seen them. To wait another year seems long and I'm getting anxious. I find myself thinking, do they have enough food? Were they warm enough this past winter season? Did they have enough seed to plant this spring? They are just now heading into their summer season and I hope their crops prosper.

I don't think we realize how simple our lives actually are. I know many struggle on a day to day basis. My family does. But when I put it into perspective to what I have experienced in Malawi, it brings me back to a heart of thanks. I am truly thankful for my family, friends and even my house that at times seems to be falling down around me. It still keeps me and my family warm and safe.

So being that it's the Thanksgiving season, lets all truly be thankful for all that we have been given. We grumble at things that break or things that we don't have, but we should be thankful that we have things to break down. We have a family that is alive and healthy. And when sickness does come, we have a hospital we can go to and medicines to take. It truly is a lot to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Sue

Trip so far.

2008-06-17T17:18:00.002-04:00

Our time here in Malawi so far has been excellent. We've accomplished many things but many things still need doing. We've handing about 1200 Bags of Hope, helped a man with medical bills, provided Hiv medications for a lady for about 2 or 2 and half years. We've travelled to many villages distributing maize and Jaako has been speaking to the children.

Tomorrow we head to Mangochi and Chikulo which are very remote villages near Lake Malawi. They are the forgotten in Malawi. We will be spending a few days visiting some projects started by Catherine our good friend as well as visit sites for new plans by our friends Tracey and Mick. We are very excited to go and see how we can help. We will be spending time in Chikulo with host families and getting to know village life. We will also spend a night in their huts with them. I can't wait to go and truly experience how these people live, to be a part of their community.
Eat what they eat, sleep where they sleep and just be as they are each and every day.

I'm not sure if we will have any internet connection while we are gone so we may not be able to report back until then.

Sue

Time is going by so fast.

2008-05-09T10:07:00.002-04:00

Time is going by so very quickly. We leave for Malawi in just over 3 weeks!! I can't believe that we are actually going back. It still seems so surreal still. We have a team of 7 people going this time. Jaako and I, Clint and his son Sydney, my friend Lily and 2 university girls Laura and Carrie. I'm so happy so many people wanted to join this mission and help the people in Malawi. We have so many extra suitcase this time to bring stuff over with!!! We are bring over Bags of Hope for the children again as well as underwear for the girls and various health items like vitamins, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

While in Malawi, we will be doing 3 different things.

1. For the first week we will be going to visit villages close to Lilongwe where we will be based. We will distribute the Bags of Hope to the children, and food supplies.

2. The next 4-5 days we will spend visiting different schools in hopes of securing a partnership with one of them that we could send our scholarship students to.

3. The rest of the time will be spent up near Lake Malawi in remote villages that don't receive much aid. Our friend Katherine has some projects on the go up there and we will check them out and see how we can be of help.

Both Jaako and I will be reporting on our blogs as often as we can so keep checking back.

We are very excited to be going again. I can't wait to see my friends again. Thank-you to all of you that have helped the kids in Malawi. We make a difference. We really, really do.

We are going back to Malawi!!

2008-04-01T12:48:00.003-04:00

Our travel dates are confirmed and our tickets purchased. We leave on June 3 of this year to Malawi!! We are so excited to be able to go and see our friends and help them out again. We will be in Malawi for 3 weeks again this time around with 3 different missions on the go while we are there. We will begin the first week by going to villages close to Lilongwe and we will distribute maize and the Bags of Hope, then we plan to check out schools that we can possibly join forces with and provide scholarship funds directly to the school. Our focus will be educating into the medical field and hopefully some day soon be able to build a medical centre and staff it with our own graduated students!!
Next we will hook up with a local women's group that is teaching women how to earn their own income in order to support themselves and send their children to school. At this time we will have a chance to visit their orphanage they have up in Blantyre. We are so looking forward to going. We are going down as a team of 5 and possibly 7!! That's almost 10 suitcases of needed supplies that we can bring to Malawi with us!!!! Yeah!!

As our departure date draws closer, I've been in contact with many of the Malawian via email and again it's starting to hit home just how much need exists over there. Children and adults are dying over there. They die of malnourishment, AIDS and many other treatable illnesses. It's time to work our hardest at helping them turn their country around. I feel blessed to live in this amazing country where even though we don't earn a huge income or anything - we are completely and totally provided for! Our every physical need is met and much more. We really have no complaints even though those complaints come from my lips very often! It's time to refocus and concentrate on those that really need my help. I know that here are many in Canada and all over the world that need help, but right now Jaako and I feel called to help Malawi and we will do our best to help change it by educating one person at a time, feeding one family at a time and just being there for them.

Take Care,
Sue

My daughter's miracle

2007-08-11T09:29:00.000-04:00

On August 7th we sent Janika and Jaako out to clean up their things off the side-walk. Well I guess Janika had left her umbrella across the street. Without even looking she ran out on the road from between two parked cars and a truck was coming. The truck slammed on their brakes and swerved, just missing hitting Janika dead-on. Janika under an adreniline rush was able to hobble inside screaming her head off. When Andrew, I and the driver were looking at her foot it was getting a major bruise on the inside of her foot and was swelling up. It didn't look very good. I got ready to bring her to the hospital. Janika cried and screamed "Please, Please pray for me. I want to be healed before I go to the hospital." In the commotion we didn't really hear or act on her crying so she screamed it again and this time Andrew prayed for her and then carried her out to the van. When we pulled out Janika said we had to think and talk about happy things so that she didn't feel the pain in her foot too much. As we were driving Janika started to say that her foot didn't hurt as much, she continued to say that it was getting better. By the time we got to the hospital she said she could move it without much pain. Irv and Jonie met me at the hospital and Irv carried Janika in. Sure enough when Clint Neubauer (the nurse) looked at it, it was pretty good. He was able to apply pressure and she could even walk on it a bit. And the amazing part was the bruising and swelling was almost gone!! It just had some bruising and swelling on the top of her foot. The Dr. looked at it and it was x-rayed. No fractures or anything. Just soft tissue damage!! So off we went home. We had to go by Wal-mart to get a tensor bandage for her and when we got there she pulled her croc off and yelled "Oh my God!!" I thought something bad happened so I turned around in panic - but she said " All of the bruising and swelling is gone!!" And sure enough when I looked at it - it was true. She now only had a slight discolouration on the top and no swelling. WOW!! Jesus had healed her! Her call for prayer healed her!! She now just has to be off of it for a few days and be careful but she is totally fine. Oh ya, as well at the hospital we realized that she had a tire scuff mark on the back of her arm from her elbow to her wrist! I asked if the truck had hit her body and she said "Not really - It just lightly skimmed across my tummy" I asked her where her arms were and how the truck could touch her tummy and not her arms and she said "I don't know" In that kid voice that says I her mom doesn't know what I'm talking about! So that's it in a big nutshell. Janika says she so happy that Jesus saved her from dying and healed her foot before she got to the hospital.I believe in miracles - do you?

can't think of one

2007-06-19T13:47:00.000-04:00

Hey every-one,

Just sittin' here and reminiscing about days past as I'm slowly linking up with people from public school, high school and just other important people and I realize that so many people have had an impact on my life. I want to have that same impact on others. I want to be remembered as some-one who cared - wasn't always necessarily nice (Ha Ha) but genuinely cared for people. As Jaako and I plan this 2nd trip to Malawi, I'm more focused on the people in Malawi, not just trying to help my son accomplish his goals. I truly miss being in Malawi and I'm so very excited to be going back. To go back and buy more truck loads of food, put another kid into school, help another family start a business. It'll be slow going, but every family we help is another family saved. Lets do this one family, one person, one village at a time. But lets do it. Not just talk about what a great thing Jaako is doing, but become a part of it so you can say "What a wonderful thing I am doing!" You are all vital parts of this journey. With out you we wouldn't have been able to accomplish nearly what we did. You are great people. Thanks for your help and keep helping. Malawi needs lots of help. Lets do it.

We are having a yard sale on Saturday the 24th at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship from 9-1. Come out and support the trip! Call 622-1030

Life goes on

2007-05-29T18:36:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, life has been busy and I haven't had a chance to write. Jaako hasn't either on his blog. We don't have an internet connection at home now so it is difficult. He will update soon too. My daughter Janika just turned 8 and I realize how quickly time is passing. It is just amazing!! I'm in the Sault right now visiting my very sick mom and it's funny how suddenly time seems to stand still. It's like I'm willing time to stay still so that my Mom will heal and we can carry forward from this day on with everything behind us as if it never really happened. But we go day by day, starting each one anew and fresh and hey it's working. Life is going on and we are succeeding in having good days. That's all I got for now.

Orphans

2007-05-09T13:33:00.000-04:00

Just reading some very shocking and saddening statistics from Malawi. Right now in Malawi there are over 1 million orphans, 700,000 of them are because their parents died of AIDS! Does this compute with you? It doesn't with me. There is a medicine that will allow an aids patients to live out their days healthy!! What are we, as a North American culture doing that allows for this to happen? I know we all care, we all are saddened at the thought of orphaned children, we all want to help. Then why is not happening? I just keeping thinking that if every person in Canada gave $1.00 every year - do you know that poverty stricken countries would receive $32,777,304.00 - All for a buck. Can you go without one small coffee once a year? What about once a month? Come on guys, we have the potential as Canadians to bless the nations!! We are a wealthy country with warm-hearted people. We are a people that care. I am so proud to be a Canadian and as a Canadian, I want to help those who are way less fortunate than me. My buck is in the pot. Where's yours??

Send a loonie to TBCF, 515 N. Syndicate Ave. Thunder Bay, ON P7C 3X2. Send this post on to your family and friends and lets see if we can make a difference. I will keep you posted if and when the loonies start coming in!!

New Plans Ahead

2007-05-04T10:39:00.000-04:00

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to let you know of some of our new plans. Jaako is wanting to go back to Malawi in June 2008 - How exciting!! Almost daily he tells me how much he misses Malawi and that he wants to go back. I think we may lose him to Malawi when he gets older :=( So back it's back to work we go. Those of you that live in Thunder Bay, On Sunday May 20th we will be having a hotdog and bakesale at our church after the morning service. It will begin around noon at 515 N. Syndicate Avenue (Behind the Dairy Queen on May Street) and run for probably about an hour or so. All proceeds will go to a man named Paul in Malawi who's wife just passed away as well as his home burn't down. Everything was lost in the fire. He now can't travel to work as he has to take care of his other children. He wants to start a maize grinding business so he can stay close to home. Soon we will have more info for upcoming events. We want to have another yard sale as well in October we want to have another Malawian Feast and Silent Auction.

Presently a friend of ours, Angela is running a clothing drive for Malawi. Any donations of summer or light weight clothing can be dropped off at the church and she will get it to those who desperately need them in Malawi. Call 622-1030 for more info.

Thanks every-one and stay tuned to find out how you can help the children of Malawi!!

Darn Parasites

2007-04-11T11:34:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,

Just been doing some thinking these past few weeks as I continue to battle some sort of parasite or something I picked up in Malawi. At times I feel fustrated that this thing refuses to leave my body and continues to cause me grief but then I realize (again!) that this is the sort of thing that the people in under-developed countries deal with day in and day out. I at least have had the option and opportunity to go to the doctors to get tests done. Once the results are in, I can be treated. My friends in Malawi do not have this choice. I continually forget just how fortunate I and my family are. It's funny how quickly we forget to count our small blessings. Like lines at Doctors office, grocery stores, even traffic lights as I sit in my nice mini-van. There are so many people that would love to have the money to stand in a line in a grocery store or at a Doctor's office. How do we begin to change the way we think, the way we are? To see the small pleasures in life and not stress over the little things? I guess it's a day by day relearning, rethinking process. I'm trying..................

Market Places

2007-03-14T12:29:00.000-04:00

Hey, I just want to share about our market-place experiences in Malawi. The first time we went to a market place was the same evening we had flew into Malawi. We were exhausted from jet lag but very excited as well to experience a little bit of Africa - so off we went to an art market. It was located literally in a parking lot of what looked like it could be a small strip mall. The vendors all had their ware laying out on the grass along the edges of the lot. The second we got out of our vehicle, we were mobbed by the marketeers. (Is that even a word?) Oh please madam, please sir, please boy, buy from me, my family hasn't eaten today. It became very quickly overwhelming as they all fought for us to visit their space and buy something from them. The items were beautiful!! We could buy anything from awesome paintings, to carved bowls, candle holders, toys, animals etc. The workmanship was excellent. Jaako was very overwhelmed. He felt very badly for those we didn't buy from. It was difficult for me as well to choose who we'd buy from and from whom we didn't. We made a huge error in judgement as we promised people we'd come back and look at their stuff. The next time we went, we were again mobbed and everybody remembered exactly what we had looked at and reminded us of our promises. Some true and some not. I couldn't remember who I'd promise to buy a painting from, so I think I bought from the wrong person. But we learned very quickly how to say no and how to barter with them, as well as know who wasn't telling the truth. It became a fun and exciting adventure as we grew comfortable in standing our ground. Once we stood our ground, the vendors also began to respect us more and treat us less aggressively. All in all it was a great time and it felt wonderful to help people out as well as bring many beautiful souvenirs home. Even Jaako became a pro at bartering and purchased many items for himself. It is such a different process from walking into Wal-mart and looking for the best price on the shelf and just putting it into your cart. Even in the few stores they had, sales people competed for your sales as well as bringing your bags to your car. You always tipped the boys that helped you out! I'm really beginning to miss Malawi a lot. It claimed a part of my heart. I miss the excitement, the people the commotion. Even though we've been home for many, many weeks, it's hard to blend back into such a laid back life style. It was great for the first few weeks, especially as we battled sickness. But now Jaako and I find ourselves at the point of boredom at times!! We strive to keep busy and involved. It is great to be back home but I am also looking forward to going back to Malawi again.

Baby and Blanket

2007-03-08T18:44:00.000-05:00

I remembered a cute story today as we were doing a presentation to the kids at St. Bernards. I was reminded that at one of the villages, a group of ladies sang a few songs for us. Oh how beautiful it sounded. The harmony and just plain volume of it mesmerized me. When I finally came back to reality, I noticed that most women had a baby strapped to their backs, a few didn't. In the middle of the second song, a little girl about a year old, toddled up to her mom dragging a blanket behind her on the dirt floor. It reminded me of our kids with their favourite blankies and such. This little girl walked right up to her mom, tugged on her moms skirt and gave her the blanket. Her mom grabbed her by the arm like a monkey and slung her on her back and then she bent over and wrapped the blanket around her daughter and herself, all the while not missing one note of the song! It was just amazing to watch. These blankets are like soothers, teddy bears, receiving blankets etc. It brings comfort to the child as they are strapped to their mothers back. When they were strapped on their mothers back, I rarely saw a baby crying or making a fuss. Only when they were hungry and the mothers remedied that quickly. I have never in my life seen such content infants. The closeness to their mother or sister, brought comfort, contentment and quitness to the babies. I think their culture has something on our North American Culture. If I was younger and just starting to have my kids, I think I would try it. It just seemed to create a bond that was so strong and unique. I loved watching them.

Children

2007-03-06T23:15:00.000-05:00

Good Evening,

Jaako and I had another presentation tonight and it always hits home how in need these children are. Just looking again at the clothes, the food and just their lives, it hits home again and again. I never tire watching the presentation or looking at the pictures. Jaako said yesterday to some-one, I realized how lucky I am to live in Thunder Bay. What a good way to say it. We whine and complain about this and that, without ever even really realizing what the other half of the world lives like. I do it too. I've done it since I've been home even. It's winter, my husband is laid off, no money coming in, we have to eat the same foods, whine, whine, whine. It's amazing that I still have the capacity to whine. I'm eating much better than most in Malawi, it may be not be up to standard here, but in their standards, we live like Kings!! I have to shake my head and say: Knock it off Sue! Yes - I admit, I talk to myself. But anyhow, every day is a new day, a new day in which I can be very grateful for the things that I have and even for the things that I don't have and not forget those that have less than me.

Flood

2007-03-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

Hey every-one. Thanks to every-one that came out last night to our info night. I was so happy that so many came out to see what Malawi was like. I'd like to share about the flood in Zambia now that I have had some time to process it. We went into Zambia for a few days and the night before we left Zambia, we had torrential downpours again which caused many of the major rivers to overflow their banks. What a mess! We were barely able to make it out of our camp, in fact we were the last vehicle to make it. God had His hand on our Land Rover - we went through water that was going over our hood and flowing into the truck. We had some tense moments. We also had to walk through waters up to our knees (Jaako's thighs) that had crocodiles and snakes in it. God kept us safe. Once we were out and driving down the main road to Malawi, we were devastated to see all of the water around us in the lower lying areas. Huts were up to the roof in water and people were moving their few belongings up to the road in order to save it. I was only able to think, what were these people going to do now? Their crops were ruined, their homes and villages were ruined, what little they had was now lost. Dry season is coming soon, so another crop won't be possible for a while. This isn't a situation that is uncommon. Although it was the worst than it has been in decades, but every year people in those areas suffer from flooding. Malawi had a huge flood just prior to us getting there. The devastation in these countries is so huge and it seems that so few actually care - or they just don't know about the crisis as it's not in every papers headlines when it happens there. I don't know what the answers are. I won't stop praying though until I have some. This flood was where Jaako and I contracted Belharzia. When left untreated it could be life threatening. Jaako and I were desperately sick from it, but we had the $6.00 (combined total for both of us) medication that would make us well again. Most people there won't get the medication. It's almost a weeks salary to just get treated. I keep asking myself why we are so priveleged. This bothers me night and day. Why do I live the life that I do? What makes me special? I don't have the answers. I can only help.

Information Night

2007-02-26T11:08:00.000-05:00

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.

Looking Back

2007-02-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

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

Hello for the first time!

2007-02-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

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.