things are good!!

things at the center are amazing, but i dont have much time left :(

i got ring worm from one of the kids...

someone tried to get into our car yesterday when we were in it (all our doors were locked!)

really....prayer does work guys!!

as of monday, i have one month till i am home!! cant wait to see everyone!!! when i have more time i will give a very detailed blog!!

ahhh!!

sorry I havent updated.

last week was a rough week. I was home sick...A LOT. I've never been before and i realized that i dont do well when i am homesick...i litterly get sick...and then i had to get a malaria test because i was so gross...calling my parents at all hours in the night (for them) it was just brutal. so...i decided to stay at the canadian missionaries house. Got over the homesick feeling really quick that way. but i got to meet a lot of people, a lot of canadian missonaries (one couple which were newfie, it made me happy)

and...the boy i am working with with the signing is going sooo well! i am making him a mini book right now with signs so he can bring it home and keep learning. he is doing so so well with it!! we now learnt toilet! amen! I am enjoying my time at the center so much, but my time is slowly starting to leave and it made me sooo sad yesterday! but i know i have touched some lives in the short time i have been here

well folks, friday i am leaving to climb a mountain with my host family...we are going for 4 days, and the mountain is mount zomba, then a week and a half later we are (myself, edith and one of the other girls ) are going on a safari, 3 days is in zambia and 3 days are at victoria falls!! so i might not write on here in awhile, if you want updates on how i am doing, email my dad: stevebest64@hotmail.com

thanks for all your prayers, i know when i am homesick and feeling down i feel a total power of prayer surrounding me!

immigration...lovely experience

I decided that you can not go away like this and not have some things stand in the way...but let me tell you, God has his hand in everything I am doing.

when I arrived in Malawi, they gave me 30 days here and then I had to go to the immigration office to renew my stay another 30 days (the highest they are allowed to give)...so this date was april 12...however, my mistake, i forgot about it until today...and i told kat about it, and this happened to her and she was told to leave the country. so she had to drive to mozambique and just walk a bit, grab a coke and hang out for 20 minutes so she could come back again and get another 30 days...so i was slightly in a panic today thinking this was going to happen to me, so we prayed in the hospital (we were there with a child) and so we prayed...i get to the immigration office shaking and sweating, and the guy looks at the stamp in my passport, and said i should of came in yesterday...so blessing one: he didnt count the correct amount of days...and blessing two: he gave me 60 days instead of 30! thank the lord!!!

the child we brought to the hospital is a kid with epilepsy and he fell into a fire years ago. but the way the burn healed made him unable to use his right hand as it was bent over and healed that way, so 3 weeks ago we brought him to the hospital so they cna perform surgery on it so they could cut it so his hand can have the proper range of motion a hand should have...and today, the child needed redressing to the wound, and he was crying such huge sobs..it was heart breaking, and then we were asked to leave cause it was such a bad thing to see, and they needed to hold him down to they could re dress it. these poor kids.

either this week, or next week we are going to go back to the child that was tied up. pray for that! that child really needs prayer!!!

IM ON!!!

its been awhile since i have been on! the family that has the youth group at there house have been so amazing to let me use there computer/internet today, and let me tell you, its as fast as if i were at home. well, things have been really busy...yet not? haha. things during the day go really really quick, but evenings go by really slow. so my house mates and i went and bought some books and movies to entertain us and let me tell you, they are coming in handy!

so, i am living in a guest house with three other girls, shayna, nicky, and edith.

in the main house lives the rest of the family, in total there is 9 of us, plus all there friends that come through which is a lot of people every day, plus everyone that works at there house. they have a nanny, who cooks and cleans, they have someone that cleans and irons, and a gardener and 2 gaurds. and yes, we have gaurds and big gates, thats what almost everyone has. plus 2 dogs, one that i dislike very much and who does not like me, and a little one!

the past few weeks have bit a little crazy as kat has been sick with malaria so i had to get rides with kathy, so some days i havent stayed the full day.

yesterday i went to lake malawi which is beautiful. we saw monkeys! really close as well. i think the 3 of us girls are a little too adventurous haha.

tomorrow we are going to blantyre for 3 days, and next we are going to there grandmas village and staying the night, and the week after we are climbing a mountain and staying in a hotel mid way up!

now the center: my most exciting moment so far! the boy i tend to work with, he is deaf and he is behavioral because he cant understand people. so i have been teaching him sign language, not only has he sat in his seat for the entire morning one day without yelling at one of the girls he oesnt get along with...but he signed FOOD to me!! i was so exciting! then he ran out got some food and came back. we understood eachother. soooo exciting!! i was thrilled.

anyways, i better get going, one of the banda girls should be here soon to walk back with me...it's not safe to walk alone.

ps. as of tomorrow, i left ottawa a MONTH ago. wow!

Good morning Everyone,
LaDonna and I just talked to Melanie.
She is doing great, really busy and safe.
Her friend Kat is out of the hospital now, thank-you everyone for your prayers.
Melanie tells us that that she has not had many chances to use the computer.
And when she has the opportunity the systems are really slow, for instance, it would take a half hour to open one page. Also, many unexpected power outages.
Today she is at the clinic and having a blast.
Melanie said it's really cool in the morning and evenings.
She also told her mother she doesn't want chicken and rice for a few months when she returns.
This evening she'll be going for her treat of the week: an ice cream.
To be safe, Melanie told us she doesn't drink the milk therefore the ice cream is her calcium.
Thank-you everyone for your continuous prayers for our little pumpkin.

**update**

sorry it has taken so long for me to update everyone. the internet is quite slow, so i kinda lose patiences hahah...actually, i was trying to send a picture to my parents through email, and while it was loading i was writing an email, after 45 minutes it still didnt load....so we will try on here..but first updates..

friday it was a regular morning at the center. the kids are getting more comfortable with me, and are getting drawn to me, rather then running away crying because they are scared of me. then in the afternoon (and every friday afternoon) we go to the crisis nursery. it is an orphanage pretty much for abandoned babies under 1 years old. they are soo cute, their stories heart breaking, yet you can leave there with a sense of hope. strange how that works, eh? i got to feed a little baby who was only a couple of weeks old, and he is a twin so so tiny. a lot of these kids come at a early age, and are malnourished. it is heart breaking. yet you see ALL these people coming to help, you see how much the director/nurse care and you know they are in good hands. it is a great feeling. 

later friday night i went to the youth group which is held at someones house down the road from me, so i went there, didnt know how i felt about it, then i started talking to 5 girls from england, who are amazing. they are such sweet people. so caring and nice, and easy to talk to! when you are in africa, and have a lot of time in the evening, you need good people to talk to...and whats better, i can hope my back fence and be in there yard!! we get along great. ill be going to the youth group every friday. i really enjoyed myself. all the people were fantastic!

saturday, myself, and roselyn (my host mom) her youngest daughter (megan) and her oldest daughter, plus her 2 friends from chicago went to this fair thing at the international school, then went for icecream, then a few of us went over to the girls house from england and hung out for a bit. 

sunday, i taught sunday school. it was a blast, however, i did have one naughty kid. but that makes it that much more fun hahaha. 

today, (monday) i was at the center in the morning, teaching one child sign language (this kid has more autistic type of behaviors) which i thoroughly enjoy, and then a group was there that are from canada, and more specifically from newfoundland. when you meet people from canada your heart kinda jumps cause you feel like it is a peace of home. then this afternoon, we went to villages and picked up three kids plus there mom to bring them to the hospital for surgery. the thing is, the three of these kids, they each have epilepsy, and they all have fallen into a fire during a seizure hence why they need surgery. apparently, from what i was told today, i will see some really horrific ones...*god make me strong*

friday, kat and i are going to go hike a mountain just outside of lilongwe...

and for all of you wondering, yes i am looking at safaris...and i decided on which one, and i think i found someone to go with...i will be going on one that is 6 days. 3 days are at a game park one in zambia..and then the other 3 days are at victoria falls (yes, jessica singh, i JUMPED at this chance! haha..oh, and the peanut butter is SO appreciated!) and i will be staying in a walk-in tent. i can rough it!

now this is exciting: saturday i get to go to a VILLAGE wedding. i am soooo excited. i get to wear the traditional clothes, ah, so excited. anyways, thats it for now!

good day :)

so, as i write this i am in a place called the "sanctuary" it's beautiful here! drinking hot chocolate on the internet with kat, and 2 other ladies joined us who she knows. so im meeting people alll the time. 

anyways, elections was yesterday so unless you were voting it was pretty much a lockdown. everyone was inside. so it was nice to relax and hang out with the banda girls. there have not been any riots, but the results have not been released from lilongwe yet. because we dont know when the results will come out, we did not do home visits today to be safe. i think that is a blessing in disguise to kinda just deal with what i saw the other day. 

 tomorrow i will move into the guest house with the oldest banda girl who gets in tomorrow with her two friends from school (they are all going to school in chicago). so this will be my last move of my clothes and and what not until i leave. hallelujah! the guest house has a bathroom, kitchen, living area and rooms. i get my own room as i have to get up early in the morning everyday.

i get to start teaching sunday school sunday! yahoo! teaching the 4 and 5 year olds. can you tell that i love teaching sunday school? haha. and the lady that runs it is canadian. kinda neat. and thursday i am going to there young person group, so we'll see how that goes :) meet more people.

anyways, just so everyone knows, i read all the messages you guys leave, and it helps so much. it is amazing to know how many people are thinking and praying for you.

tough day

so today was my first full official day at the children of blessing trust. however, kat (the teacher at the center) picked me up, and we had to drop a guy off at a place we were staying. this was my first time meeting kat and things went well. I'm very thank ful ill have her to drive me to/from each day. she gives a younger perspective on everything here in malawi, which is nice and it's good for me! on the drive the car made a *brrr ummmp, raaaa, taaaa* okay, im just making nonsense here as i write this, but it was some craaaazy noise, at this point, josh still isnt dropped off, so we all look and nothing seems wrong, so we keep driving and the car is making some wicked noises. so, we drop josh off, about to go to the garage to get the car fix, go drop something back off to josh and then back to the garage. we were at the garage for about 3 hours. so we got to the center around 1230ish. we only stayed a little bit, as monday afternoons we do home visits to visit children who havent been at the center for awhile and see where they are and how they are doing. kat asked me if i would be okay going to see a boy who comes to the center but gets abused...i agreed not knowing what i was getting myself into..we look the looooong hike to where this child lives, as children are following us and pointing and saying 'white' as there was 2 white girls and one malawian. oh yes, and asking for money :) they were lovely, you just want to hug them!  we then get to where this boy is, and im expecting him to walk out of the house, but then kat and the other lady walk to the side of the house, and there is this boy, against the wall, tied to a string, and this string is tied to a pole stuck into the ground. there are two bowls there for him to eat out of...(so..sorry to make this point, but it's like what you would do to a dog-- but worse). kat then tried to approach the child but the child yelled and screamed in what seemed like utter terror. this child is terrified. the parents do this as the child 'runs away'. as some of you know, i work with children with disabilities, and some of them in fact do run away, but doing this to them...you would never think of. so, this just killed me...but i also have to suck it up, and keep going. we are going to keep visiting this child every week and hopefully the child gets use to us, and then it'll be easier for the parents to take him to school. 

elections are tomorrow!! things are going to be interesting. everything is closed tomorrow so tomorrow should be fine, but come wednesday afternoon or thursday when the results are released thats when things could possibly get interesting, but we have a bigger god, who has his hand upon this election, and has a big plan bigger then we have for ourselves. so continue to pray!!

caio!

1st Saturday

Well, my first saturday has come and gone and it was good. we looked at prices for the safari, went out for lunch and dinner and it was nice just driving around seeing things. bought my shampoo! haha. had more icecream. had bits and pieces of orientation, and church tomorrow and moving day! i'll be moving in with the family i'll be staying with for the duration of my stay.
anyways, not much to say today, actually, i ate ethiopian food for dinner at a restaurant, and i apologize if anyone likes it..it wasn't my fav. but different!

caio!

I am Here!

Well folks,
I made it into malawi. and let me tell you, i will not be ready to board a plane anytime soon...thank goodness i am here 3 months! hahaha.

well, landing in heathrow was not fun. it was a very rough landing, one person's oxygen mask thing popped out it was so hard. london was okay, but i was sooo tired, and not feeling well i didn'e enjoy it as much. going from heathrow to nairobi was so much better! the flight was pretty empty so a lot of us had 3 seats to ourselves so we got to actually lay down and sleep-- which was needed!

today was my first day at the center, i was only there for maybe 2 hours. one little girl ran away from me cause i was white...but a half hour later, i was holding some little girls hand and laughing and found out later it was the same girl! :) too cute. hmm..what else...oh yes, i went to the hospital with the missionary to pay for someones stay that was there a week...the cost for that person to stay there a week PLUS medication came to approx. $25 dollars american. crazy isn't it!?

i met the mother of the family i will be staying with today and she was so nice! she gave me a huge hug when i saw her, gave me the tour of the house, and i will be greatly taken care of!

and i apoligize, this will not be edited, or properly written...so everyone is just going to have to deal! hahaha



anyways folks! i better get going. I'll update as much as possible!

TOMORROW!

Ah! this is going to be short as I am exhausted and have a BIG day tomorrow!

I leave in the evening, get to london late at night (well...late at night if I were in ottawa) but EARLY in the morning there time, and leaving london 13 and a half hours later. WOO! Long day, but it'll be nice to see more parts of London that I haven't seen!

Thank you everyone for praying, wishing me luck, and for those of you who came to the GoodBye party! Thank you!!

those of you who have skype... melaniebest1

And please, send me an email/facebook message, I would love to hear from people back home! And I know I'll need lots of encouragement as I'm going to get tired and grumpy! I'll be at the center all day monday-friday going to there youth/young adult group friday nights, and teaching sunday school sundays...busy busy busy!! love it!!

See you all in THREE MONTHS! (fyi..I still don't believe I'm going!)

love,
-mel

4 Days! :) Almost there!

Next Shoutout!

Katelyn and Melanie: my two dearest friends!!

I love you both!!

You two have been amazing. I couldn't ask for better friends, these two girls are the best you can get. They listen to you (when you are freaking) they can sit around and just watch a movie and find it fun, they support you when you decide you are going to AFRICA for THREE months! You both have been there for me through SO much stuff. The hard stuff when all I want to do is cry, when I need to vent, through the happy things when all I want to do is yell cause I am so excited! I am so thankful for both of you! xoxox

6 DAYS! My last Wednesday in CANADA till August!

2nd/3rd Shout out!!

Hoskin's and Fabian's!

Well well well! What can I say? Both your families are so close to my family and I count myself lucky to say that! Both the Hoskin's and Fabian's have been huge blessings not only to my parents but to myself. You have encouraged me, and lifted me up so many times, whether it's by the parents, or by your kids. My family loves both your families SO much, as do I! :) You guys are amazing!! Thank you for supporting me, and keeping my mom sane through this process, hahaha.

And Katie, Lauren, Scott and Jaydon...we'll go to a movie when I get back!

ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!

It's coming, it's coming, it's coming! AHHHH!

I am so excited!!

I am ready to go! I'm done work so now I am just waiting. For those that know me, you know I work A LOT! Now that I'm not working...ah, I am just sooo bored. I think I am driving myself crazy.

So I decided to do a few personalized shout outs to some people who I am going to miss dearly!!

The first shout out is to the Josh and Carrie and their little munchkins. You guys are going to do fabulous at your new church. Through the past few years you have both helped, pushed me, and been a huge support for me in my life. Josh, if you never brought us to Malawi 2 years ago, I would not be going today...so Thank you for that! Carrie, thank you for letting me vent and cry all those times! The trust, and respect I have for you is huge...I love you all! Give your kids a big hug and a kiss for me!!

SOME of the people I will miss! :)

There are many many more I will miss! I'll be making another collage soon of more people!

11 DAYS!

Lilongwe, Malawi Elev: 1,000m Long: 033°46'E Lat: 13°58'S

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