What did you say?

Chisomo and Mike in an exam room

Well, I made the employees at Partners in Hope laugh a lot today. I brought my camera to prove to you all that we are not just on vacation here in Malawi. I was trying to get pictures of many of the staff, so over time you may see some pictures of the familiar faces at PIH.

Everyone was gracious when asked to take their picture--and then they would laugh when they saw the picture on the viewer of the camera. Most of our employees don't have cameras, so this is a bit unusual. But try as I might, many would not smile for the picture. Of course afterwards again, they were all smiles--so imagine some of the serious faces with big smiles.

We are so blessed by the staff at the clinic. The first two people we want you to meet are the most important to Mike and I--our interpreters, Chisomo (means grace) and Ivy. They allow us to communicate effectively with our patients and are very patient with us when we are using our Chichewa. They also are very knowledgeable about HIV since they have been working at the clinic for some time and often are our on-the-spot patient educators. Encouraging proper taking of medicine, explaining why someone needs to take Bactrim to prevent infection, explaining their CD4 results (a blood test to see how strong the immune system is), and much more. They also give us great insight into the cultural differences in Malawi as well. They are invaluable.

Ivy and Heather in Moyo clinic

Thankfulness

We have so much to be thankful for and we give thanks to God for:

10 years of marriage

Sam and Sydney

Our wonderful friends and family, We love you and miss you!

The Price is Right

So I thought some of you might be curious about the cost of living here in Malawi--
We have been extremely surprised at how expensive things are here. Especially when the majority of the population live on less than $2 per day. Take food for example, here are some of the prices

Gallon of Milk $7
Half-gallon ice cream $6
Box of Cereal $6
Loaf of bread $0.30
Bananas-15 $1.25
Pineapple $1
1 lb. hamburger $3

Jar of salsa $6

So how do the locals do it? They don't eat a western diet. They usually eat Nsima 2 times daily with a "relish" or ndiwo of greens and when able, small dried fish or meat. Not a lot of variety.

We have been thankful for grocery stores that are quite well stocked, like Shoprite (above pic). However, sometimes they run out of things, right now it's fatfree milk, and they don't have it for weeks or even months. When I ask when they will receive the next shipment, it's always, "come back Thursday." Well I've checked back the last 3 Thursdays, and no luck. But I'll have to try again this Thursday. It's a little annoying, but I certainly can't complain.

Bottom pic: Shopping for "curios-- wooden carvings, paintings, etc. outside the post office.