A Year in Africa!!!

My year in Africa ended one year ago. One year ago today I landed in Chicago with two pieces of luggage, really long hair, and many memories to hold dear.

First, an update on a few main things back in Malawi—

- The hall at Grace is finished and looks gorgeous! More and more kids keep coming. Ernest got married right after I left, so his wife is there to help as well.

- The Johnstons, my family in Malawi, are back in the States now. The church in Blantyre now has a national pastor. Please keep the mission in Malawi in your prayers.

- Simon and Amanda (headmaster and his wife) are leaving Sir Harry’s after this term to teach in Thailand.

I’ve been able to keep in touch with a few friends, which has been great. Thankful for the updates from them.

I’ve been asked many times in the past year what I like better- teaching in Malawi or tutoring (teacher/dorm supervisor) here at Luther Prep. There really is no way to compare the two… just so completely different.

So many blessings wherever the Lord puts you.

The past year was full of new experiences as well. What a blessing to be a part of a Christian high school! Teaching freshmen science, coaching tennis, plus being a dorm supervisor. That means a lot of counseling, disciplining, study halls, bed checks, doctor runs, airport runs, skits and obstacle courses, and sitting in the cafeteria. It also means not a lot of sleep. But completely worth it.  

However, there isn’t a single day that goes by in which I don’t think of Malawi. I realized a year ago that I left my heart in Africa, and it’s still there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so thankful for being here. And, as my sister kindly reminds me in many things in life, the grass is always greener on the other side. But there’s so much to remember…

I miss the fresh fruits and vegetables. I miss shopping in the market. PickNSave just isn’t the same, especially because you can’t barter in Watertown.

I miss taking pictures every day.

I miss all the walking, biking, hiking I did around the country. I miss riding in the back of a pickup truck. I even miss the adventures of the minibus.

The sun setting behind the Zomba Plateau.

I even miss the unpredictability of the electricity! Kept things interesting.

I miss going into the villages. Seeing people who have nothing by American standards, but are still smiling.

Greeting everyone who passes by. Laughing with the kids on the road. My kids at school.

I really miss my kids at Grace… Not knowing how they are doing. Which ones got malaria this year. Which ones will be able to go to secondary school next year. Which one really needs a hug today.

I miss the choirs at our churches. Church there, even though it was sometimes frustrating being the only girl. The missionary family still in Malawi.

Lots to remember, so much to be thankful for, so much to pray about.

Some things are still hard. Lots of things are, actually. When I came back, I didn’t have anytime to adjust or think about the changes because school started right away. Now that it’s summer, I’ve had time to sit and think. Not the easiest thing to do. It took me months before I could look at my thousands of pictures, let alone print some of them out. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I read bits of my blog. It does seem like a lifetime ago, a different life. But at the same time it was just yesterday.

I went to Walmart the other day, needing some laundry detergent. I started looking at all the different brands, smells, and prices, and got slightly overwhelmed. In Malawi I would go to Blantyre to get the one powder detergent they had. Now there’s a whole aisle of it staring back at me. So I stood there for literally ten minutes, walking back and forth, smelling, comparing prices, getting confused by the ones that are for special washers… and I ended up walking away without buying any.

I heard on the news that “the whole world is stopping this week to mourn the loss of Michael Jackson.” Really?? The whole world. The women in the villages that carry their water and firewood on their heads and their babies on their backs, they are pausing this week? The people without TVs, iPods, let alone shoes are heartbroken?

Please don’t think that I find myself better than anyone else though. I’ve enjoyed a couple sugar-free vanilla iced coffees from McDonalds this past year. I’ve gone to the outlet mall a few too many times. Because of what I saw last year, this probably makes me a lot worse than most… And I guess that’s a dilemma I find myself in…

I know that going back would never be the same. I know… but that still isn’t stopping me from praying for it. I cannot imagine NOT going back. I have one more year at Prep, and then we’ll see where the Lord takes me.  Good thing He’s in control!

And for now, I am enjoying seeing family and friends, traveling around the States this summer, and am really looking forward to having the kids come back to school. God is good…

Here are a couple websites I like…

http://www.shjzomba.com/grace

http://www.africycle.org/

http://makedesigncompany.com/rideforafricycle-redesign/

http://www.shjzomba.com/index.htm