February 28, 2004

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Malawi where we have arrived after about two months of traveling! As we descended into Lilongwe Airport and broke through the final layer of clouds, there was the Malawian countryside, shining like an emerald. It is a beautiful place full of gracious people. For me it is also good to remember the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of Africa. We are staying in the capital city of Lilongwe awaiting processing of paperwork for a medical orientation for me. We have been to Nkhoma, which will be our new home, and seen the hospital. A beautiful hundred-year-old house has been provided, with electric appliances alongside an old wood burning stove in the kitchen, and a “donkey,” which is a hot water system using an outside fireplace to heat the water. It is truly an interesting place.

The girls have been registered for school, but can't start until next week because a desk has to be built for each of them! Since Melia is in the fourth grade, they have decided that she must attend school in town five days a week, as opposed to two days of home schooling per week we had anticipated. This has been a concern, since the commute is at least an hour each way, and the road could be described as a cross between Swiss cheese (the potholes and ditches) and an Arnold Schwartzenegger movie (the “good” part of the road where the big trucks travel fast enough provoke serious accidents). Fortunately none of the children has ever been involved in an accident, but I would appreciate two or three persons who would commit themselves to praying daily for the safety of the children traveling to and from school.

Nkhoma Hospital is a busy place that serves as the referral hospital for many community health clinics. The staff is very enthusiastic and they are doing much work with little. They have an ultrasound and X-ray machines, for example, but almost no laboratory. I will be working in both inpatient and outpatient areas, as well as possibly with a project funded by UNICEF that provides medicines for pregnant women with AIDS that prevent infection of the baby as it is born. This will be culturally challenging, as many healthy people are reluctant to undergo HIV testing—the diagnosis has been a death sentence in Africa, and also has significant negative social consequences.

We are grateful to have arrived safely and are waiting for the next exciting obstacle! Thank you all for your prayers; we remain sure that the Lord has brought us here and grateful for what we may do to honor Him and serve those around us.

Barbara, Melia and Anna Nagy