April 6, 2005

Embangweni #26

Dear Friends and Family,

We have just received an email from a friend telling us that it has been two months since our last newsletter. We were surprised! How did the time slip by? Rest assured that we are well and enjoying our life here.

The time is drawing near now when we will be thinking about leaving this beautiful place. We are trying so hard to turn over all that we do in our work to Malawians before we leave. At the present time, we hope to have the new Integrated Preventive Health Center building well under way before we leave, although the funding is still short for completion. The plans are re-drawn, new bids will soon be solicited and we hope to soon break ground. Mr. Zgambo has supervised the building of many structures here, and we feel confident in his ability to complete this one.

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people back in Virginia in raising funds for the Anti-Retro Viral Trust Fund. We are expanding our small AIDS drug program because of this, even though we still do not have the government funding. We feel that we will be able to sustain the supply of these medications for some time now. It has been so difficult to prepare patients to begin the program and then have them wait until we receive the free drugs from the government. The bulk of our hospital patients are here with HIV-related illness, and we want to begin this life-saving treatment. All of the hospitals in Malawi are feeling this frustration as they wait for the drugs or struggle with not enough drugs. Ours were initially for employees, but with this new funding, we feel that we can begin some of our sickest patients.

Mr. Junior Nyirongo, our designated person for replacing Bill in his computer maintenance work, is in training in Lilongwe and in frequent contact with Bill. He came home to Embangweni on Easter break and busily fixed several computers and printers. One of the printers has been an enigma to Bill for some time. Imagine our pleasure at finding that Junior could fix it so quickly. This is indeed encouraging.

We have had some wonderful news from our youngest daughter, Karen, that she is expecting our first grandchild in early October in New Hampshire. She and her husband Bill are sharing the excitement of this pregnancy as best they can through email, but Beth is having a hard time being so far away. Our current plan is for Beth to come back to the States in September and for Bill to follow in November. So this makes our time here even shorter.

We were blessed again for the third time to experience an Embangweni Easter. This year the carolers arrived at our house at about 4:30 a.m. They had been singing for two hours already—stopping at each house on the station,which includes all hospital staff, primary school, secondary school, and deaf school staff. They had been at prayer during the night at the church and then again after the caroling at a prayer service at 5:00 a.m. The group included men, women, and quite a few children some of whom were quite small. Such joy! Hallelujah, He is risen! We attended the English Communion service at 7:00 a.m. and enjoyed the special Malawian music with our musician pastor, the Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango. We will indeed miss this music.

Although we seem quite busy, we are not stressed, as the lifestyle here does not promote stress. The following description of the pace of life was written about a month ago and we thought you might get a picture of how things are from it.

Blessings to you all and please keep the e-mails coming. We do enjoy them so much.

Bill and Beth

No stress. Why worry?

Mornings are beautiful at Embangweni. We wake up to the sound of our rooster crowing and trying to be more convincing than our neighbor’s rooster who sits on our fence.

The air is always cool early—no pollution. School children run past our house laughing and talking in their blue and white uniforms carrying handmade book bags and small brooms for sweeping their classrooms. Mr. Jere at the primary school runs a tight ship, and the children are expected to be there at 6:30 a.m. to clean the classroom and be at chapel at 6:45.

We have a five-minute walk through tree-shaded “Central Park” to the walled hospital compound. The guard at the gate greets us with the morning greeting of “mwauka uli?” or “How did you wake up?” People are meandering to chapel, to morning report, to wards, chatting and laughing. The covered walkways between the hospital buildings are busy with staff and patient guardians carrying bundles of freshly prepared cassava or porridge with tea to their patients for breakfast.

There is no one rushing. Life is slow. Greeting each individual is important. Our ward maid, Pacharo Mumba, mops the AIDS clinic floors while singing hymns in Chitumbuka. Everything happens by “Malawi time,” which means that a 9:00 a.m. meeting may begin at 10:00 or 11:00 or may not happen at all. Chickens, guinea hens, and even sometimes goats wander the compound and occasionally enter the wards or clinics. Did we say life is slow?

Our American way of planning ahead, being punctual, making lists, and trying to get everything done is completely foreign here. Only our administrator and medical director seem to display just a bit of that compulsive behavior. My colleagues look at me quizzically when I talk of making a plan or of giving patients appointments. They tell me “You don't really expect this patient to come at 2:00 or even by 3:00, or even on that day!”

But somehow, the work gets done, the patients are seen and treated and eventually the necessary meetings do occur. Needless to say, work stress levels are low and burnout is a term rarely heard.

Now, Bill’s job is a bit different. People come looking for him at all hours (at work or at home—on duty or off) because some piece of equipment is broken or some meeting was scheduled, starts now, and he had not been told. He is always following up on small emergencies and rarely can plan his work. But Bill is a child of Africa and manages quite well with understanding and humor.

We feel blessed to be accepted so graciously in the life here with our “American ways.”

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 337