Another Water Adventure

Our water is still out, not making it up into our tank, and therefore, not making it into our house. The builders of our summer hut need a good bit of water for the cement each day, so what little water we’ve had has gotten eaten up pretty well. Last night, Matt determined that we would need to go to the bore hole and get water for the next day. We would need to use the brothers’ truck, so we offered to get them water as well, and we needed water for drinking and cooking too. This big job called for us to borrow the school’s massive 1000 Liter container, so we called the boarding master and made sure it was okay for us to borrow it. “No problem,” he said.

Matt and I made plans to leave after our community meeting which we said would end at 9PM. Shortly after 9, we went over to the brothers, hopped in the truck, and headed over to the kitchen to load up the container. When we got there, however, we found that the container was half full, making it practically impossible to move!

We decided on a plan of action to go back home, grab all our big buckets, and then proceed to empty the massive container by dipping buckets into the top and pulling the buckets out like we would from a well. I found some rubber bungee cord in the truck and quickly mastered the skill of throwing the bucket down into the container and pulling a full bucket back up. After filling up a few large containers in the back of the truck, Matt asked if I needed a break, and I took him up on it. On Matt’s second attempt, I heard a plop followed by an “Oh, crap!” I looked at Matt and he sheepishly responded, “I let go of the cord, and so the bucket is stuck down there.” Okay, that’s understandable, I thought. I pulled a metal rod out of the truck and used it to fish for the bucket. I gave it back to Matt, and he went back to pulling up the water. About four buckets later I hear, “Shit!” as Matt starts to laugh. Before I even looked at him, I knew he had let go of the cord again. He was holding a flashlight in one of his hands, and when he threw the bucket down, he grabbed onto the small string hanging from the flashlight. Unfortunately, that string had nothing to do with the bucket, and our fetching pail was once again floating at the bottom of the huge container, well out of arm’s reach.

“You’re fired,” I nonchalantly told him.

I pulled the bucket back up, and finished emptying the container myself. I did find the humor in Matt’s mistakes, and we chuckled about it as I pulled up the last few buckets.

At some point during all of this, we saw the Headmaster walking over with is flashlight. The sound of the bucket hitting the water made a loud plop, so we figured he had heard the noise from his house and came over to investigate. He asked us what we were doing, we explained the story, and then he said “Okay,” walking away, probably thinking we were crazy Muzungus with some crazy idea.

After we got the water level down low enough, we decided to see if we could get the container into the back of the truck. With the help of the night watchmen, who did an excellent job of watching us two Muzungus make fools of our self throughout the process, we heaved the container up into the back of the truck. Alright, we were ready to go!

We saw the large lid to the container sitting on the ground, and, though we had never seen it used, we thought it wouldn’t hurt to put it on the lid. Matt hopped up into the truck bed, and I lifted the lid up to him. He tried unsuccessfully to put the lid on for a few minutes, and then all of a sudden, I heard the lid sliding and looked up in just enough time to see the massive lid fall into the giant container. Matt, myself, and the night watchmen all broke into hysterical laughing. Best of all, the top of the container was absolutely covered in dirt, so now the 50 liters or so of water in the bottom of the container were unfit for drinking. After composing ourselves, I hopped up and pulled the lid out. I tried to get it on myself, but found that the lid definitely did not fit anymore. I think the container had been used enough times that the shape didn’t match up with the lid anymore.

We were then on our way. But first, we had to dump out the dirty water that was now in the container and drop off the couple of buckets we had filled while emptying the large container. We headed back towards our house, taking our time, so as not to lose any of the precious water.

On the way, I noticed some large bugs crawling across the path. They looked like roaches, and there were at least twenty of them so I tried to steer the truck so as to hit them. Right as we drove over them, I heard all kinds of loud crunching and scrapping. My face fell flat in shock of the loudness of the bugs being crushed. I looked over to Matt, and he had the same look. How did those bugs make such a loud crunch? He then looked back, and said, “OOHHHH, that was the tree!” The container stood several feet above the cab, and coincidentally, the container crashed into the overhead branches of a tree, just as we drove over the crowd of roaches. Both of us were so amused by our mistaken thought, that we began laughing hysterically once again! So much so, that when we got back to the house and met Molly, we had tears coming out of our eyes as we continued to laughed. She asked us what was wrong, but it took us some time to compose ourselves enough to explain how what had just happened. We both legitimately thought for a few moments that the loud crashing of branches was the sound of roaches being crushed under the tires of our truck.

We then unloaded the water, dumping the dirty water from the container onto our banana trees. It was pretty cool to see so much water waterfall out of the container. We then made our way to the bore-hole. Everything there were as usual, so I’m move onto the next and final experience of our adventure.

We made it all the way home to the 300 meter long drive up a sandy hill that leads to Chaminade’s campus. As we started up the hill, I noticed the engine having some trouble. I was pushing the accelerator and seemed to be in the right gear, but the truck was struggling just to get up the hill. About half way up, we noticed the temperature gauge begin to climb. The engine was overheating! We both recalled Tuesday, when we went shopping with the brothers, and the filling station attendant told one of the brothers that the truck was low on engine coolant. We figured that he had forgotten to get it changed, and we were now overheating. I stopped, turned off the truck, and we decided to roll backwards down the hill to a flat spot where it would be easier to get the truck started again. I suggested that we take some of the water we just picked up and put in the engine, just to make it home.

After popping open the hood, finding the coolant tank, and getting some water ready to pour in, we prepared to open up the cap to the tank. Matt reached for the cap but before he got to it, I said, “Wait, we should get a rag or something so the steam doesn’t burn us.” We couldn’t find a rag, so Matt took off his shirt, and soaked it with water. With me standing a few feet away, Matt reached for the cap and gave it a small turn. He reached again, and turned it a little more. The third time he reached in, the cap suddenly burst off sending engine coolant spraying 15 feet into the air. Matt instantly began running up the hill. In shock, I stood there for a moment before realizing that I should run as well. We both ran about 30 feet away before turning back to see the engine still spraying coolant up into the air. It lasted at least 10-15 seconds. And both of us looked at each other with “Holy Shit!” looks. I asked Matt if he got burned, and he was fine. I was too was standing far enough away and didn’t get sprayed with anything. At that point, we decided to call the brothers and get them to come help us out. It was past 11PM, so we hadn’t wanted to wake him, but when the car your driving explodes, it’s usually a good idea to call the owner.

About 10-15 minutes later, the brothers come driving down the hill to our rescue. Brother Paul surveys the situation and has a good feel for what happened. He showed us how to pour the coolant in, which was a good thing, because had I done it, I would have poured too much of our cold water right into the engine. Bro. Paul showed us that you need to put small amounts of warm water in so that it has time to heat up before it gets into the engine. If you put a lot of cold water in all at once, the temperature difference between the water and the engine could be too great and cause some damage to the engine.

After filling up the coolant line with water, we closed up the hood and headed back to the house. It was midnight by the time I got into bed; so much for a quick run to the bore hole.

Alive Magazine

Alive Magazine is a Marianist publication that highlights the ministries of the Marianists throughout the world. The next issue will feature a few articles about the Chaminade Mission here in Karonga, and you might even get to see and read a little bit about me.

Jan Dixon, one of the writers for Alive, has been here for the past few days, interviewing away and trying to get a good feel for what this Mission is all about. For me, she probably didn’t come at the best time, because I’m still trying to figure out what the heck I’m doing here, but I’m interested to see what, if anything, from my interview with her she will use.

I’ll let you all know when it comes out. Don’t worry, Mom. She took down our address in Chicago and always has a copy or two sent to the home of the people she interviews. I think it’s supposed to come out in January, but don’t quote me on that.

Wanna’ Go Up To The Uranium Mine?

Yesterday started off as a typical Saturday. I slept in a little bit, woke up, leisurely made breakfast, and then found myself in the hammock at the end of our veranda to do some reading. Then our Jim, who works for the Uranium mining company nearby, showed up. We asked him what he was doing in our neck of the woods, and he responded by telling us that he had to bring some food up to the mine and had two extra seats in his car. He was wondering if any of us wanted to go for the ride.

It’s not everyday that you get asked to go to a Uranium mine, so I was all in! He’d be back in a few hours, and we had to dress in long sleeves, long pants, and laced-up, close-toed shoes. Sweet!

The drive up to the mine takes about 45 minutes to an hour from our house. The road is pretty rocky, very curvy, quite a climb, and treacherous at times. Jim informed us, however, that, even in the month or so that he has been here, the road has improved dramatically. Considering the fact that the Uranium will be coming out along this road in a few months when production starts, they will have to get it into pretty good shape.

When we arrived at the mine, we had to check in with security, put on some reflective safety vests, and pick up our visitors card. Jim warned us that there are a couple upper level executives at the mine who wouldn’t be too happy to see unnecessarily visitors checking out the mine, but he said that the fact that we were transporting food, a much needed and desired commodity at the mine, was a pretty good excuse for us to be there; if we didn’t bring the food, they wouldn’t have any.

Since we were only there to bring food to the dining hall, we didn’t have much of an excuse to be peaking around, and we were there for only a short time. Nonetheless, it was really cool to actually get inside the mine campus. We drove past the actual processing mine, which is still being constructed, and headed towards the living and dining quarters. It was a bit of a shock to see so many white people—definitely the highest concentration of white people in this region of Africa—and it was impressive to see all of the heavy machinery, fancy quad-cab pickups, and state-of-the-art living facilities. Approximately 350 people live on the site of the mine. Those 350 are mainly Australians and other non-Malawians who will be working in the mine after it is constructed. Another 1300 people are involved with the construction of the mine; this is where the majority of Malawians hired by the mining company come in. Unfortunately, in three months, when the construction is completed, most of the Malawians will be out of a job. There is no doubt that this temporary job is an incredible opportunity for those who were lucky enough to find a position, but in no way will this mine provide any long term improvements in employment for the Malawian people.

After dropping off the food, we made our way out of the mine, and then stopped at the Health Center in the shanty town outside of the mine. The shanty town is where the 1300 or so temporary workers are living, and the Health Center is Jim’s assignment. In order to save face, the mining company has to provide some kind of development for the local community, and Jim was hired to establish a functioning health center. The mining company could probably care less about how it’s done, but luckily, Jim and his wife Robin, have some awesome experience and seem to be going about the process in an incredibly sustainable and developmental way. From what Jim has told us, the mining company just wanted Jim and Robin to come in and start providing some services to the people who were there. Instead, Jim and Robin are looking into what kind of health services and workers are already in the area, and then they are using those services and workers to develop the health center. This means that even after Jim and Robin are gone, and even after the mine runs out of Uranium and disappears, the local community will still have a solid health center set up and developed to sustain itself after everyone else packs up. Jim and Robin are pretty awesome people and seem to be the good guys working inside a big-time company, which, obviously, is more interested in dollars than it is in development.

Though I didn’t see too much, I never thought I’d see a Uranium mine, even from the outside, so that’s pretty cool.

“Marking Week”

After exams finished last week, we had one week to finish marking our exams and enter our grades onto the report forms. The Malawians here like to have a “Marking Week” where all of the teachers meet in one of the classrooms each day for a week to work on grading their exams. The school promotes this “Marking Week,” and even provides some light beverages and lunch. To me, however, it seems like the most inefficient way to grade exams.

Not everyone shows up every day, or for the whole day (I only went three or four times for about an hour or two each time.), but it is usually a center for conversation. If you were to walk in, you’d usually find somebody looking up from their papers saying something, others will respond, sometimes the conversation is straightforward and informational, other times the discussion will turn into a lively debate with people standing up, raising their voices, and slamming the table as they make their points, all in friendly jest of course. It was a pretty fun way to get to know the other teachers better, and it actually made grading a lot more bearable. By no means was it efficient, but by no means do I think it is supposed to be. I think “Marking Week” is an excellent example of a major difference between African and American cultures. In the US, most everything is about efficiency. If you do something that takes more time than an alternative route, or costs more money than a different method, or uses more energy than another way, people will ask, “Why did you do it that way? This way works much better.” But here, even though the teachers are well aware of the fact that they’d get their grading done much more quickly if they each did the marking at home, or in separate places, and the school wouldn’t have to provide food or beverage for them, saving some of the extremely strained budget, the value here lies not in efficiency. The value here lies in the quality of relationship. They know that by spending the week together slowly grading papers one by one with regular interruptions of conversation will build and strengthen their friendship and bonds with one another; and it did.

"That is what praising God sounds like."

"That is what praising God sounds like."

~Molly Heineman in reference to the incredible jubilation of sound coming from MIRACLE's choir practicing just a few feet away from this computer lab. The sound hits my soul with such strength that my spirit is knocked out of this chair, sent soaring, and typing an email becomes the least of my interests.

Bricks, Water, and Sticks

Today was quite the day.

I woke up when I heard my community members unloading a pickup truck full of brick outside my bedroom window. I was supposed to be with them, but I had put my ear plugs in and failed to hear the poor attempts to wake me up. I was up now, and there was still much work to be done, so no one seemed to hold my extra 45 minutes of sleep against me.

We were gathering bricks to build a summer hut in our garden. A summer hut is the Africa equivalent of a gazebo, and they are a fairly common place for gathering to meet, discuss, or simply relax out of the sun for a bit. We needed 3000 bricks in all, and so we made numerous trips to a nearby village to pick up the bricks, which we were actually purchasing from Vicki, one of our cooks. We loaded each brick by hand into the back of a pickup truck and hauled the bricks back to our house where we unloaded them, and stacked them up. We made it through without too many injuries: one smashed and bloody finger on Molly, a gashed and swollen ankle on Emily, and all kinds of little shards of what seemed to be fiberglass in my still-all-too-American-sensitive hands; apparently, there is a tree right next to the brick pile we were pulling from that has leaves that drop the little fiberglass dust particles. We finished by lunchtime, and since we were still without water, we decided to make a trip to the bore-hole after lunch.

Matt, Molly, Sarah, and Emily all went to the bore-hole, while Kat and I took the school car to transport food to the hospital for the Headmaster’s daughter (she broke her arm earlier this week). Both trips returned around the same time, and so we spent a few more hours unloading the water from the giant 1000 L container, which we borrowed from the school.


Then, a few of us took on the task of debarking the Blue Gum branches that will provide the frame for the roof of our summer hut. The process of debarking them is grunting and tedious work, but I found a good bit of pleasure in it, and found satisfaction in the five big sticks I was able to debark.

Now, at the end of the day, we’re all worn out, sweaty, dirty, and exhausted. But at the same time, I think this day was one of the best days for our community thus far. All of these tiring and grueling jobs brought us together as a team in a way that we haven’t done yet; and I can already see how it has brought us closer together in spirit.

Who knew some bricks, water, and sticks could do just the trick?

Bringing Light In The Darkness

Last night was the farewell party at MIRACLE for Bro. Bill, the outgoing director and the welcome party for Br. Paul, the new director of MIRACLE. Unfortunately, shortly after the program started, the power went out, and since music and dancing was the primary means of entertainment, the planning committee, including Molly, became pretty nervous.

Incredibly, shortly after lighting the room with a few candles, various teachers and staff members stood up and starting singing songs of their own while dancing various traditional dances. Mr. Mhongo, the jolly deputy principle of MIRACLE, was first to take the center of the room, where he firmly and passionately sang a song of praise to God. Then Wanangwa, accompanied by the chorus of all those gathered, sang a song of farewell to Br. Bill in Tumbuka. Both songs were incredibly beautiful and touching, and I was filled with joy by the way these people were so willing to simply stand up and bring some bright and beautiful light to the darkened night.

The power came back on while we were eating dinner, and you can bet that much lively and spirited dancing of all types ensued. It was one sweaty night!

Obama!

I know for a fact that not everyone who reads this was pulling for Obama to win the election, but I do want to express the excitement I feel about his victory!

Last night, Matt, Molly, and I stayed up a little later than usual and watched CNN to get some preliminary information about the start of Election Day in the US. Because of the huge time difference, we couldn’t really get any information about any of the states before we went to bed, so we decided to get up at 4AM, and see who our new president would be.

Though I was pretty exhausted, the three of us got up to walk to the Headmaster’s office where there is a TV hooked up to a satellite dish. When we first arrived, things were looking promising for Obama, but nothing could be confirmed yet. Then, when the polls closed on the West Coast, CNN announced Obama as the winner, and the three of us rejoiced!

While I’m sure that Obama will not solve all the world’s problems, and I am confident that he will make some decisions that will not be good for everyone, for the first time in my life, I can honestly say I’m excited about the American president.

And being here in Africa puts a whole different perspective on things. Though many people may question Obama’s experience and ability to deal with the rest of the world, I have witnessed the immense optimism the world outside the US has for Obama. Furthermore, because of Obama’s unique background, he will be able to represent the United States to the rest of the world in a way that no president ever has in the history of the US. In our ever-increasingly globalized world, and from what I’ve witnessed in populations outside of the US, this is quite possibly the best step the American people could have made in electing a new president. I feel safe in saying the world would have been bitterly disappointed if Americans selected Obama’s rival, and I don’t think many advancements in foreign relations would have been made, or at least, people from this end wouldn’t have been very open to it.

I know my hope in Obama is rather audacious, but I am very excited to see where he will take the American people and the world. Here we go America; let’s see what is possible!

Dreams

Some of you may know that I have a dream book. My dream book is a journal in which I write down my dreams, whether they are something small and simple like my dream to make a hammock in the next few weeks or something grand and lifelong like my dream to make this world a better place. I believe dreams are incredibly important, and I don’t think we utilize them enough; I dream to change that in my life.

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I thought about my current state here in Malawi. As I describe a little bit in one of my previous blogs, I’ve been a bit discontent with things. One of those things is the zest that I find lacking in my life right now. Currently, I’m struggling to find things that really excite me here. In fact, the thing I get most excited about is when we have pizza for lunch; that’s sad. Last night, I started dreaming about how I could change that. I wrote in my dream journal, “I dream to live a life of passion. If I’m not passionate about my life, than what is the point?”

I’m now on a mission to find the things here that make me come alive. Because as Howard Thurman wrote, “…what the world needs most is people who have come alive!” I dream to come alive!

French Toast Over Fire

Yesterday morning, I decided to make some French toast. Since our cooks don’t come in on Sunday until the afternoon, we get to make our own meals for breakfast and lunch on Sundays. French toast has quickly become my favorite meal to prepare for Sunday morning breakfast.

I made all the preparations, and started cooking on our stove. Just as the first piece came to a delicious, golden-brown, our power went out. This is nothing out of the ordinary; in fact, it went out again last night for several hours. However, I had made enough batter for four French toast, and I was pretty excited about my now weekly tradition. Luckily, since the power does go out on a regular occasion, we have a ‘kitchen’ outside, where our cooks can cook over a small fire whenever the power goes out. This would be my first time cooking out there; I was kinda excited!

About ten minutes after going outside, my excitement had faded as I struggled to even get the small fire started. You would think with it being so hot here and with no rain in months that just about anything would light up in seconds. The rice grass I used as kindling was lighting up in seconds, but it would also go out in seconds. Finally, I realized that the flames were probably not getting enough oxygen, and once I started blowing on the ember-y grass, enough flames lit up to catch some small sticks on fire. I then brought in some bigger pieces to burn, and I soon had a nice, hot fire going. From there on, it was a piece of cake…or rather…a piece of French toast. The French toast cooked up in just a few minutes over the high heat, and I was enjoying a lovely breakfast in no time.

Everything Else Is Bonus

These days, it has become absolutely normal for the temperature to reach between 110 and 115 degrees. It might even get up to 120 or 125 for a short period during the hottest part of the day. Right now, it is 9:28AM, and it is already 90 degrees in my room. It is probably at least 5 to 10 degrees hotter outside, and so by noon, it’s safe to say that it’s going to be dang hot today.

On top of the heat, we’ve been without consistent running water for about three or four weeks now. On occasion, our outside hosepipe will get water, and when that happens, we fill up every bucket we have so that we can go a few more days without making a trip to the borehole, which takes at least an hour to two hours to fill up a majority of our buckets.

Surprisingly, life really isn’t that horrible with the intense heat and a shortage of water. So far, we’ve always had enough water to drink—we’ve just had to cut back on bathing, washing clothes, and watering the garden. Things do get a little stickier when the power goes out, but for the most part, you can usually find a shady place with some kind of breeze. The only time I actually get annoyed is during the night when you’re trying to sleep and there’s no power for a fan.

All in all, these experiences of heat, lack of water, and inconsistent electricity have really made me appreciate how comfortable and luxurious life is in the US. I’m beginning to realize that life consists of water, enough food, some kind of shelter, and relationships; everything else is bonus.

Christmas on Campus!

Two holidays in two days: this was great!

After our Halloween celebration on Friday, we woke up on Saturday to start our Christmas on Campus celebration, Malawi style. Christmas on Campus is a celebration at the University of Dayton during which UD students “adopt” children from inner-city Dayton to celebrate Christmas with them. When the volunteers arrived here last year, they wanted to carry this tradition to Chaminade.

Things are a little different here, so our Christmas on Campus celebration was focused on giving the students a day when they could relax, have fun, and enjoy time together in the family spirit that is what Christmas is all about.

We began the day at 9AM with our Kick-Off including an opening prayer, an explanation of the day, and a detail of the day’s events! We then directed all of the students as staff to the basketball court for a game between the two sections of the school. It proved to be an enjoyable game with lots of cheering and chants! Then, the staff prepared to face off with the students on the volleyball court. Though we narrowing lost the first game, we came back and won the second game. It came down to the third and final game to decide the winner, but unfortunately, the student’s stamina proved to be too much for us staff members, and the students came out on top.

We then broke for lunch, where everyone we back to their respective locations for lunch. This proved to be a nice break for us volunteers who were directing and coordinating all of the days activities. Then after lunch, the students hosted a variety show including acts with dancers, singers, rappers, actors, and even a fashion show!
The last activity before the evening was a football (soccer) match, highlighting the schools best football players. The game was a very close and exciting one finishing with a 4-4 tie!

Then the students had about an hour to rest up and clean up before the evening prayer service started in the chapel. This prayer service included much singing, several scripture readings, a very entertaining and enjoyable reenactment of the Birth of Christ, a powerful, profound, and pointed reflection by one of the brothers, and a very reverent candle-light procession to the dining hall.
Coincidentally, the power went out just as the Nativity play ended, so the candles proved to be entirely practically as well as symbolic. We gathered in the dining hall, and after a prayer over the food, all of us volunteers proceeded to serve a bountiful and delicious dinner to the students. The diet the boys typically eat isn’t that nourishing or flavorful, so this meal was an enormous treat for them. After the meal, each of the volunteers took a part in explaining the meaning of the day, the people who made it possible, and the hope we have in them. We then announced the various gifts for the school made possible by numerous donations including new sports equipment, new sports jerseys, a sound system, and new chalk boards located throughout campus. We tried to give a gift to each of the departments of the school: athletics, entertainment, and academics. As you can imagine, the students cheered, shouted, and celebrated upon the news of these fantastic gifts. Quite appropriately, we celebrated the end of the day with a disco (dance), and the boys danced the night away, only coming to an end when the sounds system had to be returned to MIRACLE.

Though Christmas on Campus here took a little bit of a different form than what I came to know at UD, I could visibly see the way that this day touched the hearts of many of these students. I could see in the smiles, laughter, and sincere moments of gratitude that they appreciate how gifted they are and how much of a gift this day was. I could sense that the small and simple gift of this day of familial celebration filled their hearts with the joy and love of Christ, and to me, that is what Christmas is all about.

With that, I would like to thank all of those who made these gifts possible, including my mom. My mom worked diligently to bring together a fantastic fundraiser which raised many of the fund that made the meals, gifts, and materials available for this day. Several other donors including Kat’s parents made this day possible. Thank all of you for the gift you have shared with these students.

I know it’s still a bit early, but Merry Christmas!