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Letters from Sarah

Dear friends & family,

We made it safe and sound to Malawi! The flights were wonderful – no time wasted waiting around on layovers, as we pretty much were able to walk off one plane and onto the next. We made it very smoothly through customs. Our few complaints were that Rob got a migraine and Sarah visited the restroom eleven times on the flight from Rome to Ethiopia. They are both feeling much better.

Please continue to pray for our health, as a handful of people have experienced some yucky side effects of the malaria medicine we are taking.


Dear friends and family:

We enjoyed a very warm welcome from Gabriel & Dennis from CitiHope in the Malawi airport at 12:30pm (6:30a at home), as they greeted us all with a bunch of colorful flowers. From there, they drove us to Ilala Lodge in Mzuzu, Malawi, arriving at 6:45pm, making our total travel time from Greensboro to Malawi 32 hours! A delicious three-course dinner was waiting for us at the lodge including mushroom soup, braided rolls, chicken, rice, potatoes, and fresh fruit. Our rooms were comfortable, so most of us got the good night’s rest we had prayed for.

This morning we met for breakfast at the CitiHope office – it was also delicious! It included bacon sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, apples, avocado, corn flakes, homemade French fries (fried potatoes), and scrambled eggs with coffee & juices.

After a briefing on recent CitiHope work and a review of our itineraries, the medical team will head up the plateau to Livingstonia, where they will stay until next Thursday. The local skills team will visit FOMCO orphanage, and the construction team will begin their work project—repairing one of the buildings where the orphans are fed.


Dear friends and family:

We are alive and well in Livingstonia! Life is very primitive and hard here-so the people are thankful for anything American we give them. Most homes do not have electricity or running water.

Jay watched 3 hysterectomies by a Dutch doctor on Friday (he would have watched 4, but almost passed out after #1). These surgeries are performed because of the uterine cancer rampant here from HPV. Today, he helped deliver a tiny baby! She only weighed 2 pounds. Karen has also been helping at the hospital.

Sarah and Pete have been traveling with 3 teenagers to churches and schools to teach about first aid and HIV/AIDS.

Thankfully, none of us have been sick since we arrived---keep praying please!

We miss you and hope you are well and healthy.

Love,

Sarah & Jay
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