Day One Team Arrives in Mzuzu

After 30+ hours en route, we've finally arrived in Mzuzu. All eleven exhausted team members are happy and excited about our ten days together in Malawi. So far, the only snafu was that Bob Robinson's bags did not get off the plane. But this inconvenience has not dampened his spirit in the least.

We were me with open arms and hearts by our friends from Mzuzu: Gabriel Mosongole, CitiHope Country Director, and Rev. Copeland Nkatha, pastor of the UMC of Mzuzu and director of our HopeHomes program. They and their assistants seemed delighted to see us and made us all feel at home.

After the five hour drive from Lilongwe to Mzuzu (stopping to watch the golden sun set over the green hills), we enjoyed a fab dinner together at the new Indian restaurant in town before turning in. The men are staying in Mzuzu Lodge and women at the Katoto Guest House--our mission headquarters for the week (I'm in my familiar digs at the CitiHope Office guest room round the corner).

This is my fifth trip to Malawi since 2005. Its fun to sit here in the CitiHope office and see my daughter, Rachel, in many of the historic photos from that first 2005 mission trip. I look forward to bringing my whole family here during next year's annual mission trip.

Tomorrow we visit the Mzuzu Prison where over 100 men and women (and some children) need to be reminded that they are not forgotten by the world.

Let the River Flow: Why WorldHope Corps digs village wells

Sunday Sermon at the The Water's Edge in OB , San Diego, CA. "Woman at the Well" (John 4:7-15) When you think about the gospel story of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well, I’d like you to picture this Woman at a similar well in northern Malawi. Sitting and talking with Pastor Dennis Singini about water. Her name is Nyang'oma, which means "drum." Her Christian name is Mary Botha. She is 85 years old and lives in a village in the Kampenda area of Northern Malawi. She has cared for 11 children, two of whom have died. And her husband has died. When Dennis and I first met Mary in 2008, her village did not have a deep well or access to clean water. Nor did the six surrounding villages with over 1,500 people. Women and children had to drink with animals from shallow seasonal wells or walk about of 5km away to drink from the closest stream. Sometimes they would get sick and complain of stomach aches. Cholera and dysentery were widespread, and m...

Not Afraid of Death by Julia Esquivel

In reading your blog, Michael, I immediately think of these two poems is poem by Julia Esquivel, from Guatemala, whom I had the pleasure of meeting years ago. Un abrazo, Ada Maria I AM NOT AFRAID OF DEATH I am no longer afraid of death I know well Its dark and cold corridors Leading to life. I am afraid rather of that life Which does not come out of death, Which cramps our hands And slows our march. I am afraid of my fear And even more of the fear of others, Who do not know where they are going, Who continue clinging To what they think is life Which we know to be death! I live each day to kill death; I die each day to give birth to life, And in this death of death, I die a thousand times And am reborn another thousand Through that love From my People Which nourishes hope! THREATEN WITH RESURRECTION They have threatened us with Resurrection There is something here within us which doesn’t let us sleep, which doesn’t let us rest, which doesn’t stop the pounding deep inside. It is t...

Twelve New Wells in Malawi in 2012

New Well for Mayaka UMC sponsored by Church of the Resurrection Villagers in Zomba Mayaka wait their turn for clean water from COR well. WorldHope Corps, Inc. succeeded in drilling 12 new villages wells in 2012, including three for Church of the Resurrection in Leewood, KS; two for World Childrens Fund in San Jose, CA, one for Helen Ford in Ocean Grove, NJ; one for Pittman Presbyterian Church in NJ; and five for local sponsors in Malawi. From 2007-2011, WorldHope Corps drilled a total of 18 wells in northern Malawi by hiring borehole drillers from the southern Malawi. In April, 2012, we acquired our own well rig and equipment, hired our own crew, and learned how to drill wells ourselves. By the end of 2012, we had drilled 12 new wells for a total of 30 wells since 2007! Over 50,000 villages now can drink clean, fresh, safe water and not get sick from water borne diseases. For this we praise God! For 2013, we have 2 more boreholes to drill for Unite...

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