Day 4 & 5 (Tuesday & Wednesday)
written by the team combined
What busy, busy days!! Tuesday we came home completely exhausted, so after an early supper and a little more strategy planning we went to bed. Everyday we review what went well and what could be improved, as organizing hundreds of children is still a big challenge. Every day seems to be going a bit more smoothly, so we are thankful for that! We have decided that "divide and conquer" is the only strategy that works. We still sometimes have to rescue kids out of literal stampedes which we are working on. We have started singing more frequently to keep the children settled and have been teaching them psalter 290. We have been dependent on the assistance of the teachers, matron, and pastor. We truly could not do it with out them - especially the pastor has been a huge help!
Probably the children's favorite game is football (the three balls we brought are already getting worn). They also are loving the jump ropes, markers, coloring pictures (corresponding to the daily parable we are telling), and dodge balls we brought. Even stacking leftover plastic containers is a game that will attract a small crowd. We have also been helping the cooking mothers dish and hand out the daily lunch meal to the Timotheos children and of course trying the food - most of us are not too fond of it, to put it mildly . The staple of their diet is Nsima, a stiffly-thick corn-meal paste (filling, but not very nutritious). Along with a large portion of that, they get some cabbage and a bit of protein - either soya pieces, sardines like fish (we didn't try that), chicken, or beans. We were impressed with the efficiency of the cooking mothers in dishing so many meals. We noticed they even watch who is coming in line to subtly give more to the bigger or needier children.
At the end of our day at the center, we enjoyed visiting, singing with, and giving some gifts at the foster home in the Timotheos compound, where 19 orphans live (the ones who don't even have grandparents or others relatives to care for them). We also got to experience buying and chewing on sugar cane, something we see many Malawians do. It's tasty but very fibrous. This morning our driver, Peter, treated us with some delicious Macadamia nuts. These trees can be seen everywhere and are commonly exported.
With the children at the foster home in Mulinga… these ladies packed along some special items for the foster home children - looks like all enjoyed it! It is a special place! Below an audio clip of these children singing…
It's hard to believe we only have two more days left at the Mulinga center. Even though the work is tiring, we already feel we will miss the children, and hope we are making even a small difference for them! These few days have been very eye opening for us all because we have seen the amazing impact Timotheos has had on this village, and we see the extreme need for sponsors in this small part of the world.