March Fund-raising Jogathon

March started out cold but ended with a nice run in Pasadena as I was in LA for a week and a half. The total mileage for March is: 32.7 miles. Thanks for your sponsorship!

February's Fund-raising Jogs

Due to the cold and snowy weather as well as a severe cold (flu maybe), I only got in two runs for February for a total of 8.34 miles which translates to $8 and change.

Fund-raising etc.

As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I have been working on raising funds for our upcoming projects primarily through jogging but the weather has not been very cooperative. After a month of being sick and sick of the cold, I am attempting to return to my fund-raising jogs. I have a few sponsors who are sponsoring me per mile for every run that I complete on runs that are at least 3 miles. I managed to get in only two runs in February thanks to the polar vortex, bombogenesis, and a severe cold. But March will see a return in more runs and hopefully I can go back to the mileage I was posting before everything went downhill with the sickness and the weather. So if you would like to sponsor me, send me a message! Of course, if you would rather just donate without having to keep track of my miles, that is always welcome too. :)

So what am I raising funds for? I am working on two projects: 1) a medical mission trip to Nigeria, and 2) an educational program for Syrian refugee children. The medical mission trip to Nigeria is in partnership with a classmate who is organizing a group of medical professionals to head to Nigeria in June; these professionals will, in collaboration with a team of local professionals, provide medical services to some remote towns in the Anambra state of Nigeria. The people who live in these remote towns do not have access to regular medical services and as a result are experiencing a lot of loss. Any funds raised will go towards purchasing necessary medication, equipment, transportation, and lodging while the team is there for two weeks.

The second project is actually our first target project back as GCP. We have some paperwork to get out of the way but we will do what we can to move forward and get this project into gear. We will be creating a program to provide education for refugee children who currently have limited or no access to education as a result of being displaced. Our goal is to get things into motion this summer so that the program can be implemented this fall. We are also raising funds to get this project started. Funds raised will go towards filing of documents, program costs, and transportation for a team to travel to the areas where these displaced children and their families currently live.

So please prayerfully consider supporting us in either (or both) of these projects. And of course, prayers are always always needed. If you would like more information or have any questions, feel free to email me! Thanks!

Moving Forward in 2014

Global Community Partners has been quiet for a long time because I have been quiet for a long time. There has been a lot of thought and prayer regarding GCP and its future. BUT, it is time to move forward now. It has been decided, not quite by me, that we should move forward. So we are coming back. There is of course a lot of paperwork entailed in order to officially come back, so we will have to spend the next few months figuring out how to go about doing that.

I am also volunteering with a classmate to organize a medical mission trip to Nigeria this June, and if we are able to sort out all the paperwork for GCP, this will be our first partnership project, and certainly not the last one for this year. I am fund-raising for these projects so if you would like to make a donation, please contact me. I will post information about my fund-raising on a different blog post.

So pray for us and keep your fingers crossed for us! We'd love to come back full-force with renewed zeal and compassion for those children around the world who are suffering and the communities that could use some partners in improving the lives of their children.

Just to share

Wanted to share a video about some boys in Malawi. It's a 12-minute documentary about how these young Malawian boys hunt birds to sell. There's more information on the video if you follow the link as it's on Youtube. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/Sr0fBXMthwY

On a temporary hiatus

I thought it was appropriate to let everyone know, although I'm sure you've already noticed, that GCP is on a temporary hiatus. With my dissertation pending and personal life events, it has been difficult to keep GCP on track. I'd like to ask that you continue to pray for GCP and all of us who have had a part in it as well as all of our supporters. The future of GCP is uncertain and until we feel that there is a direction in which we can go, we can only remain here as we are--at a standstill. We'd like to move forward but there are practicalities that we must face. So thank you for your continued prayers and we hope that we can post some good news soon. In the meantime, I pray that all of you are well and keep well. And I hope that we can all be participants in improving communities, environments, and the world for the future of our children, even if it's not through GCP.

GCP Update: Happy Christmas!

I can't believe it is already almost the end of 2010. It seems that each year, as I watch the calendar, I still can't seem to believe my eyes when that "December" rolls around. Strange isn't it, how we seem to protest the passage of time? Or maybe it's just me.

In any event, I hope this update finds all of you well and happy for some time with family and friends. I know it has been a while since I've written an update but honestly, I haven't known what to write. Since my last update I've sort of plunged myself into other things - dissertation proposal, mainly - and also into wondering where GCP needs to go from here.

We are a different organization, and we are a very small start-up one. The very thing that makes us different makes it harder to get us off the ground. And thus, this difference has made me wonder if GCP can even become a useful team of people that brings its vision to others at a given point in time. I was hopeful, and sometimes I still am, but in the midst of trying to work on my dissertation and find an income, GCP has not had much attention from me.

So as I look back on a somewhat stalled year for GCP, I also look forward to a new year of changes perhaps, whatever those changes may be. And I thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement.

I also wanted to mention, as I didn't get a chance to update you on this, that Pastor Joseph, one of the pastors I met while on my trip to Malawi in 2008, passed away this September. This was very sad news as I absolutely enjoyed meeting him and listening to his stories. I marvel at the fact that although little time was spent with him, the impression he made was quite great. And it inspires me to want to be such a person, despite my shortcomings. Please pray for Reverend Phyllis Labrentz (the missionary with whom I stayed while doing the workshop at Kings Victory Academy), as she worked with him very closely as well as all those who are feeling his loss. Thanks.

Safe travels for those of you visiting family in different places. I will be spending Christmas in New York but will be in Southern California for New Year's. I wish you all a beautiful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

GCP News Update

It has been high time since there has been an update, so here goes! We had our regularly scheduled Board Meeting in April, and we are progressing on a new project in Malawi. We have some time before seeing how things will work out, but the beginnings look good! Please continue praying for us as we formulate this new project! We are working with someone in Malawi to bring this project up to speed -- something we're temporarily going to call Growing Malawi. It's our aim to facilitate a sustainable project that can be run by Malawians, not us. I will share the specifics in a subsequent update once we've got things more solidified!

On the technology side, we now have GCP email addresses for our staff and our Advisory Board President, Dr. Daniel Newman. All of our email links can be found on our website. For general information, email can be sent to: info@globalcommunitypartners.org.

We also have a page on Facebook -- just do a search for "Global Community Partners" and you will find it; please make sure you "Like" it if you support our work! :) And of course, we are also on Twitter, so follow us if you're on Twitter!

Our next scheduled Board Meeting will be in August and we hope to have more news for you in the near future regarding Growing Malawi. In the meantime, my classes are over and I have a dissertation proposal to work on! Happy summer!!

Still here, but thinking

It has been a while since I've posted, but I'm still around, as is GCP. Being that we are a start-up and are still trying to figure out things, it has been a difficult past year and a half since my return from Malawi. I'm also enrolled in a Ph.D. program and have been caught up with comprehensives and now, a dissertation proposal. My goal is to finish by the end of next year at the latest. And my other two staff members are also juggling work and different transitions.

So we are here, juggling things, and thinking about what direction we want to go with GCP that will align with our vision while enabling us to juggle the rest of our work. Honestly, I can't wait till I'm done with my Ph.D. There's just too much going on in my head -- more than I can handle sometimes. :D But it's all learning - learning experiences that I can put to use for future GCP projects, I know.

As we do our thinking, please support us with your praying. And we will be back with more. I promise.

GCP Update: Back on Track?

Just a short post to let you know that I'm still out here and trying to get back on track with things for GCP. School has been hectic and I'm positive I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my shoulders by way of my neck. Yup, my extended way of saying I feel like a chicken with its head cut off.

We have had some changes with our webhosting and so things should be better now; it was down for a little while. We also have a webmaster, Bashir Gemayel, who has so graciously volunteered his time and efforts to the design and maintenance of our website. So we welcome him to our team.

We had our regular Board Meeting in August to discuss some steps going forward. I am heading back to SoCal on Christmas Day for the winter holidays. I'm looking forward to that.

For those of you who participated in the Providing Change campaign for the soccer field at Kings Victory Academy, I have some good news! They have finally been able to get the land bulldozed in prep for a soccer field!! And of course, the $500 we raised contributed to that soccer field! So thank you very very much!! (Thanks Megan!)

I personally have started work on my dissertation proposal which is occupying a lot of my time. So much reading to do! For the moment it feels like GCP is a bit stalled but we'll have to just maintain status quo until we figure out what the next steps would be to move forward. God-willing I will be heading to Malawi next September to start my dissertation research and perhaps also begin the first stages of our next project.

In the meantime, I still would appreciate your prayers for doors to open for our next projects. And please continue to collect any loose change; all proceeds will continue to go to a specific need in a community in Malawi.

Thanks for all your support and prayers!

GCP Update: Global farms are fascinating!

Happy July! Hope you are enjoying your summers (or winters, for those of you who live in the southern hemisphere)!

Summer is here and I have taken some time off to do virtually nothing related to work or school, which was really nice but now, it's back to work. I did do something that has really gotten me excited about what lies ahead for GCP though: I visited a farm. It wasn't just any farm, but rather a global farm -- located in Fort Myers, Florida. The farm is a sort of "clearinghouse" for agricultural techniques as well as plants. It is a "global" farm because it gathers information for most tropical areas all over the world. Their focus is to assist poor communities around the world in finding affordable ways of growing their own food. Why is this so exciting for GCP? I think that it can contribute to what we want to do in Malawi because it addresses not only the primary mode of sustenance but also the poverty aspect. The farm is called ECHO and they also conduct workshops to learn more about specific crops and techniques addressing, for example, those communities impacted largely by HIV/AIDS. They are also able to provide assistance with seeds and various soil and farming issues. So it is definitely something we are going to incorporate into our work in Malawi. If you click on the title of this blog entry, it should lead you to some pictures we took while touring the farm.


If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about the ECHO Global Farms, let me know.

Other than that, I'm attempting to study for part 2 of my qualifying exams that take place at the end of this summer, and the rest of our staff members are having some adventures of their own.

Please pray for Sylvia who is actually in Africa (Guinea to be exact) on a mission trip with her church. Please pray for safety, health, and a time of learning for her.

Please pray for Jack who is in a time of transition. Please pray for guidance and for doors to open.

Please also pray for GCP and our "brewing" stage - although things are a bit quiet, we are working on some pieces that we hope will come together in the near future, so please pray for wisdom on our parts.

I apologize if this all sounds a bit disjointed. My brain must still be recovering from the spring semester and part 1 of my qualifying exams. :)

Have a great rest of the month!! And thanks for your continued interest and support.

GCP Update: Alive and Kicking

Sorry about the lack of an update since April. I really have been around, just absent from updating you on GCP. Since April my school life has practically taken over my life, and I am barely beginning to breathe again. I'm looking forward to a bit of time off in June to do absolutely nothing school-related before I hit the books again for my comprehensive (qualifying) exams that await me in late August. For those of you who are wondering what that is, we in the doctoral programs have to take qualifying exams in order to advance in our program; thus, if we fail them, we do not continue with our Ph.D. The exams in our department consist of oral and written exams. I just did the oral a couple of weeks ago and passed, praise God, and will be taking my written one about the 3rd week of August.

A lot of things have been simmering and brewing as far as GCP goes. This month I am planning to visit a farm - a global farm actually - called ECHO, located in southwest Florida. I am interested in seeing what they are all about. I have visited their website and it looks very interesting and presents some possibilities for our work in Malawi. In a nutshell, they specialize in agriculture tailored to the climate/soil of the place you're interested in. Agricultural techniques, seeds, and such are geared towards poorer countries and finding sustainable ways to cultivate produce as well as addressing some of the nutritional needs of the population such as those communities affected by HIV/AIDS.

Aside from that, and studying, I am exploring a couple of things which I will share with you as time progresses. I'm also beginning to mull over dissertation topics. So please pray for a successful and fruitful summer for me as well as of course that I pass my exams in August!

I hope to be able to share more exciting things as the year progresses. I've spent a bit of time talking with different people and am looking at a few avenues for GCP.

Thanks, as always, for your continued support and prayers! I hope that you are continuing to collect your spare change too!

Happy June!

"I Am Because We Are"

I just thought I'd alert you to this documentary (you can click on the title to go to the YouTube video). It is called "I Am Because We Are", written and narrated by Madonna. For some reason it passed me by last year when it came out, but it has now been released on YouTube so that people can watch it for free. I watched it and I think it is a great documentary. It is about Malawi and the HIV/AIDS issue that the country faces.

Please watch it when you have an hour and a half to spare (the running time is about 1 hour 26 mins). It's a lot less than what you would spend at the movies - including saving you some $ in your pocketbook; and you won't even have to leave the comfort of your own home if you're watching it on your computer at home! And to top it off, you will come away with some more understanding about Malawi. You will understand a bit more about the country we at GCP have chosen to work in. It certainly serves as a reminder for me as to why I am back in school and what I am working towards.

And by the way, Malawi is not the only country in Africa that faces the devastation of HIV/AIDS....

I'd be interested in what your thoughts are after watching this, if you'd like to share them with me.

GCP Monthly Update: Not much actually

I hope this update finds you well. It seems that the first of the month comes around too quickly for my head to perceive so I've resigned to just getting an update out within the first half of the month. Am I the only who feels like there's a zillion things going on and my organizer isn't keeping me organized? Probably not. Such is life, eh?

I had been thinking about this month's update and to be quite honest, nothing came to mind that seemed to be "update" worthy. With three major research papers due at the end of the semester and lots of reading to do in between, my "writing" mind has more or less been preoccupied with school and the things we are studying.

One of my classes this semester happens to be Organizational Theory. It's very interesting because I can apply the readings to GCP, and discussions in class bring up some examples of GCP; I am finding that it is good not simply for enhancing my studies but also because it will help build a better foundation for GCP. A foundation still needs to be set for GCP, despite our being incorporated for 2 years now, and I believe this class will help a lot as I share some of the readings and ideas with the Board and other staff.

So this update contains nothing real new other than a few reminders. I just want to remind you to keep collecting your change for our Providing Change campaign. Next month I will let you know if we have set a concrete date for collection. The other thing that is on-going is our GiveMeaning Project; please take a look and see what you feel led to do, even if it's simply to spread the word to other friends of yours who might be interested in contributing. The link is:
http://www.givemeaning.com/project/communitymalawi

Finally, we always welcome donations which are tax-deductible. For those of you who donated and did not receive a statement from us, please email me and let me know. I know it's tax time; forgive me for not being on top of all of that.

And as always, keep us in your prayers.

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day. May the evidence of a greater love than what little we possess move us to do greater things for the love of man, and utmostly for the love of God.

GCP Update: Look forward and look around!

This is from our January email update. Sorry for the tardiness!
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Happy New Year everyone!

I can't believe it's already the middle of January of another year! I just realized that I should be sending out another update in keeping with my one update a month. :) I just returned to New York after a truly restful vacation in Southern California. I slept - for the most part - and didn't do a whole lot, seemingly wanting to catch up on all the sleep I've missed over the past semester. And now I'm back in New York, back to work, and back to what winter really is out here. As I write, today's forecast is 19F for the high, and 6F for the low. It snowed about 4 inches I must say, between last night and this afternoon. This is all a drastic change for me considering my last full day in Southern California was spent being really hot (high 70s) and me wearing no socks while lamenting the lack of summer clothes in my stash at home. Yup; I'm definitely back in cold weather.

Well, it's hard to believe that Christmas was less than a month ago. And Christmas time was filled with joy and reflection as well as giving and receiving. But now it's 2009, and what does this new year bring? The last sermon of 2008 that I heard was called "Don't Stop", and the mention of letting go of past failures and successes really struck me. We've all been there - looking back at the year and what we had done; some things we might not want to recall while other things we want to re-live over and over again, cherishing each moment. And in cherishing all the successes and happy moments, I forget to live in the present or find myself setting up a standard for this year by what occurred last year. Not good, I think, because it can limit the attitude in which I experience things in the coming year. So I want to let it all go. I am thankful for what God has brought me through in the past year; but I know so much more awaits me this year. I look forward to more adventures, more closeness with Him, more closeness with the people I love, and just more experiences that make me cherish what life I've been given. I don't want to stop - stop growing, stop experiencing, stop learning, stop seeing, stop talking, stop praying, stop reading, and stop living. I also don't want to stop looking around me. Life is not lived in isolation, and it is not really every man for himself, or every woman for herself. And I hope GCP is one of those methods of "looking around", not just for me but for all of you as well.

As I look forward to this year and what work GCP is looking to do, the first thing admittedly I think about is "IFs": IF I am able to, I would like to go back to Malawi this summer; IF there is something we can do in a couple of weeks, we should look into it; IF the funds are available, I can figure something out for this summer. And in these IFs, I forget that I am not doing this by my strength alone. At our last Board meeting in December, Pastor Newman said we should plan on God providing; and how quickly I have forgotten who really does provide ALL the time, in HIS good time.

So in this update I simply want to ask for your prayers as we look forward to another year of GCP. And I hope that this year brings much excitement and many many blessings for all of you and your families. I look forward to being able to share more things with you and partnering in more projects. I am truly thankful for all of you!

GCP Montly Update: Joy oh joy!

As we find ourselves rushing towards the end of another year, I can't believe that the support that I have found in you. I am thankful. Christmas time is always one of reflection for me - and this year is no different, albeit I'll be reflecting in bits and pieces because of my schedule. For some reason I feel that I've misplaced a whole week of my life and now I'm spending some time running to catch up. Ever feel that way? It's the weirdest feeling ever. But, the calendar says December now and I don't have the wherewithall to figure out what happened to one week in November.

Christmas time is equated with shopping, mostly in this country generally because we shop for Christmas gifts and as consumers, what is Christmas without consumption? But seriously, I think the joy is in delighting people you care about. It makes me think about how God felt in giving us His son on Christmas day. If I delight so much in thinking about gifts for those that I love, how much more did God delight in creating this blessed gift for us through Christ? I've also learned that it's not just about giving, but it's about being a gracious receiver; and boy have I received a lot this year - particularly in the last few weeks! And I am humbled at just how much I've been given.

This year has certainly had its ups and downs, but I am amazed at how through it all, there has been one constant in my life and that is God and His faithfulness to what He has started in me. And with those ups and downs, there has been a certain joy -- a deeper joy that really cannot be shaken. This is not just simply a kind of happiness, but to me, it's more of a peace and steadfast reassurance that the sun will shine once again no matter what is going on or where I find myself. I'm sure there are those who face Christmas with a certain sadness, or stress, not just delight. Wherever you are, or whoever you are with or not with, I am praying that the joy of Christ will touch every one of you.

Just a few things I'd like to share with you:

1. There will be a Board Meeting on December 28th at L.A. Ye-Bon Church, at 4 p.m.
2. Many months ago, you voted for our proposal on the GiveMeaning.com website; the proposal has finally been activated into a project, so feel free to sign in and donate as well as spread the word about this project. The link to the project is here: http://www.givemeaning.com/project/communitymalawi
3. We are trying to figure out where to head next with our Malawi project, still connected to the community at King's Victory Academy so pray for us!
4. Our "Providing Change" campaign will still continue - so keep collecting all those coins and spare change that you end up finding under the couch cushions and weighing down your pockets. We are still working toward that soccer field for King's Victory Academy.
5. Eun-sil will be having a heck of a time tying together loose ends administratively for this year, so please pray that she can get her head together after her last final and paper (on December 23rd!).


Thanks again, for all your prayers, your donations, your partnership with me, and your encouragement throughout the year. I couldn't be here without all of you. May God bless your Christmas holidays and may He fill your hearts with joy and happiness, just as He has filled mine.

Happy Christmas!

GCP Montly Update: Transformations

I can't believe it's already November! I hope all of you who are eligible to vote in the United States are going out and voting. It's important! Ok. That's about as political as I can get in my capacity as a GCP person, according to the rules. Heh heh.

But seriously, as I think about the changes the U.S. faces, I contemplate what changes we so passionately believe in. What do you believe in? What changes do I believe in? I think about where we have come in the 2+ years I've begun my nonprofit (well, officially 2 years will be in January, but the seeds and efforts were sown about 6 months prior to that). We haven't exploded in growth or project-wise but to be honest, I never expected to be at this point really - having gone to Malawi, returned with many new ideas, connections, and finding direction in research that is somehow connected. And as the months go by, I find myself more and more passionate about social change, especially after having returned from Malawi. In some ways, Malawi seems like a distant memory as my days get filled up with papers, readings for class, and various administrative odds and ends that encompass my life here. But I can never forget the impressions left in my mind and heart during my visit to Africa. Conditions of life, the social welfare --or what we call the well-being--of people really depends on how we as a collective decide to actively participate, or just let the status quo be acceptable. And I am moved to find something to change, even if it is just myself and how I interact with my community and my world. I think of the quote by Gandhi that usually accompanies the end of my emails, "Be the change you wish to see in the world"; if I want to see change in the world, that change must begin with me. We've also often heard that quote that praying changes the pray-er. Transformation, or change, is a part of life - a natural part of life; and yet we sometimes want to just keep the same things, maintain the status quo, and not rock the boat. Isn't there a saying about how water that remains still turns bad (gosh that sounds like such a bad paraphrase of something so profound--sorry!!)? Paulo Freire -- a famous Brazilian educator -- talked about transformation of oppression from the bottom-up. And of course the Bible talks about transformation too. Ultimately, all of these lead me to believe that transformation is something worthy to be achieved, as is activity towards something worth attaining.

So I'd like to ask for your prayers and your support as we here at GCP turn our minds and efforts towards looking for some way to provide that sort of change beginning with one community in Malawi, and spreading that transformation to other communities. We are continuing our Providing Change campaign. I believe I already shared with you in a recent update that we were able to give $500 to the beginnings of a soccer field at a local high school (King's Victory Academy) in Blantyre, Malawi. But that is not enough, due to the cost of renting a bulldozer and the fact that the school is so far in from the main road. So keep collecting your spare change - pennies, nickels, dimes, we'll take 'em all! You have a lot of time now since I won't be going to Malawi until possibly next June, God-willing. For those of you in the Southern California area wanting to get the change off your hands sooner, I'll be in L.A. for the holidays so let me know!

Additionally, though it's been some time since we were collecting votes for our GiveMeaning proposal, it has not died. It has actually been going through some query paper-work and I've had to email back and forth with them in regards to this query form (which I had to send after I returned from Malawi due to the painfully slow internet there). It now looks like that will be cleared in order to begin the actual "project" phase, so I will send out more information on that when I find out. For those of you who are a bit puzzled because you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't worry; everything will come together when everything is finalized with GiveMeaning.org - a fundraising website. If you're curious, feel free to ask me!

And of course we are discussing and planning our continued project work in Malawi for next year. So please pray for wisdom and vision for us. And with that, let me just leave you with one more reminder of transformation - this is truly beautiful, and something other than my studies that helps me enjoy the fact that I'm here. This is from a retreat I just went to not long ago in upstate New York where fall was in full effect. Enjoy!!

GCP Update: Autumn Changes

Autumn has come to Long Island again, although sometimes the weather doesn't really feel like autumn as it goes up and down between chilly and warm. It contributes to the likelihood of people getting sick, such as myself. I cannot believe that it has been over a year since I've moved here, and we are now on another cycle of seasons. With all the changes of season and of time, it feels like there should be more changes with GCP.

Much has been happening around me, and with all the things I've experienced over the summer, I feel like I have to have a great update for all of you. But the truth is, I think this is simmering time. Aside from being sick, I spent the last month trying to adjust back to life in abundance and with distractions. I've also been trying to adjust to classes, and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it) have had 2 weeks off of classes in the middle due to Jewish holidays, which really did not help as far as motivating me to get back into the routine of classes....

I think the changes that are happening, while not visible on the surface, are very evident in the inner workings of my life. God has brought me to a point of total surrender and humility before Him while reminding me of what makes me passionate about life and about my studies and how that intertwines with the work I do with GCP. It is not easy to realize that sometimes I lose sight of what is most important in life, but it is a truly humbling realization. I am trying to absorb all of the summer experiences into my life here and attempting to reconcile them with plans for our next steps. And it is overwhelming.

It is so easy to find things to jump into in Malawi - so many visible areas of need. But, these are only surface issues. The root cause is hardly addressed. We recently had a Board meeting, and in my report I stated that it is easy to fall into automatically working with the "desirable" populations, and doing what we think is the "right" thing to do or what is "needed". Many of the organizations there target certain people and have certain agendas; but the real test is actually living up to our vision and our desire for sustainable efforts that the communities we work with can take ownership of and continue after we are long gone, which ultimately means that we have no real agenda and we dialogue with the communities we build relationships with - one of which will be the community surrounding Kings Victory Academy (the high school I was at this past summer). I've shared before that there are many organizations who want to do work in that tiny country of Malawi - and are doing great work; but there must be something missing because the country is not much different from the one I left 21 years ago. In fact, I can venture to say that some things are worse, which is heart-breaking for me. But beyond that discouraging thought, there is more hope and an ardent desire to return to this country of mine, with endearing and warm people, and with less distractions than what we have here. And did I tell you about the utter joy these people have? I saw more joy expressed in a handful of people at morning chapel before school there than I have seen in a whole congregation at church here. It really made me wonder about my source of joy and how we express it.

As I get myself on track with school and with life here, I am also excited to be looking towards my dissertation because I am all the more determined to do something related to issues I've seen in southern Africa - specifically Malawi. I just hope that while I plan for those things, I can still get on track with things here on Long Island.

I appreciate your continued prayers for our organization and the work that we are contemplating over the next year. And if you have any questions, any comments, feel free to email me.

Back-tracking: A Reflection From Malawi

I had tried to post this blog entry in Malawi but failed....so I'm posting it here and now as a sort of retrospective introspection. :)

I am in Malawi—have been here for 5 days—and am currently in the city of Lilongwe which is the capital of Malawi. I have done some driving around—2.5 hours to the east to the lake (to a place called Salima), and 1 hour to the south to a place called Dedza. Much has changed in the city to where I have some difficulty recognizing where I am. And on the roadside, I can see what conditions people live in. I was able to see some of the villages from the road—the water pumps, the roadside shacks, the make-shift storefronts, the goods all piled neatly for sale right on the side of the road, and the bus-stops bustling with activity. I also saw a lot of “telephone bureaus” and little red stands labeled “CelTel”—these are places you can purchase airtime for your cell phone. A sign of the times? Or a time of the signs? I am not sure which it is for right now. I am amazed that there are people who can purchase airtime for their cell-phones but do not have enough money to survive for the next couple of days. But maybe that’s something I need to ask someone here; how does that work?

I had a conversation with one of the young people here—a 26 year-old. He was working part-time at the hotel at the lake. It was an interesting conversation but sometimes I wonder how much of it is to the tune of foreigners and how much of it is really what they think. Not that I doubt his honesty but I’m wondering how automatized language is to people who have been used to a certain way of life. I had to dig a little before I actually got any answers to what his thoughts were on NGOs. Here's his picture:


I am overwhelmed at what I see here. I am overwhelmed at the number of NGOs and joint-projects, initiatives, and whatnots that seems to be everywhere in this tiny country. I ask myself what can possibly be done that has not been done in the last quarter of a century, and actually succeed in distributing a long-lasting better quality of life for people who are struggling to survive....In light of all that, I try not to complain that my malaria meds (or something else) seem to be giving me all sorts of side effects; I have been saddled with a rash on my neck for almost a week now, and it does not appear to want to go away. . . .

GCP Update: Back from Malawi and Adjusting

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and your financial support!! They got me through what was an eventful time in Africa. I'm sorry it has taken me a while to get this update out, but I wanted to get all the pictures uploaded to an album and such as well so I could provide a link to the pictures with the update. I'm adjusting slowly to my life back in the U.S., even though I've been back for almost 2 weeks now. It was weird as I felt like a stranger in my own home and kept going to my suitcase for things because I had no idea where to find what I needed otherwise! Talk about disoriented! :) I guess that's what living out of a suitcase for 6 weeks does to me. So I unpacked and put away my suitcase in more of a hurry than I usually do, but I'm still at a loss for where to find certain things. It still is somewhat strange to be back in my own quiet apartment, with no one around, no animals around, and the lights only going out because I turned it off.

So let me begin by giving you some details of what I did after I sent you my last update, especially concerning the high school I was at. And then I'll share with you some thoughts.First of all, tracking down a bulldozer for the soccer field just was not possible; I just made some phone calls and talked to some people but all in all I just gave the missionary the $500 we had raised through our Providing Change campaign as a start. And I also gave them some numbers I had tracked down. I think I would need more time in Malawi to actually help them with this project as there is so much going on already; the issue is just time, and of course, money.

Second, I had gone with 2 workshops in mind - both only to last about an hour each. So my plan was to do one workshop one afternoon when I got there and then the 2nd one on another afternoon some time after I had gotten to know the teachers a bit. Well, you can imagine my surprise when the principal made an announcement to the entire school that classes would get out at 3 (as opposed to 3:20) for the entire week so that the teachers can attend "seminars". But rather than tell the principal that wasn't what I intended, I decided that I would go with his plan. I had brought some supporting materials for my workshop so I could just stretch it out, I thought. I managed to do it, with some bits of panicking the night before, but all in all I was so encouraged by the teachers' enthusiasm and participation that I wish I could have been there longer and had more material for them. We also made out certificates for them at the end because the missionary said that they (the teachers) would really enjoy that. So I made them, and they did indeed enjoy them immensely - almost as much as the snacks I brought to each workshop.

I had another surprise for me. I was asked to do a sort of group counseling type talk with the students - all 250 or so of them..... So for a few days, we broke it up by gender and by grade, and I tried to talk to these students about some basics of social support and feelings and things like that, feeling like it was such a pointless activity. But nonetheless I did it. And it turned out not to be so bad after all. :)

Other than that, I did a lot of observations of what the cities were like since I had not been there in over 20 years, and tried to talk to people about their lives there and also what they thought of the NGOs and what the government was doing as well as what they saw as glaring needs that just weren't being addressed. Of course I made my own observations, filtering Malawi through adult eyes now, and reliving my childhood as well. It was bittersweet at times, but after a few days of frustration, I knew I was where I needed to be for those weeks. And it surely did my heart good to be back home for a while, even if home had become somewhat different over the years.

I would have never thought, however, that I could get so frustrated with the frequent blackouts, lack of internet, and sometimes lack of running water (as well as lack of running hot water, or having to wait a couple of hours for the water to heat). For a few days I felt like a prisoner as I wasn't even allowed to walk around too much; I was told it was not that safe. I began to get restless and frustrated. My malaria medicine was giving me rashes and making me nauseated. I was overwhelmed by what I saw. And when I finally felt like I could be somehow connected back to the rest of the world through internet, blackouts would cut it off or the excruciatingly slow internet service would make me growl; one day I literally was on the verge of tears - being so frustrated I wanted to scream. I remember going back to the missionary's house and just staring at her wondering how on earth she did it. As I thought to the week ahead I told God I wasn't sure I could do this, let alone figure out how to come back to Malawi to live for 6 months doing research!! But then a few days later I realized that that was my human self speaking - the part of me that had taken so many things for granted living here in the U.S. with all the conveniences and the technology, and the part of me that lived with so many distractions that I so easily forgot what it meant to truly rely on God. I was pointed in the direction of seeing beyond that, and what I saw beyond that turned everything around. I saw the people who lived there: the teachers I worked with, the students who attended the school, the young people I'd talk to, and I saw their rejoicing hearts. When the students would sing at chapel, it was so spine-tinglingly amazing. I imagine this is a taste of what it would be like to hear truly angelic and pure voices praising God all day and night. And I wondered why we who have so much could not express that type of joy and happiness when we sang our praise songs and hymns at church.... But more than that, I saw why I wanted to be there; it was not because there's so much that I can do but rather because there is so much that I can learn.

So even with my moments of frustration, leaving was one of the hardest things to do. I was reluctant to leave behind people who had endeared themselves to me during my stay, and some who had become like family. My adventures and funny escapades simply added to the richness of my experience back in my homeland. And I knew I wanted to come back, without question. I refused to say goodbye, but rather said, I'll see you again - God-willing. And of course we do plan to go back because Malawi is the location for our first community work.

So please be in prayer for us as we begin to look at how to expand our work there. We will continue to maintain our relationship with Kings Victory Academy; I think this was just the beginning of a long-term relationship with them. We are still continuing our "Providing Change" campaign, so please continue to collect your coins. There seems to have been a misunderstanding as to how much it will actually cost to make the field. And I believe the total figure will be elusive for now because of the elusiveness of a bulldozer for leveling the field. But I will keep you updated.

Here is the link to my pictures from Malawi:

GCP Malawi Slide Show

Feel free to make your comments on them. If you have questions feel free to ask me. I will update the blog with more specific info on Kings Victory Academy as well, so you can check that out at a later date. So I hope you're just as excited as I am to see what we can do next!