Family Reunion

Yesterday we traveled from Lilongwe to Zomba. We were on the road for many hours. When we pulled into Annie’s Lodge, my heart was at peace, for I knew we were “home”. We were greeted by all our friends here and it was a wonderful ‘family reunion’. Annie and Limbani came to welcome us, too. It was so wonderful to see both of them. They are most gracious hosts and beloved friends. We unpacked and settled in for a long stay. Our whole group ate dinner together at one big table and recounted our time in Malawi thus far. We were then treated with a nice chocolate cake for dessert, which was a pleasant surprise indeed! (We usually don't get treats of that nature here).

This morning, Patti (my friend, colleague and roommate) woke up and said, “It feels like Christmas!” We both giggled, because I knew exactly what she meant. We would get to see all of our children and all our teacher friends at the schools today. It was a big day, one that each person on this trip will remember for the rest of their lives. We truly did feel like kids on Christmas morning. 

Before going to school, I went down the hill to eat breakfast. As I was leaving, I saw someone peeking through a window at me. It was my precious and dear friend Tennyson who has taken such good care of me here all of these years. I was so happy to see him that I cried. Tennyson is such a hard worker. He leaves his home before sunrise in the mornings and walks for miles to get here. He is the kindest, gentlest, most gracious and fine soul I have nearly ever known. Selfless as selfless could ever be, he never asks for anything. He just wants those around him to be happy. He completes the work he does with joy and his joy and gracious spirit shines through and permeates everyone’s hearts. He is one of a kind in this world!

I also saw Alice, who also works here. She has ‘moved up’ in her job ranking here and is doing quite well. I love to see my friends prospering. She wants to see pictures of my husband (everyone is happy that I'm now married.  I think they've been a little worried about that all of these years).

At the schools, we were greeted by literally thousands of smiling children who wanted to each say hello and shake our hands. It is difficult to describe the feeling I get when I’m around them. It was also wonderful to see all of my teacher friends, such as Gift, Innocent, Esther, and Ms. Pikera.

After our school visits, we took the students to buy fabric (we are having dresses made) and to tour the market. We saw an array of vivid colors in the vegetable sec tion, smelled the pungent fish section, listened to the almost rhythmic sounds of the tin section where people were making watering cans and other goods, and we heard the crowing of roosters in the live animal section (yikes!). It was a lot of fun. We have a great group of students.

On the way home, we stopped in the teacher store, where I got to see my friend Victoria. She was totally surprised to see me, and we hugged and talked for quite a while. She and I met years ago and just connected. She is so happy for me, that I’m married, happy and well. She is a ray of sunshine. We also went to Tasty Bites, which is my favorite restaurant. Max was there, along with several of my worker friends. It warmed my heart to see them. We then retired to Annie’s where we enjoyed another excellent meal with friends, with lemon cake for dessert. It is good to be in my second home with my extended family.

I smiled so much today that my cheeks hurt this evening!