Second Presbyterian Goes to Malawi
June 11-24, 2007

Mission and Purpose of Trip

• To learn more about the work of PC (USA) missionaries, Jim and Jodi McGill in Malawi, for more than ten years. Second has supported the McGills for ten plus years; and, Jim visited Second in 2004 with news of his water project work and Jodi's work in health care services and teaching.
• To learn about the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Malawi and to meet just a few of its 3 million members.
• To learn more about how we are bound together as Christians world-wide.
• To consider how Second might develop a more personal, long-term relationship With people and projects in Malawi.

Tentative Itinerary

• Monday June 11: Depart Lexington to Atlanta, Atlanta to Johannesburg, SA.
• Wednesday June 13: Depart Johannesburg to Blantyre, Malawi, spend night at Tambu's sister's and other homes
• Thursday June 14: Informal tour of Blantyre Synod and other places in Blantyre .Friday June 15: Drive to Lilongwe with stops
• Friday evening June 15: Quick tour of Lilongwe, the Capital of Malawi and the
• Lilongwe Presbyterian Church
• Saturday June 16: Drive to Mzuzu
• Sunday June 17: Attend Church in Mzuzu
• Monday June 18 -Wednesday June 20: Visit orphanages, Ekwendeni Hospital,
• University of Livingstonia, and water projects etc.
• Thursday June 21 - Friday June 22: Back to Blantyre along Lake Malawi. Brief stop over at Liwonde National Park and stop in Zomba to see University of Malawi.
• Saturday June 23 - Sunday June 24: Blantyre to Lexington via Johannesburg and Atlanta.

Please support Second's trip in June with your financial contributions and prayers.

MALAWI
"The Warm Heart of Africa"

• Malawi, landlocked in southeastern Africa, is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania in land area, about 700 miles north to south and about 150 miles east to west. Lake Malawi hugs two thirds of the eastern border.
• English and Chichewa are official languages of Malawi. More than half the population speaks Chichewa, and there are more than seven other African languages spoken.
• In the Chichewa language "moni" means "hello" and "zikomo" means "thank you."
• The staple food is nsima, a maize (corn) porridge. Food is essential to hospitality in Malawi.
• 90 percent of Malawians live in rural areas and engage in agriculture.
• Tobacco comprises 60 percent of the exports of Malawi. Other exports are sugar, tea, and cotton.
• In secondary school social studies, students learn about government, citizenship, human rights, conflict resolution, social justice, culture and change, and gender balance.
• The median age in Malawi is 16.5 years, compared with 36.5 years in the United States. The infant mortality rate is 94.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 6.4 per 1,000 in the United States. The life expectancy is 41.7 years, compared with 77.9 in the United States.
• Malawi has the eighth highest HIV prevalence in the world. It is estimated 16.4 percent of people aged 15-49 are infected with HIV, which is spread in Malawi primarily through heterosexual contact.
• Malaria is the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in Malawian children under age 5 and is the cause of more than 40 percent of deaths in children under 2.
• Malawi gained independence in 1964 from the British. As a British colony (from 1896), the country was called Nyasaland.
• The president of the Republic of Malawi is Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika.
• Malawi has a unicameral legislature with 193 members of the National Assembly who are elected to five-year terms.
• Wildlife in Malawi, including such animals as zebras and hippos, are confined to preserves.
• Malawi's time is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) plus two hours. So when it is noon in Malawi it's 5 a.m. in Lexington Eastern Standard Time.

This is the first of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn, June 11-24, 2007. Applications for the trip are due October 15, 2006. Tambu and Robert Chirwa, Angene and Jack Wilson, Pastor Darla – the planning team – are excited about the congregational response so far from both potential travelers and general supporters. (9/27/06)

Where in the world is Malawi? Malawi is a land-locked country in southeastern Africa, known as the warm heart of Africa. It is approximately the size of Pennsylvania and about 700 miles from north to south and 150 miles east to west. Lake Malawi hugs two thirds of the eastern border. Neighboring countries are Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique. Malawi’s animals, like the zebras, are restricted to reserves. Malawi’s population is 12.5 million.

The capital is Lilongwe, in the middle of the country, and the commercial center is Blantyre in the south. The Second trip will fly into Blantyre from Johannesburg, South Africa and visit Tambu’s sister and friends there, then travel to Lilongwe, visiting both Robert and Tambu’s families, before going north to Mzuzu.

This is the second of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn June 11-24, 2007.  (10/11/06)

Our mission connection:

We will be visiting missionaries Jim and Jodi McGill in Mzuzu in the Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in northern Malawi. Jodi works at a mission hospital, and Jim works with sanitation. Second Church has supported the McGills for many years. We look forward to seeing their work first-hand and exploring ways that Second can become more personally involved in Malawi.

In a recent email Jodi writes: "I am always thankful that I have the opportunity to work in Africa and in a mission hospital; however two weeks ago I felt exceptionally privileged and proud to see how the staff demonstrated going beyond just providing nursing and medical services." She tells the story of four month old Baby M whom she met in the children’s ward of Ekwendeni Hospital. Baby M’s caregiver was her 10 year old sister after the death of the HIV+ mother since the father is a tenant tobacco farmer with three other children. The staff adopted Baby M and her family, and out of their own homes provided clothing, toiletries and cloth to use for diapers and nurtured Baby M and her sisters. The hospital’s Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit provided food for the children. Now, through Jodi’s connections, the new Mzuzu Crisis Nursery is caring for Baby M who is thriving.

This is the third of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn June 11-24, 2007.  (10/25/06)

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is a partner in mission with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Malawi.

• CCAP traces its origin to the Free Church of Scotland when Scottish missionaries established missions and hospitals in northern Malawi in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, It is comprised of 3 synods in Malwawi: Synod of Livingstonia, Synod of Nkhoma, and Synod of Blantyre.
• The Second group will be spending almost a week in the Synod of Livingstonia, which covers all of northern Malawi and is named after the Scottish explorer, David Livingston. The Synod offices are in Mzuzu, which is also headquarters for Second sponsored missionaries, Jim and Jodi McGill. Jodi coordinates primary health care and teaches at Ekwendeni Hospital’s nursing school. Jim coordinates clean water and sanitation projects throughout the Synod. The Synod has three hospitals and started the University of Livingstonia ,which includes a school of nursing and colleges of theology, education and technology. You can visit www.malawinetwork.org for more information and pictures and will find the McGills and their letters under "People. "

The upcoming 2007 trip to Malawi is a great opportunity for all of Second Church, whether you are going or not. Come to a gathering on October 28 to learn more how you can support the trip.

June 11-24, 2007, ten members from Second will undertake a trip to Malawi on behalf of the whole congregation. The following is a letter from Jodi and Jim McGill, Second sponsored missionaries the mission team will visit while in Malawi:  (11/8/06)

Dear Christian Family,

It has been so much fun to be in communication with members of the congregation regarding a visit from you to Malawi. We wholeheartedly welcome you and will gladly help in anyway with the logistics of your trip to the north. You are fortunate to be traveling in the southern, central, and northern regions of Malawi. You will notice similarities and differences between the regions and it will be interesting for us to hear what you remark upon.

As you will hear time and again, "feel free, feel at home, and feel welcome."

Peace,
Jodi and Jim McGill

June 11-24, 2007, ten members from Second will undertake a trip to Malawi on behalf of the whole congregation. This is the fourth of a year-long series of short articles that will try to educate us about Malawi as we prepare as a congregation for this trip.  (11/22/06)

Children’s Books about Malawi: Two children’s books about Malawi will be available to borrow from the church library. Karen Lynn Williams, who spent three and a half years with her family in Malawi in the Peace Corps, wrote these books that tell contemporary stories of real children.

• Galimoto is about Kondi, a small boy who makes a pickup truck out of wire. "Galimoto" means "car" in Chichewa, a major language of Malawi, and refers to the push toys made by children all over Africa out of wire, cans, sticks, and cornstalks. Look for a galimoto from Ghana on our Malawi table that will soon be in the Gathering Place!
• When Africa was Home is about a small white child who feels strange when his family returns to America. He’s anxious to go back to the village in Malawi, "the warm heart of Africa" where he can play with his friends under a wide sky.

Come to the library and learn more about children in Malawi. These books would also make great Christmas presents. They are available from Amazon.com.

Be on the look out for more information about Second’s trip to Malawi and how you can help. If you want to talk about the wonderful adventure call Jack or Angene Wilson (223-3746) or Pastor Darla (254-7768).

June 11-24, 2007, ten members from Second will undertake a trip to Malawi on behalf of the whole congregation.  (12/6/06)

Even if you’re not going, GET INVOVLED! Come hear Second members,, Robert and Tambu Chirwa talk about Malawi, "The Warm Heart of Africa," at the Forum Class, 9:40 a.m., on December 17. Robert and Tambu and their family are from Malawi and have been invaluable resources in planning the trip.

We will begin the fund-raising campaign in earnest after the first of the year. If you are looking for a year-end deduction, however, please feel free to drop a check in the offering plate marked "Malawi." The funds raised will be used to help with trip costs (including airfare and medical and other supplies).

If you want to talk about the wonderful adventure call Jack or Angene Wilson (223-3746) or Pastor Darla (254-7768).

This is the sixth of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn June 11-24, 2007, on behalf of the whole congregation.  (12/20/06)

Here is how Christmas is spent in Malawi: First there is no gift opening on Christmas morning although there are gifts in a different form. The gifts are usually in the form of parents giving children new clothes to wear on Christmas day.

Before Christmas day parents would either save money or find extra work. The aim is to buy special-more expensive food on Christmas day. Choirs would have special rehearsals. Young people would form groups and plan parties. The money for those parties is raised by working in people’s gardens.

By Christmas Eve everybody is ready. New clothes are bought. Food in the form of rice, chicken, beef, and cookies is bought. Drinks such as Fanta and Coca Cola are purchased. In the evening the choir sings at the church from 8 p.m. until Jesus is born at midnight. Many people go to listen to the choir sing. In the morning most people take a shower/bath and wear their new clothes to go to church.

After church the party begins. Families or groups of young people have dinners eating food that they eat only once a year. Late afternoon there are dances. It may be traditional dances at the village square or boom-box music in young people’s homes. Many people just go out to see all the festivities. Of course some people will be drunk. There may even be a fight or two.

Christmas in Malawi is during the rainy season. That is why "I am always dreaming of a rainy Christmas".
     - Robert Chirwa

This is the seventh of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn June 11-24, 2007, on behalf of the whole congregation.  (1/10/07)

Language: English is the official language and Chichewa the second official language, spoken mostly in the south and central regions and other languages are important regionally.

Basic Chichewa Greetings - Vowel sounds: A=ah, E=A, I=ee, O=oh, U=ooh

If you want to talk about the wonderful adventure call Jack or Angene Wilson (223-3746) or Pastor Darla (254-7768).

SECOND SUNDAY "MALAWI" LUNCH

Join us this Sunday, January 14 for Second Sunday "Malawi" Lunch in the Fellowship Hall. The Chirwa’s will be in the kitchen cooking a special meal. Call the church office (254-7768) to RSVP. The menu is as follows:

This is the eighth of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn June 11-24, 2007, on behalf of the whole congregation.  (1/24/07)

Time in Malawi - Malawi’s time is GMT/UTC + two hours. GMT means Greenwich Mean Time – in London – which is now known as universal time. So when it’s 12:00 noon in Malawi, it’s 5:00 a.m. in Lexington, EST and 6:00 a.m. DST. Malawi does not have daylight savings time.

Monetary unit: the Kwacha

DID YOU KNOW?

The median age in Malawi is 16.5 years, compared with 36.5 in the United States. The infant mortality rate is 94.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 6.4 per 1,000 in the United States. The life expectancy is 41.7 years, compared with 77.9 in the United States.

This is the ninth of a year-long series of short articles educating us at Second about Malawi where ten members will travel and learn June 11-24, 2007, on behalf of the whole congregation.  (2/11/07)

Why we’re going: Specifically, the purpose of our trip is to serve as ambassadors of Second Church and discover ways Second can develop a long-term relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Malawi. We will learn about the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) and the work of the Presbyterian Church (USA) missionaries Jim and Jodi McGill, in Mzuzu, who Second supports. We will go to church and visit hospitals, schools, universities and water projects.

But more importantly, our mission is to witness the love of Christ. A Presbyterian missionary, Pastor Debbie Chase, wrote this several years ago, when she began her service in Malawi, and her words fit appropriately with the purpose of this trip: "Our salvation is intimately connected to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Malawi. We desperately need their warm and generous hearts, their sense of community, their faith that permeates every element of their lives. They desperately need to share our abundance of material resources. And much more than this, more than we can fathom, will be the fruit of wholeness and joy – as we share in common all that we are and have in Christ."

Thank you for your generous prayers and your financial support to make this mission in serving the Lord possible. Mlungu akudalitseni (God bless you all),

The Malawi Travel Group: Rev. Darla Blatnik; Robert and Tambu Chirwa; Evan Dolive; Betty and Emily Downing; Robin Reid; Todd Wethall; Jack and Angene Wilson. If you want to talk about the wonderful adventure call Jack or Angene Wilson (223-3746) or Darla (254-7768).

CLEARING THE WAY TO MALAWI

You can help clear the way to Malawi while we can help clear some of the clutter out of your life (wash windows, till a garden, trim bushes, mow a lawn, edit a paper, wash a car, etc.). Members of the Malawi Travel Group are rolling up their sleeves and offering our services to raise proceeds for our June 11-24 trip. For $15 an hour, a member of the Malawi Travel Group will visit your home and tackle a task. Fill out this form, and a Malawi Travel Group member will call you to set up a date and time.

The deadline to purchase time is Sunday, February 25. Services can be provided after that date. (You can also make a general donation to the mission trip by submitting a check to the Second Church Malawi Fund and placing it in the collection plate or the church office.)

The Malawi trip, June 11-24, 2007, is becoming a reality. Orientation sessions have begun; itineraries are being solidified; and, flight arrangements are being confirmed.  (2/21/07)

The trip agenda is taking shape and will include:

• Participation in a worship service (Darla may preach and others read scripture).
• Tour of a school with many areas of study and departments as well as a hospital.
• Visit to a gravity feed water system and ecological sanitation site.
• Visit to orphan care centers.
• Go on palliative care or home-based care visits.
• Meet with the Education And Health Departments.

The Malawi group thanks Second for its prayers and financial support. There is still a need for additional prayers and financial resources to help defray the costs of airfare for some group members and to provide medical and educational supplies the group will take to Malawi. You may still make a contribution in any amount by sending a check, made payable to: Second Presbyterian Church (Malawi Fund on the memo line), 460 East Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507. Those making a contribution in any amount will receive a postcard from "The Warm Heart of Africa."

Mlungu akudalitseni (God bless you all),

The Malawi Travel Group:
   Rev. Darla Blatnik
   Robert and Tambu Chirwa
   Evan Dolive
   Betty and Emily Downing
   Robin Reid
   Todd Wethall
   Jack and Angene Wilson

The closer the trip gets and the more that we prepare, the more excited the Malawi Team gets. And, this excitement is contagious. So many people have expressed pride and joy that the church is making this trip. The Second Youth have been particularly awesome in putting their excitement to work. (3/7/07, 3/21/07)

Because of your generosity, the Malawi fund is now $4,767.77. Even with your support, the trip participants are still making personal sacrifices of time and finances to be able to go on the trip. Your continued support will make their individual financial burden even lighter. There are still several ways that you can support the trip financially.

• Make a contribution directly to the Malawi Fund, check payable to Second Presbyterian Church (Malawi Fund on the memo line) and tell us what you would like the Malawi Team to learn on the trip.
• Buy an hour of time for $15.00 from a Malawi Team member to wash windows, till a garden, trim bushes, mow a lawn, edit a paper, wash a car or dog, etc. Schedule a time by calling Robin Reid or the church office (254-7768). A Malawi Travel Group member will call you to set up a date and time.  Please give your name, the number of hours you estimate, the nature of the work, your address, your telephone number.

The Malawi group's travel plans.  (4/4/07)

What will Second's Malawi Group Do In Malawi?

We will stay in the homes of members of Tambu Chirwa’s sister’s Presbyterian church congregation for the first two nights, and Robert and Tambu will show us Blantyre, the commercial capital in the south, and Lilongwe, the political capital in the nation’s central region. Then we drive north to Mzuzu in the Synod of Livingstonia where Jodi and Jim McGill and their six adopted Malawian children live.

When we are in the north, some of us will visit Ekwendeni Secondary Girls’ School. One of Jodi’s tasks is to help administer the Synod’s Secondary School Scholarship Fund. Jodi writes in a recent letter: “Below is the essay of one of the selected students. And although his situation is a little direr than others, it is not uncommon and is one of the reasons the fund was established. Because of the support the fund has received, we will be able to fund at least 160 students this year.”

The Malawi group's travel plans.  (4/18/07)

What will Second's Malawi Group Do In Malawi?

The Christian Women’s NetWorkers Project is directed by Jodi McGill who is the Primary Health Care Coordinator for the Synod of Livingstonia Health Department. We will all be visiting and learning about a congregation-based malaria prevention project on Lake Malawi on our way south from Mzuzu.

The Christian Women’s NetWorkers Program (CWNP) is an ecumenical congregation-based community health program which provides malaria prevention education and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to pregnant women and children under age five, as well as treatment to pregnant women.

The CWNP is a partnership between the PCUSA and the Reformed Church in America and operates in two regions of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. It is an expansion of the Networkers Malaria Prevention Program initiated by the PCUSA at pilot sites in Malawi and Cameroon in 1999.

Presbyterian congregations in the US support the project with awareness-building and fund-raising activities through church women’s organizations. Since 1999 U.S. women have made 7,000 bed nets.

In 2001 the CWNP was awarded funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), making it one of the first faith-based health projects to receive federal financial support from CDC.

The Malawi group's travel plans.  (5/2/07)

What will Second's Malawi Group Do In Malawi?

Some of us will be visiting and learning about the University of Livingstonia. Higher education began in 1895 at Livingstonia Mission with teacher and ministerial preparation classes. From that mission more than 500 primary schools and five large secondary schools were established in northern Malawi.

Widespread interest motivated Synod officials to recently formally launch the University of Livingstonia using a decentralized education model. Five constituent colleges at two locations now serve over 500 students. The university headquarters is located at Livingstonia along with the Livingstonia Technical College and the College of Education which opened in 2003. Ekwendeni houses three colleges, including the College of Commerce, Ekwendeni College of Nursing and the Livingstonia Theological College.

The website history states: “The Synod believes that a church university founded on Christian values provides exceptional education for young people of Malawi. The university offers within the country continuity in education to qualified students who come from church or secular secondary schools. The institution will sustain spiritual, moral and social values important to the Malawian society and will boost the ability of Malawi to train leaders for future development of Malawi’s economic base.”

The Malawi group's travel plans.  (5/16/07)

What will Second's Malawi Group Do In Malawi?

Some of us will see the Shallow Well Program with which Jim McGill works.

The Synod of Livingstonia has a goal of making safe water available to everyone. In 1990 Jim McGill
approached Marion Medical Mission with a way to provide safe water to villages using shallow wells that are sealed against surface pollution. By 2006, 5,600 wells have been installed that provide safe water to more and 1,400,000 people.

The wells are self-help projects with only the pipe, the pump, and concrete provided. The villagers make the brick and supply the labor, and each village signs a contract to give the program 90 kilograms of maize each year in return for the availability of the replacement parts needed to maintain its shallow well.

A shallow well maintenance team, composed of villagers trained by the program, inspects each well once a month and receives a handful of chicken eggs from the village for their work. If the well breaks down, the committee contacts their maintenance person and if the well is fixed within 48 hours that person receives a chicken for their work. Once a month the entire team meets to report on the status of the wells. Pumps are now manufactured at Embangweni Hospital.

On Sunday, June 3, the Malawi group from Second was commissioned during the 11:00 service.

Please keep the following in your prayers as they journey to Africa:

Darla Blatnik
Robert & Tambu Chirwa
Evan Dolive
Betty Downing
Emily Downing
Robin Reid
Todd Wethall
Jack & Angene Wilson