Introducing.....Mandy Watson!

One day after we'd just returned from the US, we were meeting with Mr. Watson who is a pastor-in-training for the Mphanda Church. He informed us that his wife had delivered a child on March 19. Larry immediately said, "That's my wife's birthday." Mr. Watson said they should give his daughter the name Mandy. So we finally got to meet the baby. She is beautiful and such a happy and content baby.



About a year and a half ago, Mr. and Mrs. Watson lost their first baby daughter to an illness that she wasn't able to recover from. She died before she reached the age of 2. So, Mrs. Watson has been praying hard for another daughter and the Lord granted her request. She was so happy to show off that new blessing from the Lord.



We were amazed at the hospitality we were shown when we visited these friends. Watson's mother gathered all the neighborhood children (about 10-12) and they pulled ground nuts (peanuts) off the roots to give us as a gift. It was a sweet scene to see them all working together to give us a blessing.

Doing some dirty work.....

Last week, Larry enjoyed a day of getting down and getting dirty. During the dry season Larry had helped Mose build a dam so Mose could irrigate vegetables for the orphan feeding program. It was made of rocks, cement and the nice hard Malawian dirt. But during this rainy season, erosion caused lots of dirt and sand to fill up the dam.





After many weeks of frustration as to what to do, Larry talked to the chief and he agreed that something needed to be done and agreed to help dig out the dirt by sending some workers to help. By working together just getting down in the mud they were able to make a lot or progress in cleaning out the dam. Usually the villagers don't allow us to work, but this time Larry insisted on working along side them. It was an enjoyable time to work together, speak Chichewa, and show that the white guy really does like to work. Some ladies brought him food so he would be sure to have enough energy and not get hungry.

That day they dug down so far that the top of the wall was chest high which encouraged Mose so much and inspired him to work harder to provide vegetables for the orphans. It also encouraged our village friends that hard work can be fun and a community project such as this one can do so much for the development of the village. The water will hopefully be enough to also help a future youth income-generating project.

An Easter to Remember

Back in December, our friend Pat Ouverson asked if there is a project her church ladies' group could do for our orphans. We brainstormed and thought of zip lock bags full of personal necessities would be a great idea. So her group did about 100 bags and several other groups did some bags and we had more than enough for our orphans. These ladies' groups sent them to us in Malawi and we got them in time to distribute them. April 1st was the day of our Easter party. The kids made so much noise when they saw the gift bags that they were sure to have been heard for miles around.


The special meal was goat and rice with vegetables. Goat intestine wrapped around a piece of another organ is the favorite meat. Fortunately, they fed us the regular meat from the legs or back. Oh, and they enjoyed the cupcakes that we love to share with them whenever we have special parties.

Mandy explained why Good Friday is good and how great is the salvation that God has made available to us. The kids enjoyed a special drama and sang songs about Easter.


It was a joy to share this very special celebration and it was definitely an Easter to remember. We are so thankful to the people who gave to make this so special for the children we serve.