what is it like..?

Hello from a lovely warm Mzuzu. It has been another blue sky day here and thankfully not any volcanic dust in sight!

I have put together a selection of photos that will maybe help me to answer the question I am asked a lot at the moment by family and friends.

"What is it like for you in Malawi, are you enjoying it there?"

The short answer to this question is YES! Let me explain....

I enjoy welcoming visitors to my home, here is my neighbour Ruth and her son. They called round after church and it was lovely to share coffee and some Fifteens.
I enjoy learning about how to make child-centred learning work in a new context and using materials that are very different to the ones I am used to in Northern Ireland. I am constantly being challenged to think differently and little by little I am getting there!
I enjoy watching caregivers learning how to make a difference to the pre-school experience of our smallest children. For some it is radically changing the way they offer care and hopefully will have a big impact on the development of the children in their care.
I love the beauty of the sunrises....
and the sunsets.
I enjoy having a poinsettia still alive and flowering after the end of January!

As well as enjoyment there are a few challenges, let me share...

I enjoy also the thrill/shock of meeting new creatures in and around my home. I was attempting to wash the dishes when I met this lizard in the sink. It's possible that it was more shocked than me! I have also made the aquaintance of the frog that lives in my small toilet, again a mutual shock I think. Household chores hold a certain amount excitement that just was not there in Coleraine!

One of the major challenges can be communication. The Internet when it works is such a good way to keep in touch but it can be really frustrating when it doesn't. Here is a snapshot of one recent session, broadband it is not. Patience is a much needed and exercised virtue!

If this was a heart monitor, this patient would be in big trouble... The good news is that when it works well many things are possible even blogging!

Do I enjoy having moved my life to Malawi? The answer has to be YES.

Watching the children really enjoying learning, exploring and developing makes the challenges seem less difficult and adds very much to my enjoyment of being here.

Please do remember to pray for the work that CCAP is doing in the area of Early Childhood Development and for the people who are training caregivers and developing the programme. It is a huge task as we work with literally hundreds of pre-schools, the caregivers who staff them and the children who attend. With God's help we can do it. ECD is a relatively new concept in Malawi but the opportunity to give the children the best possible start makes it a very worthwhile challenge.

Enjoy your week

Blessings
Fiona