Refueling and Other Chances to Learn

(In case you're keeping track, this is Jonathan's first blog post.)

Yesterday I got a call: there's word of a fuel shortage!

Fuel supply in Malawi has seemed better since earlier this year the government began trying to improve cooperation with other countries. But in Malawi, fuel shortages are a somewhat normal occurrence. When fuel is in short supply, you cut back on driving wherever you can, and you listen for word that a station has fuel--and get there before it runs out!

So when our colleague heard that a fuel shortage had begun, he called right away. Within twenty minutes we were both on the road. We headed for the closest station, and he was able to get petrol (unleaded gasoline). However, the station attendants took one look at the truck I was driving and said, "No diesel!"

So I pulled out and went to the next station I knew of, a few kilometers away. There they still had diesel, and I was able to fill up the tank.

Now, this was the first time I had bought fuel for the truck. I quickly became aware of a few things:

1. The fuel goes into the right side of the truck, not the left. The station employees had to motion and yell to stop me from going in the wrong way. (Doh!)
2. I didn't know where the lever was to open the fuel door.
3. I couldn't remember how much the tank could hold. (I hoped I had enough cash on me!)

Well, I found the lever, and I could afford the fuel. I was grateful that I didn't have to wait in line, and that I was able to get diesel at the second station I tried. Time will tell whether the shortage is a blip, or whether it lasts a while.

Adjusting to a new place is full of these humbling experiences. Whether it's my own lack of familiarity with something (like the truck), or getting used to new ways of doing things (driving on the left side of the road is starting to feel normal, as is driving a pickup truck instead of a compact car), or trying to think in terms of a culture new to me, or just building a lot of new relationships--no matter what the experience is, it is humbling. And sometimes exhausting! Little things add up!

The term begins next week. I'm excited and hopeful, and I'm looking forward to it. I am also well aware that along with more immediately-rewarding experiences, it will bring additional humbling experiences. So be it!

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PS:  I just typed this on a 2-year-old notebook computer whose heat sink had never had the dust cleaned out of it--until last night. It's also a model known for having heat problems that have led to component failure. (Shame on me; I know better than this!)

Since cleaning it, I've been blown away by how much better it is running now. It almost feels like it's new again. My laptop was running at a fraction of its capability, in order to control the heat output. Now it can use its full power again, and it still stays cooler in "high performance" mode now than in "stingy" mode before it was cleaned.

Folks, consider this a public service announcement. If you've had your laptop for a while, and especially if you use it on the floor or on carpet, clean out the fan and heat sink. You can often get detailed maintenance and service instructions from the manufacturer online. If you're not comfortable opening it up (check your warranty), hire someone who knows what they're doing (not necessarily one of the big-box store service departments).

Happy First Birthday!

This past Thursday (Sept. 6th) was Rachel's first birthday!  Although Becky and Micah were sick most of the week (still getting better), we did manage to pull off a cake and presents for her.  Rachel has really enjoyed a few things in recent months...Cheerios, anything that rolls (ball, car...) and books, particularly "Pat the Bunny".  The book starts out like this "Here are Paul and Judy.  They can do lots of things.  You can do lots of things too!  Judy can pat the bunny.  Now you pat the bunny"  [then there is a picture of a bunny with fuzzy fur to feel].  Rachel will sit for (no exaggeration) 10-20 minutes at a time paging through this book all by herself!  So, when we decided what to put on her cake this year, we decided on "Pat the Bunny" (a little more exciting than a huge Cheerio and less involved than a ball!):

Unfortunately, we forgot to get a good picture of the cake before eating it!  Oh well, it was good :)  In the absence of food coloring, mashed up strawberries (for pink) and cocoa powder (for brown) added to icing made for some delicious decorations!

Rachel enjoyed her first taste of cake, of course.  We didn't even have time to get a picture of the cake on her plate in front of her.  She quickly realized which hand had grabbed cake and which had the icing. 

So, we celebrate the first year of life with our little Rachel!  She is full of energy, smiles and squeals, especially when chasing anything that rolls.  She's also pulling up to stand all by herself and loves to climb.  We think walking is in her near future.  Then she'll really be able to chase Micah around (as well as our dog!).  We love you, Rachel!!!

Church in Malawi

Here is the church we’ve gone to our first 2 weeks here. It is Blantyre Community Church, which meets in the dining building on campus.  Although half the church is on holiday right now, things will pick up come September with Sunday School for the kids during the morning service.  Half of those who attend are Malawian and half are expats (international), so we are looking forward to connecting with both communities in worship in English.

Blantyre Community Church

It is convenient, since we just walk down our lane, turn left onto the campus road and take the worn foot path across the yard to the church.  After church, there are tea, cookies and fellowship.  You may have this sort of thing at your church as well…but what do the kids at your church do during this time?  I bet they don’t get to chase chickens around the yard, like Micah and the other children do! :)

Doing the dishes after fellowship time (and yes, that is a John Deere shirt!)

Looks like Micah is chasing a girl, but the chicken had just gone around the bush...

Today (8/26/12) was our first Sunday at a Malawian BIC (Brethren in Christ) church.   About once a month, we hope to visit BIC churches in the area.  These services are largely in Chichewa (national language), but often have someone who can serve as a translator, at least for parts of the service.  We have the hymnal* that is used in Malawian BIC churches in both Chichewa and English, so although we sing in Chichewa, we can at least look up what we are singing.  Although we forgot to take our camera this morning, we did take our voice recorder, so here is a sampling of the worship (the picture you see is from Maone church, taken during our vision trip 2 years ago):

We only caught the second half of the first song you hear, but it is a favorite of ours, so wanted to include it:

Pass Me Not*

Pass me not, O gentle Saviour,

Hear my humble cry:

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.

Saviour!  Saviour!
Hear my humble cry:
And while others Thou art calling
Do not pass me by.

Let me at a throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief;
Kneeling there in deep contrition,
Help my unbelief.

chorus

Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.

chorus

Thou the spring of all my comfort,
More than life to me;
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heav’n but Thee?

chorus

*Hymns for Malawi.  English Version of Nyimbo Za Mulungu.  Revised Music-Edition (Chichewa) July 1974.  This English Edition June 1975.

This song was later in the service, but represents the type of singing that is common in many African cultures.  There is a call and response (leader and group), different clapping patterns and even some hearty “yells” for lack of a better word.  What you can’t see is that everyone is also moving – just can’t help it with this song!  Now, what are we all singing about?  We didn’t catch the song number on this one, so we’re not sure…see if you can hear any words you recognize.

Papaya Picking

Here's the video we mentioned... picking our first papaya. (In our yard!)

Video by Beth Huffnagle, travel helper extraordinaire.

Fall 2012 newsletter

Jonathan & Becky Owen, with Micah and Rachel, will be serving with Brethren in Christ World Missions at EBCoM (Evangelical Bible College of Malawi) in Blantyre, Malawi.

Assume Difference

One thing that really stuck with us from our training is that we are to “assume difference” as we enter another culture. Even in everyday ways of doing things, just assume difference until proven otherwise so that we’re not shocked everywhere we turn and wonder why “they” don’t do anything the “right” way.
  
   Most people do act rationally — it just might be a different rationale than we’re aware of, so we will try to suspend judgment until we know more information. A few days before we flew out we had the following conversation at the breakfast table which we thought was a humorous way to display this point:

Becky:  Do you know what, Micah?  I heard that there is a John Deere tractor 
dealership in Malawi!*
Micah:  Ohhh….can we go to it?
Becky:  Well, I don’t know where it is, we’ll have to find out. Where do you think they put their tractors?
Micah:  In the water.
Becky:  They put their tractors in the water? Don’t you think they would break?
Micah:  No.
Jonathan:  Micah’s got this figured out.
Becky:  Yep, assume difference! 

* We learned that the JD dealer is in Lilongwe, so when we get to visit the U.S. Embassy, we’ll try to visit John Deere, too.  It is about a 10 hour drive to get there, though.  

It’s Just Stuff

Thanks Beth Huffnagle for traveling with us!

In preparation for moving to Malawi, we packed up our bins (similar to a big plastic bin) and suitcases and prayed that it would all arrive with us! When we asked people to pray for our luggage, we got some interesting responses. It’s not the most typical prayer request ... unless you’re a missionary moving overseas!  

Half of our luggage arrived with us on the plane. A couple days later another quarter 

arrived, and another couple days later the final cases came. At first, this was disappointing, but as things played out, it became a very good example of the lesson we learned the first day of training in Colorado on paradox. As presented to the kids in an age-

appropriate manner, paradox is a pair-of-ducks: “yay” duck and “yuck” duck. These ducks have helped our family process our experiences. Appreciating the good while 

acknowledging the bad.  

At first, the delayed arrival of our luggage was a “yuck” duck, but as we began to settle into our house, it was a relief not to have so much to unpack at once!  So, the built in staggered arrival of our stuff was also a “yay”  duck! Ultimately, we know that all that 

we packed is just stuff and that we could live without it, but we praise God that it all 

arrived, intact!  

Care Packages

FYI – Care packages are welcome, but just so you know, a padded envelope may arrive in 6 weeks, whereas a box/package could take up to 9 months or so, so choose items carefully.  Once we settle in and get familiar with what is available in Malawi, we’ll post some ideas to our blog for those of you who are asking. 

New House Cake          

With each move, we have made a “New House Cake” to celebrate the new place we live.  So, we’ve had a new cake at:

  • The Missionary House in Grantham, PA

  • Jonathan’s parents’ house in Colorado

  • MTI training at Palmer Lake, CO 

  • Friend’s house in Dillsburg, PA

  • Malawi, Africa!

Our First Days in Malawi

At the writing of this newsletter, we have been in Malawi for one week. We are settling into our new house and community. Our dog, Simba, is the best, and both Micah and Rachel very much enjoy her. It is so fun to have a yard to play in the dirt, envision a garden and explore. The gutter systems on the ground are particularly interesting for a 3 year old and his tricycle. And as in any country, every rock, stone wall or couch becomes a “train” in Micah’s world. The greatest challenge for our children thus far has been the time zone change. We are six hours ahead of Eastern Time.  

Because school is not in session, the campus of EBCoM is pretty quiet, however we have been able to meet some Malawian neighbors and colleagues in our walking around campus and attending church on campus. We’ve also taken our first food shopping trip in Blantyre and begun to get acclimated to the currency here — the Kwacha. We look forward to learning more Chichewa as we greet our neighbors as well!

Teaching Schedule

The wait is over!  Jonathan knows what he’ll be teaching for the first term (although, flexibility is our new middle name).  At this time, he is slated to teach two classes:

   1) Discipleship

   2) Bible Book Study:  Matthew

Please pray for him as he adjusts to this new career of teaching.  Preparation will take up as much time as he gives it, so also pray for balance with family and community life, not to mention language learning (and sleep)! 

Many thanks to Beth Huffnagle for accompanying us as our travel helper.  She carried luggage, babysat, washed dishes, mopped floors, fed kids, braved spiders, and took great pictures!  We can't say thanks enough!

More Photos of our new lives here in Malawi

Picking our first fresh papaya!

Micah plays in the yard

Micah on his "train"

Micah's train

Riding the tricycle in the gutter

We're Off!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Some of our MOST team helped us load the totes and suitcases into two SUVs, and we left Dillsburg at about 11:30 and arrived at the Dulles airport uneventfully (if you don't count that we followed a helicopter riding on a flatbed truck most of the way south on Rt 15!). A very helpful porter with a HUGE dolley took all the totes to the ticketing/bag check-in counter which was only a few feet from the door, so the check-in went very smoothly.

Here's a few photos Mike Huffnagle took from the few moments before we went through security. You see how excited and full of energy we look?

That all important stop -- one more visit to the restrooms!

The happy travelers

Our jet for the next 18 hours

Almost to Malawi!

Dear Friends and Family,

We are just days away from flying to Malawi to serve with BICWM at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi!  We are almost packed and ready to go (and are really looking forward to unpacking and settling in)!  We just wanted to send a quick email to update you on our departure details and to ask for special prayer in the coming days.

Itinerary:  We'll be flying out from the Dulles, Washington D.C. airport on Monday, August 6th at 5:40pm (two back-to-back 8-hour flights)  to arrive in South Africa at 4:35pm on Tuesday.  After staying overnight in Johannesburg, we'll take a quick 2 hour flight arriving in  Blantyre, Malawi just after noon on Wednesday (5am for you).  Then we'll have a short (20 min?) road trip to our new home on EBCoM's campus!

Please pray for...
1)  A safe, smooth, calm (dare I say...relaxing?), uneventful trip!  We are so happy that our good friend from church, Beth Huffnagle, is able to come along as our travel helper!  The kids already know and love her and she's happy for an excuse to go to Africa, so it's a win-win :)  She is able to stay with us for a week as we settle in.

2)  Pray that ALL of our luggage will arrive WITH us, intact and that we won't need to go through any additional security screenings.  

3)  As always, pray for good sleep and health before, during and after the trip as we make this transition.  

4)  For the peace of Christ to enfold us.

We really appreciate all your support and encouragement on this journey!  We will let you know that we have arrived as soon as we are able!


Grace & Peace,
Becky, Jonathan, Micah and Rachel Owen