Malawi, The Series.

A few things have happened since last time I posted: Celebrations in Zambia, our first Hands wedding (where both parties met through Hands - mine is the second), and Malawi.

I have much to say about 7 days in Malawi but don't want to make you read 100 pages at once so instead I'll write a series of blogs and make you read 100 pages over a period of time. I hope pictures will come at some point.

I arrived on 26 April. It was a fun and interesting journey, mostly because I did it all on my own. Big for me. I left my house in SA at 5 am on Monday, took the Bug to Johannesburg, got on a flight, landed in Lusaka Zambia, stayed the night and caught a bus the next morning. The bus took me to Chipata. I got on a taxi which took me to the border, I crossed, then got on another taxi to Mchiji and then another taxi to Lilongwe where I finally met up with Royie. We then travelled together to his beautiful home deep in the moutnains and maize fields of Mngwere. This place is much more rural than I could have imagined. It is literally winding footpahts through tall grass and maize. Everyone travels by foot or by bike if you are fortunate. Royie and I had to walk 9 km to work each day. One way.

But the thing that burns in my heart the most to share now is Royie's family. I fell in love with them and couldn't part without tears. Every second of every day I was deeply moved by the beauty of their family. Royie stays with his wife, Vailet, and their 7 children, ranging from 3 to 24. The two eldest girls (Chimwewe, 24, and Ireen, 22) are married with children and have their own houses on Royie's plot. In Malawian culture, when a woman marries, the man joins the woman's family. A very matriarchal society. Royie and Vailet have been married 31 years but to watch Vailet giggle as she chats with him you would think it has been 3. She's such a good companion and helper to him. As I approach my wedding, I loved watching her and the way she brings life into the home.

I think my favourite part of staying with the family was sitting in the kitchen (an outdoor room with a dirt floor and a spot to build a fire) with Vailet, Chimwewe, and Ireen. These three beautiful women would be preparing meals for their own family and would do it together with such joy. They would chat and laugh and sing together. They truly loved each other's company. It just made me see the specialness in raising families together and remaining together through all stages of life.

I'll stop here but on the next entry I need to describe their home, where I bathed (loooved it), the simple but tough way in which they live, the things I did and places I saw, how much coffee I drank, bread I ate and how many baths I took.

Before I end, just a huge shout out to Elizabeth. I missed your birthday. I'm sorry. Happy 6th!

Much love.

Long Bus Rides

Hey everyone.

Today I officially wrapped up my work in South Africa. Tomorrow at 3 am I begin my big adventure.

Here are my dates:

9 Apr - 21 Apr : Luanshya, Zambia (travelling through Zimbabwe by bus, then Botswana by Kombi on way back)
22 Apr - 24 Apr : South Africa (Busie's wedding)
25 Apr - 3 May : Dedza, Malawi (flying to Lusaka then busing to Dedza)
3 May : WILL & THOM ARRIVE IN LUSAKA!
4 May - 19 May : Likasi, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kristal, Will, and Thom)
19 May - 22 May : Travels back to South Africa via Zambia, Botswana
23 May - 31 May : Final Good-byes in South Africa
1 Jun - 16 Jun : Singapore/Cambodia
16 Jun - Arrive in Calgary, Canada

I've been looking forward to the start of this adventure for a long time, and now it's here! I leave in 4 hours and haven't started to sleep yet. That's unfortunate considering it's a 28 hr bus ride. But I made caramel popcorn for the bus ride so I'm sure that will give me a little kick and entertainment at some point.

Zambia is going to be fantastic! The Regional Celebration is happening, which normally is just a family gathering and celebration of the 3 countries represented in the region (Zambia, DRC, Malawi) but this time all the countries will be represented (South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, DRC, Malawi, Nigeria). Most of these people I haven't seen since 2009. It's always such a powerful, beautiful time. Passionate and anointed people from all across Africa coming together to share in God's goodness from within the daily suffering and trials of the work with orphans and vulnerable children.

It's going to be amazing!

Not sure the best way to contact me during this all. Probably e-mail. And not facebook. kristalgadsby@gmail.com
I'll try to keep you all updated, especially with contact details.

Much love!

Sushi for Breakfast

I know, I know, it’s been a while and for that I am sorry. This last little while has been hectic, but how is that different than any other period of time in my African life. I’ve finally come to an understanding of why it’s so difficult for me to blog. How easy would it be for you to blog regularly about life in Canada? When a routine is set up, there doesn’t really feel like there’s anything new and eventful and worthy of reading updates on. So, that’s sort of how I feel. This has been my life for three years and it’s become so normal to me, it’s difficult to see anything interesting to write about.

Now that being said, this has been my life for three years, and soon it is coming to an end. Next week is my last official week of work (in relation to my responsibilities in South Africa). I leave on April 10th for Zambia and then Malawi until Will arrives at the beginning of May. Then we go to Congo and then head east to the Asian part of the world.

I was fortunate to have our Family Celebrations during my last weeks. It was a 3 day celebration of Hands in South Africa and Swaziland. We’ve been planning this sucker for months so it was exciting, enriching, beautiful and slightly stressful. And now that it’s over, I’m a bit relieved. We had 5 people from every community come, plus all of us at Hands, plus other outside friends and partners. In total, we had 121 people. It was a really big ordeal, but just so beautiful to see a giant tent full of people loving God, dancing, learning, sharing, interacting, growing. The theme was “Going Deeper in Christ” and we saw some incredible things happen! We felt so strongly that God wanted to bring people back to Him and there was a very powerful time when people gave their lives to Him! It was also nice because it was all the people I spent 3 years serving, so it was a nice way to end my time in South Africa.

It’s strange how at peace I feel about this transition, and honestly speaking this peace has only come in the last couple weeks. When you invest yourself for 3 years in something, how do you just leave it? How do you feel at peace with leaving with what was invested in you for 3 years? It’s tough, but I need to remember that this is God’s work and He is the one that has invested in me here. He hasn’t invested in me to just stay here, but He also has more out there for me. It’s all one big project. One big Kingdom project. It feels like my role here is naturally closing off, which is great. I’ve spent the last month investing in and teaching two incredible women (Lise and Elise – talk about confusing for the African people ... and then put them together in the same team.. disaster). Lise is a teacher from Edmonton and Elise is a dance teacher from Calgary. I met Lise at Missionsfest last February and instantly developed a crush on her. It’s been such a blast to just hang out with these ladies every day and I feel fully confident in the impact they will make. They are different and offer different things and the season for what I offer has ended. It’s their season now. Wow, that’s really neat.

Oh! I almost forgot! Last weekend I entered in a Trail Run. It was organized by an adventure place just near where I stay. It was 10km and of course being a flatlander, I had no idea what a trail run was. All our trails are flat. But soon I discovered it’s a hike, but running. I felt a bit adventurous so agreed. I’ve never entered any kind of race before in my life, except for Track & Field in Jr. High, but that doesn’t count. I do my usual weekly exercises, which include two days of some form of cardio, but I really wasn’t trained for it at all. And even if running is part of my cardio for that week, it’s usually around 30 minutes or 6 km. (It used to be 8, but after I visited Canada and was a big lazy bum, I had to start all over). Long story short, I ran and I won. Placed first. Seriously. I even won money! It’s something I think I’d like to continue doing. And Will likes to think I’m going to run for our living next year..

But, really, I need to find a job. Will and I are residing in Calgary starting September so if anyone knows of a job I’d be interested in, please let me know! Teaching, working with First Nations people, inner city ministries, coffee shop, comic book store, anything to that like. Just let me know if you think of anything.

Hope all is well with you! I miss you all dearly and I am truly so excited to be back in your lives, to journey with you on a daily basis and just love all over you.

Kristal

PS – The title. As part of preparing for this transition, to really focus on rooting myself, and in anticipation of something big during Celebrations, I decided to do a 5 day fast. I’m currently on Day 5 and get to break it in 1.4 hours. I am stoked. I’ve decided on Sushi. YYYYYUP.

His Needs, Her Needs

Will and I are reading a book... okay I’m reading a book out loud with Will called His Needs, Her Needs, given to us by our “marriage mentors”. One of Will’s needs, according to the book, is an attractive spouse. We didn’t really need to go into this one, as Will gave a “check” as I read the chapter title. But as I dove into it, I found that what goes along with being an attractive spouse is hygiene. Red flag. This is something that has become quite questionable lately as I’m finding more days accumulating between my showers. This is not necessarily due to a lack of activity causing me to become dirty (probably the opposite) but more so due to the anxiety I get prior to shower time when I consider washing my mane. The problem is my jungle hair, as my mother likes to call it. As my hair grows longer, it seems to mat into one giant chunk. And not just after 8 days of not washing it, but even just after 1 day. I’ve grown really attached to this length of chunk so cutting it hasn’t really been an option. I consider myself very fortunate, though, because I’ve found a companion that washes as often as I do. Yes, we will most likely be the smelly couple and, yes; our child will be the stinky one in the class, but our house will save a butt-load of water and our bodies will, I’m sure, have a natural glow that will attract all kinds of forest animal friends!

On the topic if Will and I, I might have made a little surprise visit to Canada. My brother had a bit of a last minute, informal wedding and I decided family had to happen. I flew into Vancouver, hung out with Aliah for a bit, and hopped in the van with Will’s brother, Thom, to drive to Kamloops. Thom had already arranged to visit Will on their reading break, so it worked out quite well. We got to the mountain, I hid in the back of the van under a blanket and as soon as Will got in the van, Thom turned on the light and out I hopped from under the blanket. I couldn’t figure out how to react to Will’s reaction. It was complete utter shock. I couldn’t even tell if it was good or bad. But it was good. I hung out in Kamloops for a few days and then Will and I set off for Lloydminster for my brother’s wedding. It was an incredible time, and I even feel like it was an anointed time. I loved every second with my family and spent some much-needed time with my mother, brothers, fathers, and sister. Sometimes being so far away and becoming used to them not being around, I forget how much I love hanging out with them. It was really great for Will to hang around too. He’s met them, of course, but this time he really blended in.

It was interesting, though, because this was the first time Will and I saw each other in the winter. I’m happy to say I still think he’s a fox in ski pants and puff jacket and really encouraged that sweat is not the single attraction factor. Seriously, this was our first time cuddling in a temperature below 20 degrees and I've heard it said you must go through every season with a person before you marry, so ... check.

I’m sorry to those I didn’t tell I was coming, which was everyone except Aliah, Thom, and my sister. It was last minute, a big surprise to most, and I really only had a week, which I recognized needed to be focused on my family.

BUT...

My rough tour dates in the next months look like this though:
Now – April 12 – South Africa
April 12 – April 20 – Zambia*
April 20 – April 26 – Malawi*
April 26 – May 2 – Zambia*
May 2 – Will Arrives in Zambia
May 2 – May 14 – Democratic Republic of Congo
May 14 – Roxette Concert in Johannesburg!!!
May 14 – June 1 – South Africa wrap up
June 1 – June 16 – Singapore/Vietnam/Cambodia
June 16 – Canada
July 31 – Wedding**
August 20 – Lloydminster Wedding Celebration
August – Moving to Calgary

*Subject to change
**Definitely not subject to change.

That’s all.
Cheers!

4 February 2011, 11:30 am

There's a community called Welverdiend that I've spent a lot of time in over the last 3 years. "Welverdiend" is Afrikaans for basically "well deserved". During Apartheid, people were relocated to this dry wasteland and apparently the people deserved it.

I spent an incredible day in Welverdiend on the 4th of February. This is my journal entry:

Today I stood on Holy Ground. As George shared to the care workers in Welverdiend and encouraged them to be strong, take possession of their land and dream big, God opened my eyes and I could see the magnitude of His heart in that place. My spirit was overwhelmed by the presence of His Holiness and His anointing. It was incredibbly humbling and I was incredibly honoured to be in that place. If Christ were to be walking the Earth today, He would be walking in a land called Well-Deserved. I had such a sense that, on this land, miracles would happen. Every child that steps foot on that land will be healed emotionally, physically and spiritually, by the power of the compassionate God roaming there. Deep emotional wounds from years of neglect and abuse, healed. Chains of spiritual oppression, broken. Spirit of hopelessness, gone.

Other updates, my Dad was here and gone. We had a great time together! He went on a hunting trip and shot an Impala (animal not car), went on a safari and saw everything!!!, visited communities, Dad helped put windows in the house of a family of kids and even paid for the last unfinished window, we went to waterfalls and canyons and had dinner at a different home every night. He even attended all the prayer meetings and fell asleep in church! It was a blast.

Another interesting fact, my brother is getting married... in like 9 days. How neat is that?

These days I've been busy with a few things. I was hosting a couple ladies from the UK this past week. I've also been busy planning child care in 3 communities in the areas of food, education, and health ... the total number of orphans and vulnerable children going to be cared for from these three communities is 260. Also have been busy starting two model projects in two different communities. These are going to be Best Practices in South Africa. We're helping the communities start a pre-school, a Saturday youth program teaching about making good choices, a program for Grannies caring for children that basically teaches them how to understand the psychosocial needs of the child and as a result care for them better, and of course this includes a feeding program, home visits and hopefully eventually an after school homework program. Lots of fun.

That's about it for now!

Much love!

"How do I fight a monkey?"*

I went for a run yesterday morning around 5 am, which is not an unusual occurrence. I basically run along this flat strip (the only flat strip miles around) which is lined by a canopy of trees, often and cutely inhabited by friendly monkeys. They are little brats and often slip their little monkey hands into windows and steal fruit, but they are friendly. Except the handless monkey. Well, as I write this, I’m confused, because the infamous evil monkey is the handless, tailless monkey, but this one definitely had a tail. Usually if monkeys are frolicking around as I’m running, they run away as I approach. Yesterday morning, let’s call him... Buster. Yesterday morning as I approached, Buster started running towards me. Feeling a little put off and not feeling up to a game of chicken, I veered off to the side. Upon doing this, Buster veered off his path also, and continued to run towards me. Upon realizing he was chasing me, I screamed. Buster then hissed at me. I decided to not stick around to see what happens and turned and ran away. I looked back and noticed Buster was still chasing and hissing at me, but was much closer this time, like basically at my feet. I screamed again. Feeling the adrenaline, the question that consumed my mind in that moment was, “How do I fight a monkey?”. Should I kick? Should I punch? What will he do? Will he viciously scratch at my face? Of course this was all running through my mind within a matter of seconds. I just kept picturing a scene from Outbreak. (Remember that movie? Am I right?). After the mental fight scene and Outbreak, I saw a giant stick lying on the ground. This stick was massive. I’m not sure why I picked it up because I definitely wouldn’t have been able to effectively swing it. But it worked. I picked up the stick and off Buster went. It took me 0.2 seconds to decide to get the hell outta there.

Now onto a different sort of monkey...
In a very recent blog, I talked about Clearance. Okay, I talk about him a lot. But I said I was taking him to Acts clinic this week, which is a world-renowned clinic specializing in HIV/AIDS and particularly successful in paediatrics. I arranged with a friend of mine (Jonathan), who’s a doctor there, to examine him and get a second opinion. The previous clinic tested him, took his white blood cell count, and said it was too high to put him on ARVs. Further, they said they had to wait to treat his HIV before they could treat his cloudy, nearly-blinded eye. And that was the end of it. Frustrating. But I finally took him this morning. Because he’s a new patient there they had to test him again and open a new file. We then took him into the room for the test, which is basically a little prick on the finger (like diabetic people) and onto a litmus-like strip. As the nurse brought out the finger-pricker, Clearance started crying hysterically and fighting the nurse. He got up and ran out of the room. I chased after him and finally convinced him to go with me to see his care worker. As Elsie started taking him back to the room, he erupted again and ran away. Elsie chased after him and finally tracked him down and brought him back. A few more people came into the room and held him down as he kicked and screamed and cried and bit. It broke my heart. I cried so many times today. We finally pricked him and then proceeded to open a new file. We then did a general check, which resulted in another crying fit (myself included) and near escape. Then an X-ray and then the news. He has Tuberculosis which is really not a surprise to me since he’s had a cough for 2 years, but the frustrating thing is why the previous clinic did nothing! He has two months of TB treatment before he can go on ARVs. The treatment is so brutal and hard on the body and very rigorous. For a little guy who stays with his teenage sister and doesn’t consistently have food, the chance of defaulting is extremely high. We then had to take his blood (the worst fit of all, myself included). Jonathan also booked him into see an eye doctor. It was such a hard day. That poor little guy was so scared. Somehow he still loves me. When Jonathan asked if they are still friends, Clearance said no. When asked if he still loves me, he said “Ahey” ... Yes.

Last thing, I finally had my last mango test. I wasn’t convinced I was allergic to the whole mango... just the skin. Usually when I touch/eat mango skin, the swollen lips and itchy rash comes a couple days later. I ate a little bit in my smoothie this morning and noticed my lips swelling up a couple hours later and my ear itching and burning. Now I’m sitting in Khethiwe’s bed in an apparently hot room, wearing a bunny hug and sweat pants, shivering achy skin and also nursing a bit of a runny tummy (the South African polite way of saying diarrhea). It seems to get worse every time. I hereby declare to the world that I am officially allergic to the entire mango! And vow to not eat it as much.

Update on Dad... he’s doing great. I don’t want to say much because I’ve encouraged him to write in his journal, which he has been doing extensively and I’m going to have him post a blog as a special guest very soon. He’s currently on a hunt with Todd.











**Title of blog suggested by the British Cat

Three

It’s incredible how time flies. I think of this in two ways. One, I was away from Africa for 7 months and upon stepping on red soil, that 7 months felt more like 7 minutes. Two, I’ve been in Africa now for 5 ½ months and am recognizing how much of my experiences I’ve shared, one would think I’ve only been here for 5 days. For this, I’m sorry.

Coming back has felt so normal. It’s so easy to share about things that stand out and are out of the ordinary day, like the Siamese triplet bananas I bought at the store yesterday. Three different random people that day told me it means I’ll have triplets.

I guess there have been a few things plaguing my mind and heart lately. One of these things is a family I met in 2009 and have often spoken about: Lorraine and Clearance. They stay in a small rural village called Clare A in the municipality of Bushbuckridge. As soon as I got back to Africa, I felt desperate to see them. I’ve been trying to visit them as often as I can, which really has only resulted in 3 visits. One of these visits was a whole weekend worth and another only a day just before Christmas. Both visits have been quiet and beautiful, filled with lots of drawing, reading, and sitting. Lorraine (16) and Clearance (11) stay alone. I shared in an earlier blog (Dying to Self)about their situation. I’m really overjoyed to say that Lorraine has changed her ways. She recognizes the dangers in her lifestyle and has committed to giving them up. Of course I’d love to say it was through my investment and selfless commitment to her, but I’m happier to say it was through a very beautiful and compassionate African woman of God who dared to dig deep and speak the hard things. It’s just another reminder that God’s vision is for the local church to love and care and transform. Clearance on the other hand is still very sick, with no improvement. I’ve known this for a very long time and have felt convicted in my heart to do something, but still I’ve done nothing. How is that even possible? This week I’m taking him to a specialist.

The second thing plaguing me is the arrival of my father. He arrives tomorrow and is here for two weeks. I almost can’t believe it. It’s truly a miracle he’s coming and I’m excited for the opportunity to go deep in my relationship with him. I have Kruger Park safari lined up, hunting, fishing, community visits, but mostly I want him to know the community I exist in here. I want him to meet and know the people that I’ve journeyed with and have shaped my life for the last 3 years. Exciting times!

The third thing is this recent development in my life that is, in turn, shaping my future. I’m getting married July 31 this year. It’s been a strange and beautiful progression of events leading to this point but it’s so clearly a reflection and symbol of God’s goodness and His perfect and bizarre timing. I had originally committed to serving in Africa until the end of 2012, but God decided it’s time to invest in a companion/ministry partner in crime. Oh yeah, his name is Willis and I met him here in Africa in September 2009. So I’m now going back to Canada in June, getting married in July and remaining in Canada for two years. Both of our hearts seem to beat for this place so we’ll see what happens.


I'm hoping to do a series of updates from Christmas holidays and other interesting things I haven't yet documented, so stay tuned.

Much love to you all!
Kristal

Ps - My camera broke, so no pictures. I'll work on getting that fixed as well as collecting photos from others.