We made it back to Denver Saturday afternoon. We both were able to get a full night’s sleep on the plane so the jet lag hasn’t been too bad. We did wake up at 4:00am Monday morning and could’t get back to sleep though. It’s amazing how much work you can get done before the sun comes up, although I have no intention of making that a habit.

It’s been very slow adjusting to normal life again. I don’t remember having this problem last year. Quite frankly, neither one of us is very motivated right now. Nothing I’ve done the last couple days has been very fulfilling. It’s hard to get excited about work, dinner, BBQs, and etc. (although church was nice) once you’ve spent the last two weeks seeing true poverty and trying to make a difference. It all just seems mundane and unimportant. It’s weird…after two weeks of a brutal schedule and sensory overload, you’d think I’d be ready to get back to a slower, more normal pace of life. Instead, I just find myself feeling empty. I hope we can shake it soon. There’s quite a lot to do around here.

I’ll try to get pictures posted in the next couple weeks. We have some team members still overseas so we won’t have everything in one place for a while. Until I can get that sorted, I’ll get a few of ours up for your viewing pleasure.

Thank you to everyone for all your support!

We made it back from Zambia safely and are awaiting our bus to the airport. The Mfuwe Lodge was amazing and we saw a ton of animals including a pride of 20 lions. Very cool experience and Bonnie and I got to spend some quality time together for our honeymoon.

Yesterday we had a shopping day. We went to the market where all the vendors gather to sell their goods. I was really on my game and got some screaming deals. It felt good to hustle the hustlers. I’m sure they all still made money, just a reasonable amount instead of a windfall.

Bonnie said she’s not quite ready to leave, but I’m ready to get home. We haven’t worked on the house in several days. I can only sit around for so long before I get antsy. We both have plenty to do when we get home and we miss Dillon. It is a litle sad though. This country needs a lot of help and I never quite feel like I’ve done enough. I reckon I’ll just have to keep coming back.

We finished!!

Some of the guys and I put the final nails in the roof at sunset tonight. So glad we were able to finish. As I did last year, I had all the guys that worked on the roof come and write a blessing on a truss. I think it’s a nice way to leave a personal message for the kids that will live there, even if they never see it.

We managed to hand out several soccer balls to the kids tonight. They were all very excited. We gave a couple to the foster parents of the boys that will live in one of the houses as well. There was only one issue in that one of the local boys took a ball away from a local girl after we left. Albert, the foster dad, had one of his boys take it back and deliver it to the poor girl. I guess she was crying. Seems kids are the same wherever you go.

Church today was super cool. They put us all up front behind the pastor which was a little awkward. He made a big deal about us all visiting and helping the cause. The locals were very receptive and happy to see us. Rhonda preached on surviving difficult times whcich seemed like a fitting message for those people. She also made it a point to talk about Bonnie’s and my marriage and how Malawi had changed me and how we had been married here on Monday. We got a large applause and some cheers. Embarrassing, but nice. I also brought 2 balls to the church for them to give to the kids. The pastor had me do it during service. The smallest child held it over his head and faced the crowd like he had won a major victory. It was awesome. Although, 5 minutes later his mother came and took it because he and his friends wouldn’t stop playing with it. 10 minutes after that you could see it flying through the air across the road. Hilarious!

Tomorrow we go to Zambia for three days for the game park. They didn’t have wifi last year so this may be my last post for a while. Hope all is well in the States.

It’s been very difficult to write this week. The schedule is non stop so I’ve been about a day behind on posting. It didn’t help that I lost the Internet access code for a couple days. Anyway, let’s see if I can get us caught up with the goings on.

The House:

The closets are almost complete. Tons of painting. The roof only needs 7-8 sheets of tin and the ridge cap for completion. We’re very close and are heading to the jobsite after church to finalize.

The Kids:

We didn’t get to hand out soccer balls yet. We worked til sunset so there wasn’t any time to socialize. We’re taking everything with us today. I told Bright when we’d be there so hopefully he’ll show up too. It should be fun.

Church:

Our pastor is preaching at ICA today which is the host organization for out missionaries. It’s an upscale, middle class church. We are welcome to attend, but we also have the opportunity to go to another rural church in a village like we did last year. I think most are going to the village and Pastor Jim has enthusiastically encouraged it. It will give people a better feel for the locals I think.

The People:

I’ve gotten to spend time with most of the people I made a connection with last year. Ghama, the project manager, has been on site all week and we’ve been cracking jokes like crazy. I love that guy. He’s such a stud and really on top of everything. He told me I had his heart because of how well I was nailing the tin sheets. So funny.

Tenna finally showed up on site as well. I guess he walked off a job at some point an has been in the doghouse. He’s still all smiles.

A couple others from last year have been on site as well. Gonette was on the peak of the roof with us last year for those of you that remember him. He was cracking jokes all day yesterday. I also spent some time with Earnest. He remembers me from last year, although not I of him. He and Gonette were awesome in trying to teach me Chechewe (the language). Very accomodating and I enjoyed speaking with them about their country.

I also have tried talking with Keeson more this year. He’s the job foreman. Nice guy.

Martin is driving the bus again. He’s so cool. Climbed up in the trusses and helped a couple days. Rhonda said he is doing very well for himself and is driving a bus full time and renting a small place to live.

That’s probably enough of an update for now. Bonnie wants you all to know she’s still alive since I’m hogging all the blog information. She’s been working her butt off this week. I have pictures of her using a nail gun, table saw, and circular saw. My wife is a bad ass!!

Totally exhausted. Climbing around in trusses all day really wears you out. We didn’t get as far on the roof yesterday as I had wanted. It takes a little longer to lay out and mark the cross bracing than I remembered. We have about 6 boards to go on the back side, which should go quick. However, there’s still some layout to do on the front side before we can start nailing the rest of the boards. I’m hoping to start tin on the back side while the front bracing goes up to save time. We’ll see how it goes.

We’re also taking soccer balls and frisbees to the site for the kids today. I hope it doesn’t turn into a disaster. The kids tend to get a little pushy with each other when we take pictures. Hopefully we can maintain some sense of order. Otherwise we may have to leave it all with Larry to distribute later.

Such a long, tiring day. When all was said and done, we had all thirteen trusses on the house. Everyone worked very hard to make it happen and we’re now in good shape to get the roof done by Saturday. Closets and sewing are coming along nicely as well. And I’m pretty sure we’ve used all the paint in Malawi. Looking good across the board. Most of the interior work has been happening in the house from last year, so it’s been nice to be able to pick up where we left off.

We did have one pretty big mishap today unfortunately. One of the trusses fell as it was being pushed across and hit one of the guys in the head and shoulder. He took must of it on the shoulder, but has a nice lump on the head. He’ s ok, but I feel horrible about it. Ultimately it’s my responsibilty to ensure the safety of everyone working on the roof. Particularly since I’m the one preaching daily about job site safety. I’m pretty shook up about it and it took me a few minutes to regain my composure after it happened. This is the first accident we’ve had including last year. I don’t know. This sucks and I haven’t been right since. I’m just glad it wasn’t too serious, and it was a good reminder to be alert and plan better.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. As the saying goes, TIA: This is Africa.

Workday 2 complete. Yet not without its share of problems.

Yesterday was a typically slow day. The first day always takes a while for setup and dividing up job duties. We also didn’t have material for trusses and cabinets until after lunch. I think there was a little frustration among the team as a lot were standing around with nothing to do. We probably should have prepared them better for that on the first day and it’s certainly something to put in the notes for the next team.

Today was a different story entirely. Everyone was able to stay busy and we got quite a bit done despite severe problems with the generators. We have two, but were only able to run one at a time as both experienced mechanical problems. There was at least an hour where we couldn’t run any power tools at all. It’s was interesting as they don’t typically have these “luxuries” in Malawi and it was a nice reality check for us. Hand sawing through 3″ thick, wet lumber really makes you appeciate electricity.

We also ran out of timber this morning and didn’t get our next load until after lunch which is tricky. Usually getting going again is tough once you’ve sat down for a while. My truss crew was dragging a little and their tiredness was starting to catch up to them, myself included. Instead of building one in 30 minutes, each was taking an hour. Hammering all day wears you out. The boys that are going to live in the house came by and helped us finish. I saw a 10 year old boy pound a nail in better than some of the big guys on our team! It was neat they were so willing to help. Awesome experience and that’s what it’s really all about.

We wrapped up a little early today which was nice. Several local kids showed up and it gave the team an opportunity to play and take pictures. I forgot how excited they get to have their pics taken. It was hard to keep them from shoving each other to get in front.

Last thing. Yesterday I saw Bright! He was the kid I gave a soccer ball to last year. I had our driver, Martin, ask him what happened to it as he had another plastic bag ball. His answer: “Finished.” he must have played with it so much it got destroyed. So cool. I told him to stop by Saturday and i’d take care of him. His smile was priceless.

Wow I love it here. Little gestures mean so much.

It’s official. I am now a married man! Bonnie and I said our vows last night at sunset in front of a beautiful pond in Lilongwe, Malawi. Our pastor performed the ceremony in front of his wife, two of our friends on the trip, and the two missionaries. It was incredible and I couldn’t help but get choked up. I barely was able to repeat the vows. We’ll have pics when we get back as well as a video of the ceremony. I’m so excited about it and I love my beautiful wife!

Well, we made it to Ethiopia and I already have a story. Late last night I wandered down to the hotel bar to have one final adult beverage before our arrival in Malawi. They have asked us not to drink once we get there out of respect for the mission and the church. Seeing as it was the night before my wedding, I felt one local beer was in order. Noteven 5 minutes passed before I was promptly hit on by an Ethipian prostitute. Somehow fitting for my last night of bachelorhood. She took rejection very well. Nice girl.

Our departure for this year’s trip is rapidly approaching. In 2 days, we’ll be on a long journey to Lilongwe, Malawi to lend our help in building the next house for AIDS orphans. The house will be on the same plot of land as last year’s build in the village of Mpingu.  It’s nice to know everything is in the same place as we will be somewhat familiar with the area.  I look forward to seeing if we run into some of the same locals as last time. It will be interesting to speak with them about how their year has gone.

Not everything will be the same, however. I’ve already found out the project manager, Blessing Ghama, is no longer working with the missionaries on that project. He was moved by the organization that controls these projects in Malawi (Assemblies of God Ministries and the Malawian Government) to another project in the country.  It’s a little disappointing as I developed a pretty good relationship with him last year. Although I look forward to working with whomever is on the site and getting to know them as well.

One major change to the trip, for me in particular, is that our Pastor has put me on the “Tribal Council” this year to help lead the trip. I’m very excited, yet extremely nervous about this responsibility and am taking it very seriously.  I just want to make sure I support everyone, and enable them to have the type of experience I had last time. Not to mention get a house built!

Bonnie and I are pretty much ready for the trip. We still have to pack, but have everything we’re taking laid out in the basement. As with last year, we will be packing tools to use for construction and leave them over there when we’re done. To piggy back on my idea last year, we are also taking several soccer balls to distribute to any kids we see.  I think we have around 10 and some of the members of our team are also bringing balls. It will be exciting to see the look on the children’s faces as we hand them out.

All in all, things are shaping up nicely and we’re ready to go. 2 days and counting…

I finally updated my website with pics and stories from the trip. Check out the photo gallery if you get a chance. Also, here is a link to the video slideshow they presented in church: Jobsite Movie