Happy Birthday Zainabu!

Zainabu loves to sing. She likes to stay clean. Her clothes and bed are kept very tidy.

Thandie is in North Carolina

Thandie, Peace and the Gentrys are in Charlotte, North Carolina at a Missions Conference. They have been there since Sunday. Brother Gentry will be preaching Wednesday night. They saved the best for last!

On Thursday morning they will begin the long drive back to Kentucky. Then it will be packing time. Thandie will have the difficult task of condensing 7 suitcases full of items for the Children's home into 4 suitcases each weighing 50 pounds. It is a mighty task...but I know she will find a way.

Sick little girls

Currently there are 5 girls at the Children's Home fighting illness. Ida continues to suffer from an ear infection. Cathreen, Tikhale, Egrey and Margret (peach dress) have throat infections and sores in their mouth. Please pray for quick healing and that the other children would be protected from this bout of illness.

Please pray for Ida

Ida (the one on the left) is sick again. She has an ear infection. Because her immune system is so compromised, something as simple as an ear infection could be life threatening.

Ida is pictured here with her younger sister Ivy.

Special thanks to the Jorgensons for sending the picture. I think it is the only picture we have of the two girls together.

What does Malawi look like?

For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to visit, here are some pictures of Malawi. It is such a beautiful Country. The landscape reminds me so much of San Diego. Thandie thought so too! She was so surpised to see so many of the same plants, trees, mountains and vegatation. While we were driving she would say "wow, we have that same plant", "oh I know that tree", "oh wow that is just like Malawi".

Updates of the Orphans are coming soon! Once Thandie gets back to Malawi, I should be able to update this Blog regularly with stories from the Children's Home. Stay tuned...

Where are Thandie and Peace now?

Today Thandie and Peace returned to Louisville Kentucky. They spent the last week in the mountains of West Virgina at a Mission's Conference. The meeting went well, but I am sure glad they are back in Kentucky. While they were in West Virigina, they weren't able to get a cell phone signal...which meant 5 days with no contact. Thandie and Peace will spend a few days in Kentucky and then will head to North Carolina at the end of the week for their last out of town meeting before their return to Malawi. Thandie and Peace will leave for Malawi on April 5th and arrive in Malawi on April 7th.

Peace's first birthday party!

I think this will be my last installment of Peace's first experiences. I can hardly believe that it has been 3 weeks since she left San Diego. Peace turned 6 1/2 years old on February 24, 2007. Those of you who know me, know that this surely wasn't the first 1/2 birthday I've celebrated. I was pretty excited when I figured out that she would be here on her half birthday and it landed on a Saturday. Peace's birthday party was probably my favorite "first experience". In contrast this was most definitely Thandie's least favorite experience in San Diego. Especially our trip to Party City. I could see Thandie converting each item in her mind into loaves of bread or eggs that she could buy for the orphans. She really thought that all the birthday hoopla was ridiculous. We ended up leaving empty handed, then Peace and I sneaked back to Party City just the two of us. I was very surprised when she picked Cinderella as the theme for her party. I'm not a big Disney fan, especially considering they don't have a black princess (although Disney just released their plans for a black princess...her name will be Maddie....that's another post all together).

Back to the birthday party.....

Peace had her first birthday balloon bouquet, her first birthday cake, her first party plates, her first time playing pin the tale on the donkey, and her first pinata! The pinata was a real treat. Thandie had told Peace earlier in the week that she couldn't get the pinata unless she pulled out her loose tooth. Peace wiggled that tooth and wiggled it...with a few tears and a few drops of blood...the tooth came out with only minutes to spare. So she got to have her pinata! The princess pinata was the type that you pull one string at a time until the candy falls out. Everyone pulled strings...no candy. Then somebody gave Peace a bat...it was all over then. She loved diving for the candy. Then it was time for presents. A highlight for Peace...not so much for Thandie.

Two birthdays on March 15th!

Justin is turning 13 years old and is in the 5th grade. He loves to play soccer and has lots of friends. Justin wants to be a driver when he grows up.




Nicholas is turning 10 years old and is also in the 5th grade. He loves to run and help in the garden. He has grown corn and beans.

Alinafe Y. turns 7!

Alinafe will turn 7 years old on Monday March 12th! She is one of the youngest children in the Good Samaritan Children's Home. She is one of four Alinafe's. She has a servant's heart, always ready to help. She has a beautiful voice and sings in the "miracle choir". Alinafe's birthday will be very different from that of a 7 year old little girl in America. She will not have a birthday party, no presents, and no cake. The children's home does not have the funding for "extras", it is hard enough to meet the basic needs of each child. But, Alinafe will not spend the day sad that she didn't get a birthday party. She will get to eat first in the dining hall and choose special friends to sit at her table. Alinafe will give thanks that she has enjoyed a year of good health. She has no living relatives. Alinafe is thankful for life!

Peace's first time to Sea World

Here is another chapter of Peace's first experiences.

For those new to the blog, Thandie is the orphanage director of Good Samaritan Children's Home in Malawi, Africa. Thandie and her 6 year old daugther Peace are visiting America for four months to raise prayer and financial support for the children's home. She spent 19 days in San Diego last month.

God blessed us with a beautiful day (2/21/07). The Burtons came with us along with a couple ladies from the singles class at church. Amy and Sean who visited Malawi with me last summer also came along. Thandie and Peace loved the Shamu and dolphin shows. They had their first taste of funnel cake. Peace rode the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster. She was so scared and was grateful that she survived. It was so much fun to see Sea World through their eyes. They had never seen any of these marine mammals before.

Prayer Request

Please pray for Ida. She is suffering from a tonsil infection and stomach pains. She has been to the hospital for the past three days to receive shots and medication. Ida is Ivy's older sister. She has a compromised immune system due to AIDS. Please pray for her.

Ndiuzayani turns 9!

Ndiuzayani turned 9 years old on March 2nd. He is in the 1st grade and loves to play soccer. He has a 6-year old sister named Jennifer that also lives in the Children's home. Like all of the other children living at Good Samaritan, He has no living adult relatives.

Remembering Ivy

It has been two months since Ivy went home to be with the Lord. Everyone who knew her, misses her terribly, but we're comforted knowing she's with the Lord and is no longer suffering.

For those of you who are just now hearing about Ivy, she was a ten year old little girl who called the Good Samaritan Children's Home in Malawi Africa her home for the past three years. Ivy and her older sister Ida were brought to the orphanage in 2003 from their home village of Jacket. The girls were orphaned by AIDS and both suffer from the disease as well. Ivy was full of life and brought joy to everyone who knew her. She loved to sing Christian songs and was the lead in the children's choir. Ivy was so friendly and became the favorite of all the visitors from America.

Ivy's last three months were very difficult. She suffered from many illnesses as a result of her compromised immune system. She became very anemic and was receiving blood transfusions frequently. She spent her last couple weeks at home in the orphanage. She died early Friday morning Jan 5, 2006 shortly after arriving to the hospital. Her body was buried in her home village on Saturday January 6th, 2007.

Peace's first trip to the Pacific Ocean

Peace and Thandie had a great time visiting the beach in San Diego. Peace played in the sand and ocean. She was soaking wet and full of sand at the end, so it was a sucessful trip to the beach!

Another "first" for Peace

While Peace was in San Diego, she had her very first bath. I had just assumed that Peace would have taken many baths in her life considering she is 6 years old. But again, life for a 6 year old Malawian couldn't be more different than an American 6 year old. In Malawi Peace takes a sponge bath using a bucket. In America, she had been taking showers, as her Mama viewed filling up the bathtub as a tremendous waste of water. Peace had been suffering from growing pains while she was here and I thought a bath would help her aches and pains. I never thought for a moment that it would be her first. It wasn't her last :) Peace really had a great time!

Side Note: In a span of two months in America, Peace gained 13 pounds, went up two shoe sizes and two dress sizes. Explains the growing pains!

First time at the ZOO!

This was Peace's first trip to a zoo. Although she lives in Africa, she has never seen elephants, giraffes, snakes, rhinos, tigers, etc. Special thanks to the Eitelman's for the free tickets! Peace had a cold and wore a dish towel around her neck with Eucalyptus oil, to help her breathe. We had a great time.

Thandie and Peace in San Diego!

Since the day I left Malawi I have been anticipating Thandie and Peace's visit to America, especially the San Diego part. Peace had never travelled outside of Malawi and had never seen or experienced many of the things American children take for granted. I was hoping that even though she was going to be in America two months before coming to San Diego, there would still be some "firsts" for me to experience with her. And there was! I will be posting some of Peace's "first" experiences with slide shows. It was such a blessing to have Thandie and Peace come to San Diego. Time sure flew by too quickly!

Why a blog?

I decided to start this blog as an easy way to update Americans on the work in Malawi, particularly the Good Samaritan Children's home. As most of you know Good Samaritan Children's Home was started by missionary Gardiner Gentry. The home is directed by a Malawian woman named Thandie and houses 97 orphans .