finally, paypal + some other things

So I finally have set up paypal for those who are interested in helping out my friend Margaderina. However, I have a lot more than I originally asked for (at least $200) which is AWESOME. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart. I honestly believe she will be so thankful not only for the money, but mostly to know that people from all the way across the world care about her and what she is going through.

My plan when I return is firstly to tell her that my family and friends have heard about her situation and decided to help her. She doesn't know yet that we are doing this so I know she will be ecstatic, it's not every day that something like this happens. Next I will immediately set her up with a bank account as a way to safely store the money. Jealously may be a problem (as it is almost anytime someone receives some kind of help or prospers in any way, regardless of circumstances - it's a cultural thing), so I am going to sit down with the chief of my village to let him know what the plans are as far as helping Margaderina. That way if there is any issues with other villagers (jealously, people saying things to her, trying to take advantage of her) he can address it directly.

Lastly, I am going to be helping her on a month-to-month basis to see how she handles the money. I am thinking of starting out at like $30-50 per month for the first few months to see how she does. If there are any issues (which I really don't believe there will be because Malawian women are EXTREMELY responsible), I will work with her to resolve them.

I promise to keep you all up-to-date on how she is doing and if ever have any questions please feel free to ask. Also, if you ever feel like sending her a note please do, I am sure she would love to hear from the people who are so generously helping her out. You could write the letter to her and address it to me and I will translate it and give it to her. I'm sure she could really use some encouragement.

Also, I know there are some people who have pledged to donate but were waiting until I set up paypal. To you guys I want to say a very sincere THANK YOU. You have three options...One is that you can still donate to her through paypal, even though I've raised the amount I think she needs she could possibly need more (maybe in the future). The second option is to give to the women's group which she is a member of. Not only do I want Margaderina to get a bank account, but I would like the rest of the women as well to get one. If they all get accounts with Opportunity International (awesome NGO by the way) then they can apply for a group loan which they are all interested in for their small-scale businesses. The only issue is money for transport to the closest OI bank, which will be about $5 round-trip for each of them to go. So for 13 women it will cost $65. So that's another option. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is another project I am working on right now. I just finished writing a proposal to build an Under Five Health Clinic designed to give free, vital health care services to pregnant women and young children. This project costs around $4,000 and will be funded by anyone that is willing to give. Hopefully this project will be approved by the Peace Corps asap and then the project will be posted on the Peace Corps website (http://www.peacecorps.gov/) for anyone to donate. So please be on the lookout for that.

If you decide to give, please email me to let me know exactly how you want me to use the money. I will say it again and again and again...THANK YOU.

Now I'm off to Malawi!

peace out america - take 2

Ten months ago I was running around like crazy getting ready to leave my family, friends, and all sense of comfort and normalcy to go to the strange land Malawi. I was scared, nervous, excited, and quite frankly not sure if I could make it over there. And now almost a year later I am back at home preparing to go back again.

I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to come home for three weeks. Before coming here originally I hadn't really even considered coming home during my service, but here I am. Some of the highlights of my trip home include...

-meeting my beautiful niece Avery for the first time
-catching up with old friends, particularly one that came all the way from Australia!
-giving a presentation on Malawi to my Nana and Pop Pop's retirement home
-spending time with a soon-to-be-married friend (congrats Melis!)
-receiving volleyballs from the GPS Crush club team for my girls volleyball club
-catching up on all the food+movies+music+tv+books I've so missed

In my group of 20 volunteers I am the only one who came home during Christmas so I feel pretty lucky. To see my family and friends has been awesome and I'm feeling so encouraged and supported by everyone here. I can't wait to take this momentum and motivation back to my village. I've got about fourteen months left of my service and it's my prayer that I make the most of every single minute over there. I am so blessed to be doing what I am, it has been great to be reminded of that these past several weeks.

All I can think to say is that God is good, so good in fact. I know I'm only doing this because He allows me to and gives me the strength to persevere through it all. And for that I am extremely thankful. I am also so thankful for my family and friends. If you are reading this you probably fall into one of those two categories so to you I want to say a big, huge THANK YOU. I've been overwhelmed by your love and support, please continue it through this next fourteen months! Please continue praying not only for me, but particularly for the people I am working and living with. Malawi is a wonderful country with beautiful, caring people but there is still an alarming amount of poverty and desperation. Please pray that the Lord will help me to meet their physical needs as well as spiritual.

Again, thank you all. I can't wait to see what will come in 2011! May you have a blessed New Year's and beyond!

my archenemy is a goat

Do I believe in animal cruelty? Absolutely not. However, I do admit to throwing rocks and other various small objects at the goats, pigs, and chickens who like to wander into my yard and eat from my trees and garden. I don't really try to hit them, but more so just scare them away. That's what most Malawians do so therefore I feel like that's just a part of the integration process here. And if one of those rocks might happen to actually hit one of them, well then I just say "zimachitika" ("it happens"). Especially when it comes to Beardy.

Beardy is my nemesis, my archrival, my foe. And she just so happens to be a goat. I call her Beardy since I think it's strange that she is a female and she has a long beard. Not a very creative name but I think it fits. From the very first day that I moved to Kakunga she has been continuously finding ways to sneak into my yard and ruin everything. Before I fixed my fence in July I had to plant and replant everything in my garden about four different times. Needless to see I was very frustrated before I was able to have my fence fixed.

I thought that after my fence was finally repaired that all my problems would be over but alas, no. Beardy and her friends thought that since they were no longer able to enter that they would just climb on the outside of my fence and eat from my passionfruit vine, breaking down my delicate fence made of reed-like grass. And they still enter from time to time when some of my neighbor kids enter and forget to close the fence properly.

But last week Beardy really topped herself when she realized that she could climb onto my fence and get on top of a very narrow brick wall that acts as a barrier to my chimbudzi (as shown in the picture above). Who even knew that goats could climb or that they could balance themselves so well? But she has, and she has once again broken my fence in the process.

Whoever said that goats aren't smart hasn't met Beardy. And I don't know if there is some sort of moral to this story or life lesson that I am supposed to take home with me when I finish my time here in Malawi. Maybe it's that animal cruelty is sometimes necessary. Maybe it's that you know you have too much free time when you spend large amounts of your day trying to outsmart a goat. Maybe it's that I should learn to be persistent and to never give up even when facing obstacles, just like Beardy. Who knows. I just know that as long as I am living in Kakunga that Beardy and I will never be friends. I am okay with that, and I am pretty sure she is as well.