Airports…you gotta love ‘em

There is something both magical and maddening about international air travel. On one hand, it is astonishing to think that we can traverse spaces that took our ancestors weeks and sometimes months to cross. On the other hand, it can be frustrating to deal with airports and security and all of the 21st century encumbrances. [...]

Safari or Bust, part 1

To awaken in a tent in the jungle in Africa is a remarkable feeling. It is warm and rich with the closeness of the natural sub-Saharan world. By contrast, the last tent experience I had was on the polar ice cap, at the North Pole. This clearly is a bit different. Off in the distance [...]

Terrie Taylor: Super Doctor!

The one aspect of the documentary on children and malaria and the work of MSU and others in Malawi we still need is an in-depth interview with Dr. Terrie Taylor. We have observed her working in the ward all week, meeting and reviewing cases with colleagues, and mentoring students, but a thoughtful, sit-down discussion of [...]

The Peacock Flies Again

The wonderful news of the day came when Bob and I arrived on the children’s malaria ward. Chikondi is going home today! The little six-year old had been admitted only two days earlier, quite ill and actually unconscious from the disease. His rebound was occasion for rejoicing all round. To add to the delight, Chikondi [...]

Tuesday: An MRI, and a trip to the village, and a little taste of Spartan cheer

The first time I met the Malawian radiologist Dr. Sam Kampondeni was in 2007. There must have been six inches of snow on the ground. It was at Michigan State University where he was engaged in further training, anticipating the possibility of a MRI being delivered to Blantyre. It would come all the way from [...]

The Early Bird Catches the Worm: Monday Morning

Sometime after 4:30 a.m. the smell of charcoal burning and the whoosh-whoosh of a broom were the alarms that awakened me. Sixteen-year old Joyce was preparing the home for her parents and younger sister and brother. It was still too early for roosters. She rises early every day to see that there is hot water [...]

Remember the Sabbath–and boy will we ever

It’s five-thirty, and somewhere a rooster is crowing. In the dark I fumble around to grasp my toothpaste and toiletries in order to get cleaned up for the church services this morning. My clergy clothes were laid out last night. A quick washing down using warm water that Joyce, the older daughter, has prepared, and [...]

Saturday: The arrival

Several meals and a few naps later, Bob and I arrived in Johannesburg. It was strikingly eerie to see Soweto pop up on the in-flight map, as sterile and serene as the names of all the surrounding cities. It was as though nothing had ever happened there. I was able to recount for Bob the [...]

The Flight, part 1

Friday, March 5, 2010 The prospect of a long, fifteen-hour flight from New York to Blantyre is overtaken by the excitement of the project ahead of us. I am also pleased that Bob and I will be staying with a seminary classmate of mine and his family. The Reverend Justice Msini is the Archdeacon for [...]