A Time For Everything

“We are coming to your house tomorrow.” announced the voice on the other end of the phone. At the time, we were having dinner with guests and should have ignored the call. But like Pavlov’s dog we have been trained to answer when the phone rings.

“Who is this?” I inquired. “This is the St. Andrew’s Church Women’s Guild, and we are coming to your house tomorrow at 3 o’clock.” Slightly taken aback I replied in my politest voice: “We will not be here tomorrow afternoon because we will be working at the Nursery. But you are welcome to visit us there.” The caller persisted: “We don’t know how to find the Nursery so we will come to your house.”

Eventually, the Women’s Guild relented and at 3 o’clock the next afternoon a small pick-up truck, bulging with a gang of Presbyterian Women, pulled into the Nursery courtyard. As they disembarked they also unloaded a truckload of goodies—sugar, potatoes, soap, soft drink, etc.

After a quick tour of the Nursery we shared devotional time led by a member of the Guild. Then came introductions, a few short speeches, and 2 presentations. Dada Maliska (Paul) received a brand new shirt from the market and Mama Maliska (Darlene) was presented with 4 meters of beautiful material to be made into a dress. We thanked the women for the personal gifts and also for their generosity in bringing all the sugar, potatoes, etc. for the Nursery.

Only after their departure did we finally get clued in. Not only the shirt and material, but all the food, soap, etc. were gifts meant not for the Nursery but for the minister and the minister’s spouse. It is the duty and privilege of the Women’s guild to look out for the well being of all the pastors (Muliska) related to their congregation. This was not a spur of the moment drop in just to interrupt our busy day to say hello. This was a well planned care program for me and Darlene. The women raised the funds, purchased the gifts, and actually called (a highly atypical concession to us Americans) to announce their arrival.

It is the first time in my 36 years as a pastor that we have received such a visit. And the first time we received a chicken from the church.

NOTE: In addition to being director of the Crisis Nursery Paul also serves as the associate pastor of the 1200 member congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Mzuzu.

The Fall

Falling in love is a wonderful thing. It’s like walking into a surprise party for two. Falling out of love is a painful thing. It’s like walking out of a funeral home. Yet, as I remind couples when I preach a marriage homily, the honeymoon always ends. Sooner or later we hit the ground and fall out of love. Only then does the work of real love begin. {Which is why most men should stay married—it’s the best chance we have for growing up!}

I fell in love with Malawi during my first visit here in 2002. After 2 months of immersion in Malawi life both Darlene & I became convinced that our love was real. Our desire to somehow return for a long term commitment was undeniable.

Six years later (after 2 more visits) we said our vows and “moved in.”On Aug. 7, 2008 we returned to Malawi for a three year term as PCUSA (Presbyterian Church USA) missionaries. However, we soon became painfully aware that there is a huge difference between casual visits and “living together”. In fact we had a devil of a time. The honeymoon was over, we hit the ground, we fell out of love.

August 7, 2009 when we left for a visit to the States, some people wondered if we would ever return to Malawi. In my darkest moments, so did I.

We had fallen out of love.

Nevertheless, along the way, we had also begun the hard work of real loving. Our feelings had changed but our commitment had not. We were growing up. Returning to Malawi & the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery after our visit to the States was truly returning home. (Be it ever so humble!)

Exorcism

What the devil is going on here?

The devil,

the father of lies,

the tempter of souls,

the destroyer of hope,

gets a kick out of kicking us

when we are down.

So we say:

“The Devil made me do it!”

Do you “believe” in the Devil?

No, not I.

Yet,

I know not

how better to name “it”.

The lies that corrupt my mind,

the trials that drag down my spirit,

the darkness that shrouds my soul,

Is real!

Until…..

all heaven breaks loose

and I glimpse

The Light—The Life—The Love

of One who alone is

Truth;

the One who lifts my soul

above the devil’s reach .

Paul Heller

Domestic Difficulties

We are back in Malawi and everything is running at full swing. Now we can start to deal with some of the everyday problems that arise. The most pressing domestic problem we have is the rat. Yes, we have a rat living with us at home. I saw it one night. Then I saw its’ path of destruction. It chewed through powdered milk packets and the flour bag. It worked on the spices and even ate through the precious taco seasoning mix from the States (that dirty rat!!). It ravaged Paul’s desk drawers, leaving evidence of its’ presence with chewed fragments of scotch tape and numerous poops. Eeeeeeeeeeeew!

After it ate the taco seasoning I declared WAR. The only good rat is a dead rat. I tried traps and rat poison. No luck. It seems our rat enjoyed peanut butter the most. So I mixed the rat pellets with the peanut butter making special “crunchy” peanut butter. No go. Nothing.

After numerous failed attempts to kill this obnoxious critter I asked our staff for help. They readily agreed. They were up for the challenge. So yesterday, while I was at work, they did the deed. They heard the rat behind the bookcase in the study, and cornered it. Gift guarded the area in case the rat took an escape route while Baulen ran for the broom. Then they pressed the bookcase against the wall until the dirty rat came scurrying out from behind it. WHAM !– Baulen nailed it using the “percussion method”. Bingo! He was so excited he called me at work, where I was equally excited.

Baulen told me that he had killed another rat in the study while we were gone. So this was not the first. That gives me hope that we are now rat free (for the time being). We’ll see how long it lasts.

While We were Gone

“Who is minding the store while you are here in the States?” It’s a question raised at almost every one of our 8 Nursery presentations during September.

The answer is simple—our competent Malawian staff. Augustine Harawa (Administrative Assistant), Anna Kamanga (Nurse), and Veronica Mwenelupembe (Staff Supervisor), took full responsibility for all administrative decisions. Our 12 nannies, 2 house-keepers, 2 watchmen, and 1 gardener, carried on faithfully.

Upon our return we were welcomed with songs and hugs. We were also welcomed by 15 healthy babies,

including 3 new arrivals Brandina, Eunice, and Gift. Alec, however, Alec who has filled our life with the joy of his smile, his play, and his hugs since our arrival last August, Alec has gone back to his home in the village. That is the joy of why the Nursery exists, but still it hurts.

Visiting our own “home village” in the States was a joy, but so is the return to our village here in Mzuzu.

Pictured are our 4 newest residents going to the clinic for their baby shots.

New Arrivals

We are currently in the States for a little American R & R (Running & Racing). While the pace is busy we are enjoying time with family and will soon be visiting churches to tell baby stories. Since leaving our home the Nursery has welcomed two new arrivals which has tipped the gender balance in favor of little girls.

Augustine, the Administrative Assistant, wrote to announce their admission.

“Yesterday we admitted a new baby girl by the name of Brandina Nyasulu and she is one and a half months old. Her birth weight was 3.7 kgs but her weight has gone down to 3 kgs during her admission date. The mother died some three weeks ago and the baby was being taken care of by her uncle. She is the sixth born in a family of six. We don't know yet if the mother had tested for HIV or not and what made her die. The attached photo of the baby was taken yesterday at the Mzuzu District Social Welfare Office.”

Last week Augustine emailed the arrival of 2 month old Eunice Nyasulu (no relation to Brandina). Her mother died on August 19 and she was admitted to the Nursry on the 21^st.

The Nursery is now operating at full capacity with a total number of fifteen babies.

During our time in the States, Paul & Darlene will be speaking about the mission of the Nursery at the following Presbyterian Churches:

Sunday 9/6 10:00 am Plattsburgh worship (518-561-3140)

Tuesday 9/8 6:00 pm Chazy potluck (846-7349)

Wed. 9/9 5:30 pm Saranac Lake potluck (891-3401)

Thur. 9/10 6:00 pm Potsdam potluck (265-9434)

Sat. 9/12 6:00 pm Watertown Stone potluck (788-5630)

Sun. 9/13 Watertown First worship

Tues. 9/15 11:00 am Rouses Point Presbytery meeting

Sun. 9/20 11:00 am Woods Memorial, Saverna Park, Md.

The Gated Community

The weather is getting nicer now, and we are taking the babies out to play almost every day. Our play area is the patio right off the dining room. It’s so convenient for the staff. It gives great access for welcoming people coming in. But was just an open entrance onto the parking area. Nothing to keep the babies from going out to meet incoming cars. Where is the safety officer?

Not that the babies have been left free to roam. We have been putting an old shutter across the entrance – kind of like a cattle guard. The babies don’t like crawling over it. However, it doesn’t always stop them. Piling the bottom 2 drawers of the dresser across the entrance seemed more secure, but they can squeeze through that too. One turn away from the babies by the busy caretaker and they’re out!

What to do???

A donation came in last month that we decided to use for a gate. Now a gate doesn’t sound like much of a project, but in Malawi, things (including our patio fence) are built out of cement. Installing the gate involved 3 workmen, chisels, a sledgehammer, and new cement! But when the dust settled we had a nice secure gate to hold the babies in. They don’t mind at all because they can climb on it, see through it, and somewhere in their unconscious feel a little safer. We are happy knowing they can’t get out to greet incoming cars. So everybody’s happy!

Do you suppose we can now consider ourselves a “gated community”? It’s always nice to move up in the world!

Rescued From the Pit

“I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought me up from the pit, O Lord my God.” Jonah 2:6

A woman using the new pit toilet hears a baby crying. It sounds near. Can it be? The crying is coming from the men’s side.!! She looks down but can see nothing because of the darkness and depth. She runs to get the village headman.

As the crying persisted the villagers tore down the brick walls of the latrine and put a ladder down the hole. A tiny baby was discovered there at the bottom of the non functioning pit latrine – 10 feet down. Dumped by her mother, she was left to die. Amazingly, she survived her 10 foot drop and was taken to Central Hospital for observation. The nurses named her Chindikani, which means praise to God (for saving her from the pit). No one knew where she came from or if she had any family. Social Welfare called the crisis nursery – there was no other place to turn. Our staff went to rescue her and she is now snug in her new home. Babies like this have nowhere else to go. Abandoned, or in a situation where care cannot be given, they would die without the crisis nursery intervention.

Chindikani is a beautiful baby who eats well and sleeps even better. Calm and easy going, it is hard to imagine someone throwing her away. With loving care and lots of feeding she is now doing very well. Meanwhile, her mother has been caught by the police and is being charged with attempted murder. She is 18 years old, and has another child who is about 3. The father is not known. Because she has no family,(the mother will not be allowed to keep her) Chidikani will probably be put up for fostering and later, adoption.

Chindikani

A plea from the pit.
A bleat from the black.
A cry from the crap hole.

Life calling to life.

Listen with your life.
Hear with your heart.
Answer with your arms.

Life answering life.

Paul Heller