2nd Annual Hope for Malawi Feast

We are having our 2nd Hope for Malawi feast on November 10th starting at 6:30 p.m. Same as last year, we are serving traditional Malawian food that the villagers there eat! This time we'll even be closer to the taste as we've been there and they taught us how to cook some of their foods!!

It will be held at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship, 515 N. Syndicate Ave. (Behind the Dairy Queen on May St.) Come out enjoy the food, see how we helped in Malawi in January when we went and hear about our plans to return to help the kids in June 2008!! We are sooo excited.

The meal will be a semi-formal so dress up and come and have some fun. We will again be having a silent auction with many great items to bid on! Tickets are $20, please call 622-1030 for more info or for tickets!

Hope to see you there!!!

Sue (Jaako's Mom)

PS. We are also having a craft market on Nov. 17th from 10 till noon. Admission $1.00. There are still some tables left to rent. Cost $20.00. Lots of advertising will be done! Call 622-1030.

The Warm heart of Africa

In Malawi they gave us a very warm welcome. Like joy and happiness but underneath those smiles they carry a burden of pain, suffering and hunger. They're very nice and they need help. And they just can't survive without our help. So I just want to help them more and more. So I'm going back to Malawi hopefully in Spring 2008. And I would like your guys help. I'll write to you soon. Please pray for us.

From Jaako

Hope

As you may know, we have sent Hope some money for nursing school. For those of you who don't know, she is a lady who lives in Malawi who lost her parents and now is watching her younger siblings and one died shortly after we left. Well we raised up money for Hope. A little bit after she got it she was in a car accident and she's probably gonna need fake teeth and work on her face. Please pray for her. Also please pray for me as we are hoping to go to Malawi next Spring or Fall. Talk to you soon. Jaako.

Children's Market

We are having a Children's Market on Saturday, September 15th at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship at 515 N. Syndicate Ave. 9:00 A.M until 1:00 P.M.
This is a market for Mother's with babies and children!! Come early to ensure you get the items that you need!

Vendors wanted!! Tables are $20.00. Please call Sue Polkki to book your table. 344-5529.

This will be a fun morning! If you can help that day please call Sue!

Thank-you!

The Thieves

A few days ago a group of men attempted to break into the property of the Jonats (the missionaries in Malawi) and one of the guards tried to keep them out and they threw a gasoline bomb at the guard. And he is in alot of pain. When the Jonats came back they were shocked to see police in their property and they just left right away to go to the police station and came back with more. Please keep the guard in your prayers. He is a very good man and to the Jonats he is family and he feels like family to me also. So just keep him in your prayers.

But also we have some good news, we are going back to Malawi in about one year, next June. We don't have a date yet or anything, but we still have alot of time to get a date. We are really excited to go back, we feel like a year is too long to wait. But at least we have more time to fundraise instead of 4 months. Please keep us in your prayers also. And I will write to you soon.

Jaako

We're at it again!!

Just wanted every-one to know that Jaako is going back to Malawi in June 2008!! We were very successful our last campaign raising around $32,000 in only a few months. Thanks to all of you who made it happen. The children were greatly blessed and we want to do it again.

On Saturday, June 23rd, we are having a yard sale at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship, 515 N. Syndicate Avenue (Behind the Dairy Queen on May) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Hotdogs and pop will be sold after 11:00. If you have any items that you would like to donate, please call Sue or Debbie at 622-1030 for drop off location.

Come out and support this valuable mission that Jaako has!

Sue (Jaako's Mom)

Jaako will resume his blogs very shortly.

Hot Dog and Bake Sale

We are having a hot dog and bake sale after our church service on Sunday May 20th. It will start around noon. Hot Dogs and Pop will be a dollar each and we will have cheap baking!! You can come out even if you don't come to our church. Just show up around noon. All the money raised will go to Pastor Paul who I've written about in an earlier blog. The sale is at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship. Thanks guys.

Jaako and Sue (My Mom)

Pastor Paul

Hello,

One of the pastors in Malawi, Pastor Paul his wife died a little while ago and he is asking for a loan to start grinding maize so his family can survive. Before we went to Malawi his son died and his house burnt down so we really want to help this family out. So if you guys would like to donate to Pastor Paul, that would be a great help. He needs $1,000 US dollars to start this. And he is going to try to repay the money that we give him and we're going to try and use that money to help kids go to school. So is it a win-win situation? or is it a win-win situation. Cause the money that you give now will be going to two things, so am I right? or am I right? Thank-you for helping me with my trip and I'll write to you soon.

Jaako

Cheques can be sent to:

Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship
515 N. Syndicate Ave.
Thunder Bay, ON
P7C 3X2

Tax receipts will be issued at year end.

Just a quick hello

Just recently the missionary Kim Weiler and Pastor Roberto came to my church. As you know from my first blogs that it was Kim Weiler that told everyone in the church to go up to the front and see what God has for you. And that is how my whole trip began. so we had a little discussion together about Guatemala and Malawi about there differences and similarities. Most of the things were similar but there were certain things that were different. Like both places are very good at art and crafts and all that and we talked about the difference like there money exchanges. Our family is thinking about going back to Malawi in June 2008 but this time would be nice to go with the whole family, so I will write to you soon.

Jaako

A couple stories from my trip

Hi, Today I'm gonna talk about some cute little stories about things I saw in Malawi. One time this little boy was looking at us confused because we were white and we were just looking at him and all of a sudden we saw a yellow liquid coming out of his pants. And if you are wondering about what I am talking about, I'm talking about the boy peed. That happened alot to us where we saw little boys pee their pants and all these different kids would walk through it and sit in it and not even care.

There were a couple of times where kids would look at us for about 5 minutes and all of a sudden would start crying if we came to them. All the younger kids were really scared that we were white. It made us sad that they felt so scared.

I'm really missing being in Malawi. I can't wait until next time and I will write to you again next week.

Jaako

Thoughts about Malawi

Today we were at Starbucks and we bought a couple snacks and a coffee and a hot chocolate and we were joking around that the hot chocolate cost so much money and it only costs $1.35. So then when we started to think about it more we could have sent two children to school in Malawi and like just think about it, your coffee everyday can send a child to school. Just one little coffee, approximately a dollar can send a child to school and still have $.35 left. And $.65 can just buy a note book and a pencil and their salaries are only about $1.oo a day so they don't have the money to do that. To spend all their money that they get in one day to send their child to school so they just don't educate them. Just a few thoughts to think about. Thank-you very much for supporting me and my trip.

Thank-you, Jaako.

Thank-you very much

Thank-you all for coming out to the report night. It turned out to see alot of nice faces there. My trip was wonderful. We're thinking about getting scholarships for different people in Malawi to help them survive but specifically for this one woman named Hope. Her parents died awhile ago and now one of her younger sisters has died and she really wants to be a nurse. So we want to try and give her that scholarship. It's gonna cost $700 every year for 3 year and she can't afford that but people here can afford that. I really hope we can help alot of people to get scholarships. I thank all of you for helping me with my trip and I'll write to you soon.
Jaako

So wonderful to be home.

It is so nice to be home. To be back and see all the snow instead of always seeing green grass. It is so nice to be back with everybody that I already know and talk to them about my trip. Not many kids in Malawi had clothes that didn't have holes in them. I liked going to all the villages there and hear them sing so wonderfully and be able to help them. It was so nice to meet new people there. While we were there, we went to alot of villages and got to bring them supplies like maize, oil, rice, cane sugar, salt and either some goats or some chickens. Looking about how happy the kids were when I gave them their bags, their faces just lit up. Even if I waved to them, their faces would light up. They were so happy that I had came to help them. I'm really looking forward to next year. The people would clap when we had said that we were buying them supplies and they would sing songs. Their singing is so beautiful. I will write to you soon.

Jaako

Hope for Malawi Report Night

We will be having a Hope for Malawi Report and Information Night on Saturday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. It will be at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship at 515 North Syndicate Avenue - behind the Dairy Queen on May.

Come out and see Malawi through the eyes of a 9 year old. We will have lots of pictures, video and items from Malawi!!!

Call 622-1030 (ask for Sue) for more information!!

Sue (Jaako's Mom)

I'm back home!!

Hey there,

We have just been home for about 3 days now and it's been great to be home. In Africa it was just hard to be eating in front of the Malawians. (Like in restaraunts) There's so many so we just can't give our food over. The poverty there is just hard to believe. The difference between how much we get and they get is again hard to believe. They only eat a little bit of maize everyday and that's pretty much all they get to eat. Their clothes look like they've been worn for about two years without taking them off or washing them. And they have holes and they are dirty and the colours are like nothing we get. There shoes have like holes by their toes and they are all torn up. We left for one village a whole bunch of shoes and a whole bunch of clothes for another. I will write to you again soon.

Bye. Jaako.

Hey guys, this is Sue Jaako's mom. It's good to be back. Hard but good at the same time. It's incredible how different our life style is from most in Malawi. The things we take for granted are amazing. The people there actually truly have nothing. They have a hut, usually an outdoor kitchen (fire pit with a roof), and maybe a few plates, cups, and something to sit on. We were invited to eat in the villages quite a few times, and it saddened me that they prepared for us their very best. In most places we had chicken although they don't get chicken often. It was hard to eat knowing that they needed it more. But you ate first, and then the household ate what was left. We always took as little as we could with out being insulting. Little meat and lots of Nsima (their corn flour staple) Then they always provided us with a Coke or orange Fanta!! It's actually hard to write right now because there is so much to say, so many experiences to tell that we don't know where to start. Maybe a little each day. It gets overwhelming at times. Blessings to all of you that prayed for us and supported our trip and to those who helped the Malawians. We made a difference. Small but sure!!!!!

Blessings, Sue

4 More Days

Muli Bwangi,

You guys probably all know what that means, because I have already said it in one of my blogs. How are you? Everything has been going great here in Malawi. When we went into Zambia, it was just flooded like crazy. We were there for two days. And it was hard to see all these homes flooded. We saw some kids playing in the water and then they would put their hands in their mouths. Cause they don't know what is happening to that water so that is how diseases are spreaded. I feel bad for everybody in Malawi and Zambia. We have been giving to most of the communities 5 bags of maize, 1 bag of rice and sugar, salt and oil. These are some of the foods that they need to live. It is really nice to be here and help many of the villages. We have just enjoyed it very very much. But it is also very heartbreakening with the poorness that is here. I will talk more another day. Tomorrow we set off to Blantyre for 2 nights for our last opportunity to help people. I'll talk more when I get back to Canada.
Bye Bye.
God Bless you, Jaako

slideshow link (click here)

click this link to watch a slideshow.

Muli Bwangi (How are you)

Moni (Hello)

Today when we went to a chief's house to eat some good Malawian food, these kids from the village wanted to see me. So we let the kids into the yard, which really isn't that much room and I told them 3 bible stories and played tag with them. It was wonderful. And most of them asked Jesus into their hearts for the very first time, including one man who had snuck in. And the man thanked me very very much for telling him about Jesus. I feel so happy for him.

Zikomo (Thank-you)

Jaako

check it out

BUYING MAIZE AT THE MARKET.


JAAKO TEACHES KIDS HOW TO PLAY HOCKEY.

Poverty

Hey Guys,
The poverty here is incredible, the need here is big. If you have a bike here, you are considered rich. I've bought 5 bikes so far and given 2 of them away already. All of the kids clothes have holes in them and some don't wear clothes and their shoes are not good at all. Not many kids even have shoe's. The have many cuts from falling down. And there are alot of disease here. It's hard to believe. Bye for now.
Jaako

Hi everybody, this is Sue, Jaako's mom now. Jaako says it great when he says it is hard to believe. The need here is bigger than I ever imagined. We went to a small market place and handed out some candies and Bags of Hope to the children there and they were just amazed. At 2 other markets we started handing out gum and sweets and we were literally mobbed by the children. We were pushed back against the vehicles by the kids trying to grab the bag and crying Madam or Boy Please!!! Give me some!! It was horrific. All for candy. Every where we go we are asked for money. By all ages, not just the children. The market places are the worst. You try to buy from every one just so they can have a next meal!! I'm coming home with lots of African carvings and bowls!!!! But they all beg you to buy, some have not eaten that day and need a sale. Some of course use that to make the sale. You kind of get to know who is being sincere or not. The Malawians can't lie. If they are smiling big - they are not telling you the truth!!! Please pray for us as we try to help people. The need is so great and our funds are sooooo small in comparison - we hate being the ones to decide who gets and who doesn't. Sometimes God tells ones of us very strongly to buy something so we do. We bought 57 shoes for a small village because they were mostly bare footed there!!! Thanks for your prayers and support and can't wait to come home and share with all of you our pictures and stories. God Bless you!!!! Love, Sue

Everything is going good

Thursday, January 18, 2007
Hey there guys, everything has just been great. We have just gone to the store and bought all our maize, sugar, rice, oil and salt. This is the stuff we are going to be giving to the families We have just met two pastors. They are great people of God. I’m really looking forward to going into the village tomorrow. When we went to market where they just sell little things that they made, they’d all come up to you and they would never leave you and they would tell you to buy this. And they say they will give it to you for a good price.


Friday, January 19, 2007
(Hey guys, this is Sue, Jaako’s mom, we apologize but it is very difficult to get an internet connection here so this entry contains two days. This is an amazing country with beauty and hard-ache all rolled into one. The need is so great. Beyond our small hands. The Malawians are beautiful people with very warm hearts and ready smiles. We will try in the next few days upload a picture onto the blog. Please partner with us in prayer as we visit village to village. We experience the greatest joy and the greatest sadness within minutes of each other.)

(Jaako) We have gone to two churches now. They worship beautifully! They pray to God, they sing and they dance. And I told a couple bible stories, and it worked out pretty well. And when they got the Ziploc bags, they were very happy. Not only were we only able to help the children, we were able to help the whole church. We bought 5 bags of maize (50kg each), one bag of rice (25 kg) , oil, sugar and salt for them to share. We bought one of the pastors a bike and there is four still stored at the Jonats. Here are many many differences. Everything is opposite how they function things. Like lights, fans, how you drive and other things. It was just so cool going to the churches. Bye for now.

From Jaako

How I'm doing so far....

Hello there,
Lately we have got around $28,000 raised and we got around 530 Bags of Hope. I just can't really wait until we go, I'm just getting so excited now that it is so soon. I just can't wait. I'm really looking forward to meeting the children and getting to know them. I really want to try and help the adults that haven't died from AIDS yet and even get to know them too. I really want to change this Nation and just help them. I'm a little bit nervous about going on the plane because I haven't been on one since I was two. We're just about ready to start getting all our things packed and we're not close at all to being ready to go. But we'll be ready soon enough. Bye for now. God Bless you.
From Jaako.

Pancake Breakfast

Hey There, I'm leaving in 5 days. I'm so excited, I really can't wait. Time has gone by really really fast. A little bit to fast in fact. On the 13th the day before I go, we're having a pancake breakfast. Tickets are $8.oo and it is at Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship. You can just come out and chat, have some Finnish pancakes and just get to see me for the last time. You guys have been such a great support with me and my trip. Bye for now.
Jaako

2 weeks more before I go

Only 12 more days until we leave to Malawi! I can't really wait it just seems wierd that it is so soon. I'm looking forward to meeting the children. We've got around $20,000 raised. We've sold many, many chickens, a couple goats, a few bikes and maize and one treadle pump. We've sold many, many shirts and hats and a few buttons. Please buy more buttons. It's been great having you guys reading my blog. A special thanks to my cousin Tiia and her friends in Sault Ste. Marie. Please leave me some comments. Bye for now everybody. God is working things out.
God Bless you.
Jaako