Wednesday, February 21, 2007

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

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

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)

Saturday, February 10, 2007

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

Thursday, February 01, 2007

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