Why is God punishing us?

This is one of the comments from a friend who lives in Karonga. Others are talking of witchcraft - Karonga has been bewitched and that is why we are shaking, others are saying the tremors are coming from Tanzania!

Unfortunately this morning there were more tremors here and Karonga once more has had a couple of quakes around 4.30am when I woke up because the bed was shaking!! I was talking to a lady in Karonga who tells me that not a lot more damage has been done thankfully and they are all safe.

Keep praying as people are living in fear.....

Diane

update on effects of earthquake...

A few photographs of the devastation to churches and manses in the Karonga district. It appears that most will have to be rebuilt. One of the manses has a crack right around the base as if you could just lift the top off. We are hoping the rains don't come too quickly so that people can get their houses repaired.

Here you can see a picture of the back of Kasowa church where the wall would probably fall down if it was pushed. Sorry Hillsborough people - after all your hard work too!!

Here are some of the cracks on the manse too - it is also very unstable.

A couple of homes which have fallen..........

and this was a church building.........

So as you can see a lot of destruction to churches, manses and individual peoples lives. Please keep praying for peace of mind as people begin to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Till next time

Diane

bigger earthquake today

This morning just before 6am once again my house was shaking but this time the intensity was greater, so immediately I went onto the internet to find out what had caused it and it was another earthquake at Karonga, this time of a magnitude of 5.9. I telephoned Karonga and there is much devastation. In Kasowa village many houses are completely wrecked, but the Pre-school is still standing. People are just crying as they have no home to stay in tonight. At the same time they are terrified - its an awful situation.

Today I had a visit from a friend who lives in Karonga. He was telling me of two fatalities. During the first earthquake the hospital in Karonga was shaking violently and all the patients who were well enough went outside. One lady had her baby on oxygen and unfortunately pulled the oxygen off and ran outside, where her baby died soon after. Another case is of a lady who was in her kitchen when the earthquake struck and the building came down on top of her and killed her. I am sure there are many more stories like this.

Please pray for the Church in Karonga and everyone who has been so badly effected. People are thanking God that the rains are not yet in Karonga as the situation would have been worse.

Blessings
Diane

shake, rattle and roll....

Last night as I was working on my computer suddenly the earth was moving literally!! There have been 4 earthquakes in Karonga district some 95 miles north of Mzuzu, and even here we had some quite strong tremors - all the dishes in my dresser for those of you who have been here were shaking like crazy! The largest earthquake was 5.8 so I am hoping that not too many people in Karonga have been hurt and that there is not too much damage. I will keep you posted.

............and just as I am writing this the house is shaking again...another earthquake in the same area, 4.8 this time. What is happening??

Here is the evidence of what happened. This morning there was another earthquake around 11.30am of a magnitude of 5.0. I have just spoken to someone in Karonga whose house has been damaged - the floor just came up. Many people in the villages have had their houses broken and many people had to go to the local hospital for treatment. Trees were uprooted and people are scared. Apparantly there was a 'big noise' like a ship on the river coming closer and closer. The lady I was talking to told me they have been told not to go into their houses tonight because a really big tremor is coming, so there is a lot of fear.

And for the Hillsborough folk who were in Kasowa - the church is really badly cracked and is going to fall down apparantly and even the manse. There has been a lot of devastation in the village and people are terrified of a recurrance.

Please pray for these people that they might have some rest tonight.

Diane

Just a few thoughts...

Hello from a really hot Mzuzu - not that I am complaining - its beautiful weather! We have had a good few heavy showers of rain and people have planted their maize. Its the time when requests for fertiliser are coming in thick and fast every day. As well as that, with the school calendar changing and schools beginning again on Monday, many requests for school fees are coming my way! Its not an easy time for people as we lead up to the festive season, as they were not expecting to have to pay school fees until January.

This week has been busy planning for the new school year which begins on Monday. Some repairs had to be done at school - the fence fell down in the heavy rain last week and so here you can see the new one being put up!

The demand for school places has been great. I have had to turn away about 45 parents looking for places, so the sooner we get the new school built the better. I was delighted that in my absence the parents and some children did a 'big walk' and raised about K80,000 which is roughly £350, a tremendous effort in this economic climate.

I thought I should introduce you to some of my colleagues. Here is Miriam the Deputy Education Secretary and the one to whom I am directly responsible. She is a really lovely gracious lady, with a lot of wisdom and great to work with.

This is Mary the secretary in the Education office, which could not run without her!! Always gives a smile when I come into the office.

Vincent is one of the Project Officers who deals with Primary School projects throughout the Synod........big smile..........big heart!!


Mussa has not been with us long - he is accounts assistant and seems to be very involved with whatever he is doing here!!


And James, one of the drivers with his vehicle in the background. Unfortunately due to the fuel crisis, he has not had so much travel to do of late. The crisis is really desperate - many people are being hit hard - queues at filling stations are long and people are becoming angry with the situation. But as you can see, James keeps smiling...


Of course, I still have to study and I spent today trying to do some work on the internet which was extremely frustrating as it is so slow. I couldn't download the documents I needed from Queens so had to ask the lecturer to email them to me which he kindly did. Don't the books look exciting!!

Around 5pm I had enough with the books, made myself a wee cup of tea and took a wander around this wonderful garden! Its really green at the minute because of the rain. I am so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Here is the view across the valley...

Some avocados on the tree......

and the beautiful garden - what a hard life eh!!

Till next time...........keep praying...

Blessings

Diane

PS Don't forget to leave a comment (as long as its a nice one of course!!) Thanks for all the comments received so far!

back from study............

Well, here I am back again after my 6 weeks study break - it has all gone so quickly and I am beginning to wonder what have I let myself in for!!

Had a good few weeks and it was a joy to be able to share with Henry and Sarah for their wedding even if it was only for a short time - don't they look happy! Wishing them blessings...

Now its reality time once more. Arrived back last Tuesday night to a very dusty house, got up early next morning to clean it in preparation for the Overseas President (Dorothy) and Vice President (Edna) of the PW who came and stayed for 5 days. You can see them here with some of the Women from our church and the General secretary in front with the Deputy General Secretary. Really enjoyed my time with them and I am sure they are away home for a wee rest!!

It was great that Dorothy and Edna were able to join our school for their end of year celebration. Here you can see some of the toddlers as they prepare to do a song. Don't you like the hats!

This is Josiah trying to teach his Mum the continents...........

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the school calendar has changed. We finished on 20th November and begin the new calendar year on 7th December, so no long holiday this year. We have 3 thirteen week terms with one week of holiday in between, so it will be tough both for children and teachers.

Although I was out of the country, the training work was still going on. Three of the trainers were busy in Chitipa, Rumphi and Livingstonia. As you can see by the photos they seem to have enjoyed themselves.

Receiving handwashing buckets for the schools in Chitipa


teaching........... (what, I wonder???)


children playing with paper balls



Nicolas....posing as he teaches....

Since my return and during my absence, there has been a fuel shortage in the country. Yesterday I wanted to take the two PW ladies to Lilongwe for their flight today only to find that we had no fuel - eventually, we borrowed some from the office and set off. This morning in Lilongwe was another story - we queued for 7 hours before getting fuel from 5am in the morning. I was sorry I did not have my camera with me - the queues were unbelievable. Maybe I will get a picture in Mzuzu tomorrow!!

I am thankful to say I am now back in my house in Mzuzu. The PW ladies almost made it to UK before we got back to Mzuzu!!

Its time for bed so am going to sign off now. Please pray for the fuel situation in the country - many businesses are being affected as are hosptials and other emergency services.

Tomorrow I go to face parents who want to bring their children to our school next year. We only have about 7 or 8 places and we have about 100 on the waiting list.........watch this space..

Blessings

Diane x

from Mzuzu to Belfast!!!

Last time I wrote I was under pressure – so much to do and so little time before I was preparing to fly back to Ireland. Well, I made it and here I am ready to go to my first class this afternoon. I had a hectic week last week and the past two days have been really nice just getting settled and seeing some friends and family.

It was International Peace day on 21st September, 2009, and Montessori schools all over the world were participating in a song of peace which was being sung right around the globe. Every school was given a time slot to sing in – the children at CCAP International Pre-school were between 10 and 10.10am – some of the children had tea lights to hold, and they sang beautifully. Montessori believed strongly that peace is the answer to the world’s problems, and by teaching our children that peace is important will hopefully instill this philosophy in their young lives.

Light a candle for peace,Light a candle for love,

Light a candle that shines all the way around the world.

Light a candle for me,Light a candle for you,

That our wish for world peace will one day come true

Sing Peace Around theWorld

Sing Peace Around theWorld

Sing Peace Around theWorld

Sing Peace Around theWorld

We had exciting news at school as one of our teachers, Gift, had a beautiful baby boy called Samuel – he was only 4.7kgs! Both Mum and baby are doing well as you can see, (and big sister Becky in the background).

I was intending to go to an ECD network meeting in Lilongwe but due to getting organised for leaving, I did not manage to attend. I had a friend, Sylvia, from USA staying for a few nights during the week which was great – she is also an ECD person and we had lots to talk about!
Wednesday night Bible study was a celebration that we had finished our study book and before we begin another, we have a pot luck supper – it was a fun night……

During my absence, three of our trainers are going to be busy – in fact as I write they are in a village outside Livingstonia training the caregivers and committee of a school. They will also be in Chitipa twice (15 new schools have recently opened), Rumphi and Bandawe. I am delighted that the programme can go on without me there to drive the vehicle. They are going by minibus and matola which will be a challenge for them carrying all the equipment that we use for the training! Pray for their safety on the rural roads of Malawi!

matola

Just before I left, my friend Pemphero came to say bye – he is 5 years old and the son of my neighbour – when I moved to Mzuzu he was just 2 and he used to come and visit me all the time. He said he would not be too sad when I was going away but that he would be happy when I came back – at least some one will miss me!!

this was taken with self timer...

On Friday I left on the 6am bus for Lilongwe – it was quite a good journey – only took about 5 ½ hours which was great. Travelling down over Viphya the views were stunning although some bush fires made breathing difficult as we passed through the smoke.

the Axa bussmoke over Viphyabeautiful views

I was flying Kenya Airways and the flight to Nairobi was quite rough due to the hot air temperatures outside, I was glad to get out of the plane – not quite so glad to spend 8 hours in Nairobi airport in about 40 degrees with no air conditioning! Met a few interesting people though, including the deputy minister of tourism for the Comoros islands – lovely man and great sense of humour!

Spent the night in Lilongwe and got a taxi to the airport next morning. So now I am back in the lovely cool dull weather of Northern Ireland. Was great to see family on Sunday and to have a couple of days before I begin the course.

So here I am - looking forward to seeing you all at some point during the 6 weeks.

Have a great day

Diane