ahhh...finally...

On Thursday, June 21, 2012, we arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi - tired, hot and dirty. There was no fanfare, no neon sign, no amazing first impression. We simply exited the plane, walked across the pavement and entered the airport with a ton of other people. But then things got interesting. Very interesting.

There was a sign reminding those entering the airport that they needed to show their immunization records before being allowed to proceed into the room where visa applications were applied for. Well, it was at that exact moment I remembered I had forgotten to pack our immunization records. That's right. But we were singled out and simply waved through. Our passports were stamped with thirty day visas and then we went to get our luggage. (Ok, actually we headed to the bathroom - which was clean and had flushing toilets - and then we got our luggage.) All of our bags arrived. We loaded everything on a cart and prepared to wait in line while our bags were searched - first by customs and then by the police. But again, we were simply waved through - no searching of bags by anyone. That was truly a God thing!

Chet Burns was there to pick us up so we loaded our gear into the vehicle and began the almost three hour drive south to Ntcheu. By the time we got there it was dark - and I desperately wanted a shower and a bed. (If you read a previous post you know that didn't happen.) We met the

family, had a meal, got a quick orientation and the key to our room out back in the guest quarters. Oh, and we learned there was no water - so, no shower. But by now we were so tired it didn't really matter. We carried our bags to the room, made ourselves at home and went to bed - almost. Something running up the wall into the ceiling caught our attention. And then something else. And then something running across the floor. Lizards. One of the panes in the window was missing and so the critters were free to come and go. Supposedly they eat bugs - and they were kinda cute - so we simply climbed under the mosquito net, put our heads on a pillow, took a deep breath and thanked God - we were in rural Malawi.