New Blog Location

We have moved our blog over to Wordpress, so if you want to follow our ramblings you can find them at the following address:

thelawsonsinmalawi.wordpress.com

Hope this finds you all well!

iPad Baby!

So it transpires that there is an iPad app for blogger, which might just get me blogging regularly :) I've gone to do so so often and what with the Internet situation here (and therefore awaiting the web page to load before I can start) and the whole startup of the laptop etc I've just not been as diligent as I should have been.

So, I'll aim to share more as the weeks go on. It's wild to think that we are almost a school year in to our Malawian adventure. It only seems like yesterday that we were pulling up into the new driveway and coming to terms with all the changes.

They say time flies when you're having fun...incidentally who are 'they' because they always have something to say about something or other :) but I guess it is very fair to say that it has been fun. It has also been a challenge, but I honestly think that contributes to the whole positive experience - it wouldn't be half as rewarding if we had had everything plain-sailing. It has been mostly positive, and the challenges that we have had have been overcome with the support of each other and a wonderful community of family and friends.

Anyway, I'll sign off now as it's 9:15pm here in Africa and I think I can hear the sun about to head back this way on its route to rise :)

Mid-term Trip!

So, having just returned from four days away at a luxury house on a fair trade tea plantation, I’ve come to a few conclusions about life and the world J 

Firstly, Malawi is a staggeringly beautiful country.  What I witnessed over the trip was mountainous scenery on a par with the Bonnie Homeland, but with a few twists and tweaks. 

Firstly, there’s something breathtaking about a tea plantation of the size of Lujeri.  It is a vast area of shrubberies (neeee!) that are an extraordinary green shade, rolling over the hillsides and across the valleys.  To think of the amount of work and effort that goes into running and maintaining such an operation literally boggles the mind.

Secondly, the mountains in Mulanje are absolutely enormous, with massive cascading waterfalls pouring off the peaks at great speed.  Even from a distance it is a sight to behold, and I really treasured getting a few quiet moments just looking out into the distance where they fell.

Beyond the beauty of it all, it was such a pleasure to rest in fine company and share evenings singing behind the guitar with a fine South African Swede, whilst eating meals fit for kings served by a group of Malawian Gentlemen who were wonderful at ensuring that our stay was pleasant and uninterrupted.   The only unfortunate thing was me falling out of our bed and ripping the mosquito net on the way down…oops J

The house was beautifully presented – very colonial in style and grandeur, and had stunning gardens and a nice pool for us to cool off in the African sunshine.  The bedrooms were large, with stunning furniture and individual fireplaces (a little surplus to requirements at the moment!) and the en-suite bathroom from our bedroom was spacious and recently refurbished to include a large head shower and a cubicle large enough to fit all three of us after a dip in the pool – Eilidh especially loved the shower floor as she happily sat playing with the miniature shampoo bottles like she was a giant J

Our bedroom also had double doors out on to the Khondi, running almost the full length of the house exterior – a perfect playground for a one year old in her walker, overlooking the pool and the valleys and mountains beyond. 

So, along with the wonderful fillet steaks, chocolate breakfast cereal, lager shandies, red wine, cola and large supply of home baking, it rates up there with one of the best trips we’ve ever had I think!

Just another example of the benefits of living out here in the heart of Africa balancing up all the sacrifices we made to come out here in the first place.  With that in mind, our thoughts turn towards Iain and Ruth returning to the UK tomorrow, and our trip home to Scotland in a matter of months.  They are understandably excited about the trip, and it makes me likewise to think that we will be doing just that in about 4 months.  One thing I have determined – I’m going to be spending about an hour in Tesco with about £10, buying some Gala apples, a pint of Scottish milk, various sweeties and probably a Daily Record (classy…), just taking the opportunity to appreciate the simple things I’ve taken for granted for about 32 years J

Lessons Learned

(Firstly, sorry for the weird background and white writing... not very good at the technical details!!) 


Living here in Malawi certainly has it's pros and cons. Mostly I love living here - I love the way and pace of life, I love the climate and I LOVE the community of amazing, wonderful people. The last couple of weeks have been totally wonderful and so hard at the same time. 

It was so amazing to have my parents here to spend Christmas with us, it was so special to just be with them, not to mention all they brought and the lovely things we did together. Nothing can match up to time with family. But then they had to leave. I knew when we signed up for life here that waving my parents off at Chileka airport would always be hard and I was right. It doesn't matter that I signed up for it, it was so hard and it still is. I miss my parents so much that it makes me ache - whenever I see Eilidh do something new I wish they were here to see it. The lovely thing is that Eilidh is so aware now and totally knows who they are, she waves and blows kisses to their photo on the wall which is precious. Anyway, the log and short of it is that I just love my family - all of them - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, in laws and outlaws and I miss them all so very much.

So that was a difficult time. And then New Years Eve hit. On Friday we had a lovely day in Mulanje with Iain, Ruth and Isaac but the whole day was tainted because Eilidh was so unwell. It was so hard to see her like that. We got home and she seemed better and on Saturday she was much more herself. We went for dinner at friends’ house (which was so lovely) but then Eilidh started being sick again at about 9pm and she vomited constantly until about 3am. At home that would have been a worry, here, I will be honest, it was terrifying. We had no idea what was wrong and no idea where to go or what to do. So we called our good friend who, lovingly, answered her phone at 2am, gave us kind, calm words and told us to take Eilidh to the emergency department at a local hospital. It is so daunting when you aren’t sure if the hospital will be ok, the doctors knowledgeable or the medication available but we were very reassured when we got there and all was well. I will, however, never again be ungrateful for the NHS. Before they would see Eilidh we had to fill in all the paperwork to make sure we could pay, such a foreign concept when you are so used to being seen by very good doctors free of charge.  Anyway, They took some blood (not fun) and confirmed that Eilidh was fighting a nasty bug but she didn't have malaria and was not dehydrated - huge relief. They gave her a jab to stop her vomiting and we brought her home where, needless to say, she spent the night cuddled in bed with us, only the second time we have ever done that, so we could hold her and reassure her that she was ok.  She slept the next night with us as the same thing happened all over again – fine during the day, vomiting at night, back to hospital and home again.

New Years Eve was up there with the toughest nights of my life. I am a Mum, a grown up, and all I wanted was my Mum, nurse MummyCarole, to come and let me know Eilidh was OK and my Dad to be here to reassure us that all was alright. It's hard being a grown up sometimes. In all of this though, God gave me a glimpse of His heart. While Eilidh was so sick I just wanted to take her pain into my own body. I would happily have suffered so that she didn't have to. I would happily have swapped with her, my health for her sickness. God showed me that is what He did for us. He happily took our pain on Himself so that we don't have to suffer. I am such an imperfect parent but He shows us how to do it right, how to love without condition. My parents give me a good idea of how that is done and I know they learned that from Him too. They show me His love so that I can understand it a bit better and so I can show His love to my precious Little Miss Sunshine, who, thankfully, is now much much better.

I have learned a lot in the past couple of weeks. Maybe they are simple truths but sometimes, in the midst of the complicated, difficult, scary times of life, simple truths become the most profound. 

So 2012 has started.... interestingly. I am so thankful that we don't just get to start again once a year but every day His mercies are new. Here's to tomorrow... a new adventure waiting to happen... Happy New Year. 

How Much For A Sweet Tattie?

Well, here we are - going from strength to strength by the day thank you Lord!  All is going well.  We've been fortunate to have been staying with a wonderful family about ten minutes from our house for a few days - it's been so great to sit down and be part of a big family and round a table with 7 other people each night, and it has certainly helped us settle into the Malawian life much quicker.

Helen has been able to pop out with the mother of the family (Anne) and get into the markets, hunting for good deals on all the essentials.  We had a bit of an unsuccessful shopping trip on Monday, paying crazily over-inflated prices for food.  We realised (after a little currency calculating) that two sweet potatoes and one pepper had cost us about £4.25...eeeshk!  So, we've learned that the best way to do it is to go with someone to the market, or even better delegate that duty to whoever will be working with us in the house, to get a much better deal.

I'm finding the whole culture fascinating to be honest.  The market and town centre are so busy that it is hard to drive through at times, and the people are always walking somewhere!  Mainly on the road too!  It's wonderful to see people taking so much initiative too - I guess that it is necessary as there isn't much (if anything) of a government hand out here, so people have a work ethic and for the most part are willing to do something to put food on the table!  It's great to see, and I think lots of people back home could learn SO much from that - there isn't any 'sit back and live off the dole' here.

With that, we are looking to employ someone in the house part time, which is such an alien concept to me in some regards, but the wonderful thing is that not only will they be able to assist Helen and make her time here much more pleasant (knowing what to buy and where to buy it is a key thing!) but it also gives someone the opportunity of employment.  We'll take the next few weeks and get that sorted so that we have the right person for the whole Lawson household!

I managed to pop into school yesterday and it was such a delight to walk round.  The grounds and buildings have such a charm about them, and there is just such a wonderful atmosphere there.  Mr. Morse (the headteacher) has been a massive blessing thus far, and is a really top gentleman, so I'm really looking forward to getting started and working alongside and for him.  He has two young daughters, both born here, and lives with his Scottish wife on the school grounds.  I'll be in tomorrow to get the classroom organised, and then start work on Monday to get prepared for the start of term in a fortnight.

Thankfully we haven't had many more spider incidents, although I think I will just need to suck it up and get used to it.  We have a (very dead) spider the size of my hand hanging from the eves of the house, and so the less I see of them (alive) the better hehe  i'll be having a word with God upon my arrival in heaven regarding the need for such a beast - I'm sure there is a reason for them but at the moment it just escapes me!  Short of saddling it and using it instead of the truck I'm at a loss!

Helen is doing well - like me she is much better for the support of the McGraths and Iain and Ruth - community makes the difference, and we really feel part of one here already.  We're with the McGraths until tomorrow morning, and then we are out for dinner at Chad and Tracey Morse's so it's another opportunity to build relationship and become further planted.

All good! (plus the truck is awesome ...)

Settling in to Africa

Well, we're a few days into our African adventure and it's been very much that!  We arrived safely and all our baggage was intact and present (my guitar included - thank you Lord!).  We were met at the airport by brother and sister Iain and Ruth, and it was so so good to see them.  They then took us from Chileka airport into Blantyre, giving us a chance to admire the local people's ingenuity and creativity with what they have (stalls by the side of the road and all kinds of creatively constructed shops selling a variety of things.

We received a wonderfully warm welcome at the McGraths (friends of Helen and the Gatwards from 2000) and then we set off in our new truck (Mac) to our new house.  First impressions of the house were hard to describe to be honest - it has HUGE potential, and with work and help it will be home.  It's part of a compound with 24 hour security (good old Henry, Samson and a few other gentlemen), and has a really lovely front courtyard and a huge back Khondi (like a veranda) looking our over a massive garden.  The outside space at the back needs a lot of work but once we find someone to take it on it will be a really great space for entertaining and for Eilidh to roam free!

As for the internals of the house, you walk through the front door and can turn left to enter the L-shaped lounge or right to go up the wide staircase or into the compact kitchen.  Both long walls in the living room are almost all glass, and therefore all bars too - so we're in the process of getting lots of curtains fitted (courtesy of the school) and we'll need to be creative to make it more homely.  Upstairs comprises of two bedrooms of decent size, a bathroom with bath and shower, and a separate toilet.

As i said, it will become home in a few months once we've had a chance to source the people who are skilled and reliable.  It seems to be the way here that you make long term plans for a short term project due to the rather relaxed Malawian approach to deadlines, but it'll all come together!

Everything else is coming together - I'll post more about the spider adventures and our hilarious trip to Shoprite... but for now I'll sign off to say that WE'RE ALIVE hehe and we're all well.  MOST importantly, Eilidh is doing great and loving our new lifestyle.

Lots of love to all!!

The Last Day...

Well, that's the last day at work past, what a strange feeling.  I've been working at the church for over 5 years now, and it's gone in so quick in some respects.  It has been an honour and a privilege to serve such a wonderful congregation, and I/we will miss so many fabulous people, some of them have become like family to us through the past few years.

And so here starts the final phase of the final phase...  well, the second last phase of the final phase...  We've had a lovely week at mum's in Dunblane, and we will be with my dad in Bridge of Allan until Sunday, where we will then head up to Oban after our last service serving at the church.

It will be such a special Sunday leading worship for the last time with such a wonderful team - again, they have become such a treasured part of my week, and so they will be greatly missed.  It's been a place of sanctuary for me to get in amongst them and worship, and also just play and be creative, and for that I am so very thankful.

Almost there, and then we'll be on our way - time is flying and we will be soon!!