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.