A Love Song for Africa: Blog #4: My New Family

The unexpected gift of this house is the people who work here. It doesn’t matter if it’s rainy or sunny, every one of them will always have a smile on their face. They only make about the equivalent of $2.00 per day, yet still, the are so incredibly happy.

Let me introduce you to our workers:

· Lyson: House Manager

· Lucy: Washer of our clothes

· Samuel: Gardener

· Trouble: Gardener

· Billy: watchman

· Wiston: watchman

· Rafael: watchman

Lyson is awesome and loves to laugh! He runs the Miqlat house, and help interpret Chichewa into English (and vice versa) with all of the other workers. You can definitely trust him with anything. Lucy is Lyson’s wife two adorable kids, Irene (4) and Blessings (4 months). Lucy comes every morning to do our laundry … by hand! Samuel is absolutely amazing with his sparkling, million-dollar smile. He lives on the property with his family, and is the head gardener. Trouble, the other guard, is somewhat shy, but an extremely hard worker. He recently had malaria and still showed up for work! My dad made him to the clinic for treatment and take the day off. Still, he showed up the next day, even though we told him to stay home and rest. Billy, Wiston, and Rafael are fantastic night watchmen. I feel very safe every night knowing they are there. I hear their footsteps crunching outside my window as they quietly patrol the property. I can’t wait to get to know all of them better so we can become one great big family!

I also love our family next door! I get to babysit the 3 little girls every day! Abigail (Abi) and Bethany (Bethy) come over to see me each and every morning. And sometimes their baby sister Elizabeth will toddle over too J. They love to color and do crafts. I made the mistake of introducing my IPod to them with a coloring app I have. Now everyday they ask to “color on my phone.” I love them all so much and think God has finally blessed me with 3 little sisters. Thank you Jesus!