Zikomo(thank you), St. Gabriel's.

I encourage you to know and show your limits.

The endless freedom, the common expectations, or even your inner search for adventure might push you to do things in a poor country you wouldn't have done back home.

So be careful not to do things you feel unsure about, do not do things just for the thrill of having done them, or where someone (no matter if less qualified)

has more experience than you.

Sophie Lustenberger

Zikomo(thank you), St. Gabriel's.

On Friday I begin my adventure. I welcome it with excitement and nerves. Though recently I have met a handful of people who have visited Malawi (and this is providence), none have heard of Namitete.

Namitete is a small village in Malawi on the road toward Zambia. From what I have gleaned, life in Namitete consists of buying food at the market, walking to the river, and reading lots of books. Namitete offers a simple life, a simple joy. Yet, tucked away in Namitete lies St. Gabriel's Hospital. This hospital will be my backyard for the next month...literally. The guesthouse of the hospital will be my resting place during my stay in Malawi.

So let me introduce you to St. Gabriel's Hospital in Namitete, Malawi. St. Gabriel's serves 205,000 people in its surrounding communities, mostly the rural areas surrounding Namitete. The hospital itself has a bed capacity of 267. Yet, what I love about St. Gabriel's is their Community Health Worker (CHW) program. In this program members of the community volunteer their time and their services to be trained in basic medical care in order to better serve their community. CHWs serve as satellites to the hospital, connected by a mobile phone medical record system. They sacrifice for their community in order to provide palliative care, as well as manage hospital appointments. Many patients arrive to the hospital via bicycle, cart, or walking many kilometers to seek help. Thus, the role of CHW is vital to preserve the energy and health of the sick. Due to its importance, there is high respect for individuals who choose to volunteer. It is as much an honor, as it is a sacrifice.

Alex, the CHW coordinator at St. Gabriel's, has asked our team of physical therapists (3 student physical therapists, including myself, and 1 physical therapy professor) to train the CHW in basic physical therapy techniques so that they can better serve their community. We were specifically asked to train them in palliative care techniques of patient positioning and mobility. As a team, our intent is to "train the trainer" in order to make a lasting impact on the community.

During my stay in Malawi, I will resume three basic roles. My first role will be as a teacher. I will teach CHWs alongside my colleagues in a 3 day hospital inservice. Though I am excited to teach (for I have learned that you do not truly know something until you can teach it), I feel inadequate for I am merely a student. Honestly, I am expecting that I will learn more from the CHW than they will learn from me, because they have more experience with their medical system and their culture. I'm not ashamed to admit my limitations. I find freedom in acknowledging these limitations, because it permits me the freedom to be both teacher and student, simultaneously.

My second role will be as an observer. My team's plan is to observe the community's understanding of burns: sources, prevention, and care. My professor has served this community in Malawi for the last 6 years. During her visits, she has treated many burn cases. We do not want to assume ignorance on this community. We wish to gather data on their understanding of burns in hopes to develop an educational burn prevention program. My participation will be to gather data on the community's perception of burn sources and the location of these sources. Also, we hope to identify who in the community is educating (whether behaviorally, verbally, or visually) the younger generations about burns.

My third role will be as a student physical therapist(or as they say, "physiotherapist"). I will be volunteering at the hospital. Though we have trained for this experience, I suspect I will encounter many challenging experiences in the hospital. I may witness diseases or ailments that are not prevalent in the U.S., such as spinal tuberculosis or cerebral malaria. I may not have access to resources that I am used to having readily available, such as splints or walkers. My efforts to volunteer may not be as helpful as I hope. Yet, I know I will grow, as a clinician and as an individual.

My service project to Malawi is in fact a mission trip in disguise. I know that the Lord has given me this opportunity for a purpose and a reason. Though I am aware of 3 roles that I will assume during my time in Malawi, I do not know what roles the Lord has prepared for me. For all that I know He may have me do something radically different from those roles. Who am I to put Him in a box? All I know is that he goes before. He already knows exactly what is going to take place in Malawi: my triumphs, my failures, my joys, my tears. He is the lamp unto my feet as I step into the unknown.

So if you are reading, please pray for me. Pray that I will walk in the boldness and in the strength of Christ. Pray that I will allow the Lord to interrupt my schedule and my roles for the work of His ministry. Pray for freedom to reign in my heart and in Malawi.

God loves to use the unexpected for his ministry. He uses the foolish to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong. I'm still not sure if I should take it as a compliment or not, but I know that God is using me for his ministry because I am unexpected. So, Lord, use this foolish, weak and timid girl so that your wisdom may be seen, your strength declared, and your boldness glorified.

And as the bird easily comes to terms with the necessity of bearing wings when it finds that it is in fact,

the wings that bear the bird

- up, away from the world, into the sky, into freedom -

so the woman who accepts the limitations of womanhood

finds in those very limitations her gifts, her calling

- wings, in fact, which bear her up into perfect freedom,

into the will of God.

Elisabeth Elliot