Malawi July 2019 Day 2

Today was our first day at the hospital! We got there at 6:45 in the morning and ate a wonderful breakfast. After breakfast, we broke up into groups and listened to devotions with small groups of nurses then got a cool tour of the hospital and what each room is used for. Then we went to the ward where all of the patients stay before & after surgery, we met many people and made  LOT of balloon animals. At the beginning it was really hard to connect because of the language barrier but I met a 13 year old girl who loved to laugh and play lots of patty cake; she was beautiful. After the ward, all of the children came in the play room. We sung fun songs in Chichewa, read them the story of Jonah and made a whale craft. 

During the craft, a little girl kept sticking stickers all over her face. My favorite part of the day was going back into the ward after the play room. We had tons of nail polish and string with beads to make necklaces and bracelets.

The moms were especially into the beads and string. At one point I even got stuck in a circle of four moms fighting and pulling at the bag of beads. That bag was gone in 30 seconds! It was a little frightening but exciting. I must have painted at least 10 people’s nails. It was a day full of excitement and I can assure you we will all sleep good tonight.

- Bethany Dale