A
gigantic thank you to all of you who supported my efforts for the Bike
Ride in aid of Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society's (EMMS) support for
Mulanje Mission Hospital and Tiyanjane Clinic, Blantyre.
My personal total so far is £17,091. This includes another great effort by the kids of Bankhead Primary School, Knightswood (where I am chaplain). They raised £2333 by all taking part in their Malawi challenge, simulating walking to school, carrying water, carrying fruit, gathering sticks, carrying a friend to hospital, picking cotton and dodging mosquitoes (giant ones hanging in the bike shed).
After
seeing my 2005 photos, Mary's cousin Sarah Henderson (my mother in law's
namesake), a midwife in Inverness, was one of the first to sign up for
this year's ride. Now, Sarah is 33, fit, adventurous and well able to
look after herself, but given how fond Mary's mum is of her youngest sister's
youngest, I think perhaps I'd better keep an eye on her. Besides which,
I might have to answer to Auntie Joyce who has about as much enthusiasm
for this trip as my mum......
The big plan was that after the Bike Ride I'd use study leave to see the outreach clinic work from Mulanje Hospital & visit several primary and secondary schools run by the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) with a view to links with schools in west Glasgow. Sarah would extend her stay and learn about midwifery Mulanje style. To get around, John Challis (Raven Trust) offered a loan of his Toyota pick up, which we could collect in Lilongwe.
The week before leaving I repeat the quip about the second most dangerous creature in Malawi being the driver. (It has the world's highest rate of road deaths.)
Wednesday 9th May. St. David's' June newsletter comes out before I'm back at work, so I have to write a 'minister's letter' in advance! What I wrote included this:
"Well", you may be asking. "Did he make it? After all that talk, raising money and planning, did he make it to the end of the Malawi Bike Ride in Mulanje or did he get the upset tummy and fall over again? ..... Soon we will be hearing all the tales of blistering heat, creepy-crawlies, saddle sores, bats, bad driving, near misses, how many cyclists fell off, etc...."