Getting ready for another road trip. If you would like to go along, get your suitcase packed and meet us beside the red Prius. This will be a trip by car. No plane. No overseas travel. We're going to combine a pleasure trip with a work trip. We're planning to attend the Rose Parade in Southern California, then hold meetings that will hopefully obtain more supplies for Malawi, as well as some time to discuss some modifications to the Malawi Project website. 

The trip will take us through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona (with a stop off in Phoenix and one at the Grand Canyon), and on into California. Here we'll attend the Rose Parade, visit friends, and hold meetings. 

The return trip will take us up through Colorado, then out across the plans of Kansas, a stop off with friends in Missouri, then back to Indianapolis. So, without further discussion, the tank is full of gas, the Garmin is programmed for the trip, and we have the suitcases in the car. 

                                         Let's go. 

The first day takes us over 600 miles, and we stop for the night in Miami, Oklahoma. We will be following the route of the historic, famous Route 66. 

Our current route along I-40 will follow that famous route all the way west along the current southern route to California.

Blog Malawi Travel

The Malawi Project has a blog relating to travel in Malawi. Go to: http://www.malawi-travel.blogspot.com/

Little Dresses on NBC News

          Little Dresses for Africa is planning to send a shipment of dresses and shoes to Malawi. The Malawi Project is assisting in this effort. NBC Nightly News will carry a story about Little Dresses on Tuesday December 20. Tune in. Part of the report was filmed recently in Malawi.

The Right of Way?

We are on land safari in the Liwonde National Park in the southeastern part of Malawi, Central Africa.

Coming around a curve we come face to face with a very large elephant walking directly toward us. He is hogging the road, and it appears he has no intention of changing his course. For a moment I wonder who has the right of way in a case like this. But only for a moment. In what seems like an instant the driver answers my unasked question, and immediately draws a conclusion. He stops the Land Rover, and with the speed of light has us in reverse and moving rapidly backward, and away from the elephant. There seems little question as to whether we, or the elephant, has the right of way.

The Race is On

          The boat is moving along the shoreline of the Shire River in the Liwonde National Park in southeastern Malawi.

               Unnoticed by those on the boat is the bird coming up rapidly behind them. It appears to be a race to the finish.

Integrity and Excitement

1. The most beautiful attire is a smile.

2. The most prized possession is integrity.

3. The most contagious spirit is enthusiasm.

                                                                                Unknown Author

          My dad once said that in the final analysis all you have to offer others is your trustworthiness and integrity. The older I get the more I know he was on to something. If you can't trust me, we have little in common. If I can't trust you there is little I can intrust to you.

           My wife has taught me the full meaning of enthusiasm. It is her unstoppable spirit of excitement that has carried us through, and over many an barrier. Almost all of our successes in the past 26 years have come as a result of her unstoppable spirit.

          And a smile, well a smile, has opened more doors than guns. There is no doubt a smile is the beginning of most great accomplishments. It is surprising we don't use them more often.

Becoming a Citizen

          The judge welcomed the 75 people sitting in the Federal Courtroom directly in front of him with these words, “This is a good day. Today everyone in the courtroom will be happy with the decisions. That does not happen very often.” He was able to draw this conclusion because the people gathered in the front of the courtroom in Indianapolis, Indiana were about to become American citizens. The smiles on their faces reflected their excitement, and their approval of the judge’s words.

          Each person’s name was called, and each of them gave the name of their country of origin. They were from all over the world, and it was easy to speculate why most of them had come. America, the land of opportunity and prosperity, was a door through which so many of the world’s poor and downtrodden wished to enter. These 75 were at the threshold. A lot of time. A lot of study. A lot of work. But they had made it, and in a time when so many are entering America through the back door, it was exceptionally pleasant to see these people, who had worked hard to make it, coming in through the front door, legally, properly, lawfully.

          They placed their hands over their hearts, and recited the pledge of allegiance. Somehow it sounded different when spoken through so many different accents, and with such enthusiasm and excitement. It was new, and for the first time, they were saying it as American citizens. It had been a long time since I had heard it with such commitment and focus.

It is Official

His American name is now Benedict Adams, and today he is one day old as an American. The pictures that capture the moment he stepped out of the federal building in Indianapolis, and posed for pictures are reflective of his excitement and pride. His smile as he repeats, “I am an American”, makes me proud to be one, and reminds me of what so many of us take for granted. We shouldn’t be so presumous. Benedict’s excitement will serve as a reminder for some time as to the value of being able to say, “I am an American.”