Erika, Dave, and the staff of the medical clinic in Dzoole pose for a picture (Martha was behind the camera) with a small sample of the medical supplies delivered that day.

On August 9th, Erika and Dave arrived in Dzoole Village with two oversized suitcases packed to the gills with medical supplies. Included in the suitcases were surgical dressings, bandages, aspirin, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, stethoscopes, ibuprofen, methocarbamol, ferrous sulfate, cefazolin injections, amoxicillin, sutures, plaster, and much, much more. For a complete list of everything we provided, click here.

The trip began at 4:30am MST on Wednesday, August 6th with the ceremonious lugging of the luggage out of the house and into the Airport Taxi. Dave and Erika flew from Denver International Airport to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

From Washington, it was a mere 16 hours to Johannesburg, South Africa. Following an overnight stay and a lot of confusion over the concept of "wrapping your bags," the two weary travelers boarded their final flight into Lilongwe, Malawi.

Martha met Erika and Dave at the airport and escorted them into town for a much needed night's sleep in the Malawian capital.

THe morning of Saturday, August 9th, the team began the two hour drive from Lilongwe to Dzoole village in a rented Nissan pickup truck.

It seemed Martha's entire village came out to greet them and they wasted little time getting down to business.

Erika (above) and Dave (right) provided instruction on how to use many of the supplies they brought

t. Erika was, of course, the most helpful as she discussed with the nursing staff proper dosing, drug interaction, and storage. Dave applied the lessons learned as a combat lifesaver in the Army to discuss treatment of trauma victims as might arise from a farming or automobile accident.

Martha provided much needed translation and administrative support helping the staff catalogue and inventory all the items as they were presented.

As a thank you, we were privileged to witness "Gule Wamkulu," also known as "the Great Dance." In this ancient dance, men dressed in bright colors and wearing masks beckon forth the collective spirit of the animals known as "Zilombo." The dance serves as manifestation of the tribal system and as wonderful entertainment!

After the ceremony, Martha, Dave, and Erika began a week long tour of Malawi including Liwonde National Park, Lake Malawi, and Mount Mulanji.

Additional pictures are posted, here.