Malawi Moonsmoke by Bee Biggs-Jarrell

Captivating stories of author’s exciting spiritual journey in third world development

Applying the “Public Health Model” to Nsanje District in southern-most Malawi, the author weaves the poignant story-threads into an almost palpable fabric of exciting, successful interventions in Child Survival. She underpins the mission with her personal experiences on her spiritual journey from widowhood through senior-citizen romance to selfless adventure in Africa.

Family Nurse Practitioner, author, teacher, and more — Bee has been invited to High Schools and Universities to present portions of Malawi Moonsmoke to graduate and under-graduate students.

Professor Judy Murray, Ph.D. Executive Director for Idaho Nurses Assn., and formerly with Boise State University, says of this book: “This is an intensely personal story of the author’s faith as she developed a public heatlh system of village health workers in very needy parts of Malawi. This system will continue to help the people long after she is gone.”

Readers are now saying, “Bee, this book has changed my thinking and my life!” and “I could not put the book down until I finished it!”

READERS AND AUTHOR REVIEWS:

Reflections of Malawi Moonsmoke
By Cindy Schreiner, Boise, Idaho

While in the company of Bee, I have always felt admiration, a higher presence and a powerful sense of calm and spirituality. Of course I would have never guessed that admiration could grow any larger until I read her book, Malawi Moonsmoke.

While having conversations with Bee, she would mention how she went to Africa but really never elaborated on the service that she did there.

When I learned that she published a book on her experiences, I was thrilled and immediately went to the bookstore to order it. I was there the day it was released, however the bookstore didn’t have it yet and I had to wait for about a week before I could start reading.

The book is a description of how Bee and her husband, Ken started in a very remote village in Africa to help the natives learn about health care and found they learned much more than they taught.

The book was a joy to read and I finished it in one day. Even though I worked with Bee and thought I knew her, the book surprised me with her adventures. I thought that a person like Bee would have all the answers to any situation that comes up and the book showed me that she didn’t know the answers, but that she would pray for guidance and direction. She writes about falling in love again after the death of her beloved husband and the tough decision to marry again. It was a wonderful experience to read about the romance of Ken and Bee and how romance does happen even later in life.

Bee describes her and Ken’s adventures in Africa with flowing detail. I felt that I was living in the town where she was and got to know the people she worked with in the villages through her descriptions and details. I felt that I was with her when the border guards stopped her on the trip back from South Africa to Malawi carrying supplies. The way Bee described the patient with leprosy and aids made my heart break and I said a silent prayer thankful that Bee was there to help the lowest of low in such a remote place. She definitely changed the life of those poor patients. The creativity and strength she mustered in dealing with the villagers was really quite inspirational.

I am an avid reader and this book whetted my appetite for more true adventure stories from people who have made a difference. This book shows how people such as Bee and Ken who are doing something from the love in their hearts can really make a difference in a small village in Africa.

Bee and Ken are an inspiration to me, I know that I could never fill their shoes, but I know that I have a role model to follow in whatever journey my life takes.

…and a few thoughts from Bee…The Best True Story of African Adventure in Service

Thoughts of writing this exciting book never occurred to me during our two years in Malawi’s “moon smoke”. My husband and I had volunteered for whatever good we might accomplish for a beautiful, but neglected society in the “warm heart of Africa”. However, as we returned to the comforts of our Idaho mountain home after those two years, we could not leave our Malawi friends behind. In thoughts and prayers they were with us every day!

The spiritual and emotional journey we experienced there did not ease its impact. When we were able to retrace our steps five years later, to see the successes that we had just barely begun, we knew the account of our journey could be meaningful to others. Not just meaningful, but enthralling and inspiring!

Malawi Moonsmoke is written to honor the people we served and those who worked along side us; to inspire others to serve families in crises anywhere in the world; and to honor the Creator God who directed the entire journey…and is not finished with us yet!

10% of income from book sales, after expenses, is dedicated to educating more Malawi Registered Nurses. NOVEMBER 2010 UPDATE: Royalties for purchases roll in every quarter and soon we will have covered the costs of publication. All proceeds after meeting these expenses are dedicated to educating professional nurses at Malamulo Hospital in Malawi. We also present seminars to Senior University Nursing Students anywhee we are called. Seminars focus on sustainability for health intervention programs in developing countries.So, please tell your friends to check this book and order for an inspirational read. SEMINARS HAVE POWER POINT AND DVD ACTUAL OUTCOME PHOTOS. JUST CALL OR E-MAIL US AT beeken90@gmail.com Home base is near Middleton in Southwestern Idaho. We are surrounded with the warmth of loving children, grandchildren and even great-grandbabies! AVAILABLE FOR LIVE PRESENTATIONS (READINGS OR ILLUSTRATED LECTURE). . Contact us if you would like more info. or to schedule a MALAWI MOONSMOKE presentation for your classroom students of public health or other health and mission oriented organization. Now, a little about your “humble” author: As a Northwestern Country girl, I was blest to excell in creative leadership through high school and college. Professional Nursing education led me to service and health care for Nevada miners, cowboys and Native Americans and finally led to Public Health Administration for the State of Idaho. At the age of 71 (after Africa!) I had the distinct honor and privilege to be called by the Idaho Governor’s Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, to lead the new health initiative to screen all Idaho newborns for hearing. From early 2001 to 2005 my total attention resulted in every birth hospital in the state adding this service to families. We find between 30 and 50 babies each year with hearing deficiency and refer them for immediate intervention. Such professional satisfaction for me and so many children will not now live in silence! My personal journey has always been one of “living on the edge” to experience the thrill of foraging into the unknown. My greatest professional privilege began when I received the call to serve in Africa! For me, Great-grandmother Bee, and my husband Ken, serving through Malawi Moonsmoke was the ultimate career satisfaction!Entire villages cleaned up and individual families learned sanitary practices and how to bring up healthy babies. This incredible book was published just four months prior to my 80th birthday. AND NOW ANOTHER BIRTHDAY TELLS ME I REALLY AM 84 YEARS YOUNG. DON’T FORGET TO email me at beeken90@gmail.com to schedule a seminar — 3 hrs. — or a one-hour presentation to people who are seeking satisfaction in health education and community development.