High 5 to Malawi

James and Holli High were supposed to leave for a mission trip to Malawi with their two young sons and infant daughter one year ago.

They gave away their 12-year-old dog, Tallie, and two cats.

But a foundering real estate market forced them to postpone their plans.

“We had banked on selling the house to be able to finance the trip,” James High said. “Because of the economic meltdown, we were unable to sell it.”

James High, a pediatrician, was ready to begin two years of service at a children’s hospital in the small African country of Malawi.

Now he faced returning to his old job in Gastonia.

Timing is Everything

When the Highs plans were de-railed last year, the couple searched for answers.

They said they still felt a “calling” to help address Malawi’s health issues, especially the 1 million children orphaned by AIDS.

“My brother is like a mentor to me,” James High said. “He told us to take a step back, wait and see what happens.”

High’s brother suggested that the family attend a more multicultural church.

It was at Steele Creek Church of Charlotte where James High was introduced to African Bible Colleges, a community located in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.

He learned that ABC was build-ing a new pediatric ward as part of its community clinic and needed pediatricians.

“We started praying for missionary work in October of ‘07,” Holli High said. “We found out that ABC had been praying for a pediatrician since October of ‘07.”

Take Two

One year later, their Belmont house still has not been sold

But it is much emptier thanks to several yard sales the Highs have hosted to help raise money for the next two years.

They were able to get Tallie back last year, but now they are preparing to say goodbye to their golden retriever-black lab mix for a second time.

Along with their sons, Chad, 10, and Wes, 7, and their 15-month-old daughter, Ashley, the Highs are in the final stages of packing for the move they were supposed to make last year.

The family will leave for Malawi Aug. 2.

Chad said the dog, as well his drum set and the family’s TV, will be difficult to part with.

“But my dad just bought me an electric drum set on e-bay,” he said, his voice rising in excitement.

In the year since the Highs’ first trip fell through, James High has worked for the Gaston County Health Department and returned to his previous job with CaroMont Pediatric Partners so the family can meet their mortgage payments while overseas.

Family and friends of the Highs have helped organize numerous fundraisers.

Wes has lost several teeth, Ashley has learned to walk and talk and Chad has grown taller, but the boys and their parents say they are just as excited to go as they were this time last year.

James High said the ABC com-munity where they will live houses many English-speaking families with children and runs a Christian school for grades pre-K through 10, which Chad and Wes will attend.

Holli High said she will likely volunteer at a crisis nursery for orphaned newborns.

“My main focus will be being at home with the kids and trying to maintain a sense of normalcy,” she said.

Comforts of Home

Holli High said she is doing eve-rything she can to help assimilate her children to their new environment, including shipping comfort food such as chocolate chip muffins to Malawi.

But there are still some things they will have to do without.

“There is no Wal-Mart in Malawi,” Holli High said, laughing. “We won’t have TV at first.”

She also said the power in Lilongwe goes out frequently, but Chad and Wes are not worried about that. The brothers are look-ing forward to playing flashlight tag in the dark.

Chad also said he is excited to get his scuba diving license in Lake Malawi, the third largest freshwater lake in Africa.

“I’m too young to get my scuba license here, but they have less rules over there,” he said.

When they return to North Carolina in 2011, the Highs say they will return to their Belmont home.

“But that’s all we know right now,” Holli High said.

James High, who grew up in Africa where his father was a mis-sionary, said he sees more missionary work in his future.

“At 14 I felt like my life’s calling was missionary work,” he said. “This is a natural progression for people in my family.”