Welll my life is once again preparing to have significant change, now that I am finally beginning to feel settled. I am preparing to go and live in a village with a Malawian family for a week and I think that it will be quite the experience. While I am there I will be writing my ethnography so it will not only be a rewarding experience but also one in which I have to do tons of research for!
I have been warned about all that looms in the village, so I am asking for prayer during this next week and I prepare to live on the Malawian food, without electricity, a working toilet, running water and possible a shower for a week. I'm sure that this will teach me a lot about how the true Malawians live, but I also know that I will probably want a shower quite badly by the time I return home.
After I get back and will once again have my computer I will for sure put an update up about my experience and I will try to include some interesting stories. So stay tuned....
Friday, March 26, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Oh How He Loves Us
Written March 17/2010
The last couple of days I have had off because the Malawian I work with was sick. They were great days to spend with God and with the language just learning and being taught by the creator. I spent a lot of time in music as well as in His word, however, today after I had gone out teaching and had eaten lunch, I felt unsatisfied and didn't know that to do. While I was reading Little Women, I ended up falling alseep and woke up just as the rain was beginning to fall. The rainy season here is almost over and so it has been dry and hot the last couple of days and the rain was just like a quenching cup of water in the desert. As I was sitting there I began hmming "How He Loves Us" by David Crowder Band, so I grabbed my computer and thankful that I had the song on my computer, play it. I eventually put it on repeat. I sat and watched the rain for a little but realized that I was not content just sitting, watching and smelling this beautiful rain, so I got up and went outside in the rain (contrary to Malawian culture). Standing barefoot in the grass and then mud, I was so happy and content that I was consciously trying to feel the rain on my face and hands and the mud between my toes and with that my heart began to be filled with joy. The song playing in the background was very fitting. Thank-you God for your quenching rain and even more so for how You can truly quench each one of us. You are the living water and I am so thankful for You. Just like humans cannot live many days without earthly water, I believe that I needed this reminder to always remember how badly I thirst for Him. I also realized that if I had an overflowing jug of water in a desert, I would not just keep it all to myself, but rather, I would share it with those who thirst just as I do. Therefore, I have renewed vigour to share the Living Water with everyone who thirsts for Him with me! Oh how He loves us!
The last couple of days I have had off because the Malawian I work with was sick. They were great days to spend with God and with the language just learning and being taught by the creator. I spent a lot of time in music as well as in His word, however, today after I had gone out teaching and had eaten lunch, I felt unsatisfied and didn't know that to do. While I was reading Little Women, I ended up falling alseep and woke up just as the rain was beginning to fall. The rainy season here is almost over and so it has been dry and hot the last couple of days and the rain was just like a quenching cup of water in the desert. As I was sitting there I began hmming "How He Loves Us" by David Crowder Band, so I grabbed my computer and thankful that I had the song on my computer, play it. I eventually put it on repeat. I sat and watched the rain for a little but realized that I was not content just sitting, watching and smelling this beautiful rain, so I got up and went outside in the rain (contrary to Malawian culture). Standing barefoot in the grass and then mud, I was so happy and content that I was consciously trying to feel the rain on my face and hands and the mud between my toes and with that my heart began to be filled with joy. The song playing in the background was very fitting. Thank-you God for your quenching rain and even more so for how You can truly quench each one of us. You are the living water and I am so thankful for You. Just like humans cannot live many days without earthly water, I believe that I needed this reminder to always remember how badly I thirst for Him. I also realized that if I had an overflowing jug of water in a desert, I would not just keep it all to myself, but rather, I would share it with those who thirst just as I do. Therefore, I have renewed vigour to share the Living Water with everyone who thirsts for Him with me! Oh how He loves us!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
exalting Somebody
Well this week has been busy and not all at the same time! I have started to get really involved in ministry and I have begun to become involved in the language as well. It's crazy to think that I have already been here 3 weeks and that I have less than 5 months left here! How fast time flies!
Today I went to Cure Hospital for the first time to actually help out and it was really great! Thanks for all your prayers! Kayla (another short termer) and I went there and played games with the kids and just tried to spend time with them. It is still hard seeing them, but putting a smile on their faces is so rewarding! I really think that I am going to enjoy this. However, I am still glad that it is only for 2-3 hours at a time because otherwise I don't think that I would have the energy to continue. Kayla and I both depended on each other to get through this and I will be sad the times that she cannot come with me.
God has sent me some great friends and two of my friends who came down to visit went back to their village 3 hours away. I already miss them! However, I now know that I can go and visit them in Salima as well as in Germany and Switzerland when our terms are over! Plus, since there are 11 different nationalities on our team, I will be able to go and visit a lot of people!
I have to praise God with the contentment that He has given me. I am usually happy to be here (except when I get a little homesick) and GOd has just been teaching me and helping me to understand the world a little better. I have been reading Elisabeth Elliot's book Shadow of the Almighty about her late husband Jim Elliot and I am just awed at this amazing man. One phrase that he wrote while in college struck me and I'd like to mention it:
" Missionaries are very human folks, just doing what they are asked. Simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody." Jim Elliot
It's that just an incredible observation? But it leave me with one thought, why can't we all be a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt the One Somebody that matters?! I think that I am going to try to make this a new goal of mine for each day.
Please pray for my ministry here as well as my strength to continue when the times get hard. My sanity also needs prayer since I will be spending a lot of time alone when Liz leaves for her medical trip Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
Today I went to Cure Hospital for the first time to actually help out and it was really great! Thanks for all your prayers! Kayla (another short termer) and I went there and played games with the kids and just tried to spend time with them. It is still hard seeing them, but putting a smile on their faces is so rewarding! I really think that I am going to enjoy this. However, I am still glad that it is only for 2-3 hours at a time because otherwise I don't think that I would have the energy to continue. Kayla and I both depended on each other to get through this and I will be sad the times that she cannot come with me.
God has sent me some great friends and two of my friends who came down to visit went back to their village 3 hours away. I already miss them! However, I now know that I can go and visit them in Salima as well as in Germany and Switzerland when our terms are over! Plus, since there are 11 different nationalities on our team, I will be able to go and visit a lot of people!
I have to praise God with the contentment that He has given me. I am usually happy to be here (except when I get a little homesick) and GOd has just been teaching me and helping me to understand the world a little better. I have been reading Elisabeth Elliot's book Shadow of the Almighty about her late husband Jim Elliot and I am just awed at this amazing man. One phrase that he wrote while in college struck me and I'd like to mention it:
" Missionaries are very human folks, just doing what they are asked. Simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody." Jim Elliot
It's that just an incredible observation? But it leave me with one thought, why can't we all be a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt the One Somebody that matters?! I think that I am going to try to make this a new goal of mine for each day.
Please pray for my ministry here as well as my strength to continue when the times get hard. My sanity also needs prayer since I will be spending a lot of time alone when Liz leaves for her medical trip Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.
Thanks for all your prayers and support!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A God of Compassion and Love
Well over the last week God has been continually giving me a compassion and love for His children and he has been showing me that my time here in Malawi is not going to be an easy feel good trip. Today I was hit with the reality of the work that I will be doing in the Cure Hospital here and on Sunday he gave me compassion for the children of a small community.
On Sunday I went to a new church called Mpemba and I feel in love with the children there. However, my heart broke seeing the clothes that they were wearing and I wanted to at least be able to sew their clothes back together (especially since winter is coming).
Today I went to visit Cure Hospital to try and figure out my schedule of volunteering there. Cure Hospital is a facility that believes in loving God’s children and therefore they perform surgeries and provide FREE treatment for children under the age of eighteen. Now this is not cheap so they have a lot of volunteers as well as rely A LOT on support. Also, they have a private section of the hospital that provides care for anyone, but they have to pay (a very small fee) to have treatment/surgeries which also helps to support the children’s side. Grace (a volunteer) told me that it would be really easy for us to be able to just send in money and feel like we have helped then (which it really does help), but that if we volunteer our time and build into their lives it is way more beneficial and difficult and being there I can see how hard this opportunity that God has given me is going to be. Please pray for me because just seeing the children I have a hard time keeping my emotions in check. It is so hard to see them and not feel sad or angry about the situation that they are in. It makes me want to sit and cry but also bring tons of joy into their lives at the same time. I have a feeling that I will be doing the later a lot there and the former quite often at home.
I know that for sure in six months, but also before that, that I will be changed by this experience and that God has brought this opportunity into my life to teach me and help me grow.
Please pray for how God is going to use me but also for me to be able to have the strength to keep going when I’m working with sick children.
*As I was struggling with this opportunity God sent me the song He Sends His Love by Point of Grace and I have realized that I need to stop being upset by these circumstances and just let him use me to love his children.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
SURPRISE!
First of all I want to apologize to those of you who I confused when I posted the last blog. My brithday is on the 3rd but when I posted my blog it was still the second at home (third morning here).
So yesterday after I wrote the Blog about the contentness God gave me, I went home and had a great nap! haha then I was invited to go the movie theatre to watch Planet 51 with a missionary and her children (I know weird to think about going to a movie in Africa). So anyways I went with them and when I got home Liz (who plays the flute) and I gathered around the piano and played some music which was great! (the piano is actually Stephanie's and she's moving out on Saturday so I will no longer have that =[ Then since Stephanie had offered to make supper Liz, Stephanie and I had supper together for the first time which was really nice. Stephanie apologized that it was only Liz and her and I was happy that I just wasn't by myself.
After supper we started doing dishes and Stephanie kicked me out of the kitchen telling me that I wasn't allowed to do dishes on my birthday so I went into the living room to play some more piano when Gill (Short Term Cordinator), Ruth (a missionary that teaches at the college) and the two new missionaries from Switzerland came in. I assumed that Gill had brought them because she usually tries to take the new Short Termers around when they first arrive and they had arrived earlier that day. Anyways, at that point I saw Seth (a MK) walk in and I was a little confused why he was at our house but just figued that he came with the guys. At this point people began flooding into our house and I finally put all the clues from the day (people trying to get me out of the house, the banners that said Happy Birthday, the cook asking how to spell my name, etc.) together. Needless to stay I was both surprised and overwhelmed! Stephanie and Liz looked to be pretty pleased with themselves!
We had cake, (three cause our cook made two and I had made myself and cake just incase that day as well) and play pictionary and just enjoyed eachothers company. At about 8:15 when everyone left I asked Stephanie if I could use her dial-up connection in the house to try to get a hold of my parents (she had warned me that skype didn't work with the dial up but i tried anyways) and I was able to have a quick video conversation with them which was amazing! I know that that was a gift from God!
All in all my day was amazing and I felt so love and blessed to have so many people in my life! God truly blessed me and showed me how it doesn't matter where I am He will bring people into my life who care about me and love me! I am so blessed!
So yesterday after I wrote the Blog about the contentness God gave me, I went home and had a great nap! haha then I was invited to go the movie theatre to watch Planet 51 with a missionary and her children (I know weird to think about going to a movie in Africa). So anyways I went with them and when I got home Liz (who plays the flute) and I gathered around the piano and played some music which was great! (the piano is actually Stephanie's and she's moving out on Saturday so I will no longer have that =[ Then since Stephanie had offered to make supper Liz, Stephanie and I had supper together for the first time which was really nice. Stephanie apologized that it was only Liz and her and I was happy that I just wasn't by myself.
After supper we started doing dishes and Stephanie kicked me out of the kitchen telling me that I wasn't allowed to do dishes on my birthday so I went into the living room to play some more piano when Gill (Short Term Cordinator), Ruth (a missionary that teaches at the college) and the two new missionaries from Switzerland came in. I assumed that Gill had brought them because she usually tries to take the new Short Termers around when they first arrive and they had arrived earlier that day. Anyways, at that point I saw Seth (a MK) walk in and I was a little confused why he was at our house but just figued that he came with the guys. At this point people began flooding into our house and I finally put all the clues from the day (people trying to get me out of the house, the banners that said Happy Birthday, the cook asking how to spell my name, etc.) together. Needless to stay I was both surprised and overwhelmed! Stephanie and Liz looked to be pretty pleased with themselves!
We had cake, (three cause our cook made two and I had made myself and cake just incase that day as well) and play pictionary and just enjoyed eachothers company. At about 8:15 when everyone left I asked Stephanie if I could use her dial-up connection in the house to try to get a hold of my parents (she had warned me that skype didn't work with the dial up but i tried anyways) and I was able to have a quick video conversation with them which was amazing! I know that that was a gift from God!
All in all my day was amazing and I felt so love and blessed to have so many people in my life! God truly blessed me and showed me how it doesn't matter where I am He will bring people into my life who care about me and love me! I am so blessed!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Happy Birthday to ME!
Well I have realized that Malawians definitely have it right having March 3rd be a national holiday! haha Actually it is maryters day but I have really enjoyed pretending it's just because of me! Over the last couple of days I have really been settling in, but today more than ever I am content to be here. I was a little afraid because last year when I was in Guatemala I had an awful brithday, but so far today has been great! I was able to sleep in and then I walked into to town to check my e-mails and doing some work. Luka (our cook/maid) said Happy Birthday to me this morning and then asked me how I liked spending my birthday in Malawi! haha so far I have really enjoyed it! On my walk into town I couldn't stop smiling because the sun was out, the birds were chirping and I just felt great! Once I made it into town, Connie invited me to come over to her house to use the internet and then proceeded to give me a piece of cake! (it was absolutely delicious! Probably cause she is a great cook! [She's from Mississippi!]) This morning my roommate Liz gave me a card and two presents which was just lovely (as she would say!). My other roommate Stephanie has offered to make supper tonight and I am quite excited! All in all I feel like today is going to be a great day and I just feel so blessed and loved!
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