Top 10 moments in Malawi (This is in no particular order, just the 10 moments that stand out in my mind!)
1. The Living Ball tournament we put on in Senga Bay. It was a 5 on 5 soccer tournament that was used as a platform to share the love of Jesus. The Lord told several people on our squad that we would have 12 teams so that’s what we planned for and…we had 12 teams! It was awesome. Hundreds were in attendance watching friends and family members play.
2. Going to the water well. We didn’t have running water on our camp so we had to walk half a mile to the well each day to get water. The well was a great place to meet locals. There was always Malawian women and children there pumping water. We would be there for a while pumping our water and pumping the water for the women. It was a wonderful way to serve them, get to know them, and learn some Chichewa (their language). Also the half a mile trek back with a 40 pound water jug made for a great exercise and prayer time!
3. Valentines Day was a great day. Admittedly I have never done much for Valentines Day, but this year was wonderful. The 10 guys on our squad decided to go over and beyond to serve the beautiful women of our squad this day. We gave them an off day, did all the physical labor, cooked for them, performed the Winter Olympics for them, bought chocolate, wrote them letters, and then had a foot washing ceremony.
4. Climbing Senga Bay Mountain was great. This wasn’t your normal hiking trip with cut backs. It was a pretty steep climb with no trail through at times waist tall grass and huge boulders. We knew we were in for an adventure when our tour guide stopped us before we began and said “Uh…maybe we should pray.” Good idea since there was no trail and 99% of the snakes in Malawi are poisonous! It was a tough climb and there were many times I wanted to stop, but the beautiful view from the top was sooooo worth it.
5. The beautiful starry nights. There were so many stars, probably more than I have ever seen. And it was fun making up my own Southern Hemisphere consolations.
6. Fitting 40 people into the back of a truck taxi. Interesting. I’ll leave it at that.
7. The lovely sun rises over Lake Malawi and the just as lovely sunsets.
8. All of our squad worship times. We were blessed to have many nights where our squad got to worship our wonderful Creator and Savior together.
9. Worshipping and preaching at church and then going to the pastors house for lunch. His wife had malaria, was 9 months pregnant (I mean she was literally expecting her baby within the next couple days), and still fixed us this huge meal! N’sima, rice, egg, beans, fries, and beef. I couldn’t move afterward. She
10. Chris and I becoming certified electricians. We were instructed to hang lights in an African house and attach them to the solar panel on the roof. Yes the lights work and no the house didn’t burn down. Success? I’d say so.
This was just a quick overview of our month in Malawi. I plan on writing a more in depth blog here soon! We are currently in Estonia and internet is slightly more accessible here than Africa (go figure) so it should be easier to keep everyone updated!
