Hold on to your hats & glasses folks….because this is going to be a wild ride!!!
Michelle is going back to her favorite continent…..AFRICA!!! For 3 months! I’ve been to the countries of Namibia & Uganda & had AMAZING experiences there. So i can’t wait to LIVE in Africa for next months! I’ll be there for Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years! As always, i will keep you updated on what i know & as often as possible because not only do i LOVE sharing what God is doing, but i LOVE you guys & your support & prayers. It is SO needed & MUCH appreciated! Before i get into details about what’s ahead, i would just like to stop & say THANK JESUS for keeping me alive & well & healthy these past 4 months while traveling to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ireland & Romania! That is His HUGE grace & mercy & protection over me 🙂 Thank You Jesus for all the growth You have done in my life the last 4 months & all of the lives i have seen changed because of Your love, around the world. I am not bringing God to the world, God is already present there. i am simply just joining Him in what He is already doing!
Tomorrow, Tues October 26th, my team & i are leaving our village in Transilvania & taking a 10hr train ride to Bucharest, Romania. There we will meet up with the rest of our P Squad World Racers & stay at a large house until Saturday.(all 66 of us in a 2 story house, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen haha) ) On Friday, i will be boarding a plane that will take me to Istanbul,
Turkey. Then from there another plane that will stop/layover in Dubai!
And then from there we fly into Johannesburg.We have about a 40+hr bus ride to/through Malawi where we will be living/serving for the month of November. Our ministries will be preaching, evangelism, church planting & VBS (Vacation Bible School) with the kids. We are partnering with HIM (Harvester’s International MInistries), which is a Church Planting
Organization that plants churches in the southern, central &
northern parts of Malawi.We will also be camping in our tents!!!! Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world & one of the most densely populated countries. About 85% of the population lives in rural areas.Their economy is heavily based on agriculture & they depend mostly on outside aid for their development. AIDS/HIV is highly prevalent there (about 13% of population is infected)& so is the death of infants daily.About 69,000 deaths a year are caused by AIDS/HIV. The life expectancy in Malawi is 50yrs old. Malawi has been seen as a haven for refugees from other African countries, such as Rwanda. The main agricultural products of Malawi include tobacco, sugarcane, tea, potatoes, corn,cotton, cattle & goats.You can guess what we will be eating all month!!! haha 😉 Here’s a few pics i found online to give you a taste of Malawi:
Turkey. Then from there another plane that will stop/layover in Dubai!
And then from there we fly into Johannesburg.We have about a 40+hr bus ride to/through Malawi where we will be living/serving for the month of November. Our ministries will be preaching, evangelism, church planting & VBS (Vacation Bible School) with the kids. We are partnering with HIM (Harvester’s International MInistries), which is a Church Planting
Organization that plants churches in the southern, central &
northern parts of Malawi.We will also be camping in our tents!!!! Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world & one of the most densely populated countries. About 85% of the population lives in rural areas.Their economy is heavily based on agriculture & they depend mostly on outside aid for their development. AIDS/HIV is highly prevalent there (about 13% of population is infected)& so is the death of infants daily.About 69,000 deaths a year are caused by AIDS/HIV. The life expectancy in Malawi is 50yrs old. Malawi has been seen as a haven for refugees from other African countries, such as Rwanda. The main agricultural products of Malawi include tobacco, sugarcane, tea, potatoes, corn,cotton, cattle & goats.You can guess what we will be eating all month!!! haha 😉 Here’s a few pics i found online to give you a taste of Malawi:
The beautiful water pictures are of Lake Malawi! Please be in prayer with my team & i for this nation & the lovely people there, who God loves! Pray that He would prepare their hearts for us coming & that He would prepare our hearts to meet them. And as i pray each day, that He would break our hearts for what breaks His & always see people through HIS eyes & not our own.
As far as December goes, we will either be staying in Malawi or heading to Mozambique. January is our ATL month, which means “Ask the Lord”. Our team will pray about where we believe God is leading us to go live & serve, & find our ministry contacts. Every other month the ministry contacts have been assigned ahead of time & organized, so this month will look a bit different. *strengthen our FAITH even MORE!* It will be a country that borders Malawi/Mozambique, so it may be Tanzania or Swaziland, who knows!(and yes mom, i AM remembering to take my Malaria pills each day)
AS YOU KNOW, WE WILL PROBABLY BE LIVING IN RURAL AREAS FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS IN AFRICA, SO ACCESS TO INTERNET MAY BE LITTLE TO NONE. PLEASE KNOW THAT WHEN I DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WHAT GODS DOING & UPDATE YOU ALL, I WILL. I WILL MISS STAYING IN CONTACT REGULARLY WITH EVERYONE, BUT KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN MY HEART & PRAYERS DAILY! LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART! PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS! THANK YOU! LOVE, MICHELLE SMITH
ps. THANK YOU for reading my blogs & for your comments, i LOVE reading them!!They lift me up & make me smile 🙂
“Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has endowed you with splendor.”
Isaiah 55:5
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.” Psalm 33:12
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8
