Hello friends and family! I hope everyone has very much had a blessed holiday season and that you all have enjoyed this cheerful time of year! A late Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Since I haven’t posted in a hot minute (Sorry!) I wanted to give you all an update of what the past month on the Race as looked like for me.
My Squad and I are now in Malawi! When finished our time well in El Salvador, and made the three day journey with over 25 hours in the air before landing in Malawi, Africa at the beginning of December. My first month here has been INCREDIBLE. My team, Team Meek, and Team Dauntless were together again for the month. Blessings (our host for the month) and his wife and three daughter gracious welcomed all 13 of us girls into their home for the month. If any of you have been looking to see a miracle from God lately, then here it is – 18 people sharing 1 bathroom for 28 days with zero complaining, fights, or shortness of patience. Miracles do happen!
I LOVE MALAWI. The people and the culture have entirely lived up to their reputation as “The Warm Heart of Africa.” Everyone is so kind and honest. Joy radiates from the people, especially the children. Our host family are the kindest and most patient people know, welcoming 18 strangers into their home and genuinely loving us and caring about us as if we were their own family.
Ministry has been diverse. This first month, our teams took part in a variety of ministry. We preached in churches, practiced with and supported a soccer ministry, visited local widows, helped care for babies at a Crisis Nursery, visited and preached in villages, and led bible studies for businesses in the city. God also showed us how life is nothing but constant ministry, so ‘unplanned ministry’ was also frequent. The children in our community were always waiting outside our front porch for us to step outside to play with them them. They brought so much joy and so much love and acceptance to us. We also were constantly trying to pour into our host family as much as they poured into us. We not only lived with them – but we did life with them. They chose us and we chose them as our family. No matter where we turned, God always provided opportunities for us to show HIs love and for Him to show us His ultimate love for HIs people.
I celebrated Christmas in Africa! The holidays are probably my favorite time of year. Second to God, my family is the most important thing in the world to me. I always love coming home to visit them, taking part in our family traditions each year and enjoying the time to just all be together. It was not easy being away from my family this year. Being on the other side of the world during the time of year that I cherish spending with my family was hard emotionally. BUt spiritually, God showed up in incredible ways. He gave me the most incredible peace and joy, despite my emotional hardship. He allowed me to still enjoy this time of year, celebrating Him and who He is and loving the blessing I had to spend this special time of year with my team and with my host family, sharing His love with them. I have loved spending this holiday season in Africa. Throught the simplistic celebration of Christmas here, God showed me so much about how to find joy in Him, and about what Christmas (and life) is truly about. He gave me the opportunity to celebrate the raw essence of what Christmas is about, and that is celebrating the love, joy, and true Life that Jesus brought to us on this earth. It was an eye opening holiday experience full of memories with my team and our host that I will carry with me for a lifetime.
Interesting things I have done this month. Malawi has definitely called me to step outside of my comfort zone. A few of the random things I have done are:
Learned to cook traditional African food.
Eaten roasted termites. Yum.
Prayed healing over sick and hurting people.
Shared a bathroom with 18 people (17 of which were girls).
HEARD God’s calling for where He wants me to go after the Race and what He is leading me to do (look out for my next blog for more details!)
Prepared multiple meals for 18 people using only a small charcoal burner.
Created a “Dream Again” list of things I want to do during my life.
Learned basic phrases and worship songs in Chichewa.
Witnessed what a community of believers should look like through the Bible, through my teams I lived with, and through the Malawian culture.
Met my host’s parents who have been married for 72 YEARS and are both over 100 years old, still working in the fields to harvest crops.
I have been assigned to a new team! This month, our Squad has switched up our teams. Team Meek has been near and dear to my heart these past four months. The have helped my grow, challenged me, and taught me so much about who God is. They have helped me through my worst moments, showed me more grace than I could ever deserve, have celebrated with me in my happiest times and have loved me unconditionally. I have learned so much from each one of them, and they will forever be my sisters, my family, and some of my closest friends in life. Moving forward this month, I am now on Team Jigsaw! We are a team of 6 girls, each of us unique in our own way and bringing something new to the table, but when we come together and unify we make a beautiful and complete picture. We will be returning to the same contact, Blessings, that I had last month. I am excited for the next three weeks of ministry with them!
God has yet to fail to show up in the most incredible ways on this journey. He is leading my steps one day at a time, promising me a new adventure every morning that I wake up as long as I continue to say yes to Him. Please continue to keep me and my squad and our leadership in your prayers, as well as the people we encounter as we enter this new season of change and growth with one another. Keep an eye out for another blog that I am preparing to be posted in the next few days! I hope you all have a very blessed 2016!!
