As Malawi comes to a close I have started really thinking about the many different cultures and things I have seen while being in Africa. For the last four months I have been living in Africa, but in so many different types of cultures. On this trip so far I have gone to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Botswana. All for various reasons, some missions, some just passing through, and others just playful adventures. Each individual country holds so many differences though. Especially Malawi, it took me by surprise. One thing the race has taught me is to never walk into a country with already made up ideas about it. When I first heard Malawi was one of the poorest countries in the world I pictured I would be living in the bush of Africa and having to walk miles to find water. That was nothing like the Malawi I live in, or have seen at least. So welcome to the last two months of my life. When we first got to our host home I was surprised, what a cute little house. Now granted, not enough space for twelve girls but yet, still roomy and comfortable. I decided to live in my tent for the duration of being here. Privacy and cooler weather for the win, all fun and games until the rain came. Beginning of month two I had to evacuate my sweet little tent due too flooding, yup you heard it here, my tent straight up flooded. Rip. So I ended up moving inside for a few days. While being here I have increased my wardrobe to about double the size due to a nifty thrift store with $0.70 clothing. My tent is ruined, oh and my sleeping pad popped, but it is all good. So ministry, wow have I ever enjoyed the ministry we have here in Lilongwe. in the beginning of the month we had widows ministry on Mondays, city hall bible study Tuesdays, Wednesdays were for the children, Thursdays a baby rescue home, and Fridays back again at widows. Half way through though, Wednesdays and Fridays were changed to being teachers! Yeah you read that correctly, I was a kindergarten teacher of about twenty students. Oh how much fun that was, I never thought I was cut out for the teacher life but I have enjoyed it more than ever! something amazing my team and I got to do while in Malawi was Operation Christmas Child. As a child that was always my favorite part of Christmas time, going and filling up a box for someone in a different country. One of my biggest dreams was to be able to one day hand a box to a child, well that dream came true. One of the first weeks here we took over 500 boxes to a little village. As we drove up the faces of the kids lit up, knowing for once in their lives that they would be receiving a gift. Though small, the smiles on their faces were huge. I honestly got teary eyed, not ever really knowing how much of an impact that little shoebox could make. As I handed hundreds of boxes out, it never got tiring or boring. Getting to experience the other side of it was one of the highlights on the race thus far. Getting to live out that dream, And seeing the outcome of it was a very special gift from the Lord. Due to security reasons I cant share photos but just picture a child who has rags on, probably no shoes, reaching out to a stranger and receiving the best physical gift they could get, and then their faces lighting up, that’s how it was. Operation Christmas Child makes a bigger impact than most of us think, seeing the other side of it has changed my life for Christmas season now until ever. So one thing my team and I decided to do was fast together for 28 days. We prayed through it and did the Daniel fast. Alright honesty, it was so hard, my body felt weak but through that the Lord made me strong. Ill be writing a end of race blog more on this but, every time I go to a country on missions I pray for the lord to give me a specific word. For Malawi the word the lord gave me was sacrifice. Sacrifice in many ways, but the main one was food, this is why I fasted. Relying on the lord to bring me through this month has been hard, now don’t get me wrong, Jesus and I are homies. Dang though, ya girl was hungry most days. I had to put my own human desires aside and step into a place of trust in the lord. Trust to give me strength, and trust to reveal himself through this fast. He did both better than I expected, my body may be weak, have lost weight, and has had more cravings of pasta than ever but lord is good. He showed me a side of himself I would not have seen if I hadn’t done the fast. I would not change doing the fast for anything. The lord is our ultimate strength. No matter what we eat or drink or do in life. Being in Africa for four months has had its ups and downs but man alive, God showed up. We have done so many different types of ministries and adventures, who would have thought, such close together countries could be totally different. As I reflect over the last four months, I know I will be leaving a piece of my heart here yet again. as I prepare to head onto a new adventure in a different continent, the Lord is putting different ideas and goals on my mind. Goals to finish the race stronger than I began it. Goals to bring Jesus to more and more people, people I never would have imagined coming in contact with. Goals of continuing my race once this race of life I’m on now ends. It is crazy for me to think that in less than a week I will be taking five flights to my next and final country on the race. As always I do not know what to expect for Ecuador but as always, the Lord will show up in unimaginable ways. So for now, this is my last blog in Africa, peace out, hello Ecuador!
Love from Malawi, Mara
