Since the last time I wrote a blog, we have traveled to Malawi, had a debrief, been given new teams, and joined our new ministry hosts. The travel to Malawi from Zambia was a 30 hour bus ride on a very small, no leg room bus. It actually went by faster then I expected, but it still wasn’t the easiest travel day by far. We arrived to Thumbi Lodge in Cape Maclear, Malawi the night of January 6th, and we were there until the 12th. These days were so relaxing and much needed. I swam in the lake, paddle boarded, let little girls braid my hair, read a book, took some naps, jumped off a pier, threw up for the first time on the race, and had some sweet Jesus time all while NOT getting sunburned. You should be proud, because the sun in Africa here is an 11 compared to a 6 in the USA.
To close debrief, the leaders announced team changes. We all knew they were coming, but most of us weren’t so excited about it, myself included. I loved my first team so much. They had become a family to me, so the worry and anxiety that came with team changes was something I had to work through. I got separated from Emily and Stella, which I can say still hasn’t hit me yet. But the Lord has put 12 new girls into my life since debrief. My new team is an all girls team, which I get to lead. We are living with another all girls team this month in a small house so it’s an adjustment and an adventure for sure. I think that my team will be really sweet to have once we are around each other more. I really enjoy the girls I have, and I know there will be a lot of growth in this season for me and everyone else. Although I am becoming closer to this new team, it is challenging being with the other all girls team too. It’s just a lot of people in the house, and on the race so far, the month I’ve seen the most fruit and deepest connections was in Zimbabwe when my small team was finally alone. But hey, here’s to six more weeks of cooking for 12, sharing one bathroom, and waking up to the rooster for another prayer walk.
So ministry this month seems to be really good so far. We helped love children in a crisis center who are babies from the ages 0-3 whose parents may have died or abandoned them. This organization takes such good care of the babies and just wants the best life for the children possible. At the beginning of the week, we visited a children’s club for street children. We played soccer, taught them Bible stories, sang songs, and even played kickball. They also really loved my yo-yo. Apart from actual ministry, my teammate Sydney and I have started prayer walking around the neighborhood at 6 AM, and we get to see so many smiling faces on the roads. So overall ministry has been super sweet, and I am excited to see all of the opportunities we have these next six weeks in Malawi.
That is just a little update on what’s been going on. I am feeling a lot better and have started being more active too which is just nice and productive feeling. If you would say an extra special prayer for our new team that would be amazing, and most all of my new team isn’t fully funded so please, if you feel called to donate or are feeling extra generous, you can find their blogs and donate. The absolute last deadline is in February, and I would really like to keep my new teammates around.
