Hey everyone! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! I want to update you on my life here in Malawi!
My first month in Malawi I was in Zomba with team Abounding Roots. Our ministry was going to house churches in the afternoons and preaching. That’s right, WE, a bunch of teenage girls, were PREACHERS. We were allowed to preach on whatever we wanted for about 10-30 minutes long. It was an experience I was terrified of partaking in, but one the Lord taught me in daily. I never really knew what to speak on until he gave me a topic in my mind and the words to write down to speak. Then He gave me the confidence to get up in front of groups of people and talk without getting sick to my stomach. Sometimes, I went to a church planning to speak on one thing and God would say “nope, I want you to talk on something else.” So I would. It was literally all God this month in ministry. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if He wasn’t a part of it. If He wasn’t the one speaking.
Africa for me so far hasn’t been what I thought it would be. In fact, the whole first week and a half I thought I was going to go home. I got to Africa and just felt this strong presence saying “you need to get out of here” but I shoved it aside and tried not to think about it. I had this peace about going home and going to the Philippines, but not for being in Africa. From the moment I stepped off the plane I had this aching feeling in my stomach that wouldn’t seem to go away no matter what I tried. I prayed against it, I talked to God about it, I talked to my team and my mom about it, and I cried almost daily because of it. But the feeling kept lingering until one day I was talking to God about it and I realized it really wasn’t from him. My team was very good at calling that out and questioning me daily to help me process through what I thought was God calling me away from Africa. They always told me that they didn’t think it was God, that they thought the enemy was attacking me in every way he could. I was still in doubt with what they were saying until God confirmed it for me. That He didn’t call me here to call me home. It seems like a “duh” moment looking back on it now, but while I was going through it, it was so hard to distinguish what was truth and what was lies. Although I was miserable my first weeks in Zomba, I am actually really glad I went through this. God taught me so many cool things. He showed me that it doesn’t matter what I do with my life or which path I take, He is still going to be with me and bless me in that. He also showed me that I am a follower of His worth attacking, which it pretty cool when you think about it. After these initial weeks in Zomba, Africa started to look better in my eyes and I started to love it and its people more and more.
A few days ago we had team changes. I am no longer a part of team Abounding Roots, but now am a part of team Jigsaw. Our name stands for Jigsaw puzzle because we are a bunch of different people with different personalities and different things to bring to the table, but we all fit together because of Jesus. I am still very heartbroken having to leave team abs. We became such a tight little family and I honestly still feel a little lost without them. God is showing me though that I can depend on Him through it all. He is remaining constant and I can rely on him to be there when my family isn’t. This new family I have been placed into is amazing! It’s funny because I would have never put this group of girls together, but we all work so well together. I feel God is calling us to a place of freedom and joy this month and I am already starting to feel that presence on this team. It’s only been a few days, but I have so much love in my heart for them already. We are living in Lilongwe now which is the capitol of Malawi. From what I understand we are doing all sorts of ministries this month. From preaching, to widow ministry, to soccer ministry, to holding babies. I am so excited and hopeful for this month. I am being taught that although what I left was great and I loved them, I am stepping into greatness with this new family and God is going to be here in each step.
So that is my official Africa update! In a month I will be moving in to a new team with a new family and I couldn’t be more excited about it! Until then I encourage you to check out my new teams blogs! Also, soon to come is some videos from my last month with team ABS!
