Greetings from Malawi,
Well, I promised to fill you in on last month in Tanzania and this month in Malawi so here it is. Last month in Tanzania we traveled through Moshi where we were able to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was so majestic, snow capped and reaching thru the clouds. A very sweet moment for me on the race!
Our team traveled another 15 hours away to stay with a pastor and his family. Our month was filled with door to door (or hut to hut) evangelism, visiting two different orphanages, reconstructing the church floor, and speaking in different church services. We also got the chance to take a Safari in the Serengeti. It was an amazing experience! We tented in the middle of the park for the night. We also got charged by an elephant twice and saw a lion chase down a pack of zebra's. We saw every animal we wanted to see, including a wildebeest and zebra migration. Needless to say that was the highlight of my month!
After a two day bus ride (literally 48 hours) we finally made it to Malawi. Our ministry this month is what I thought most of the race would look like. Don't get me wrong, I don't really love hard living circumstances, but I am very thankful for them because they give me a whole new perspective on my life and the rest of the world. We are sleeping in tents on a lot of black sand. The scenery is breathtaking. On one side are beautiful mountains and the other side, beautiful lake Malawi. We have no running water so multiple trips to the well (one mile there and back) are necessary for drinking water, toilet water, bathing, kitchen duty, and laundry. Most of us chose to bathe and do laundry in the lake which is actually quite refreshing and fun to join the locals in the largest “bathtub” I’ve ever seen. We also take any opportunity to shower or rinse off anywhere we can find running water, like the hotel we hang out at on our days off. I've never felt more homeless in my life! I never knew to be so thankful for running water, but now, it almost makes me cry it's so nice and convenient. The sun is blistering hot this month and only getting hotter! I have a true African tan! The night skies here are beautiful! One of my favorite things to do is stand in the cool night air and stare up at the stars. God always speaks to me thru His creation, and this is no exception.
Our job this month is mainly building a bible school and a chicken coop. Our contacts are from South Africa and they are amazing. They have 3 beautiful kids and there are lots of animals including dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and a donkey. There are 6 South African volunteers here as well, one female and 5 males, ranging from ages 21 to 33. We have had a great time getting to know each one of them and working along side them.
We are making a video of this month and this ministry so that will be posted as soon as possible. My next blog will include my thoughts on reentry back into American culture. This should be fun! I hope everyone is doing well and I can't wait to see you all soon.
