Sorry for the delay on the update, wifi has been limited but that has been the only issue. Everything else has been beyond amazing.
December 8th was our first full day in Malawi and it did not take long to learn why Malawi has the reputation of being the warm heart of Africa. The country is beautiful in itself but the people is what makes this place truly special. We had arrived here the prior night but stayed in a separate hostel than where we are staying so we weren’t driving at night as our host told us it’d be dangerous to do. We met our host the first thing in the morning and she briefed us on how ministry was going to look and answered the questions we had. After talking to her we left to start our 6 hour journey from Lilongwe to Nkhata Bay where we are staying for the month at a hostel called “Butterfly Space”.
Butterfly Space is beautiful. We have been blessed this month with being able to stay at such a breathtaking place. As someone who really connects to God and His Splendor through His creation and it’s beauty, this place is a true gift. When we arrived, we got all set up and took a swim in the lake. Then that night they had a pool tournament where we played with some of the locals and others who were staying here in the lodge. At the end of the night we relaxed and looked at the stars which are countless and breathtaking. Thank you D’Amico family for sponsoring this day! Your consistent support in many ways means so much to me. Thank you for always being there for me.
December 12th was crazy day with some crazy kids. Ministry from Monday- Thursday this week was volunteering at the hostels primary (elementary) school. This week they had their finals and Tuesday’s final was math. I personally helped out in the 1st grade classroom where they were learning basic addition and subtraction. Throughout the test we were allowed to help them find the answer. To do this they had brought in rocks to use as a visual in there addition and subtraction. I found it very enjoyable to help them through finding the answers I even kept one of the rocks to bring home as a souvenir to remember.
The craziness began as they started to finish their tests. Everyone in the school as they finished would come to one common building to play in while everyone else finished. Putting 60+ elementary school kids into one room without instruction is asking for chaos and chaos it was. My patience level grew through adversity that day, but in all those kids are so much fun and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them.
After getting back from the school I tried to spice up my standard lunch of two peanut butter sandwiches and a couple mangos by combining the two. I climbed one of the mango trees here and picked about 10 small mangos and tried making mango jelly with my teammate Melanie. The process was complicated.
1st. Peel the Mango
2nd. Slice the Mango
3rd. Smash up Mango with rock
4th. Put smashed up Mango in jar and call it Jelly
Ok it wasn’t that complicated but it turned out well I’d say. After lunch we had our daily kids club with some of the kids from the primary school where we threw frisbee and played a couple of games. Once that was over we had the night to ourselves and I played some games of the popular local board game bowa which is quickly becoming my favorite thing to do here. It’s a fun strategy game that I’m looking forward to teaching y’all back home. The night ended with team time. It was the start of us sharing our testimonies with each other. One person would share each night for the next 7 days. As I right this we are now 4 days in and I shared mine last night and it had been great to get to know each other on a more personal and deeper level. Thank you Quintin Blank for sponsoring today! Your contribution was an early inspiration for me on this fundraising journey and I could not be more thankful.
Stay tuned for more updates and if you have interest in sponsoring a day yourself that would be greatly appreciated as I still have more to fundraise. On whatever days are sponsored I will write a blog about that day so whoever sponsored that day will know how their partnership with me has helped fund my ability to serve God here impact the community I’m a part of on that date. I will try my best to post it soon after the day occurs. The average cost of this trip breaks down to equaling about $50 a day. If you would like to partner with me through donation and sponsor a day by submitting a $50 donation, you can do so by donating here on this blog and then click on this link
https://www.timetosignup.com/jonathansworldrace/sheet/70611/
and choose the day you’d like to sponsor. If you have already donated and never picked a day(s) feel free to add yourself into the calendar as well!
