Living life in Malawi has been a literal breath of fresh air.
Life starts early in the morning here, as the sun comes up around 5 am everyday. School starts at 7:30am, but this time of year they are having final exams so we have only a couple days of teaching with the kids.
In the mornings between breakfast and lunch I have free time. I like to spend as much time as I can outside. I sit in the shade of a tree and read, or talk to God. Or I just breathe a deep breath in and out, soaking in all the warmth and beauty that I can.
We are staying in the church building itself, which is next to the school, so when the kids are at break we are able to spend time with them in the school yard. They yell “Azungu! Azungu!” and come running to wherever we are outside. Azungu means white people which we endearingly smile, wave, and say “Hi!”. It doesn’t even matter what we are doing, they will all congregate around us and just stare. We could be doing laundry, painting, or just talking whatever it is we seem to be fascinating to watch.
In the afternoons we go out to the surrounding villages and share the gospel. (The harvest is so ripe! We have been leading others to the Lord every time we have gone out!)
**It is good for me to have this opportunity to grow in the area of evangelism, as it is not a natural gifting of mine.**
When we come back from evangelism we often workout as a team, have specific team time together, or spend our time playing with the kids in the neighborhood. They always run circles around us in football (soccer).
At this time we will clean up, and get ready for dinner. This month our host prepares all of our meals (let me tell you, the food is amazing!). At dinner we chat with our host, and get to know them. Once we clean up at dinner it is usually 8 or 8:30pm, at this point it is dark outside, and sometimes dark inside too. Malawi, as a nation, produces a little under half of their needed energy for power. This means that the government must essentially ration the power for the country. So in the morning we may have power, but that same night we may be enjoying dinner by candle light, or vice versa for another day.
Every day brings new discoveries, laughter, and challenges. I am learning to do life, here in Malawi.
