Hey Team!
Sorry that I haven’t been very active online lately, but my whole squad has been living in the bush this month! There is internet accessibility a few miles away at a resort, and we got to go there today for our off day.
We are in Senga Bay, Malawi working with Zhandi Ministries. There is a huge difference between our setup in Zambia and our setup here. We have been living in tents all month in a place that gives new meaning to the term “roughing it.” The place itself is incredible, set atop a hill overlooking Lake Malawi, one of the largest lakes in the area. The sweeping view of the countryside is indescribable in its beauty. However, there is a price to pay for seeing Africa in close to its original state.
There is only one small building on the property that serves as the meeting place, shelter from the sun, worship hall, cafeteria, etc. Water that we use for cooking, cleaning, bathing, drinking, etc. is not readily available. Every morning a different team has to walk over a half of a mile each way to a well. At the well, they have to pump the water from the ground to fill up 15 or so 20-liter jugs that weigh around 40 pounds each when filled. Then, they carry the water jugs back to camp to be used in various ways. We cook all of our meals over an open flame, and the bathrooms are pretty much just holes in the ground. Just imagine going out into a random field in the middle of nowhere, and pitching a tent as your dwelling place for a month. That’s pretty much what is going on here.
Our ministry is quite varied. This month is all-squad month, meaning all of the teams on our route are together. There are 7 teams, and we take turns serving as the kitchen/water team, manual labor team, soccer tournament team, etc. I enjoy the way it is set up because everyone gets to serve in different ways. We have done manual labor on the property for Zhandi, set up solar panels, dug over a hundred holes for trees, created gardens and flower beds, set up a soccer tournament, prayed for people at hospitals, evangelized in villages, and ministered to local congregations.
This month has been tough, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. There is nothing like the feeling of truly living off the land and fully immersing yourself in a different culture. It elicits that interesting combination of feelings that come with hard work: being weary yet refreshed. Living this way has made me realize how much I have been blessed, and it has inspired me to be more intentional with what I have and how I use it.
Well, next week, after 2 months in Africa, my squad is headed to Europe! From extreme heat to extreme cold in a matter of days. Here’s to the next season of adventure! If you are interested in partnering with me on this adventure, be sure to click the donate link above! I'm about a thousand dollars away from my next deadline, and about $5,000 dollars away from being fully funded. Thank you for all of your support!
