After 2 days (42 hours) of traveling, we arrived home tonight minus all of our bags. They lost 100% of our checked bags. please pray for them to come soon.
It is good to be home.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Chris and Dudley
Friday, September 4, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Party on Labor day
We wanted to let you all know that we will be home Friday and can't wait to see everyone. You have heard all about our summer, what about yours?
We are hosting a picnic/BBQ at our house, Monday 12-3. You can come for all or part of the time. It will be great to catch up with anyone whose around. We will provide the hotdogs and drinks, Drop by and bring some food to share if you can. We look forward to seeing you!
Hope you can make it.
We are hosting a picnic/BBQ at our house, Monday 12-3. You can come for all or part of the time. It will be great to catch up with anyone whose around. We will provide the hotdogs and drinks, Drop by and bring some food to share if you can. We look forward to seeing you!
Hope you can make it.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Adoption Update
Friends, this has been a long journey. We have been praying for over 2 years and have felt that God was leading us to adopt again and recently felt that should be from Malawi. Well, we won’t be leaving Malawi with a child at this point. Jackson’s extended family has decided not to consent to adoption, so he will continue to stay in the nursery.
We are seeking the Lord and what he has for us in the midst of calling us to follow him here. At this point we don’t know all the whys, but we do know that He is in control and we have been called to surrender to him and trust him. One thing I taught in Tanzania was Christ is King, not us. As I prepared, it was clear to me that Jesus is my King and he gets to set the direction and lead. I don’t get to set the path and plan. He does. So I am to surrender all to him, be his servant and follower. So we are trying to trust and surrender all to him. It is with heavy hearts and a sense of grief that we will return to the US Friday (9/4). Our tears have come easily but our trust in him has grown in the midst of it all.
We are still looking for the opportunity to adopt and our attorney will continue the process while we are in the back in the States. (I still would love to adopt Farook, the HIV positive child, and hope to follow up our options with him.) It now becomes even harder with us not being here.
We are seeking the Lord and what he has for us in the midst of calling us to follow him here. At this point we don’t know all the whys, but we do know that He is in control and we have been called to surrender to him and trust him. One thing I taught in Tanzania was Christ is King, not us. As I prepared, it was clear to me that Jesus is my King and he gets to set the direction and lead. I don’t get to set the path and plan. He does. So I am to surrender all to him, be his servant and follower. So we are trying to trust and surrender all to him. It is with heavy hearts and a sense of grief that we will return to the US Friday (9/4). Our tears have come easily but our trust in him has grown in the midst of it all.
We are still looking for the opportunity to adopt and our attorney will continue the process while we are in the back in the States. (I still would love to adopt Farook, the HIV positive child, and hope to follow up our options with him.) It now becomes even harder with us not being here.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tanzania Fellowship of Evangelical Students (TaFES)
InterVarsity is part of a worldwide movement of indigenous campus ministries in almost all the countries of the world. TaFES is a small movement with 12 staff. 8 are new staff this year and the rest are all under 10 years on staff.
So to have Patrick who has been on staff 17 years and me (14 years) was amazing to them. These young people were so amazing. Their faith and commitment inspired me. Patrick and I taught, challenged and encouraged them about the faith journey of Abram and following Jesus as staff.
I was so impressed with the staff especially the young ones. One young man, Simon, was especially sharp. He is starting his second year and was teaching the new staff how to inductively study the scriptures. His training was excellent and I was so blessed to get to know him and talk about life and ministry. He is from the Massai tribe. (You have probably heard of the Massai warriors.) He has a heart for his people and longs to help them come to Jesus. He will be leading the community development ministry for TaFES this year.
The community development wing of their ministry works in rural villages to bring about positive change and to fight against poverty and injustice. 5 of their new staff will be joining this project and be stationed all over the country. I believe these young people will make a great difference as they serve God in the villages.
One of these intelligent young people was Kristen, who just graduated from college. Her insights and faith were amazing. After one of my sessions, she came up to me to talk about the Bible and Jesus. She said I had encouraged her trust of Jesus and that she was now even more committed to trusting Him and to bring his love to her work.
Thank God for the opportunity to serve Him and bring Him Glory.
Some other highlights:
Seeing the Indian Ocean, buying Ice cream from a vendor in the midst of a traffic jam, seeing the fish market (smelling it was not a highlight), spending over 40 hours driving and talking with Patrick (a great opportunity for encouragement and building our relationship)
Thank you for your prayers. They were needed.
So to have Patrick who has been on staff 17 years and me (14 years) was amazing to them. These young people were so amazing. Their faith and commitment inspired me. Patrick and I taught, challenged and encouraged them about the faith journey of Abram and following Jesus as staff.
I was so impressed with the staff especially the young ones. One young man, Simon, was especially sharp. He is starting his second year and was teaching the new staff how to inductively study the scriptures. His training was excellent and I was so blessed to get to know him and talk about life and ministry. He is from the Massai tribe. (You have probably heard of the Massai warriors.) He has a heart for his people and longs to help them come to Jesus. He will be leading the community development ministry for TaFES this year.
The community development wing of their ministry works in rural villages to bring about positive change and to fight against poverty and injustice. 5 of their new staff will be joining this project and be stationed all over the country. I believe these young people will make a great difference as they serve God in the villages.
One of these intelligent young people was Kristen, who just graduated from college. Her insights and faith were amazing. After one of my sessions, she came up to me to talk about the Bible and Jesus. She said I had encouraged her trust of Jesus and that she was now even more committed to trusting Him and to bring his love to her work.
Thank God for the opportunity to serve Him and bring Him Glory.
Some other highlights:
Seeing the Indian Ocean, buying Ice cream from a vendor in the midst of a traffic jam, seeing the fish market (smelling it was not a highlight), spending over 40 hours driving and talking with Patrick (a great opportunity for encouragement and building our relationship)
Thank you for your prayers. They were needed.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Travel to Tanzania
My week in Tanzania was such an adventure a blog will not do it justice, but today I will give you a brief look at our travel then later I will let you know about the training.
Day 1: collided with bicyclist. He broke a rib and our side mirror was broken off. Saw Malawi emergency care in a hospital up close, maybe too close. I am glad I haven’t had to use it yet. Day 2: In Tanzania, we drove through clouds way up in the mountains and saw giraffe, monkeys, impala and zebra along the road and slept a cold 4 hours in the truck. Day 3: traffic violation #1. No fire extinguisher on board and chose to pay the fine not the cheaper bribe that was requested so we could avoid the higher fine. In Dar es Salaam, capital city of Tanzania, the power goes out just as we are about to enter a very busy, very large intersection with a stop light. Insane, aggressive gridlock followed with cars going every which way.
Return trip Day 1: traffic violation #2 passing in a no passing zone when the other car was virtually pulled off the road! We paid the fine, but only after arguing our point. Saw more animals including an elephant. Then we towed a broken down van 100 km through the mountains and it almost pulled us off a cliff. We slept a couple hours in the truck while waiting for the border to open. Day 2: Non-eventful, and arrived home safe and in one piece. Praise the Lord!!
Day 1: collided with bicyclist. He broke a rib and our side mirror was broken off. Saw Malawi emergency care in a hospital up close, maybe too close. I am glad I haven’t had to use it yet. Day 2: In Tanzania, we drove through clouds way up in the mountains and saw giraffe, monkeys, impala and zebra along the road and slept a cold 4 hours in the truck. Day 3: traffic violation #1. No fire extinguisher on board and chose to pay the fine not the cheaper bribe that was requested so we could avoid the higher fine. In Dar es Salaam, capital city of Tanzania, the power goes out just as we are about to enter a very busy, very large intersection with a stop light. Insane, aggressive gridlock followed with cars going every which way.
Return trip Day 1: traffic violation #2 passing in a no passing zone when the other car was virtually pulled off the road! We paid the fine, but only after arguing our point. Saw more animals including an elephant. Then we towed a broken down van 100 km through the mountains and it almost pulled us off a cliff. We slept a couple hours in the truck while waiting for the border to open. Day 2: Non-eventful, and arrived home safe and in one piece. Praise the Lord!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tanzania
Chris left for Tanzania today to speak at Tanzania's National Staff conference for the IFES movement (of which IVCF is a member). Please pray for safe travel for the 18 hour drive. Also pray for minimal delays so they can get there in plenty of time. He is traveling with Patrick, the General Secretary of the IFES movement here in Malawi. Pray that Chris could be an encouragement to him and the good work that he is doing in this place that is very difficult to minister in. Pray for Chris's talk, that he could communicate the Word of God clearly, and the Holy Spirit would use him to say what he wants them to hear. The conference lasts the week, so they plan to head back next weekend.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The mountain hasn't moved
We are still facing the mountain. It seems like God might have other plans for us and for Jackson. Some of the family members met with the social welfare director for the area Saturday, but are hesitant to sign the adoption release. Adoption isn’t a common thing here, so they can’t understand how this could be a better option for him. So we continue to wait. Yet the possibilities have virtually run out with 3 weeks until we leave.
Our hearts are heavy as we think of what future Jackson has as it seems there is no one to care for him, yet the relatives won’t give up custody. We drove up to Mzuzu this week to meet him and talk with the social welfare department there. It was great to see him and hold him and Dudley was able to feed him. He is a beautiful little boy. Please pray for God to provide the best family situation possible for him.
It has been a time of soul searching for both Dudley and I. It has been interesting to see how we each grieve and struggle through these days. Our questions are different yet similar.
DUDLEY:
Though this whole process we have really felt this is what God had wanted us to do. Yet when things don’t look like they are going to work out I start to question if he really did call us to this. I was reading in a book that talked about faith and how Noah followed God in building the ark. He made sacrifices, was laughed at, with possibly no concept of rain, and he didn't see the reality of his faith for maybe 100 yrs. So I feel like we are also doing something crazy God has lead us to, we’ve made sacrifices, people have laughed at us, but I don't want to wait 100ys to know we are doing the right thing. But in this, I have come to trust God more not in that he will do what I want him to do, but in his loving character towards me, that he will do what is best for all of us.
But if he did really lead us here, and we do all we can, and we pray and lay it all in his hands, and he doesn't bring it about, what then? Somehow we need to pray for an insight into God’s eternal viewpoint. Maybe our summer here isn’t about adoption, but about helping us take a step into something bigger God has planned for us. It is just hard to wait for God to reveal is plan.
CHRIS:
My question has focused on making sense of God’s call for us this summer. It has been “If adoption is not the reason we were to come to Malawi this summer then what is this summer all about? Why did we feel so clearly God’s call to attempt this crazy thing?” The short answer is I am not sure yet. I have thought a lot about faith and what it is and isn’t. It has been an emotionally hard summer. I have prayed and cried more than I have in a couple of years combined. I have thought about these three kids and the pain that their lives will be filled with as they grow up without parents. I also have wept for the millions of kids in Africa that are struggling to survive as a result of the millions that have died from AIDS. It is a good lesson for me to learn that I can’t fix every problem even with God’s help for one little child. God is in control and I never will be. The world is unjust and systems are broken. Tears can be healing yet I still am not comfortable with them. What is God doing in me and us? We have to wait to find out. He is sovereign.
I have been praying and thinking a ton about James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
He will show us His plan in His time. Thank you for praying with us and for us. Please continue to pray. We need it and the children of Malawi need it too.
Our hearts are heavy as we think of what future Jackson has as it seems there is no one to care for him, yet the relatives won’t give up custody. We drove up to Mzuzu this week to meet him and talk with the social welfare department there. It was great to see him and hold him and Dudley was able to feed him. He is a beautiful little boy. Please pray for God to provide the best family situation possible for him.
It has been a time of soul searching for both Dudley and I. It has been interesting to see how we each grieve and struggle through these days. Our questions are different yet similar.
DUDLEY:
Though this whole process we have really felt this is what God had wanted us to do. Yet when things don’t look like they are going to work out I start to question if he really did call us to this. I was reading in a book that talked about faith and how Noah followed God in building the ark. He made sacrifices, was laughed at, with possibly no concept of rain, and he didn't see the reality of his faith for maybe 100 yrs. So I feel like we are also doing something crazy God has lead us to, we’ve made sacrifices, people have laughed at us, but I don't want to wait 100ys to know we are doing the right thing. But in this, I have come to trust God more not in that he will do what I want him to do, but in his loving character towards me, that he will do what is best for all of us.
But if he did really lead us here, and we do all we can, and we pray and lay it all in his hands, and he doesn't bring it about, what then? Somehow we need to pray for an insight into God’s eternal viewpoint. Maybe our summer here isn’t about adoption, but about helping us take a step into something bigger God has planned for us. It is just hard to wait for God to reveal is plan.
CHRIS:
My question has focused on making sense of God’s call for us this summer. It has been “If adoption is not the reason we were to come to Malawi this summer then what is this summer all about? Why did we feel so clearly God’s call to attempt this crazy thing?” The short answer is I am not sure yet. I have thought a lot about faith and what it is and isn’t. It has been an emotionally hard summer. I have prayed and cried more than I have in a couple of years combined. I have thought about these three kids and the pain that their lives will be filled with as they grow up without parents. I also have wept for the millions of kids in Africa that are struggling to survive as a result of the millions that have died from AIDS. It is a good lesson for me to learn that I can’t fix every problem even with God’s help for one little child. God is in control and I never will be. The world is unjust and systems are broken. Tears can be healing yet I still am not comfortable with them. What is God doing in me and us? We have to wait to find out. He is sovereign.
I have been praying and thinking a ton about James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
He will show us His plan in His time. Thank you for praying with us and for us. Please continue to pray. We need it and the children of Malawi need it too.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Will God move the mountain?
Chris has returned safely from the mountains on his quest for Jackson’s family. It was an adventure. He drove for over 30 hours in 2 ½ days with much of that being in the mountains of Malawi on dirt roads with inclines of close to 75 degrees in some spots. He made it back safely. Praise God!
Our first miracle is that Chris was able to get the social welfare director for the area to actually go to the village!! Twice!! We haven’t been able to get social welfare to lift a pen for us the whole time we have been here. Sadly, they were unable to locate Jackson’s grandmother, who has the say in his future. But, through the village elders they set up a meeting with her and the social welfare person for Saturday. So we stand here before another set of mountains. The 70 plus year old grandmother will have to walk for several hours down and up the mountains to meet with the social worker. He will have to journey for over an hour and half on those mountain roads to meet her. Then they will have to discuss what is best for Jackson and come to a decision. We need this meeting to actually happen tomorrow for anything to move forward.
We are trying to trust God and yet we have experienced the broken systems here this summer and know there are many obstacles that could thwart our adoption dreams. Everything is now at critical stage. If this doesn’t happen we have very few options left.
So will you join us in praying that God will do what is best for Jackson and give us the insight to know what our response should be if the meeting doesn’t happen
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Prayer for this week
We are humbled and very grateful for the many people that have said they pray for us every day: Cayla, Bonnie, Jeremiah, Sharon, Sylvia, Lyn and many others. A special thank you to our small group that has been praying for our adoption desires for almost 3 years. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
This week we are making our last ditch effort to get something moving on adoption. Chris has been fighting his natural inclination to make things happen, instead he is trying to trust God and wait. (Not easy for him.) This last week we have sensed freedom to try something. So he is driving 12 hours north to Chitepa in a very remote section of Malawi in an effort to encourage social welfare to find Jackson’s extended family to verify his orphan status. He will take them to lunch and then drive them to his village to try and locate the family. He has an appointment with them Tuesday. Patrick has lent him his pickup to navigate the dusty roads and Madaritzo is going with him, because he is from there, knows the area and speaks the languages.
There are so many areas here we need God to work. Many we don’t even know to ask you to pray for. But do pray that they would be able to find the family, and get the necessary paper work, that we could file papers soon to get a court date before we are due to leave. Also pray for safety on the roads. They will have to travel some at night and that can be dangerous.
On the quiz:
Everyone guessed well. It was my toilet at the Nsaru conference.
This week we are making our last ditch effort to get something moving on adoption. Chris has been fighting his natural inclination to make things happen, instead he is trying to trust God and wait. (Not easy for him.) This last week we have sensed freedom to try something. So he is driving 12 hours north to Chitepa in a very remote section of Malawi in an effort to encourage social welfare to find Jackson’s extended family to verify his orphan status. He will take them to lunch and then drive them to his village to try and locate the family. He has an appointment with them Tuesday. Patrick has lent him his pickup to navigate the dusty roads and Madaritzo is going with him, because he is from there, knows the area and speaks the languages.
There are so many areas here we need God to work. Many we don’t even know to ask you to pray for. But do pray that they would be able to find the family, and get the necessary paper work, that we could file papers soon to get a court date before we are due to leave. Also pray for safety on the roads. They will have to travel some at night and that can be dangerous.
On the quiz:
Everyone guessed well. It was my toilet at the Nsaru conference.
Friday, July 31, 2009
A quiz
Hey everyone,
I have a picture for you to guess what it is?
What is this?
Chris
Thank you for all the guesses. I will put the explanation up tomorrow 8/2.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Nsaru Secondary School Conference
This weekend I had the privilege of speaking at the Nsaru conference. Nsaru is a rural area about 1 hour from Lilongwe. It was an amazing and eye opening experience. The conference was held at a private, girls secondary school in the area. (I could go on and on about the amazing boarding school but for the sake of time, let me say that this school is the vision of a young woman and her husband to provide a good education to young girls that wouldn’t be able to go to school otherwise.) The school has nice buildings, but it is very primitive. They don’t have electricity yet, they are still waiting (2 years now) for the electric company to install their transformer. They have a generator that runs 2 hours each night to give some light. Since they don’t have power there is no running water. Toilets consist of a small building with a hole in the cement floor, and showers are a bucket of cold water and a cup. Enough about the conditions, lets get on to the conference.
They have never had a student conference in this area before and this first weekend drew over 80 students. The cost of the conference was 300 Kwatcha or almost $2. Now this was too expensive for some students, so they needed scholarships to allow them to come. These students families are generally make a living through subsistence farming and odd jobs. And many can’t produce enough food to eat well all year long. It is a tough way to grow up and live.
I was asked to speak on “Impacting Society with Christian Values.” I chose to speak from James 1 and 2. I also helped with bible studies each day. These students haven’t ever had anyone teach them how to study the scriptures or any literature. Their schools are very poor. They normally have one textbook per class so the students don’t even get to touch it let alone use it to study. Though English is taught, most had very poor English skills but better than my Chichewa Since I have such a bad accent for them, I had an interpreter. Thokozani is just finishing high school in Lilongwe at the age of 16. She did a great job. (She is the daughter of one of the SCOM staff. You can see her pictured with me.)
The students couldn’t stop saying how much the conference and God changed their lives. It is amazing how much they improved in their Bible study skills. God is touching lives through his word and his people. These young people really need mature Godly people to model the Christian life, showing them what it means to be a Godly man and woman.One sad note for me was how the students and staff responded to me. I was a full participant through out the conference eating their food, sleeping on the floor, and all the rest. This was amazing to them! They could not believe a “white person” would choose to live like them. It would happen here is what they kept saying. I was so sad that white privilege meant that we couldn’t/wouldn’t sacrifice to be with them and love them. I was glad I could give them a different picture and enjoy the weekend with them. As is usually the case, I was so much more blessed by them than I could ever be a blessing to them. May God continue to help me and others to make such small sacrifices for His Kingdom’s advance.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Quick sand
I am sorry for the delay in writing. It has been hard to want to write with the difficult news. So here goes! Thank you for your support and prayers. - Chris
We had a great weekend in Salima. Students were taught how to do manuscript study and God spoke to them from Abraham's life. God challenged me again to trust.
Let me tell you a story that illustrates our adoption process to this point.
Have you ever driven in soft sand with a full bus and van? I don't recommend it. Friday night on our way there we drove on a dirt road buy the lake. Well a Sand Dune had covered part of the road and our bus got stuck. we were able to push it out then I drove our little van quickly across the spot but not quick enough and it too got stuck. This time the van got really stuck. We all got around and pushed and it seemed the harder we worked the deeper it went. We were finally able to back it out and then I drove as fast as the van would go careening and narrowly missing a tree but we made it through.
Our adoption process:
While we were stuck in the sand, I got a phone call from the crisis nursery in Mzuzu. They informed me that they had found the mother of the little girl that had been abandoned and that she was arrested for attempted murder. This is a big problem because now we must wait for her to be legally separated from the little girl before our process can begin. We were also told that the little boy was still waiting for the social welfare department to finalize his status as a unattached orphan. So we are stuck in the sand and it seems to be getting deeper with no end in sight.
We hope for a miracle but we must wait and trust in God. Our hearts haven't lost hope but we are still downcast in the waiting process.
Join us to pray for a miracle.
In other news: I am preaching Saturday and Sunday at a student conference on the topic of How it makes a difference being a Christian? Pray for my clarity and for God to speak through me to the hearts of the students.
We had a great weekend in Salima. Students were taught how to do manuscript study and God spoke to them from Abraham's life. God challenged me again to trust.
Let me tell you a story that illustrates our adoption process to this point.
Have you ever driven in soft sand with a full bus and van? I don't recommend it. Friday night on our way there we drove on a dirt road buy the lake. Well a Sand Dune had covered part of the road and our bus got stuck. we were able to push it out then I drove our little van quickly across the spot but not quick enough and it too got stuck. This time the van got really stuck. We all got around and pushed and it seemed the harder we worked the deeper it went. We were finally able to back it out and then I drove as fast as the van would go careening and narrowly missing a tree but we made it through.
Our adoption process:
While we were stuck in the sand, I got a phone call from the crisis nursery in Mzuzu. They informed me that they had found the mother of the little girl that had been abandoned and that she was arrested for attempted murder. This is a big problem because now we must wait for her to be legally separated from the little girl before our process can begin. We were also told that the little boy was still waiting for the social welfare department to finalize his status as a unattached orphan. So we are stuck in the sand and it seems to be getting deeper with no end in sight.
We hope for a miracle but we must wait and trust in God. Our hearts haven't lost hope but we are still downcast in the waiting process.
Join us to pray for a miracle.
In other news: I am preaching Saturday and Sunday at a student conference on the topic of How it makes a difference being a Christian? Pray for my clarity and for God to speak through me to the hearts of the students.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Team Left for South Africa
We had a great weekend. I will post something in the next day or so about that. Our team left today at 2:55 pm. They will spend some time in South Africa for the next week processing what God has done in their lives and through them to others.
Please pray for them. Pray that God would speak to their hearts and help them process their amazing time in Malawi so they can be prepared to share the ways God has blessed them with their friends and family at home.
Please pray for them. Pray that God would speak to their hearts and help them process their amazing time in Malawi so they can be prepared to share the ways God has blessed them with their friends and family at home.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Enlightening opportunity
We started of early yesterday morning for the refugee camp. After a long, long rough dirt road, we pulled into a former prision. The buildings were in disarray and everything was very dirty. There are 16,000 refugees in small makeshift mud brick homes. Many of them have been in the interim refugee camp for over ten years. All of us, students and our family were welcomed into a dilapidated church building. We had the opportunity to experience worship with people from seven different countries. One of the most amazing thing in our experience here is how grateful they are for us just showing up. This was a great example of that. One of the students gave a short talk on relying on God’s strength to live godly lives and then Chris spoke about meeting God in our pain and suffering. It seemed your prayers were answered as Chris’s talk seemed to encourage, bless and challenge the congregation. Chris was greeted by everyone in the congregation as a man of God. It was an honoring and encouraging experience for all of us. The students were then able to visit some homes in the community while the church leaders showed Chris and I the different aspects of their ministry. It is amazing to think that a refugee church has a church plant in a neighboring village and an orphan ministry. They are providing care for 50 orphans, giving out of what little they have. It reminded us of the church of Macedonia. It says in 2 Corinthians,” In the midst of severe trial , their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” One example of that is that they gave out of the 13 kilos of maize flour they receive from UN-Sierra they give 2 kilos to the orphans. Students were disheartened by the lack of opportunity for these people, yet encouraged by God’s work in them and in their midst. The plight of refugees in our world is a grave injustice. Would God help his people to do something about it. Thank you so much for your prayer. We head to a leaders retreat in a little bit. Pray for Chris and Craig as they teach this weekend.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
More prayer needed
Malaria is a common illness here in Malawi. 2 of the staff from SCOM have it right now. One of them being the General Secretary and the other the CFO.
The other prayer item is that I have been asked to preach at the refugee camp tomorrow outside of Lilongwe. I will be speaking on trusting God from Mark 9.
Prayer requests:
Please pray for Patrick and Charles to recover quickly.
And pray for this unexpected opportunity that we can be a blessing to those suffering as refugees.
thank you for your partnership
Chris
The other prayer item is that I have been asked to preach at the refugee camp tomorrow outside of Lilongwe. I will be speaking on trusting God from Mark 9.
Prayer requests:
Please pray for Patrick and Charles to recover quickly.
And pray for this unexpected opportunity that we can be a blessing to those suffering as refugees.
thank you for your partnership
Chris
very busy week
Wow! It has been a full past week. We have been running to different things like student meetings, Teachers conference and doing logistical things here in Lilongwe.
One fun thing is that we played basketball yesterday. It was good to get some exercise but both Dudley and I are a bit sore. We aren't as young as we used to be.
A prayer note: one of the staff for the student team, Bonnie Ward, fell and hit her head and has a good sized not on her head. She isn't feeling great today so we are monitoring her and wondering if we need to take to the clinic to get checked out. We will see after lunch.
Next two weeks will be very full:
I am going to be the main speaker for conferences each weekend. I am almost finished on preparation for this weekend but I need to do a lot of work for next week.
We are heading to Mzuzu to check on a baby for adoption. She was dumped and has been in the hospital there and now is being transferred to the crisis nursery. So we will be there at least Tuesday and Wednesday. (We may come back with a under 3 month old on Wednesday. Very unlikely but possible.)
So please pray:
1. Bonnie to be fine and 100% well tomorrow.
2. My preparation to bring the word of God to them in power and love.
2. Social welfare in Mzuzu to work things out for us to start adoption process for this little girl.
One fun thing is that we played basketball yesterday. It was good to get some exercise but both Dudley and I are a bit sore. We aren't as young as we used to be.
A prayer note: one of the staff for the student team, Bonnie Ward, fell and hit her head and has a good sized not on her head. She isn't feeling great today so we are monitoring her and wondering if we need to take to the clinic to get checked out. We will see after lunch.
Next two weeks will be very full:
I am going to be the main speaker for conferences each weekend. I am almost finished on preparation for this weekend but I need to do a lot of work for next week.
We are heading to Mzuzu to check on a baby for adoption. She was dumped and has been in the hospital there and now is being transferred to the crisis nursery. So we will be there at least Tuesday and Wednesday. (We may come back with a under 3 month old on Wednesday. Very unlikely but possible.)
So please pray:
1. Bonnie to be fine and 100% well tomorrow.
2. My preparation to bring the word of God to them in power and love.
2. Social welfare in Mzuzu to work things out for us to start adoption process for this little girl.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Chutes and ladders
Have you ever played the game Chutes and Ladders? Our social worker in the US, emailed us recently and said that one her clients had used that game as an illustration for adoption. It is a good illustration.
Today was an emotional chute. We both just wanted to cry. First the embassy emailed explaining the process for adopting an HIV positive child here in Malawi. It could take 3 additional months and there is no guarantee that the waiver will be approved even if we are legal parents of a child. The second is that the social welfare department is not being helpful. We have gotten the run around again and again. I will go tomorrow to talk with them again.
Please pray for favor with the woman in charge of the office in Lilongwe. We plan to travel to Mzuzu on Tuesday July 22 to try to jump start the process with the social welfare department there.
Our attorney is also trying to get in touch with people higher up in the social welfare department to talk about the current options.
We need God to come through in a major way. Please pray. We are holding on to hope but it is hard.
Today was an emotional chute. We both just wanted to cry. First the embassy emailed explaining the process for adopting an HIV positive child here in Malawi. It could take 3 additional months and there is no guarantee that the waiver will be approved even if we are legal parents of a child. The second is that the social welfare department is not being helpful. We have gotten the run around again and again. I will go tomorrow to talk with them again.
Please pray for favor with the woman in charge of the office in Lilongwe. We plan to travel to Mzuzu on Tuesday July 22 to try to jump start the process with the social welfare department there.
Our attorney is also trying to get in touch with people higher up in the social welfare department to talk about the current options.
We need God to come through in a major way. Please pray. We are holding on to hope but it is hard.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Gratitude
What are you thankful for today? Sometimes it is easy to forget all the things that God has provided for us. After a month of being here and having ice cold showers each day, I have had warm showers the past two days. We finally got a fridge on Friday. Several on the team remarked how great it was to have a cold drink.
I am also so thankful to God for our family and friends. We are blessed to have this opportunity to be here to serve and to be on this roller coaster ride as we attempt to adopt. We are definitely going up and down in our emotions. We hold to hope and trust that we are where He wants us. I am also thankful for God’s leading and guidance through our faith journey. I am grateful you are on this journey with us. We have so much to be thankful for today.
So we are thankful for warm showers, cold drinks, friendship and partnership and for our loving, gracious Father. What are you thankful for today?
With His great love,
Chris
I am also so thankful to God for our family and friends. We are blessed to have this opportunity to be here to serve and to be on this roller coaster ride as we attempt to adopt. We are definitely going up and down in our emotions. We hold to hope and trust that we are where He wants us. I am also thankful for God’s leading and guidance through our faith journey. I am grateful you are on this journey with us. We have so much to be thankful for today.
So we are thankful for warm showers, cold drinks, friendship and partnership and for our loving, gracious Father. What are you thankful for today?
With His great love,
Chris
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Malawi and USA independence
With the 6th of July being Malawi's independence day, Greg one of our students thought it would be great to celebrate with both on the 5th with our Malawi friends. So after church today we had a party at our place for 30 people. It was great fun with great food. It is a blessing to make friends and fellowship together. Here is a picture I took of our crowd. God bless and thank you for your prayers.
Chris
Friday, July 3, 2009
This week
It has been a good week. The team had a good day and a half rest and then has been going this week. They went to a fellowship meeting on Tuesday night, Bible study on Wednesday, Feeding program with Children of the Nations on Thursday and a Bible study at a secondary school today. We will have a barbeque Sunday with some students coming over to our house.
Our hearts rejoice with being able to serve in so many different contexts. Our family has been to a secondary school in the rural area where we will go later this month as the conference speaker. We were able to go to the crisis nursery this week several times and got to help entertain and care for the babies. It was sad though as one of the children died last week. These babies come to the nursery in really rough condition. Many are sick and severely malnourished.
Please pray for my preparation. I will be teaching at conferences two weeks in a row. I long for God’s word to come alive and speak to the students hearts calling them to a deeper sense of his love and call for their lives. I long to see these young men and women become change agents in the church and community God has them in.
Adoption update: Things move slowly here. As I have mentioned before Fuluke (actually spelled Farook I think)is HIV positive. He has been tested and is positive but they do a second test in a month to be sure. His mom died of complications from AIDS. We have learned that the US is allowing adoptions of HIV positive children now but it is unclear if they will from Malawi. We are trying to find that out and are still in process with Farook seeking the Lord’s guidance. We are also looking into another boy, Jackson, who is in the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery. He is 4 months old. We will know more as the social welfare department contacts relatives to see if he is “unattached.”
Please pray for us to clearly hear God’s voice as we continue to follow his leadership. Adopting a boy with HIV will be even more life changing for our whole family, we don’t walk in blinded but also know that without medication Farook will not likely live past the age of two but with medication he can live a healthy life. So we pray and seek the Lord which child He has for us. Please join us.
Thank you for your emails and comments. Please keep them coming. We are encouraged by our friends and family love and support as we try to walk by faith.
Our hearts rejoice with being able to serve in so many different contexts. Our family has been to a secondary school in the rural area where we will go later this month as the conference speaker. We were able to go to the crisis nursery this week several times and got to help entertain and care for the babies. It was sad though as one of the children died last week. These babies come to the nursery in really rough condition. Many are sick and severely malnourished.
Please pray for my preparation. I will be teaching at conferences two weeks in a row. I long for God’s word to come alive and speak to the students hearts calling them to a deeper sense of his love and call for their lives. I long to see these young men and women become change agents in the church and community God has them in.
Adoption update: Things move slowly here. As I have mentioned before Fuluke (actually spelled Farook I think)is HIV positive. He has been tested and is positive but they do a second test in a month to be sure. His mom died of complications from AIDS. We have learned that the US is allowing adoptions of HIV positive children now but it is unclear if they will from Malawi. We are trying to find that out and are still in process with Farook seeking the Lord’s guidance. We are also looking into another boy, Jackson, who is in the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery. He is 4 months old. We will know more as the social welfare department contacts relatives to see if he is “unattached.”
Please pray for us to clearly hear God’s voice as we continue to follow his leadership. Adopting a boy with HIV will be even more life changing for our whole family, we don’t walk in blinded but also know that without medication Farook will not likely live past the age of two but with medication he can live a healthy life. So we pray and seek the Lord which child He has for us. Please join us.
Thank you for your emails and comments. Please keep them coming. We are encouraged by our friends and family love and support as we try to walk by faith.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Email problems
Friends, some of you have been trying to get email updates from the student trip and have been getting our family updates instead. This has been fixed but you will need to go to the student blog to sign up again for emails to be sent to you.
One brief update on the team, they have returned from Mzuzu and have many stories so we will update their blog tomorrow. But everyone is a bit tired from the journey back and getting settled in our house.
I am sorry for the confusion and problems.
God bless you all,
Chris
One brief update on the team, they have returned from Mzuzu and have many stories so we will update their blog tomorrow. But everyone is a bit tired from the journey back and getting settled in our house.
I am sorry for the confusion and problems.
God bless you all,
Chris
Challenges students face
I had the chance to counsel and encourage a student this week. I thought I would share her story. She began by saying she hadn’t felt the ability to talk with anyone then she went on to tell about her shame and guilt she carried. She said that her mom had remarried when she was 11 and her brothers and sisters when to live with her grandmother. So when her mom was gone her step-father began to physically abuse her. She told her mother and she said she was lying and that she should be quite and not say such things about her step father. So the abuse continued until she became pregnant at 13. She told her grandmother who is a midwife and she forced her to get an abortion.
She shared how she saw men, the anger she felt toward her mom and grandmother. She wants to forgive them and feels she has but still carries the emotions. She also isn’t sure she can ever find a man she can trust.
We talked about her relationship with Jesus. I apologized as a man and a father that she was so mistreated. We then talked about the long term process of forgiveness and that Jesus would continue to help her totally forgive. I prayed for her to find male friends that would help her to trust men.
I was so impressed with her trust in Jesus and her experience of His love for her. Faith is a journey that isn’t always easy but it is always freeing.
Please pray for her as she continues to heal emotionally and journeys down.
She shared how she saw men, the anger she felt toward her mom and grandmother. She wants to forgive them and feels she has but still carries the emotions. She also isn’t sure she can ever find a man she can trust.
We talked about her relationship with Jesus. I apologized as a man and a father that she was so mistreated. We then talked about the long term process of forgiveness and that Jesus would continue to help her totally forgive. I prayed for her to find male friends that would help her to trust men.
I was so impressed with her trust in Jesus and her experience of His love for her. Faith is a journey that isn’t always easy but it is always freeing.
Please pray for her as she continues to heal emotionally and journeys down.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
SCOM Awareness Event
The team joined us Friday. It is great to have them here.
Saturday was the culmination event of SCOM awareness month. It began with about 1000 Secondary and College students marching 2 miles through the busiest part of town sweeping the streets, singing and dancing (complete with a truck with loudspeaker). We got stopped at one intersection, we thought because of traffic, but it turned out that they were waiting on the national TV cameras to get there as they were at the state house covering another event. It was quite a sight, and very fun when the SCOM students would come up and encourage us in our dancing. One told us we need to move our butt more.
It ended at the Commuinity center which had a soccer field with large grand stand. After a long wait, the students were fed a roll and a soda. They actually ran our of rolls, but more came and hour later. There was alot of singing and dancing, then we heard from some speakers. First was SCOM's General Secreatry and then Malawi's Attorney General encouraging the students to set some big goals and go after them. The final speaker was an evangleist (in the true sense of the word) who implored the students to live pure lives and run away from sexual sin. You could tell from the crowd's engagement and loud cheering that it was exactly what this student group needed to hear.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word" Ps. 119:9
Many students responded to the call to live lives of purity. Hundreds went forward for prayer and a few committed their lives to Jesus for the first time.. Praise God.
Health update:
Jacob's arm: He is ready to have the cast off. It itches and can be hard to sleep. We plan to remove it on Wednesday.
My Face: On Friday 3 weeks movement began to return. It is not fully restored but it is much better. I still have some discomfort as the nerves regenerate. Praise God for progress.
What is happening this week:
The team heads to Mzuzu tomorrow. I will be working the Patrick the SCOM General Secretary this week on several projects in the office. Dudley will be doing some computer repair (with slow internet she needs your prayers)
Prayer requests:
Safety for the team as they travel and live with college students.
Evangelistic fruit as they join in the evangelism week on campus at Mzuzu University.
Our adoption process as we begin to expand the search for other children that can be adopted.
Saturday was the culmination event of SCOM awareness month. It began with about 1000 Secondary and College students marching 2 miles through the busiest part of town sweeping the streets, singing and dancing (complete with a truck with loudspeaker). We got stopped at one intersection, we thought because of traffic, but it turned out that they were waiting on the national TV cameras to get there as they were at the state house covering another event. It was quite a sight, and very fun when the SCOM students would come up and encourage us in our dancing. One told us we need to move our butt more.
It ended at the Commuinity center which had a soccer field with large grand stand. After a long wait, the students were fed a roll and a soda. They actually ran our of rolls, but more came and hour later. There was alot of singing and dancing, then we heard from some speakers. First was SCOM's General Secreatry and then Malawi's Attorney General encouraging the students to set some big goals and go after them. The final speaker was an evangleist (in the true sense of the word) who implored the students to live pure lives and run away from sexual sin. You could tell from the crowd's engagement and loud cheering that it was exactly what this student group needed to hear.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word" Ps. 119:9
Many students responded to the call to live lives of purity. Hundreds went forward for prayer and a few committed their lives to Jesus for the first time.. Praise God.
Health update:
Jacob's arm: He is ready to have the cast off. It itches and can be hard to sleep. We plan to remove it on Wednesday.
My Face: On Friday 3 weeks movement began to return. It is not fully restored but it is much better. I still have some discomfort as the nerves regenerate. Praise God for progress.
What is happening this week:
The team heads to Mzuzu tomorrow. I will be working the Patrick the SCOM General Secretary this week on several projects in the office. Dudley will be doing some computer repair (with slow internet she needs your prayers)
Prayer requests:
Safety for the team as they travel and live with college students.
Evangelistic fruit as they join in the evangelism week on campus at Mzuzu University.
Our adoption process as we begin to expand the search for other children that can be adopted.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Heart breaking
You can hear about many things and intellectually understand them but do they really sink in? When you are thick headed like me (Chris) the answer is no.
Wednesday I spent the morning at the SCOM office leading a Bible Study and then traveling to campuses around Lilongwe to set up our trip. I then returned home in the early afternoon to help clean other areas of the house that we haven’t got to yet as the team arrives Friday.
Then we went to the crisis nursery to help with the children and see Fuluke. We have been trying to get information on his uncle so we can contact him about getting approval and release for the adoption, but the uncle didn’t really leave any contact information. The other disheartening news was that we have discovered that Fuluke has been tested for HIV and is thought to be positive. Regardless of adoption, the brokenness of our world that a 10 month old carries a virus that will kill him in the next few years is just awful. It looks like his mom died from AIDS and passed the virus to her son.
We knew with the HIV/AIDS pandemic that children with HIV would be a reality but when seeing these beautiful children it is hard to believe. There are over 1 million people that are HIV positive here in Malawi and over 2 million children orphaned. Fuluke is just one of them. Our hearts are heavy as we see the results of the fall and sin. God help us.
Even with heavy hearts, we cling to hope. God has us here to be a source of love, encouragement and grace. We pray that we may be a blessing to our friends here. We continue to persevere and will still seek for the child we think God has for us. Where do we go from here? We will keep praying, looking, serving and waiting. Please continue to join us in prayer.
Wednesday I spent the morning at the SCOM office leading a Bible Study and then traveling to campuses around Lilongwe to set up our trip. I then returned home in the early afternoon to help clean other areas of the house that we haven’t got to yet as the team arrives Friday.
Then we went to the crisis nursery to help with the children and see Fuluke. We have been trying to get information on his uncle so we can contact him about getting approval and release for the adoption, but the uncle didn’t really leave any contact information. The other disheartening news was that we have discovered that Fuluke has been tested for HIV and is thought to be positive. Regardless of adoption, the brokenness of our world that a 10 month old carries a virus that will kill him in the next few years is just awful. It looks like his mom died from AIDS and passed the virus to her son.
We knew with the HIV/AIDS pandemic that children with HIV would be a reality but when seeing these beautiful children it is hard to believe. There are over 1 million people that are HIV positive here in Malawi and over 2 million children orphaned. Fuluke is just one of them. Our hearts are heavy as we see the results of the fall and sin. God help us.
Even with heavy hearts, we cling to hope. God has us here to be a source of love, encouragement and grace. We pray that we may be a blessing to our friends here. We continue to persevere and will still seek for the child we think God has for us. Where do we go from here? We will keep praying, looking, serving and waiting. Please continue to join us in prayer.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Supreme Court Ruling
This weekend the Supreme Court ruled that they would allow Madonna's adoption to go through. The ruling says that each adoption should be looked at individually, as to what is in the best interest of the child. They said that the 18 mo. residency issue is not a requirement, more of a suggestion. This is exciting news for us though we don't fully know what it means for us yet. But it shows that they are more open to international adoptions. I didn't think I would be praising God for Madonna yet I am.
We celebrated Joseph's 8th birthday with a few pastries this morning and soda for dinner. We are splurging :O we spent some time at the crisis nursery today as that was Joe's request. He is getting really attached to Fuluke as we all are. It is hard not to. He is a sweet little guy. We have had a great time helping at the crisis nursery. The kids recognise us now. Those that are mobile will come right up to us. They love the attention. We are choosing not to post a picture of Fuluke because we have heard of others getting in trouble (not allowed to adopt from other countries) for doing so. Trust me, he is cute and very small for a 10 month old.
Please pray for:
our hearts not to be broken in this process.
wisdom to know how much to keep doing and when to wait and see.
the process to move quickly for our adoption.
Jacob’s arm and my face to heal.
wisdom to know where to spend our time as the options grow to serve.
We celebrated Joseph's 8th birthday with a few pastries this morning and soda for dinner. We are splurging :O we spent some time at the crisis nursery today as that was Joe's request. He is getting really attached to Fuluke as we all are. It is hard not to. He is a sweet little guy. We have had a great time helping at the crisis nursery. The kids recognise us now. Those that are mobile will come right up to us. They love the attention. We are choosing not to post a picture of Fuluke because we have heard of others getting in trouble (not allowed to adopt from other countries) for doing so. Trust me, he is cute and very small for a 10 month old.
Please pray for:
our hearts not to be broken in this process.
wisdom to know how much to keep doing and when to wait and see.
the process to move quickly for our adoption.
Jacob’s arm and my face to heal.
wisdom to know where to spend our time as the options grow to serve.
Crisis Nursery & Orphanages
This week we spent moving into our new house and getting things started on our adoption. Our house is beautiful and very large. It has been neglected for sometime so has required a lot of time this week in cleaning and debugging. The previous inhabitants cooked with a lot of grease, so I spent a day scraping grease off the counters and walls. But it is plenty big enough for the team to join us in a week.
Last Friday we put our application in with Social Welfare requesting an adoption. They have very limited resources which makes them a little difficult to work with. In our perspective they move very slowly. And by Wednesday they couldn't find our application. Every trip to that office is very discouraging.
After the first meeting at Social Welfare we thought it best if we didn't leave the part of locating a child entirely up to them. Chris made a trip to the crisis nursery and an orphanage this week with little progress. On Monday all the infants at the crisis nursery were "attached" to some family member. When he went in on Tuesday there was a young man in their relinquishing his rights to his 10 month old nephew, Fuluke. You could tell that he loved him very much but since the boy's mother died on Saturday, he is not able to care for him. He is an adorable little boy and would be very pleased to accept a miracle from God if Social Welfare would match us with him.
We spent some time this week volunteering at the Crisis Nursery, feeding and playing with the babies. The whole family enjoyed it, even Isaac said he enjoyed it more than he wanted too. He feed 2 boys their bottles and read them some books. Grace really enjoyed playing with Fuluke and he smiled and laughed a lot for her. She is ready to be a big sister. The caregivers kept bringing more and more babies out for us to play with till there was 10 or 11. Grace said we needed more adults as we would hand babies off to our kids to pick up the fussy one.
Please pray:
- that we would not become discouraged when facing roadblocks in the adoption
- for Fuluke to find a good home (with us :) or somewhere else)
- safe trip for the team as they travel this week
Last Friday we put our application in with Social Welfare requesting an adoption. They have very limited resources which makes them a little difficult to work with. In our perspective they move very slowly. And by Wednesday they couldn't find our application. Every trip to that office is very discouraging.
After the first meeting at Social Welfare we thought it best if we didn't leave the part of locating a child entirely up to them. Chris made a trip to the crisis nursery and an orphanage this week with little progress. On Monday all the infants at the crisis nursery were "attached" to some family member. When he went in on Tuesday there was a young man in their relinquishing his rights to his 10 month old nephew, Fuluke. You could tell that he loved him very much but since the boy's mother died on Saturday, he is not able to care for him. He is an adorable little boy and would be very pleased to accept a miracle from God if Social Welfare would match us with him.
We spent some time this week volunteering at the Crisis Nursery, feeding and playing with the babies. The whole family enjoyed it, even Isaac said he enjoyed it more than he wanted too. He feed 2 boys their bottles and read them some books. Grace really enjoyed playing with Fuluke and he smiled and laughed a lot for her. She is ready to be a big sister. The caregivers kept bringing more and more babies out for us to play with till there was 10 or 11. Grace said we needed more adults as we would hand babies off to our kids to pick up the fussy one.
Please pray:
- that we would not become discouraged when facing roadblocks in the adoption
- for Fuluke to find a good home (with us :) or somewhere else)
- safe trip for the team as they travel this week
Monday, June 8, 2009
Our weekend
This weekend was full. I (Chris) went to a stakeholders meeting with key spiritual leaders in the country. The Student Christian Organization (SCOM) presented the issues facing teenagers in Malawi and the challenges to them performing well or even finishing high school.
Here are a couple of issues. Many students have to walk over an hour to school each day. That means they leave home very early and arrive at school tired. This doesn’t help them perform well at school. Another challenge is that in a study done of 4000 students in 2007 - 31% of students were orphaned and struggled to come up with school fees. Some girls are forced to sell their bodies to come up with their school fees.
One story from the conferences in May, a young girl said her “boyfriend” had helped her pay her school fees and now was pressuring her to have intercourse by threatening to beat her up unless she paid him back. A SCOM counselor asked her how much would it cost to pay him back what he had given so she could be free. She did some figuring and said 2850 kwatcha. (That is less than $20.) It was heart breaking to hear!!! This situation is one of thousand of similar situations.
Yet SCOM is in the middle of it trying to save these young women from difficult situation.
Family update:
Jake’s arm is getting better. He was using it to much while we traveled so it was quite swollen when we arrived. We have been keeping in his sling and his swelling has gone down significantly.
My face is still paralyzed on the right side. My speech is challenged so I have to make sure I speak clearly to be understood. I had the opportunity to share with the gathering Saturday and felt I was clear enough. I have been experiencing some pain in the area as it seems the nerves are regenerating. (I think that is what you call it.) Who knows but God. He is in control and we are trusting in Him. He can use us even in our weakness.
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Here are a couple of issues. Many students have to walk over an hour to school each day. That means they leave home very early and arrive at school tired. This doesn’t help them perform well at school. Another challenge is that in a study done of 4000 students in 2007 - 31% of students were orphaned and struggled to come up with school fees. Some girls are forced to sell their bodies to come up with their school fees.
One story from the conferences in May, a young girl said her “boyfriend” had helped her pay her school fees and now was pressuring her to have intercourse by threatening to beat her up unless she paid him back. A SCOM counselor asked her how much would it cost to pay him back what he had given so she could be free. She did some figuring and said 2850 kwatcha. (That is less than $20.) It was heart breaking to hear!!! This situation is one of thousand of similar situations.
Yet SCOM is in the middle of it trying to save these young women from difficult situation.
Family update:
Jake’s arm is getting better. He was using it to much while we traveled so it was quite swollen when we arrived. We have been keeping in his sling and his swelling has gone down significantly.
My face is still paralyzed on the right side. My speech is challenged so I have to make sure I speak clearly to be understood. I had the opportunity to share with the gathering Saturday and felt I was clear enough. I have been experiencing some pain in the area as it seems the nerves are regenerating. (I think that is what you call it.) Who knows but God. He is in control and we are trusting in Him. He can use us even in our weakness.
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Friday, June 5, 2009
We have arrived
Well it took us two days but we are here. We slept (all of us for 12 hours- Dudley corrected me - I slept for 12 hours and everyone else slept 14 - 16 hours) last night. We have secured housing and will be working to get everything together this weekend. (The house is large but quite dirty.)
I will fill in more in a couple of days.
Thank you for your prayers.
Chris
I will fill in more in a couple of days.
Thank you for your prayers.
Chris
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
off to the airport
Well we are finally in Chicago and on our way to the airport.
1 broken arm - check.
1 paralyzed side of face - check.
4 kids - check.
2 parents - check.
4 bags and 6 back packs - check.
6 passports - check.
Malawi here we come.
Thank you for praying
Chris
1 broken arm - check.
1 paralyzed side of face - check.
4 kids - check.
2 parents - check.
4 bags and 6 back packs - check.
6 passports - check.
Malawi here we come.
Thank you for praying
Chris
Monday, June 1, 2009
Prayer Request
It has been a good and rough few days. Jacob our #2 son broke his arm on Wednesday. He is in a cast and fine.
Friday at dinner I started having twitches on the right side of my face and by Saturday morning I lost movement on the right side of my face. Well the short of it is that I have come down with Bell's Palsy, a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed.
It hasn't helped my looks but little could :) Drinking is a bit of a challenge as well as keeping my eye moist (can't blink or close it completely.)
As you can imagine, it isn't the best timing as we leave tomorrow for Malawi. Saturday morning I was reading Phillipians chapter 3 & 4. 4:12 stood out to me.
4:12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
It seems this is a good opportunity to give God praise and learn about contentment. I do ask that you would pray for healing. My speech has been affected since half of my mouth doesn't work at this point. I would love to be able to speak clearly as I have opportunity to preach God's word in Malawi this summer. God knows what is best so would you seek His good and perfect will for us.
Our journey begins Tuesday June 2 at 12:30pm. Malawi here we come. Praise God!!!
Chris
Friday at dinner I started having twitches on the right side of my face and by Saturday morning I lost movement on the right side of my face. Well the short of it is that I have come down with Bell's Palsy, a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed.
It hasn't helped my looks but little could :) Drinking is a bit of a challenge as well as keeping my eye moist (can't blink or close it completely.)
As you can imagine, it isn't the best timing as we leave tomorrow for Malawi. Saturday morning I was reading Phillipians chapter 3 & 4. 4:12 stood out to me.
4:12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
It seems this is a good opportunity to give God praise and learn about contentment. I do ask that you would pray for healing. My speech has been affected since half of my mouth doesn't work at this point. I would love to be able to speak clearly as I have opportunity to preach God's word in Malawi this summer. God knows what is best so would you seek His good and perfect will for us.
Our journey begins Tuesday June 2 at 12:30pm. Malawi here we come. Praise God!!!
Chris
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Here we go
Hi everyone,
I can't believe it but we (Swiney Clan) leave in less than two weeks for Malawi.
We will be keeping up this blog again this year and would love your prayers.
So we leave June 2 and return September 4th. (yes that is over 3 months.)
What will we do? we will be partnering again this year with the Student Christian Organization of Malawi (SCOM) as well as looking to build some other partnerships with other organizations.
As we were there last year in the crisis nursery and realized the challenges those little ones would face our hearts broke for them. It is now estimated that there are over 2 million orphans in Malawi a country of 12 million people. So as we have prayed this year we have felt led to try a crazy impossible thing. We hope to adopt while we are there. God knows if it will happen. We feel led to try and let God take care of the impossible if that is His will.
The adventure has begun. Please join us for this journey and seek the Lord on our behalf.
God bless you
Chris Swiney
P.S. On the bottom of your feedburner email is a place to unsubscribe if you wish to do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)