Arrived in Chicago safely and on our way home. Thank God for safe travel.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Arrival in Paris
We arrived here safely. Everyone is tired but glad to shower and we will head into the city for our retreats of silence this afternoon.
Please pray for our process time and for fun in a new city.
Thank you for your prayers
Chris
Please pray for our process time and for fun in a new city.
Thank you for your prayers
Chris
Thursday, July 12, 2012
WE ARE IN KENYA
We have made it to Kenya. we have a 6 hour layover and then we will be on our way to Paris.
Praise God for safe travel.
Please pray for our debriefing.
Chris
Praise God for safe travel.
Please pray for our debriefing.
Chris
Turning toward home
Friends,
This morning we say goodbye to our friends here in Malawi as we head to the airport. It is with joy and tears we say goodbye.
We will arrive in Kenya this afternoon and then we fly through the night to Paris. We will be staying in Paris for the weekend to process our summer and then we fly to O'hare Monday.
Please pray for God to give us safety as we travel and to help our team process and commit to what he is calling us to do
Thank you
This morning we say goodbye to our friends here in Malawi as we head to the airport. It is with joy and tears we say goodbye.
We will arrive in Kenya this afternoon and then we fly through the night to Paris. We will be staying in Paris for the weekend to process our summer and then we fly to O'hare Monday.
Please pray for God to give us safety as we travel and to help our team process and commit to what he is calling us to do
Thank you
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Fun at the “Nyanja” (Lake)
This past Friday, July 6th, our team left for Salima, a town near Lake Malawi for a leadership retreat. This included 15 Malawian students, 2 SCOM staff workers, SCOM graduates from the Salima area that are part of the associates team whom help support the ministry and our friends Freddy and Delore from the refugee camp. The weekend was filled with leadership training for the SCOM students, empowering them to be leaders through a Godly perspective at their schools and eventually of their nation. What I thought was especially helpful about this training is the inclusion and importance of women in leadership and they play a crucial role. Historically, mainly men have held leadership positions in SCOM, so it is an important effort to empower women to take those roles.
You might be asking why Delor and Freddy joined us for the weekend, since they are not a part of SCOM. On Friday night, 7/6, Freddy was able to share with the SCOM students the work he is doing in the refugee camp. Afterwards, there was a lot of discussion of how the SCOM students could practically help the refugees and the ministry there.
The last component of the weekend was introducing manuscript bible study to the SCOM students. This bible study went through Genesis 12-16 looking at the life of Abram/Abraham and was led by Chris. We got to see what it looks like to be a Godly leader and how when matters are taken into your own hands without consulting God, there can be consequences. This bible study proved to be helpful for all in attendance.
Of course this weekend was not all bible study and seminars; we had a ton of fun also. Between swimming in the lake and teaching some of our Malawian friends to swim, relaxing in the hammocks and playing in the sand, we formed good friendships with each other and got to share our testimonies of God’s goodness. This weekend was defiantly a personal highlight of the trip because of the interactions we were able to have with the SCOM students allowing us to grow in friendship with our Malawi brothers and sisters.
Prayer requests-
-Pray that the SCOM students can be used to make a difference at the refugee camp through the love of Christ.
-Pray that the leadership training will prompt all in attendance to make a difference in their community, country and possibly the world through Christ-centered leadership.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Blog post by Luke Erickson
Sunday was a very good, very tough, very eye-opening day for me. We went to the refugee camp in Dowa which is about a 45 minute drive from where we are staying in Lilongwe. This is the second time we had been there, but the first time was just for an afternoon visit and we didn’t really see much of the camp in depth. That day was spent visiting the villages around the camp that the refugees were helping by building churches for them or providing goats and/or pigs to provide a source of food and economic aid. This time we went to the camp for church and then went around and visited the homes of a few of the refugees as well as the place where the feeding program was based out of.
The church service was a very new, but great experience. People were incredibly warm in greeting us, and were incredibly joyful in their worship. A flat tire on the way caused us to be about a half-hour late, but unlike most of the American church services that I’m used to back home, that half hour was only a small piece of the service. There were several different groups of people that came up to sing and dance. Our team performed by far the 2 shortest songs of the service and then Chris was invited to come and preach. The sermon, on Isaiah 6, was a great encouragement to the people there as the pastor told afterward. I think he did a great job of not just focusing on Isaiah’s call in verse 8, but the verses that follow that focus on how difficult his call will be. The service didn’t seem like it lasted 3 and a half hours, probably because of the incredibly joy that everyone had in worshipping the Lord.
After the worship service, we went to several different places on our “tour” of the village. It was fascinating to see many of the homes of the refugees, but what I enjoyed the most was seeing the feeding program. The feeding program was started by two men named De’lor & Freddy, two refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was originally just for kids in the camp with special needs, but expanded to helping widows, orphans, and those battling HIV/Aids in the camp. Each morning as many as 42 kids with varying degrees of intellectual disabilities come to this building to be cared for by volunteers (other refugees) and receive two meals. Not only that, but Freddy routinely advocates for these children by going into the homes of the children and helping them see that there is no shame in having a child with special needs. You see often when the group that oversees the camp would go in and take a census of the camp, many parents of children with special needs would say they have 4 children when they actually have 5. They would hide these children and wouldn’t care for them in the ways that they need. Freddy not only helps these children see themselves the way that God sees them, but also helps their families see them the way that God sees them.
Visiting this place really touched me and convicted me, especially seeing what Freddy and De’lor do. Here are two men who were forced from their homelands, not “allowed” to work (camp regulations), given little food rations each month (I don’t know how they survive on 7 kilograms of maze, 1 kilo of beans, and 50 mL of oil), yet in spite of all of this, they work tirelessly to care for people who otherwise wouldn’t be cared for. That is the gospel. As James 1:27 tells us that “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.” That is what Freddy & De’lor are doing, and what am I doing? That is what hit me the hardest. They have several ways that we can help advocate for them including buying some greeting cards that they produce there to help with some of the expenses they have. Still, the biggest take away I have is how much I live for myself as opposed to living for others the way that Paul commands us to in Philippians. I hope to better emulate Christ when I return the way that Freddy, De’lor and so many of the rest of these refugees do.
Zomba blog post by Colin Hale
Hello everyone,
We had some both interesting and amazing moments this weekend. We began by making the 6 hour trip from Lilongwe to Zomba, to meet with the students of Domasi Teaching College and Chancellor’s College. We arrived in time to join worship at the Domasi service. Following worship Moriah shared her testimony and Jenny preached out of Hebrews 11. Both the testimony and preaching were extremely encouraging. The preaching specifically showed us the faith of the Old Testament patriarchs, and how we fit into the continuing line of Christians, as well our call to also walk in faith. The meeting ended by the patron (faculty representative of SCOM) giving our team words of encouragement, that what we are doing here in Malawi is truly God’s work. After staying the night in a hostel, we got up and met with the leadership teams of Domasi and Chancellor’s Colleges. Inside these meetings the teams told us all the parts of their ministry that were both challenging and excelling. Some things that were challenging to these students were changing venues for their services, how to start or continue reaching to incoming students more effectively and because of the distance for staff to travel they require more presence from the associates and regional committees. The travel itself was extremely trying, due to poor road surfaces vehicle maintenance is require often, and for long trips break downs are a frequent occurrence. Our vehicle experienced this reality, as we were stopped for nearly an hour fixing a tire that had fallen off, by God’s provision the incident occurred in a village of people that were willing to assist us repair the wheel.
Some of our prayer requests are for continued safety in traveling, for the associates program of SCOM to increase to continue providing for the ministry, along with the associates please include a prayer of thanks for the associates that are present and constantly sacrificing for the ministry.
God Bless.
We had some both interesting and amazing moments this weekend. We began by making the 6 hour trip from Lilongwe to Zomba, to meet with the students of Domasi Teaching College and Chancellor’s College. We arrived in time to join worship at the Domasi service. Following worship Moriah shared her testimony and Jenny preached out of Hebrews 11. Both the testimony and preaching were extremely encouraging. The preaching specifically showed us the faith of the Old Testament patriarchs, and how we fit into the continuing line of Christians, as well our call to also walk in faith. The meeting ended by the patron (faculty representative of SCOM) giving our team words of encouragement, that what we are doing here in Malawi is truly God’s work. After staying the night in a hostel, we got up and met with the leadership teams of Domasi and Chancellor’s Colleges. Inside these meetings the teams told us all the parts of their ministry that were both challenging and excelling. Some things that were challenging to these students were changing venues for their services, how to start or continue reaching to incoming students more effectively and because of the distance for staff to travel they require more presence from the associates and regional committees. The travel itself was extremely trying, due to poor road surfaces vehicle maintenance is require often, and for long trips break downs are a frequent occurrence. Our vehicle experienced this reality, as we were stopped for nearly an hour fixing a tire that had fallen off, by God’s provision the incident occurred in a village of people that were willing to assist us repair the wheel.
Some of our prayer requests are for continued safety in traveling, for the associates program of SCOM to increase to continue providing for the ministry, along with the associates please include a prayer of thanks for the associates that are present and constantly sacrificing for the ministry.
God Bless.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
What Kind of “Azungu” Are You?
Oh hey! This update from Malawi is brought to you by Nate VanDyke.
I apologize in advance—I don’t quite know what the structure of these blog posts has been thus far. So I’m just going to roll on and tell you what was going through my mind as we were in and around the refugee camp outside Lilongwe today.
[Events that will be left out include: Yesterday’s return to Bunda College, where Steve shared his testimony; the joy of children’s faces at the sight of a red balloon; our car being approached on the street where Steve was asked “What kind of Azungu (Chichewa word for “White Person”) are you?; enjoying the sweet nectar of Passion Fanta after a long day].
Alright, commence train of thought:
After arriving at the refugee camp, we were taken to meet the pastor of Emmanuel Full Gospel church. After speaking with the pastor of the church for about 20 minutes, he led us on a 45 minute car ride through the Malawian villages to see some of the things the church was doing. When we arrived at our destination, we saw a half finished building being put up to serve the orphans in that village. And then we got back in the truck and started heading off.
And all I could think is “Why?”
Why would we drive for 45 minutes to see a place for 5 minutes? What’s the point of going all this way to see a half finished building? How was this worth the trip?
And then I thought about what that building was. What that building represented.
That building was an act of service from a group of people with few resources and no country to meet the needs of villages and people that are not their own.
And that blew me away.
From that first village, we went to another village to see another building. And then we went to another village to see another building. And then we went to another village to see another building. All set up by these refugees to meet the needs of the people around them.
When we got back, we heard more from the pastor of the church. The vision of this church of refugees is far more than orphan programs. They are planting churches in villages, not towns or cities, so people without access to the Gospel through radio or television can hear the Good news.
Then Luke asked how many other places they had planted churches in. And the answer came in names of countries, not villages. These people are planting churches in three to four countries, and the mother church is in the middle of a refugee camp.
As Chris said, these people make life work in a place where most of us would struggle. But they also see and respond to the needs of those around them.
End train of thought. I apologize if this was a touch long or was hard to follow.
Prayer Requests:
_Travel mercies as we head to Zomba for the weekend. It’s a 4-5 hour trip and figuring out transport has been somewhat of an obstacle thus far.
_Good health for all of us.
_Eyes to see what God is trying to show us, as well as his continued provision and support.
I apologize in advance—I don’t quite know what the structure of these blog posts has been thus far. So I’m just going to roll on and tell you what was going through my mind as we were in and around the refugee camp outside Lilongwe today.
[Events that will be left out include: Yesterday’s return to Bunda College, where Steve shared his testimony; the joy of children’s faces at the sight of a red balloon; our car being approached on the street where Steve was asked “What kind of Azungu (Chichewa word for “White Person”) are you?; enjoying the sweet nectar of Passion Fanta after a long day].
Alright, commence train of thought:
After arriving at the refugee camp, we were taken to meet the pastor of Emmanuel Full Gospel church. After speaking with the pastor of the church for about 20 minutes, he led us on a 45 minute car ride through the Malawian villages to see some of the things the church was doing. When we arrived at our destination, we saw a half finished building being put up to serve the orphans in that village. And then we got back in the truck and started heading off.
And all I could think is “Why?”
Why would we drive for 45 minutes to see a place for 5 minutes? What’s the point of going all this way to see a half finished building? How was this worth the trip?
And then I thought about what that building was. What that building represented.
That building was an act of service from a group of people with few resources and no country to meet the needs of villages and people that are not their own.
And that blew me away.
From that first village, we went to another village to see another building. And then we went to another village to see another building. And then we went to another village to see another building. All set up by these refugees to meet the needs of the people around them.
When we got back, we heard more from the pastor of the church. The vision of this church of refugees is far more than orphan programs. They are planting churches in villages, not towns or cities, so people without access to the Gospel through radio or television can hear the Good news.
Then Luke asked how many other places they had planted churches in. And the answer came in names of countries, not villages. These people are planting churches in three to four countries, and the mother church is in the middle of a refugee camp.
As Chris said, these people make life work in a place where most of us would struggle. But they also see and respond to the needs of those around them.
End train of thought. I apologize if this was a touch long or was hard to follow.
Prayer Requests:
_Travel mercies as we head to Zomba for the weekend. It’s a 4-5 hour trip and figuring out transport has been somewhat of an obstacle thus far.
_Good health for all of us.
_Eyes to see what God is trying to show us, as well as his continued provision and support.
Hello followers of the blog, this is Moriah updating you on our trip!
On Monday (the 25th) we went to a ministry called Children of the Nation. It is a ministry that helps both orphans and widows. The kids get one meal a day and we got to serve them for that meal. Although we saw a lot of smiles and joy in some of the faces we also saw a lot of sadness and hopelessness. As a team it was very hard to see that kind of brokenness, and although it’s the reality of life, it was hard. Although it was difficult to see, we also saw God working in that ministry. It is a ministry that has grown, and hopefully will continue to grow over the years so it can help more children.
We thank you for your constant prayers and support for this trip, here are a few more things that you could be praying for:
- Continual growth and development as a team
- That our van can get fixed! Transportation has been a bit of a problem so far and if we got our van fixed that would help out a lot! Some of our plans depend on this!
- For God’s continual provision for our team and SCOM
Thanks again, God bless!
--
Hello Brothers & Sisters! I, Rico Johnson, am providing you with another update:
We went to Lilongwe Technical College last night, 26 June 2012, and the service began around 7:30 PM, Malawi time. Our time there was simply amazing! The Spirit of the Lord filled the entire place! Each student warmly welcomed and greeted us with smiles. (Some of them were even giving out hugs!) They would sing praises to the Lord before each time of one-voice prayer. We prayed and praised the Lord three times before the service began! We enjoyed a men’s choir, a woman’s solo, and there was a praise team transitioning each event. Our team had a chance to sing a few songs, share testimonies, and preach. (I shared my testimony!) It was a huge blessing to see the student’s faces light up with Kool-aid smiles when we sang a song in Chichewa (their local language)!!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for SCOM leadership and organizational development
- Pray for the students of Malawi to experience more provision from the Lord
- Pray that our team might experience deepening relationships with one another.
Burdened for Christ,
Rico
On Monday (the 25th) we went to a ministry called Children of the Nation. It is a ministry that helps both orphans and widows. The kids get one meal a day and we got to serve them for that meal. Although we saw a lot of smiles and joy in some of the faces we also saw a lot of sadness and hopelessness. As a team it was very hard to see that kind of brokenness, and although it’s the reality of life, it was hard. Although it was difficult to see, we also saw God working in that ministry. It is a ministry that has grown, and hopefully will continue to grow over the years so it can help more children.
We thank you for your constant prayers and support for this trip, here are a few more things that you could be praying for:
- Continual growth and development as a team
- That our van can get fixed! Transportation has been a bit of a problem so far and if we got our van fixed that would help out a lot! Some of our plans depend on this!
- For God’s continual provision for our team and SCOM
Thanks again, God bless!
--
Hello Brothers & Sisters! I, Rico Johnson, am providing you with another update:
We went to Lilongwe Technical College last night, 26 June 2012, and the service began around 7:30 PM, Malawi time. Our time there was simply amazing! The Spirit of the Lord filled the entire place! Each student warmly welcomed and greeted us with smiles. (Some of them were even giving out hugs!) They would sing praises to the Lord before each time of one-voice prayer. We prayed and praised the Lord three times before the service began! We enjoyed a men’s choir, a woman’s solo, and there was a praise team transitioning each event. Our team had a chance to sing a few songs, share testimonies, and preach. (I shared my testimony!) It was a huge blessing to see the student’s faces light up with Kool-aid smiles when we sang a song in Chichewa (their local language)!!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for SCOM leadership and organizational development
- Pray for the students of Malawi to experience more provision from the Lord
- Pray that our team might experience deepening relationships with one another.
Burdened for Christ,
Rico
Monday, June 25, 2012
Visiting Colleges
Muli Bwanji? (How are you?) Grace and peace to you. This is Steven writing to update you, our faithful supporters, on our time here in Lilongwe.
On Thursday, we had a wonderful time visiting a Malawi technical school about 20 kilometers from our place of residence. The students graciously greeted us with warm smiles and Malawian handshakes as we arrived later than expected. Payton shared a message on the book of Jonah, urging us to reach out to the seemingly unreachable students on our respective campuses. Nate gave a powerful testimony about how he started taking his faith seriously when God gave his family an extremely sad and unexpected trial. The Malawian students and our team were mutually encouraged by one another’s faith in Jesus Christ as we worshipped together.
The next day, we visited Bunda College of Agriculture near Lilongwe. SCOM hosted a day of fun activities for the campus to enjoy, including a Gospel Show at night. We played all sorts of games and sports with the students (soccer, basketball, triple jump, high jump, musical chairs, sack race, to name a few…). Throughout the day, we got to have incredibly fruitful and encouraging conversations with a number of Bunda College students about their purpose in college and their faith in God. Many students go to school SO THAT they may bring what they learn back to their hometown to enable and strengthen the local community and economy. Quite different from the American culture of almost going to college “because that’s what you do.” Our team was greatly blessed by these conversations.
On Sunday, we started our day of rest by attending worship service with hundreds of believers on at Capital City Baptist Church right across the street. It was an awesome experience worshiping with God’s people in a different cultural context.
Today, we will visit a local orphanage not far from where we are staying. Chris warned us beforehand, “Just know that your heart is going to be broken.” Brothers and sisters, I ask you on behalf of our team that you would continue to pray for us in the following ways:
1. That God would break our hearts for what breaks His.
2. That our team would enjoy His abundant provision in terms of health, nourishment, and rest.
3. That our eyes and ears would be opened to see and hear God across circumstances.
4. That we would break down our own cultural and social barriers to boldly approach more Malawian students in the sharing of God’s love.
5. Finally, that when we continue to face spiritual challenges, by the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit, we would succeed and grow as a community of believers as well as individual men and women of God.
We thank you again for your faithful support. God is strengthening us through your prayers.
In Christ alone,
Steven
On Thursday, we had a wonderful time visiting a Malawi technical school about 20 kilometers from our place of residence. The students graciously greeted us with warm smiles and Malawian handshakes as we arrived later than expected. Payton shared a message on the book of Jonah, urging us to reach out to the seemingly unreachable students on our respective campuses. Nate gave a powerful testimony about how he started taking his faith seriously when God gave his family an extremely sad and unexpected trial. The Malawian students and our team were mutually encouraged by one another’s faith in Jesus Christ as we worshipped together.
The next day, we visited Bunda College of Agriculture near Lilongwe. SCOM hosted a day of fun activities for the campus to enjoy, including a Gospel Show at night. We played all sorts of games and sports with the students (soccer, basketball, triple jump, high jump, musical chairs, sack race, to name a few…). Throughout the day, we got to have incredibly fruitful and encouraging conversations with a number of Bunda College students about their purpose in college and their faith in God. Many students go to school SO THAT they may bring what they learn back to their hometown to enable and strengthen the local community and economy. Quite different from the American culture of almost going to college “because that’s what you do.” Our team was greatly blessed by these conversations.
On Sunday, we started our day of rest by attending worship service with hundreds of believers on at Capital City Baptist Church right across the street. It was an awesome experience worshiping with God’s people in a different cultural context.
Today, we will visit a local orphanage not far from where we are staying. Chris warned us beforehand, “Just know that your heart is going to be broken.” Brothers and sisters, I ask you on behalf of our team that you would continue to pray for us in the following ways:
1. That God would break our hearts for what breaks His.
2. That our team would enjoy His abundant provision in terms of health, nourishment, and rest.
3. That our eyes and ears would be opened to see and hear God across circumstances.
4. That we would break down our own cultural and social barriers to boldly approach more Malawian students in the sharing of God’s love.
5. Finally, that when we continue to face spiritual challenges, by the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit, we would succeed and grow as a community of believers as well as individual men and women of God.
We thank you again for your faithful support. God is strengthening us through your prayers.
In Christ alone,
Steven
Friday, June 22, 2012
Arrived in Malawi
After 40 hours of travel, we made it to Malawi. Everyone was exhausted when we arrived, most of us fell asleep by 4 in the afternoon. Yesterday we went to a worship gathering at the Kamuzu College of Nursing. We enjoyed the fellowship and Bible study together. Moriah and Colin shared some of their testimony. Both our team and the Malawi students were blessed by our time togther.
We are going to Namitete Technical College. Payton will be speaking and Nate will share some of his story. Please pray for them.
Tomorrow we will be spending the day at Bunda College. Pray for us to connect quickly with the students and bless them as we spend the day enjoying fellowship and ministering to the campus.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Team going to Malawi
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Malawi Update
As you might remember in the summer of 2009, our family spent 3 months partnering with the Student Christian Organization of Malawi (SCOM.) We also had hoped to adopt a child while we were there. We spent many hours caring for children at the crisis nursery and serving at the SCOM office. One of the significant experiences for me was working with the refugee camp that is located out side of Lilongwe. The camp has ~8,000 refugees from all over Africa (Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia and others.) This is a place of extreme hardship. They are given 40 lbs. of corn meal, a few pounds of beans and some salt by the UN each month. They aren't allowed to work by the Malawi government, so they must make do with these meager provisions.
One of our friends, Delor, is 21 year old and has been in the camp for 8 years. His family was killed in the fighting in the Congo and he fled for his life. After working with us for the 3 months, he began to see the needs of children in the camp. He asked his pastor at the camp, "What could be done?" He then asked me, "Should we start an orphanage to care for the children?" I responded positively that it seemed like he was seeing a critical need but, I didn't really know where this was headed. In the next month, they broke ground on 3 buildings for feeding and school programs for the neediest children in the camp.
The ministry started feeding 33 kids in the camp. Six months later, they are feeding 85 kids and running classes for kids from the camp and three villages near by. The children aren’t all orphans as some have family in the camp or village but, aren’t able to provide enough for the kids. So to help those families, they are trying to provide, as they are able, a pair of goats for milk and additional food for their families (40 goats given so far.) They are also training women in sewing with 10 sewing machines. The women are learning to make simple clothes and items that they can sell in villages near by.
Some people have asked me how this ministry is being funded. Well, the funding is not great right now. Currently, we personally send $400 - $500 a month. But I hope to start a non-profit ministry to raise money for the orphanage and ministries there. Our gift provides the feeding program with barely enough to supplement what the church gives (85 kids aren’t eating well on a little over $.50 a day). We could use your prayers to get the non-profit up and running so we can do better at providing for the children.
God has bigger plans than we do! We went to Malawi to adopt one child, to have our family blessed with the joy of loving a baby. God had other plans. It seems he wanted to see many more kids and families provided for than we imagined. My heart continues to break for these kids and families. Praise God for allowing us to be apart of His ministry to the neediest in our world.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Back in the US
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
It is good to be home.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Chris and Dudley
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.
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