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.

A highlight video

We have put a video on you tube and we thought you might want to see it.

Here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_52mNMyGeE

If it doesn't work then go to You Tube and search for Malawi & ivcls.

Thank you again for your prayers for our summer.
Chris Swiney

Arrived in London

Hey everyone,

A quick update from London Heathrow. We have arrived after a night flight from Johanesburg. We will be getting on British Airlines Flight 295 in about 30 minutes and will arrive today in Chicago at 1:55 pm.

Please pray for a little sleep on the plane and for safe travel to Chicago and on to home for everyone.

God bless you
Chris

Safe arrival in South Africa

Hey everyone,

We had an uneventful (Praise God!) trip to South Africa and have been processing what God has done in our hearts and lives while on this trip. The team is in a retreat this morning and we will do some more debriefing this afternoon.

We went to Church and to the Aparthied Museum yesterday. Praise God for the changes here.

We will be leaving on Wednesday and arrive in Chicago Thursday afternoon at 1:55pm on British Airlines.

Thank you for your prayers
Chris

Leaving Malawi Tomorrow

Hello everyone,

We spent the morning at a crisis nursery. They take in babys that either are dumped or that are orphaned as the mother dies in child birth. They were so adorable. Some of the baby's were HIV positive. It was heart breaking to see these beautiful babies and know that some of them won't reach adulthood.

Everyone enjoyed playing with, feeding some and holding the little ones. My God bless these little ones.

We have been packing and cleaning this afternoon. We will finish cleaning in the morning and leave for the airport at Noon.

Here is a photo album of our trip.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58642&l=d02f9&id=506906884

Please pray for our time of reflection, prayer and listening to God in South Africa. This will be a critical time for our team as we spend time individually and corporately reflecting on our time and seeking what God has been saying to us.

Pray for Madeline, Dudley and Me as we lead them through processing their experiences and the ways God has been speaking to us.

I don't know if I will be able to up date this while in South Africa so if I don't no worries. We will arrive in Chicago at 1:55pm on July 31st.


God bless you and thank you for your prayers!!!!
His Servant,
Chris

Wow only a few days

Hey everyone,

We have only a few days left. THe entire team returned from our adventursome weekend. God used the conferences to bring people to himself and challenge others to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Our students did a great job in their various activities. Kyle and Rachel K. led their whole group in morning devotions which is more like a sermon and worship than what we do with devotions at home. James and Drew were asked to train their group in Bible study. Reports of all were that they all did wonderfully.

Tuesday
We went to an orphanage and helped feeding 550 kids yesterday. It was hard and wonderful all at the same moment. The kids loved playing with us and were so sweet. Many of them seemed to be a bit malnourished and they were all very small for their age. Jacob was bigger than 12 year old kids. Their meal was one cup of rice and they seemed to be very thankful for that. The ministry also had a work program for widows. The widows were taught to sew and knit and the things they made were sold in a store in town. Praise God for this ministry that is caring for orphans and widows.

We leave for South Africa on Friday. I will try to update you at least once more before we depart Lilongwe.

Thank you for your prayers
Chris

Mwadswala bwanji! ("Good evening" in Chichewa) It's Rachel Main, fulfilling her blogging duty.
I must first thank all of you, those I know and do not know who have been diligently praying for me and the rest of the team. One thing I have seen clearly this trip is that God indeed answers prayer.
From earlier posts you will have read that I travelled with Alli to Salima for a "School-Leavers SCOM Conference." The conference is for Form 4 students (equivalent in grade but not necessarily age to a senior in high school) as they prepare to leave school, either for the work force or college/university. The teachings encourage students to have a Christ-centered approach to life after school. For instance, the theme of my conference in Salima was "Defend you Position", related to the story of Mary and Martha and our need to place ourselves first and foremost at Jesus' feet. From the same gifted speaker we also heard a talk about opposite sex relationships. By hearing the specifically directed messages, we were able to better understand the struggles of Malawian teens.
In addition to learning from the conference, Alli and I had other great experiences this weekend in travelling apart from the team. We were able to do things that a 20 person group can't do, like ride on the back of a bicycle as a form of a taxi. With such experiences of devotionals starting at 5 am, nearly getting lost by the lake (I'm fine Mom, I promise), and spending 20 minutes learning how to work the toliet, shower and sink, we had an eventful and fun weekend. I was so blessed to spend time getting to know Alli better, the oldest UIUC girl with the youngest.
short side note: going near the lake is interesting as the Muslim influence in Malawi increases. (possible prayer request for you)
Now, we are back. A day earlier than we believed. I'm anxious for the rest of the team to return so we can have a big share fest. I enjoy those, as those of you who know me might guess. I like talking.
Thanks for reading. We love hearing from you in comments!

Prayer Requests:We leave for South Africa Friday-praise God for being Himself, for being so good to protect us and fill us with good experiences and lessons until the very end of our time in Malawi. Pray for a safe flight, luggage retrieval and happy times in South Africa for processing what we've learned in the past month and what do with new knowledge
The SCOM staff rocks our socks-Praise God for the work He is doing through this organization for the sake of His Glory in Malawi. Pray for your brothers and sisters in Malawi, the students as they grow in faith, the staff as they seek financial support and growth of their ministry.