First Day

flight delays - stranded on runway with no air while mechanic changed fuse - passenger problems (one needing to be escorted off plane) - arrived late, tired and stiff wanting a shower and bed only to arrive in Ntcheu to... - no water - eight inch lizards coming into our room through paneless window - dogs barked all night long ... however - great food, great weather, great people, great landscape, great God! This is Malawi.

DARE TO DREAM

This past weekend at Hayley Ann's graduation party one of our older friends quoted Acts 2:17 in "that young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams".

I wonder, how long will it take us young men to take those dreams and start making them into realities. What will it take for us to rise up and proclaim Jesus Christ with all that we have?

Over the years I have been told on more than one occasion and by several different men that my dreams, my ideals--I will eventually get over them.

I hope and pray that I never do and I am tired of being caught in one of his satan's favorite baits, that is... busyness. I was so thankful this past week for Pastor Jeff's reminder about how satan like to trap us.

I am hoping and praying that God will use our trip to renew and refuel our passion for Him and our desire to carry out His work.

Will you please pray along with me that our eyes do not ever become deadened nor our hearts become apathetic or worse yet, that we would become to busy and not allow for time to do His work. Pray that God will refuel us but also that he would give us a clear dream, a vision to fulfill His work-no matter what that is.

Keep Pressing On!!!

Here we are waiting in Dulles airport in Washington DC. Soon to connect and began our journey to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia our next stop in our journey to Malawi.

We brought all kinds of reading material and so I thought I would share some things as we learn along the way.

Did you know that in Malawi 6 people an hour die of AIDS, which is over 50,000 a year. Yikes that is a whole lot of souls.

Keeping Pressing On!

We are off!

When asked why go, there is but one response - to make the name of our Lord exalted among the nations - to have His glory revealed among all peoples. When asked what it is about Africa that we love so much, again, there is but one response - it is God that we love above all else and He has placed Africa in front of us for this moment.

Thank you in advance for all of your prayers!

Congratulations Riley!

I just have to share this exciting news with you - Riley was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa - an international, two-year college honor society. Way to go, Riley! We are so proud of you!

Malawi Update

Here is a quick update on our trip to Malawi. We leave in two weeks - yes, two weeks! The only vaccination we needed was a hep B series - we had two and get the third in a few months. Rob is opting out of malaria medication but I am planning on taking it. We spent time with a local couple who is involved with a ministry in Malawi - in fact, the wife is Malawian. We had a great time of fellowship and learned a bit about Malawi, its culture and language. (Like how I was totally pronouncing Ntcheu wrong!) We still need to register with the embassy, shop and pack -although, we have started to gather items to take for the Burns' family, like Nestle hot coco and Tollhouse chocolate chips - neither of which they have in Malawi. I am ready to start packing. Not so much to have it done but more because I already feel like I am forgetting something. I would sure appreciate your thoughts on what to bring - maybe you'll remember what I am forgetting! We also need to confirm dates and details with those who will be helping out stateside while we are gone. (We so appreciate the help!) And we would love to know if you will be praying for us - we are asking for a team to pray for health and safety, clear direction and that we would glorify God in all we say and do.

And a quick bit about Malawi -
Along with the increase in gasoline prices (over $11 USD per gallon) the Malawian Kwacha fell and lost value so food (and other) prices are skyrocketing. The lack of rain has caused crops to fail and so a severe famine is predicted. We learned that in Lilongwe the children that are able to attend school have very limited supplies - very, very limited - meaning 25 children share one desk and one pencil. People are suffering and the need is great - but God is greater!!

Revelation 7:9-10

Last month we had the great privilege of being invited to attend Bellingham Slavic Gospel Church. We attended on Resurrection Sunday and were blessed beyond belief. There were a few earpieces to listen to someone interpret the service, and although I did not have one and did not understand the languages spoken I truly felt the presence of Christ. The service - three hours of music, singing and sermons - was in a combination of Ukrainian and Russian with a couple of songs in English. Even though the service was different and much longer than we were used to, we were captivated - the children, too. For those three hours the world shrunk down to the size of the church sanctuary. I was simply thrilled to be sitting next to my friend, my sister in Christ, and worshipping the Lord with her. One of the songs that was sung was Love So Amazing - I recognized the tune and we sang together - her in Ukrainian and me in English. What a joy to worship together! And that was just a glimpse of what worship will be like in heaven, when we have the honor of worshipping the King with our brothers and sisters from around the world!

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."
Revelation 7:9-10