Ways are Greater than Mine

So, this one time when I woke up to the warmth of the African sun beaming in my window…..oh wait, that was this morning!!! Happy Sunday everyone! It is almost noon here in Malawi and I hope this update finds you well and enjoying God’s grace today!

The last week or so has been a whirlwind of emotions and experiences. As I mentioned in my last post, my body was feeling pretty worn down and sick for a couple weeks, but towards the beginning of this week, I am happy to say that I am finally feeling much better and He has given me much more strength than I could ever have had on my own to endure and thrive during the activities and experiences here. ☺ I greatly appreciate your prayers and thoughts while I am here, so thank you!

Let’s see….this week began a little differently than usual. A group of us interns began going to one of COTN’s children’s homes called Chitipi Home; about 10 minutes from where we stay. This is the same home that we were taken to right off the plane and welcomed by a performance of song and dance by the 30 or so sponsored children that live at the home. It was such an encouragement to be able to return to the home and spend more time with the kids! Our group went specifically to tutor some of the kids who are struggling the most in school; they are on their “break” and so the goal has been to help them catch up and review before they finish their last trimester. When I initially found out I would be going, I was really excited; I had heard that we would be tutoring but we hadn't yet…but then I found out I would be tutoring math, which is quite funny since that is definitely not one of my spiritual gifts…hahahaa. ☺ Anyways, I went into the first morning on Monday completely unsure of how or what God had for us there, only that we were hands to share and love on these kids. It has definitely been a new experience this week to say the least; I am helping with three girls in Standard 4 (similar to grade 4) named Zione, Matalitso, and Edria. They are precious girls and have been SO patient with myself and the other interns that have helped. While it has definitely been a struggle and a learning experience, God has been so good in helping us reach these girls and get to know them even on a deeper level than just math and reading. ☺ I am really looking forward to the next couple weeks with them and seeing the progress they have made already in their school work as well as continuing to build relationships that truly reflect the love Christ has for them through our time.

My time with the widows and their families continues to be a joy and struggle at the same time. I have become much closer with several of the women and their kids and seeing and experiencing first hand what their daily life is like has become more and more hard for me. The times we spend in the mornings, singing on our way to their homes to help and learn Malawian chores and activities bring joy to my heart and yet cause it to ache as well. Me and several of the other girls on my team are already making plans of things we want to do to continue to support these women when we are home in the states, which I am excited about. Many afternoons are structured simply for us to spend time in fellowship with the women and their small children, some of us learning to knit or crochet, some simply listening and sharing their life stories, and others teaching and learning English and Chichewa. One of the precious children that I hold almost every day in the widows’ program has become my prayer during this afternoon time. As I held little Falida this week and last, I have become overcome with compassion and prayer for this child of God, whose life growing up in Malawi I will have very little control of. My heart breaks for the fact that she might become a widow at a young age like her mother, and I became so overwhelmed with how small my singing “Mighty to Save” (the only song she falls asleep to ☺ ) to her every week is. But I have been realizing more and more through experiences here that His ways truly are greater than mine and He is active and alive as much in Africa as He is in the states and that Falida can realize her worth and value growing up in a little village of Msiliza, Malawi and change her world through His love! If I don’t think that His ways are SO much bigger than mine, I am limiting the very God who created her precious smile and heart…and so I continue to lift her up to Him as well as every person I have had the opportunity to know so far this summer.

This post is already way too long, even though I feel that I barely touched the surface! ☺ So I will wrap it up and update you again in a few days instead…I am praying and thinking of you all very often and hope you are having a blessed week!

A Small Glimpse

Hello Everyone!!! The internet is pretty slow and sketchy so I can only post a few pictures from my time here so far, but they will give you a little glimpse of my life for the past four weeks! : ) 

Picture 1: This is me and Ega, a girl from the village of Mgwayi, that we visit atleast three times a week. I met her the very first day in the village and she has come back ever since! She is full of pure joy and loves rides on my shoulders...just one of the many many precious children of God that I have grown close to though... : )

Picture 2: This is a picture of the front of the "compound" we stay in and the offices of COTN. It's kinda crazy because it looks like, well, a compound with barbed wire and everything, but really we are quite safe. : ) Oh, and I should mention, this is a rare occasion that I am actually in pants.....no floor length skirt in this picture. : )

Picture 3: This picture is at the COTN Widow's ministry that I visit every Tuesday and Thursday, all day. We spend time at the widows' homes learning Malawian chores like re-mudding the floors : ) as well as time in their program learning Chichewa, helping with the items they sell for income, and pouring Christ's love into them as much as we can! The woman on the left is Mary and the woman on the right is Wezzie. I have gotten to know Wezzie very well and she has an amazing heart as well as a love for singing and dancing. She leads most of the dancing that we end up doing a lot of the days! : )

Well, that is all I can do for now, but I hope you enjoy getting to see a little bit of what is going on here in Malawi. God is SO good and time here continues to challenge and encourage me in new and unplanned ways. My only prayer requests would be for myself and the team to continue to see how and where God wants us for the next half of this trip. Also, for health, because I seem to be falling apart at the seams. : ) Just kidding, not anything bad, but my finger is infected, and I can't seem to shake a cold and cough I have had for about 2 weeks. I still feel great, but prayer for healing so I can feel more strengthened to be used would be great! Thanks for reading and all your prayers, I appreciate it SO much! Have a wonderful week encountering God in new ways!

In His Love, Rachel

Arrived and God is good!

Happy July, my wonderful family and friends!!! Today, we are in town at an internet cafe and so I can officially update and say hello to you all! Yay!!!

I hardly know where to begin; the past 18 days here in Malawi have gone so fast and yet it seems like I have been here forever! : ) I apologize for an update being so delayed, but we officially were only allowed to get online after about two weeks, so here I am!

As most of you I hope heard, I arrived safe and well on June 24th, along with an amazing team of interns! We all met up in London and were able to travel together from then on. The relationships that God has grown within our team so far have been AMAZING and so encouraging! Anyways, we arrived in the afternoon, looking and feeling like, well...travelers who had ate, slept, and sat on a plane for 3 days! Hahaa...but in really good attitudes and excitement as we climbed down the stairs out of the plane onto the ground that would be our home for the next two months; the adventure had only just begun! Our arrival day was filled with excitment, bus rides, songs, and a welcome dance and presentation from COTN supported orphans in Chitipi Home that brought most of us to tears! : )

The rest of our first week was full of cultural preparation, team bonding, visiting the village of Mgwayi that is only a minutes walk from our compound, Njewa, and a market challenge day to give us the chance to try and be "true Malawians" for a day and buy enough food on a Malawian's budget and then prepare the meal (complete with live chickens I might
add.) : ) A big highlight of the first week was my birthday being celebrated Malawian style; I hadn't expected anything really, but my team of only a few days showered me with Christ's love; pedicure and foot massage, quality hang out time, and complete with two Malawian style cakes and songs at night! In tradition, I was "named" a Malawian name as well, the group voted Chimwemwe, which means "joy"....all in all, one of my best birthdays so far! : )

The next week and up until now has been full of our ministry teams going full force! : ) I have had a the priviledge of going into the village of Mtsiliza and spending time with the widows and their children multiple times a week for the whole day! The joy and songs of Christ's love that overflows out of these amazing women is truly a testament of His grace!

Ahh, I am running out of time and have SOOOO much I would love to share with you all, but I will leave with this; God is so good and even though there have been struggles and don't get me wrong, there has been...it is amazing to see Him working in not neccessarily the ways we would even expect. One of the Malawian staff shared with us last night from the story of Elijah and how God does not always come in the earthquake and clouds, but in the gentle whisper on our hearts! I pray that you are all doing well and listening to His voice on your heart today!

P.S. The COTN staff will be updating a blog for general activities and pictures more often than I will be able to so if you would like to check it, feel free! It is....
malawi2008interns.blogspot.com

Love in Him, Rachel