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