We're still here!
Where to begin!?!?! It’s been so long since I wrote, and so much has happened! We’ve been super-busy, and super-happy with all that’s on our plates this summer.
Volunteers from Missouri came out in June. One woman, Annie, is a PE teacher, so we held sports camps for 4 days each week for 2 weeks, using 2 local churches to help with organization and management. Ok, so there wasn’t much organization OR management, but there were lots of kids! Annie did a great job going with the flow, corralling kids as much as possible, and letting the games morph into something neither we nor they had ever seen before. But they loved it! She taught them ultimate Frisbee, and several different tag games, and of course, there were lots of soccer games. The younger kids enjoyed a version of “Duck, duck, goose”---it ended up being more appropriately titled, “tap, tap, whack” since the signal to give chase was really more of a hearty slap to the head! We also ran into a translation issue...the word for ‘to touch’ also means ‘to grab’ and ‘to hold.’ That’s never been much of a problem before, but tag certainly looked different as each child decided to interpret that word as they saw fit! Overall, it was a roaring success. We were tired and dirty each day, but the kids got time to play, our kids got involved in both playing and helping lead games, Annie got to share the gospel to over 450 kids, and many (30+) made commitments to Christ. The pastors of those local churches will maintain follow-up with them, but do pray for them to stay true to their commitments.
We also spent 1 morning feeding and playing with kids at a local orphanage/crisis nursery. One baby was 3 months old and weighed 4 ½ lbs. Another set of 5-month old twin girls were up to 7 lbs after coming in at 4lbs each. Several others were much heartier, and they surprised us all by being so eager for attention and love. There did not appear to be any “attachment disorders” as they vied for our affection, each trying to be cuter than the next! I was ready to take them all home, even though I left wearing the effects of spit-up, runny noses, diarrhea, wet diapers, and messy porridge-eating!
Every busy period needs a Sabbath-rest, so we took the team to the lake, where we camped for 2 nights. It was hard to cook for 13 people over nothing but an open fire, but we managed. And the kids even forgave me for forgetting the marshmallows! Then we went down to a game park, where we stayed in a very nice lodge and saw amazing things. Elephants just yards away. Giant cros far too close for comfort. Hippos munching and talking all night long. Mongooses (mongeese?), duikers, impala, warthogs, waterbuck, kudu, eagles, monitor lizards…are there words to describe such awesomeness???
So thanks, Missouri, for getting us out from behind our desks and our chalkboards. Out in the community, out as a whole family, out enjoying the beauty Malawi has to offer. It’s hard to resent power-outages and petrol shortages too much when you’re basking in the glory of what God has done and does do in and around us!
Volunteers from Missouri came out in June. One woman, Annie, is a PE teacher, so we held sports camps for 4 days each week for 2 weeks, using 2 local churches to help with organization and management. Ok, so there wasn’t much organization OR management, but there were lots of kids! Annie did a great job going with the flow, corralling kids as much as possible, and letting the games morph into something neither we nor they had ever seen before. But they loved it! She taught them ultimate Frisbee, and several different tag games, and of course, there were lots of soccer games. The younger kids enjoyed a version of “Duck, duck, goose”---it ended up being more appropriately titled, “tap, tap, whack” since the signal to give chase was really more of a hearty slap to the head! We also ran into a translation issue...the word for ‘to touch’ also means ‘to grab’ and ‘to hold.’ That’s never been much of a problem before, but tag certainly looked different as each child decided to interpret that word as they saw fit! Overall, it was a roaring success. We were tired and dirty each day, but the kids got time to play, our kids got involved in both playing and helping lead games, Annie got to share the gospel to over 450 kids, and many (30+) made commitments to Christ. The pastors of those local churches will maintain follow-up with them, but do pray for them to stay true to their commitments.
We also spent 1 morning feeding and playing with kids at a local orphanage/crisis nursery. One baby was 3 months old and weighed 4 ½ lbs. Another set of 5-month old twin girls were up to 7 lbs after coming in at 4lbs each. Several others were much heartier, and they surprised us all by being so eager for attention and love. There did not appear to be any “attachment disorders” as they vied for our affection, each trying to be cuter than the next! I was ready to take them all home, even though I left wearing the effects of spit-up, runny noses, diarrhea, wet diapers, and messy porridge-eating!
Every busy period needs a Sabbath-rest, so we took the team to the lake, where we camped for 2 nights. It was hard to cook for 13 people over nothing but an open fire, but we managed. And the kids even forgave me for forgetting the marshmallows! Then we went down to a game park, where we stayed in a very nice lodge and saw amazing things. Elephants just yards away. Giant cros far too close for comfort. Hippos munching and talking all night long. Mongooses (mongeese?), duikers, impala, warthogs, waterbuck, kudu, eagles, monitor lizards…are there words to describe such awesomeness???
So thanks, Missouri, for getting us out from behind our desks and our chalkboards. Out in the community, out as a whole family, out enjoying the beauty Malawi has to offer. It’s hard to resent power-outages and petrol shortages too much when you’re basking in the glory of what God has done and does do in and around us!
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