Shakin our Bootie 2

Judith and Leona joining in worship!

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Shakin our Bootie

Worship in community is one of my absolute most favourite parts of being in Malawi. Pastor Kelvin of Kawale wants punctuality so when he was late this morning we teased him. Then he shared he had been called in the middle of the night because the neighboring pastor had lost his 13 year old daughter to malaria. He had been with the family and was returning to be at the funeral in the afternoon. This is Africa.

When we arrived at the Mechesi African Abraham Church and i saw all the school desks and benches, my thought was: " How will we dance?" Well, I needn't have worried because once they got going, oh my, did we worship in dance and song !! Pastor Kelvin informed us that they had extended an invitation to several choirs from different churches in their denomination. Not only that, but the bishops from these churches were all present and when introduced they responded with " Hallelujah!" and perhaps a song. The choirs ( who arrived at different times of the service) had various opportunities to sing - many of their songs included stories of caring for widows and orphans, about AIDS, or any other pertinent topic. They were heartwarming!

We were asked if anyone wanted to preach so Judith gave a short testimony. The people embraced her so much that she then was pulled to the front for a dance with the next choir performance! Awesome!

When at 11:50 the pastor said: " That is the end of our introduction", I realized we were in for a true African service. Sure enough , we were done a few minutes before 2, but only because I informed pastor Kelvin we had to leave because the hotel had asked us to switch rooms.

The pastors repeatedly reminded us that we all serve the same God - whether in Africa or Canada.... Pastor Kelvin said: "there's no visitors in heaven". Love that. We are all in this journey. We have lots to learn from them - they have no inhibitions when it comes to worship - raw passion... So heartwarming.

We were also informed that our suitcases were at the airport, so we promptly went to pick them up. On the way we had a most unique opportunity to purchase mouse on a stick for our supper!! (Kidding- we paid to take a picture, tho).

Thanks again for journeying with us. Your prayers are continually carrying us and being answered by our almighty Father in heaven who loves the widows and orphans whom we are serving.

Good night,

Lydia

"Shake the love around"

• Today was an awesome day as we were able to relax, sleep in, and just enjoy our new surroundings and plan for the days ahead.
• The highlight of the day was going to the market! That brought many new sights., sounds., smells., emotions., to take in.
• As soon as the vendors saw all these white women get out of the van, we were bombarded with them wanting to sell their wares to us "real cheap", "looking is free" as we heard over and over.
• One of the team members was proposed to on the spot with no introductions of any sort. We've gotten a lot of mileage of that one!
• The carvings were so detailed, exotic and beautiful but our driver "Obed" warned us to not show too much interest, but to rather walk away and the price will drop! He was very helpful and talked to them in their language when bartering for us.
• The saddest moment was when we met a small boy saying he was hungry, so he asked for money because his father had died and he needed to buy food and a uniform for school. We told him to go to "Somebody Who Cares" (an indigineous organization that works with women and orphans) and they would be able to help him. We also told him that we would ask Jesus to provide money for him.
• Another fun moment was when one of the vendors who could speak good english explained how to play a unique African "Bao" game to us.
• "Shake the love around" is a new little thing that Judith taught us to do right after we pray for our food. We all hold hands and shake and say "shake the love around!"
• Thank you for your prayers, we definitely feel your ''love and support" all the way over here in Africa.
• One of the African pastors really encouraged us to learn as much Chichewa as we can as that will be very meaningful to the women and children who we'll be ministering to. So on that note: "Tionana Mauwa" Talk to you tomorrow! Sara and Joy

While you were sleeping....

Last Night, when you were getting ready for bed our Team started off from London to Addis Ababa flying over Greece and over the Adriatic Sea and The Ionian Sea and the Mediterraean Sea and close to the Red Sea. Not bad for a nights "work" is it. The flights have all gone well, with the exception of two health emergencies.
Wednesday evening we had an emergency on board and a sick man had to be evacuated by medics. We back tracked to Montreal and landed there and consequently we had a three hour delay.
On the Thursday night's flight Liz had a chance to practice her nursing skills on a sick lady but she felt well after one hour and a doctor confirmed that she would be fine so no emergency landing would be necessary.
Today we arrived in Malawi around noon and we were warmly welcomed by the representatives from Biwi and Kawali. The temperature is in the mid 20's. A Beautiful sunny day!
Please pray that the 3 missing pieces of luggage will arrive on another Ethiopian plane tomorrow. Otherwise we are all fine and excited to be here!
Liz and Alice

Our Journey begins.....

After many months of preparation, we are finally on our way to Malawi.

After a brief delay in Winnipeg, we arrived in Toronto with just enough time to catch our connecting flight to London, UK. In Toronto we met up with our 9^th member, Alice Whitman whom we immediately recognized from our many team meetings via Skype. We were also pleased to have Liz Rempel join our flight as she was originally scheduled to fly alone on an earlier flight due to booking issues. God is an awesome God and He sometimes has plans of the unexpected nature in store for us. About an hour into the London flight we were told that due to an illness of an elderly man, we would be turning around and heading back to Montreal where he would be transferred to a hospital. Well, we’ve been on the tarmac nearly two hours, waiting patiently for more fuel, fresh food, and medical supplies. We trust that it will be not too much longer until we are on our way once again. What an awesome opportunity to connect with our team as well as with other people on this flight. We are very thankful that our flight that leaves London is not until Thursday evening. Everyone is doing well and we look forward to what God has in store for us in the coming days.

Trusting in Him, Naomi Klassen

Bags are packed....

Good morning,
Bags are packed, stomachs are filled with butterflies about the unknown, and yet - PEACE . The peace I have and am feeling is due to all the prayers of the many people carrying us in prayer. You are as much a part of our team as we are and please know how very important your role is. Satan is just as intent on causing havoc and stress as we are intent, through the Holy Spirit, to be the hands and feet f Jesus to the orphans and widows with AIDS.
Pray we will be culturally sensitive as we teach, our luggage arrives, that we will be healthy while there, and that our team gels as a testimony of God's love.
Time to go out the door.... Bless you all.
Lydia

Biwi Kids... Pictures speak 1000 words

Awhile ago, Willard from Biwi sent me a picture of some of the orphans who have been part of the feeding program this past year. When I saw their faces... they seemed to be looking right at me. So yesterday I went and printed this picture and the others he sent, because these are the children who are eating because people here said: "No child should be without food" and gave. These are also the kids we will be teaching about the love of God in a few weeks (August 8-12) and they already have part of my heart. How much harder will it be when I meet them in person. These same children will have blankets, because some of the GVC teachers and others gave so these kids don't need to use their mosquito net as their blanket. $5. buys a blanket and warmth (that's only a few Tim's coffees or 1 Latte/machiatto).

This week I had the privilege of "retreating" to prepare for the teaching we will be doing in Malawi. Read the book " Too Small to Ignore". It became clear to me again that if children don't make a decision to follow Jesus before the age of 18, it is less likely to happen (23%). We go to teach them about Jesus and also because we believe those who are most vulnerable matter. They need to be cared for. The more we can empower their care givers to have a sustainable income; the children will more likely be clothed, fed, and educated. Hopefully this will grant them freedom and work towards breaking the cycle of prostitution and HIV/AIDS.

If we can play a small part towards this goal, our trip will have been worth it all.