Our First Week

It's good to have our first week under our belts.  We spent the first week getting our feet wet and trying to figure out how to balance work and time with the kids.  The kids were not allowed to come with us to Dzaleka Refugee Camp this week.  We are waiting for official permission for the kids to come to the refugee camp during the "work" hours. Today we were able to go to the camp as a family to worship with the Swedish Pentecostal Church.  Sundays are a bit less formal as far as visitors within the camp.

Sunday school began at 7:20.  Steve and Jack attended a class, Jenn and Jessie attended together and Charlie and Casey went to class with me.  Jenn would like to visit several different Sunday schools to get an idea of how There is Hope can better serve the children in the camp.  She really has a passion for children's ministries.  I hope that while we are here I will be able to help her in this area.

Steve has focused his attentions on building the There is Hope conference center just outside of camp.  He has been very helpful in building layout, budgeting, and general building knowledge.  There is a bit of a learning curve for him in language, the metric system, and Malawian building codes.  But he seems to be catching on fast. 

I have lost track, but I believe the power has cut here almost every day.  It's usually only a couple of hours, and doesn't bother us too much.  The kids get a kick out of using flashlights to maneuver around the house.  Jake and Jenn like to take advantage of the evening outages by going out for dinner. 

Some highlights for the week have been trips to the camp, a family visit to the Crisis Nursery and a field trip to the Lilongwe Wilderness Center. 

I'll let the pictures fill in some of the information gaps.

All packed up and ready to go.

A very nice welcome from Auntie Jenn

Casey and Jessie's room

The kids meet  Teo

Scholarship Student Day 

 

Our ride for the summ

 Our first visit to the Crisis Nursery

The garden in the backyard

 Working on the Kibebe books

Field trip to the Wildlife Center

Monkey at the Wildlife Center

 Bushbuck

 Steve and Baditseri (refugee who will be heading up the construction crew)

Casey with her new "best friend" Rusty

Jessie and Uncle Jake before church

We were surrounded by children while waiting for church.  They didn't want to talk to us, just wanted to be close enough to watch us.

Jake preaching at Swedish Pentecostal Church. He had 2 translators, Swahili and Chichewa.

After the service we shared a meal with the Pastors.  Rice, beef, chips and salad.

First day in the camp

Today was our first day in the Refugee camp. Steve was able to see There is Hope's land for the first time and begin laying out the building.  Jenn and I were able to sit down with the children's ministers at two different churches to hear their concerns and struggles regarding Sunday School.  We are hoping to take their concerns and put together a children's ministry seminar for them.  

This being our first week, and only the second day working with the team, we still feel a bit more like visitors than team members (to be expected).  But look forward to getting our hands and feet very dirty, and building some lasting relationships with everyone here.

The adventure begins...

Just 6 weeks until we fly out to Malawi.  This is sure to be a summer our family will never forget.  We will be working with There is Hope for Malawi, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping refugees and the most vulnerable residents of Malawi in the name of Jesus.

Some of you have asked about what our living conditions will be.  And you will be relieved to know that we will not be living in a grass hut.  We will be living with Jake and Jenn Tornga.  Jake and Jenn are members of Fellowship Reformed Church with us, working with I-Teams at There is Hope.  Steve and I had the chance to stay with them last summer on our vision trip.  Their home is very nice.  A middle class home in Lilongwe, the capital city.  We will have electricity and running water (well "most" of the time, or at least some of the time).  We will rent a van from Flo and Inno Magambi (also missionaries working with I-Teams). 

The kids are very excited.  They have never flown, and cannot wait to get on the plane.  We'll check back with them when were 10 hours over the Atlantic Ocean...They are also very excited because Jake and Jenn have a cat.  Finally, they'll have a pet.

Garage Sale

Saturday April 27th was a beautiful spring day, which was just what we needed for our There is Hope Garage Sale.  More than 12 families donated to the cause and our garage, driveway and patio overflowed with treasures.  Thank you to everyone who donated their wares.  Thank you to Candi who helped me haul everything out of the house.  Thank you to my mom and sisters who helped organize the clothes and man the garage sale.  A huge thank you to Kaylynn who came over bright and early Saturday morning to run the cash table.

With your help we were able to raise over $1700 for There Is Hope Scholarship laptops.

Malawi Vision Trip 2012

Meeting with leaders of the Umoja Group (disabled refugees)

 

We were able to meet some of the scholarship students

Pastor Joshua and his wife

Lunch with Pastor Joshua inside his home