WE MAY BE HOME IN CALIFORNIA, BUT WE HAVE LEFT OUR HEARTS IN MALAWI :)

We left our other Home (Malawi) in the Warm Heart of Africa 2 days ago and have finally arrived back Home (California) in the Bay Area again :)  Praise God for our returning safely after a very long journey !!

What a great Welcome we received from Parents and Family when we emerged from Immigration & Customs at SFO - posters, a cheer and hugs all around - THANK YOU for your love, support, encouragement and prayers throughout the trip !!!!

We used our long layover in London to do a quick trip on the tube into the city where we walked and viewed the sights for a couple of hours - Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards, Downing Street, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Thames, London Eye, St. James Park, and Buckingham Palace.

As we go back to our Silicon Valley lives, we will never forget our time in Malawi, the Warm Heart of Africa, or the Precious Kids of Malawi Children's Mission :)

"Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands." Deuteronomy 7:9 (NLT)

Lord God, THANK YOU for your love and faithfulness !!   We pray that you will find us faithful !!
May God keep what we have seen, experienced and learned at the forefront of our hearts and minds ...

Tionana

Last two days at MCM

Monday:

Our second to last day started with about half the group experiencing a Malawi taxi ride (on the back of a bike) down the dirt road to MCM.  It was a highlight and the locals found it quite amusing when a group of "azungus" (white people) rode past!

We spent the morning tutoring students English (which is not an easy feat) and the preschoolers made paper plate faces which they loved displaying for all to see.

Then it was balloon time.  Our students were kept very busy pumping balloons and creating all sorts of shapes and "headgear" for the kids.  There were lots of pops and even more laughs.  We had all sorts of little toys which were brought out, and of course face painting which turned into full arm and nail painting as well.

After lunch we enjoyed watching the MCM kids dance and sing and then Miss Doyle spoke to the large group about Peter's 3-time denial of Jesus and Jesus calling him back 3 times with the great reminder that we have a God who forgives us and shows us such love and mercy.  Her recital of John 3:16 in Chichewa brought many smiles and a big round of applause.

Teacher training followed where we had the opportunity to share some very basic skills with the teachers regarding classroom behaviour and teaching reading and math.

The day ended with a great time of worship and some deep sharing which was very special.


Tuesday:

Our last day began once again with bicycle taxis for those who had not yet had a turn.  There was quite a fight amongst the local bicycle taxi owners as to who would be delivering their service!

Our last morning was spent tutoring math and teaching pre-school, loving on kids and of course the all-important final soccer game drew a number of spectators!

The goodbye program was filled with bible verse recitals, songs, and dances.  Ben and Emilio learned a couple of local moves which had everyone in hysterics.  We sang a song in Chichewa which apparently really impressed our MCM kids (even though there were only 3 chichewa words repeated many times).  We ended by giving out some simple gifts which included a pencil, candy, soap or vaseline, and a beanie baby or necklace/bracelet.

We finally ended by having the kids escort us down the road to meet our bus at the junction.  This has become a ritual where we just enjoy walking hand in hand with the kids and treasuring last minutes.

We have had an amazing, wonderful time and will definitely be leaving a part of our heart here in the Warm Heart of Africa with these amazing, joyful and resilient people, who are so loved by God.
See you all soon.  We love you, our Supporters:)

Now for the LOOOOONG journey home ...

Easter Weekend

Hello Family and Friends,

We can't believe how quickly time has flown with only two full days left before we leave the Warm Heart of Africa.  Friday was a great day as we broke with tutoring and had a crazy sports day.  All sorts of games were organized and all of our students were actively involved in heading it up.

After lunch the older MCM Teenagers sang and danced for us and then we presented the story of Jesus' death (Auntie Karen spoke with our Team doing mime to illustrate the story) and then broke the kids up into groups and went over the story again using the Resurrection Eggs.

The day ended with us meeting some Malawian college and high school students for worship.  It truly was a great week!

Saturday brought a welcome break.  After changing money to the Malawian Kwacha via Avisha, we visited the market where students stocked up on souvenirs and local fabrics.

Then, we headed off to the home of our hosts (Ken and Avisha Mpemba) where we enjoyed an African BBQ and yummy dessert and cooling off in their pool.  We then went to Game Haven where we were able to relax and enjoy the most stunning setting and also go on a game drive where we saw zebra up close, giraffe, eland, kudu, sable and impala.  It truly was wonderful experiencing the glory of God's creation.

Today we celebrated Easter.  We had an uplifting Easter service followed by KFC and then a very intense afternoon in the hospital visiting the oncology wards and the adult women's ward.   Last week's visit had greater shock value; whereas this visit was hard in terms of really connecting with some very sick people, knowing they may never leave the hospital as treatment is largely unaffordable and unavailable for them.  (There is only one oncologist in the country!) It was a great privilege to pray for and encourage these dear ones, many of whom are so alone.

Tomorrow it's back to MCM to tutor and play with kids.  We are so looking forward to a great day!

Here are some more photos from our MCM days ...