TIA....This is Africa

So.... the internet has been terrible here the past few days and I am FINALLY able to get a connection. I'm telling you, I appreciate the wonderful reliability of the United States more and more everyday! Yesterday afternoon the rest of our team arrived safely and me, Keltner, and Denise (her cousin, I'm not sure if I've already said this....) went to pick them up. The bummer (**prayer request**) is that 6 bags are missing and are apparently in transit to Malawi. Two girls are without bags completely (SUCH a bummer) and two are without one bag each. We are hoping that they would arrive today but no such luck so be praying for tomorrow. I know that they are totally frustrated, which I would be too! We are praying that Satan doesn't allow their frustrations to be a distraction. Side note.... I'm sitting here in the COTN school writing this and a mouse just scurried across the floor and up the wall. Awesome. I'm telling myself it's only Ratatoullie lol.

Today was Sunday and our most relaxing day before the chaotic week. Church was amazing and probably one of the best sermons I've heard. So thought provoking. Although it was a Malawian church, it was very Americanized and similar to services at Northpoint minus the fancy stuff. Think contemporary. The pastor talked about murder and focused on Det. 5:17 and Matt. 5 (can't remember the exact verse but it was under the heading "Murder"). The take away message... "Murder is resolving conflict without God as our partner. Resolving any conflict without God is murder." I'm telling you it blew my mind because I had never thought about murder in that context. I wish his sermon was online so others who weren't there could hear... it was unbelievable. And so ironic because he also incorporated his interpretation about our abilities to handle anger and injustices committed against us... God was speaking to my heart. I'm looking forward to reflecting on this and exploring these ideas further. Rain check on this.

After church and lunch, we all piled into the minibus and headed to the crisis nursery, an organization that nurses malnourished babies back to health; these babies range from newborns to three years old. Playing, interacting, and just loving on these kids was uplifting as well as heartbreaking. It was such an honor to be able to share the love of Christ directly to them through physical touch, however, it was disconcerning as well to know that a majority of these babies were very sick and without family. The baby I held while I was there just wanted to be cuddled. I could tell because anytime that he was not stuck to my chest, he would start fussing and crying; the second I put him close to me, he stopped. It's crazy to know that there are millions of children around the world just like him. Sadly, he is not the exception.

A touching moment for me today happened with a girl named Yolanda. She is a COTN child from Chiwengo that is now up at Njewa attending secondary school aka high school. Walking up the path, she greeted me with a big hug and a smile. We chatted briefly about how her day was and then she said to me, "Auntie, we miss you! Will you be here more?" The past few days have been a whirlwind for me... up to Chiwengo and back, running around doing errands before the rest of our team arrived, spending time with the widows in a nearby village, etc. I've hardly had much time at Njewa. When she said that to me, my heart melted! I reassured here I would be around more this week and we would spend some quality time together. I am so fortunate to be able to spend more of my time with the older girls and boys of Chiwengo that are now at Njewa for school and look forward to see how our relationships develop even further. It felt good to know that they noticed my absence and missed me! My heart deepens for these kids daily.

Alright time for bed... my eye lids feel like they weigh 20 lbs and it's only 10 PM. Such is Africa :)

Much love!!