Author: Adventures

Leaving Zomba, Malawi was one of the most emotional moments of my life. Leaving a place where so many new relationships had been made, where our team became a family and where I finally gained freedom. My heart broke. I prayed for joy and peace as we got on our first bus ride from Zomba to Malawi.  On that six hour bus ride, crammed in the back seat between Lo and Bri and I began to realize that there was no point to be sadness.  I should feel joy. Joy that I was blessed enough to encounter everyone I met.  Joy that I am in Africa, and joy that our adventure is not even close...

I have officially moved on from Malawi, and now call Tanzania my home. The first thing I noticed while trekking (a total of 36 hours on an African bus) through Tanzania were the sunflowers… amidst fields of corn or beside a mud shack.             These sunflowers demanded attention from every eye that passed. These bold statements yelled that, “this place matters!” or “see this beauty I portray”. The undeniable shock I felt in seeing not one, but many and many randomly placed sunflowers lingered in my mind...

“You heard my voice say GO and you ANSWERED. Now I say BE STILL and you are still trying to ANSWER.”   This was a very bold statement that I received from God recently. It’s true. He called me to Africa and I responded by going to Africa. Now that I’m in Africa, He wants me to be still in His Presence.   I spent time in His Word this morning reading Matthew Chapter 14. Verse 30 tells us of Peter walking on the water, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”   It’s so easy to...

Today as my team is packing up and getting ready to travel 26 hours to Tanzania, there is a sorrow that covers my heart. Though we are about to embark on a new adventure that God has planned for us, leaving Zomba, Malawi hurts me.   Pastor Gama and Mama Rose will hold a place in my heart forever, as well as their grandchildren, Dan(6) &Emanuel(9). The memories of playing UNO for hours, discovering that we were eating pigeon, becoming close and personal with the squatty(the toilet), walking to the market and having children attack you with thumbs ups, hugs, and high-fives, and...

  After saying our goodbyes to all of our new friends in Zomba, Malawi and cramming into a van for 6 hours (theres no such this as personal space when you are traveling in Africa) I can finally say that I am currently back in Lilongwe, Malawi! As we all enjoy the wifi and pool, it's a bit hard to stomach the fact that I will not be seeing my Malawian friends for a very long time, if ever. I have developed so many new friendships and relationships during our 3 week stay, so the past couple of days have been hard. The last Sunday at Pastor Gama's church, last game of UNO...

If only God gave “spiritual progress” report cards. An ‘A’ in discipleship, ‘B-‘ in prayer, ‘C’ in forgiveness… and so on. We would know how and where to improve to truly please God.  We would get those butterflies felt every marking period in anticipation of those ever so daunting, centimeter high, black inked letters that can make or break you. Such small representations of mounds of work, hours studying and nails bitten to the skin in worry.        If only God gave report cards. We would compare and...