Playing Catch Up.

Wow, what a week. I don't know how I can summarize it all in a space short enough that I won't lose your attention...

We flew from Lexington to Atlanta last Friday, then Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa... 16 hour flight. We spent Saturday night in Jo'burg (as the missionaries call it) and flew from there to Lilongwe, Malawi the next day. After landing in Malawi, we drove four hours to our final destination near Mangochi, Malawi along Lake Malawi. This is was my first true cultural experience. I blogged about it a bit in the previous post.

I was fascinated by these people and their way of life; baffled that people still live so primitively.

On Monday, we hit the ground running, setting up the meeting hall, kids' meeting rooms, and registration. At noon, the missionaries and their families started arriving and our team was there to greet them. It was all a whirlwind from there.

Tuesday through Friday, from 9am -12pm and 2pm - 4pm, Chandler and I spent time with the high schoolers. We played games, hung out, and, of course, had a daily devotional. Man, those kids are amazing. Not just the high schoolers, but all of the MKs were so incredibly sweet and well-behaved. They were intelligent and mature and just fun to be around.

When we weren't hanging out with the kids, like at breakfast, lunch and dinner, we were spending time with the missionaries themselves. Incredible. What a blessing. We went on the trip hoping to encourage the missionaries and, boy, were the tables turned.

This is exactly where Chandler and I needed to be this week. We spent every meal grilling different families about how they live and what they do on the field, getting an idea of what we can expect in our future. Conversation was easy and we immediately felt a part of the Zambezi Cluster family. We miss them terribly.

Wednesday night: "bri", or bar-b-que; Thursday night: the talent show and we experienced some really great family talents; and Friday night: the MK program. The kids did a fabulous job, especially the high schoolers who performed "Always Enough" by Casting Crowns via interpretive sign language. They were particularly amazing. :)

Saturday morning we had to say good-bye as the missionaries headed back to their homes and we left for our safari.

Our safari began at Hippo View Lodge where we hopped in a boat for a boat safari which took us to Mvuu camp across the river. That evening we went on a game drive, slept in little stone cottages with screens surrounding the top half of the outside walls, so it was like camping... in style. In the wee hours of the morning, we heard monkeys on our roof and hippos outside our cottage. Amazing. We were treated to a second game drive that morning and boat safari on our way back to Hippe View. It was wonderful... minus the intense sunburn. Malawi sun is intense. Ultimately, we saw hippos, all kinds of birds, bush buck, water buck, cudu, and impala all looking like versions of our deer, an elephant, baboons, vervit monkeys, and a baby python. No zebras... no lions... no giraffes... no hyenas... BUT it was all still wonderful!

Sunday afternoon we drove back to Lilongwe, Malawi and spent the night there; then, Monday began our journey home.

There. I think I covered it all.

Continue praying. Pray for the missionaries in the Zambezi Cluster from Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, and Zambia. Pray for their ministries; they are truly saints and we are so blessed to have met them and spent time with them. Continue praying for us and our future. We learned of the top priority "jobs" in this cluster and are praying for the Lord to open and close doors in His perfect will and timing. We would absolutely love to be a part of this cluster. We felt like family from day one and have made some lasting friendships.

Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.'"