Wow! A lot has happened since my last post! Where to begin??...hmmm…
My Work:
I have joined the Education Department Team here with JTW and will be working alongside Ulemu and Timothy. Ulemu is stationed in Kasungu so I spend majority of my time working with Timothy in Dzuwa. Last Tuesday we had a department meeting to help explain what my work is going to look like and what my responsibilities will be. Timothy and I are working on 4 different projects for which we are responsible for planning out the budget, finding funding so they can run, and writing monthly reports.
1. The School Feeding Program- Here in the local school JTW provides the kids with a meal of porridge everyday. This is a huge incentive for kids to come to school especially during the hungry months when there is little to no food at home. With this program we are responsible for scheduling and tracking down the women who will cook everyday. There 15 surrounding villages that feed into the Dzuwa School, so the women of each village take turns cooking each day. (side note: In all of the programs we try to keep the local people as involved as possible so that we are not just giving handouts but that the people are learning to work and help provide for themselves and their kids) We also collect all of the supplies to make the porridge (sugar, salt, maize, soybeans, pots) and distribute them to the women every morning. Then at school everyday we help supervise the cooking, making sure the women are there, and then line all the kids up according to their grade to distribute the porridge in a somewhat orderly fashion (stress on the somewhat b/c the kids get very aggressive when it comes to food!!!).
2. The Cultivation Program- The cultivation program is what helps to supply the maize and soybeans for the feeding program. Again to help keep the community involved we ask the local village chiefs to donate land to JTW where maize and soybean can be planted and harvested. JTW provides the seeds, fertilizer, and supplies necessary for harvesting while the villages provide the workers. This program involves lots of long meetings face-to-face with the chiefs from the surrounding villages, purchasing and keeping track of supplies, and monitoring the fields to make sure the work is actually being done.
3. Feeding Shelter Construction- Right now at the school the women are cooking in a makeshift shelter made from grasses and sticks. We are hoping to have a more permanent shelter built for them to cook in within the next couple weeks but maybe more realistically by the end of this term. Each of the 15 villages will donate bricks that they have made while JTW will provide the tin roof. Right now we are just waiting on bricks from 2/15 villages.
4. The School Sponsorship Program- This year we are hoping to start a sponsorship program to fund kids attending secondary school. In Malawi primary school (elementary and middle school) is free but after that you have to pay for school. We are hoping to put together a program that will match up kids graduating from Dzuwa School and some already in secondary school who are struggling to pay the fees (and maybe other schools in the future eventually) who want and are smart enough to attend secondary school with individuals who would be willing to pay for their secondary education. This job entails gathering a list of the top students from the teacher, putting together an exam that the students would take to rank them, collecting budget information for the costs of secondary school, and finding sponsors for the kids.
On top of these 4 projects I also have two other jobs…
1. Teaching- I was originally supposed to be just helping teach the standard 1 (kindergarten) class every morning but it now looks like I will be teaching the class by myself (with some translation help from Timothy). Yikes! School started this past Monday so I have finished up my first week of classes and things are going ok. The beginning of the week was awful because everything was soooo crazy but I am starting to get used to it. Although school is supposed to start at 7:30 there really isn’t any set schedule because of “Malawi time” (I will talk more about this later) so it is very frustrating! Class ends though at around 930 when my kids get porridge. I am just going mostly by whatever works at the time. I am though trying to establish a generalized set schedule in my class for the kids to get used to. So far we have worked on the letters ABC, some names of body parts, the numbers 123, had some relay races that were hilarious to watch b/c they didn’t understand, and sang some songs. Class is very interesting because I don’t speak Chichewa, which is all they understand. Timothy has been a big help in being there to help translate and keep kids in order while I am trying to teach in English and the few broken Chichewa phrases I know that relate to school. Oh my! It will be interesting to see how this goes throughout this first term. Oh yeah forgot to mention the numbers! Right now we have 190 kids registered for my class!!!!! Not all of them show up though so on any given day we have maybe 50-60 kids. WOW!!! It a ton of kids to try to teach!!!
2. After School Sports- On Tuesdays and Thursdays Timothy and I run the after school sports program. We start off teaching a bible lesson and then break up the kids to play soccer, volleyball (Tuesdays), and netball (Thursdays). The first day was so interesting b/c as of right now we only have one volleyball (I am hoping to buy more in the city whenever I get the chance to go there next) and no soccer ball. So the first day we had maybe 200 kids show up, standards 4-8. Obviously all of them could play volleyball so we just limited to standards 7-8 which was still about 50 kids! So 50 kids for 1 volleyball!!!! Oh my it was soooo hilarious! So I taught them the basics of the sport and then went into passing. The kids were not that great and after a while many of them got sick of having to wait so long to pass one ball that they left. I ended up working really with a core group of maybe 20 girls with all of the other littler kids who weren’t allowed to play crowded around us. So we were playing in a tiny circle b/c the kids have no concept of personal space and staying back. Very interesting. We’ll see if any of them want to continue to learn volleyball next week. Netball on Thursday went well although it was so hot b/c we play from 12-1:30pm! Right now temps are around 80 (yay for my alarm clock with a thermometer!) in my room so maybe high 80s low 90s in the sun??? I am guessing?
Wow…ok that was a lot…thanks for hanging in if you are still reading! After my initial meeting briefing me on all of these projects I was very overwhelmed but it hasn’t turned out to be too bad yet.
Big Frustrations Right Now:
1. Time aka. “Malawian Time” - Time here is not like US time. Things happen when they happen and it is never on schedule. My first time here I adjusted pretty ok to it b/c it didn’t really matter when things happened but now that I am actually working I am having a VERY hard time with it! Fist off I am a very scheduled person in general. I love knowing when things are going to happen so I can prepare for them and like keeping a schedule and staying on time. This never happens here! Things are always being sprung on you and no one ever shows up on time. A couple stories…for our first meeting with the chiefs about the cultivation program the meeting was supposed to start at 8:30 am. We were supposed to leave our house at 8am “sharp”! ha So I was ready to go at like 7:45. We didn’t end up leaving until 8:25. We got to the meeting a little after 8:30 and no one was there. We waited for maybe 30-45 min and then went to the head teachers house to see if anyone had showed up. He said no. Then we walked to one of the surrounding villages to find one of the men on the feeding committee. He said that everyone had been in the fields working but that they were on their way back now for the meeting. So we waited there for a little and then walked back into Dzuwa to wait for everyone. As it ended up the main chief we were waiting for never came and the meeting didn’t start until…get this…12:15pm!!!!!!! Almost 4 hours late!!! And then the meeting went until 2:35 all in Chichewa!...such a long and frustrating morning. Another story…our second meeting with the chiefs. We were meeting just so the chiefs could tell us yes or no as to whether they were going to give us land to cultivate. The meeting started an hour late. We presented the chiefs with all of the information they needed within the first 10 minutes of the meeting so all they had to do was say yes or no. Well Malawians are not very concise or efficient so it took them 2.5 hours to say yes they will give us land! Ahh! Finally I think it is dumb that even though all the village women have feeding schedules we still have to walk to each village the day before to tell them that they are cooking b/c we do not know if they will show up. If you have a schedule you should follow it! (although I do like walking around and seeing all the different places)
2. School- The teachers are not very driven. There is no time schedule and some teachers do not even show up to teach! It makes me very sad and frustrated because these kids need to learn!
Overall I am feeling more settled in and used to things here, although it is still SOOOOO hard for me to imagine I am going to be here for a year! There are times when I am still wondering if my presence here is making any impact and God has graciously given me a couple indications that it is...many of the women who cook for the feeding program have made comments to Timothy that they are so grateful that I am here and feel so lucky to have me...so that is an encouragement. My Chichewa vocabulary is slowly improving but I am still completely lost in most conversations. Something funny…I have watched my first couple episodes of “24” (shout out to Goose and all my other friends who love that show)! Gloria and Elliot (the family I am staying with) love the show and have some of the seasons on their computer. They convinced me the other night that I HAD to see it so we watched it! So funny to think that I am seeing it for the first time in Malawi! So far I really like the show! Haha Although it contributes to my reality confusion…let me explain. So every night when I go to bed I dream of life in the USA so it is sometimes very hard to wake up and be in Malawi. Sometimes I just want to stay in America. Same with watching “24”…when I am watching the show I forget that I am in Malawi. Hopefully both of these will get easier as I am here longer. My favorite time of the entire day by far is a night when I get to cook with Gloria, look at all the beautiful stars, and then hang out with her and Elliot after dinner. So far I have seen 2 shooting stars (shout out to Grammie).
Hope this all made sense I have been adding to it bit by bit throughout this past week
Prayer Requests:
-continued adjustment to life here
-for my family and friends back home (I really miss them!)
-for my programs and schoolwork
-for health here...a few of my fellow teammates have come down with malaria and are trying to get on the road to recovery...I have been pretty healthy so far...I am just getting over a small cold though
Huge Blessing and Great Surprise: I got to eat an apple and orange here today as I am spending time in Kasungu a little bigger city!!!!! YUM!!! I MISS FRESH FRUITS AND VEGIES SOOOOO MUCH!!!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Long post from Monday
Monday August 30th 2010
Hello All!
I am writing this post while sitting on the floor of my room in Dzuwa and will save it to my flash drive to put up when I get a chance. Hopefully I will post it tomorrow (Tuesday) as I will be going to Kasungu for a meeting with another JTW staffer about the children’s feeding program. I am a little nervous about that meeting, as I am not sure what responsibilities I will be given. Today will be my 4th full day here in Malawi. I feel like I have been here much longer. Actually sometimes it feels as if I never left. Things are going pretty well. It has been so great getting to pick up where things left off with Gloria and Elliot (my hosts) and Gift and Esna (the family who just moved to Dzuwa who I stayed with last time). Tacondwe and Tawina, Gift and Esna’s kids, have finally remembered me after looking at some of the pictures I sent to them last year. It is so fun b/c wherever I go Tacondwe is always calling “Stephie, Stephie” and then talking away in Chichewa b/c he wants to talk to me or take me to play but so far I have no idea what he is saying most of the time. Hopefully that will change soon. I have had a blast playing with the kids here. Who would have thought?! Haha (that is a joke for all who don’t know me super well…I LOVE playing with kids!)
Oooo ok funny story (p.s. this is going to be a really random post b/c I am just typing when I remember something its not necessarily in order)…on the day I arrived after getting everything I needed in the market we stopped to put diesel gas in the truck before we left. However the first gas station we stopped at was out of diesel! As was the next one and the next one!!! So we drove around for about an hour stopping at 7 different gas stations all of which were out of diesel!!! Crazy! I was beginning to think we were going to have to sleep in Lilongwe for the night. Finally the 8th gas station had diesel BUT its power was out so you couldn’t pump it!!! Ha! And their generator was out of battery so they couldn’t even turn that on. Finally a man took the battery out of his car to put in the generator so that everyone there could pump gas. By that time basically the entire city was there trying to get gas as it was the only one that had diesel so there was a huge line to wait in but by 6:30pm we were gassed up and ready to leave for Dzuwa (some 2.5 hours later than we were ready).
I have also already had the chance to attend a Malawian wedding reception! This past Saturday afternoon I walked with Gloria and her niece down the road through the village to the wedding reception. It was a very interesting experience. When I first arrived Gloria went off to find someone and told me to wait in a certain spot. While I was waiting the entire village, who was at the reception, just stood there staring at me and the little kids surrounded me in a circle!!! Definitely the hardest thing I have experienced so far. Although I knew from my last trip that everyone always stares at the Azungus (white faced people) I was not prepared to be left alone to have an entire village stare at me and me not be able to do anything about it. I just wanted to be able to talk to them to tell them “listen I am exactly the same as you! I have hair, eyes, a nose, a mouth, and a beating heart just like you! My skin is just a different color!” but of course I am not fluent in Chichewa yet so I couldn’t. I tried to go around and greet some of them to show them I am human but it didn’t really break the ice much. It took all of my strength not to burst into tears!! The rest of the wedding was pretty fun, lots of dancing and singing. It was interesting to compare different traditions. For example the groom wore sunglasses the entire time, and both the bride and groom did not smile the entire time!!! I couldn’t believe it! I think they were not supposed to smile to show that this was a serious commitment they were making. I don’t know. Gloria said that this isn’t the way it is in all villages just in Dzuwa.
Church. Church on Sunday was also very fun. I couldn’t understand any of it but it was cool to see the people of Dzuwa worshipping our God in such a different way and language. Very sweet! Hopefully before next Sunday I will be able to learn some of their prayers and songs in Chichewa!
I have been working hard to learn Chichewa and have made some progress. Not a ton of progress but some. I have to keep reminding myself that it is only my 4th day here. I think I sometimes have really unrealistic expectations for myself about how I should be picking up the language much faster. Both at the wedding and at church one of the things that struck me the most while I was sitting there listening to only Chichewa being spoken for 3+ hours was…how in the world do people who move into remote villages to learn the language to write it down for the people (like Wycliff) do it???!!!! How do they ever manage to learn the language without anyone there to be a go-between??? I am so puzzled!! I am praying that God really helps me to pick it up fast.
Some things that I have learned so far…
Nyumba- house
Mkhukhu- chicken
Ndi kutenga madzi- I am going to get water
Impela- ball
Ndi kuona- I see …
And some other phrases…stay tuned for more
Last night for dinner I got to make grilled chicken!!!! Which was such a great treat that reminded me of home. I explained how we always grill everything at home (shout out to dad and uncle van!). I am still trying to adjust to the time here and get acclimated to everything. Hopefully when I find out more about my job I will be able to get into more of a routine.
One thing I am really excited about is that on Sunday nights our JTW team meets for devotions together and on Wednesday nights we have bible study. Devotions last night was great! Gift lead it and we looked at 2 Cor 9:1-7 and how it relates to our name Joy to the World and what it looks like to take joy to the world. We also sang lots of songs and I even got to lead a couple of the ones I learned last time. We also went over some of the business stuff. It was really cool to get my first glimpse into the inside workings of our ministry.
Ok I think that is it for now…sorry it is so scattered!
Happy Birthday MOM!!!
Tsalani bwino
Steph
p.s. They have solar panels here to power their electronics some of the time!!! So I am charging my computer right now from solar panels!!! Yay!!!!
Some things I have learned about Malawian culture…
-they like to throw their playing cards down when playing a card
-they like to walk very slow
Prayer Requests
-That I would continue to adjust to the time and general life here
-That my meeting on Tuesday would go well and that I would have a better understanding of my role here and that it wouldn’t be overwhelming.
-For family and friends at home
-That I would pick up Chichewa fast and would be patient with myself.
Hello All!
I am writing this post while sitting on the floor of my room in Dzuwa and will save it to my flash drive to put up when I get a chance. Hopefully I will post it tomorrow (Tuesday) as I will be going to Kasungu for a meeting with another JTW staffer about the children’s feeding program. I am a little nervous about that meeting, as I am not sure what responsibilities I will be given. Today will be my 4th full day here in Malawi. I feel like I have been here much longer. Actually sometimes it feels as if I never left. Things are going pretty well. It has been so great getting to pick up where things left off with Gloria and Elliot (my hosts) and Gift and Esna (the family who just moved to Dzuwa who I stayed with last time). Tacondwe and Tawina, Gift and Esna’s kids, have finally remembered me after looking at some of the pictures I sent to them last year. It is so fun b/c wherever I go Tacondwe is always calling “Stephie, Stephie” and then talking away in Chichewa b/c he wants to talk to me or take me to play but so far I have no idea what he is saying most of the time. Hopefully that will change soon. I have had a blast playing with the kids here. Who would have thought?! Haha (that is a joke for all who don’t know me super well…I LOVE playing with kids!)
Oooo ok funny story (p.s. this is going to be a really random post b/c I am just typing when I remember something its not necessarily in order)…on the day I arrived after getting everything I needed in the market we stopped to put diesel gas in the truck before we left. However the first gas station we stopped at was out of diesel! As was the next one and the next one!!! So we drove around for about an hour stopping at 7 different gas stations all of which were out of diesel!!! Crazy! I was beginning to think we were going to have to sleep in Lilongwe for the night. Finally the 8th gas station had diesel BUT its power was out so you couldn’t pump it!!! Ha! And their generator was out of battery so they couldn’t even turn that on. Finally a man took the battery out of his car to put in the generator so that everyone there could pump gas. By that time basically the entire city was there trying to get gas as it was the only one that had diesel so there was a huge line to wait in but by 6:30pm we were gassed up and ready to leave for Dzuwa (some 2.5 hours later than we were ready).
I have also already had the chance to attend a Malawian wedding reception! This past Saturday afternoon I walked with Gloria and her niece down the road through the village to the wedding reception. It was a very interesting experience. When I first arrived Gloria went off to find someone and told me to wait in a certain spot. While I was waiting the entire village, who was at the reception, just stood there staring at me and the little kids surrounded me in a circle!!! Definitely the hardest thing I have experienced so far. Although I knew from my last trip that everyone always stares at the Azungus (white faced people) I was not prepared to be left alone to have an entire village stare at me and me not be able to do anything about it. I just wanted to be able to talk to them to tell them “listen I am exactly the same as you! I have hair, eyes, a nose, a mouth, and a beating heart just like you! My skin is just a different color!” but of course I am not fluent in Chichewa yet so I couldn’t. I tried to go around and greet some of them to show them I am human but it didn’t really break the ice much. It took all of my strength not to burst into tears!! The rest of the wedding was pretty fun, lots of dancing and singing. It was interesting to compare different traditions. For example the groom wore sunglasses the entire time, and both the bride and groom did not smile the entire time!!! I couldn’t believe it! I think they were not supposed to smile to show that this was a serious commitment they were making. I don’t know. Gloria said that this isn’t the way it is in all villages just in Dzuwa.
Church. Church on Sunday was also very fun. I couldn’t understand any of it but it was cool to see the people of Dzuwa worshipping our God in such a different way and language. Very sweet! Hopefully before next Sunday I will be able to learn some of their prayers and songs in Chichewa!
I have been working hard to learn Chichewa and have made some progress. Not a ton of progress but some. I have to keep reminding myself that it is only my 4th day here. I think I sometimes have really unrealistic expectations for myself about how I should be picking up the language much faster. Both at the wedding and at church one of the things that struck me the most while I was sitting there listening to only Chichewa being spoken for 3+ hours was…how in the world do people who move into remote villages to learn the language to write it down for the people (like Wycliff) do it???!!!! How do they ever manage to learn the language without anyone there to be a go-between??? I am so puzzled!! I am praying that God really helps me to pick it up fast.
Some things that I have learned so far…
Nyumba- house
Mkhukhu- chicken
Ndi kutenga madzi- I am going to get water
Impela- ball
Ndi kuona- I see …
And some other phrases…stay tuned for more
Last night for dinner I got to make grilled chicken!!!! Which was such a great treat that reminded me of home. I explained how we always grill everything at home (shout out to dad and uncle van!). I am still trying to adjust to the time here and get acclimated to everything. Hopefully when I find out more about my job I will be able to get into more of a routine.
One thing I am really excited about is that on Sunday nights our JTW team meets for devotions together and on Wednesday nights we have bible study. Devotions last night was great! Gift lead it and we looked at 2 Cor 9:1-7 and how it relates to our name Joy to the World and what it looks like to take joy to the world. We also sang lots of songs and I even got to lead a couple of the ones I learned last time. We also went over some of the business stuff. It was really cool to get my first glimpse into the inside workings of our ministry.
Ok I think that is it for now…sorry it is so scattered!
Happy Birthday MOM!!!
Tsalani bwino
Steph
p.s. They have solar panels here to power their electronics some of the time!!! So I am charging my computer right now from solar panels!!! Yay!!!!
Some things I have learned about Malawian culture…
-they like to throw their playing cards down when playing a card
-they like to walk very slow
Prayer Requests
-That I would continue to adjust to the time and general life here
-That my meeting on Tuesday would go well and that I would have a better understanding of my role here and that it wouldn’t be overwhelming.
-For family and friends at home
-That I would pick up Chichewa fast and would be patient with myself.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I MADE IT!!!
Well I made it!! I didn't manage to get a post out before I left the country
b/c things got too hectic. But I left at 3:25pm on Tuesday from Pittsburgh and I arrived today Thursday at 12:30pm! Long flights but overall good. Just posting a quick hi to say I made it (as did all my luggage! yay) before heading out to the market to buy some necessities before heading to Dzuwa. So all is well and I am excited to be here. Please be praying for my acclimation.
Tsalini Bwino!
Steph
b/c things got too hectic. But I left at 3:25pm on Tuesday from Pittsburgh and I arrived today Thursday at 12:30pm! Long flights but overall good. Just posting a quick hi to say I made it (as did all my luggage! yay) before heading out to the market to buy some necessities before heading to Dzuwa. So all is well and I am excited to be here. Please be praying for my acclimation.
Tsalini Bwino!
Steph
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Packing Packing Packing
10 Days until Departure!!!
Well I am about 95% packed! I have been working so hard these past 2 weeks to get everything organized and packed while my sister was gone and I could take over the entire room (see picture below!). All I have left to do now is to throw in a couple last minute things and pack my carry on bag! Wow! I have also finished up all 15 of my lessons for my Perspectives class! I finished my last one today and it feels great to be done! I am excited to keep processing what I am learning during the classroom part which starts tomorrow night and ends on Saturday.
The fact that I am leaving in about a week is definitely starting to become more real! I continue to get more and more excited about what God has in store for me in Malawi...anticipating meeting up with all of the staff, thinking about the various projects I might be working on, and dreaming about the relationships I am going to build with the people and kids of the village. I am also starting to get a little nervous and sad about leaving home and my family for so long. I am really praying that God will help smooth out this transition and make things semi-easy. Also that He will continue to remind me that I am not alone in this journey and that He will be right there with me through the whole thing!
I will try to post one more time before I leave so stay tuned...
Prayer Requests:
-That all last minute details would go smoothly and I would get everything in place that I need to before I leave
-For my Perspectives class this week- that I would absorb lots of what the speakers have to say and would continue to digest what I am learning
-For my anxiousness/nervousness- that God would calm my heart and reassure me of His presence
-For good quality time with the family
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support throughout this process!!!
Tsalani Bwino!
Steph
Well I am about 95% packed! I have been working so hard these past 2 weeks to get everything organized and packed while my sister was gone and I could take over the entire room (see picture below!). All I have left to do now is to throw in a couple last minute things and pack my carry on bag! Wow! I have also finished up all 15 of my lessons for my Perspectives class! I finished my last one today and it feels great to be done! I am excited to keep processing what I am learning during the classroom part which starts tomorrow night and ends on Saturday.
The fact that I am leaving in about a week is definitely starting to become more real! I continue to get more and more excited about what God has in store for me in Malawi...anticipating meeting up with all of the staff, thinking about the various projects I might be working on, and dreaming about the relationships I am going to build with the people and kids of the village. I am also starting to get a little nervous and sad about leaving home and my family for so long. I am really praying that God will help smooth out this transition and make things semi-easy. Also that He will continue to remind me that I am not alone in this journey and that He will be right there with me through the whole thing!
I will try to post one more time before I leave so stay tuned...
Prayer Requests:
-That all last minute details would go smoothly and I would get everything in place that I need to before I leave
-For my Perspectives class this week- that I would absorb lots of what the speakers have to say and would continue to digest what I am learning
-For my anxiousness/nervousness- that God would calm my heart and reassure me of His presence
-For good quality time with the family
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support throughout this process!!!
Tsalani Bwino!
Steph
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| Me taking over the room laying all my stuff out (in neat organized piles of course!) |
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| The pile of clothes I fit into one large space bag! These things are great! |
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| Amazed that I fit all of that in one bag that compacted so well! |
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Count Down Begins!
23 Days until Departure!
Well it is August 1st and I am back in Pittsburgh heading into the home stretch before I depart for Malawi Aug. 24th. I just returned from the New Wilmington Mission Conference where I was a high school counselor. The week was great and I really enjoyed getting to know and work with my girls! Highlights included: listening to some great speakers talk about missions and how God is moving in the world, hearing about Summer Service 2010 Egypt, playing volleyball, running with my cousin, getting to talk to lots of people about Joy to the World Ministries and my trip, spending time with missionaries who served in Malawi in previous years and who were able to give me some great advice and encouragement, doing a dance with my girls in the HS talent show, and getting to catch up with some of my Summer Service 2008 Malawi teammates! Sooooo Fun!!!! :-) Although I am a little sad conference is over I am very ready to begin preparations!
These next 3 weeks are going to be crazy busy and fly by so fast! Within these next 2 weeks I hope to get everything packed and to finish up all of my homework for my Perspectives class. Right now I have nothing set out or ready to pack I only have the beginning of a packing list. In terms of my Perspectives class I am on lesson 5 out of 15. I hope to have all 15 lessons done before the class starts Aug. 15th. Yikes! The class (Perspectives on the World Christian Movement...check it out if you haven't heard of it! www.perspectives.org) lasts through the 21st so I will only have a few days after before I leave.
Support Update:
Well as you may have noticed it is August 1st! The day that I had hoped to have all of my support in by! So whats the latest?! As of July 21st I was at 28%. I am not gonna lie this made me a bit nervous considering I was leaving for NWMC for 1 week...the last week in fact before my Aug. 1st deadline! So I was basically out of contact for the entire week unable to have any control over the situation at all! Not able to be proactive contacting anyone or checking on the status of my support. Very nerve-racking! I was talking to one of my friends on the phone before I left and she said to me "Yeah I know that will be very scary but what if God just takes care of it all for you and you come back to 100% support". I chuckled and admitted that yeah that would be pretty sweet but didn't really think twice about it because it seemed impossible. I fought those thoughts (that it was impossible for God to raise all of that support) all week! On numerous occasions during conversations about my trip people would ask me where I was at in my support raising and when I would tell them 28% and that I want to have it all in by the end of the week some would just laugh and say "well I guess that isn't happening". Part of me agreed with them thinking that yes it was not going to happen but I fought really hard not to believe that lie and not to limit God! I kept praying that God would do the impossible and show me how powerful He really is! By July 25th I had jumped to 43%. I was amazed! I couldn't believe that God had provided that much just in a few days! Well the week continued as expected with me not being able to check on anything. I arrived home yesterday afternoon. Today I sat down to try to figure the situation out and was completely surprised. I had received some notifications from various people about contributions AND...(*drum roll please*)...I am at 100% of my initial $8,000 goal!!!! WHAT?!?!!!! GOD THAT IS TOTALLY RIDICULOUS!!!! Now I still have to wait for a few of them to actually officially go through but still! WOW!!! God did it!!!!! Are you kidding me?!!! I am speechless!!!
It has been so crazy to see how God has been answering my prayers recently, especially within this last week at NWMC and through my Malawi stuff. I don't know why I am so surprised everytime He does answer my prayers because He promises that He will ("If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" Matthew 21:22) but anyway I am continuing to learn and grow so much through this process! Oh Boy!
Now all of that being said since the time I sent out my initial estimate of $8,000 a few additional expenses have popped up (like additional money for housing rent) so if you have just sent a donation or still want to help support my trip any additional money received will help cover these extra expenses. Also I have been notified by JTW of their need for a specific type of ink cartridge for the printers in their internet cafe in Kasungu. I will be trying to round up a bunch of cartridges that people would be willing to donate to take over with me. If this sounds like something that you would like to help with shoot me an email and I will give you more specifics (stephanie.smith1168@gmail.com).
Thanks again to all of you for helping to make this trip possible both financially and through prayer!!! I am so so soooooo grateful for your support!!!
Tsalani Bwino
Steph
Prayer Requests:
-Packing: that I would be efficient and creative in packing and that I wouldn't forget anything
-Perspectives: that God would help me move faster through the lessons while still absorbing all of the information and that I would complete all of the lessons before Aug. 15th
-For my Dad and sisters who will be in Malawi Aug. 2-14 on a mission trip with my church working with Ministry of Hope the other ministry I worked with while on summer service (how cool!)
-That I wouldn't be anxious or stressed trying to get everything done but that I would be able to enjoy my work and really be present at home this last month
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
August 24th 2010!!!
Well I have my plane ticket!!! :-)
I officially leave August 24th! I leave Pittsburgh at 3:25pm and arrive in Lilongwe Malawi at 12:20pm August 26th! (Pittsburgh --> Chicago --> London --> Johannesbug, South Africa --> Lilongwe, Malawi) Haha :-) So 2 days worth of travel. But I LOVE to travel so I am pretty excited :-) I especially love hanging out in airports so can't wait to spend time in the Chicago, London, and Johannesburg airports! (yes I am weird)
Support Update: Since my last post I have jumped from 19% to 28%! Yay! I am hoping to be at full 100% support by August 1st. Please continue to pray with me that God would continue to provide in huge ways!!! Thank you soooooo much to everyone who has supported me so far!!
Prayer Requests:
-God's provision in providing support
-That I would continue to strive to relinquish control of the situation knowing that God is in control
-That God would continue to prepare my heart for what He has in store for me this next year
-That God would be working in the hearts of the people in Dzuwa
Thats all for now :-)
Tsalani Bwino
(stay well in Chichewa)
p.s. if you send me your email address I will add you to my mass email list for when I post something new! stephanie.smith1168@gmail.com
I officially leave August 24th! I leave Pittsburgh at 3:25pm and arrive in Lilongwe Malawi at 12:20pm August 26th! (Pittsburgh --> Chicago --> London --> Johannesbug, South Africa --> Lilongwe, Malawi) Haha :-) So 2 days worth of travel. But I LOVE to travel so I am pretty excited :-) I especially love hanging out in airports so can't wait to spend time in the Chicago, London, and Johannesburg airports! (yes I am weird)
Support Update: Since my last post I have jumped from 19% to 28%! Yay! I am hoping to be at full 100% support by August 1st. Please continue to pray with me that God would continue to provide in huge ways!!! Thank you soooooo much to everyone who has supported me so far!!
Prayer Requests:
-God's provision in providing support
-That I would continue to strive to relinquish control of the situation knowing that God is in control
-That God would continue to prepare my heart for what He has in store for me this next year
-That God would be working in the hearts of the people in Dzuwa
Thats all for now :-)
Tsalani Bwino
(stay well in Chichewa)
p.s. if you send me your email address I will add you to my mass email list for when I post something new! stephanie.smith1168@gmail.com
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Gone in the Blink of an Eye!
Wow! I cannot believe that it is already the middle of July!!! Summer here in Pittsburgh is just flying by...I have been busy here enjoying lots of family time, attending weddings & graduations, babysitting & dog sitting, traveling around working volleyball camps in PA and SC, working to complete my homework for the week-long intensive class I am taking in August at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and of course organizing details for my Malawi departure! Talk about being busy! But I am for the most part enjoying every minute of it! :-)
Malawi details are continuing to fall into place slowly but surely...
I went to the Allegheny County Health Department last week and updated all of my vaccinations. I only ended up having to get three new ones: typhoid, HepA #2, and H1N1. Yay! So minus rounding up my Malaria medicine I am all set! I have also been working on raising my support for the trip and have been completely surprised at how God is working. Going into this process I pretty much thought I knew what I was getting myself into but boy I had NO IDEA! I have been exposed to many different individuals working to raise their support, especially within these past 4 years, and have heard many different stories of how much people learn through the support raising process so I really thought I had at least a general idea of what the process was going to be like. I knew it was not going to be easy but I fully didn't understand what a step out in faith it was really going to be!!! The whole process is moving very slow and not like I expected it. On the other hand though, God has been surprising me left and right with where He has been providing money! God has introduced me to many new people through random interactions who have taken an interest in my trip and have jumped at the opportunity to support me. I am in awe!
Just in this past week alone I have learned so much about myself and more about God's character, how faithful He is, and how He really delights in providing for His people. Going into this past week I was only at about 4% of my total support. I have to book my plane ticket by July 15th and need 29% (~$2323) to do that. There is a huge difference (it feels like to me) between 4 and 30%! This big gap made me feel so anxious since it was already the beginning of July. I felt very discouraged and realized that I really wasn't trusting that God was big enough to provide all of the money I need in time. Oh wow crazy realization! After that I spent a lot of time praying about it and asked God to really prove me wrong in providing for me! The very next morning I had a meeting with a possible supporter that I was very nervous about but it went really well! That very morning I felt like God was already answering my prayer! Later on that night though after checking my email from JTW I calculated that I was no longer at 4% but was now at 11%!!!!! Wow talk about proving me wrong! Everything I experienced at the beginning of last week was one big step in me continuing to handover control of this process to God. I am still continuing to pray though that God would help me release my doubts and anxiousness to Him. Please pray this with me as well!
As of tonight there are only 2 days left before I have to book my plane ticket and I am now at 19%! Only 10% more to go!!! So please also continue to pray with me that I would make this deadline.
Thanks for hanging in there on a long post!
Grace & Peace
Steph
Malawi details are continuing to fall into place slowly but surely...
I went to the Allegheny County Health Department last week and updated all of my vaccinations. I only ended up having to get three new ones: typhoid, HepA #2, and H1N1. Yay! So minus rounding up my Malaria medicine I am all set! I have also been working on raising my support for the trip and have been completely surprised at how God is working. Going into this process I pretty much thought I knew what I was getting myself into but boy I had NO IDEA! I have been exposed to many different individuals working to raise their support, especially within these past 4 years, and have heard many different stories of how much people learn through the support raising process so I really thought I had at least a general idea of what the process was going to be like. I knew it was not going to be easy but I fully didn't understand what a step out in faith it was really going to be!!! The whole process is moving very slow and not like I expected it. On the other hand though, God has been surprising me left and right with where He has been providing money! God has introduced me to many new people through random interactions who have taken an interest in my trip and have jumped at the opportunity to support me. I am in awe!
Just in this past week alone I have learned so much about myself and more about God's character, how faithful He is, and how He really delights in providing for His people. Going into this past week I was only at about 4% of my total support. I have to book my plane ticket by July 15th and need 29% (~$2323) to do that. There is a huge difference (it feels like to me) between 4 and 30%! This big gap made me feel so anxious since it was already the beginning of July. I felt very discouraged and realized that I really wasn't trusting that God was big enough to provide all of the money I need in time. Oh wow crazy realization! After that I spent a lot of time praying about it and asked God to really prove me wrong in providing for me! The very next morning I had a meeting with a possible supporter that I was very nervous about but it went really well! That very morning I felt like God was already answering my prayer! Later on that night though after checking my email from JTW I calculated that I was no longer at 4% but was now at 11%!!!!! Wow talk about proving me wrong! Everything I experienced at the beginning of last week was one big step in me continuing to handover control of this process to God. I am still continuing to pray though that God would help me release my doubts and anxiousness to Him. Please pray this with me as well!
As of tonight there are only 2 days left before I have to book my plane ticket and I am now at 19%! Only 10% more to go!!! So please also continue to pray with me that I would make this deadline.
Thanks for hanging in there on a long post!
Grace & Peace
Steph
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