Need Prayer

Hello family and friends. I am writing in a time of weakness. If you know me I hate to show any sign of weakness. And it's ironic because I have yet to CRY on this trip to Malawi, and for those of you who know me, yes it's shocking...don't deny it. I do believe I need to cry but rather I have held it in but at the same time it doesn't come out. Confusing, yes...I know, I am sorry.
But I am struggling with feeling alone. Please do not get me wrong, all the people I am surrounded with here are wonderful and it's great to be encouraged by their passions for the Lord, but I still feel alone. I don't feel like I have anyone to go to and just talk about what's going on and I feel like the third wheel a lot with my tent-mates. They are not intentional with doing so at all, but rather it's the realities they have more similarities and know each other then I do with them.
It's just hard and I wish I could cry, because I know it always makes me feel better.
I am also struggling with understanding how I as an American, who has been blessed with so much compared to those I have been with in Malawi, and still be a Christian. How do I steward my money? Is it bad that I will get paid a decent salary at work? Wealth and being a follower of Jesus Christ has been repeatidly brought to my attention and I have NO clue what to do or not to do?
As you can tell, a lot has been on my mind and I am clueless as to how to feel or fix such perplexing questions and insecurities and fears.
I do ask for your prayers!

Love and miss you all!

Yet again another update

Hello All,
I am priviledged to have more time to blog today. We are spending time in town and I am sitting in a small room with five computers, my 2 tent-mates and good friends Cherise and Becca, our body-guard Abusa Mwantisi, and the gentlemen who owns the "Internet Cafe." It's quite different then sitting on my laptop back home.
I want to do more updating on the events that have unfolded here at Grace Alliance.

1. IWU (pronounces as "Iwooo") team came two days after I arrived. They consist of 9 women. 1 who is an RD at Indiana Wesleyn University, and the other 8 students. They are some amazing girls who I know have been challenged and grown during there time here in Malawi. They leave on Wednesday and I hate to see them leave. During their time here they have been teacher aids in the morning, from 8:30-12, with the preschool program that Grace Alliance has put together. They help teach the kids "Alphabet Letters," "Months of a Year," "Lord's Prayer," and "Parts of the body." This past week girls will alternate every other day and create teams that come together and teach Bible lessons and using the visual aid of a felt-board. Once again, I cannot reiterate how amazing this team is and how well they have been servant leaders to the preschool program as well as to me.


2. The "MOM" team arrived this week, on Thursday. We call them the MOM team out of respect. All of the women are mothers (well except Rachel, but she is married) and/or grandmothers. These women are adorable. They have only been here for a few days and it's expected of them to take time to adjust from America mindset to that of Malawi. Right now they are in that transition stage, but they are doing well. I am excited to see how these MOMs come in and implement their gifts and talents into the work that has already begun.


3. Is it okay to brag about my tent-mates, because I am. They are awesome women of the faith. It took us all awhile at the beginning of the trip to test out and see where our personalities and characteristics would mesh together. I know I was stand-off-ish at first, trying to figure out where I mixed. Nonetheless, this past week we have all connected and are building beautiful relationships. I have to highlight an AWESOME occurance from last night. We were at the compound (that is the area where our tents, bathrooms, showers, and whatnot are located) and the sun had set. And let me tell you, the night skies here are beyond beautiful. I could stare at them all night, literally. But I do not know what it was about last night, but all three of us were BLOWN away by its beauty. So we grabbed each other, went to a mat that was by our tent, and played some Christian music on Becca's Ipod. We just stared at the beautiful expanse that laid above us. Though we are part of the milky-way here in Malawi you can see part of it, I call it God's paint stroke in the sky. It's this clear white streak in the sky, and I love it. Also, as we laid on our backs staring into the indescribable night sky we saw numerous shooting stars and each one took our breath away. LOVE IT. I already know I will miss terribly these night skies. I also have to praise the Lord for the testimony time me, Becca, and Cherise had last night. With out Malawian tea (which is delicious), coconut cookies, and open hearts...it was a blessing.


4. Today I have the privledge to preach at a youth event we had in Salima. I was asked last night to prepare something and to be honest I could not think of anything and I just decided to prepare something this morning. However last night during testimony time and just some of the stories I have heard from the Malawians I felt compelled to preach about Job and that God was still faithful through his hardships. It was not too long and it was not too elaborate but a main point was that God allows us to go through suffering but he never promises to leave us in it.

That is all the time I have today, but I hope you enjoyed the information I have shared. I want to thank you all for the love, support and prayers. They are felt daily and very much appreciated.

I have survived week one

Hello to ALL my blogger followers. Especially to: Mom, Dad, Kristen, Jon, Aiden, Heather, Michael, Caleb, and Tiffany. I love and miss you all a lot and wish you were here to experience all of Malawi with me.
I warn you, this post may be short, we are crunched for time and this is dial-up internet.

When I arrived to Malawi I was welcomed by a mass of Malawians. They were singing, clapping, and dancing, all with a smile on their faces. And let me tell you, they are amazing at it. But the people here are amazing. Though we have the difficulty of the langugage barrier, we still share the same emotion of a smile.

Due to my "whiteness" I am referred to as an "azungu"...a.k.a- white!

Though it has only been a week, I have had some hard and some GREAT times. The Lord is teaching me to rely on Him as I struggle with feeling "alone." I am not here with a team or with people I know, but at the same time I know the Lord has revealed to be back while I was at Asbury of the song I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, the specific verse "Though none go with me, I still will follow."

Well it is time to go, but hopefully I will be able to post once a week.

But a PRAISE. The IWU team that came these first 2 weeks has done a PHENOMINAL job with working with preschool and Back Yard Bible Club. Their skits and songs amaze the children but at the same time is planting a seed that we all pray and desire that the Lord will grow and nourish.

Love from Malawi,
Sam

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Today my parents and I worked together to finalize the packing of my two 50 lbs checked baggage and my one 15 lbs carry-on bag and one laptop bag. My bags are packed to the brim; mainly to the fact that I have to bring 55 lbs worth of tarps (that are for the tents we'll be staying in). My first picture on Sunday will be me wearing my book-bag, holding my laptop case, carrying my one 50lb bag, and strolling the other. It will be hilarious. By the end of this trip I should have toned arms due to these massive bags.

Reality has set in, I am going. I will be living out of "suitcases" for the next 7 weeks. These suitcases sitting on the tarp floor of a tent located in Malawi. WOW! It's really happening. I do not want to come across as superficial because living out of a suitcase is nothing to complain about. The fact that I am even making a deal out of the suitcases is ridiculous.

I think that is something I am excited about through this trip. I currently live in the wealthiest country in the world. I have every luxury at my fingertips. But nothing is good enough. There are honking of car horns due to impatience, there are temper tantrums of grown adults due to selfishness, there are athletes/performers who are discontent with their paychecks due to pride, and there are broken families due to lack of fighting for something good. Out culture is saturated with the "I," doing what benefits or pleases the self. With this trip to Malawi I get to experience a culture whose mindset is collectivistic. They care more and make their decisions based on what is best for the "whole." I love that! How better would our world be if we were more concerned with the "whole." Perhaps, there would be less poverty, less debt, less murder, etc. and things that have broken our culture could possibly be fixed by the mentality of thinking of the "whole."

However, I am not perfect. I am consumed by the "self" more than I like. I hope through Malawi I will learn to become selfless and care more about others.

Circle of Hope International Prayer Guide for Summer Teams 2011

“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Jesus’ first words in the Gospel of Luke change everything. In the ancient world, the father sets the family agenda. Where he lives, that is where the family lives. What the father does for a living (farmer, craftsmen, carpenter) will become the life choice for the son.

Jesus is doing two profound things here. First, He is reminding Mary of His true father (Luke 1:32-35; 3:22-23). Mary, obviously distracted during the frantic moments of her “mis-placing-Jesus-dilemma” has forgotten both “who He is” but also “whose He is.”

Second, and maybe most important, Jesus is charging each of us all right here and now, to publically declare to whom we align our life-agenda. Jesus tells all, in a public forum, “I declare my Father’s will the only agenda in my life.” There can be no competing loyalties in your heart.

Will you pray for our teams this summer? Some of us may have “plans” for Malawi. Pray that we would be willing to lay down our own plans for His. Pray for us to be open to a “Jesus adventure” this summer. Pray that we will allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Pray that all our teams will be oriented to the “Father’s Way” this summer.

“Lord, not my will but your will be done!” (Luke 22:42).

May Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane become our declaration of loyalty. Amen.

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June 5 – 6: Karen, Samantha and Cherise depart for Malawi and prepare for the IWU team.

June 7-8: IWU Team departs for Malawi. Pray for Noelle, Becca, Kristin, Paige, Trisha, Leta, Kristian, Erin, and Kayla.

June 9-10: The focus for our IWU team is Backyard Bible Clubs. Each afternoon the team will go out to a village and set up a club with bible stories and activities. After teaching the children, they will visit with adults in their homes.

June 11-12: We’ll be visiting our children in Chipoka (about 1 hour from the Grace Center) and doing two backyard clubs on Saturday. Church service will be at the Grace Center on Sunday.

June 13-14: Pray for our Community Health Evangelism program. Karen and Missy will be teaching our CHE trainers in preparation for the School Health Screening in July.

June 15-16: Our Teaching Team, Missy, Mary, Rachel (1), Rachel (2), Tish, Suzanne, Darlene and Tina and Janet, will be traveling these days.

June 17-18: Rachel Hisel and Janet Shoue will be working full-time in the textile center training the women to use the loom and much, much more.

June 19-20: Church service will be at the Grace Center on Sunday. All our teams will be working with the preschool during the time in Malawi.

June 21-22: Cherise Richards, Intern, is teaching in the Kapita Public School. She is teaching English fluency and reading.

June 23-24: Samantha Locke, Intern, is coordinating Preschool Activities and writing. The IWU team is headed home.

June 25-26: Pray for Ben, Jamie and Cade Edwards traveling from Texas. Dr. Edwards will be teaching our Community Health workers and doing exams on the children. He will be getting us ready to do our School Health Screening. We will be going to church at Mkande Village.

June 27-28: Jamie and Cade will be working with the preschoolers, coordinating games for the orphan children, teaching women in the textile center and much more. Pray especially for Cade (age 7) to relate to the boys in Timothy’s Home and to have an amazing experience.

June 29-30: Becca Coffey, Intern, served as a student leader on the IWU team. She is spending the remainder of the summer working with our children in art and play therapy.

July 1-2: Our teaching team returns to the US. Dr Edwards continues well-child exams on all the orphan and preschool children in our programs. We’ll also do exams for the children in our Chipoka project.

July 3-4: We’ll go to church in Salima. Pray for the Pastors of the Grace Alliance Church. God is moving in powerful ways through these men and through the Praise Team that leads worship and prays for the sick. In the past 2 months many people have given their hearts to Jesus and many have experienced healing from physical and spiritual disease.

July 5-6: Time for a break! The Edwards will be on safari. Karen, Samantha, Rachel, Cherise, and Becca (the team that will be staying for the whole summer) are going to the lake to rest. Pray for our TX/KY team as they travel, Debbie, Gaye, Mary, Angie, Drew, Tonya, Campbell, Carson, Janet, Dawn, Laura.

July 7-8: Pray for Edwards as they travel to the US. Our third team will be focusing on three areas: Preschool, Orphan Project and School Health Screening.

July 9-10: Church at the Grace Center. We have 6 teachers working in our preschool now and 180 preschoolers. Our teams have focused on bible stories, play activities, problem solving, library skills and literacy. Each team has prepared lessons for the teachers to continue using after our teams are gone.

July 11-12: Partnership with the district. One of the important parts of our Community Health Evangelism program is to partner with the district government. Pray for strong relationships with district health officials, social welfare, the police and other organizations in the community.

July 13-14: School Health Screening. The big day has finally arrived. We will be examining 1000 children. The purpose of the screening is to develop a baseline health survey of the community. We will be testing hemoglobin levels in conjunction with our research project with Texas Tech University. We’ll also examine height, weight, and general health of the children. Results from the exams will be presented to parents and the community will be encouraged to engage in preventive health measures to improve the general health of the community.

July 15-16: We’ll visit our Chipoka project again with games and activities for the children.

July 17-18: We’ll have church at the Grace Center. It’s almost time to wrap up our summer. Pray for our hearts as we prepare our good-byes and finish up last minute details.

July 19-20: Our TX/KY team departs. Karen and Interns finish up the summer.

July 21-22: Travel back to the States.

One Week Away

So today is Sunday, May 29, 2011...I am A WEEK away from boarding a plane in DC and making my journey to Malawi.
This morning I got in the car to drive to church. My younger sister was in the passenger seat and we were jamming to Chris August. Then out of no where, it hit me....IN A WEEK I AM GOING TO MALAWI! I leaned over to the volume dial and turned the volume down and turned to my sister. (If you know me, it doesn't take much for me to cry) I was holding back tears and expressed to my sister about the mixed emotions I had towards this trip. How I was apprehensive of the commitment to spend 7 weeks in an unknown culture. But at the same time I was excited to go and do something for Lord. My sister was there to listen, because honestly all I needed to do was have someone to listen.
I question, does this fear come from the Enemy. Doubt is me telling God that I don't trust Him....but I do. So why do I have fear?
At the same time I know that I am to go. I am stepping out of my comfort zone, out of the familiarity of my life and stepping into the realm of faith.
One week......

God Answers Prayers

As you can tell from my last post on Sunday that I had informed you that I still needed to raise $1,500! On Tuesday, March 22 I got a phone call from my Aunt Paula. However I missed it because I had a softball intramural game (that we tragically lost, I am too competitive). Anywho, after the game I had a voice-mail from my Aunt and she said she had some exciting news concerning my trip. Of course I called her back, unaware of what I was about to hear.

My Aunt informed me that the night of March 22 she had two options:

1. Watch her son play a scrimmage volleyball game
2. Attend a Mission meeting at her church

Due to her son's game being a scrimmage she decided, even though she did not want to go, to attend the mission meeting. At the meeting the Pastor informed the whole group that they had more funding to put towards missions. In response, my Aunt announced to the group that I was going to Malawi and I was still in need of funding. My Aunt assumed that they would give maybe $100 to support but to her surprise the Pastor stood and said that they'll give $500.00! Not only were they going to support me through the provision of finances but they were going to put a little "blurb" in their bulletin so if church members would like to give they could.

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!!! Thank-you Lord! Blessed be Your Name!