April '09 Malawi Trip with My Dad

Back Home with a Different Perspective

We are back from Malawi!

Hey everyone! My dad and I made it back from 66.5 hours of traveling by airplane, boat, bus, van, train, car, and on foot. We had an amazing trip. God really worked in our lives and in the lives of the people we met throughout the trip.

Malawi, Africa April 2009

Recently my small group at church has been going through this book about the power of prayer and God has been really challenging me with it. Praying out loud and in front of people has always been something that has been hard for me, so it has been a real challenge and growing experience. While in Malawi I got the chance to go to a church out in a village called The African Abraham Church. My dad had warned our team that we would all be most likely asked to share at the church service and to have something prepared. This made me very nervous and I had no idea what I was going to share if I was asked, so I prayed and God showed me some verses in the Bible that for some reason really stood out to me that day, more than usual. God showed me though that His plan isn't always what we expect or are prepared for. During the church service I wasn't asked to share in the way I thought. The pastor of the church asked me to stand and pray for the offering. He asked about two minutes before he wanted me to stand, so I didn't even have time to think about what I was agreeing to. :) God tested me in Malawi in a way I least expected. I never thought I would be coming back to California and telling you that I stood up in front of a church of maybe a hundred people or so and prayed.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers and support while we were gone. We wouldn't have made it without you.

Some of the Highlights of Our TripWhen we arrived in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Amos, Louise and part of the FTS Mission's Team were waiting to greet us!

I loved the Children


I loved singing and playing games with the children


We played tag


I played goalie after giving the "big" boys a new soccer ball


Here I am with our sponsored child's family

Our meals were cooked over an open fire

Dad trying to carry laundry on his

head like the Malawian people

Thokozani & Rodney
our World Vision Partners

Here I am with Newsong Irvine's Pastors/Leaders on the dock leaving for safari and debrief sessions before we head back home

Dad took us out on the town on a 12-hour layover...
guess where?