Week 3 and the end of my trip to Africa…

David (friend who lives ¾ of the year in Malawi with his family and started the ministry there) picked me up at the airport after midnight and we got to his home around 2am.

On Sunday, David and his family had to take a short trip for a couple of days, so I got to hang out with some of the new councilors who stay their home. One of them is an intern who lives close to me in the States. Sunday was filled laundry and rest for me.

On Monday I got to go to the ministry and see how much God had grown everything! The staff have a Bible study on Monday mornings, which I got to join, and we talked about being holy (we can’t except through Jesus’ blood). One of the ladies I met last time, Virginia, took me on a preliminary tour of some new areas on the property. The jet lag fatigue got me after lunch, so and I went back to rest at the home for the remainder of the day.

On Tuesday I got the full tour from Virginia, including the new chapel and school that had been built since I was there in 2020. The school was a dream, and the chapel wasn’t even a consideration back then. To see the growth in 3.5 years was breath taking. The ministry has tripled, at least, in those short (pandemic) years. David and his family got back home that evening, so I was able to catch up with them for a bit.

On Wednesday, I hung out at the ministry all day and went on a self-guided tour so I could get more pictures and video. Along the path from the safe home to the school is where the new chapel is located and being built. One of the people working on the development gave me a tour into the chapel and it is gorgeous. They’ll be able to rent it out for events too. That’s a bit of a destination, but a wedding would be beautiful there.

Thursday afternoon I got the privilege of showing the girls how to make friendship bracelets. There are about 75 girls living there now and I got to work with a fair amount of them that day. The house moms helped and I left the extra embroidery thread with them so they could make more. It was a lot of fun and I even got to talk with a few of the girls for a bit.

The men’s ministry leader, Akim, asked me to share at a meeting he was holding on Friday. Akim is the best and I got to know him in 2020. The training was with newer believers and that ministry focuses on sexual integrity. So… white girl speaking to a group of African men about… ok, God, why not?! There were some women there too, BTW. On the drive over I discovered that driver was someone I had met last time too, even had dinner in his home. I only got 30 or so minutes to speak, and I didn’t really know what I was walking into. But God, faithful as even, gave me a short message for them. Back to the creation story I spoke about in Uganda, I added how God made Eve from Adam’s rib. From his side, not his foot or head, from the part kept safe under his arm, that in turn protected his heart. In Ephesians, Paul’s message to married couples has the part about wives submitting to their husbands, but I pointed out that a larger portion of that speaks to the husbands and how they are to lay down their lives. That the wife is to please the husband because he pleases and protects her. It resulted in some good conversation. The whole thing made me think of the burning bush. God used something very unusual to get Moses’ attention, maybe I was that something unusual this time?

Later that day, when we were getting ready to leave for my last day seeing the staff and girls, they sat me in the middle of them and they danced and sang. The last song was about saying goodbye but not for forever, and then they all wanted to shake my hand. My introverted self was a little overwhelmed with 150 hands touching me, but the experience was so amazing, it might be the highlight of the entire trip. Knowing what the girls went through that brought them to the safe home and ministry, then seeing them dance, sing, laugh, and smile… how great is God?!? Witnessing the healing power of the Holy Spirit working through the staff to let them know they are loved… goosebumps and tears.

Saturday was a relaxing day with packing and hanging out. On Sunday afternoon, David and his son took me to lunch then the airport. There I started the very long trip home. I’ll post about that part later, but I finally laid in my own bed around 2am Tuesday morning.

I’ll have another post shortly to describe the traveling adventures and some of my take-aways and reflections. There will also be another post about the safari.