Sometimes I have to sit back and think “Wow, is this really my life?” I had many of those moments today. We had church this morning with all of the kids and staff members that stay with the kids. I have never been to such a vibrant church service before. It was full of dancing, singing, and personal testimonies. I loved every second of it. There is something amazing about seeing an entire congregation dance with everything they have. I never knew that church could double as a workout. After church there was more dancing while music played through portable speakers until lunch time. After lunch some of the smaller kids came over to Will and Pam’s house to watch a movie. The older kids watched one on Saturday so it was only fair that everyone gets their turn. At about 4:00 I headed over to spend some time with the preschoolers. They love to play games so I always love going over there. While I sat on the ground with them they all wanted to show me what they had learned in school. I had about 12 children each count to 30, say the ABC’s, and tell me the days of the week. I started to sing some songs with a couple of the kids which soon turned into the whole class singing and doing motions together. I had to leave when they had dinner but not until I gave many high-fives and hugs. I will never get tired of hearing “Good night auntie Beth!” Today was an amazing day but we are all starting to feel sad when we think that tomorrow is our last full day here. Please pray for us as we start packing up and make our final good-byes. Also, three of our team member, Sarah, Brad, and Katelyn have spent most of the day in bed because they were not feeling well. Katelyn seems to be doing better tonight but Brad and Sarah are still feeling down. Pray that they feel better before we make our trip home.

Beth Bouwkamp

 

Church on Sunday morning

 

Update for Saturday
We got the emails that the "group of 4" have arrived home in safety.
We are glad for that as we await our 15 guess from the UK today. We
also got word that another 6 from South Korea are arriving today also
and will be spending the night. So everyone is chipping in to clean
up, bake in the kitchen, and get places for them to sleep.
But that is today; yesterday we had our puppet show that we were
going to do on Saturday it went well and I will post a picture of it.
This all came about when we got the call that the people from South
Korea where coming and spending the night, so we moved our show up a
day. After the puppet show and supper, Will said to show the Jesus
film which he had on DVD and in the Chichewa language. So we setup
the projector and a sound system and connected it to a computer that
came from Canada. We set up a screen that could be seen from both
sides. I will post a picture also, but what the picture doesn't show
is the 200+ from the surrounding community on the other side of the
wall watching the movie. It was very humbling to think where we were
in Malawi Africa watching the Jesus film with them. We could not
understand a word of it, but watching the movie we knew which part of
the story we were at. Of course every girl had about 5 kids sitting
on them during the movie.
We have to go get ready for our guests. Wow you know that is funny
saying that like we live here.
Prayer request: That we stay healthy, and we have to start thinking
about packing up and heading home. With all the stress of it all, and
mixed feeling of home and wanting to stay.

Brad for the group

Latest update. The rat is back. He has ventured into many suitcases. He has eaten many things, especially the licorice. And now the day has come where it comes to an end. The food is gone, and the suitcases are duct taped. We lie awake at night wondering where he is, but we know we are protected by our mosquito nets. Besides the rat, we have had many new experiences with the “group of four” gone. We spent our mornings and afternoons working on accounts that Will needed done. We are also in the process of putting a puppet show together for the community this upcoming Saturday. This will be with the choir program and a movie at night. Yesterday we went to the market to buy our final souvenirs. It was really hot, well for us at least. Other than that, we haven’t done much except for playing with the kids in our free time. We are enjoying every last minute with them as our time comes to an end. We thank you for your prayers and support. We appreciate all that you have done for us.      

 

Sarah and Libby

 

Just an add on.  We were just going outside and herd a crowd and ask if there was a futbol match going on and the answer was yes.  We ask if it was ok to go to and the answer was yes.  So with some people from TMC away we went.  We got there in the first half and it was tied 1-1.  We ask the people with us what team we should rout for, the answer was the yellow team, and we were one with the crowd now.  Not long after the blue team scored and some people ran onto the field from their bench to give high fives.  Then was half time and everybody goes onto the field to play soccer until the start of the 2^nd half.  Then the second half started and the yellow team scored and everybody went nuts.  About a third of the 1000 + people watching ran onto the field celebrate.  What a sight, and great time.  Beth said she was going to run on the field next time.  But we had to go to supper and will have to find out who won tomorrow.  Talking to people we found out this is the semi-finals and the finals are on Saturday same field.  With a visit from the group from UK I don’t know if we will be able to see any.  But we are glad we got to see one match.

 

Brad

A farmer driving his herd along the road.  He was so proud he stopped and posed for the picture

Wednesday Update
We got a call from Pam that the "group of 4" has been dropped off at
the airport. So they should be on their way home now, we await word
on their arrival home. For us that are back at TMC it was a day of
data entry and getting ready for a community event. We also got word
that there is a group of about 15 from the UK coming to TMC on
Saturday. The girls are looking forward to that. In the afternoon we
had choir practice for the event which we hope to have on Saturday.
But plans can change at any time or any reason. Pam is still in
Blantyre, she stayed there for drop off at the airport and pickup of
another group, but that group is going north not down to TMC.
The power had been out for most of the day today so we are just about
out of battery on the laptops so we will update and email when we can
and hope the power comes back, it is 4:00pm now and it gets dark
around 5:30pm. So it could be a short night or cards by candle light.
Other then the group coming down on Saturday I think we will be into a
routine for a few days.
Pray for patients on plans and things that we are doing to get
completed or planed.

Brad for the group

Tuesday Morning
On Sunday morning after breakfast about 9:30am we left for Mvuu
animal game preserve. On the way, we had to make a bathroom break and
Will found a church that might have a bathroom (St John's). It didn't
look like anybody was there, like they had finished the service
already. Will and I when up to the door which was open. We could
hear someone talking inside, but it wasn't like to a full room. Will
stuck his head in and in the corner were about 10 to 13 people having
a small service. Will asked for a bathroom and one brought him to one
at a house next door. When we got back to the truck we asked if the
group wanted to sing a song or two for them. So away the group went
into the church. We sang two songs and then they sang one song back
to us. Wonderful morning worship! After, everyone shook hands and we
walked back to the truck. I would like to be a bug on the wall after
we left and hear what they thought of it. Outside some kids had
gathered so after some more pictures, we were on our way.

At the camp we had a good time to recharge, rest, and watch Gods
creation right in front of us. This is my Fathers world! We will
have more pictures when we get back. We got to know our guide well
and he has a wealth of knowledge. We took a land tour on Sunday and
a water tour on Monday morning.

We arrived "home" in Blantyre late Monday night from Mvuu center
wrapped as best we could in the back of the truck. On Tuesday we
will be sending four of our group home and the rest are returning to
TMC. I am sure tears will be shed. We ask for save travel for both
groups.

Brad

PS: Answer to the question about our luggage. Yes we all have our
luggage now. It was waiting for us in Blantyre when we arrive on
Saturday.
Also Yes Katlyn is feeling much better and back to being her self.

Sorry it took so long to get something on the Blog. We were having
problems. We will get some pictures added later also.

Friday afternoon we put on a field day for the kids of TMC.  We made the teams and figured out what games and where they were to be played.  We rounded up the kids after lunch and headed to the dining hall to get things started. We had 10 teams with 10-11 people on each team. We also assigned a group leader as one of the older kids that could help us translate and keep the younger ones under control.  We had 5 different games: basketball, soccer, balloon toss, obstacle course, and relay race.  I would say that overall it was a very successful afternoon.  After we had field day we split for about an hour and after all the preparation throughout the week we finally had our choir program.  This consisted of most the kids of the TMC.  The choir program was definitely one the most beautiful things I have ever heard.  These kids’ voices are amazing and I could listen to them everyday all day long.  They were taught “10,000 Reasons” and we sang along with them. It was so much fun being able to join in with them and to make that day that much more special for Will and Pam.  After the choir program we broke again and we had probably one of the best meals. We had PIZZA! Pam made about 6 pizzas of all sorts of kind. We all definitely left that dinner completely full! Once the sun went down the bonfire started! We all set out to the fire to enjoy some dancing and singing around the fire! It was so much fun to see the young and old dance around the fire all together and to sing all as one! Once it “calmed” down a little, different groups would sing at different times. First the girls, second the boys, than a few solos and then it was our turn.  We all circled around the fire and sang “My Friends May You Grow in Grace.”  After that Brad and Kris shared a few words around the circle.  During their words the kids tended to laugh a little bit even though it was serious words. Turns out the translator was saying everything opposite of what they were really saying so the little kids found that kind of funny! The fire died down and turned into bed time. For the second time in a row we found another rat in our room but this time IN Libby’s suitcase. It was quite a surprise.

We woke up Saturday morning, packed up our stuff for the weekend away and for some of us all of it to go home on Wednesday. We headed off to Blantyre. But on our way we took a little detour to Nyala Park. It was basically a drive thru zoo with wild animals.  We saw many Zebras, Wildabeasts, monkeys, and Impalas.  We were all hoping to see some giraffes but we were coming to an end and hopes were going down.  Finally we went down one more road and sure enough we saw one. The smart words of the day were “Where there is one there is many.” We drove down a couple hundred more feet and there they were. We saw a herd of 10 giraffes of all sizes.  We got so close to them it was almost a dream. We all took millions of pictures no worries! Finally we got to Blantyre after a long bumpy truck ride. We finally got all of our luggage and then sat down for dinner and had our famous chocolate cake. After dinner we heard the Will and Pam story, and I must say that is amazing! I could listen to it for hours straight! They are amazing people and have made this whole Africa experience feel like we are one big family!

--Bri

PS:  Just a note we will be out of range of the internet until Monday evening.  So there will be no updates or emails from us until then.  So don't worry we got eaten.  :)

Field day at TMC

God's creation right in front of us!
Look Mom no fence!

Today (Saturday) we are headed north to a Safari and then drop off the
group of 4 that are returning home. Then the 7 that are left are
returning to Bangula for 1 more week. Will and Pam do a great job
here, then always have someone in there office asking questions. The
love they show is God's love and it over flows here.

The picture is of a tree that in my guess has to be over 1000 years
old. It is not far from where we are.

Brad

TMC Choir

Sights around the area

Sunset over Africa, sending it to USA

Our transportation

The great bowbob tree (not sure of the spelling)

Will and Pam

Making bracelets at the kitchen table for the kids

Making bracelets with the kids

Our trip to the Market

This is the Thursday and Friday update. 

We are always around the kids playing, holding, reading, and just having fun with the kids.  We have been eating well and really getting to know Will, Pam and the Kids.  On Thursday we made more bracelets with/for the kids and self.  We are going to have a “choir concert” so there has been practices all this week and again today.  It was kind of a day off with the planed stuff.  But at night we had a little excitement in the girls room.  They all went in there to brush their teeth and not long after we heard a big loud scream, and all the girls ran out.  There was a small rat on one of the nets in the room.  Of course when Will and I went in to look for it they could not find it.  But we had to look under everything!  But no mouse/rat found.  No sighting since also.

Friday is going to be field day with the kids in the afternoon.  So in the morning we went to TMC 3 where the older boys live at night.  And on our way back to TMC Will took us to the river and a drive around.  We have some pictures but for some reason I can not upload them to the blog from here.  I am working on it.    We will update later on field day.  I just wanted to get a new post on the blog.

Prayer request.

            Katelyn is not feeling well, so pray for her and the health of the group. 

Brad for the Team.

The adventures of Libby, Beth and Brad on when we didn't make the flight in South Africa

This was the worst trip I have ever been on.  Long layovers, no leg room, missed flights and lost luggage.  Long bus rides on hard and broken seats.  22 people in a mini van (Toyota Hiace) and roads that get worse the farther you go.

Wait, let me look at it another way.

This is the best trip I have ever been on.  It has taught me to rely on God and prayer, need other people to help me when I can do nothing about the situation I am in.  Trust in people to get me to the places I need to be, even if I don’t know where that is.

Like Andrew from South Africa airlines. He got us a very nice room the night we didn’t get on the flight to Malawi.  He gave us 3 meals, which was more then we could have asked for. He didn’t get us in the VIP lounge, but we didn’t need it.  Then there is Lawrence also from South Africa airlines in Lilongwe.  Andrew called him the night before or that morning and asked him to get us to Blantyre.  Well there is only one flight to Lilongwe by SAA that day.  So after the flight landed we found him and he told us to go sit and he will be with us.  After some time we were wondering if he forgot about us.  So I asked again and he said he had to close the office then could bring us to the place where the bus picks up people.  And he did, in his personal car. He got us to where we needed to be in just the right time, not our time.  After getting us a bus ticket I asked him about getting a sim card for my cell phone so I could call Will and Pam and keep them up to date.  So we asked the people at the bus counter and they said at the ``super market``, so he brought us there which was a short walk from the bus counter.   We go to the front and ask the man in charge, smoking a cigarette and playing cards, he said no we have to go to 7-eleven down the road.  So we all get back in Lawrence’s car and to 7-eleven we go.  Then at 7-eleven we go in to get a sim and I meet two people I don’t know and buy a sim card and prepaid minutes.   I said I only have US $, he laughed and said it comes to about $1.  I said I have a 10 dollar bill.  He shook his head yes and gave me a 5 dollar bill back.  Then Lawrence brought us back to the bus stop, I thanked him for the help and wished him a good day.  We then looked at each other and looked back at the super market and said we need water and snacks.  We went back in and talked to the man in charge playing cards and smoking again and said we need to buy some water and food.  But we only have US dollars and South African Rands.  He said he can`t exchange them but would do it on the ``down low`` for us.  I pulled out some Rands and he typed in the calculator and showed me.  I agreed and he gave me the kwacha.  We smiled and went our ways.  No we were not in a back alley, just in the front of the store.  So we bought our water and snacks and waited for the bus.

Then there was the bus ride to Blantyre. My seat was broken and was leaned back the whole time.  Well the person behind me didn’t have much room but didn’t mind or get mad.  Then there is Mary. She has been in Malawi for about 2 years now.  She was there to meet us when the bus arrived in Blantyre.  I saw her and she saw me and we said each others name at the same time.  But there was 20 + people between us but we knew like we were standing next to each other.  She took Libby, Beth, and me to the house in Blantyre to get some rest. She offered to cook for us, but we just needed some rest, so she just put us to bed and said see you in the morning.  I don’t remember when a two inch mattress felt so good. This was only around 10 pm.  I had woken about 1 AM that morning and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Then the mini “bus” ride down to Bangula in the morning.  Mary had dropped us off where the mini bus’s load up.  We meet Macnever and he was our escort to TMC.  He got us on a bus, but then someone decided that is not the right one so we change.  Then we are off and about a mile now the road we have to get gas.  But they don’t pull up to the pump, then get out and bring some 1 gallon jugs and fill them with gas, then put that in the van.  But we are on the way again.  

On the van/buses there is the driver and the money man.  So instead of getting the money when you get in, they ask for it when they are going down the road.  Mary had give us money for the ride down which I gave to Macnever . He paid for us, and the money man had asked the next lady on the bus with 4 children, and they were not talking our language but I could tell something was wrong.  Getting mad and getting worried are the same in all languages.  I leaned over to Macnever and said if this lady is short of money I can pay for her.  He shook his head yes and I got out some money.  He said 500 and just like that I was able to help someone I didn’t know and maybe will never see again on this side of Heaven. She thanked me and got out a tearful God Bless you and I said God Bless you back also tearing up. Remember back to the store and the Angel that was smoking and playing cards who exchanged money for us, this is why we had the money in the first place.   I was hoping to talk to her when we got off but she got off at a stop we didn’t. After about 2 hours with stops here and there to let people off and get more people on.  We made a stop by a market.  They moved our van to the front of the line to get people in and they did.  At that point we had 22 in the van.  But away we went.   After about another hour we stopped by another market and they turn off the van and said we have to get in another van to continue the trip to Bangula, so we change again. And I only counted 18 now.  But a little way down the road we get ``pulled over`` because we have 4 in each row and should only have 3 per row.  They pay the fine and are on our way again. After about 3 and a half hours we were where we had to get out.  And if felt good to walk again.  We had about a half mile walk to the gate of TMC.  But our journey was over for today.  We arrive just after lunch but they had some for us. It tasted good and the cold water to drink hit the spot.  We had some smiles with the people in the vans we were in and once again had to rely on someone else to get to where we needed to be even it we didn’t know where it was.

Brad (Beth and Libby)

Update from Katelyn

Yesterday was the first full day with the group all together and I’d say it went vey well. We all woke up to either a rooster or the loud voices of children singing next door to us. For breakfast we had toast with cinnamon and syrup which ended up tasting like french toast. Bread seems to show up for every single meal in some sort of way. After breakfast, Brianne, Beth, Karli, Libby, Abby, Sarah and I went over to the preschool to spend some time with the younger kids. We started out playing some duck duck goose in smaller groups. Even though I doubt they know what ducks and geese are (they haven’t learned english yet) they seemed to really enjoy it. Once that game ended we played “What time is it Mr. Hyena” which is the same as “what time is it Mr. Fox” and the kids really enjoyed this game. Aftewords we headed inside and each of us girls took turns reading story books to the kids. While I doubt they understood it we managed to keep their attention for pretty much the whole time. In the meantime, Brad worked on some computer stuff while Kris tried to sew some curtains (she had some problems with the machine) and Sue and Kim sorted a lot of donations.

Eventually we all ventured into the main house where we sat down for a lunch of bread with a variety of different toppings.  After lunch, Bri, Karli and myself helped Brad type out some data that the people here had put together and we’ll probably have to try and finish some of that up today.  We then decided it was time to make bracelets  with the girls over age 8. What we thought was going to be a nice craft time making bracelets turned out to be mass chaos. While only the older girls could make the bracelets themselves, all of the younger girls AND boys really wanted some too so all we heard was “Madam!” and then they would hold uot their wrists for a bracelelt. Needless to say, we made a ton of bracelets. After a while of that, a few of us decided to help some of the older boys make more manly bracelets that were a little more complex. They caught on very fast and they all left the room with huge smiles on thei r faces.

Pretty soon after it was time for dinner which was a favorite among us all. We had rice with a saucy gravy mix to go on top and some cheesy broccoli which was a huge favorite among us all. Sarah was especially excited. Halfway through dinner the power went out. Apparently this was a common thing because we had candlelight within a couple seconds. Eventually it was time for bed and us girls were rather surprised to all of a sudden see a bat flying all around in our room. We were able to get it out after I crawled across the floor and managed to open the door. Our power went out once more before bed but at that point we didn’t have any candles or matches with us. Overall I think we all had a very successful day and we hope you all continue to pray for us. We miss and love you all! Goodbye for now.

~katelyn~

Hello friends and family! 
I am so happy to report that our entire team is once again together! 
We are so thankful that Brad, Beth, and Libby, after much adventure, joined us at TMC today, Monday, around 1:00 PM.  Who knew the challenges we would face to even get here?!  Lessons learned. 
The rest of us arrived at Tiyamike on Sunday, around noon via the back of Will and Pam's truck..  We were able to have some lunch together before worshipping with the family and children of TMC.  What a blessing!  The children are entralled with all of us being there, climbing on our laps, making friends.
We settled into our rooms a bit, unpacked, and got a little acclimated.  Later we took a walk into Bangula for a visit to the local market.  The rest of the day was spent visiting together, showering, settling.
That brings me to today, which has been spent brainstorming on activities for the rest of the week.  We'll be working with the choir, planning Bible Story times, a Field Day, and other activiites.  We're ready to get to work.

Prayer Request: We are still missing some luggage from the flight we hope to maybe get it next weekend.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers.  God has been so good through all of this so far.
Kris Gort for Team Malawi
Quote of the Day:  "Mom -  too much culture too quickly!  I'm so glad we're here!"  ~Libby on arriving finally at TMC 

Some here some there

I only have a short time ,
Well eight have made it to Malawi. Three of us are still in South Africa. Libby, Beth
, and Brad didn't make the flight, also 9 of the bags didn't make it. We covet your prayers on both of these items.  We hope to fly to the capital of Malawi on Sunday because the next direct flight is Wednesday.
With that all said, this will not take away from the trip. It is just more people we get to interact with!  When I Skyped with Will and Pam it sounded like they where enjoying themselves with the team that made it to Malawi.

Serving Him where ever we are
The Malawi team (brad wrote this)

Made it to Chicago

We made it through security. Now we wait.  We thank our great drivers that got us here. We pray they had a safe drive home.

Getting things packed for the trip

We spent Monday night getting things into the suite cases. This is all the things that were donated in the boxes in the back of church. They will be used and used again. Thanks again for the way you have all helped!

This is a blog created for the group that is going to Malawi, Africa.  We should have access to update.  We will try to have someone write something every day.  We want to thank everyone that helped with the fund raising events.  We know we had a lot of them but we also have to get a little over $30,000 dollars to cover all expenses.  We did well and are right around $10,000.  This will cover the living expenses, food, travel in the country, and some expenses that we needed here. For example, emergency medical insurance in case anything happens when we are traveling or in Malawi.  So we would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to you all.

We will be leaving the church parking lot at 1:00pm on June 13, everyone is more than welcome to be there and pray with us before we leave.  We will be driving to Chicago O’Hare airport for an evening flight to London, then to Johannesburg, then on to Blantyre.  We don’t know if we will be spending the night in Blantyre or if we will be driving that day/evening to the center.  We will be just ready for each. 

If you want to leave a commit please do so, we would love to hear from you when we are traveling.  It will not show up right away because it is moderated.

Thanks for reading the blog.