Getting Closer

Tomorrow, we start a new month. This means that we are another month closer to leaving for our journey. As the time draws near, there are mixed emotions flowing through our minds and hearts. We are anxious, nervous, joyful, hopeful, fearful and thankful. We think the one word that can describe it best though, is BLESSED. We have been afforded an opportunity that not many people will ever have the chance to do. We have received monetary donations. We have had many people pray for us. We have the support of our loved ones. Pretty soon, we will be able to truly know what the warm heart of Africa is all about. We hope that we are able to come back and put into words all that we experience and feel. Thank you for sharing our journey with us.

Photos by Caleb Magnino, posted with permission. For more of his photos and stories of Malawi, go to his site.

Some Facts on Malawi

If you were to ask the average Amercian where Malawi is, you could venture to say that most people would not know that it's a country in Africa. (This based on how many times we get asked, "where is that?" when we say we are going to Malawi.) If they have heard of Malawi, you could also venture to guess it may be because a certain pop star has put it on the map, so to say, as a result of her recent successful adoption and even more recent attempted adoption that was declined.

Malawi is so much more than a place to adopt a child or a place on the map. As we mentioned in an earlier blog, it's the warm heart of Africa. We have been told that if you visit there, you come back with a hole in your heart, as you leave a little behind. Even though, it ranks as one of the least developed countries and according to some sites/agencies, as the poorest country, the people of Malawi are still warm and friendly. In our monthly team meetings, we are learning more and more about Malawi. Tonight, we met with Bobby M., former CCBC pastor from South Africa who now resides in Franklin, TN and is on staff at TPC and African Leadership. He is a wealth of knowledge and we enjoyed him filling us in on the cultural aspects of Malawi. For example, Malawians are non confrontational, very formal and conservative and are very relational. Their way of life is communal not individual driven. It wouldn't be uncommon for someone in the village to spank your child if they were out of line.

Team meeting with Bobby

Malawi is about 558 miles long and 93 miles wide which is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania. In this small country lives just over 13 million people. They are very religious/spiritual. We were told tonight, by Bobby, that it would be rare to run into an atheist. People believe in a god or the God. Their breakdown in religion is Christian 80%, Muslim 12% and other religion as 8%.

Malawi's climate is subtropical. A rainy season runs from November through April. There is little to no rainfall throughout most of the country from May to October. It is hot and humid from October to April. From June through August, the lake areas and far south are comfortably warm, but the rest of Malawi can be chilly at night, with temperatures ranging from 41°–57°F.

The facts so far have been informational, but what about the more alarming statistics?

• Life expectancy is 43 years.
  
• 16% of the people have HIV.
  
• 70% of hospital deaths are related to HIV/AIDS.
  
• Nearly a third of expectant mothers pass the virus on to the baby.
  
• Literacy rate is 63 %.
  
• 34% of children ages 4-14 are a part of some sort of modern day slavery.
  
• Minimum wage is under $1 per day.
  

Our hearts yearn already for these people, and we haven't even met them.  Please continue to pray for our mission trip, as we expect that we will encounter spiritual warfare as soon as we step off the plane. Thank you and God bless!

The Inspiration

First of, Happy Mothers Day to our fellow mom readers.  You are special and celebrated. We thank you for taking on the toughest job ever :)

If you wondered where our blog title came from, it's inspired by a Sanctus Real Song, The Face of Love. It tells how we are to be the face of Christ and show people who He is by our actions and love for one another. The line, no one is too lost for you to love, no one is too low for you to serve is so amazing because it's so true. Why can't we all strive to be that? We can. Let us be your face!

"The Face Of Love"

Clean Water

Thanks to Living Water International (LWI), residents of a village in Malawi, the Mulanje District, now have a clean water source that's easily accessible. LWI dug a new well to ensure that villagers no longer have to wonder if the water is safe to drink. Did you know that over 20 percent of children in Malawi die before the age of five from drinking contaminated water? Malawi. It's hard to imagine such a statistic because we, as Americans, probably take it for granted every day. Please pray for clean water to be provided to more villages in Malawi as well as all of Africa. 

Click HERE for the full story

FUNdraising

There are some many ways to raise funds to go on a missions trip. Sometimes you have to get creative and other times, well you just have to clean out your house and ask others to do the same. Kelley and I decided to have a yard sale. We figured we had some junk to get rid of and that any money we made would help fund our trip. We thought, maybe people would like to donate their junk and help us out as well. Considering the economy, maybe people are in a better situation to give stuff than money. We were so blessed as many of our friends made donations to our sale.

The sale started bright and early last Saturday. I said to Kelley, I will be happy if we make $600. Kelley said, between the two of us? and I said, yea. She was like, oh yea. Our plan, was to set up as much as we could in the garage, so we could open the doors and drag out minimal things as we knew people would try and early shop. Our sale was no exception. About 6:45, we opened the garage doors and no sooner than we did, a van pulled up. He said mind if I go ahead and look around. I said sure, but we won't be able to give you much attention. He said I am use to that. He began looking. Within 10 minutes, he left with $235 worth of merchandise. He bought our invisible dog fence and bose stereo system. I was hoping this was an indication on how the day was going to go.

Some people noticed that our sale was for a mission trip and spoke to us about it. While some people were just there to shop. At the end of the day, God blessed us in so many ways...through the people we were able to share our hearts with, the friends that stopped by to show us support and He showed us the money. Drum Roll please! Our total was $1656! A far cry from our $600 dream. We are amazed and humbled.

If you have any ideas on fundraising suggestions. Let us know!

Adziwa

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope - Jeremiah 29:11

As mentioned in our first post, our church has partnered with the Capital City Baptist Church (CCBC)  in Lilongwe, Malawi. Their project, affectionately known as Adziwa, which is translated in their language as He knows, is a positive expression of hope in God for the future of orphans. The project has many objectives, and we are honored to be a part of this huge task that God has laid on their hearts and ours. Their overall goal is to improve the welfare of orphans and their families in the peri-urban and rural communities of the nation of Malawi. Recognizing that a child is the product of his/her environment, the vision of the ADZIWA CCBC Ministry is to provide comprehensive integrated community based care for the orphaned children by influencing their total environment; thus enhancing their potential to fulfill their lifes God-ordained purpose and make their contribution to society. How are we going to help them reach their goal?  The People's Church (TPC) has committed to partnering with CCBC for 3 years. During those 3 years, as a team (TPC and CCBC) and with the help of hired local workers, we hope to give a key to 15 or more families, which will open the door to their new house, so that they have a safe place for the orphan(s) they have taken in as well as their family. In addition, to the houses, a school is in the works, as over half of the children in Malawi do not receive formal education. While our team is there, we will hopefully be able to give a key to one deserving family.

brick making process - sifting the clay

School's progress

However, it's not all work and no play. Who can go to Malawi without sitting and spending time with a sweet face like this?

We will have be opportunities to sit, play, sing and talk with the kids, women and men of Malawi including taking part in bible study and church services. One thing we would like to take as a gift to the children are pictures. Yes, we want to take them pictures of people who have came on previous trips and take polaroid pictures of the children and let them keep them. We are guessing that some kids may not even know what they look like. How fun would it be to see their face when they see their beauty. If you would like to help us, you may purchase polaroid film and drop it off at the church with a note saying for the the July Malawi team.    

Please continue to pray for the 3 TPC teams that are going this year. The people of the Lilongwe and those dealing and living with AIDS. Pastor Henry of the CCBC in Malawi and the rest of the staff and that their vision is fulfilled. 

God is Love, 

TPC - Malawi July Team 

Photos by Caleb Magnino, posted with permission. For more of his photos and stories of Malawi, go to his site.

The Warm Heart of Africa

For the readers who have been to the warm heart of Africa, you know that we are referring to Malawi. Our leadership, at The People's Church, embarked on a search for a global ministry a few years ago. A number of things, that we like to call divine appointments, led our pastors to Malawi. After coming across the Capital City Baptist Church and speaking with their pastor, our pastors truly felt that God was calling our church to partner with them and help them with their vision (which we will discuss in a later post).  Our church has sent numerous teams over the past 2 years, and we are grateful, that God has called us to help with His vision. We are a team of 10. Some of us are individuals, husband and wife, mother and daughter, father and daughter, mother and son, and even grandparents, daughter, and grandson, but we are all uniting to encourage, give hope and show love to a community who is hurting. Through all the hardships, they are able to find joy.

We feel that God has called each one of us, as we each bring something unique to His table. We would like to share with you what God has equipped us with for this journey.

• Scott: administration, labor, relating to kids
  
• Suzy: nursing, compassion, nurture
  
• Tucker: building and working
  
• Stephanie: photography, blogging, children's worship, service
  
• Jim: kindness, building
  
• Betty: compassion, arise to the need and serve
  
• Kelley: teaching and working with children, faith, love to talk to people and hear their stories
  
• Brandon: soccer, service
  
• Mary: working with children, crafts, discipling
  
• Richard: prayer walking, organizing, building, witnessing, teaching
  

We are excited about this opportunity and we cannot wait for July!  We ask that you keep us in your prayers and continue to come back to the site. Will you be a part of our journey?

Photos by Caleb Magnino, posted with permission. For more of his photos and stories of Malawi, go to his site.