They were so excited to see us and we were just as excited to see them waiting there when we arrived Monday morning.
This is Joyce's notebook for school and what is left of her pencil!

Our first day of school we had over 50 first graders and today there were over 60. There is such a great need but we are going to have to make the group smaller in order for any of them to learn. We are using a school that was funded by a Canadian group. It closed down the end of April due to funding. We are excited for the opportunity to keep these smiling faces learning and growing.

Wezi was a girl we got to know last year along with her older sister Alaina. Well, two after the intern leaders arrived we were told of their two year old little brother's death. He was a baby on their backs last summer. We are not sure how he died but it is just all too common and very sad. Keep praying as we get the joy of loving on these beautiful faces.

















Enjoying a few Coca Colas our first night!

Hello World! June 25th we were scheduled to do work around the grounds here at Njewa Mission Center (A.k.a COTN headquarters) We cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, watered tiny flowers, helped cultivate the grounds to plant grass, and worked in the garden that we eat out of daily. In the afternoon we headed to Mgwayi to be with our host families who we will spend the next six weeks with. We did chores, played with the children, danced with the women, and shared a bit of our lives together. Today we headed for the school where we will be teaching daily. It was run by a Canadian group but recently closed due to funding. There is another school but it is too far for the younger kids to walk so without this school they just do not go. We are so excited about this opportunity. The desks would remind you of Little House on the Prarie and the rooms could hold around 50 kids or so. This afternoon we went back into Mgwayi for some games and fun for our Friday afternoon. We must have had 200 kids out there and there were only 15 of us! It was a bit overwhelming and a complete blast all at the same time. After all the games were done, we divided the kids up into age groups and the nationals did a bible study with them. Then on our way out around 5pm, we have about a half a mile walk. We sang and danced the entire way and the kids loved it! It was a great ending to our week.
We will post tomorrow once we hear from our Chiwengo group. They had a rough start after being at Njewa with the entire group but they are faithful and learning the ropes.
Thank you for your prayers and for following our journey!

More pictures from Mtsilizia

A few more pictures from our afternoon in Mtsilizia seeing the feeding program. One picture is of the greens that interns served the kids. It was a good day in Malawi!

Interns in Mtsilizia surrounded by kids!

Muli bwanji, and welcome to Malawi!

Well almost all of the interns have made it (one flight leaving today, please send up some prayers for safe travel). Tomorrow we will split up between here in Njewa and about an hour away in Chiwungo.
Here are some things we have learned about Malawian culture so far:
1.Always greet everyone you pass, no matter how many times you have greeted them that day (never just look at the ground and pass silently, even if you do not know the person).
2.Malawi is called the warm heart of Africa, and with good reason! The people here always have a smile and a kind word for everyone.
3.Welcoming someone to your home is very important in Malawi. The children greeted us for about an hour with singing and dancing.
4.The way my white skin changes color if you press your fingers on it can be entertaining to children for a very long time.
5.Malawian Uno has different rules than American Uno, but they don’t tell you that until you break them.
6. you are in a group of children, it is likely that you will not be able to take a picture of what you want to, because at the sight of a camera, Malawian children jump into the frame as fast as they can!

We have witnessed a lot of poverty here in Malawi, and at the same time we have seen a lot of joy in the children's eyes. It is humbling and overwhelming as we learn about and are welcomed into the Malawian culture. Please pray for us as we learn more about ourselves and our amazing God.

We are off to Chiwengo

This morning eight of the interns leave for our children's home in Chiwengo, which is located 97 kilometers north of our Njewa center. We are sad to leave the ten US interns and the six Malawian interns who are here in Njewa, but we are excited for working with the sixty or so children who are present in Chiwengo. Our main activites will be working with the educational and spiritual development of our children. We will daily tutor them in their various subjects along with daily spiritual devotions. A few times a week we will travel to three nearby villages to do sports outreach and share the gospel with the people who join us. Needless to say, we will be extremely busy since we will constantly be surrounded by our children as well as cooking every meal, doing various chores, and trying to figure out life in Malawi. We look forward to seeing how the Lord work in and through our ministry.

mase is not legal in the UK.

Being my first time flying overseas, i think i did a really great job! Mary, Anna and I flew from Atlanta to London where we had about a 10 hour layover. I was so excited because I had never been to London and we had the chance to do tons of sight seeing; we had a great meal etc. It was when i returned to the Heathrow airport that the trouble began. We were going through security and thought it was funny when my bag got rejected while all the others continued down the line. It was only funny for a second because seconds later I had airport security calling the London Police Department because they found mase in my bag. Apparently, mase is completely illegal in the UK, it is equivalent to carrying a handgun. The scary man assured me that everything was going to be fine and that they just had to follow protocol. So when the police came and i was sobbing, he told me that it wasnt a big deal, I was just going to spend the night in jail and catch the next available flight. I was mortified, I was crying and Mary, Anna and our new friend Katie were all praying. The cop called the "governor" and told him I was a "missionary who was only going to Malawi out of the goodness of her heart for pete's sake." It worked. They let me go. All is well. I love Malawi!! Hey mom! love you!

We are headed to the airport today along with some local interns to greet the global team! We have 13 of our 16 interns are arriving today. Two got stuck overnight in Miami and one simply circled Lake Michigan only to return home and start all over again on Tuesday! She will be joining us Thursday. They have all been real troopers and we are excited for all that God has for this team here in Malawi.
I have also attached a picture from the other day. We visited a crises nursery nearby simply to hold, feed and play with babies. They currently have 18 babies in the home to care for each day. God bless them for their service!

Destination: Malawi

    You may wonder: what on earth do a handful of college students hope to accomplish in one of the poorest countries in the world?  While in Malawi, the interns will be mainly focusing on about five projects in two villages.  Some of the students will be staying in Njewa; they will be helping with a widow’s group, and working in village homes.  The widows group was founded in 2006, since then the widows have acted as a support group for each other, and learned valuable skills to support their families.  They now make and sell great looking knits and textiles (I can testify to their being fashionable as I have a fabulously cute apron that was made by them).  Interns will be supporting this group by leading the women in Bible study and prayer, checking product quality, taking and managing orders, preparing goods for sale to visitors, and participating in the daily hardships of caring for many children.  Their help will assist the widows in their battle to become self sufficient.  While helping in the village homes, interns will spend time with children around their homes by tutoring, reading, and mentoring.  These are vital experiences the children might miss out on without COTN because of the struggle caregivers have with keeping up with so many children.  We’re trying to make sure no child is left behind.  

    There is also a smaller group of interns who will be in Chiwengo tutoring, doing outreach, and organizing a sports tournament.  Classrooms in Malawi have very large class sizes, so if a child does not understand something, it is very hard for a teacher to be able to give them any individual attention.  Interns will be helping to bridge the gap of understanding that exists because teachers are spread so thin.  The children living in Chiwengo lead outreaches to the nearby villages.  Interns will be supporting them by: teaching the Gospel, organizing sports and games, and encouraging COTN children to be active in sharing their faith.  There will also be a sports tournament in Chiwengo with soccer and netball.  As many as 400 people may come to the final soccer match, so interns will be helping to organize the event and show Christ’s love to the members of the village.

    Interns will do their best to be a light of Christ in an area touched by extreme poverty.  Please pray that God’s love will pour through us and into the lives of these children.