So, it's been a while since my last update, but I can explain. Chalk it up to enjoying the complete Africa experience. There was no electricity yesterday when we arrived home from our project sites. So, we cooked, we ate, we celebrated Sydney Gregory's 12th birthday, cleaned up and had a team devotional all in the dark. (I'm not sure but I think some of our team members may have nodded off during the team devo time...)
Today was an incredible day of ministry. Most of the team: Brad, Darlene, Doug, Kelli, Stacey and Valerie started off by going to the Open Arms orphanage. They received a guided tour and were able to find out a great deal of information about the plight and growing problems of orphans and thier care. The orphanage they visited was one of the nicer ones in Blantyre but they still learned that the growing numbers of orphans may soon overwhelming the current system that is in place to provide the care for and placement of these orphans. While they were at Open Arms thay had the opportunity to leave some of the infant formula as a gift for the orphanage.
After leaving the orphanage, they group proceeded to the Bridge to Malawi feeding center in the village of Bodza. Bodza is about an hour and a half drive from Blantyre down in the valley and aas a result it is VERY hot there. By the time the team made it to the site it was past Noon and the children fed by the center (usually around 200+) had begun to arrive. So, with barely time to catch their breath, the team got started entertaining the children with a large parachute while others prepared the craft project for the day. Oh, and by the way, it was blistering hot there.
In our preparation for this trip some members of the team had the chance to meet a woman named Beatrice who is a native Kenyan but who now resides in Oklahoma City. One of the stories she shared with the group was how much she treasured an old, worn and rumpled photograph from her childhood. The only childhood picture she had ever owned. Picking up on how much Beatrice treasured her picture, the team decided to use photography technology similar to Polaroid (yet made by Fuji) to take pictures of the children at the feeding center and then give the children a chance to decorate the frame for the pictures.
In our planning for the trip we were told that the Bodza feeding center typically feeds 130-150 children each day. So we purchased 200 exposures for the camera and guessed that we would be okay. Unfortunately, the center now feeds 200+ on a daily basis. The day we arrived they had 197...just enough film for all of the kids. That sounds like God to me.
Our team also played games with the children, shared Bible stories, helped prepare the lunch for the kids, sang to the kids and listened to am impromptu concert by the children. Over and over during our team devotion time our team remarked how blessed they were by the children. It was easy to look into their eyes and to know that Jesus Christ was looking right back at us. At the end of the day the weary, dirty and tired missionaries trudged in exhausted but fulfilled.
And that is exactly what Christ expects of us. Paul encourages us to do everything we do with all of our heart as if we are working for the Lord. That means working with excellence and giving ourselves fully to the task at hand. When we give every ounce of energy that we have, then we make ourselves dependent on God and the power of the Holy Spirit. We allow him to fill us, to work through us, to do things that are impossible in our own strength and, as a result, we glorify God and proclaim Jesus as Lord. It doesn't matter if you are in Malawi or on Main Street this is how God expects his disciples to live and act...EVERYDAY!!!
As I write this I want to encourage you to pray for the continuing deisel shortage. Due to the shortage of gas we have been forced to amend our project schedule and the team was unable to return to the Bodza feeding center on Friday. Please pray that deisel will be delivered and that we will be able to secure all that we need for the remainder of our time here.
In my next post I will share a little bit about the Pastors' Conference.
Soli Deo gloria,
Michael
Today was an incredible day of ministry. Most of the team: Brad, Darlene, Doug, Kelli, Stacey and Valerie started off by going to the Open Arms orphanage. They received a guided tour and were able to find out a great deal of information about the plight and growing problems of orphans and thier care. The orphanage they visited was one of the nicer ones in Blantyre but they still learned that the growing numbers of orphans may soon overwhelming the current system that is in place to provide the care for and placement of these orphans. While they were at Open Arms thay had the opportunity to leave some of the infant formula as a gift for the orphanage.
After leaving the orphanage, they group proceeded to the Bridge to Malawi feeding center in the village of Bodza. Bodza is about an hour and a half drive from Blantyre down in the valley and aas a result it is VERY hot there. By the time the team made it to the site it was past Noon and the children fed by the center (usually around 200+) had begun to arrive. So, with barely time to catch their breath, the team got started entertaining the children with a large parachute while others prepared the craft project for the day. Oh, and by the way, it was blistering hot there.
In our preparation for this trip some members of the team had the chance to meet a woman named Beatrice who is a native Kenyan but who now resides in Oklahoma City. One of the stories she shared with the group was how much she treasured an old, worn and rumpled photograph from her childhood. The only childhood picture she had ever owned. Picking up on how much Beatrice treasured her picture, the team decided to use photography technology similar to Polaroid (yet made by Fuji) to take pictures of the children at the feeding center and then give the children a chance to decorate the frame for the pictures.
In our planning for the trip we were told that the Bodza feeding center typically feeds 130-150 children each day. So we purchased 200 exposures for the camera and guessed that we would be okay. Unfortunately, the center now feeds 200+ on a daily basis. The day we arrived they had 197...just enough film for all of the kids. That sounds like God to me.
Our team also played games with the children, shared Bible stories, helped prepare the lunch for the kids, sang to the kids and listened to am impromptu concert by the children. Over and over during our team devotion time our team remarked how blessed they were by the children. It was easy to look into their eyes and to know that Jesus Christ was looking right back at us. At the end of the day the weary, dirty and tired missionaries trudged in exhausted but fulfilled.
And that is exactly what Christ expects of us. Paul encourages us to do everything we do with all of our heart as if we are working for the Lord. That means working with excellence and giving ourselves fully to the task at hand. When we give every ounce of energy that we have, then we make ourselves dependent on God and the power of the Holy Spirit. We allow him to fill us, to work through us, to do things that are impossible in our own strength and, as a result, we glorify God and proclaim Jesus as Lord. It doesn't matter if you are in Malawi or on Main Street this is how God expects his disciples to live and act...EVERYDAY!!!
As I write this I want to encourage you to pray for the continuing deisel shortage. Due to the shortage of gas we have been forced to amend our project schedule and the team was unable to return to the Bodza feeding center on Friday. Please pray that deisel will be delivered and that we will be able to secure all that we need for the remainder of our time here.
In my next post I will share a little bit about the Pastors' Conference.
Soli Deo gloria,
Michael
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