Facts about Malawi, Africa

Here are some facts about the country in Africa my children are
 in, Malawi:


~This is what the flag looks like
~Just over 13 million people live in Malawi
~ Life expectancy is around 36 years
~ Birth rate is on average 5.9 per woman
~ 14% of the population is believed to have HIV/AIDS
~ Literacy rate is just over 62%
~ The official language is Chichewa but there is no written way to learn or teach it unless you are there to study it
~The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas

~It is the 7th poorest country in the world
~It is the poorest country in Africa
~750,000 are orphans

~48% of children in Malawi are chronically malnourished
~One in four children die before the age of five
~7% of the population have electricity
~It is called the "Warm Heart of Africa" because of the gentleness and kindness of the people
~It is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
~The capitol is Lilongwe

~Lake Malawi is known to be the most beautiful lake in the world ~My kids will be visiting there some point in their trip ~Here is just a taste of the beauty:

My kids better be taking pictures of all they are doing and seeing!   

Stay tuned...

In Malawi...

I got the phone call yesterday I had been waiting for! The call informing me that my children arrived in Malawi, Africa safe and sound! The sound of my son's voice as he said, "mom!" has never sounded so sweet!   I wonder if that is how God feels when I call out to Him?

They arrived in Africa about 8:00 am central time, 3:00 pm Malawi time. My son said their stay in Johannesburg was great. The lady they stayed with was very nice and they had comfortable beds and great showers! He slept very well! My daughter, not as well. She informed me there were dogs barking and running around all night! And some kind of strange sound like a weird bird cawing all night long! Fun listening to the different perspectives! I am sure that will be the norm for the next reports I recieve from them! :) We only had about 2 minutes to talk but it comforted me just to hear their voices!

My heart is still sad.  I just miss them so much!  (I told my husband I need to start a support group for parents whose children are traveling out of the country!)   :)  I am so glad for their ability to go and tell other's about Jesus and I pray for an annointing over them and also that they will be surrounded by protection from God. I can't wait to hear from them again! It is amazing how I wait and cling to any kind of communication from them! I really am understanding more, how God desires me to communicate with Him! I am His child and He longs to hear from me daily! And the joy that it brings Him just because I take the time to be with him. Yes, God is using this time away from my children to draw me closer to Him.

More to come when I hear from them again or when I just need to "unload" my heart!  Soon!

Remember~ Love your kids today, like they are leaving for Africa tomorrow!

                                                                                     A close up view of Malawi.  They are in Blantyre:

This is the view of Africa with Malawi north of Tanzania. 

This is the websight that you can go to so that you can see where our kids are ministering at.  I will be updating soon! 

http://kalibu.com/

They are on a jet plane!

Well, the day finally came.  Yesterday, we said "good-bye" for 6 weeks to my oldest 2 kids.  They are now as I type this over the Atlantic Ocean.  I was very strong when we left them at the security gate.  (Thankful for that!)  But once we got to the car and it was empty, the tears started flowing...and flowing...and flowing.  I really cannot explain how I was feeling.  I cried the ENTIRE way home from Chicago!  It was like the reverse of being homesick.  I can honestly say, that it has been the hardest thing I have EVER had to do in my life!  I was beginning to feel better and kept asking God over and over.  "God, please give me peace, PLEASE give me peace, because I am not feeling it right now!"  I got on my phone a few minutes later and the family they will be staying with, messaged me and said he was excited for their arrival.  That helped me so much!  Just knowing that he was looking for them.  God knew exactly how to calm me!

My spirit understands that they are going to be doing God's work and bring other's the light of Him, but right now, my heart aches with an intensity that is so foreign to me!  I just want one more glance and one more hug.  However, I know that even with one more, it would never be enough! 

My daughter and I had an INCREDIBLE talk the night before they left and stayed up talking, crying, and praying.  We told each other of our regrets, God's provision in our lives, and then our fears.  We shared scripture with each other and just took it all in!  It was beautiful!  We gave each other our word that when she returned, we would continue to do that!  We waste so much time on things that don't really matter.  So much wasted energy in our lives that are used for things that have no eternal value!  We had an awareness that God was already in the process of changing us before she even left! 

They will be arriving in South Africa today around 11 am central time zone.  I can't wait to hear from them!  God worked out such an amazing thing.  They were going to have to stay in a hotel tonight by THEMSELVES before they catch their plane for their final destination.  That was the hardest part for all of us.  We made hotel reservations and my husband called the American Embassy to let them know there would be 2 teens staying there just to cover all of our bases!  Well, Monday with still an unsettled feeling of them being there all alone, A friend of ours from America told us they knew of a family that would host them overnight in South Africa!  We were so very relieved!  All that we were fearing, God took care of!  Imagine that!  It was such a confirmation that we don't need to know all the facts from the beginning, we just need faith to make the first step and God will take care of the rest!  Obedience is the key! 

These next few weeks will be a mother's heart as her children are in Africa.  I will be sharing MY heart.  Some days will be uplifting and some may be sad but I am going to pour my heart out on this blog!    I will also post when I hear from my kids and use that also.  I have so much emotion that it overwhelming.  Writing will help me and I would love to have you along on our journey!  Any uplifting things you could comment, would be welcomed as this mama's heart is going to miss them and the encouragement of other's will be wonderful!! 

Please remember to love your kids today, as if you are sending them to Africa tomorrow!

More to come...

In between Africa...

I said earlier today to my husband that I really wish I would learn to live each day as if my kids were leaving for Africa!  I am more sensitive to being with them, spending time with them and leaving the other cares of the day for another day!   I realize that soon,(WAY to soon!), they will be thousands of miles away and I will LONG to see their faces. So I have been staring at them more, hugging them more and taking TONS of pictures of them with their siblings!  Do I fear them dying?  Maybe...  It is a thought sometimes!  But it does not take going to Africa to think of that! :)  However, the real reason behind it is that I realize all of our lives are about to change DRAMATICALLY!  They will "grow" up in ways that I will not totally understand until they return, and me?!  Well, I will be "growing" up also!  The mommy way kind!  It happens to every mom so I know I am not alone with some of the feelings I have been feeling but it is not easy!  This is where my faith in God comes in!  I cannot be there for them in the next 6 weeks!  I can't just pick up the phone when I want to hear their voices or when I panic for a moment and fear the worst!  Nope!  I have to turn to Jesus!  Nights when I am wondering if they are warm, homesick, scared or anxious?  I can't do anything about it!  I can't GIVE them my reassurance that it will be okay!  They will be in a tent in the bush in Africa! That is hard for me to swallow!  I want so much to take it all away and comfort them!  That is what a mommy is supposed to do!   The great thing is, that I know God will be there with them!  And He is better then I ever could be anyway!  I said today through my tears, "God, you must think I am LOTS stronger than I think I am!  I can't do this!  It is just tooooo hard!"  And I'm right!  I can't do this...without HIM!  But He says I CAN do this if I depend on Him! 

Today, we dedicated our newest little one back to God.  (I will have pictures soon! ) We wanted to do it before the trip to Africa so we could experience one last memorable thing as a family for a while!  I did this years ago with my oldest two.  I realized at that time, that were His!  And I meant it!  I told God that whatever He had for them, I would, through His guiding hand, allow Him to have His way in their lives!  Easy when they are a baby laying in your arms dependent on you for their every need!  Not so easy, when you are watching them leave to a country thousands miles away without YOU!   I still am amazed that I have had the strength to even come this far and because of Him walking with me,  I will not go back on my commitment to Him!  I am allowing them to leave me for a time, so God can use them on the other side of the world to show other's His love!  Abraham was willing to allow God to do whatever He choose with Isaac!  Even death!  WOW!  That is obedience!  I bet Abraham took the long way around to the alter that day!  I bet he stared at Isaac, hugged him and just took every moment he had appreciating and loving his son as he walked to that alter!  Now, I am not saying my children will die, but 6 weeks seems like a long time to us!  And God spared Isaac and it was a test to see how obedient Abraham was.  So maybe this is a test!  And whoever God chooses to put in my children's path in the coming weeks, will get a glimpse of who God is and they will be forever changed!  Maybe the test is to see how willing we are to allow others to see who He is!  Will we just live in the comfort of what we are used to or will we be willing to stretch and sacrifice?  Time is getting closer and God has MANY people He desires to have in heaven with Him.  Are we willing to lay it all down for His name?  This life on earth is temporary.  A vapor in the wind!  But eternity is well...eternal! 

So for the next couple of days, I will laugh more, cry more, and savor more.  But the reality is, that whatever happens and wherever my children are, God is with them AND with me! So how could I worry or fear!  He loves them more than I do! 

Today, please give more hugs, look into your loved ones eyes, stare at them and just take it all in!

 Live today like you are sending them to Africa!  :)

Africa update...kind of

They are not leaving until Wednesday.  I have been, shall we say very BUSY!   Our biggest challenge right now is packing a teenage girl for 6 weeks with ONE suitcase (that can only weigh 44lbs!)  and ONE carry on!  Oh MY!   I am going to update soon but first things first!  That would be getting them prepared to leave!  Please stay tuned!  I will have pics from the day of take-off and the rest of the story! 

Our baby is being dedicated tomorrow morning so we are busy with that also!   The last thing we will be doing as a family for 6 weeks!  When you homeschool, that is a rude awakening when you are used to being together, for the most part, 24/7!  Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for this new adventure in our lives!

Journey to Africa~part 2

The next part of the journey went something like this:

God so much wanted my children to have this experience that He did not even wait for ME to pray for my heart to change, He just let me know that I NEEDED to trust Him!  Maybe because He knew that would even be hard to do at that point!  :)  WOW!  He does know me better than I know myself!

 Now, on to talking to dad!  My daughter presented the possible opportunity of going to Africa to him without knowing much detail.  He said we would discuss it and pray and if it was God, it would work out.  After weeks of my husband praying and us talking about it and him knowing I had given it to God and that I totally surrendered the decision to God and him, he said he really could not let her go alone.  So we decided to tell her probably another time when she was older or when she could go with somebody else.  She handled it very well and I told her that if God wanted her to go, He would find a way and if not this year, He would give her the opportunity sometime!

About 2 days passed and without talking to our oldest son about anything except the possibility of his sister going to Africa, he came to us one evening and said if it be possible, he would like to maybe go with her if we thought that would work. (Remember, we NEVER mentioned to him dad's decision to not let her go because he did not want her to go alone!)

 My husband and I were very excited!  I began to see the possibility that NOW she could go and it could potentially change his decision for her not to go because of our oldest son desiring to go!  My husband continued to pray and we talked some more with the kids.  The decision was made that if they could raise the money, they could go!  Amazing how God works!  My daughter never gave in and kept praying that if it be possible, God would make a way!  She NEVER imagined He would work in her brother's heart to go!  (We never even considered that idea either!) 

*A side note I would like to add is that when my oldest son was 6 years old, after he asked Jesus into his heart, he came to me one afternoon and told me he had a dream.  In his dream, he was delivering bibles in a semi-truck to Africa and handing them out to the African people!

 I can honestly say, that I never DOUBTED he would go there someday, but I DID NOT think it would happen this way!  God also called my daughter to the mission field when she was a small child.  She has always had a heart for missions and has known God was calling her to the mission field for years!  In preparation for that, she taught herself a second language just in case!  I always knew and have prayed that God would give me the ability to let her go when it was necessary.  (I did not know it would be asked of me so soon!)  But He has been so wonderful at providing me with His peace that passes ALL understanding!  To me THAT was this biggest hurdle!  If you know me at all, I tend to worry just a TAD (Okay, BIG tad!) to much!  God reminded me one day when I was seeing all of this come to be, I started to worry and think of things that might happen.  God gently spoke to my heart this, "Remember, they are not YOUR children anyway!  I have just given them to you to raise!  They are mine!  I will take care of them!"  (Oh yeah!  I had forgotten that part!)

In the past 7 weeks, God has done the impossible in some people's eyes, and has helped our children raise over $6000!  His plan is perfect!  With God ALL things are possible!  Even giving a mother of 12, the peace that she needs to send her oldest 2 children a world away to share with others, the gospel of Jesus Christ!  

Onto the rest of the 'Journey to Africa' in Part 3!  Stay tuned!

Journey to Africa~ Part 1

The past week has been a week of many thoughts and just plain "mind" busyness! I have SO much going on that sometimes I just sit and let them sift through my heart. I have lost many hours of sleep with them all! HOWEVER, it has been a time of prayer and dependency on my Savior like I have never known before! He has drawn closer and closer to me because I have been laying it all at His feet and have actually LEFT it there instead of trying to take it back! WOW, it works!

As you will find after reading this post, our family is going to go down a treck we have never tread before!  Please pray for us in the coming weeks!  Although THRILLED with an opportunity of a lifetime, our minds can overtake us with fear and dread of the unknown!  Now, for the "scattered" thoughts of my mind!

In less that 2 weeks, my oldest son and daughter will be leaving their predictable, comfortable home in America.  They are going on a journey that we NEVER thought possible!  They will be headed to Malawi, Africa!  Not with mom and dad, grandparents or ANYONE else that we "know" per-say!  My home-educated, "sheltered" teenagers, will be going this alone!  Neither of them have ever been in an airport, and only traveled to the south (In america that is!)!  We are being stretched and the rubberband will only continue to stretch further until they return home 6 weeks later! 

How did this all start and come to be?  Well, it started with mom (that would be me) saying in a VERY firm, matter of fact sort of way to my 15 year old daughter, "NO WAY ARE YOU EVEN GOING TO THINK OF GOING TO AFRICA NEXT YEAR!  YOU WILL ONLY BE 16 YEARS OLD!  IF YOU THINK I WOULD ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT, YOU ARE WRONG!  I WOULD NEVER LET YOU DO THAT!  MAYBE WHEN YOU ARE 18 OR 19 (OR 30) YOU CAN COME AND TALK TO ME ABOUT IT AGAIN, BUT FOR NOW, NO WAY!" 

Well, needless to say, my daughter is 16 and the plane tickets are bought and she is going to be headed to Africa on August 9th.  It's not that I gave into begging from her or anything of the sort!  In fact she never said another word about it after I layed my foot down.  HOWEVER, God got a hold of my heart.  I was folding clothes about 2 hours later chatting to myself about how she even THOUGHT I would consider sending my child away, and then He gently spoke to me in that "daddy" sort of way... "Do you really want to stop MY plan just because of your fears or will you listen to MY ways and rest in Me!"  And that is when everything changed!  I asked my daughter to come with me to talk to dad about it and the journey of God's perfect provision began...

Stay tuned to part 2!