Closure 2

Another thing I will miss about Malawi- the crisis nursery. I go every Friday to hold and feed and love on the babies. It has been a great way for me to end my week for the past two years. It reminds me that there are bigger things going on in the world than the stress of my own life. Such as- babies who don't have parents and who are sick and who are one of 25 in an orphanage and who don't get as much love as a baby needs. Plus, I love babies and cuddling these little Malawian babies makes my heart happy! I hope you enjoy the pictures of my little lovelies!

One of the new twins. He/she (not sure which one this is) is about 4 weeks old.

Aww.

This is Rachel.

She was born at the end of January. That makes her 4 months old and her arm looks like this:

My room mate Vicki goes with me. She likes the babies too.

This is the little guy I captured a great smile on a couple weeks ago. This is the room where they all play and eat.

What's up?

Hanging in the laundry basket.

Closure

Two weeks. That's sad. As is natural during times of transition I have been spending a lot of time walking down memory lane. I thought I'd take you with me on a few of those adventures. Today's feature that I will miss about Malawi: my students!! Teaching such a diverse group of kids has been such a wonderful experience. And they're pretty darn cute, too.

First Grade 2008-2009

First Grade 2007-2008

Charlotte (USA), Lisa, Tiwonge (Malawi)

Trent (S. Africa) and William (Malawi)- best buds!

Mina, the Pharoah (Egypt, just in case you forgot where Pharoahs are)

Tawile (Malawi), Hannah (S. Africa), Tayamika (Malawi)

Keith and Zizwa looking like babies- they are almost in 3rd grade now!

a little of this and a little of that

Here's what I've been up to for the past few days- in pictures.

Lake Malawi on a beautiful day.

With Andy. :-)

Loving on babies at the crisis nursery.
Finally captured his beautiful smile!

As a side note: Please pray for Malawi as they hold election on Tuesday, May 19th. There is no reason to expect a problem, but this is Africa and anything can happen. We have the day off of school to allow everyone to cast their vote. Pray that the election will be free and fair.

quotes from kids!

Some quotes are just plain hilarious. Like these ones:

Martina: I think I'm going to marry a penguin.
Tiwonge: Good idea, they don't talk so much.
James: Not me! I'm going to marry a wo-man!

Alexandra: Be nice to me or you can't have any cake.
Lisa: You can't buy me with your cake. I don't need your cake.

Some excite me because I can see that they are learning. Like these:

"I just can't stop thinking about this book! I dream about it and I want to read it all day long!"
"Hey, that's just like in The BFG!" (My whole class was rolling in laughter at this book yesterday. Wow!)

Some show wisdom beyond their years:
Me: Poetry is exciting because it can be so many different things. It's really different than reading a book, or telling someone as story. It can just do more. (I was struggling to explain it to them so that it would make sense).
Mina: Yeah. It can really show emotion.

Pray for us as we attempt to finish strong this year. Pray that I can continue to show love to my students.

worship

The soft and steady shuffle begins. Knees bend and feet tap; bodies rock, right to left; arms and hands follow along setting the mood for what will follow. My heart is quiet in anticipation. A clear and pointed solitary voice carries through the air, causing my heart to quicken. She begins the song. The rest are signaled by some silent clue to join in -- their voices in perfect harmony, filling the space with the power of their song. The sound bounces from wall to wall and penetrates straight to the center. Bumps break out across my flesh and tears prick my eyes. This is African worship.

Now it’s my turn to join. My feet begin to keep time involuntarily. My hands follow along. Soon I am mimicking the movement of the choir, allowing my whole body to be involved in this experience of worship. My voice is often the last part of me to join. Somehow, moving as one with the friends and strangers around me seems more important than the words of the song. As the words become familiar I lift my voice as well. This is worship. African worship. Kingdom worship.

I almost forgot!

After about 4 months of waiting for the machine to be fixed I have reached the end of the driving license saga. Just in time, really. Might as well be legal for the last two months! Here's the proof- wow, that's exciting! :-D

And we're off!

You know you live in Malawi when....you are eating at a restaurant and a little baby roach scurries across the table and you casually brush it aside and contine eating. Such is life.

Spring break has come to a close. I have mixed emotions about that. I am excited to see my kids and teach the "continents" unit. I am anxious because I know how much needs to be accomplished between now and the end of the year. I am mournful, as I know that this is the beginning of the end. It's all downhill from here, as the saying goes. I have coveted opportunities to hang out with my Malawi family in the past week. From tea with Vicki, cuddles with Sarah Rose, "shopping" with LeAnne, cookout with the McDonalds, to watching and appreciating the sunset every night, I am learning to live in the moment and appreciate it for what it is. How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called His children? That he not only gives us the things that we need, but things that we don't need to bring us joy.

I have some specific ways that you can pray for me in the coming weeks. Here they come:

• That I would be profoundly effective, to the glory of God, in my classroom. This is it, the last weeks to make an impact on my kids. Not to mention making sure they are ready for second grade. Pray that I would speak love to them with my words and my actions.
• That my relationships in Malawi would be 1. honoring to God, 2. strengthened
• I need a job when I get home. It is an exercise of faith to not be worried about it, with the state of the economy and the shaky school budgets. Pray for opportunities to present themselves, as well as wisdom and discernment about where to look and apply.
  

Thank you for your prayers! I'll leave you with my favorite (do you ever get tired of these?)- a sunset picture!