Hello from the beautiful land of Malawi! We, and all our luggage, arrived yesterday safely and in good shape. Weariness was great but so was our anticipation, especially after the ride into Lilongwe from the airport. After 46 hours of travel, it was SO refreshing to see a vibrant countryside with people biking, vendors at the side of the highway trying to sell us fresh roasted skewered mice, others waiting patiently for a bus to come along. By the time we reached our hotel, we were filled with expectations about what we would all experience in the next few weeks.
Sunday morning came a bit too early for some of us who would have liked to have slept another 8 hrs. After a quick breakfast our driver arrived to take us to Theresa's house and from there, she led us to her church. Well, actually that is what should have happened. Halfway enroute to her church and in the middle of the suburbs of Lilongwe we lost sight of her vehicle. This was not part of the plan otherwise we would have had her cell phone number or at the very least the name and address of her church. Hmmm after waiting at the side of the road for a bit, we got the brilliant idea of calling her daughter Keta, (whose number we did have) and eventually made it to our destination. Church supposedly started at 9:30 and I was beginning to wonder if we'd get there just in time for closing prayer. To our great relief, they hadn't even started yet! What a delight, what an absolute treat to spend a Sunday morning worship time with these people! Friendly, warm, and inviting are understatements. As it was a very small church our presence was quite noticed and so were asked to stand and introduce ourselves to all. Pastor Eugene began a series today on Servanthood which spoke to my heart. His main scripture was a verse from 2 Chronicles 25: "Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight but not wholeheartedly". Basically, his challenge was that doing something perfectly does not qualify you for a reward from God. The HEART is what matters to God. Is your service to God part-time or full-time? Obviously I can't relate everything the way he did, especially not the part where he imitated an American TV evangelist!
Lunch was another highlight, going to a fast food restaurant with Theresa and her grandkids. It was a good opportunity to chat, get to know her, and have her get to know us.
Like true North Americans, we could not pass up the opportunity for Sunday shopping so stopped in at the local market (the touristy kind with arts and crafts. We were very thankful for the watchful presence of our driver Issa. Being the only white women (and almost the only customers) in a market with approximately 30 men all highly anxious for a sale was a wee bit chaotic! This was Nettie's first experience in an African market setting and we were very proud of how she held her own! The
whole thing was quite an adventure.
We are having a marvellous time and look forward with expectation of what God has in store for us. Stay tuned!

Debbie