Monthly Archives: February 2010

Growth

by Rachel

A few things have changed around here, so it’s time for some updates…

Simba 4 MonthsOur cute little puppy of a couple months ago is quickly becoming a large dog.  Weighing in at around 45 pounds, Simba is now 4 months old, and this picture is a pretty accurate idea of what he spends his time doing – lying down and eating.  And if he’s not eating his food, he’ll gladly eat rocks, snails, entire maize stalks… anything that fits in his mouth!

Rachel 14 WeeksRachel is growing too, as she enters the second trimester.  Baby Flo is starting to make an appearance!

Baby Flo 14 WeeksAt 14 weeks, Baby Flo is doing great!  Matt got to come and see the ultrasound this time, and we marveled at God’s creative design as we watched Baby Flo lift up a hand to show us all 5 perfectly formed fingers – so tiny, but already there and moving around!

Green Rainy SeasonAnother thing that’s growing is grass!  The rainy season was very late this year, but it’s finally here.  We’ve had rain every day for a week now, and it’s so beautifully green!  It feels like we brought the green home with us from vacation!

Burned Voltage GuardsWhat’s growing here?  Our box of burned out electrical items!  Voltage spikes, brown outs, and all other kinds of electrical anomalies are a part of daily life here, so we try to protect our more important items (fridge, freezer, computers, etc) with voltage guards.  The guards lying on the ground are both dead due to a spike a couple weeks ago.  The one on the left has a little black hole one it where it burned completely through – but it protected Rachel’s computer!  The one on the right protected Matt’s computer, all his back-up drives, the printer, and the internet router, but when it burned up, it got so hot it burned the two holes in our wall!  On to the next set of voltage guards, and more lessons in Malawian electricity!

1 Peter WordleThe Ladies’ Bible Study on 1 Peter has been fabulous!  They’re 16 weeks into the study, and just starting chapter 4.  All the ladies have learned so much from this small book and God has grown in each of them a greater appreciation for studying His Word carefully, thoroughly, and in context.  The graphic above was generated by Wordle.net, highlighting the key words for the book of 1 Peter.

Monitor LizardAnd finally, though this has nothing to do with growth, a little glimpse into our adventurous lives here in Malawi – a Nile monitor lizard that we chased out of our kitchen last week.  He’s much smaller than other monitor lizards we’ve seen, but he made up for his size with aggression and snake-like movement!  We’re hoping this guy does NOT grow and come back for a visit!

Time for a Vacation

by Rachel

After almost 9 months in Malawi, we decided to take a little time away. When you’re living in a new country, your “days off” are just as busy as your work days, so we knew we needed to go away to rest. And away we went…

To the Zomba plateau. It’s a 4 1/2 hour drive south of Lilongwe, and a whole world away! The ferns, trees, and GREEN overwhelmed us, and we started to relax right away.

We had rented a 2-bedroom cabin down a little dirt road, and thoroughly enjoyed a cozy fire to keep us warm in the evenings. It’s the hot time of year here in the southern hemisphere, but up on the plateau it was cool and brisk, and high enough in elevation that there are no mosquitos.

The first thing we did when we got to the cabin was take a walk. This is how we looked when we left for the walk…

And this is how we looked when we got back to the cabin. You might notice that we’re smiling even bigger in this picture – the rain was awesome!

We decided that this trip qualified for Christmas and birthday presents for both of us, but Rachel did have her actual birthday on this trip, so we went for a boat ride at a trout farm.

Matt thought that Rachel probably shouldn’t be paddling on her own birthday, so quickly took over paddling duty. =)

In between resting and reading, we saw quite a bit of the plateau, including William’s Falls…

And Chagwa Dam, a hidden, remote little lake that was one of our favorites.

One of us took A LOT of pictures on this trip and thoroughly enjoyed hauling a big camera across fields, through the rain, over waterfalls…

Same said adventurer conquered a few mountains in search of just one more photograph.

Our last adventure was exploring the western side of the plateau. We had tried to drive out this direction, but the roads were too eroded, even for 4-wheel drive. So we hiked them. It was almost 4.5 miles uphill to reach Chingwe’s Hole, a hole ~60 meters deep, situated right on the edge of the plateau, overlooking the valley and plains below. When we got to the cliff, this is what we saw. Fog and clouds!

But as we waited, the clouds lifted and the fog blew out of the valley – it was beautiful! Suddenly the 4.5 miles uphill was worth it!

On the way back down, the clouds settled back in, and we slipped and slid in the rain all the way down!

And we loved every minute of it. We drove home from our vacation feeling rested. Our times of refreshment in God’s Word and our times of enjoying the beauty and wonder of His creation are reminders of His grace to us, and we’re ready to jump back into life and ministry with a renewed excitement!

A Visit from Bryan

by Matt

A couple weeks ago, we had a fantastic visit from Bryan Martin. Bryan went to seminary with Brian Biedebach, and when the Biedebachs delayed their return to Malawi, Brian and the leadership of GMI started looking for someone who could come fill the pulpit for a couple weeks in their absence. What a breath of fresh air! Bryan came all the way from New Zealand to preach for 2 Sundays, to encourage us, and to see a bit of the country and the ministry here in Malawi. We also lined up opportunities for him to speak twice in chapel at African Bible College, to take the first week of Brian Biedebach’s Sermon Preparation class, and to spend time with many of the Malawian and expatriate families in our church and community. I don’t think he had 10 minutes of time to himself in the week and a half he was here!

But what a great time for us! We so enjoyed long conversations about Malawi, ministry, life, and theology. Bryan has a very evident love for people, and we were the grateful recipients of his care for the whole time he was here. Bryan, thanks for your willingness to come and serve us. You have truly encouraged our hearts for the ministry God has here!

Bryan Martin