Monthly Archives: May 2011

Youth Camp 2011

by Rachel

When we first moved to Malawi, Matt was hesitant to teach the youth at church because he didn’t want to get labeled as “the youth guy.”  Over the last couple years, we’ve joked about this frequently because we quickly grew to LOVE the youth groups!  Matt now teaches one group every Tuesday night, and he also jumps in occasionally to teach the older youth group on Fridays nights.  This youth camp was a combination of both groups, but mostly for the older youth.

 

Matt Floreen speaking at camp

The theme for this year’s camp was “Do You Love Me?”  It’s the question that Jesus asked Peter in John 21:15-17, and so we looked both at that and at the book of 1 John asking ourselves “Do I really love Christ?”  It was a great topic for the weekend, and applicable to all of us.

 

Questions and Answers Follow-up at Camp

Another element of camp is the Q&A time both nights around the campfire.  The youth submit questions anonymously to the question box, and Matt goes through and answers all the questions in the group setting.  The questions these guys were asking are great!  Here’s a few: 1) How can I truly repent?  2) I have heard that being afraid is not trusting God.  Is that true?  If is is, does that make it a sin?  3) Why did Jesus have to be resurrected?  Wouldn’t he have paid for our sins even if he had stayed dead?  4) When does talking about others turn into gossip or slander?  Matt is careful to direct the students to God’s Word at every point so that the answers he gives come from God’s Word and not his own opinion.  Some of the questions turned into discussions over the next days as the students considered how to apply what they had learned.

 

Lake Malawi at Camp

You can’t have camp without a little bit of fun!  We had our own little section of Senga Bay at Lake Malawi, with rocks to jump off of and plenty of space for water games.  Not to mention a great view.

 

Abigail at Camp

Abigail came along for camp too, though she was definitely more interested in the grass, bugs, and sand than in what Dada was saying…

 

Camp Group Shot

We loved the chance to get away to the lake for a few days with this great group of students and youth leaders!  We’re praying that the Lord will use His Word to pierce and change their hearts, to cause them to grow in their love for Christ.

The Kopps

by Rachel

Matt and Brianne Kopp stopped by “on their way” to Ethiopia a couple weeks ago.  Now, if you look at a map, you’ll realize that Malawi is not on the way to anywhere!  This was an extra leg for them, and a special treat for us.

 

Kopps at the Ice Cream Den

They had an adoption court date to be at in Ethiopia, and the little boy they’re adopting is almost exactly the same age as Abigail.  We let them borrow our munchkin so that they could get some practice in before meeting him.

 

Ice Cream Den

Since we had only about 24 hours with the Kopps we knew we needed to show them the best of Africa… Fortunately we were spending those 24 hours out at the lake getting ready for camp, which took us right by the Ice Cream Den!

 

Crocodile Farm

What’s a proper visit to Lake Malawi without a trip to a crocodile farm?

 

Matt Kopp speaking at Camp

We spent the night in a couple chalets on the lake shore, and the next day Matt Kopp did the opening session for our church youth camp, introducing our topic: Do You Love Me?

 

The Kopps

In those few moments over lunch or out on the lake shore early in the morning, we enjoyed great conversations with these two.  We’re so thankful for their hearts for ministry and the so-evident love that they brought to us from Faith Bible Church in Ladera Ranch, CA.  We’re excited to spend more time with the Kopps over the coming years, and look forward to the next time they come to Malawi!

How to Host 50 People in Your Home

by Rachel

We’ve already had 9 visitors, and we have about 45 more coming to stay in our home in the next few months. It sounds crazy, but this is a part of ministry that we love. Here are some of the things we’ve done to make it work in our house.

 

Mountain of Laundry

1. Get a good washer and dryer.

Thanks to the ladies of Mindset for Missions, we have a great washer/dryer set. They are high-capacity, and we’re putting them to work with mountains of laundry!

 

Half a Cow

2. Buy half a cow.

Yes, we bought half a cow. Someone had given us a quarter of a cow in January 2010 and it took us a year to eat and share it all. With so many people coming, we invested in 104 kgs of beef – that’s 229 pounds. Thankfully it comes processed, so here’s a sampling of what we got: 12 minute steaks, 23 chuck steaks, 28 shins, 32 spare ribs, 78 beef sausages…  A good amount of it is already made into meals or components of meals: empanadas, spaghetti/lasagna sauce, and carne asada.  Our large deep freeze is packed!

 

Guest Bedroom

3. Rearrange your house.

The Lord blessed us with a fabulous house for hosting anyone who comes to visit. It’s a bit big for just the three of us, but we’re putting it to work right now. We have 4 bedrooms with an optional 5th and possible 6th, and 5 bathrooms. It didn’t even feel crowded with 7 seminary guys, which is good because our next team also has 7, and they’re here for 5 weeks. So we play musical beds and match the mosquito nets to the right beds and we’re ready to go!

 

Pantry

4. Shop like you mean it.

We don’t have a Costco here. At times we wish we did, but then we realize that we’d miss out on all the adventures of shopping in Malawi. It goes like this: “If you find the kind of light bulb that we need, buy all they have.” On occasion the same is true of butter, flour, canned tomatoes, and even Coca-cola. The grocery shopping game is interesting when it’s just the three of us at home, but add 7-25 extras and it becomes an extreme sport! We’ve been stockpiling for months to get ready for this, though we’re sure we’ll run out of something and give everyone a good Malawi experience.

 

Biedebach Kids Helping Out

5. Get help.

There’s no way we could do all the normal things in our life and host so many people on our own. We have ladies from the church coming over to help cook, families bringing desserts, and even little decorators giving a helping hand (thanks Biedebach kids!). We’re so thankful for our church here and everyone’s willingness to jump in and share the work and the fun with us!

 

Anyone else want to come visit? We have openings in August… =)