God's Handiwork

This past week God has painter our trees with frost and made our world sparkle with beauty.

    The day after I took photos the sun came out and everything sparkled like diamonds. It makes our world look like a scene from C.S. Lewis "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" When Lucy first stumbles in to Narnia. This picture is not as bright but it reflects my thoughts.

     It has been a long week for me. My knees have been troubling me and they have just been more troublesome this week. I have been in 3 dr. offices and have cried a bit. As in my previous post my heart and I want to be in Africa and there is still much to do. Sore knees and surgery do not fit into that time frame very well. But I have scheduled knee replacement surgery on Feb. 21. I see God's handiwork in this too.

   It is often hard to get to a referral and hard to get into see specialists. I made a stop at the walk in clinic and was given a referral. When the orthopedics office called the next day I was able to get an appointment the next day and was able to get this all scheduled and cared for in one appointment. Not sure that is heard of in today's world very often. I had however asked a lot of people to pray with me about my knees. 

     So I got my right knee injected and now it is feeling better. My Grace Point Grub meal ministry need to go on while I am not available. I  have been talking to people and it seems to be coming together for the 3 weeks I am not available. Another example of God's Handiwork.

   So we are going forward.

    This is the luggage of a young couple we met at SIMgo mostly ready for their transition to Niger West Africa. It was a mind numbing thought to me to narrow our stuff down to this small quantity and reality is we don't have 3 young children and one more coming in 6 months. 

    I have been cleaning and clearing things but it's a daunting task. I took this photo as a reminder of our goal. I am hoping to see God's handiwork as we clean out and prepare our home as well.

Starting an Adventure

Last week my husband and I attended SIM go.
So what exactly is that? You might ask.
SIM is a mission organization we have chosen to join.
We are in preparation to transition our lives to Blantyre Malawi.

A few things about SIM. SIM was founded in 1893 as Sudan Interior Mission. They have had a few name changes over the years as they have grown and spread in their focus from the Sudan to 6 Continents and over 70 countries. At this point in many parts of the world the letters SIM mean serving in missions. Here in the United States it's just SIM. Check out their website at www.simusa.org We are personally encouraged by their motto "By Prayer"

Malawi is a small African country, similar in size to the state of Pennsylvania. The population is near 18.5 million. 47 % of the population is under age 15. Those numbers illustrate the fact that Malawi was hard hit by HIV/AIDs and Malawi continues to be affected by HIV/AIDS. Malawi has consistently been of the list of the worlds ten poorest counties for the past several years. I have seen listings showing Malawi anywhere from 3rd poorest to 7th poorest. Poverty is a way of life. The Malawian Kwatcha exchanges at about 700 Kwatcha to one American dollar. Despite the poverty Malawi calls herself the warm heart of Africa.

Looking back on my 6 weeks in Malawi summer 2016 there are things that stand out to me. Bales of donated clothing most likely from the US are purchased by nationals and sold in large markets. Vegetables are piled in stacks and sold on the road side. One of the teachers working at Rafiki where I was serving said teachers could find jobs that offered housing but were asked to work for 6 months before they would receive a salary. Not a feasible thing. One of the missionaries there said that one could get by on a thousand Malawian Kwatcha a day if they were frugal. Ladies carrying and selling bananas could make that if they had access to bananas to sell. Ladies wear their hair in beautiful intricate braids and value having their hair braided over many more essential things. I hope those statements bring a picture to mind. But I am attaching a few favorite pics so you can see with your eyes as well.

Malawi statistics taken from Global Road Warrior Malawi Country Profile, 1/21/2018