International Day

Here are some pictures I've been trying to upload for a while and they haven't worked. We had International Day the day after Thanksgiving to give thanks for us all being from different countries and being able to worship the same God. We tied it into how the pilgrims and Indians were very different but could come together and help each other. Although we are all from different countries, most of them have grown up in Malawi for most of their lives (they are only 6). Everyone

My little Zimbabweans. They live in a Zimbabwean village together and are best buds!

Lebanon. She is still learning English.

Canadian. Her parents are missionaries from Canada, but she was adopted from the crisis nursery in Malawi.


Americans. Their parents are ABC missionaries. Carey was actually adopted from Malawi as well.

Johanna my little German. She has a cute accent and the sweetest personality!:-)

Korean. He is so smart! He can read although he doesn't know yet what he is reading.

Austrailia. Another awesome accent.

Italy. He has a brittish accent so I'm a little confused with him.

Malawians. I love their dresses!

South Africans. Beautiful accents! They are best friends!

Rejoice!

Funny story of the week:
I am taking doxycyline everyday to prevent Malaria. I'm greatful to it because I haven't gotten Malaria yet. But, one of the side effects makes my skin ultra sensitive to the sun causing sunburn. Well, I have been hiking and outside quite a few times and I haven't had anything happen to my skin so I figured I had nothing to worry about. Not so. I got just about the worst burn on my face I've ever had even after growing up in Florida. When I showed up to my class of Africans on Monday, they were shocked and slightly embarrassed at the sight of my face. They didn't understand why Miss Macks face is so red! "Wipe it off Miss Mack!" I couldn't. The next day it was very itchy and they asked if I had mosquito bites. No, its something that happens to white people when they're in the sun for too long. The third day my face was speckled from the peeling. I looked like I had a skin disease. This brought the biggest reaction from everyone I passed in the halls. I heard many comments and questions concerning the texture and color of my face, but my favorite was from a couple Malawian girls who stood outside my door looking at me through the open door unaware that I knew they were there. "What is it?" A girl asked. "It's what white people get when they go in the sun." "Man, I'm so lucky I'm black!" And off they ran. I'm happy I can help people feel better about themselves.

Other News:
I got petrol! WOOHOO! That means I'll be able to go to the village this week and get my students Christmas presents (thanks to the women at Hammock Street Church)! Thank you all for your prayers and support! Only 6 more school days until Christmas break! I can't believe I've been here almost a whole semester! Time flies when you're having fun.
It's funny how I tend to worry about things that don't seem to be going my way. They usually aren't even things that should matter that much in the grand scheme of life. And even if they are, all the more reason to give them to the God that supplies all of our needs right? I was reminded of this at staff Bible study last night when we sang

"O Love That Will Not Let Me Go."
O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life i owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer fuller be.

What's there to worry about? When I lay my petty little worries and fears down, I am amazed how much lighter I feel. Rejoice!

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18

Pray for our Christmas program this Wednesday night! Two of my classes are dancing and my first graders are "stinky shepherds."
Pray that I get a plane ticket home at the end of the year. They are all booked June-July due to the World Cup.

Trust in the Lord

There are so many things about Africa that I have gotten used to already. So many things I used to think were gross or weird are now pretty normal. But, I am now learning to be patient with something I never have thought about in the states. There is a major gas crisis in Malawi right now. We haven't had gas for about 3 weeks. That means that I haven't been out of the campus walls, except for church, in almost a month. I have food that doesn't spoil, and I walk across the street to buy bananas from someone selling them on the road so I'm not going hungry. In my big empty house it doesn't feel like Christmas yet because I haven't decorated. My December plans were to buy a Christmas tree and some other things to make it feel more like home, but that hasn't been able to happen with the gas crisis. There are so many stories about why we are in a crisis but nobody seems to know the real reason. One story is that the gas from Mozambique wasn't purified correctly so they sent it back and now that it's rainy season so the roads are too flooded to get across with a big truck. My favorite reason is that the president of Malawi bought a fancy new jet and it took so much money that Malawi can't pay for the petrol.
As much as i want Christmas decorations, I am more frustrated with not being able to go to the village. It would take us way too long to walk there and back so we haven't been for 2 weeks. I hope they don't think we have abandoned them. Please continue to pray for the kids in the village!
The gas shortage is also effecting my classroom. Some of the kids can't come to school because they have no way of getting there. We took one day off hoping that it would help but it didn't seem to make a difference.
Please pray for patience for me. My American side kicks in sometimes and can't believe how it is possible to go this long without gas. I guess I still have a lot to learn about Africa haha.

Ironic that I have been working with my class to learn Proverbs 3:5-6- Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.