Servant

If anyone knows me at all, they probably know that I can probably relate a conversation topic to a song- whether I learned it when I was 3, or if it was on Y100 yesterday. This very rarely comes in handy except to annoy people who want to just have a conversation without me breaking into a diddy.

I've been thinking about what I will do in the future a lot lately. I have committed to a second year here at ABC, but am looking for what I will do after that. Perhaps still in Africa. Teaching, I've realized, is not very self gratifying. There is always something I could have done better, and always something I still need to do. I have thought about working with street kids. I know they need help, but am still not quite sure how. I’ve thought about creating my own ministries to start something new.
So, I was listening to my Kids Music playlist on Itunes the other day to find a song to teach my students, and a Doughnut Man song came on. Gotta love good ol' Doughnut Man:-) His song "I Wanna Be Great" came on and it struck me.

I wanna be great,
I wanna be super, absolutely wonderfully great!
James and John were hangin’ around, fightin’ over who was the best, but Jesus said you want a crown on your head? Well this will be the test, listen carefully: ‘if you want to be made great by the Lord well then you've got to be the servant of all!’

This is what I've been missing. I've been trying to think of what I can start or do that is new and that they don't have in Africa that is needed. Jesus says, just be a servant. Sometimes those aren't the jobs that are in the spotlight or make you feel good, but they have to do with your love. Tim Keller said:

“It ain’t ministry unless it is being dictated to you by someone else.”

When it comes to my future, I can do all I want to make a "difference" in Africa, but it’s not right if we’re doing it on our own terms. Only when you do it as a servant, is it pleasing to God. I cannot be a disciple of God if I don't execute what God wants me to do.
This song has been stuck in my head all day long so I finally decided to write it on my blog.

The greatest among you will be your servant, For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:11-12

Victoria Falls

I DID IT! That’s right, I laughed at the face of danger, I defied gravity, I purposefully did one of the dumbest things I have ever dared to do, I BUNGI JUMPED 111 meters (364 feet) off of Victoria Falls in Zambia! The video wont work so here are some pictures. I'll work on getting the video up.

5,4,3,2,1, BUNGI! (push)

Notice my dirty little foot slipping through

I wouldn't have been able to do it without Vicki

Was it fun? Umm… No. Will I recommend it to a friend? Ummm… NO. Will I do it again? Ummm NO! But I’m so happy I got it out of my system. The girl before me tore her ACL and couldn't walk off by herself. My head felt like it was going to burst open any second and I knew it might when my arm started to go numb. You can see in some close up pictures that my left foot was beginning to slip through the rope. I have the bruise to prove it!
I also was able to stay with my beloved friend from college who lives in Lusaka, Zambia. What a blessing to meet up with that wonderful girl!
I got there by bus. 12 hours of bumpy, stinky, bus travel. Don’t get me wrong, it was worth it!

This was the "bathroom" that costs 1,000 Zambian Kwacha to use.

After arriving in Lusaka and eating at SUBWAY (one of the highlights of the trip), we took a 7 hour bus trip to the falls in Livingstone. It is the rainy season so it was impossible to see the falls anywhere but this one point from the side.

Before we were soaked

The rest was like walking through the waterfall, even though it was only mist creating the monsoon.

After we walked beside the falls

The next day we drove about an hour to Botswana to go on a river/land safari. We saw SO many elephants and giraffe. It was awesome!

I had the Toys R Us song stuck in my head after I saw these guys

There had to have been at least 50 elephants

The next day we went back to Lusaka and saw a movie and saw what other types of ministries in Africa can look like. We returned back on another 12 hour bus trip making that 41 hours in all on a stanky bus. I don't miss it.

Now as I prepare to finish up my year with 9 weeks left of school, I can rejoice! He has made me glad!

“The heavens declare you are God and the mountains rejoice!
The Oceans cry Hallelujah as we worship you Lord!”

Jesus is in Heaven!

I have so much to blog because I haven’t in so long!
The staff at ABC wanted to make Easter week a memorable one for the students. Easter is why we do what we do. It is why we sing songs in chapel, it is why we learn scripture, it is why we love Jesus. We love him because he first loved us. Each day of the last week before Easter break was made special by an ABC college student teaching our Bible lesson. This was followed by a craft. I am not patient enough to do a fun craft everyday of the week so this was a special treat. The teachers thought it would be fun to get balloons and helium for the last day before Easter break. The plan was to let them go up to heaven to remind us that Jesus not only died for us, but he also rose again and ascended into heaven. As the day approached, we realized it would be much harder to get helium then we thought. We sent out a flyer to all of the parents asking if they had any idea where we could find it. Thank goodness, a parent knew where to find some helium. As we handed out the balloons to the anxious children, I realized from their amazed faces that this treat was more special then I thought. Only 2 children from my class had ever seen a balloon float before. Sure they’ve seen balloons before, but none that they had to hold on too to keep it from flying away. I was struck by their kindness when a preschooler didn’t have a balloon and most of my students volunteered to share theirs. They were told to keep quiet because the big kids were having their chapel not too far away, but they couldn’t contain their enthusiasm for very long. They watched the balloons ascend into the clouds, and, up to God just like Jesus did.

During Easter week I had my students write about why it is important that Jesus rose from the dead. They all had answers that said it is important because it saves me from my sins. But these two were my favorite:

Why is important that Jesus rose? It is important because he will
save us and he can't save us wen he is dead thats why. ~Johanna

It is important because he wanted to save our sins and he also wanted to save the bag guys.~ Alicia

Alicia failed to remember our discussion that sin makes us all bad guys, but I love the fact that she understands that Christ came for the ungodly. Something we have talked about alot.

Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord- that you alone are the most high over all the earth. Psalm 83:18

Once apon a muddy road

Once apon a time, I tried to go to the village with a couple of Malawian college students to ministry to the kids. We were hopefull, even though last time we tried the car broke. It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining and the Africans were out and about.
Shortly after beginning our journey, we came to a hole in the "road" filled with water and surrounded by thick mud. After careful deliberation, I proceded to go through the mud at about 2 Kelometers an hour.

After bumping along very slowly for a while, we came to a village! It must be market day!

OOOO AHHHH look at all that cool stuff! Lets go shopping!

There was a problem though. There was a huge ditch through the middle of the road and blankets of merchandise spread out along the "good" part of the road. I don't think they were expecting any guests.

People gathered around as I stopped and started in my standard car. "AZUNGU!" they shouted. (white person) I gave a wave and a wink then got back to business.

They seemed confused why I couldn't get the car through. They all had advice to give, even though most have never driven a car.

Cooswayo directed me on safe ground... sorta. I accidently ran over some pants someone was selling on the road. Thats right. Not next to the road, ON the road.

It is hard driving under pressure. Bright got out of the car and bought snacks as we tried to make our way through.

We have already turned around a couple of times and this is our last road to try. It doesn't look so bad............

And then we came to THIS. I stopped dead in my tracks and tried to process a way to get through the huge muddy potholes.

Bright went to survey the land to see if it was safe to cross. Of course, he said there's nothing to it. All you have to do is put one tire in the hole and the other on the hard ground and you'll be FINE. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT.

After about 30 minutes of debate, everyone walking around in the mud, and about 30 Malawians stopping to help on their way by, I decided it is not safe to boud through the muddy ditches. I made a three point turn in the tobacco field and headed on home.

On the way back we saw some of the woman and children from the village we tried to go to so they knew we tried. It was a crazy day which took about 5 hours.

We will try again next week so I guess you could say this story is to be continued.

Wordless Book

Friday was my class's turn to sing a song for chapel. Well, we are an ambitious class so we sang two songs! One is a fun song I taught this summer in VBS and then this one. Somehow, as I was making sure they were all bathroomed, tucked in, and zipped I forgot my camera. So we taped this in the classroom specially for you;-) I love it because since the first week of school I have sung this song to them with the wordless book and we talk about what all of the colors mean. They were able to explain it to the other classes before singing it in chapel. We learned that even though we might not be able to speak everyone elses languages around us, we can still tell them about Jesus through 5 colors. Enjoy.

Palibe Ofana ndi Yesu!

I have to confess I've been listening to sermons by John Piper pretty much everyday and I'm PUMPED. God is teaching me so much right now I will explode! It has not been a tremendous week. I actually have received very bad and discouraging news about one of my friends and am in deep turmoil over her situation. My heart can hardly bare it. I have faith through that God will do something INCREDIBLE through my friend. There is no doubt that his glory will somehow be shown through her beautiful heart. God is so mighty. He is sovereign. He has chosen me and has me in the palm of his hand and will never let me go. I am seeing how wonderful God is for saving a wretch like me!
My students are doing great! Please pray for Tiffany. She has been sick every week that we have been back to school since Christmas. Pray for me to take my responsibility of shaping the lives of the 6 and 7 year olds God has given me for the year. Each heart is unique and precious in the sight of God. Last week for Bible I taught about the story where Jesus told the disciples to "let the little children come to me and do not hinder them." Some of them come from broken homes and some come from non-Christian families. Helping to shape their Christ-like character needs to be my priority everyday I am here.
Good stories for the week: Carey ate some bugs at recess which he was very proud of, Eungi has been talking in English a little during class and has started to write sentences!, and the bean plant that was supposed to die in the dark closet to teach that plants need sunlight, it grew taller then all of the other plants that had water and light.
We had our first youth small group last Sunday. 7 teens came. 1 South African, 1 European, and 5 Malawian guys. I am really excited about what God has in store for the group of teens who are not all confident in what they believe. We have a couple of ministry opportunities to do with the group and I can't wait to see Gods power! Pray for our next meeting this Thursday night!

Thank you all for your continual financial support! I am overwhelmed by your generosity and service!
Thank you for your prayer! I have been so blessed!

I would like to invite anyone who has a heart to serve and would like to teach next year to contact me. There are positions open at the academy next year. We also have a great need for someone at least for the summer to manage construction projects on campus. The current "fix-it" man has been here for 2 years and will be returning to the US at the end of the year. As you might know, I break things, not fix them, so I would be a hindrance in this area.

Palibe Ofana ndi Yesu! (there is no one like Jesus!)

New Year Happenings

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry I don't update often.

Things that have been going on:

I have had 2 full weeks back to school. I taught about plants and all the things they need to grow. Each of the kids got to see a bean grow in a glass jar and grow cress in an egg carton. Kids love to see the change in the plants everyday! I have had a couple kids absent due to sickness so please keep them in your prayers. Finn has a record of getting hurt about once a week so he has gained a new place at the top of my prayer book. His head is a magnet for other hard objects such as the merry-go-round, tile floor, and another kids head.

I'm working on choreographing two dances for our spring concert. Lots of kids have signed up for ballet this term and I'm very excited!

My kids did a skit in chapel about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promise land. They did an amazing job and I was so proud! I wish I taped it but I didn't:-( I got a couple of not so good pictures though.

Moses singing "Pharaoh Pharaoh, OOOH baby let my people go UGH! YEAH YEAH YEAH!God leading the Israelites out of Egypt as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of clouds by day (clouds are on the other side of the cardboard.)Pharaoh giving the lesson at the end. Then they all recited "rescue me from my enemies O Lord for I hide myself in you!

I was also involved in a puppet show this last week for chapel. I was the narrator/actor with the puppets. I felt like I was in Sesame Street. I don't have pictures:-(

Please pray for the village ministry that a couple of us have started. Our car broke down and we are no longer allowed to take it to the village since the roads are so bad. We're looking into bikes right now but they are expensive to get one for everyone. I don't want the devil to discourage us from bringing the word of God to these people who are so enthusiastic to learn how to read and more about Jesus. We're trying to turn in into an outreach sight for the college students so that it will continue even after us azungu (white people) leave Malawi.

Please pray for a new ministry that my roommate and I are starting next Sunday the 7th. Through the church I have been attending, we are starting a youth group/small group Bible study for teens. There is Sunday school for the kids and small groups for the adults, but we noticed there is nothing for the teens in the church. Now, there are only a few teens, but there might be more if we have this specifically for them. This group will consist of mostly expatriate kids from a private school called Bishop McKenzie. I feel like they have been neglected because most ministries are geared toward the widows and orphans, but none to the white kids who are getting involved in drugs, sex, and drinking. We will take whoever shows up though so please pray for them to be curious about what we're doing on Sunday nights. I'm planning on sharing my testimony for the first week and we are still looking for a good book to study. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

Please pray for my own selfish heart. God has been teaching me that it is not my job to correct and teach others how to live, but to love them. He will teach through my love. God didn't tell us to give tough love to others so that they learn what they're doing wrong. He simply said, love one another because I have loved you.

Thank you all for your constant support!

By the way, I got a plane ticket home for June 20! This is an answer to prayer because there are hardly any seats available right now! I got the last one! Praise the LORD!