And the adventure begins again.... :)

On Monday, I did what any American getting ready to leave the country would do; as I waited in the airport; I had McDonald’s for dinner and Ben & Jerry’s for dessert. J I must say, the hamburgers tasted great and the fries were salted ‘just right’. Dr. Pepper was my soda of choice – delicious as always. It was tough to choose the ice cream flavor I wanted from B&J… but then I saw it, ‘Pumpkin Pie’. I savored every bite of the single scoop waffle cone of Pumpkin ice cream with bits of pie crust in it. I’d say my last American dinner for a while was tasty. J

Kayla & I arrived Wednesday afternoon (early morning for you ‘East Coasters’ J) to Blantyre safe & sound. We are both missing one piece of luggage, which was a little disheartening, but they say this happens a couple times a week & that the bags always show up. Here’s praying that’s true!

As we drove from the airport Wednesday afternoon, I enjoyed taking in all the sights & sounds of Malawi. It put a smile on my face to know that we did it; we really came back to Malawi and we’re here to stay for the next 5 months. Wow. God is good.

When we arrived to the school/church/home compound, Pastor Fadrick said that we had been ‘upgraded’ with our living quarters. We are not staying right next to the pastor’s house as we did last summer. This time, they gave us our own house – for me & Kayla. We haven’t quite figured out what to do with all the space that we have. J The area for the dining room when you first walk in is bigger than our kitchen & living room combined of last year. Kayla & I have our own bedrooms and bathrooms, with 2 more bedrooms and another bathroom as a part of the house. The living room is as long as our whole apartment space was last year and double the width. When we were here last summer, there was a family renting this house & I had their son, Gift, in the Standard 6 class that I taught. That family has moved to another town and Gift is now studying in Secondary school because he passed the Standard 7 exams while we were away.

Kayla & I were greeted Thursday morning by all of the children in the Church Hall. Last year, we had taught them a chant using the well-known ‘Everywhere we go, people want to know’ song; we had just added our own verses to make it fit for the School. The children sang that to us & it brought tears to my eyes. J It was a precious gift to know that they are as excited to have us return as we are to be back with them.

I am so thankful for this opportunity to live life with those around me; sharing both hardship and joy as we draw closer together and to God. Your prayers are needed and appreciated as Kayla & I adjust back to our Malawian ways of life! J

Have a blessed weekend!