Waiting for a Ride

        Our truck has been in the shop for most of the days we’ve been back home. We drove to the village the first Sunday, but it sounded like the bottom was going to fall out on the way back, so we took the truck in for repair. The mechanic said it needed new CV joints but that it might take him some time to find them at a reasonable price. His first quote from a supplier was almost $750 each. Instead of visiting and supporting the work going on in the village that week, we got some time at home with each other, which was not half bad after three months of almost non-stop travel. 

This old truck has been put to the test and has served us well.

        We finally got our truck back, click free and with new shocks. The following Sunday we went to the village again, but the brakes were screaming at us along the way, so back to the mechanic we went. He fixed it lickety-split, and we’re back in business. The truck is running better than it has in a while and we’re no worse for the wear, so we’ll give it another go this week and try to make some headway on the plans for the school. We spend a lot of time around here waiting for things. The wait over these past two weeks just happened to be for a ride to the village. 

Some Helpful Hands Trying to Get the Truck Started--A Familiar Sight This Year

        Following is a link to a video of the road during the rainy season, showing you why it’s important to have a four-wheel drive vehicle with good shocks and brakes. (If you've driven the roads in Africa, this won't impress you, but the rest of you might like to see what our drive to work is like.)

Click Here to See a Ride Into the Village

Please send financial gifts to Westworth Church of Christ, 5728 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76114, c/o Malawi Mission Work, or you can give with a click at http://www.westworthcoc.org/malawi-mission/ Thank you, and God bless.

Furlough—It’s not Just for Prisoners any More

       When I was a kid, I visited my dad in prison on a regular basis. Once he was temporarily released to come to my brother’s funeral, so I learned the meaning of the word furlough before most of my peers saw it on a spelling test. I grew up and out of that kind of living and became a Christian, determined to raise my kids differently. You can imagine my surprise then when, during mission training, John and I were told that furloughs would be a part of our work. I wasn’t really sure what that meant and, unless you’re familiar with the prison scene or have done much long-term mission work, you may not know either. 

We just took a three-month furlough, so it seems right that I would tell you what that means. Let me start by saying what it’s not—a vacation. While we had some times of refreshing and were happy to visit friends and family, we only took a few days of vacation. The rest of it was work. We were blessed by so many hospitable and benevolent people that we had a comfortable place to stay, a nice car to drive, good food to eat, and money to spend wherever we went. I would be remiss to not mention by name some of the people who lavished us with ridiculous amounts of generosity—and probably a little crazy to do so. (What if I forget someone?) Let’s go with remiss and leave it at that. You know who you are and we are eternally grateful for your love and attention and donations. We truly are. You made our work over these past three months a pleasure.

For the most part, our furlough consisted of travel and visits. We got up early and met with families and churches for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—and sometimes all three in one day. We reported on what God has been doing with us in Malawi over this past year. We thanked some people who have been supporting us and asked for more support from others. We had annual medical checkups and some necessary medical procedures, and we did a lot of shopping for basic items we cannot get where we live. We had our phones and computer repaired, bought clothes for the next year, and ran an inordinate amount of errands to take care of so many small details that it would bore you to mention them all. Imagine having to gather everything you would need for the next year, barring food (although I did pack some spices and nonperishables). That’s kind of what we did.

Overall, we took three months off this work to do another kind of work—reporting, fundraising, and preparation. We count it a success in that we did raise some money to get started on building a school house on the property we purchased in October. While we were on furlough, we also researched and bought curriculum for preschool and kindergarten children and hope to have classes up and running by the fall. We received lots and lots of donated books and plan to stock a library for the village as soon as they arrive. It’s all very exciting and we’re happy to be back home and back at work. 

We’ve been here for about a week now and are just catching up on sleep. Travel time between Lilongwe and Dallas is about thirty-six hours. Suffice it to say the trip is difficult and then it takes time to adjust to the fact that you’re trading days for nights. Thanks to some trustworthy friends on this end, we came home to nothing more than general maintenance on our house and cars after being gone for three months. One of our biggest adjustment challenges is the fact that Jonah stayed behind with John’s family in Colorado to finish high school. This past year has surely been a great experience for him, but unfortunately, he has no good options for high school here. We miss him but feel this is best for now. 

Thank you for your support and prayers and for the many ways you’ve been involved in this work. We look forward to the creative things God is going to do to show Himself this year in the mission and in our relationships with you.   

Please send financial gifts to Westworth Church of Christ, 5728 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76114, c/o Malawi Mission Work, or you can give with a click at http://www.westworthcoc.org/malawi-mission/ Thank you, and God bless.