[snapshots] of malawi.

Straight from safari in Zambia doing well…loving every minute of time in africa. I’ll be home June 30th, some changed plans! See you all soon!!!!

Tuesday June 22nd

Had a message from Alissa today. They are on safari and seeing so many animals. I will let her expand on that when she can. She is having a wonderful time and getting sad as her time in Malawi draws to a close. They board the plane to return home on Tuesday, June 29th and arrive in Indianapolis on the 30th. This is a week earlier than planned.

It’s been 7 days since Alissa boarded the plane for Malawi and finally this morning at 5:30 a.m. a text came saying I could call her. Alissa and the team are at Lake Malawi spending the day with the 11 children who are living in Timothy’s Home, the house built on the circle of hope compound for these precious orphans. It is the first trip for most of these precious children and I could hear them laughing and playing in the background.  Alissa is in heaven getting to spend time playing with the kids.  She is healthy, says she is eating a lot - a lot of what I’m not sure and she is enjoying her play therapy with the kids which is one of her projects for the summer. 

Be praying for continued safety and health for Alissa specifically but the entire team as well.

I AM EXCITED FOR:

seeing the faces of some of my favorite people in this world AND hearing their voices.

hearing the joyful singing of God’s beautiful Malawian children.

sitting through 4 hour church services that show me what real worship is. that bring you right into God’s powerful presence.

using the knowledge I have to poor into this community. I may feel inadequate, but in all reality I most likely know much more than they have had the opportunity to learn.

playing phase 10 with the pastors, and most likely losing. and being in the only place where somehow losing doesn’t make me angry :) at least they call it the “angel seat.” that makes a person feel better about being a little bit of a loser.

endless amounts of fanta. and cocopina. and passion fruit. soda you don’t get everyday here!

chicken and chips. fried chicken and french fries to us americans, may not seem so wonderful, but it tastes good just thinking about it. when a girl lives on rice and beans, a little chicken and potato in the diet is always wonderful!

playing with some of the greatest children in this world. and letting them laugh while i try to dance. and showing them what it is like to be loved.

taking tons of pictures, its just what i do :) and i have enough memory to take 3 times as many pictures as last time—4,000 pictures should be enough??

I AM AFRAID OF:

losing baggage- I really need my things to arrive with me!

the unknowns of my project.

getting homesick.

the things I will be missing back home.

but through it all…the excitement and the fears…i am relying fully on my God. a God who will give me all the strength I need. a God who is with me wherever I go. a God who will not give me anything I cannot handle. a God who has a plan when I feel undirected. a God who is more excited for the plans he has for me, than I can imagine. see, he knows where I am going. he knows each and every person I will meet. he knows how I will not only change other people’s lives, but how I myself will change. so casting all the excitement and fears aside, let’s see how God works in the next 6 1/2 weeks.

well this is it! the last few days before i take off for malawi have quickly approached. bags are packed. lessons are made. toys are collected. all that is left is actually leaving!

i think back to the day almost a year ago when i knew i would be heading back to malawi. i was still there, and every part of me knew that i had to go back. there was no doubt. but somehow over the year, life has moved on. pieces have changed. there is still the huge part of me that wants to be back so badly, but there is a glimmer of doubt. i know God has big plans, don’t get me wrong. and i know i am going to be a part of something big this summer. but the fear of it all is here. it is a long time away from home. there are a lot of unknowns. and in every piece of my summer, i need to fully rely on God. that whole relying part is something i have trouble with. being the control freak i am, i need to let go. really let go and let God control the unknowns.

i am extremely excited for what is to come in these next days and weeks. but i am praying for these doubts to be wiped away and replaced with the excitement i had the day i knew i was going back to malawi.

continue praying for the safety of our team as we travel and spend time in malawi. be praying for my project, both in teaching the leaders and in working with children who really need to see a glimmer of hope. be praying for health and safety. and for each of the teams who will travel to work with us throughout our weeks in malawi.

[this may be my final update via united states soil :) but they will continue via Malawi or my mom—who could also use some prayers while her baby is half a world away :) ]

thank you for the overwhelming support i have been receiving! i cannot express how appreciated it is. God blessed me in ways i never would have expected. thank you for being a piece of my journey. 34 days and some hours before i hop on a plane…incredible!

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from the eye’s of a Malawian child- i am one of the “azungu” the white people. a glimmer of hope for them. i remember walking through the villages last summer, going on home visits and praying for the people of the community. i remember children flocking around us, and grabbing our hands. they just wanted to touch us. to feel our skin. [and they wanted to rub my freckles off. they were determined that they were NOT normal :)]but beyond that, i remember feeling so overwhelmingly wanted there.

do i long for the touch of God like they long for the touch of my skin? what i know is that he longs for us to long for him. how often, though, do i beg for his touch and run the other direction. do i make him feel wanted in my life?

i feel a sense of inadequacy when i think about the tasks that lie in front of me this summer. but in that sense of inadequacy, am i fully relying on God to provide me with all that i need and so much more? these next 34 days i am praying that i will find the sense of adequacy that will only come from Christ. i pray that i make him feel wanted in my life- and that i don’t run when he comes to touch me and prepare my heart.

as supporters-be praying for me in this last month. be praying for all the preparation yet to be done. pray for me to remain reliant on God. pray for safety. pray for the hearts of the Malawians I will be teaching- that they will be open to receive what i, a little 20 year old white girl, have to offer them.

i can’t believe how quickly my trip is approaching! it is seriously unbelievable, and at so many times i am in denial. i was sitting looking at pictures of some of my favorite people in this world, malawian friends of course, and i realized just how much my heart misses them. i get tears in my eyes so often when i think about their lives, and how blessed i am here. but that is making me even more excited to go back.

i am so excited to go back and use my gifts to help the malawians learn a new skill. i feel like even more than last summer, this summer holds tasks that so clearly use the gifts God gave me.

i am trying to remind myself these days i feel sad. these days i long to be in malawi, remind myself that i need to pray for them. the simple thing i can do each day, pray for the people of malawi. that they will have all they need. i can pray for my kids. for the pastors. for the incredible, hard working women. and i can rest knowing that my God will provide for their every need.

for now i pray. then in 77 days take off on a plane for my turn to go serve the people of malawi once again.

This coming summer I have an incredible opportunity to do counseling with a group of children through Circle of Hope. I have a focus on 5 girls who have experienced abusive pasts, witchcraft and other spiritual battles, and possible learning difficulties. I want to use techniques I have learned about Play Therapy to help them work through their past hurts. Play Therapy is a great technique that allows minimal communication, but an ability to show their feelings. I cannot express how excited I am to begin working with not only these three girls, but other children in the program as well. However, I need support to get the job done well. Play therapy involves many supplies we do not already have, I hope you can find the resources to donate just a few things on the list! Find gently used toys you already have, or spend a few dollars to get something for a child who desperately needs to find healing. These children are dealing with more than I can ever fathom, just the loss of parents is hard enough on a child, and I want to have all possible resources to help them! Thank you so much for your donations!
-Alissa Webb, Circle of Hope Intern Summer 2010

Toy List:

African American Dolls
African American Doll House Family (Preferably Bendable)
Dart Gun
Rubber Play Knife (toy weapon)
Toy soldiers
Multiple size building blocks
Play Dish Sets
Small Toy Airplane
Small Car
Small Truck
Nerf Ball
Popsicle sticks
Pipe cleaners
Scotch Tape
Jump Rope
Play Cell Phone
Hand Puppets *including an “aggressive” one like a alligator wolf or dragon*
Bendable
Dollhouse furniture -minimal like table, chairs, bed
Costume Jewelry
Goats/Farm Animal sets
Set of Safari Animals
Inflatable punching bag
Dry Tempera Paints or Watercolor Paints
Sand Tray!!! REALLY WANTED!
-This can be any sort of shallow box, relatively small, so it can fit in a suitcase.

before i know it i will be hopping on a plane to travel to malawi. the time seems to be coming so soon, but it still feels so far away. i have a lot to get accomplished before this approaches, but i know it will all get done. the project preparations are somewhat overwhelming, and i feel like there is so much work to be done!

support is coming in so incredibly, and i am amazed at how God is providing!! it is the one part of this that is reassuring me that this trip really is what i am meant to do. i know i left my heart in malawi, but there are always apprehentions when i think about all i will be doing.

143 days. financial support to raise. plans to complete. and a lot of prayer still needed. but i am getting really excited to get back to my heart!

Last summer in Africa I experienced so many incredible things, but among them was the clearest miracle I have ever seen. Of all the stories I could tell about my trip last summer this is the most incredible.

These 3 boys: Chikondi, Lefani, and Herebat, came to the program the first week we were there. All 3 were weak, malnourished, and Lefani was especially sick. They ended up staying with us that night, and Lefani was not doing well. One of the Malawian pastors was concerned he wouldn’t make it through the night, but we were determined to change that fact. The remainder of the night we prayed and prayed that he would find strength and push through. Well, the following morning we all woke up and found him running around playing, smiling, and somehow better. How incredible is our God?! They spent the next few days with us being fed 3 meals a day and getting strengthened again before returning home. It was such a blessing to see the transformation over just a few days. Now, they are going to become among the first children to live in Timothy’s Home, a house for 9 orphans to live and be well cared for. It is such a blessing that they have been allowed to come and live in this safe environment. I cannot wait to be their neighbor this summer :)

This story and miracle is one of the driving forces taking me back to Malawi. I cannot wait to see my Herebat, and all the miracles God has in store for this coming summer.