Back in Dar Es Salaam

We arrived back in Dar safely last night (may 27) It was an uneventful plane ride, but a really really hard goodbye to say. It was really tough to leave Malawi and to say goodbye to the wonderful people there, who have touched my life and become such great friends to me. I really haven't processed much of the three weeks that just went by, and all that God did. But I do know that many lives were changed and many were added to the kingdom, which means a huge party in heaven! And that's exciting!
We had a great last day with the malawian students, where we climbed a mountain together and then had a time of training on the top of the mountain. It was a killer climb, it took a while but it was alot of fun! Zomba is beauitful and the view from the mountain clearly showed that! And I loved being able to spend the whole day with life ministries. Once we were up the mountain we had lunch and one time, I looked at everyone and it looked like a family reunion/picnic and I loved that! We all did become like family, so it was a wonderful, wonderful day, and one that I will treasure! God is going to use the students at Chanco to change Africa and the world.
We also had a great last night of team time together where we spent hours encouraging one another and telling eachother why we love eachother. It was really encouraing and great bonding time. And the guys on our team blessed the girls, by making us chocolate fondue....we were blessed and happy! So it was a great night and I even today, not being with the students, is really tough. It was like a family! So thanks God for that!
we leave tomorrow for R&R, which the students and staff alike both really need. So pray for a great time of refreshing for everyone. and then we head off, Friday morning for Jesus Film. I am going to Zanzibar with the rest of the staff team, so I am really looking forward to that. I love the Jesus Film part of being here, because it exposes so many people to the gospel. So please pray for safety, as the students head out to all different parts of Tanzania to preach the gospel to the lost. Pray that God would change lives and people would come to have a personal relationship with Him.
God is just really showing me again and again, what I am here for. To live a life that is worthy of Him, and that in all I do, it reflects His character and draws people to Him. I want to be able to see everyone in heaven...so I love sharing the Gospel and the assurance of salvation with people -- to fulfill the Great Commission. But sometimes it amazes me how bold I can be here in africa and how shy I can be at home in Canada, with family, friends -- all people that need to hear and know about Jesus. So pray that I would come home with the same boldness and passion.
Today the students have the day off, and are off wondering the city of Dar, so it should be an exhausting and fun day for them! I am spending the day with my friend Melissa and we are having a relaxing day. Just spending time at her house (she's been her for the past 8 months) and just having some good quality time together. It's a good day! I am being shocked though at the influence of North America in Africa and it makes me sad that perhaps Africa is losing it's traditional ways to follow the Western world, and really, we aren't good examples to follow in some of our ways.
Pray for my friend Tim who flys home tomorrow, because he has other staff training. God truely blessed the malawi team with great staff and we all got along so well. That is one of my highlights of the trip, just being around such influential leaders who really helped me grow. God is good!
A verse that has become our theme while in malawi -- 1 Cor. 15:58 -- read it and let it sink in and live for the Lord!

Hi Everyone! Only 3 more full days left in Malawi…I can’t believe how incredibly fast the time has gone by. I don’t feel like it should be time to get back on the plane and head back to Tanzania. I am really feeling sad about leaving. Last year when I left, I knew that there was a chance that I could come back and see my friends again, but this year, there isn’t a good chance that I will come back for a while, so it makes me really sad to leave, because I really really care for these people and I have loved spending time with them. So please pray for that, that I won’t be over emotional when I leave. Ah, I am really going to miss my friends! It has been a fabulous three weeks, hanging out with them and doing ministry alongside them.
We taught some of our African friends line dancing for our cultural night outreach on Friday – they are surprisingly good at line dancing. We are telling them that they are practically Canadian! It should be a great night and a great last night together with them!
We fly out of Malawi on Sunday afternoon, heading back to Dar. Then we have one day in Dar before leaving for R&R, where we will be going on Safari, which also really excites me! I love God’s creation of animals…like giraffes! My favorite animal of all time! It will be a good time of refreshing before we head off for Jesus Film. There is a chance that I will be going to Zanzibar for Jesus Film, which will be really awesome! Zanzibar is a highly Muslim country, so it will tough soil, but much needed to share the gospel. So please also be in prayer as we, the staff, choose the teams for the students to go on, and pray for the safety of the students as they travel to different towns in Tanzania! This is an exciting adventure for the students.
The team this year is great! We all get along so well together and we have a great time together, no matter what we are doing! Whether it’s killing bugs or singing, there is always laughter and lots of it! And the rest of the staff that I am working with are great! Tim, Jill, Peter and Melissa – they are fabulous! We work really well together as a team, and are able to lead together and be unified! I am so thankful for each of them, for they have stretched me and have made this trip great!
We had an all night prayer last night and it was so good to keep our focus. We all prayed for 45 min during the night and it was good for me to get up in the middle of the night and sacrifice my sleep. And it was so refreshing to spend time with God and get my focus.
God is teaching me so much this year and I am so thankful and glad that I am here in Africa. There is no where else that I would rather be! I am also gaining a deep love for the Word and really desire to read and understand it more and more, which is a good thing!
So I am not sure when I will be able to update next, because I am not sure when I will have access to a computer. So there might be a dry spell of updates, but keep checking! Continue to be in prayer and know that God is moving in evident and HUGE ways in Malawi – on Saturday night at another outreach, Chanco’s party boy gave his life to the Lord --- GOD IS MOVING!

I love Africa!

Hey Everyone!
Just a quick update for ya'll, because the computers here are a little wonky! But I just wanted to let you all know that things are great! I am having a great time and God is really changing me and molding me and refining me, which has been hard at times but a blessing too! I am thankful!
Yesterday we held two outreaches...the boys did a soccer outreach and the girls did a ladies outreach talking about purity...both physical and emotional purity and it was fabulous. we had around 100 girls come out, which is great, it's such an important topic and one that is avoided alot here in africa, so it was great to be honest with the African students about our own struggles with purity, and get them to open up about their struggles. God really used that night and it made me so proud of the girls on my time. They really put their heart into this outreach and God rewarded them for that! It was a great time! When I have more time I will update on it more, because there is so much to say about it!
I have really really loved having Laura on my team...being able to spend time with her in ministry has been such a blessing. She is a great woman of God, and it has been great to see God use her in great ways here in malawi...so for all of those NOrwoodians reading this, we are both doing great and are in great health and having a great time!
We leave Malawi on Sunday, only one more week to go, which is crazy! The time has flown by! but it has been fabulous. Everytime I see my friends that I met last year, and huge smile appears on my face...I really love these people and it's going to be really hard to leave them this year, because I really don't know when I will be back again! But they are graet!
Please continue to pray for us, that in this last week, we would keep focused and get our strength from the Lord because we can not do this on our own. Thats for sure! but God is truly using this team of Canadians to help reach Africa and to help Africans reach Africa to reach the world! I love Him! :)
I hope that things are going great with everyone, wherever God has you! Know that I miss you all so much and not being able to communicate effectively has been really really tough for me this year. I really do wish that I could talk to you and email you more often, so know that you are all thought of often and missed all the time!
This week our focus is on building disicpleship groups which is a tough job here at Chanco, so please be in prayer that God would orchestrate that perfectly! This week, the interns are taking charge and have been given full leadership for mon-wed which both scares me and excites me! I have alot of responsibilty, but am looking forward to the challenge of stepping up in leadership. this entire trip has really stretched me and taught me so much about leadership, which has been amazing!
I really wish that I could email you all individually, because I have so much to say to you all...but that might have to wait til I return to Canada!
As always, I feel overwhelmed by what I want to tell you and relay to you, but I guess just trust me that thigns are going great and that God is at work in malawi!
Brooke the girl on the team who was sick is doing much better, thanks for praying! She got some meds and took a fun trip the hospital, but is now back on cmapus with us! Praise the Lord!
Ok, enough rambling, time to head back to our lodge and get some good rest on the great Sabbath day!
Much love to you all....MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

Mwuli Bwangi!
Things are great here in Malawi and it’s been a wonderful week since last updating you! God is so great and faithful to His children and has proven that over and over to our team! God has provided us with a great place to live, health of the team (we had our first sickness this week, but nothing serious, but be praying for Brooke, and also, on the other teams, there are several sick people, so pray for their health!) God is moving on campus and really changing lives. This week,our focus is build.We are wanting to build into leaders on this campus and disciple them and build into them. So we are praying that for each student here, they will find one leader to build into. So be in prayer for that! And we are having a great time sharing the Spirit Filled Life with the students. We really wanted to emphasize helping Christian grow in their walk, so we wanted to share the Holy Spirit with a lot of Christians, and we have, and God has been moving, so it’s been great!
Can I just say, that when I get a chance to write an update, I feel that my mind goes blank! And then I know that once I get off the computer, I will remember several things that I wanted to write to all of you! But, just know, that we are all doing great and that God is using each student here for His purpose and it’s been such a stretching time.
And to see the passion of some of the students that I met last year has been wonderful. Several of them want to join staff or do an intern with Life Ministries, which is really exciting!
Ah, I really do miss you all back home and really do wish that each of you could be here with me! This is more of a shorter update, but others still need to use the computer. Continue to be in prayer that as we end our time here in Malawi, we would continue to minister in God’s strength and be filled with His spirit, that through us, He would call students to Him! I really want to be His hands and feet, so please pray for that!
I want to come home, once again changed, and I know that God is already changing me. My verse for this trip, was Hebrews 12: 1-2. :Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us through off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,the author and perfector of our faith who for the joy set before him enduring the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
It’s my desire that I would throw off all that hinders me and completely focus on the Lord.I desire to live for Him and lately there have been things in my life that changed that I didn’t like, but I know that God is in control, and what sweet peace that brings!
Blessings and love to all!

Hello from Malawi-the warm heart of Africa

We arrived safelyHello from Malawi – the Warm Heart of Africa!

Sorry for the long delay in updates…power outages are very common and lack of internet is also common~ But things are great and everyone is healthy!
We arrived safely in Malawi in Monday morning, and I am so happy to be back! I just felt so much peace and less stress , when we got to Malawi. Tanzania, specifically Dar Es Salaam, has a more high paced, stressful atmosphere, which I don’t really enjoy all that much! There are many more people there as well, so I was thankful to come here where the atmosphere is way more laid back and definitely not as crowded! And the weather – I’m so thankful to not be sweating buckets everyday now! Dar Es Salaam was scorching hot, but here in Malawi, the weather is beautiful! I am sporting some lobster-esque skin at the moment as a result of loving the sun!

It was been absolutely wonderful to see people from last year. After meeting them last year, I wondered if I would ever see them again. So to have the opportunity to once again be here and see them, and serve alongside them, is amazing and something that I am so grateful for! The look of surprise and happiness on their face when they see me, makes me realize why I am here. Many of them have said to me “I thought that I would never see you again, but it makes me glad that you have come back.’ That alone, solidifies why I am back – for the students. It’s to serve them and encourage them. To see people like Gerald and vitu, and Danny, gills, Ginford, Patrick, William – everyone, it’s amazing! Yesterday I got to spend time with my friend Aisha, which was amazing. She is the Muslim friend that I met last year and spend a lot of time with. It was great to see her again and I am excited to spend more time with her over the next two weeks!
Everyone misses the team from last year a lot! They have been asking about all of you and where you are, and why you aren’t back in Malawi this summer! So know that you are missed and thought of often by the Malawi students that you spend time with last summer.
Tim – I had to reveal to the team the secret of the amazing banana muffins and they are all in love with them now too! I have sent your greetings and love to everyone here, and they miss you a lot! They keep asking about you, so you are not forgotten, but often thought of and prayed for!
I also have come to see the fruits of our labour last year. I never really realized that affect that we had on the campus when we were here. But returning to Malawi has given me the opportunity to see the impact that the Canadian team made last summer. Your labour in the Lord was not in vain. The students are still talking about last summer and the Canadians that came. They are pulling out the Knowing God personally Booklets that we gave them, and asking for a new one, because their other one is falling apart from reading it. I wish that each person from the team last year could return and see the impact that they had on this campus. It made me realize why I came back. It gave me purpose and focus for this trip and encouraged me to keep going this summer, because God is using the Canadians in great ways. And I thank all my supporters from last year and this year, because it is through you that God changed lives here at Chancellor College.
The team this year is great! They are getting along wonderfully which is really great! They all have unique gifts that make this time great and really unifies them. I do miss the team from last year a lot, though. And I am trying really hard to not let memories from last year take over my mind. So often I will see something or hear something or talk to someone that triggers my mind to think of last year. Last year we had an amazing team and time – we were a family. So it is kind of strange to be back without them!
We have had a great first week so far! We had hit the campus hard, sharing our faith and God has been our strength, We have seen people come to faith, asking Jesus to be their Saviour, which is amazing! Praise the Lord!! I have been finding it a struggle this year on campus. The majority of the students on campus define themselves as Christians, but a lot of them do not have a full understanding of what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus, they are Christians, because they attend church on Sunday’s. But another struggle has been, that there are several clubs on campus that the students are a part of. So it’s really hard to get a movement going when students are already plugged into another club. And that is not our goal to create competition between the Christian clubs or to make the students switch clubs. We just desire to see students excited about their faith, understanding their faith and being active in their faith. And I have found that is a struggle this year, so far. So please pray that God would give us direction and understanding and discernment in knowing what to do and that God would stir the hearts of the African students to not be apathetic, but to be active in living out their faith.
I have also found it really hard to find my “place” this year. As an intern, I am not a student, but not quite a staff, so sometimes I feel lost in knowing what my role is. Throughout this week, God has been teaching me that disicipiling the Canadian girls is where I need to be focusing. And that excites me, to be able to build into the Canadian girls. But that has been hard for me – because that means that I am spending less time in the hostels sharing the gospel with girls. But, by discipling the Canadian girls, I am equipping them to share their faith. So I am excited for how God is going to use me, but at the same time, still a little confused! God has definitely been using the time here in Africa so far, to really teach me a lot – about Him and about myself. It has been such a personal growth time for me so far. And Jill (project director) has really been challenging me in my faith and challenging me to take steps of faith and step up in leadership. So I am so thankful for her guidance on this trip. So please pray for that – that I would be in God’s will and listening to His voice, and that I would have wisdom in leading the Canadian girls.
My friend Melissa is here in Malawi with me, and that has been such a blessing. She has spent the last year in Dar Es Salaam on Stint, working at the University. I am so glad that she came to Malawi, because I am so excited to serve alongside her here. She is such an encouragement, And the rest of the staff team is wonderful as well – we get along great and everyone is so much fun! And for all of those peeps back home, having Laura here is wonderful as well! She is doing great and loving it here in Africa! It’s so nice to have someone here from home. I know that God is going to use her in BIG ways in Malawi!
I know that this is a long update and even as I write it, I realize that there is so much more that I wish I could tell you. There are so many stories that I want to share, but unfortunately, I don’t have the time or the internet availability to do so! But know that God is at work and doing great things here in Malawi, and is really challenging me as well, and stretching me as a leader, which I am really happy for! I am excited to grow in my leadership ability and to learn more about myself and who God created me to be. So continue to be in prayer for the team here in Malawi and the other three teams back in Tanzania. God is using 50+ students to impact and change the continent of Africa – be excited about how He is using young adults to change the world!
Although I wish I could convey everything to you, I hope this gives you a glimpse into my adventure in Africa!

jambo!

i've arrived safe in Tanzania! our flight came in on Tuesday morning and we were greeted with a wall of heat! it's as hot as i remembered last time! Everyone has a nice shine to them! It is the rainy season here, so we have been watching the rain pour down today. We have been doing prep work in anticipation of the students arriving on Friday morning, which i am really excited about! They are leaving this evening, from Toronto, so they will begin their adventure soon!
I sometimes forget that there is a 7 hour time differene, so i hope that eveyone is having a great morning as i write this in the afternoon!
I haven't came across any gross or rather large bugs yet, which is nice. although i know that soon enough i will find them!
It's great to be back in africa and to be preparing for this trip. i am really struggling this year with getting over jet lag and used to the culture, so please pray for that, that i would quickly become accustomed to being here! I need to find some physical strength and energy, to help them team get things ready!
Please continue to pray that we, as the staff team, would have wisdom in leading the students this summer. I want to be an effective leader, and be used by God, so please pray for that! i am doing a couple of seminars during orientation, so i am excited and nervous for that, as well!
The staff team has been bonding really well, so please continue to rpay for unity and health amongst us. So far we have all stayed healthy, so lets hope it stays that way!
I am running out of minutes, so that my update for now. i will try and update again as soon as i can!
blessings from Africa!