Malawi Day 6

6/24/13

     I am gaining immense amounts of perspective these days. Things I used to complain about in the states seem laughable now that I see what the people of Malawi have to put up with on a daily basis. On the way home from a day at the Flood offices Edith my host was driving us home and slowly maneuvering the thousands of pot holes in the dirt and paved roads. This is no small task made even harder when the sun goes down. The roads and driving in a car are perhaps the one of the most shocking things I have encountered here so far. We were almost to our house when I started thinking about the small pothole that is on the road to my house in the states. There is one corner with one pothole and it always seems to be there. The city constantly fills it in but it always comes back. It is located on a popular intersection and I think a lot of people must use that turn, thus creating the pothole. I remember complaining about it with my family and cringing every time I would drive near it in fear of one of my tires falling in and damaging my car. It was a huge stress in my daily drive home. Thinking about this “problem” back home almost made me laugh as we were driving home tonight on roads that are a higher percentage of pothole than street. I was a sweet moment of realizing that my problems are blessing to other people. Any Malawian would LOVE to drive on a Glendora, California road. I don’t think I will ever complain about that little pothole again.

I went for a run at the college we work at today after work and was looking forward to a shower when we arrived at home. Right when we got home I went straight to my room and hopped in the shower. Now it might just be in my head but I think I am getting pretty good at predicting blackouts. Right as I got in the shower the lights began to flicker ever so slightly and I could sense that another oh so common power outage was headed my way. The lights stayed on and I was already shampooing so I decided to stay in the shower. The lights promptly went out a few seconds after having this thought and I proceeded to take my first shower in the dark. Really it wasn’t that bad, the water was warm and I could kind of see where things were with the moonlight that was streaming in though the bathroom window. Krysti came in to check on me and asked if I needed a flashlight, which was so kind. It just blew my mind that I had never taken a shower without the luxury of lights before. I have never had to worry about it. It seems kind of wrong in a way that some people worry about things like having electricity and others never give it a thought. As I am typing this the lights just came back on after about an hour! I am actually growing quite fond of these blackouts. They allow us to eat things like cereal, and peanut butter banana sandwiches by candle light in the kitchen for dinner. They instantly make me want to go to bed, which is not always a bad option, and they really allow you to slow down, realize that we are not always in control, and appreciate the times when we do have electricity or any luxuries for that matter.

Today at the Flood offices we got the opportunity to work with Pastor Sean on our schedules for the next few weeks. As an intern team we will be working in the offices on Mondays, going into the villages on Tuesdays, working with college kids, and visiting an orphanage on Wednesdays, working with Flood ministries on Thursdays, having Sabbath on Fridays, working with college kids, meeting mentors, and running worship nights on Saturdays, and working at church on Sundays! I personally will be getting a house prepared for some Flood missionaries that are coming to Malawi for two years starting in late August, working with the kids on Sunday mornings, helping plan a retreat for our music ministry/band, being part of the prayer team, and attending the entrepreneur ministry on Sundays. There is a lot there but I am so excited to start this work! All of the things I am blessed enough to be involved with hold a special place in my heart and I pray that God will equip me to do them for His glory.