Bridget -- Then and Now

Innocent -- Then and Now

These pictures are of Innocent who came to us at 2 weeks also and he is now 3 months old. Isn’t he a doll?

Before and After Pictures

Since everyone loves pictures of the babies I thought I would post pictures of the babies when we got them and what they look like now.

Below are pictures of Samson. He came to the nursery when he was 2 weeks old and weighed just over 4 lbs. He is now 7 ½ months old and doing really well. His father comes to visit him often and plans to take him home when he is weaned. Lisa

Sarah's Bible Study

Since coming to Malawi, Sarah, my 9yr. old, has had quite a bit of difficulty adjusting. She has shed many tears about missing her friends from home and being lonely as she had no friends here. Within a week of arriving she became sick and has had many more bouts of illness in the past 10 months. Even when she wasn’t sick she was tired a lot. It was during the many nights of her illnesses and her asking us if she was going to die that we questioned our decision to come here as watching your child suffer is a very difficult burden to bear. Thankfully God is faithful and reminded us that she was His child too and He loved her more than we could.

One of the results of her being tired is that she spent many days in her room reading and is now quite a good reader which she wasn’t when we arrived. We have also had many wonderful mother-daughter talks while she was lying on her bed. We have also noticed a spiritual depth to her that wasn’t there before.

The picture you see (or I hope you see) is of her teaching a bible study to some of her younger friends here. On her own, she decided to have a weekly bible lesson and she has invited 4 other girls to participate. She spends quite a lot of time coming up with the bible stories, activities, memory verses, etc. and she takes it all very seriously. This week she had invited some little girls who have difficulty sitting still but they were quiet and obedient for the entire HOUR that she taught them. Afterwards they played games she made up and had a snack. When the girls’ mother came to pick them up she reminded the mom to make sure the girls memorize their verses.

I mention this not to brag on my daughter even though I like doing that but to remind you that spiritual growth doesn’t happen without adversity. As parents we want to shelter our children from hard times but it is in those hard times that our children can grow and see God’s faithfulness. Don’t rob your child from the lessons God wants to teach them by protecting them. Lisa

“but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:3-5

Blessing in Disguise

There are many things to get frustrated over in Malawi, one of the most common being the pace at which things occur.  It seems that no one is in a hurry and tomorrow or the next day is just as good as today for most things that need to get done.  Recently we had to travel to Lilongwe to deliver our good friend Joshua Clark to the airport to return back to the U.S.  At one of the several police stops along the way, the officer seems quite content to sit on the bench in the shade and watch us rather than come and open the gate to proceed.  After what seemed a great while (probably 5 seconds in reality) the officer meandered over and lifted the bar for us to pass.  A short while later as we approached the turnoff to a nearby town, a boy on a fully loaded bicycle shot out from the blind corner of the intersection in front of us, just barely clearing our path.  Had the police officer been diligent and gotten right up to let us through, we would have arrived at the intersection just in time to have a bicycle for a new hood ornament and send a young boy on to eternity.  Sometimes we need to look closely to see our blessings, but they are always there.  Thanks Lord for answering our prayers for safe travel before we left.

 

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Proverbs 16:9 

 

Andy