Packing And Shipping Again???

Oh my, will it never end?  The packing and shipping I mean.  We received the shipping quotation, and the "okay" for shipment this afternoon.  This is good news!  Yes, you did remember correctly - our container is in Namibia, and it is full of all our personal belongings.  Problem is that we don't know when it will find it's way to Malawi.  The shipper is prepared to fetch it and bring it to Malawi, but the problem is that we do not have our TEP (temporary employment permit) yet.  Without our TEP we cannot ship our container.  The paper-work is in process, but we are waiting on issuance.

 

Packing... yes, we will need to send a crate from the USA to Malawi.  This will be some household items, office equipment, clothes, etc.  We will ship this before we leave for Malawi, and hopefully it will be there shortly after our arrival.

 

Fredna is a happy camper tonight after receiving word that we are good to ship from this side.  This has been somewhat of a concern.

 

So, we are off to find packing material and begin the process - AGAIN!

Did I Ever Tell You That We Love Itineration?

Yes, I said it, WE LOVE ITINERATION!  I realize that this is not the normal feeling for missionaries, I'm not really sure why not.  Many find it grueling, arduous, difficult, and not much fun - or so I'm told.

What do we like about it?  Everything... we like traveling; we like meeting new people; we like visiting with the pastors; we like sharing our heart and vision for the work to which God has called us; we like telling about the people and culture in Africa.  I can't think of a part that we don't like.

Oh yeah, there was that service on Sunday morning that I showed up, and the pastor asked me why I was there.  I told him that he had scheduled me for the service that morning.  He said, "Oh, I thought I scheduled you for the evening service!"  Even those times are fun.                                        

It is always nice getting to visit with the pastors and their families.  After being away for so long, it somehow seems like we get to re-connect with who we are.

WE LOVE ITINERATION!

TIME IS RUNNING OUT

Time is running out for our stay in the USA, only 24 days, 11 and 1/2 hours before we leave Texas for our journey back to Africa.  We have only been Stateside for about 4 months.  What can you do in 4 months?  Plenty!  But it is not enough time to be with your family that you only get to see for short periods.  So much is happening in our children's lives currently.  Our last-born graduates from university and begins the process of entering the employment contest.  Our number two child is moving into her own apartment for the first time.  It seems she has had to live the life a vagabond for a very long time, but not anymore.  Our first-born is making preparations to spend her summer in a northern state pursuing her Master's degree.  So much going on and we will not get to be part of their lives for at least another year.

 

The first year we spend in Malawi promises to be a busy one!  Already several teams are lined up to come and help do ministry and plant churches.  We should hit the ground running and not have time to look back.  It is exciting to watch how God is moving.  Time may be running out here, but it will certainly bring us once again to the country we love.  Someone once told us that when you drink the water in Africa you will always thirst until you are able to drink it again.  We are thirsty!

About Malawi

Malawi

A country about the size of Pennsylvania with the continent's third largest lake, Lake Malawi. It is about the size of Vermont! Malawi is known as "The Warm Heart of Africa". 12.5 million people live in Malawi. We will be stationed in the capitol city of Lilongwe.

The weather in Malawi is tropical; rainy season December to March The lake shore areas have low rainfall, and a warm relaxing climate, with mean daily temperatures ranging from 26C in Jan. to 21C in July. The highland areas have greater temperature changes and the air is bracing. The nights can be cold. The dry season is in the winter between May and October. It rains quite a lot between December and March.

The Assemblies of God have about 2,000 churches in Malawi with the initiative to plant another 2,000 in the next year. There will be a pressing need to train pastors and help with church planting efforts. We look forward to the challenge before us!

Name Change

Today is the day of change! You will no longer log into this blog and see "Good News from Namibia". Fredna and I have arrived back home in Texas for our furlough, but we will not return to Namibia for our second missionary term. We are transferring to the country of Malawi. In the upcoming days I will attempt to give information concerning this country and the work we will be involved in.

In the meantime the address will remain the same, but the name of this blog will now be "Malawi Matters". Welcome to Malawi!