Greetings from the Willoughbys

Here is a video greeting from Dan, Debbie, Karise, Hannah and Lydia. Kaleb was at a track event and could not be with us.

The Best of Africa

The flight from Johannesburg to Washington, D.C. was 16 hours.  Fortunately the in-flight entertainment system had a large music selection.  There was the "Best" of everyone ... Madonna, Kenny G, Journey, Air Supply, Queen, Neil Diamond.  (It is also good we didn't have to pay extra for some of these).

So what are the memories that will be replaying in our minds for quite some time?  Here is our Best of Africa from the week.  

• Visiting the Willoughby family in Pretoria - thanks Dan, Debbie,Hannah, Lydia and Karise!
• Sunday worship with the refugees and homeless of South Africa
• Taking a spontaneous right turn which lead to a tour of the Parliament Building
• Playing with Alpha Maseko
• Driving up to Pothawira and seeing a dream come to life in the form of bricks and mortar
• Listening to Pastor Peter's prayers
• Meeting Dorene, the serial entrepreneur in Salima
• Drinking Cherry Plum soda under a tree when it is 95 degrees
• Listening to Goodluck tell his story of conversion from Islam
• Spending an hour watching the baboons play in the wild
• Giving Edward a Bible and learning of his courage and faith in raising his brothers as orphans
• Watching Peter negotiate in the marketplace
• Seeing the joy of the Lord in the constant smile of Emma Maseko
• Distributing Chichewa Bibles to the men and women of Thonje
• Flying South Africa Airlines
• Listening to the "K-Love" of Malawi driving in the middle of nowhere
• Seeing the stars of the Southern Hemisphere
• Being one church with brothers and sisters half way around the world
• Knowing that this is just the beginning of something huge in the heavenlies

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."  Ephesians 3:20

Thank you for your prayers and support. 

We press on!

Chuck, Scott, Randall and Fred

Thonje Day

In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character wakes up each morning at the same time to the same song on the radio ... and relives the same day, every day.

Welcome to Thonje.

This is a remote village in central Malawi, where every man, woman and child has a lead role in their own personal version of this movie. Kids have one set of clothes; few have shoes. They eat the same meager meal of nsima (a corn meal product) and a few side dishes if available. The village dairy cow, one of the only sources of protein, recently died. Life is HARD. And at the end of the day, they go to sleep knowing they will wake up to the same story line the next morning.

Groundhog Day is the only movie that plays in Thonje.

But there is something else in Thonje ... the church. The people gather together in an old brick structure and sing praises. They thank God for their lives and family and friends. They have discovered contentment in the midst of survival.

And now they have the Living Word. Thanks to the Walk to the Manger, we were able to distribute several adult Bibles in the Chichewa language, along with some illustrated children's Bibles, to the church members who can read. Now they will be able to read about what they have experienced throughout their lives ... the reality of God's faithfulness, the peace of Christ, and the provision of Daily Bread.

I think the singing just got lounder! Listen to this great video of the women celebrating.

Meet Goodluck

Here is Randall and Scott with Goodluck Malek.  His story is inspiring.

He grew up in a Muslim home.  Life was happening.  It was hard.  Several years ago he was looking at a Bible and reading some things in Romans.  One night he heard a voice.  "I want you to become a Christian and I will convert your family."  He woke up his brother to ask him what he had said.  His brother told him he didn't say anything.  Goodluck (not his name at the time) went back to sleep. 

The voice came again.  He knew it God.  He gave his life to Christ and changed his name.

So what happened with his family?  He told his father about his conversion and was promptly beaten.  But Goodluck pressed on with the promises of God.  Eventually a brother and sister came to Christ.  And then his father.  Now they are praying for their mother.  They BELIEVE it is only a matter of time before she will know the Lord as well.

Is life now easier for Goodluck?  Not really.  Life in Malawi is fragile and difficult.  But he has a joy and eternal hope that was absent before.  He also now has a Chichewa Bible thanks to the Walk to the Manger gift.   

This means he can read God's word every day, at least on those days when God is not speaking to him at night!

Flying Bricks

First of all, the internet connection here is extremely spotty and slow (taking me back to the old dial-up days of the 90s). I think pictures are out of the question. But I will try to load a ton of them at the airport in Johannesburg on our way home on Friday. Worst case scenario is the weekend.

So yesterday we headed out to Pothawira. It was fantastic to see the church/school and first two homes taking shape. The highlight was watching the workman who were performing MANUAL LABOR. This means they were hauling mortar up to the roof by a string of empty cement bags tied to a bag. Then the worker on the ground would start tossing bricks straight up 20 feet where the guy on the roof would catch them with one hand and place them in his work pile. This went on for about 15 minutes. There must have been 100 bricks. It was amazing.

The construction is going well. We hope to start another four homes in the next few weeks along with the dining hall/kitchen. We need the church, homes and dining hall in place before the kids can move in. That should happen by the first part of the summer. The raining season is coming to an end so the weather should cooperate.

Today was spent at Peter and Emma Maseko's house discussing all the various items relating to the project. It was a great time of fellowship and extremely productive. Tomorrow we will visit some of the remote villages, including Tonje. Friday we head home.

Thanks for all your prayers. We appreciate and need them. God is smiling on Malawi!

Greetings from Malawi

We made it to Malawi! It is 11:00 pm and I am sitting outside the office at the lodge pirating the wireless to get a connection. The baboons are running around in the trees and the sky is filled with stars. It is pretty awesome.

We had a great day of travel and a successful afternoon in Lilongwe, where we were able to purchase a generator and portable keyboard for Peter. 165,000 Kwacha can buy a lot of great stuff.

Tomorrow we will visit the Pothawira village property and review the construction and development. There should be lots of pictures, including little Alpha!

Keep praying and pressing on!

Perfect Day in Pretoria

In the movie Invictus, there is a scene where Matt Damon's character is invited to meet President Mandela at his offices.  Francois Pienarr stood at these exact steps, pausing long enough to ponder the fate of his meeting.  It proved to be a pivotal moment in the actual life story that inspired the movie.  

That is how God works in life many times.  He gives us a moment in which to choose.  That was the case with Alain.  He is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  His country is embroilled in a bloody genocide.  He decided to leave ... and marched to Pretoria.  He walked through five countries over a four year period.  Now Alain is trying to earn enough money to bring his wife and children to South Africa.  In the meantime, he has found a home at the Living Hope Sunnside church, where he gathers every week with other refugees.  Today there were individuals from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, DRC, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. 

So our time in South Africa has come to an end.  Tomorrow we catch a flight to Malawi.  But today had one more surprise.  A pastor from Malawi came to stay with the Willoughbys today. Brasswell is from northern Malawi ... but he knows Peter Maseko, our Pothawira partner, through the national Baptist conference.  It is becoming a smaller world with each day.  Who knows, maybe Brasswell will be a future partner with The Global Orphan Project one day!


We leave you with some pictures of the Willoughbys.  They thank you for the Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chips, Cake mixes and other American treats that we were able to cram into two suitcases.  Mostly they thank you for your monthly financial support and prayers. They are a special family who is being used mightily in their new ministry in South Africa.

The Adventure Begins

We are ready for our 14er. 

I'm  not talking about Mt. Sherman or any of the other Colorado mountains that draw hikers to the summit.  We are at the Dulles airport in DC getting ready to board our South Africa Airlines flight to Johannesburg ... a 14 hour trip with an hour layover in Dakar, Senegal.  Let's hope the movies are good.

So far everything is going well.  We shifted our luggage contents to get all the bags under 50 lbs.  The short flight from KC to DC was smooth and without incident.

But now the adventure begins. 

New countries, customs and communication challenges.  Reacquainting with old friends and developing new relationships half way around the world.  Seeing what God is doing for the orphans in Malawi through the generous hearts and gifts of so many in the United States.

We hope you will join us in the journey and follow us during the next week.

Until later, we press on ...

Scott, Randall, Chuck and Fred (L to R above)

      

The Malawi Sequel

Do you get excited for sequels?

For me, it depends on a few key elements surrounding the story.  Are the characters mostly the same?  Is it a continuation of an unsolved drama from the prior adventure?  What new twist will be introduced?

Malawi II:  Pothawira Alive begins in four days.  I think it will be a good one.

The characters have all changed, except for me.  This will be a team of four, including Scott Platter, Randall Leonard, Fred Steinbach and myself.  Scott and Randall have never been to Africa.  Fred has been there five times but never to Malawi.  A great mix of old and new.

Our trip is primarily to continue building the relationship with the Maseko family and develop Colonial's role as a sponsor of the Pothawira Orphan Village.  Construction is well under way on the church/school and first homes.  A dining hall will be built soon and the final plans for the medical clinic are being reviewed.  In other words, Pothawira is coming alive.  It won't be long until the children arrive.  I love that we get to see the next phase instead of just the final phase.  It makes the whole story more meaningful.

I am sure there will be some new wrinkles and excitement along the way.  God never shows His full hand until the perfect time, which could be a particular day, or hour or even minute.  That is the uncertainty of the sequel.  We will keep you posted through the blog, provided the electricity and internet connection coorperate! 

Here are the most recent pictures of the church/school and first home.  The roofs are next and then the fun begins.