Aloha!!

I am so excited to be writing today, its has felt like a high speed race these last few weeks to get Becca and I to where we are at right now.  And I would like to hand out another huge round of "thank you"s because we could have not done any of this with all of our supporters. (That's you guys reading this)

I have to admit Becca and I both slept in this morning and it was awesome. We need to catch up on sleep very badly. But....after our morning started we were both able to find our little corner of peace and share some alone time with our bible and Jesus. I don't have to tell you how refreshing that was.  I'm studying Philippians right now and the Lord has just been teaching me so much.

We had planned to spend the day unpacking and relaxing BUT our new friend Michelle Clark whom we had met last night popped by and offered to take us with her "across the bridge"(think inner city, very low income, street vendors everywhere, and tons of people) . So we climbed into her car and headed out.  Before I continue let me tell you a few things about Michelle, she has lived in Lilongwe for the past 5 years and she lived in Prague before that and another part of Africa as well.  So I would consider her a pro when it comes to getting around and the "know-how" to get things done.  In short Becca and I loved her from the get go.

So we started our journey "across the bridge" and Michelle was pointing out all the different buildings and tips about driving on the left side of the road. And as we came up to our destination she told us that another name for this particular street is "Coffin Row" and sure enough almost as soon as we started down the street we saw lines of vendors selling different sorts of coffins; it's because of the aids academic in this part of the world.

While we were down there it was an eye opening experience, I saw people from all walks of life and I could not help but notice how beautiful these people are.  Becca and I were able to barter down a price on a full length mirror for our house :) While the three of us drove around down these crowded streets I saw out of the corner of my eye a girl walking pass the car wearing amazingly a BALLET MAG T-SHIRT!! We couldn't believe it. But there it was. Brown. With Pink Pigs from Prodigal Son.  It was great.

After we left "Coffin Row" she popped by her house to show us where she lived. It was beautiful! She built her own place and has a grand garden from everything from tomatoes to lima beans to mango trees and everything in between you could think of.  Maybe I'll rent out a room from her next year ;) hehe.  We were also able to meet the head of another school here in Lilongwe, which was awesome.

We finally made it back to campus just in time to go have dinner with one of the families here.  Everyone on campus has been going out of their way to make us feel at home and comfortable.  It has really been good.

On a personal note I'm so proud of myself because I finally finished unpacking tonight :)

Well, I just this is enough for one night, I have to make sure I get enough sleep tonight because I want to learn to drive tomorrow!!

Prayer request:
*Please be praying for Michelle and her mother, who is in the States and just had a stroke. Michelle has dropped everything and packed up to go to Washington to be with her.  She leaves in just a few days.
*Becca and I are starting to plan our classes so please pray for wisdom for us.
*As far as driving goes...pray for safety!!


I am so thankful for the fact that I am here. It feels like home. Despite the random losses of power and water.  I can't imagine being anywhere else.


Love y'all!!

Carrie