New place, same God.: September 2012

Don't worry, friends, this blog has not been forgotten!
With our ballet classes starting up on August 27th, assisting the Kindergarten class in the mornings, and the power outages I haven't found the time to sit down to fill y'all in on life. In fact, just as I opened up the computer to write a few mintues ago the power went out. Although it is normal for the power to go out every evening around 6pm, usually it only takes 15 minutes for the generator to kick in and we're back on. There is the occasion when the power is out for more than 24 hours and that happened to us a couple weeks ago. No power for almost 48 hours. This is what our meals looked like during that time:

Our ballet classes have been going for two weeks now and we are so thrilled to be teaching...finally! We have been busy teaching three classes a day Monday through Thursday. There are 7 classes starting with pre-K going up to 11th grade, each class filled with precious girls from all over the world...places like South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, Australia, the Philippines, and of course Malawi. Jesus has blessed us with 90 ballet students! 90 students to teach the art of ballet. 90 students to tell of Jesus' love for them. 90 students to just love. I am so thankful for these girls and am praying that the Lord would show me how to be a good teacher and mentor to them.
This last week we distributed the donated ballet shoes we brought from the States and each student now has her own pair of shoes for class! No more dirty socks and feet! Thank you to all who donated ballet gear, just know that your donations have put smiles on the faces of these girls in Lilongwe.

My mornings are spent in a classroom full of giggling Kindergartners. These kiddos have stolen my heart with their smiles, bear hugs, and childlike faith. Hearing them pray before snack time blesses me and I can't imagine how much the Lord loves listening to His children speak to Him. They don't try to use big words or attempt to make their prayer sound more "holy" than anothers, they simply bless the Lord, ask Him to heal the sick, bless the hungry, and thank Him for recess.
"Let the little children come to Me. Don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:15

On a personal note, this past week I have been missing home and the people there like crazy. It could have easily been a week long pity party but instead I have had some of the sweetest moments with my Abba. "...in Your presence is abundant joy." Psalm16:11. He has drawn me closer to Himself and reminded me of His vast, unending love. In the midst of missing what I know, new friendships have begun to blossom.
Also, my nose has been stuck in two wonderful books lately... I recommend them both!
"Kisses From Katie" by Katie Davis and "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. Both of these books have shed new light on living life in a third world country and dealing with the poverty that is now right outside my front door. I am asking Jesus for His heart and wisdom on how to love and bless my neighbors here. It's incredibly easy to see the need around and become discouraged that nothing you ever do will make it better so you should just not try. But those thoughts are not from the Lord! "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhearted toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deaut. 15:11
"Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything." - Bob Pierce

Here's a peak into my iPhone photo album as of late: