New place, same God.

As a reward for your patience I have a nice, long update for you! I suggest grabbing a cup of tea and getting cozy, here we go.
Our schedules have recently been filled to the brim with classes, choreography, errand running, dodging sickness, and a weekend getaway. Two weeks ago I caught a nasty bacterial virus that had been going around campus. When I first started to feel sick, I was urged to go to the clinic to be tested for malaria. I went to the clinic on an empty stomach (not a good game plan), so I ended up fainting after having my blood drawn. My nurse, Christine, and I laughed about it afterwards. Thankfully my test results came out negative for malaria, but my high fever wouldn't budge so I ended up going back to the clinic and had to be tested for a second time. My last test was negative once again and I was given antibiotics to begin my recovery. I was out for a week but was taken good care of by my roommates! Also, our housekeeper, Leah, came to work ill a few weeks back with severe tonsillitis and no money to receive proper care. I took her to the clinic on campus where she stayed overnight and received antibiotics. Carrie and I paid for her time in the hospital and thanked the Lord for providing us with the opportunity to give her the care she needed to get better.

Carrie and I have decided on songs to use for the Christmas production that we are directing and have started choreographing. We have 5 ballet dances to choreograph and are teaming up with the music and drama teachers here to get the ball rolling for the remainder of the Christmas production which will be performed the third weekend in December. Each of our classes have showed substantial improvement in their technique and each week it continues. I have students as young as third grade that come early to warm themselves up and ask me to stretch their feet before class begins. It is such an encouragement to have students that are truly eager to learn. For our younger classes we are still having to convince them that wearing ballet shoes is not optional and neither is putting their hair up!

Above: Half of my third grade class coming early to stretch.

Below: Our precious kindergarten class stretching their hamstrings while singing "Jesus Loves Me".

Instead of assisting with kindergarten, Carrie has now moved to being a teaching assistant in the Reception class (Pre-K) in the mornings. We both love spending the morning with these kids!

The mom of one of our students brought us homemade frappuccinosto sip on while teaching!

On the weekends, we have been experimenting with new recipes for dinner and dessert! Last weekend I made apple cobbler and homemade ice cream....and it was edible! One of our neighbors has a huge vegetable garden and they graciously share their fresh veggies with us. Nothing beats free and fresh vegetables!

Carrie had a "Sleepless in Seattle" moment while helping with the apple cobbler.

After leaving my family and friends in the States, I didn't like the idea of making new friends. The whole "getting to know you" process didn't seem too exciting two months ago. But once again the Lord has blown me away with His provision. Both Carrie and I are making new friends and getting plugged in here in Lilongwe. Jesus has provided me with a new friend whom I have already become close to. Her name is Jessie and she is the head swim coach here at ABC. Jessie is just out of high school and hails from Canada. We have so much fun when we are together, and we are also there for each other when homesickness kicks in. So thankful for this girl!

Carrie waited patiently for a month for a package her mom sent with lots of goodies inside! It arrived last week filled with things including precious Starbucks coffee and some chocolate chips. Big thanks to Mama Boudreau!

This past weekend a small group of us took a mini vacation and hiked up Mount Mulanje, also called the Mulanje Massif. The large monadnock is located outside the city of Blantyre and contains the highest point in Malawi called Sapitwa Peak. It has been said that the author J.R.Tolkien drew inspiration to write The Hobbit after climbing Mount Mulanje. We stayed at the Likhubula Forest Lodge for a couple of nights and then stayed in a cabin for one night on the mountain. The day before we actually went hiking up the mountain, we drove to a point at the bottom of the mount where we hiked for about an hour to reach a freshwater pool and spent most of the day swimming and exploring there.

On our way to the freshwater pool we passed over a bridge and under us were village kids swimming in the river below. We heard them even before we reached the bridge, because once they saw us their little voices began to call out, "Azungu, azungu, azungu!" which means foreigner or ghost.

On our way back to the car we passed through a village and once again we heard "Azungu!" called out before we could even see the children. These kids followed us all the way back to the car!

On Saturday we made our way up Mount Mulanje in a little under five hours. I must say that I seriously underestimated the difficulty level of this hike! Most of the hike was steep and let's just say there was lots of praying going on. We were in good company though and encouraged each other when it got rough. We hired some porters to help carry some of our luggage up the mountain. These men are super fit! They hike up Mount Mulanje at least once a week carrying things like large backpacks, sleeping bags, and even ice chests! During the climb I was thinking about how this hike parallels with my walk with the Lord. In the midst of the "steep" seasons when sin seems to entangle me, my strength is lacking, and the battle appears too violent to bear, I must "consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." (Hebrews 12:3) I cannot muster up enough strength to make it up the mountain on my own. He is the vine and I am the branch and I "can do nothing without Him" (John 15:5). "You do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you." (Romans 11:18). As I draw my strength from El Elyon, the Most High God, and endure the climb He blesses me with glorious mountain top views at the peak. But our relationship with Him must not be stagnant, once we reach the peak of one mountain we must eventually travel down into the valley and begin another climb with the knowledge that our Good Shepherd is leading us. "I have chosen the way of truth...:" (Psalm 119:30) where I must "keep a clear head about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill my ministry." (2 Timothy 4:5) Along our journey with the Lord there are precious waterfalls He provides to refresh our soul and renew our vision.

We took a well deserved swim in this pool after coming down on Sunday!

The water was ice cold, but felt heavenly on our sore muscles.

Here are a few random photos from the trip:

Dirty feet from the hike up!

"For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse." Romans 1:20