Final week with ChristCares.

This past week was full of amazing times at program with the kids, a visit with sponsored high school girls, brainstorming fundraising
ideas, and building deeper bonds with the children and staff at ChristCares Ministries (CCM).  We completed the development art
project with the kids, in which we will turn their artwork into thank-you pieces for donors who give to CCM and UPI, and create note
cards which UPI will sell to benefit the ministry.  The kids do not have the opportunity to express themselves through art, as it is not a subject in school, and is not seen as a matter of importance for them to learn.  They had a wonderful time coming up with an idea of what they wanted to draw for their supporters, and were very proud of their final product.  I will be bringing these pieces back to the States with me in May and am so excited to share their work with the UPI supporters.

We had a special day in program on Thursday, as it was a public holiday and therefore it was not mandatory for the kids to attend.

My last day at ChristCares After School Program.

However, all the kids, and more from the community came out to have a fun day filled with games, special music and dancing, and motivational talks about life goals.  Two guys from a local church came with speakers and a microphone, one of them (a musician) led the kids in some music and dancing to songs that he had written.  The kids had a blast and certainly found it funny when I joined them in dancing.  I was privileged to talk to them about what it is that I do, and why I am here in Malawi.  You see, when it comes to dreaming of what they want to do with their lives, their views are very limited as to what they see people around them doing.  When asked what do you want to do with your life, they simply say one of about four things: a nurse, teacher, policeman, or farmer.  CCM wants to provide them with a broadened perspective, that they can be whatever they want to be.

I was asked to speak to them about what it is that I do, and why I have come to Malawi.  I told the kids of my home in the United States, college education, and the call of the Lord on my life to serve and bless others with what God has given me.  I told them that I am here in Malawi to do just that; to work with organizations like CCM, to help them grow and reach more children and youth, and to spread the word about the good things that are happening here in Malawi.  I encouraged them especially that in whatever they do with their lives, the most important thing is that they use their lives to bring glory and honor to God.  For it is because of Him that we are alive and even have dreams, and our vocation, our ultimate calling in life, is to glorify Him and share His love with the world around us.

Saturday, I took a trip with Robert and two of the youth leaders to an all girls boarding high school located about an hour and a half
outside of Lilongwe called APU (Atsikana Pa Ulendo, Girls on the Move).  We took a car down one of the only major roads in Malawi until we reached a small dirt road that 45 minutes later would lead us to APU.  The road was all washed out and covered in pot holes and ponds of water because of rainy season.  We passed women and children washing clothes in the streams, and men carrying loads of wood on the backs of their bicycles.  There are not many high schools in Malawi, and there is much need for one in this district.  A native woman from Malawi and her husband who graduated from African Bible College in Lilongwe had the vision to help girls achieve their high school education and started APU in 2009.  Their website is http://www.malawigirlsonthemove.com/governance.  The school is amazing, wonderful facilities, dorms for the girls to stay in, a new dining hall that is in the process of being built, and one of the most beautiful views of the rural Malawi countryside.

The high school girls from APU, myself, and the two youth leaders.

There are six CCM girls at this high school, four of which are
sponsored through UPI supporters.  The girls work very hard, and are
currently studying to take their exams which will determine whether or
not they may continue on to some sort of university education.  I was
able to sit down with the girls, help them fill out their sponsorship
profiles, and pray with them about their studies and future.  With the
sponsorship program that I am working on, we hope to find more
sponsors so that we can send more girls to continue with their
education at APU.  CCM hopes to build a similar high school for boys
and girls in the region they currently serve within the next few
years.  CCM has recently acquired land in the region in hopes to
someday build a high school, and are in the process of writing a
proposal and fundraising to make this dream a reality.  Every child
deserves the right of education, and far too many children and youth
here in Malawi are denied that right due to the educational system,
and life circumstances that they were merely born into.  CCM is
working very hard to change these odds for their children.  I am so
blessed to have been a part of their amazing ministry, and excited to see what the Lord is going to do for them in the future.

This week I will be leaving CCM, and starting my time with Project TEACH located in southern Malawi near Blantyre.  Project TEACH runs an after school program, and also a boys soccer camp and team.

As I make another transition to a new site, Please Pray:

-    That the Lord brings me comfort as I leave behind the friends and
kids that I have come to love at CCM and move to a new site.  That I
will come to love and cherish the relationships that are waiting for
me at Project TEACH.

-    For CCM as they look forward to possibly starting a high school this
coming fall.  They hope to use Robert’s church building as a facility
for classes until enough money is raised to build and start a school
facility on their own property.

-    Praise the Lord that thus far I have been staying healthy, and that
the Lord has protected me in all my travels and transitions.

-    That the Lord would make clear to me His path and plan for my life
once I return to the States.