The sky was still dark at 3am, as the Malawi team gathered in the parking lot of the church to load the final bags into the trailer and begin our long journey to African soil.  The 18 of us prayed our final send-off with many tired and some teary eyes of friends, parents, spouses, and even dedicated siblings willing to wake up at such an early hour!

Excitement marked our 3 hour van ride into Chicago to catch our first flight. Kim Houck, Erik Peterson, and Dalton Powell drove us safely to our destination. The drive was filled with laughter, sweet conversations, and enjoying the beautiful rose-colored sunrise.

Prayers were quickly answered as we breezed through security with all our bags and all our teammates.

After the 14 hour flight into Zimbabwe, the outward excitement may have wained slightly, and our eyes may have looked bloodshot and puffy, and our stomachs may have felt a little off from the plane food, but spirits were high, attitudes great, and smiles plentiful. At this point everyone was ready to join our friends in Malawi.

The last 6 hour leg of the flight from Zimbabwe to Malawi was speedy compared to the first leg. We stopped in Congo to refuel and finally arrived at our destination—Lilongwe, Malawi! There we were greeted warmly and were thrilled to see our missionary partners, Kondi and Newton.

More prayers answered—we all made it through customs with no problems and with every piece of luggage accounted for!

We had about an hour van ride to Kondi’s home which went quickly as we took in all the sights on the ride—people, buildings, trucks transporting large groups, and African trees against the African sky. At the Nyanda’s house we enjoyed a delicious homemade meal and fellowship.

We are settling in for the night after a long 32 hours of travel, thankful and amazed at God’s kindness through our trip.

Please pray for the effects of jet lag to be minimal and our adjustment to our new home for the next ten days to be smooth.

Pray for Jimmy and Josh as they preach on Sunday morning at Reformation Bible Church (RBC)and Grace Bible (GBC), for Jon and Gordy as they teach Sunday school, and for the rest of the team as we help with the children and participate in Sunday worship.

Zikoma! (Thank You)