Welcome to Malawi, the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Unfortunately, my camera broke in the Philippines, otherwise I would be blowing up this blog with pictures. You'll just have to trust me when I say it's stunning.
I live at Zehandi Missions, located on a hill in Senga Bay, a seven minute walk from gorgeous Lake Malawi. From our hill there is an incredible view on every side, whether it's the lake, the fields upon fields of green, the mountains, or the beautiful African sky, with sunsets that belong in movies and fairy tales. I live in paradise.
Zehandi Missions was started just a couple of years ago by Johan and Marie Matthee, and their three children Zenika, Johan, and Dirk. Zehandi is still in its beginning stages, but God has AMAZING plans for this place. Currently the ministries at Zehandi include the Bible College, a fruit orchard to teach the locals how to grow their own fruit, and sports ministries for women. God has so many more ministries planned for Zehandi's future, including a chicken farm (community development), an elementary school, two orphanages (one for girls and one for boys), and eventually the Bible school will attract students from all over the nations. Zehandi is the city on the hill from Matthew 5.
Let me tell you a little about daily life at Zehandi. I wake up every morning around 6:30am to my teammate Beckah sticking her head in my tent, "Good morning, Kristina!" Every week we have a different "duty" to perform each morning: gardening, animals, hygiene, or kitchen. Garden duty prunes the trees so that they will grow up instead of out, and one day there will be shade trees on the property to sit under. Animal team takes care of the goats and the donkey. Hygiene team cleans the bathroom and fetches water from the well a mile away (uphill both ways) so that we can flush the toilet. Kitchen team spends all day cooking for the 40-50 people that live at Zehandi. After duties and breakfast (normally some sort of porridge; oatmeal is my favorite, Maltabella is my least favorite), we normally do some sort of manual labor, whether that's planting trees or building, fetching more water, or weeding. Recently we have been having worship in the mornings too, which I love. After lunch we have outreach. Most often outreach is going to one of the surrounding villages, where our only assignment is to love well and be like Jesus. That simple assignment gives us a lot of freedom and allows for Spirit-led ministry, which leads us to so many opportunities of sharing God's love. After ministry we normally head down to the lake to get clean, or haul water and take a shower at our campsite. I prefer the lake. Then we have dinner and team time, or more worship. Normally I'm in bed by about 8:30, like a grandma, but it's great to get so much rest after a long, hard-working day.
What I love about my time in Malawi is how much I've grown in my walk with the Lord. Our contacts are such Godly people, and they have hearts for propelling us closer and closer to Him. Every step we take, every outreach we do is directed by the Spirit, or at least we are getting to that point, and that's incredible. I feel so filled with the Spirit here, and He is making me love it more and more every day.
I got baptized in Lake Malawi on Thursday. It was incredible to just feel so renewed in Christ. I went under the water, and I forgot to hold my breath, or even to close my mouth, but the Lord kept me breathing even under the water! He's showing me that even when it seems like I'm in an impossible situation, He is going to be my constant, and He is going to be the one that keeps me going.
God is so good, and I am so in love with Him and with Malawi!
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
