Wednesday, May 10, 2006

News From Amanda

Jambo!! (hello in Swahilli)Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to begin! I feel like there is so much to tell already, and it's only been a week. First off, I apologize if there are typing mistakes, but I'm just trying to get as much in this email as possible!Things are going great in Africa! I love it here! This is a dream come true for me! It's incredibly gorgeous and wonderful! The people are amazing! The flying part of getting here was a little long, but we all made it safe and sound. We had the chance to spend the afternoon in London, England on our way to Tanzania, so we were able to have a bit of a rest and explore London for a few hours. Incredible!We arrived in Tanzania and were hit with the heat! My goodness, you just sat there and were sweating! BUt we started to get used to it! We did our orientation in Tanzania from Friday until Sunday, and then 16 of us headed off to Malawi, where I am now.Malawi is much cooler -- this morning, we had sweaters on! But it warmed up through the day. Its their winter season here, but its still warmer then Canada! I always think that God blesses His children! When we were leaveing for Malawi, we didn't really know where we were going to be staying or anything. We just knew it was a place. But honestly,its the most beauitful place I have ever seen.Its in the foothills of the mountains, and the trees and flowers are incredible. God's creation is unbelieveable.I just stare in awe of what He as created. WOW! We feel so blessed by Him!!Today was our second day on campus at Chancellor College and things are going amazing! God is movning and using us in big ways, its awesome! Please continue to pray though, and there is still alot to get done!Our vision for being here, is to raise up leaders; to start a movement here on campus. The campus is full of students who say they are Christians but don't share their faith -- so we want to build into these students and start a movement on their campus. We want to win people to Christ, but then also build into them, so they can build into others. So please pray for these students, that leaders wuould be raised up here in Malawi and also back in Tanzania (where the rest of the team is right now). PLease also pray for my luggage, as it was lost somwehere between Tanzania and Malawi. So I am without a suitcase right now, but I luckily packed a good carry on, that is helping me get through. It's not a huge deal, but just something that can set you back and make you worry and distract you from what we are doing here!Also, please pray for Esela and Aisha, two girls that I have met here and have developed a friendship with. Aisha is muslim, and Esela we want to build into. So please pray for them, and also for all the other students we have connected with!Just yesterday,we had around 100 spiritual converstaions, and had around 5 people accept Christ! In one day! So please pray that we wouldn't burnout but that God would continue to use us here! So things are going great here in Malawi! I do miss home some days, but am so thankful for the experience of being here!There are so many stories that I could share, I feel I could write a novel! I can not wait to come and share more stories with you all!The internet access is very slim in Malawi, so I am not sure when i will be able to email again, but I will try my best to do so!Thank your for your prayers-- i know that you are praying, I can feel it!God is so good, and I am so excited about the amazing things He is going to do at Chancellor Collge and the University of Dar Es Salaam!The others are waiting for the internet, so I must go!Blessings from Malawi,
Amanda