Mark's Thought's Part : 4

"Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right." Proverbs 20:11.

"He called a little child and had him stand among them...unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Mathew 18:2-4.

God shows us things in so many different ways. Even at times when we are least expecting it. Yesterday God humbled me through a child and confirmed the reason I am even going on this trip. Here is my story:

I was at a children's birthday party for a friend of ours. My daughter and their daughter are both 7 years old and are like two peas in a pod. My daughter's friend had heard about my trip to Africa to help orphans her age that are less fortunate than we are. Before we left the party she had brought me an envelope which she had decorated with her name and flowers and other adorable pictures that 7 yr old girls love to draw. Inside the envelope was money for my trip from her. It was all her allowance money she had earned. She gave it up without the blink of an eye. For her it was like giving up all she had.

I was not only humbled by her selfless giving, I was encouraged to go to Africa and show those kids that people do love and care about them thousands of miles away. To see life through a child's eye makes you stop and rethink about what is important. Jesus calls us to be like a child and not let the world cloud our minds. Why can't we all show selfless love and compassion without analyzing it all to death. The answer really is quite simple.

Mark's Thoughts : Part 3

The garage sale was a huge success. It was a major blessing in so many ways. The first blessing was our team working together to get the sale organized, set up, and torn down. This is a great team and I think we are going to do great things together while we are in Africa. The second blessing was God bringing all the people to the sale, which by the way was a ton. There were cars parked everywhere and people coming from every direction. Another blessing was the weather. God kept the rain away all morning and gave us just enough time to do what we needed to do. There was one part during the morning when I looked up and saw a square patch of blue sky directly over the house we were at.....seriously. The best blessing of all was being able to bless all the people who bought stuff at our sale. We sold tons and tons of stuff at ridiculously low prices. There were some people who desperately needed clothes and we were able to provide the clothes at next to nothing prices. They walked away with the biggest smiles. What blows me away is how much we still made selling everything so cheap. God definitely had His hand over that garage sale. Thank you God for all your blessings. Africa, here we come!

Praises!

We had such an awesome time at the garage sale. It was a great day for our team to come together to raise funds for our trip - we raised over $1200!!! What a blessing! We had so many great items donated to sell - thanks to all who donated for this great cause. The weather held out until noon when we got a little rain. WOW! Our God is great!
Our team is such an incredible team of hard working people. Everyone has their own reasons and passions for serving - it is so cool to see it all coming together. I know from past experience that we go with the heart of serving - but come back with a renewed faith in our Lord. I can't wait to see what God will do in our lives. It is most definately a win-win situation!
I am getting so excited to go - one month away! That is so hard to believe. Things are coming along great. We had another team meeting last week. Handed out so much information to the team, they had to be a little overwhelmed. We have secured a laptop to take over to COTN to donate and to help them learn a few basic computer skills on.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. I pray that all of the little details will come together in the month ahead.

Mark's Thoughts : Part 2

This trip is coming up in a hurry. As I plan and cross things off my list to prepare it gradually sinks in that I am going to be gone for 16 days. To some it doesn't sound very long, but for someone with a young family it feels like an eternity. It is going to be hard leaving behind my wife and three kids (third one was born 3/13/09) for two weeks, but it will be a great experience to share and talk about with my kids as they grow up. I am sure my perspectives and priorities will change after the trip. I am excited to see what God wants to teach and show me.
Only 6 weeks to go!!!

6 Weeks!

Wow! I just looked at the calendar and realized that there are only 6 weeks until we are on our way. So much great stuff has been happening. Share partner letters went out from all all of our team and we are getting an amazing response in both prayer and finances. Thanks to all of you! God is good. I am in constant contact with both of the areas we are visiting. Plans are being made for an incredible time.

As of today, when we are working with COTN in Lilongwe, we will be helping with the widows program - teaching them a song, encouraging them through scripture, creating bracelets and visiting their homes. One of our team members has prepared a Bible Study lesson for the children there, and we will visit the Children's Crisis Nursery to hold and love on some little ones. Another very exciting thing will be a little side trip up to a village in Chiwengo where we will put screens on the windows to keep those pesky mosquitos out. COTN is trying to get some laptop computers donated so we can teach them some computer basics. We will visit the children living in the homes provided by COTN - there are two new little babies there that we will love to hold.

While in Blantyre, visiting Acts III/Malawi Montessori Project and Maribeth, we are planning to do our Bible lesson with the children in the village, and to paint alphabet murals on walls in the learning centers. One of our team members is hard at work preparing that. We will get to help in the garden, visit the hospital and just spend time with the people there.

I am so blessed to get to be going back to Malawi, and especially blessed to have such an awesome team!

I pray that God will work mightily in your life~

Mark's Thoughts : Part 1

I am so excited to be part of this team (even if I am the only dude). I think this trip is going to be filled with so many life-changing experiences that none of us really know what to expect.

That is part of the joy of trusting in the Lord and letting Him guide us and show us part of the world through His eyes. Keeping an open mind and an open heart for this trip will allow all of us to see just a fraction of His love and grace. How awesome is that!

As our itinerary continues to fall into place as to what we are going to do and see I get even more excited. Praise God!