Malawi Traveling Report #1

We hope and pray that everyone back home is well. Your prayers are most appreciated!

As I start this report, it's Saturday and we are in the air between FL and DC. This morning we got to sleep in about a half hour, which was so very nice. We got all of our stuff out of the dorms and up to the warehouse. The bus was packed late last night after Commissioning so we had only a little to do this morning. We got to the airport with enough time to get some tasty coffee and airport food before going through security.

We had a great turn out of parents and family for Commissioning who of course brought us yummy treats which we will be enjoying for the days to come. The fun food helps keep spirits high during our long days of travel. 

The Commissioning service was a lot of fun and the worship was possibly the best yet. I love how TMI affirms the hard work and training that our young people are willing to go through in order to serve the Lord. You should be very proud of your teen and the amazing endurance and mostly positive attitudes they have had over the last 3 weeks. In the midst of it all, sometimes we were all so tired it was a struggle to be positive, but everything looks better in the morning and our team bounces back well.

Yet another blessing of being on the LDT (Leader Development Team) is that our team members have been showering and their boots drying out so we don't all have the BC (Boot Camp) stink. However, we still have clean back up socks and dryer sheets to put in our boots when we take them off on the long flights. 

When we got here to DC, team members were told of our HUGE Blessing by two churches. One has secured all of our bags for us overnight and will bring them to us in the morning. The other has blessed us with six hotel rooms that we will stay in overnight! The team was overjoyed to say the least.

Yet another blessing we are extremely thankful for is how several parents have blessed us financially so that we can get food as we travel. A good hot meal is a balm to the soul. Tonight we will be enjoying Chipotle delivered to the hotel. Thank you so very much to each of the parents who have blessed us financially. 

As I finish this report, it is 6:00 a.m. on Monday and we are standing in Dulles International ready to move on to the next phase of our travel. We slept well and are excited to get this journey moving. 

The Lord has blessed us as Leaders with 18 amazing team members. We are very proud of your kids! We are also sending a collective "Hi and we love you!!!" to all of our Moms and Dads. A shout out also to my husband who's willing to be my sender. 

1. Bea: Hi Mom & Dad! I'm so excited to go to Malawi and share Jesus' love with His people. I'm so happy I got to see ya'll before we left. God is so good! I can't wait to see what else He has in store for our team. Psalm 112 has been a passage that God has put on my heart recently. Tell the family I said "Hi. I love you all!"

2. Ben: Hey ya'll! I've been blessed with the opportunity to work with the preteen team these past 2 weeks. I've been learning to be more like a child when it comes to receiving and spreading the gospel, bright and innocent. It reminds me of Luke 18:17 and how I should apply it to my life.

3. Shannon: Hi! We are finally going to Malawi! I am so ready and excited to go with this amazing team and see what God will do this summer. I also wanted to say, "Hi and I love you!" to all of my family back home. 

We are so appreciative of all the prayers and are asking that you all continue to lift this team up. This team has a lot of amazing potential. We are asking God for big things understanding and knowing that He can deliver.