Thursday am - team heading back to Matapila

Good morning all... we have missed being able to send regular updates. While some conditions in Malawi are improved, internet connectivity is not one of them. It has been so good to see the children of the villages in Matapila -- their joy is contagious. There is nothing like hearing the natural raw talent of their voices; in perfect harmony as they praise the Lord. So powerful. So inspiring. So much to teach us. Today we will teach the story of Zaccheaus as we focus on serving their communities. Please continue to lift us up in prayer as the team has been working long days and we are all getting tired. One missionary, Caroline, is not feeling well, so please pray for her rapid recovery.
Love to all of you, your Malawi team. LD

August 2 - On the ground in Malawi

This is Marc Mandel here at Malawi 2010 "Ground Control" back at home in New Jersey.

I heard from Lisa around lunch time today. After a long flight, they made it to Malawi and are officially checked into the place they'll be calling home for the next week or two. She sounded energized to be there and everyone was in good spirits, even after 17 or 18 hours of flying time, she sounded eager to hit the hay because Orientation is just a few hours away.

The only gossip so far is Diana's feet. Lisa says they got super dirty. Not to embarrass anyone, but just imagine....

(These are NOT Diana's actual feet. Just a simulation...)

Well, I'm sure the team will check in here in the next few hours as they'll be at the Ministry of Hope's office where there is a computer and Internet access for their orientation. Until then, just please be assured they're in, and in good shape, dirty feet and all.

More soon - Marc

August 1 - Our send off

All of the travelers and families gathered at LCPC early Sunday morning to load the pickup with crates and head off to the airport in the van. a Special thanks to friends and family who drove us to the airport to ensure a safe and timely send off.

The crates

Friends old and new are heading over for a little more than 2 weeks, during which we'll strengthen our bonds with one another, with the people of Malawi, and with Jesus Christ.

Jackie, Lisa, and Diana

Once we were all loaded up and ready to go, all ten travelers got together for our now traditional send off group photo. Looking bright-eyed for 6:45am, here's our team.

The 2010 Malawi Mission team

Well, we're off! Wish us luck and know we'll stay in touch throughout the trip on this blog as well as we can to keep each of our loved ones throughout the world updated every few days.

God bless,

The 2010 Malawi mission team

Karen and Sean MacNamara live in Basking Ridge, NJ  and their daughter Shannon MacNamara at age 15 started this mission in 2008.

SHARE stands for  SHannon's After-school Reading Exchange.

They now take tons of children book to schools in Tanzania, Africa to empower children, especially young women, on learning to read.

In preparation for our August trip to Malawi SHARE provide us with 7 cases of books and we will construct sturdy book shelves to house them at a MoH feeding center. We look forward to expanding our partnership with SHARE to help educate the young people, the future Africa.

Many thanks to them and their work. 

dec

For the Future World Cup Super Stars!

Let's help these kids have a more enjoyable game of soccer....

Thanks to the help of Brendan Quinn of Thomson Reuters, we were able to collect through his local kids soccer league in Berekely Hieghts, NJ, over 75 soccer balls; 100 pair of leather soccer cleats and 2 complete sets of team uniforms to present to the kids attending the Ministry of Hope (www.ministryofhope.org) feeding centers outside the capital city of Lilongwe, Malawi.
We shipped this equipment over in early June and they are set to arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi as we step off our long plane flight on Monday, Aug 2nd.
I will have with me 4 soccer nets and will construct 4 goal cages form PVC pipe once I get there.
We also have Thomson Reuters lanyards with whistles, sideline flags and cones.
These kids will play soccer like world champions. Watch for picture updates on this blog.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!
dec

Team Commissioning

The Malawi team was commissioned at the LCPC church service this morning. A few people couldn't make it, but here is a picture of Don leading prayer for us.

Lisa

Muffins4Malawi a Success!

We held our first fundraiser last weekend; donations for really good muffins -- thanks to those who supported us by baking and donating! This was a huge success and something we'll definitely do a few times in preparation for next year!

Lisa

Chimwang'ombe Musical Group

This is the musical group we encountered at Chimwang'ombe last year. They constructed their own instruments from common materials, and they sounded great! Recently we found a complete used drum set, and after restoration it was shipped ahead of us to Malawi to be presented to the group. We were also donated a used guitar and we are trying to figure out how to take it with us.
Paul

Our container shipment:

A good friend is VP for UTC, an international freight forwarding company, and guided us thru the intricacies of shipping a partial container load of supplies to Malawi. His final comments are worth sharing:

Thanks for sharing this story and most of all caring for God’s children in Malawi. It is evident that God’s hand was guiding this shipment and even when from an earthly perspective it may have seemed a bit farfetched, He opened / closed the doors to make this happen. I have spent my career shipping hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment overseas for steel mills, can plants , oil rigs but your small shipment will have a greater impact then all these , not because of its contents but because of the love that will be personally delivered with it.

May God protect and may His will be in done in Malawi.

Thanks for letting me have a small part in this outreach.

Take care,