We made it! Our plane touched down safely in Malawi Saturday afternoon with all of our team and luggage arriving safely. The airport was small, but warm faces welcomed us as many of us were seeing Malawi for the first time. Members from the advanced team were waiting at the airport to greet us. They were able to bring thirty teens from The Passion Center on a bus from Zomba to Blantyre to watch the airplanes. Most of these children had never been outside of Zomba, let alone seen an airport. The point of the trip was to allow them to see sites outside of Zomba and to give them an opportunity to dream about what they might want to do when they grow older.

Staff from The Passion Center picked us up and drove us to our cabins on the Zomba Plateau where we would meet the members from the California team. The land is dry and dusty, with street vendors selling everything from sugar cane to fruits and vegetables to hand made baskets. People, many of them children, walk or ride bikes up and down the roads carrying babies on their backs and wood, cans, etc. on their heads.

As we got to the town of Zomba and made our way up the plateau. The land changed from hot and dusty to cool and green. Our cabins sit at the top of the plateau with a perfect view of Zomba below and mountains in the background. I can’t put in to words how beautiful God’s creation is.

Many people think that Africa is hot, but at night on the top of a plateau, the temperature drops. Our cabins don’t have heat, but they do have electricity and running water. We use a water purifier to drink the water. We are divided between three cabins, with team members filling each room. It’s not uncommon to also share a room with geckos, spiders, and ants.

Sunday morning we had the privilege of worshiping with our brothers and sisters in Christ at four local churches. Our group divided between five churches for an amazing time of praise and worship. The Malawians welcomed us with songs—some in Chichewa and some in English. Their voices filled the one room with beautiful harmony. No instruments were needed, although a keyboard was available and would chime in every once in a while on the songs. To see our brothers and sisters of Malawi worshiping dancing, clapping and praising from their hearts was awesome. To get a glimpse of what Heaven will one day be like when all nations will come together to praise our God was incredible.

The singing went on for close to an hour and then the pastor called our team to the front to introduce ourselves and sing a couple songs of our own. Rob shared the message for the day and then the pastor once again called us up to share testimonies with the church. It was such an encouragement to see our team members selflessly sharing what God is doing in their lives.

We had a great weekend arriving in Malawi and getting accustomed to the time change and to the different style of living. I don’t know how to put into words the beauty of the people and the land here. God has blessed us in so many ways by bringing us here safely and giving us the opportunity to serve Him here in Malawi. I wish that you all could be here to go through this experience with us!

—Becky