You know you're in Africa when you wake up to a baboon right outside your cabin! And that was just the start of the day…

I wish I had words to adequately explain what happened today. No one was prepared for the emotional aspect of what we experienced. We began the day with a tour of the Passion Center's residence hall, met with the Center's staff, and hiked over to the Multipurpose Room where the children attend school. The smiles on their faces when they saw the "Azungus" (white people) were huge! It wasn't long before the entire play yard was filled with hand clapping games, balls being kicked and thrown, group dancing, and so much laughter (mostly when they attempted to teach us words in their language!).

We lost track of the number of times we were asked "Will you be my friend?" It was enough to break your heart when their faces lit up as we said that "yes, we would love to be their friends!" The children literally crowded around us just to receive a hug, high five or handshake. We were able to see firsthand how you can never underestimate the power of a touch.

Our cameras were a huge hit! It took us a while to figure out that it wasn't just having their picture taken, but rather, they loved seeing their faces on the digital screens even more. We'll have plenty of pictures to post on the website when we get home, but with the poor internet connection, it's not possible to send them now. You can take it from me, though, these faces are precious. And the way they are so easily pleased, it was enough to make us take a closer look at our own hearts when we sat down for debriefing.

It starts to get dark here around 5:30, and with the darkness comes the cold, so we said our good-byes to head back to our cabins and prepare for the next day. Tomorrow it's more play time with the kids, construction projects begin, and widow visits in the afternoon.

Please keep us in your prayers:

1. For health and rest…it's long days, and with all we have going on, we need to be at our best!
2. For the construction projects…we're building cubicles for the orphans at the center, so they will have a place to call their "own", rather than just the open bunks they have now.
3. That we would continue to allow God to work in our hearts. He is doing amazing things here in Malawi through the Passion Center, and we've just caught a glimpse. As we sang in our time of worship, it's our prayer that God would "give us [His] eyes for just one second" knowing that this will change the way we view the people of the world, both at home and abroad, for the rest of our lives.

There is so much more I could say, but I think you're just going to have to come over here and see it for yourself!

—Brooke