Lessons Before Leaving for Lilongwe...

Well…. it’s official! Less than 24 hours remains until I board a plane bound for Africa. Actually, the first plane is bound for Vancouver, the next one for Amsterdam, the following one for Kenya, with my final destination being… LILONGWE, MALAWI! 

For those of you who know me well, you may breathe a sigh of relief and smile. After all, you have listened for months as I prattle on about hoping to find a place to volunteer with kids across the ocean. You encouraged me for weeks as I waited patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) for word from organizations and groups in Southern Africa. And then you cheered exuberantly with me as I received word from the Ministry of Hope that I had been accepted as a volunteer in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. In the next eleven weeks, I hope to find ways to be a blessing to all those who are doing God’s work in another part of the globe!

The past few weeks have taught me that I have so much to learn! The ladies at the Bulkley Valley Credit Union can only shake their heads and smile at the girl who came in to order "kwachas," or coins used by those in Malawi, and almost began to panic as she found out it couldn't be done! How was I supposed to pay for my lodging and everything else while in Lilongwe? (So thankful for a wonderfully wise person who informed me that "of course, you order American money, and then exchange it for kwachas once you get to Malawi!") And just like that, panic was averted! A lesson learned!

Then there were the phone calls to the KLM Airline to find out how much luggage I could bring. One small suitcase. What? How was I supposed to cram the colourful pencil crayons, multi-coloured face clothes, bibs and slippers made by a beautiful friend, homemade-by-Dad wooden cars and trucks, and everything else I needed into one small suitcase!?! As it turns out, KLM has an exception to the one-suitcase policy. Flying to Africa? Feel free to take two suitcases. Once again, I could be at ease! A cheerful but persistent phone call results in another lesson learned!

What is even more exciting is just how many lessons I will learn in the next few months! I will hear the lyrical sounds of a new and beautiful language. I will live in a land where the weather forecast predicts thunder showers and rain and humidity for almost every one of the next fourteen days, which is very different from the -30 Celius we have been experiencing here! I will have the privilege of caring for kids and meeting and living among people whom I hope will become friends. Most of all, it is my prayer that I will learn in a brand new way what it means to trust God about tomorrow... what a comfort for me that He is already there! 

Until the next time, blessings to you all!