Ten months ago I was running around like crazy getting ready to leave my family, friends, and all sense of comfort and normalcy to go to the strange land Malawi. I was scared, nervous, excited, and quite frankly not sure if I could make it over there. And now almost a year later I am back at home preparing to go back again.
I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to come home for three weeks. Before coming here originally I hadn't really even considered coming home during my service, but here I am. Some of the highlights of my trip home include...
-meeting my beautiful niece Avery for the first time
-catching up with old friends, particularly one that came all the way from Australia!
-giving a presentation on Malawi to my Nana and Pop Pop's retirement home
-spending time with a soon-to-be-married friend (congrats Melis!)
-receiving volleyballs from the GPS Crush club team for my girls volleyball club
-catching up on all the food+movies+music+tv+books I've so missed
In my group of 20 volunteers I am the only one who came home during Christmas so I feel pretty lucky. To see my family and friends has been awesome and I'm feeling so encouraged and supported by everyone here. I can't wait to take this momentum and motivation back to my village. I've got about fourteen months left of my service and it's my prayer that I make the most of every single minute over there. I am so blessed to be doing what I am, it has been great to be reminded of that these past several weeks.
All I can think to say is that God is good, so good in fact. I know I'm only doing this because He allows me to and gives me the strength to persevere through it all. And for that I am extremely thankful. I am also so thankful for my family and friends. If you are reading this you probably fall into one of those two categories so to you I want to say a big, huge THANK YOU. I've been overwhelmed by your love and support, please continue it through this next fourteen months! Please continue praying not only for me, but particularly for the people I am working and living with. Malawi is a wonderful country with beautiful, caring people but there is still an alarming amount of poverty and desperation. Please pray that the Lord will help me to meet their physical needs as well as spiritual.
Again, thank you all. I can't wait to see what will come in 2011! May you have a blessed New Year's and beyond!
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