We found out our schedule for our trip. Justin has been

gracious enough to give us a pretty detailed listing of where

we'll be on what dates, so now you'll know every day where

we are in the country of Malawi. We are pretty excited about

the variety in our schedule and all of the different places we'll

have the opportunity to visit.

OUR TRAVEL SCHEDULE

DATE		PLACE	ACTIVITY
21	June	Lilongwe	Arrival/airport pickup
22	Friday	Lilongwe	Work/comm. visit
23	Saturday	Ntcheu	Work/comm. visit
24	Sunday	Ntcheu	Sunday Service
25	Monday	Ntcheu	Work/comm. visit
26	Tuesday	Songa	Work/comm. visit
27	Wednesday	Songa	Work/comm. visit
28	Thursday	Songa	Work/comm. visit
29	Friday	Songa	Work/comm. visit
30	Saturday	Mvu	Game park
1	July-Sunday	Mvuu/Ntcheu	Safari and return
	Week 1	Ntcheu	Visit HIV/AIDS groups
	Weeek 2	Ntcheu	Visit Kids Clubs
	Week 3	Songa	Visits IGA groups
21	Saturday	Ntcheu	Work/comm. visit
22	Sunday	Ntcheu	Travel/Pack
23	Monday	Lilongwe	Rest
24	Tuesday	Lilongwe	Fly out

This post is going to cover two things since we haven't updated it in a little while. Number one, we are almost half-way in our fundraising. Our goal is $8,000, and we have received a little over $3,000. Obviously, we have a ways to go, but we are feeling confident that God will provide. We, also, need to begin the process of collecting the needed items requested by Save Orphans Ministry. We'll publish a whole list of their requests soon.

We met with Justin and Ruth Majawa recently and had a great conversation about what our life will look like in Malawi. When we reach Ntcheu, we will most likely live with a family for the first week while we look for a house to rent. Once we find a house, we will have to get the basic supplies necessary for living there such as a few dishes, cooking utensils, a matress to sleep on, a mosquito net, and whatever other bare minimum items we'll need to live safely while we are there. We will also need to hire a night watchman for our house. Though Ntcheu is a fairly safe city in comparisons, it is a city nonetheless, so we need to take all precautions. The night watchman will sit outside of our house every night to keep watch for anyone who might try to rob us. We will more than likely hire a housekeeper as well. This was a suggestion from Ruth as she said that not only is it a good idea to create job opportunities for people while we are there, a housekeeper will also free us up to take full advantage of our daily activities without worrying about cleaning or buying supplies to clean.

Our daily life will consist of following around different members of the SOM team. The first week we will probably follow around the nurse as she cares for HIV/AIDS patients, teaches educational lessons, and ministers to families of those that died from the disease. The second week we might follow around the agronomist, the third week the evangelist, and so on... We are very excited about getting this breadth of experience. We will also travel to another town southeast of Ntcheu for a week to experience the ministry there.

Justin also took the time to teach us a few Chichewa words and phrases. Here are a few of the words/ phrases we were taught:
Muli Bwanji? - How are you?
Ndili bwino. Kaya inu? - Fine, thank you. And you?
Zikomo. - Thank you, welcome, good bye, excuse me (according to Justin
this is a very common phrase to use)
Dzina langa ndi ______ . - My name is ......

These are just a few of the phrases we hope to be able to use to communicate better while we are there.

We are obviously getting more and more excited and realizing that there are lots of details to be taken care of before we leave. Keep praying for us as we try to prepare our hearts, minds, and souls for the experience that lies ahead of us.