Monday, September 20, 2010

TIme to Catch Up

Dear Friends,

Yes, it has been a long time since I posted an entry on this site – more than 3 weeks. This is not because things have not been happening, but because they have been happening too fast to keep up with. There has been so much going on, so much traveling, so many visitors that there hasn’t been time for the Internet. Please forgive me. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try and catch up in one writing. That can’t be done. I just want to highlight a few of the many wonderful ways God has been working in these last weeks.

My very good friend Nora was able to travel to Malawi in good health and to visit many of the places and people she wanted to see. She thinks this may be her last trip, due to some health concerns, but she did not let health stop her from going to remote Migowi, or visiting Likhubula House, the CCAP Cottage at Zomba or HippoView Lodge, or go to the Zomba Theological College graduation or attend an ordination service in Chikwawa, or go to a remote area of Chuita Presbytery for an installation service. She was a trooper.

When she wasn’t going, people were coming to see her. We had a steady stream of visitors at the house - some for tea, some for a meal and others for overnight. At one point we ran out of beds and I slept on an inflatable chair that Nora and her son Gary brought for me. I think I had the best bed in the house that night.

In the midst of all of this I still had to work, so I was traveling to presbyteries to make presentations, attending meetings, conduction training sessions and caring for the training programs being started at Chigodi. This is a great event in itself but just one of the happenings of the last few weeks. Actually Chigodi is about as busy as I have been. The 14 women in the skills development class continue to learn while two groups of 40 women each have come for training as women’s coordinators in their churches. The tailoring and sweater making operations continue, having been moved to the front walkway to make room in the classroom for the training class. This is so encouraging for a place that this time last year was silent because of no water and no funding. God has blessed Chigodi and we rejoice in that.

So you get a feel for why I haven’t written in some time. I hope that now that things are slowing down a bit, I will have time to keep you posted on what is happening in a more tempered manner.