Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Those of you who have gone on Mission Trips will agree with this truth;  You always receive more than you give.  I get the sense that the Malawi Team will be coming home exhausted but with hearts full of joy.

 Melissa and I exchanged emails this morning around 1:30am our time.  I was at a gas station in Longview Texas and she was having breakfast in Africa. I'm old enough to still be amazed by that. 

Melissa Schroeder

Please continue to pray for Faith. She is suffering with Sickle Cell and is in a great deal of pain.  It is very heartbreaking.  I sat with her for awhile today rubbing her back and loving on her.  She is still running a fever.  Her father told me she has these episodes about every two weeks.  Pray for her and her family.

This morning Charmaine and I will assist seven of the older girls we have been training as they examine the children here at the orphanage.   They will take temperature, listen to lungs, look in ears for infection and check for skin conditions. They have become great caregivers. 

We are also giving out the new clothes that the church sent. The children were so excited about the toothbrushes, I can't wait to see their faces when they get new outfits.  They will be so happy.  they will all have new clothes for the big wedding that is taking place tomorrow (Saturday).

Last night we talked to the older girls about God's plan for their lives and the importance of purity.  This was some discussion, none of them knew how HIV was transmitted. In their culture this is not spoken of at all. Many of them are orphans due to AIDS and some of the children are infected themselves. 

These children are so poor yet so bright and joyful.  They know the Bible very well and have a real love for the Lord.  they have wonderful manners, unbelievable manners!   Last night I was getting ready for bed but was drawn outside by the singing. They were singing "How Great is Our God".  I have never heard such beautiful harmony.  The Rainbow School has done an unbelievable job with these children.  They will change this country for the better!

I Love you.

Thank you all so much for your prayers for the Africa Mission Team. Silas will be leaving in a couple of weeks for Uganda to serve at the Suubi Project.  Many of you have put him to work and supported him. Keep him in your prayers, God is going to show him amazing things.

A Day In Malawi

I received this update late last night. It gives a good idea of what the Team does each day.

Melissa Schroeder	12:05 AM (5 hours ago)

We start each day early; we have water with breakfast which is usually canned fruit and an egg. One day we had cinnamon rolls. Bobby leads a devotion and prayer then we start VBS by 9am. Each of us has a certain job with assistance from older kids to interpret. Lunch is a peanut butter sandwich with chips. The well water here tastes different, but I’m getting use to it now. We did get a few pops the other day. However there is just a small refrig so nothing is ever cold to drink.

We travel to a village after lunch. We walk though after getting permission from their chief. Charmaine and I split up. Each group has two Malawi boys and four girls from the orphanage, Makala or Lanya goes with one of us and one of our guys for muscle. We Treat their wounds, and pray with each one. Charmaine and I have a class every night with the girls teaching first aid. Today my Malawi girls cleaned and applied Neosporin and dressed each patient. My girls treated over 40 just this afternoon. Charmaine’s group did the same. The rest of the group stays near the old flat bed truck we traveled in and sings or plays games with the kids to keep them out of the way. Today one of my stops treated 3 patients and prayed right in front of a witch doctors house. The flags in front mark his home. Which is made of handmade bricks with a straw roof. This is typical of the huts. Around 4x6 in size. Dirt floor, open area for door.

 The people shake our hands holding their elbow with the other hand. They say this is to show great respect to us. Many often kneel at our feet. Pigs, goats, cows, bulls run loose everywhere. When we arrive back at rainbow we eat dinner made by Marcy (missionary staying here with her husband for several months to serve). She makes coffee which is a real treat. The kids eat all their meals prepared by their Malawi house parents in their dining hall. That is where Charmaine and I go teach every night. Tonight we took temps and checked each other’s ears. One of the girls had an ear infection which her partner discovered.. I had colored pictures to show how ears looked normal or infected. I started the girl on amoxicillin. Seven older girls stick close to Charmaine and I, they will be leaving going to secondary school. They are around 16 and will live there. Rainbow will help them go onto their college type school if desired. These girls want to be nurses. In our class we teach each night there are around 25 students.

 Today was sweet, as we walked though the village this afternoon, two girls held my hands, one on each side. Tomorrow night we plan to talk about choices they will make when leaving here. Spiritual and physical. Walking in the steps of Jesus as they make decisions. Staying pure, abstinence,etc. Sometimes our college girls help at night in class or keep younger kids entertained.

Faith has sickle cell and is still in a lot of pain, she’s running fever too. She is 9 and is the rainbow Malawi preacher’s daughter. I gave her the beanie baby of a bear kneeling and praying its name was hope. She loves it. I checked on her before bed, fever just 99 now. Started at 101.5 this AM.

Bobby, Ricky and West are completing a lot of work. They put gutters on roofs for water to go into large tanks they attached to collect rainwater to use for their gardens. They attach PVC pipes for water to get to garden areas. The boys here have been taught to garden. Bobby is getting a lot of projects done.

 I have so much to say really hard to write just a little. Glad people are praying for us. These kids know a lot about Jesus they love Jesus. You can see, feel and hear it when they sing. They love Linda Dowling and she loves and plays with them. Last night they chanted Mama Linda, Mama Linda to call her outside to play, when she went they cheered! Tonight I heard them chanting Abby, Abby!!

 Everyone has been asleep for hours but me. Guess I will go to bed. Love you hope you get this text soon.

For those of you who are praying for the Mission Team here is a specific prayer need.  The 12 year old daughter of the Malawian Pastor has Sickle Cell Anemia.  She is in a crisis and Melissa has contacted Doctors in the USA for advice on medication.  Pray for this situation.

Abby has decided she loves Africa. In her words, "the people are nicer, the pace is slower, and if we lived there we would be rich!" 

Hannah is amazed at how much the children love to eat rats on a stick. She refused to try it.  I reminded her that if you travel half way around the world to experience another culture you really should try the food.  She said "No."

Melissa was very tired, she traveled several hours over very bad roads to a village to get blood tests and provide wound care. 25 out of 60 people tested positive for Malaria.  She said she was learning patience, that's a bonus for me!!! 

Thanks for your prayers
God is Good!

Here are a few update highlights from the emails I've received from Melissa:


We have been treating many burns in the villages we've visited. Tuesday will be a long day, we are going to a remote village about 2 hours away.  At night when we get back we teach first aid classes to the older girls.  We include bible lessons about our true healer Jesus.  It is great and we always end up dancing and laughing. 

There are a couple of bulls running loose in the compound.  We are accustom to them now and they don't bother us.  They fry everything here and I'm getting tired of fried food.  It is amazing how God  put our group together. each person has filled a unique roll and seems to have found the exact purpose God called them to.  We are having an amazing time.

The children have all picked the college girl that they want to follow around. I have taken pictures of the girls with their gangs.  They are working very hard with the children and I think it will be hard to leave when the time comes.


Keep praying for the Team as they serve.  I can tell from the emails that the experience has not been what Melissa was expecting.  Hannah and Abby are trying to soak it all in but they are just overwhelmed.  God is definitely stretching them this week.

This morning I received an email from Melissa and I thought I would share it here.

I wake up each morning to the sound of children playing outside my window.  They love us being here, and want to play all day long.  The girls are spending all their time with the children and they love it.  It feels like all I do is ask questions and listen to the stories, I am taking lots of pictures.  there are two of the older girls who follow me everywhere. They want to be nurses or doctors and watch everything I do.

This morning was Sunday Church and it was wonderful. We sang then everyone fell to their knees and began to pray out loud, then they all hopped back on their feet and sang some more in their native tongue. It was beautiful.  West preached through an interpreter and did a great job.  The poverty here is extreme and many of the orphan's stories are sad. some of the children have AIDS or other ailments. They do have something that we don't, a slow and peaceful pace of life that does not rob the joy from their hearts. That looks very appealing.  I'll write you again soon.

Melissa

Some news from the Team today.  Several are getting acclimated to the time and weather change today.    Melissa said she is taking lots of pictures and has enjoyed getting to know some of the older girls who are very interested in nursing and a couple have said they want to study to become nurses.  She seems very excited about sharing her passion for nursing with these young ladies.

I learned several things about Malawi from Ben's "lonely Planet, Malawi" book that he dropped by.  It seems Malawi was explored in the 1800s by the famous Missionary Explorer Dr. David Livingston.  There is a Missionary School there that was founded by him and even a village that bears his name.  Several bays and harbors an Lake Malawi were named by Dr. Livingston and he left his mark across the country.  To me this is very exciting, to follow the trails and rivers that were opened up and explored by such a giant of the faith, that is amazing.  I'm sure I get much more inspired by such things than the girls.

They are all doing well and have a very busy week ahead.
I have included a couple of links on this blog page that will give you more information about where the Team is serving. check them out.

The team has arrived at the Orphanage in Malawi. A short message read that God answered all prayers and they are all doing well. Keep the Medical Team in your prayers as they seek permission from village chiefs to enter the villages to vist and treat sick and injured villagers in there homes.
The local witch-doctors are usually very resistent to allowing outsiders in. put on your spiritual armor and get in the battle that will be raging in the unseen realm.

Good Morning,
The Africa Team is about 10 min. away from landing in South Africa.  I found a real cool website that lets you track air flights live.  It is called Flight Aware if anyone likes to track flights.
Pray for a easy pass through customs and a good nights sleep. it is 4:30pm in South Africa so they will eat dinner and stay in Johannesburg overnight.
Pray that all the items they checked through in baggage will get past the normal theft that goes on there and will arrive with them in Malawi.

They Are Off !!!!!!!
Wheels up from Shreveport, 2:00pm
Wheels up from Atlanta, 7:00pm
Should land in Johanasburg South Africa, tomorrow morning around 9:00am, our time it will be around 5:00pm in Johanasburg.
They will spend the night in South Africa then continue on to Malawi.

It has been a crazy week leading up to today's departure for Africa.
Last night Hannah and Abby came home and it was a packing frenzy until an intense thunderstorm killed our power around 7:00pm.
Silas and I were on a run into town to get some fried chicken and braved the storm to return to a dark house.
We all sat around the table and feasted on chicken by oil lamp light. We laughed and relaxed, while the storm raged outside.  It turned out to be a very special gift from the Lord.  Everyone turned in early and the house was dark and still.  I sat in the rocking chair and listened to the soft sounds of my family that I love so much. Sisters talking in low voices in the darkness, the sound of muffled laughter and giggles drift from there room. I sat and enjoyed the stillness. Praying quietly to the Lord, thanking him for the incredible gift of children. Thanking Him for the wonderful wife He had blessed me with. It was the kind of evening only God can make happen.