The end of the road

I'm somewhere over the African continent- making my long journey home. Yes, after 8 weeks my time in Malawi is already over, and I reminisce as I sit here on the aircraft. I'm amazed at how much my soul has changed; how my outlook with my life has changed, and how much more change is inevitable upon my return to the normal routines of my daily life. To catch you up, This last week was a bit hectic, and slow at the office-- with the FEDs house flooding, cancelled programs, and then going to villages for "makimanna" (nutrition education) to find that there is a burial service that day, and the village has turned into a complete ghost town. Keta, her friend Zorah and I spent this passed weekend in Blantyre, a city 4 hours north of Lilongwe. She was asked to do a teaching on salvation up there to a group of women, but insisted that I could stay home and watch the Germany vs Argentina game (we both couldn't miss it; and I asked God for forgiveness for choosing futbol over a lesson on salvation-- go Germany!!!). We spent Sunday afternoon visiting Zorahs grandma who lives in the village of chollo which is in the middle of the tea fields. It was absolutely gorgeous with rolling hills of green tea plants, all trimmed to the exact same height-- it was incredible; like God had taken a paint brush and just painted the lines of shaded greens, with a few mud huts in between. We made the drive back to Lilongwe, and I was white knuckled on our drive home in the dark. I now know why people don't like driving at night here. There are no street lights, people walking on the side of theroad with dark clothes, bicycles with no reflectors, dogs and goats and chickens crossing the road, and my personal favorite- tobacco trucks with no working tail lights or headlights. Throw in a few morons passing where they shouldn't be on a 2 lane highway, and it's a recipe for stressful driving, or "passenger-ing" in my case. Praise Jesus that we arrived safely, just exhausted. 
I was welcomed at the office on Monday by some ofthe youth leaders from the villages that I had visited. Labiam, Dave and Yohas had biked to the office from their villages-- labiam is from Mdzinja which is an hour and a half drive away, and he had gotten to the office at 8am to meet with me. I didn't know they had come to say their goodbyes, to thank and to pray for me. I was overwhelmed by their spirit and so blessed by them. They said they had already seen improvement in Their youth groups, as the introduction of soccer had brought a lot more people to come to youth group, and even the village chiefs have seen a change in their youth. They were so thankful for my coming, yet I don't think they will ever know how much of a blessing they are to me. Their genuine hearts and their devotion to their youth programs is truly inspiring to me. As they each prayed for me, I began to cry as i realized my time here was over, and how in those moments, the Lord spoke to me and said "This was my purpose for you in Malawi", once again- affirmation. My capabilities and my abilities have been tested and stretched here, and used for His purpose. God granted me these abilities to use to further His kingdom, and for that I am truly grateful and this sense of accomplishment is washing over me again and again. I had no idea I would be sharing information about nutrition, and that was in my opinion the most rewarding and successful part of this trip. Don't get me wrong, the soccer was amazing and successful, but I also had some expectation of how it would go. With the nutrition, I had no idea I would even be used in that way, and the Lord prospered. The women are hungry for more information, and are wanting to learn as much as they can. The staff and I are planning on staying in contact, and I will be putting together monthly nutrition lessons for the staff to share with the women in the villages.  I'm really excited about this opportunity; to obviously stay in touch with the office staff, but also to continue teaching and changing mindsets in the villages. It was bittersweet to say goodbye, but promised to return.. A promise I very much intend to keep. Malawi has STOLEN my heart, and not sure when or if I will ever get my whole heart back; I'm okay with that.