Hello, Prayer Warriors. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Wait, it's already February!?!? Lest you think we've forgotten we are moving to Africa, I figured we had better give you an update.
First, we want to give God the glory for all He is doing - HE has been the One moving things along, opening doors, leading and moving hearts...just this week, three exciting have happened: First, we had a "showing" of our house - which isn't listed for sale yet - and Lord-willing, we will be meeting with the potential buyers next week to hammer out details (prayer alert!!!) Second, Orant received the documentation needed before we could go and serve (this can sometimes take several months). And third, a new-found friend called yesterday and has on her heart to bring several home school co-ops together to raise funds and do projects for the people we will be serving in Malawi - they also want to partner in prayer and establish pen pals. We have been praying for an army of prayer warriors, and God is raising it up right before our eyes! The Bible study group that Jen asked me to join is also lifting up our families in prayer, and our pastor has said they church will partner with us also! We stand back in amazement as God "makes our path straight". Isn't He awesome!!?? Just when I think I've begun to grasp what His sovereignty means, He reveals something more of His character, grace, and goodness. It is humbling and overwhelming.
Please pray for His will to continue to be accomplished, and that we will die daily to our wills and submit to His. We are anticipating a move around July 1; Ray and Jen as early as April or May.
We love you and are SO thankful for your continued prayers! As things move forward, I will try to be better about updating you all. Blessing!

Some of you have asked what the kids think about Malawi. Well, I am so proud of them! Today, we spent several hours going through toys and other belongings, and there was not one complaint about downsizing. Asher and Annika fit everything they wanted to keep into one cardboard box each, and Aric and Aydin just wanted the assurance they could keep their Lego sets, so I boxed up a majority of everything else. God is so gracious! What a blessing to do this now, so we don't have resentment, fighting, and tears days before we leave for Malawi. I'm sure there will be plenty of tears when the time comes, but at least not because we're parting with "stuff." Now, it's Chuck's and my time to purge...would you please pray for wisdom in this area? We have decided to list our house both for sale and for rent. We've had many advise us to keep it for a year, and maybe that is worldly wisdom, but honestly, we would prefer to leave it all behind, sell it fully furnished and just go. But as with Malawi, we are praying for God's best, and we need His guidance and direction. Thank you all for your persistent prayers! We are so grateful and feel so blessed!

It is official! We got word this morning that we were approved and are going to Malawi! But that wasn't enough from the Giver of all things: the board also voted to send our friends Ray and Jen and their family!  (Ray introduced us to Malawi and Orant and lead our trip to Malawi). They have become dear friends to us in the short time we've known them. One of my greatest worries was that we would lack a spiritual support system over in Malawi. God knew, and this is such a confirmation and faith-booster for me! Ray and Jen have already challenged and sharpened our faith, and I am so excited to know we will be partners in this journey. And it is a blessing for our children as well, as they have all become friends and will now have each other, both as neighbors and homeschool buddies. God's sovereignty and grace once again astound me! He has answered our pleas for confirmation, and the "freight train" appears poised to hurtle forward at full-speed! There is much to be done, and we are both excited and terrified! Please continue to pray, and thank you so much to those who have already prayed and encouraged our hearts. We are still waiting for "minor details," like WHEN we are going for sure, but we know we can trust in God's timing. We will keep you posted as we hear more.

Well, we've submitted our budget proposal to ORANT. They have still floated the month of March but we are not sure it will happen that quickly. We will be developing programs for children under five, children's nutrition, women's health, maternity, and HIV/AIDS. There is a nutrition clinic that is already up and going, monitoring kids and supplying nutritional supplements (supercharged peanut butter and vitamins).
I'm thinking of implementing a developmental screening tool for kids under 5 and vaccinations, malaria prevention and hygiene.
God has a great sense of humor:  I once said I'd "never" do OB/GYN.  Ha!  It sounds as if there is the possibility of a surgical residency I could complete to do fistula repair and C-sections. I've always loved a challenge, and this will definitely be a challenge.
I think I have a lot to work on and study up on. Any suggestions? I know it's going to be a bare bones operation for a while, but hopefully we can develop some of these programs to decrease morbidity and increase mortality rates. The average life expectancy is 53, compared to 78 in the us, and 80 in Canada and the UK.
Please pray for God's continued direction and for "the waiting," for wisdom in program development and effectiveness, and for hearts that are submissive to and trusting in our Sovereign God. - Chuck

I've been playing around with this website for months but waiting until we were more certain that Malawi was in our future.  As doors keep opening and we have a certainty (though apprehension) in our hearts, we are ready to "Go Live."  I hope you enjoy reading back through the blog.  I have a lot more to add, especially about our trip to Malawi, so please be patient as I forge ahead - blogging is not really my thing.  And please feel free to "encourage" me to keep you up-to-date!  We sincerely request your prayers, insight, and encouragement as we continue to follow the Lord's leading. 

All right, time to hit "Publish."  Here we go...!!!!!

Our meeting went well on Thursday. One board member used the word "like-minded," and we agree - it seems like God has given us all a similar vision and heart for the people in Malawi. Our next steps involve creating a budget proposal and attending the November board meeting. We are both excited and terrified. They told us not to put our house on the market quite yet but to start considering a time frame. Up to this point, things have progressed fairly slowly, but we know the pace may quicken! It's hard to find the balance of not getting ahead of ourselves and yet staying on top of the things we need to.
We remain committed to what we believe is God's calling, but as the reality draw closer, so do certain anxieties about family, finances, culture shock, and isolation. This won't be a two-week trip and then back to our normal routines and creature comforts. The devotional listed below is a good reminder that we are to go because we are called by God. That may sound clinical at first - "shouldn't it be about the people?" But if the people are our primary focus, we will eventually exhaust ourselves, because people can't fill us back up. If our focus is on Christ, He will fill us up time and time again, so that we can continue to reach out to the people that He so dearly loves.
I feel like we are learning so much and yet, not learning fast enough!  How can we possibly ever be ready to move to another country and share Christ in the next year or so???  We're not ready!  And yet, I guess that's exactly where God needs us - totally dependant on HIM!

Well, it's been awhile since I've written, but there really hasn't been much to say as we've just seemed to be in a season of waiting and prayer. But...yesterday we finally got the promised phone call to meet with the rest of the board from Orant. We have one week to amp up our prayers! We'll be meeting next Thursday evening.  Specifically, we are praying: 1) that God will give us clarity and unity for whatever His purpose is for us in Malawi, or wherever He would have us, and 2) for spiritual refreshment and submission- the quote posted below hit me pretty hard this morning: "...If obedience costs you your life, then pay it." - I know I would unquestionably die for Christ, but do I live like I'm dying for Him? Am I willing to "pay" with my life, day after day? Obedience:  that is the slow, torturous death that I so fear. My way is "Just make it quick, Lord!"  His way, this holiness process, is more like being put on the rack and stretched, day after day after day, much more than is comfortable. It's hard; it's exhausting. It is revealing and humiliating. It is frightening to see how little my human self has changed, yet comforting and encouraging to see that it is only Christ that is good and Who can do good in me. I'm sorry for rambling but maybe it will give you a little insight into what God is working in us and how best to pray.

I'll update again in next week!