Journey to Malawi.. . .

Jo and Jonathan in the airport past security. . .

Jo and I past security. . .

All of us in the airport past security.  How did that happen, you ask?  The lady that was checking our bags found out that we were going as student missionaries and gave Mom, Dad, and Jo boarding passes so that they could go with us all the way to the gate.  It made this part of our journey so much easier for all of us.  God was definitely working!

[Now, insert a really bad picture of me on the plane right here.]

(Yeah, it was the only one on a plane that we took and that's why it's not on here.)  God showed us that He was right beside us on the plane, too.  Jonathan got started talking to two ladies seated across from us (while I slept) and found out that they had been missionaries in Blantyre, Malawi about 20 years ago.  Amazing!  They told Jonathan all about their favorite places to go to relax and eat and then ended up giving us $100 right before we left the plane!  I can't even describe how much we felt God's presence on the whole trip over here!!

When we got picked up at the bus station by Dr. Guarino after about 48 hours of travel, we found out that we weren't going to be staying in our own little house right away because it was being renovated ( mold was growing on the walls, etc.).  This being the case, we got to stay in the Guarino's boys' room for about a week.   Although we weren't thrilled at first, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  The Guarinos made us a part of their family while we stayed with them and that really helped us get used to our surroundings.  Plus, since we're teaching their three children, it also helped us to get a feel for what we would have to deal with in the classroom. :)As a side note, the kids loved to "fish" from the loft--especially if I was sitting on the bed below.  

This was our first Sabbath in Malawi.  We went to the church right across the street from us and then rode about an hour away to Malamulo for lunch.  We met some new people there and went on a walk through the tea plantations.   They are so beautiful. . .I wish I had a picture!  That's me in the picture walking with Bianca Guarino and Dr. Guarino.

On the way home.  Everyone was tired.  These are two of the Guarino kids: Bianca (I teach her 5th grade "class") and Julian (Jonathan teaches his 3rd grade "class" which consists of just him).

A beautiful sunset on the way home!  I definitely have to get more pictures of the sunsets here!!

Also in the car.  This is Marc (I teach his 6th grade "class") along one of his seemingly ever-present video game devices.  He's quite a character and keeps me pretty busy!

This is just one of the scenes that I got to witness very often in "our" room at the Guarino's house.  The kids loved to play with Jonathan and actually suckered him into playing a video game with them.  It lasted a whole day and he decided never again much to their --and especially Mark's-- disappointment!

Julian got bored watching a game that he wasn't a part of and so amused himself in various ways not limited to the picture above.

 Well, this is all for now.  Many apologies for making you wait so long and for the setup of this blog post (I still haven't figured out how to use this program).  I hope you're all doing well and both Jonathan and I would like to thank each one of you for being so supportive of us--we can't tell you how much it has meant!!
Hopefully I'll be able to do another post soon with pictures of our house, school room, and all our students since it's looking like our internet will be more regular now.  Until then, Happy Sabbath!!