Hello everyone,

I trust the summer months have been kind to you and the weather in Washington has allowed for some serious fun in the sun. Here in Malawi this has been the coldest winter on record. As you know, the rains were sporadic and late so it appears the weather pattern is changing. There has been a bit of talk about it in the news and the government has sponsored many platforms for scientists and whatnots to speak about how Malawi can react to the climate change. For me, all I know is, it was cold as in triple blanket time. At least there was no snow; ha!

So it has been a while since I have written to tell you the goings on here. From the emails I have received it would appear that a lot of you there have had an interesting time of it; some good and some bad. Our prayers continue to be with you all in the good and the bad. We have been quite busy for the last couple of months. We are now fully moved onto the African Bible College campus. Becky is the acting administrator of the clinic as well as clinical director. She still works a couple of days at Partners in Hope but her duties here are commanding most of her time. She has been able to go out on several village clinic trips and has really enjoyed that. If given the chance I bet she would do that most everyday and to top it off she is really good at it. Becky had a pretty severe bout with being sick but has almost fully recovered. She gets some twangs in her stomach but can’t determine the root cause yet. The picture above is showing Becky at what she does best; taking care of sick babies. This one is a brand new baby whose mom died during childbirth. Becky didn’t know if the child was going to make it but to date is still kicking and wetting his diapers so go Matao!!

Becky is also the person in charge of bookings at the ABC lodge and drafted me to run the finance and personnel aspect and Iris to make sure the place is kept clean for guests. We enjoy it but now know what it is like to be on the receiving end of teams coming to Malawi for a few weeks; yikers. I now have a whole new appreciation for what permanent missionaries lament about. Seeing that we are the product of a short term team we love to host them and talk Malawi but as Paul Harvey used to say, we now know “the rest of the story”.

The new school year has started and Iris is teaching full time at the Academy. She was tapped to revamp and redo the school’s curriculum and did a great job at it. A new head master has arrived and was able to pick up her work and walk in easy peasy to his job so kudos to Iris for her hard work over the break.

Ryan and Kimmy have settled nicely into campus life. They are making lots of new friends of different nationalities and have relaxed a lot since Chilinde. They are both getting well on in schools and are making both their parents proud of them. They are also enjoying church a bit better now since we seem to have found a place where we accept going (can anything really replace AC3….I think not).

Since arriving on campus my duties have mushroomed considerably. Besides security, teaching, and the lodge I now am partnered with the new business manager to investigate, revamp, and turn the clinic around both procedurally and financially. I was also handed the clinics rather large accounts receivables to start collecting. So the days are now filled with charts and graphs and meetings and blah blah blah.

JDS and E3 are moving along really well. Sam and Jay are as busy as ever and are doing really great running and expanding both JDS and E3. When a large medical team came to the lodge to stay we were able to team them up with E3 and take them to Gusu for two days of medical clinics. I was able to witness a hand being saved and was able to take a brand new bay that had measles and malaria to the closest private hospital for treatment. We got the opportunity to pay for the baby’s stay and treatment but that is what we are here for and the reason E3 exists so that was a win for the good guys. It is the little successes that keep us going.

And speaking of Gusu the teacher housing is done!!! Now, if the government will fulfill their end of the bargain, school should be in session in another month. The kids in Gusu can finally, after years of waiting and hoping, go to school locally and safely. Hot diggity dog!!!! AC3 rocks!!!!

The treadle pump program is still humming along and producing food. The goat pen has been started and should be complete right about now so the new goat herd is right around the corner. We will have a mixture of milk and meat goats. In a nutshell, Gusu is starting to really see some benefits from the partnership with AC3 and E3. And by the way, Chief Gusu sends his regards and thanks to everyone. Hey!!! If any of you get a chance can you get together as a church and take a huge picture and send it addressed to him? He would just totally love it.

And how would you get it here? Well, Becky and Kimmy will be arriving for a two week visit the first of September. I know, you all wish it was me but they will just have to do. Becky has missed all of you so much and wants to see you so bad that she is actually flying for the very first time by herself (well, Kimmy is along but you get my drift). She is conquering some serious fear just to see you all so try to shake some time loose to give her a shout or drop by to say hi. And to top it off, she and Kim both will be celebrating their birthdays there without Ry or I and Becky turns 40!!!!!!!!! What idiot booked that ticket I wonder?

But back to E3 and another success story for you. Recently someone donated a bit of cash for E3 to use in microfinance. As some of you are aware, several months ago we put on a small business seminar for thirty pastors and their wives. Well, one of the wives put together a small business plan to sell popcorn and the business plan called for almost the exact amount of the donation. So I would like for you to meet and put her on your prayer wall Mary Maguaza. Mary is a registered pastor with the Free Methodist Church in Malawi and is finishing her certificate at the Free Methodist Pastors School. With the cash loan and some utensils donated by a departed doctor, Mary should be able to buy and transport enough popcorn for sale to provide school fees for her children and better nutrition for the family. This will not be easy for her and there are many pitfalls but with prayer and follow up support from E3 we all hope and pray that she will be one of the long term successes.

So hopefully you can see that even what we would consider a small amount of help can be a life changer for someone here. Sometimes what we do here consists of a long and tedious process but the people here are starting to see the benefits of that work. I know I don’t do a good job of keeping all of you at home up to speed regularly enough but I just beg your mercy on that. With your prayer and continued support we can continue to be here making a difference in the lives of the people who live here. We count ourselves among the privileged few who ever have the opportunity to see and be involved in this kind of work and extend our humblest and most appreciative thanks to those of you who make this all possible.

I would also like to take a second and send out a special thanks on my behalf to those who wrote and prayed for me after my last message. At that time I was having spiritual, mental, and physical issues. The mental is not a surprise to most of my friends but that is for another time. Seriously though, that was a most difficult time. I can tell you that I immediately started to feel the effects of your prayers. Since then the Bible has become clear again, devotions normal again, and spiritually I have just been in a better place and I want to say again thank you. Mentally I am still as crazy as ever though. Physically my body has taken a bit of a beating though. I just came off a bout of Malaria and just before that I got what Becky had and was out for a week on that one. But hey, any day one is above ground is a good day. So thanks again for your prayers as I will never tire of saying thank you. There are times when one knows the prayers are there and then there are those special times when one can physically feel them and I felt it.

So there you have it. I wish you could all experience daily life here. An email can’t possible sum up or describe the comings and goings but I hope you get a small sense of life half a world away. We miss you all very much. Oh hey, a couple of prayer requests. Mark and Deb Holland, Peter and Tina Tang and a couple of friends from Becky’s work are visiting us in Sept and Oct. Pray that they have a safe trip and have a good experience here. Becky and Kimmy will be flying back here with them so that should be fun for everyone. You can pray for the new school year that Iris gets on well and the kids make it through yet another year. Pray for Sam and Malla as Malla left her work and is looking for another Job. Pray that we can turn the ABC clinic around and put it back on path. Pray for my dad as he heals from surgery and my mom as she keeps the home fires burning. And pray for me that I have learned my lessons of the past and work with a measured amount of grace and humility as tough decisions are made that I will be a part of at the clinic. And please pray that God will shine through our lives here and that our words and actions are a reflection of the grace found in us through Him and that those in need will find salvation in the one who saved us.

Love you all ever so much,

David Becky Ryan Kimmy and Iris

Your missionaries to Malawi