Safe Return Home

We arrived safely home yesterday afternoon (Tuesday). It was one long flight. I think our travel time was about 48 hours. We felt pretty grungy and desperately needed a shower.... but only after hugs and welcomes from family.

Our hearts are full of thankfulness to all our prayer partners. It was one outstanding missions trip. We felt so upheld by all of you. But even more, we had a sense of God's hand upon us.

Some key highlights:
1. About 400 church leaders from more than 5 denominations were trained in the Old Testament by passing the Walk Thru the Bible program.
2. About 200 childrens' workers go an in-depth study in preparing weekly lesson plans for Sunday school and other childrens' programs.
3. About 15 childrens' workers learned how to use puppets for childrens' rallies and camps. There were about 8 puppets that were left with them for their work.
4. About 50 Chichewa Bibles were purchased for a Scripture hungry people.
5. Great relationships were formed with a super missionary family! Kudos again to the Burns - Chet, LeAnne, Elsie, Peter, and Silas

Leaving This Morning

Rich preached at church yesterday and did an outstanding job. He taught from Deuteronomy 6 on the role of parents in the spiritual lives of their children. You can see that the church was simple block construction with no windows!

Tough to leave the Burns children. We have all grown very fond of one another.

We leave in just another hour from our home in Ntcheu for the 2 hour drive to Lilongwe. The Burns are taking us to a few shops and then we will all have lunch together (at a restaurant which is a rare treat in Malawi).

Then we jump on the plane for the return trip home.

We have enjoyed a tremendous trip and really good health. We are so grateful for all our prayer partners and "blog followers" at home.

Marla's Birthday!

Today was Marla's birthday. She had a tremendous time being with the Malawian women. Elsie got to join Marla for the day and attend the WTB seminar.

Here's a picture of Marla and Elsie. Marla is eating with her hands. She asked Rich to take a picture because her family would never believe that she was doing this!



We got home and the Burns surprised us with a birthday bash! You can see the sign and decorations they had for Marla. They served us kettle corn and ground nuts (these are the local variety of peanuts and they are freshly roasted). Then we had a special meal followed by a birthday cake. Did we mention that LeAnne is a fantastic cook. Wow, have we been taken care of.

Oh, and Rich is doing better. Still a few symptoms, but overall he is feeling tons better. He attributes it to all your prayers and our Lord's compassion.

We closed the evening watching a DVD of "St John in Exile" as portrayed by Dean Jones. What a stirring rendition of Christ's death and resurrection.

Another Graduating Class

I'm officially done with my Walk Thru the Bible seminars. The last class "graduated" today. The churches have loved this teaching and feel like they have never had anything like it.

The picture features the class flashing their favorite sign that they learned in the seminar.

You might imagine that they have invited us back so that I can do the New Testament.

The bottom picture is of us eating in a pastor's home.

Rural Village

It was another gorgeous day here. We were at a remote village in a rural area. In fact the pictures show some of their gorgeous crops. In addition, you can see them drying their sema flour. This is flour made from corn maize. This is their staple of their diet as they make it into a starch that they put meat and cabbage over most days for their meal.

This area, called Mlengeni, one of our favorite places because there are so many children - and they are eager children.

Rich and Marla taught today; their last seminar for childrens' workers. I went with them but took some extra time to walk through the village and appreciate some of the people. I especially enjoyed the little children - connecting with them even though I did not know their language. I did it by simply waving and then putting out my hand so that they could touch it. Pretty soon, they were teaching me the words for eyes, mouth, hair, and ears. That was it, we were friends.

Rich and Marla did another great job today.

Speaking of Rich, please pray for him. Looks like he is coming down with a nasty head-cold. To be honest, the Burns family and a good portion of the Malawian workers have had it. And it is a heavy-duty one. Rich felt like he was coming down with a cold last night. But by this afternoon, the congestion was beginning. Pray that he will recover in a speedy fashion. And pray that Marla and I will be spared!

Just a few more days now.

Brian

A Day in the Life of a Missionary

Life in Malawi is never dull for the Burns family as they go through routines of ministry, homeschooling three children and normal family activities.

This morning at 6 am I found Chet already outside trying to remove the turbo from the engine of his 4-Runner, the vehicle he had hoped to use to transport us to the various areas where we are presenting our seminars. He has been trying to get this fixed but the mechanics in this village were not coming to get it so he took it out himself. We have been using their pickup truck that has a back seat, but often won’t start until we pray and try pushing it.

When I came in to take a shower, there was a bit of excitement as I heard that Peter, one of their sons, had discovered a tick in his lower belly and was having it removed and treated by Mamma and Papa in the kitchen.

Yesterday, Pastor Kololo, our translator for the day, called on his cell phone to say he would meet us on the way to the village where Pastor Brian was going to teach, because his bicycle had broken down. We picked him up and put his bike in the back, delivering it to the local bike repair “shop”, some tools and parts under a tree, hoping it would be fixed by the time we returned. Pastor Kololo had no money to pay for bike repairs so Chet worked out the price with the repairman and paid 3,000 Kwatcha down (about $17), with a promise of another kw500 when it was fixed. He did have it ready when we returned.

Later that afternoon, after we returned from Pastor Brian’s part 2 seminar , Chet found out that a local pastor’s elderly mother who had broken a leg was being released from the hospital. He asked me to go with him to help transport her to her village. You don’t even want to know the details of that “ambulance” trip!

Middle of the night calls for emergency trips from a village over an hour away to the hospital in Ntcheu, on rough dirt roads, electricity going off in the middle of baking bread in the electric oven, poisonous snakes in the yard, vehicles breaking down just as they are needed for an important day of ministry… that’s life at the Burns’ house.

-Rich H

First WTB Graduating Class

I did class #2 and watched the first Malawian graduating class for Walk Thru the Bible. Everyone was really focused today, and they "got" the hand motions.

Here's a picture of the pastors from the graduating class. About 6 churches came together for this. Nice church unity!

The pastors are each giving their favorite hand motion from the seminar. Malawians know how to have fun!

There are tons of kids in this village. Once again, Rich acted like the pied-piper. He would play a song on his harmonica, and then they would sing a song to him. This went on for hours! They love HUSBY! Only they say it Huss-bee.

Puppet Training

Rich and Marla trained about 15 workers yesterday in puppet ministry. Guess what? Not one person had ever seen a puppet show before!

This team immediately saw the value and worked hard to learn how to use them. The teaching also included letting them use the puppets and taping them so that they could see themselves.

Action Ministries wants to use the puppets for their childrens' camp program that traditionally draw up to a thousand children in some village areas.

The Burns Kids

We wish you could meet our African “grandchildren.” Yes, now Rich and I consider we have 8 grandchildren in all!

We’ve told you about David who is deaf and mute. He’s a 19 year old living partially independently in a separate home on the property the Burns rent.

Now let us tell you more about Elsie, Peter, and Silas. Have we mentioned how delightful they are? We want to share more of their backgrounds and their hearts.

These three and several others of the Burns’ 9 children have been adopted. Chet and LeAnne have shared with us the adoption stories of Elsie, Peter and Silas. They’ve each come out of desperate situations and been lovingly nurtured to good health and stability.

Elsie is from Zambia where the Burns were missionaries for about a year before coming to Malawi. Both Peter and Silas are from Ethiopia. The Burns had difficulty getting approval for adoption because they already had a large family on the mission field. The stories of their adoptions give testimony to the sovereignty of God, the power of parental bonding and care, and the blessings from having hearts for God and His ways.

Elsie loves to read and be read to. She’s already a little mama at heart, helping with babies whenever she has opportunity and even helping Mama oversee “Bomo Boy” days when neighborhood children come to play a couple times a week. She enjoys dressing her dolls but also gets out to play ball with the boys. Card and board games are played daily here. She beat me mercilessly at Skip Bo, one of the many games we’ve played with the children. Bo is one of Elsie’s several nicknames. I started calling her “Tigger” yesterday when she was jumping up and down at the gate as we returned from Pastor Brian’s all day seminar. She’s a snuggler and squeezes up close when Rich reads and is often holding my hand or wrapped in my arms. She has a big appetite for a 7 year old and thoroughly enjoys her mama’s great cooking.

Peter, 10 years old, eats more slowly than the others, but also has a good appetite. He’s proud of the muscles and weight on his arms that once were so thin. He loves sports of all kinds. He’s proud of the baseball cards he was able to show Rich and Pastor Brian. Yesterday he was developing a World Cup chart to record matches among the three of them. He’s also an animal lover and cares for the chickens, goats and Maggie the dog. All animals here fend for themselves for food, but Maggie is treated to a cupful of dog food a day, much to the puzzlement of Malawians. Maggie supplements that with reptiles she finds in the yard. Peter is the historian also, remembering battles, dates, people and places from ancient history much better than I do. That seems to be his favorite subject in homeschooling.

Silas, also 10, would rather go with Papa (name for their Dad) than settle down to school work. He has a tender servant heart. The tallest of the three children, he’s already aspiring to manhood. He likes to dress sharp and announced today he’d like a suit like the men wear. I have some video of him dancing to the music from an engagement party across the street. His big eyes sparkle with a playful sense of humor. He and Pastor Brian seem to have made a special connection. When it’s his turn to wash dishes, Silas prefers to have Pastor Brian as his dishwashing partner. We’ve heard them having a good time together in the kitchen.
All three children are very obedient, well-mannered and helpful with chores. They excel in hospitality just as their parents do. They’re all sharing a bedroom this month so we can have their rooms. And they ride in the back of the truck so we can ride on the inside.

It’s not unusual for Silas and Peter to get to do this, but evidently Mama doesn’t normally let Elsie ride back there. You should have seen her smile as she bounced around back there on the way to church this morning.

-Marla H

Club Obama

Here's a sign that was especially funny for Rich. It is a sports bar right here in Ntcheu.

Chet told us that Africans loved Obama because they thought he would pour lots of money into their countries. Now that that this has not materialized, they have "moved on." Apparently this bar is still high on our president. And notice... "at reasonable prices."

Church at Katchimanga

The Katchimanga Church was not very far away time wise (maybe 15-20 minutes), but it seemed a world away in other ways.

We took off on a dirt road out of “our” town of Ntcheu. Right away we labeled it “church row” as there were about 5 churches lining the road close together. The government had allotted that land specifically for churches.

We passed all those churches up and also passed the home of Auntie Jane, one of the two hired housekeepers who take turns coming a couple times a week (more often with us here). On our right was the prison Pastor and Rich would visit later today.

We climbed the rocky hill on a road Rich described as a dry river bed. Passing over several narrow bridges, we looked down on women far below doing laundry or collecting water in their buckets. We met a truck that took up most of the road, but by tipping sideways a bit into the ditch, we avoided colliding with it and the pedestrians as well.

At the top of the hill, we entered a village nestled among the boulders. We followed a narrow path that winds between huts and tiny brick homes, the kind of village where most of the living takes place outdoors. Little pigs, chickens and children roamed freely in this picturesque village. Chet stopped the truck in front of a huge boulder beside the church, which is actually a prayer house instead of an official church because of a small congregation.

A small group of young women stood in the sun on the boulder practicing music they would soon sing in the church service. We were early enough that we walked beyond the church, past a man making bricks one at a time from muddy clay, to a scenic view on a cliff overlooking Ntcheu.
Back at the church, women had gathered outside. After greeting them in Chewa, I took their picture. I passed the camera around so they could see themselves. Many here never see their images as they have no mirrors.

When it was time for church, a man banged on a crude bell hanging from a tree on the boulder and we all entered, men to one side, women to the other.
Pastor Brian, Chet and Rich sat up front around the cement pulpit. Elsie snuggled close to me on the first cement, backless pew. Silas and Peter sat at the front on the other side near the church elders.

We appreciated the singing as always, though this service had a more formal and reserved tone than many we’ve been in here. Pastor Brian preached from II Kings 22 about Josiah and presented five Bibles to the church. The elders decided to leave them in the church for use by the women’s, men’s and youth groups who meet there midweek. So very few Christians here have their own Bibles.

After the service, we were led to the humble home of one of the elders and served a meal of rice and goat meat. (LeAnne wonders if they burned the cabbage dish.) A young woman entered with a pitcher and bowl for us to wash our hands. I was thankful to be able to use one of the serving spoons instead of using my fingers this time. The translator and we sat eating without the host and hostess. This is very common as their way of honoring guests.

We didn’t linger long as Pastor Brian and Rich needed to be ready to visit a prison this afternoon, It was difficult for me to think I had to miss that experience. I love to be out among the people and experiencing ministry taking place among them.

-Marla H.

Ntcheu Prison

This afternoon was prison day. Chet likes to get all visitors into the prison during their visit to Malawi. It is always such a humbling experience. Mpepo is a young man who wishes to go to seminary to become a pastor. I’m guessing he is about 23 years old and was just married last year. Mpepo served today as our guide and translator.

We walked to the prison. It is only a 10 minute walk from the Burns’ home. Ntcheu where the Burns live is considered a “boma.” It might is a key district in Malawi where a lot of government agencies exist. It also houses the prison for this area.

They did not allow cameras for us. Just our Bibles. However, in the past they have allowed pictures, and so Chet took these photos which I have included.

The prison is made of brick. I was surprised to arrive at the front gate with a quick escort inside the gates. We were asked to sit on two wooden chairs, and the “discipline officer” greeted us and spoke very kindly. He explained that there are several other officers that run the prison over the guards. We met several others and they were genuinely welcoming.

They took us into a vestibule and then opened the doors into the prison. We found out that this prison is overcrowded with 210 inmates. Two hundred sets of eyes were upon us. To the right, I could see some men showering in open stalls. We walked into a very small courtyard. It was like the sea parted as we walked in, and then it closed in around us. The men came and sat on the ground. I was left a small area to stand and preach.

The discipline officer told them that we were from America and to pay attention. Mpepo then said a few words and I was “on.” I greeted them with a Chewa gretting and then gave a simple message. It was a message based upon the Walk Thru the Bible seminar called the “Three Chairs.” In essence it gives the gospel through a brief overview of the three kings of Israel. Most of the men stayed with me. And I was surprised that many of them understood English.

I sat down and Mpepo asked the men to stand if they wished to trust Christ. About two thirds of the men stood. This is fairly typical. Most of these men trust Christ each and every time that the gospel is presented.

There are a few images that are burned into my brain. Handcuffs that hung from a wooden door. A plant that was growing out of the brick wall. Numbers written in chalk signifying the number of days men had been in prison. Chalk writing in another section that said “Thug Life.” And an ocean of men, some looking entirely vacant and without hope.

I really connected with one of the men. He was a man that sat with rapt attention. He had on a brown shirt and his face is in my mind.

They sang several songs and then a choir made up of prisoners sang a song with beautiful harmony. Hard to believe that beautiful sound was emanating from a prison.

Several men came to shake our hands before we left. We greeted each one. Mpepo told us later that this was a big step for many of them. It is not considered good to greet and shake hands with the Zungo (white people). Of course, this is entirely different in the churches, but this is true in the prison. Therefore, I was surprised with the number of men who greeted us.

I stepped forward and specifically greeted the man with the tan shirt. To my surprise, they allowed him to step into the vestibule with us. He told us that his name is Davis Bocheli. He was a hospital employee and was charged with stealing drugs. His case is currently in appeal. But he lamented that his job is gone, and much of his hope too. Rich prayed over him. We also discovered that all inmates wearing white are convicted. All wearing non-white clothes are charged but still awaiting court. Ironically, I wore a white shirt to prison today!

We left and talked with Mpepo on the way home. I said that the prison walls seemed very short and insecure. What’s to keep a prisoner from jumping over? He said that if a prisoner escaped, the community would beat him and even kill him. Wow, how different from jails in the US.

I sensed the Lord with us today. Thank you to all who fervently prayed.

Marla and Malawian Women

I have been very blessed with many opportunities for that. Yesterday at the seminar, I was almost adopted by a Malawian woman. When I walked out of the church at lunch break with my bowl of rice, goat and cooked cabbage to sit in the dirt with the women, this lady said in good English, “Come.” I sat where she patted the spot beside herself and began eating my lunch with my fingers. She helped me improve the way I give greetings. She also tried teaching me to ask, “Where are you going?” and the answer, “I’m going to church.” Sorry to say, that didn’t stick with me! She offered, “You stay in my home 6 months and I’ll teach you.”

Then she stood and jumped up and down several times. All her friends laughed and I thought the joke might be that she was shaking down the food to make room for seconds. You wouldn’t believe the size of her first helping! A seminar meal is a real treat!
Her jumping then turned to a Chewa version of “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” So I stood and sang the English version. Then we both did it together. So fun! Soon there was a whole circle of us singing together another song we taught at the Childrens' Ministry seminar a couple days ago. We continued singing until time for the final session.

By the time we piled into the truck for the return trip home, I was feeling quite a connection with these women. The back of the pickup filled up with many of them wanting a lift closer to their homes. At one stop the woman who invited me to stay at her home for several months made sure I knew where she lives. (;

Sunday Church and Prison

(Friday, 8pm)
I finished round 1 of Walk Thru the Bible (WTB) today at our fourth church. It went quite well and there was tons of laughter and learning.

Tomorrow, we go to a church where we have not been. I will be preaching, and as usual they will feed us lunch when we are done. Following this, I will be going to the Ntcheu prison. It is a local prison with men very hungry to hear God's word preached from visitors. My message tomorrow is from the life of David (including David's sins and his remarkable forgiveness from God).

Please pray for me. It has been a long stretch of teaching and tomorrow is a big day.

On Monday, Rich and Marla will be giving a puppet seminar. It will all be held in English with some of the key childrens' workers in attendance.

Monday will be my day to catch my breath and also pour over my notes for part 2 of WTB.

I hope many of you enjoy my video address to the congregation on Sunday! It is a pretty cool 1 minute clip from Malawi!

Cold Weather - Warm Hearts

(Friday, 8pm, Malawi)
Wow, it has gotten cold here, really cold. I always think of Africa as HOT. But we are officially entering the dry and cold season. Today was overcast, windy, and cold. I'm guessing low 50's, maybe high 40's. You should have seen the Malawians. They were bundled up! And a few of them wore hats making them look like Eskimos. For Malawians, they just are not used to this kind of cold weather. But I will admit that it was even a bit cool for us.

We went today to a church that was way off the main road. We traveled there by winding dirt roads. Bumpy dirt roads. Rich said he would "rather have a root canal than ride again on that bumpy road." Marla assured him that it was not that bad and reminded him of 100 degree heat when they lived in Côte d'Ivoire years ago.

The church today was packed. My interpreter was Pastor Kalolo and this was his home village. Kalolo is a very energetic one, and he always brings a lot of animation to the translating. We made a great team together.

We are gaining proficiency with each new program. I think this group today learned the material better than any group in the past. We gave them time to break into small groups for practice and they got the hand motions down! It was quite a kick to watch.

This was also our largest group. There were over 110 people there today, and more than half were women! Pastors, Sunday school teachers, church workers of all kinds. And as usual, a very diverse group of denominations. That's one of the hallmarks of Action Ministries - they work across denominational lines. It is such a great thing to see.

We also had our best meal today. Pastor Kalolo invited us into his home. We ate with two of the pastors from neighboring churches. We had rice (a special treat) along with goat meat, cabbage, potatoes, peas, and eggs cooked a Malawian way. And then there was a special tomato sauce that we had never tasted before. We drizzled it over everything. Wow, the whole meal was awesome.

It was cold today, but the group had a warmth. As usual, their worship rocked! On one song, they took the inflated globe and passed it around during worship. We could not tell what the song was saying, but at one point they also passed around a plastic chair on their heads! These folks are not inhibited. I think that's why I like their worship so much. And all of them have rhythmic clapping that is simply infectious.

This group really learned all the hand motions well. And they are quite eager for us to return next Friday to enter the Promised Land and pick up with the book of Joshua.

We left the village by pushing Chet's truck to get it started. It is having some electrical problems. But it was another chance to trust God and be in it together!

We arrived home to three eager children, and a wonderful meal of homemade pizza. Rich is reading the Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe to the children. He has all kinds of special voices for each character. Peter, Silas, and Elsie just love this. In fact, in an upcoming blog entry, we will tell you more about these kids. We have grown very fond of them.

Rich is Feeling Better

Thank you for praying for Rich. He is doing much better, sleeping through the night. His stomach problems are also much less.




He is at full strength with his normal quick whit to match!





Rich and Marla also taught yesterday for another childrens' workers program. They did great and everyone commented on how much it helped.

New Pix

Tons of new pix below. Check out several previous posts that now have pix.

From Husbys - Wednesday

Our Tuesday morning began with a breathtaking view of the sunrise from the Burns’ kitchen window. Looking out across their spacious and very kid friendly backyard, across a valley to the mountains in the distance, we were reminded of our great Creator whose loving eyes are on everyone in all nations. What a privilege to be sharing God’s truths and His love with pastors, church leaders and children here in Malawi!

After Chet served us a delicious breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns and apple juice, we loaded into his pickup to head for the village of Mlengeni at about 8:30. Pastor Brian’s translator for the day, Pastor Kalolo, sat with Rich and I in the back seat. David, the Burns’ adopted deaf and mute son, rode in the back with huge cooking pans and other supplies for the women of the village to prepare and serve a lunch to all the seminar trainees and us as well.

We’ve been blessed by David’s joy and heart to serve. David was a blessing at our first Children’s Ministry Seminar yesterday, helping to turn flip chart pages and to pass out supplies. He especially appreciates the generous helpings of sema or rice and various side dishes served for lunch at the seminars, and so helped me finish the man sized portions I couldn’t finish yesterday. He was amazed Sunday afternoon at the puppets we brought for our puppetry seminar next week and was pleased to try holding and operating one of them. The men constructed a PVC pipe puppet stage frame which we enjoyed testing out even though the curtain hasn’t been made for it yet. David has been enthusiastically clapping along to the harmonica music Rich plays for the Burns’ children and is quickly learning to play the harmonica Rich gave him. He can’t hear conversation but is able to hear enough of the music to enjoy it.

Soon after arriving in Mlengeni yesterday, and while the church was being swept out in preparation for the Walk through the Old Testament Seminar, Rich played his harmonica for a small group of children. When Rich stopped for a breather, I asked the children to sing for us. A woman inside a hut heard me trying to say, “You sing,” and came out to interpret. She was able to convince the children to bless us with beautiful African music. We were in awe of small children who knew how to be the lead singers as other children chimed in with their parts. How beautiful! How God must be blessed by their praises!

And how we continue to be blessed by the African worship! The seminar began, as all will, with lively African praises. Though we can’t sing the Chewa words, we love joining in with the clapping, motions and spirit of worship. By the time worship, prayer and introductions were over, the small group had grown into a good sized crowd. I was privileged to get to sit among the women on their side a few rows back this time instead of up front as I needed to at our seminar the day before. Rich stayed at the back on the men’s side, often accompanied by children from the village who ventured inside to join in the motions that go with the teaching.

Some of the adults were a little more hesitant at first to join in the motions, but gradually warmed up to the idea. The motion based teaching couldn’t have been a better system for Rich and I not knowing the language. I was spellbound by Pastor Kalolo’s animated way of interpreting Pastor Brian’s teaching.. For those of you who attended the seminar at CCF, this one began with the beach ball demonstration and the diagram of the Old Testament structure. That chart, as well as posters Pastor Brian painted on Sunday of the books of the Pentateuch, were clothes pinned to a line strung across the front. It was fun practicing the motions with them to learn main events of the Old Testament. Pastor Brian connected well with the people and his first seminar was a great success.

Mid morning we broke for water and a snack of rolls passed out row by row. We drank bottled water, but the others drank from plastic cups we brought in the back of the pickup. Soon after his roll, Rich began having some stomach trouble that, thankfully, got better as the day went on instead of worse.

When I went to call Rich for lunch, I found him playing his harmonica in the back of the pickup surrounded by about 50 children all clapping in time to the music. By this time, Rich had developed the system of playing one song and then enjoying a song by all of them. And so it went throughout the rest of the day whenever he found an opportunity.

Even though he backed out of the meal at the pastor’s home, due to the previously mentioned stomach trouble, he was able to share in the visiting there. So far, our village meals had been served in the church buildings. This time, it was great to be in a home, though it was much larger and nicer than the typical. We enjoyed visiting with the several pastors in attendance. And the food was excellent, the best Malawian food we’ve had besides what the Burns have prepared.

Following lunch, Pastor Brian took questions from the trainees as the first day’s worth of Walk Through training was completed earlier. Most of the questions concerned marriage. God gave Pastor wisdom and he was able to direct them to the Bible for answers. May God lead these people to follow God’s ways in their marriages. This is very difficult in their culture and a great need for prayer.

Around 4:00, we all piled into Chet’s pickup again, only this time 13 extras hopped up in the back for lifts to their homes. Many had walked for miles in the morning to attend. Other attendees had arrived on bikes. One pastor rides his bike about 1 1/2 hours. Singing from the back of the pickup blessed us riding on the inside. Pastor Kalolo also thought of English hymns for Rich to play on the inside of the truck. Those in the back would bang on the truck when we reached their stop so Chet would pull over.

Near home, Chet stopped to buy vegetables at the huge market that stretched out along both sides of the road. Rich and I hopped out too to cross the street into the Mozambique side of the market just so we can say now we’ve been in Mozambique.

Entering the Burns’ gate is like coming to an oasis. Maggie, the dog, and the other 3 of the Burns’ 9 children come running. (look for more about the Burns’ children in a later blog entry.) They played baseball with Abusa Boone coaching until dark, which comes at 6:00. We feasted on another scrumptious Burns meal of chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes and peas. Then after viewing the photos, we tumbled into bed about an hour earlier than normal, very tired from the full and rewarding day.

Walk Thru Bible - Day 1

We went to a new village area today called Mlengeni. It was a more overcast day and was slightly cooler. Although it was cold for the Malawians, it was quite comfortable for the Seattleites.

The Walk Thru program was a huge hit. It was such a kick to see the people doing all the hand motions with gusto and learning all the key ideas in Chichewa. In fact, I told the group today that they are the first group ever to learn the Walk Thru program in the Chichewa language! What special plans the Lord must have for them.

Today was part 1. We made it through all of the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible). I will come back to this same church next Tuesday for part 2.

As always, the worship today was simply amazing. These Africans know how to do it! They even had me dancing with them again today. There is a soft spot in my heart for the exuberance in worship – and they do it so effortlessly.

Lunch today was wonderful. I liked it most because they allowed us to choose as much as we wanted. In previous days, they have “pre-loaded” our plates. And we are talking lumber-jack quantities! Today was perfect – and we were honored to eat in the pastor’s house.

Today they asked us to close the time with questions and answers. I thought it would be a few quick questions and we would be gone. No – these people stayed for more than an hour with question after question. Here were a few of the interesting questions they asked:
Can a man divorce his wife if she has gone mad?
Did Jacob sin when he married Leah and then Rachel?
What was the job of the Levites and Priests?

These people are hungry for the word of God. And for many of them, it is likely the first course they have ever taken that is an overview of the Scriptures. It was a great day!

Prayer for Rich

Rich has a great day with the children of the village today. He played the harmonica and they followed him around like the pied-piper! It was quite a scene. However, he had some intestinal struggles. On top of that, his sleep patterns are still not right. Rich has been hitting a wall around 6pm each night. Then he wakes up around 3am without being able to go to sleep. Pray for his strength and for his ability to get onto a normal sleep rhythm.

Internet is Spotty

Internet was out almost all day yesterday. That's why I put up multiple posts this morning (it is 6:30am here in Malawi on Tuesday).

We head off in another hour to my first session with the pastors for Walk Thru. I will try to post some pictures tonight... if we have "connectivity."

Your prayers are coveted.

NOTE - For those communicating with the Husbys, please use their Juno account. For some reason, they cannot access Comcast.

1st Day for Husby's Teaching

We drove today to the first church where the Husbys were training childrens’ workers. There were 50 people who came – an even split between men and women. Oh, and by the way, men always sit on the left side of the church with women on the right.

Once again, church led off with some absolutely awesome singing. Rich joked that Malawians will be the worship leaders in heaven. It literally brought tears to my eyes.

Rich and Marla did a great job of helping workers see how to develop a children’s Sunday school lesson. They even pretended at one point that the attendees were children and took them outside for games! The Malawians thought all this was great fun!

Rich and Marla teach this same thing again on Thursday. So they are busy making a few mid-course corrections to make their seminar even better. I know they would appreciate your prayers for understanding exactly what the Malawian workers need.

Jesus is the Sema of Life

You may all wonder what we are eating? I know Denise was worried for me about that. First off, Leanne Burns is a fantastic cook. We eat all breakfasts at her home, along with all dinners. Tonight we had sloppy joes with fresh cooked veggies and a scalloped potatoes dish. All very yummy. Snickerdoodle cookies were for dessert. So along with the gorgeous weather (75 degrees) and the good food, we are not really suffering for Jesus!

Each day for lunch however, we are eating Malawian food. Their main staple is sema (see-ma). It is corn maize that is ground and then cooked into a paste. It is white and looks a lot like very firm mashed potatoes. Malawians eat it twice a day! They combine sema with some meat and usually cooked vegetables (often times cabbage or shredded pumpkin leaves). Malawians use their hands to roll the sema into a ball and use it like a scoop to enjoy the other side dishes.

Okay, I’ll be honest. We all don’t think sema is amazing. We tolerate it. And what makes it rough is that they fill an entire plate with it! But I think they understand that zungus (that’s the word for white person) don’t appreciate it like they do.

We know Jesus as the Bread of Life. Malawians would definitely say that Jesus is their Sema of Life. He is the one that they rely upon for daily sema.

We saw DANCING in a Baptist Church!

Wow, this Baptist church was hoppin' baby! We arrived at the church by traveling on a dirt road about a half and hour from the Burns'. The church was located in a valley where you could imagine vast herds of zebra, gazelle, and lions roaming years ago. Today, it is lined with huts with thatched roofs. Ladies with water jugs on their heads walked on the roads, coming from the wells sprinkled throughout the valley.

My translator for the day was Abusa Peery. He is a seminary grad from the big city (Lilongwe). He has begun a pastor's training program in this rural area. Abusa Peery and I prepared the communion elements. This Baptist church has not taken communion in months because they are without a pastor. So today would be a special day. We poured a red liquid like cool-aid into small communion cups (obviously washed and recycled). But the red liquid was an palpable reminder that we share Christ in common. His blood covers over all peoples.

The service began with hymn singing. They used a paper backed Chichewa hymn book. But then the service hit a second gear. Choirs came forward to give their music numbers that had been practiced all week. It was usually music combined with dance! In fact, during one number Pastor Peery grabbed me by the arm and we did a dance to the song along with others!

I preached from 2Kings 22. The life of Josiah and his "rediscovery" of The Book. As part of our application, we gave them 5 new Bibles. We discovered that only a small portion of the people have a Bible. We will be giving five Bibles to each church where I preach.

I must go now. It is childrens' ministries day. And I will post pictures too.

Orientation Satuday

(Saturday, 9pm, Ntchea District, Malawi)
Thank you so much for your prayers. God has been answering your prayers in amazing ways. We’ve had a great day of adjusting and connecting with people.

The day got off to a good start because of a full night sleep. Thanks you for prayers for our jet lag. We woke to sunny, very comfortable weather and the energetic, very friendly Burns family.


After a wonderful breakfast (we are quickly learning what a great cook LeAnne is), Chet drove us into Ntcheu for market day sightseeing and shopping. After the first stop, I wondered if the eyes might not all be on us if I just took off my hat at the next stop. That didn’t work! Chet told us that now he can visit the market without feeling that way. We’re impressed to see the rapport he has with the people. We made our big purchase of a chitenge, a colorful cloth to wrap around my skirt when I go into the village for modesty as well as protection from the dirt.

When we returned from market, Action Malawi team members began arriving for a luncheon and meeting. We were served a Malawian style lunch for the first time. We had a choice of rice or nsima (pronounced see-ma), eggs with a sauce, a cabbage dish and a beef dish.
Though that was a wonderful meal, the highlight was seeing the hearts of pastors here in Malawi. We had a time of sharing about families, ministries and visions. One of them led a beautiful praise song in African style. Then Pastor Brian was able to meet with his interpreters to acquaint them with the Walk Through plan, while Rich and I met with our interpreter to share our plan for the children’s ministry seminars. We loved the heart of Frances and are pleased with the answer to our prayers to prepare just the right person to relay the message God has led us to share.
The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed playing with the Burns children. Rich played his harmonica as we danced. We played several games and got to hear more about their interests before dinner. The sharing continued through another amazing meal….and continues all around me as I write.
We look forward to the church service tomorrow where Pastor Brian will preach his first sermon here.
-Marla Husby

We Arrived!

(Friday, 9:15pm, Malawi)
After 52 hours of continuous travel, we are in Malawi. The plane flight this morning was pretty routine, and Rich will share more about customs in a moment.

Chet Burns, the missionary with Action International, met us at the airport. We loaded everything into an extended cap pickup and took off south to Ntcheu (pronounced che-oo). We passed by thousands of people who live right off the main road in huts with thatched roofs. It is truly a page out of yesteryear.

We stopped and got some vegetables for the family at a roadside vendor (a group of women). I was surprised by the diversity and beauty of the veggies.

We had a wonderful dinner this evening with the Burns family. We also got a chance to meet three of their nine children. The three at home with them are all adopted from Africa with amazing stories. We will share more about each child as this week unfolds. The Burns family has two biological children and nine adopted – now that is a testimony.

I could tell a lot more stories, but my biological clock is crying! My body does not know what time it is! But I’m going to take a sleeping pill and hit the sack. Last night all of us woke up at 3pm. But I’m thinking I will do better tonight.
- Brian


Thanks for all your prayers. We experienced God’s hand at work in many areas:
*Opportunities to get acquainted with many African nationals and other people on the plane, in the hotel at Addis Ababa, and in airports.
*Direction from Him re timing of decisions in the airport.
*Safe arrival of all of our luggage!
*A customs agent who decided that bringing new (potentially taxable) items to a missionary family in Malawi was permissible—no duty, no opening of suitcases.
*The joy of completing our travel here, healthy, safe, and with minimal jet lag.
*Meeting and fellowshipping with the wonderful Burns family who God sent us to encourage.
- Rich Husby

In Addis

Okay, it has been quite a day of travel. We are in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia right now. The entire plane was filled with people who are going to the World Cup. The entire continent is cup crazy.

Believe it or not, Ethiopian Air has GREAT food. The American's could learn a few things! All three of us ate like kings and a queen. We are so full that we don't even want dinner here at the hotel. Wow, crazy... good airline food! Only in Africa.

We took cat naps on the plane with the purpose of coming here to get a good night's sleep. It is 9:30pm here (11:30am in Seattle).

Everyone feels healthy. A night's rest and a shower will help us tremendously.

We can tell many are praying.

In Washington DC

We got an early morning start. Shuttle van picked us up at 4am! And guess who was on the van with us - Dale and Carol Schlack. Small world.

We are in DC right now. In fact I (Brian) had an opportunity to meet the man (Obama) while here. And you can see Palin lurking in the background.

We hit the flight to Addis Ababa at 8:30pm Eastern Time. Then we are in for a 16 hour flight. We spend the night in Addis before heading into Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.

Denise and I were praying together last night. Almost 10 years ago, I was scheduled to go to India to teach pastors. I was scheduled to depart in October 2001. You can do the math. 9/11 hit and grounded many international flights. The trip was scrubbed. Now here these years later, God has not forgotten that desire of my heart. The opportunity to teach less fortunate pastors has arisen again.

Rich and Marla are busy working on their script for the puppet ministry. They are trying to memorize a lot of the puppets' lines so that they can give a good example of what this ministry can be. They will be teaching that session on puppetry in English.

Our sign says "Africa or Bust." We're headed for Ethiopia first.