Almost here...

My Parents are coming in 3 days. It will be amazing to share life them here. I can't wait to pick them from the airport. I can't wait to see them soak it all in. The smells, the tastes, the people. It will so much fun. They are coming to see what we are doing here. What a treat to share it all with them. They gave up alot to come here and I appreciate it all so very much. We will sharing more as they come.

By the way can you believe it is already mid-November! I can't! I will update again sooner than later! Amy Louise

A fundraiser and a bit a competition...

So yesterday the junior class held a fundraiser with a class competition for a banquet they put on for the senior class. So as a friend of the person in charge, they asked if I would sing. I laughed and responded "have you heard my singing!" Anyways they insisted and thought why not! Why not pretend to be an amazing singer and have fun. I decided the only way to have more fun is to ask Analise and Nya to join me. So we sang the song we all know. Easy. Ok so the below are some videos of that and some of the other classes singing. Fun, Fun and love African Music! Enjoy and please know I was not a born singer but as my mom just said to me via skype! "honey...you have music all through your body soul and life..." Thanks Mama! So just enjoy!

ABC Womens Choir

Here is the women of Abc singing like the mamas do in the village!

Us girlies singing

They asked me if I would sing and I am not a singer. But I would sing for fun if my girlies would sing, so we did it together.

abc students

The Students did a competition at African Bible College. This is the Freshman class singing.

The girls that are apart of our lives!

Just wanted to show you a couple of amazing women that we get to be know on a deep level. Friendship is so easy with each one of these amazing women. Each one of these girls are orphans and are here at African Bible College studying. We love them dearly and are so glad that they are apart of our family. Christina in purple and is a senior. Shonduri is a junior in the middle and Mafunase is in the black and is a senior. We known each one for the last 2 years and cherish them deeply! Nya and Analise adore them!

In the last blog - was my monthly update with the spelling check done on it. :) Anyways just wanted to connect and know that we are doing great!

Love- Amy Louise

Life is good…

Hello from African Bible College! Wow! I am going to say that it has been a normal month here in Malawi. Who knew after 2 years of living here, I would call living in Africa normal. I never thought that I would even think that. I guess things do grow on you.

We have been busy with many classes, special projects, loving on people and living life as a family. All that comes with that too. Sicknesses, broken down car, and sometimes fights ( only with the girls - Bob and I never fight! ) We get the privilege this next month to have my parents come for a visit! We are so excited to share our world with them. They will get a chance to love on us too. They will be involved in doing Marriage Enrichment classes here at the college and for missionaries here.

How you can be praying for us:

-Continued health as we live our lives here in the faraway land of Malawi

-As we teach at the college and the high school that we would radiate Christ in our lives and that we would be intentional in all that we do

-That our time with my parents would be amazing and refreshing - and that they travel safely

We want to say thank you for each one of you for loving and praying us! We are so thankful to share our lives with you here! We also want to say thank you for supporting us as we give out our lives to the students, people we meet, friends and many others that are affected by us while we live here in Malawi.

Living normally here in Malawi- Bob, Amy, Nya and Analise

A getaway to Lake Malawi...

So it kinda looks like Hawaii I admit. The one of the most poorest country in Africa - has a beautiful natural Lake. So here are some snapshots with Bruce Sarah and Grace Halon from Massachusetts and the Stauffachers enjoying the Lake!

Thanks for taking a breather with us. And Thank you Bruce and Sarah and Grace for the great getaway! lots of Love- all of us!

Here is an article on a student that Bob...

Here is an amazing article of a student that Bob taught a high school Bible class our first year here in CNN. William - what an amazing kid. He taught himself at 14 to make a windmill to make electricity. Please enjoy reading about the people we get to impact while we are here. thanks for being apart of our journey, so we can be apart of their journey. Lots of love- amy louise

Classes and Classes...

We are busy busy with classes and are in the thick of school right now. I wanted to show some pictures of some classes that we are involved with. The academy every year does a reading day, where the kids dress up a character in a book. So below are an assortment of pictures....

Here is Analise and Mrs. Harper. Analise is of course Tinkerbell and Mrs. Rebecca Harper is dressed up as a tree. From the book "the giving tree".

Here is Nya with her classmates. She won the award for best dressed. She of course was Dorothy and was so proud. This cute Dorothy dress was given by some friends. She looks so perfect in this dress.

The girls striking a pose before they left for school. I think Analise really does look like Tinkerbell.

Here is Analise in her class. She loves it and is growing and learning daily. Running a bit tired from going everyday. She loves her teacher and her new friends.

Below here is Bob teaching a class. This is the entire class of sophomores preparing for Outreach. He is teaching Inductive Bible Study. They learn how to present the Gospel with the knowledge of the the Bible and then they go out to the same village Bob has been working with and disciple people on a intimate level. This doesn't happen often in a village. Because people may come and then may go but to continue on disciple for the last 2 years has been amazing. To know that the impact of real discipleship is amazing. Real lives transformed.

I will have more pictures to follow up in the village and of my senior girl's bible study. We are thankful to be right here and right now. This is exactly where we are supposed to be. Thank you for following us as travel around here in Africa and make small impacts on people's lives. May we be intentional in all that we do. Lots of love- amy louise

A Journey to the village of Dzuwa in Malawi...

To just take you into Dzuwa without you knowing the history would not seem right. The first time we heard about Dzuwa was about a week after we had moved to Malawi back in August of 2007 we met Ronald. Ever since then, we have been apart of it (financially and having a deep friendship with people working there). Bob and Roland became fast friends and were soon traveling around Lilongwe and into the back parts of Lilongwe that only a local Malawian would know. Roland had graduated from ABC in 2006 and was working as campus maintain manager for a year before he was going to was going to move there after getting married to Ulemu. The wedding (click on that and you can see their wedding we were apart of) came and it has already been a year they have been living in the village.

They are what ABC is about. Training Africans to train Africans. They are missionaries out in a village about 2 hours way ( in the middle of nowhere). Mind you they are city people. They grew up with running water and electricity and conveniences here in Lilongwe. But they have heart to help so they are apart of Joy to the World Ministries (click here are the projects they are involved with). It is amazing to hear their heart for Dzuwa and the surrounding villages. Around 10,000 people or more. They have a team of people working with them on building a hospital, a school, and providing a maize mill ( so people can grind their food up to be eaten), using irrigation ( which is unheard of here because Malawians depend on the rainy season for irrigation) to set up a farmers association, building wells for drinking water and so on. They help the villages so much spiritually and with their projects here in the middle of Nowhere - Africa.

You know how Hollywood has made ... "Africa" the Hot Hollywood Trend. The new fashion accessory is to help Africa. Even the stores are into it. (Gap, Starbucks, etc) This Africa that they are pushing you to give a dollar to help stop AIDS or a dollar to help provide water. I do like that they (Hollywood) are trying to think of others than themselves but Where is this Africa that this dollar is going to?

Well- for us this Africa is here in Dzuwa. They are making a difference with all that they are doing and we are so glad to be apart of it. Here are so pictures of us in Dzuwa...


As you can see - very busy traffic getting there. Bumper to Bumper... in the middle of nowhere.

Where Ron and Ulemu live is an area that they are building up for more people to help out there. Here is where a Doctor house and Nurse can live in for the clinic they have started.

Here is where Ronald and Ulemu live. Analise and Nya are putting on a show for the local kids. Love that Laughter is cross cultural and breaks through all language barriers.

The Bathroom and bucket shower room. We are not very good at peeing in a hole we decided. They are call Pit Latrines here. I love toilets and I am a very big fan of running water. I appreciated coming back to my toilet and so did the girls...

Here the girls are so cute playing duck duck goose. Love that they initiated it too. I was very proud of them.

Here is the normal life with Bob and Ronald. Talking! They chat and chat and chat...

Now for most people that know me - I don't love to cook. But I was so proud of my self that I cooked dinner on a coal stove and had no problems. And it tasted good. It did take some practice of maintaining the coals so it didn't get too hot and burn everything.

We woke up the next day to take a tour around the area and this was our transportation. The girls were so excited. It might as well been a Disneyland ride.

off they go....

Bye....

Walking to the hospital clinic...

On Uncle Ron's shoulders...

Here is the clinic in which they are hoping to open in about 6 months. A church in California sent over a container full of medical supplies and so we just need to finish the houses for the medical staff and they should open.

Here is a well that was dug for the village through what Ronald and Ulemu are doing...

Touching and feeling the water

The girls trying to pump the water...

The front of the clinic. There is a huge open area for people to rest and wait for medical help under shade of that hot African sun. It is hot.

Nya took this picture of this girl that was following us... We will be giving clothes for these kids. We have plenty and she has a hole in her dress. Seriously, sometimes my priorities are messed up.

Here we go into the Maize Mill. Malawians eat this as a staple. It is about 16 miles away to another maize mill so this a helped amazing for the area. Can you imagine walking with a 120 pound bag that far. No way. So below is the inside...

Hard at work...

So we continued on with our journey. One of our friends from ABC who is a junior, Blessing also came with us out there (Analise is on his shoulders)...

Then about 5 more college students and a friend who is a teacher at the Academy came out for the night. We all climbed in our new old (20 year old) truck -(we sold our other car and got this) and went to look at the irrigation site.

We headed out to the irrigation area that you can see. It is a huge project and it has changed on how they can grow food and sell it. They are able to grow crops out of season due to the irrigation. They help subsidize for things they need with that income of selling those crops.

For example these potatoes only grow during the rainy season and here they are plentiful due to the irrigation.

Michelle and Analise loving it...

Some of the crops! There has been no rain here since April so the ground is dead, but not this area. Water irrigation has changed it all...

water has changed it all...

Here is a pump that is helping irrigate the land. Analise taking a turn pump the water....

Both girls taking a turn....

Back at Ron and Ulemu's house we are drying out the maize for it to be made into the nsima ( staple food). There are allot of steps of getting this processed.

Here is Ulemu. She is about 6 months pregnant here. We are so excited to see the new baby in Feb.

Here are some other people journey's if you want to keep reading... A doctor's story and here is Josh and Emily story of Dzuwa

So thanks for coming along. And keep Dzuwa in your prayers and that we would continue to be able to help them also. We will be going back. Lots of love- amy louise