WoW We have lived here a year already....

So this is how it feels to be out of the our america for almost a year on Saturday. We really have seen this last year as amazing and we are no longer surviving but living well. We are so looking forward to school starting up in about 3 weeks. The students come back and we will be back in full swing. We have about 37 new students coming as freshmen. It will be amazing to get see our old friends (students and staff returning) and new friends (including the new staff and new students) It will be about getting to know more people! We like that. So for the last couple weeks we have been super busy and we also had no internet for the last week. We have been helping Josh and emily settle in. It has so fun to have them here. We have been also busy preparing for a wedding we were invovled in. Those will be the next post. Anyways here are some of the pictures for you...

So here is our deer that we found in December. She has grown alot. We are enjoying a exotic animal in our back yard and sometimes in our house.

here are some girls that are still living on campus over for dinner along with my friend Pam and that other white girl is Emily...
They are Rosemary, Kene, Umoodzi, Wanagua, Pam, Funa and Emily... We had tacos ( butt in chichewa) for dinner. For Some of them it was the first time to have Tacos. I love doing that.




Here is the boys... Bob, Blessings Joseph and Josh... And down below is Nya and Analise loving having and teasing Joseph.







Also-Just wanted to say thank you for all you emails and love and prayer over the last weeks. Not being able to be with my family as they gathered to bury my grandpa was hard. But through your prayers and love! I feel like it wasn't that hard. I will post the pictures up on soon of the wedding we were invovled with this last Saturday. Lots of love and thank you for you love, prayers, and support of us. Love- Amy Louise

Life...

So we are plugging away. Right now, we are getting ready for some friends to come and live here. They will be here for 2 years. Oh it is so exciting to have them come. She (Emily) will be a 3rd grade teacher at the academy and He (Josh) will be the on campus maintance man. They come this monday! Yippee. We are still busy with stuff. We got our car back! Yippee for us. We are thankful for that. We are having about 8 students over for dinner tonight just for a connect time. We are busy - but not as busy as the year starts. We can't believe in about a month we will be headed into a new school year. It will be nice not to be new this year. It will be nice already knowing people and connecting right away with the students. It is amazing to think that we have been a year here in August. I feel comfortable here finally. I feel fine driving on the other side of the road (along with the people, goats, bikes, and other crazy drivers). I feel fine going to 5 shops for grocery shopping. I don't get bothered by the flies that land on your face and won't stop landing on it when you shoo them off. I have accepted that there is nothing here to do but hang out with people. I am doing great with the weird different types of food. I have learned that life here is slow motion and that is great. I am still though struggling with the poverty and feeling helpless but recongizing that I personally can't change the world. I can only change myself and those that come in my sphere of life. I am loving my relationships that I have here with college students and other missionaries here. I really do still miss Target and A good burritto. Simply put - I have adjusted mostly- most days. Maybe not all days. I am fine today living in Africa.
I really have gone through a journey with my walk with the Lord these last few months. Very deep. I feel that He has stripped me Raw and all I have is Him to lean on. The greatest place to be even though it is hard to here at the same time. Both Bob and I have felt that we are at awesome place of nothing to offer Him but us. That He will use us for what we are needed to be used for , everyday that we give Him ourselves. We really have been amazed in all the deep life things we have learned. Ask us about one day when you see us in person. We would love to share the journey with you.
Just wanted to connect with you and let you know we are doing great! Somedays are better than others, but that is what life is about! Everyday is brand new day. And His mercies are new every morning. Thank God that we are not stuck in the yucky days.
Love you all and I will continue update you! Amy Louise

just life...

So we are just chugging along here. We had a fun weekend last weekend...
Analise has turned 3 years old. What fun she had and so did we...

Here she is with some of kids here...



Bob decorated the cake... It's Strawberry Shortcake of course! She so wanted a Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake.
Making her wish! She said that she wants to be married - To Bob! So sweet!


So Nya is showing off losing her 2 front teeth...


She loves to ham it up for the camera!

well- Our car situation is still going on. Not fun. We are able to borrow a friend's car, so that works good. We are not able to get good parts here. they are shady sometimes they are real parts and some times they are fakes. So it is trial and error. with 4 weeks now waiting! "They" say it should be all put together by "Tuesday". So we would appreciate any prayers! Along with not good parts, it is hard to find gas. I went to 9 gas stations last week (as I was borrowing my friends car) and there was only one place I could get it. Well-It was a 3 hour wait. So not fun. Oh joys of living in Malawi.


Well- we have been really excited to be apart of our local Church here. It started 6 months ago now. It is growing and passionately lead by an ABC graduate. It is so refreshing to be apart of the local Malawian church here. Bob and I are apart of the leadership team. You may be wondering what is our responsibility is ! It is "hospitality" ! We are responsible to build the sense of community and fellowship in our church. Right up our alley! We are so excited to do that. We love people!
Well- just a little update from us!
Love - Amy Louise

here is our update for the month of June...

Hello from African Bible College . We are on WINTER Break... So that is what they call it here. It is chilly kinda... But Winter? Winter is the word you use for Snow and below zero tempatures. Anyways Lets amuse them and call it "WINTER Break". We can do that. Most of the students have gone home for the break. There are about 25 students left on campus. Many of the young couples and single teachers have left too. So it is a really quiet campus. But we are enjoying investing in those that are here. We have short term mission teams we are working with daily here, so we are still busy. Just wanted to connect with you all and let you know that we are still serving here in Malawi .
We had an amazing trip to the village (7 hours north of here) and were able to share the gospel to over 500 people. Also, through that time we were able to disciple those that we shared the gospel to over the easter holiday, in deeper spiritual truths.

Also please pray as we:
-Are dealing with a clutch that has gone out in our car and it is right now a mystery how to fix it. (so the mechanic here says) It is kinda fixed for now. We still are having troubles...
- are having over students (daily), still shaping the africans here for Jesus.
- have a restful "winter break" together.


Thank you so much for sending us emails, cards, love, prayer, packages, and support! We couldn't be here doing what we are doing if it wasn't for each one of you!
Love- Amy Louise for all of us!

The beginning of the church service...

The Cute Mommas Singing

We are back from Khuyu Village...

Hello friends and family....We survived the trip... It was amazing to do something bigger than just ABC! We went to a students home where he has a heart to reach his village for Jesus. We were officially in the middle of nowhere Africa. We drove about 6 hours north with part of that 2 hours on a dirt road. I wondered how come there was even a road. A dirt road. That was amazing that was even a road. They say tobacco trucks use them as the tobacco farmers are up there. Ok... So we traveled to a village of Khuyu on the dirt road. We showed up at the primary school there. Just buildings with a chalk board. Exactly what you imagine, it is...

Do you see the kids on the side of the road... They love to wave... they have the most beautiful smiles!

Here is the primary school that we were mainly at...

Analise and Fanny talking to the children there. Analise was using her as a translator... Too cute...
Nya and Analise with our friends Fanny and Funa with the kids...
Teaching them how to play duck duck gooose...
We showed the Jesus film at the school that night, by the time the movie was going on there were about 300 hundred people... We sang and also shared the gospel...

The next morning we spoke at the primary school again. I shared how we have to be connected to Jesus as He challenges us to be the branches and He is the vine...

Nya and Bob talking to the kids...

That afternoon we went door to door to reach out to the village... As you can see Analise loves it and loves the dirt... Seriously she didn't stay clean unless she was sleeping... after her bath

The local villagers dancing for me...

Here is where we stayed at a local tobacco farmers house. It was not a mud house but there was no electricity and no running water... So we bathed by buckets and sat by candlelight.

Analise loving the bucket water baths... Do you see the water she was sooo dirty!

Here we are at the Sunday church service... On Friday and Saturday We shared the Jesus film to 2 more villages and also did door to door there. We then did discipleship training teaching Bible basics, how to have an active prayer life, evangelism, understanding the Gospel and who we are in Christ. About 50 people had that training. On Friday I taught a class how to be a woman of God. It went so good. They asked lots of questions and we got to answer them!

We taught the kids "this little light of Mine" Analise and Nya sang in the microphones....

Bob with the local Pastors of the churches in that village... that cute little boy wanted to sit with Bob the whole time.

Nya took this Picture can you find me!

The village at the church service... Mind you it was 4 hours long. WOW!

Here is Bob teaching the people that God gave a free gift when He gave Jesus to us. We have hope for the future because of that. We are not saved by what we do but what He has done for us...

Daddy loving on his girls...

Here is Bob giving the local pastors Bible in thier language. They don't even have a bible. How can a pastor do it without a bible. That was a treat see that. During the training we were able to give about 50 bibles away. Amazing. I have 5 in my house and somedon't have even a page.

Here is the team at the house... And the people that took care of us...

Of course we could do it without an african break down. Do you see that chain. Our friend Ronald towed us because our clutch went out in the middle of nowhere... We were towed about a 100 miles with that chain. It was a long ride home....

Of course you can't forget to hold the chickens while your broken down. Oh the adventure of it all....

So what an opportunity to give and serve. Of course in those moments of giving I didn't always see my best side and I didn't be the person I wanted to be. Stretching is an understatement. But when it is said and done. It was worth it. So our adventures will continue here. Thanks for being apart of our lives and reading my stories... Love - Amy Louise for the Stauffacher family

So you remember when Bob went to the Village of Khuyu...

Well we are headed there tomorrow for 5 days. We will be showing the Jesus Film in an area that has never happened. We are honored to be apart of that. We Mostly Bob will be teaching leadership seminars with the students from ABC. The village is one of the students home and really has a heart to reach them for the Lord. So we will be handing out bibles and do more discipleship with the people there. So awesome to be apart of something deep. So we would love your prayers as we are gone through this Monday. The girls and I will be there too with them. Great experience for all of us. Love- The Stauffacher family!

Not just faces anymore...

I know many of you have wondering what we having been doing these last few weeks. We have been so busy with the end of the year activities and Finals ! Oh do you remember those college days. I have added pictures over the last year we have been here. Those cute Malawians faces you have been seeing are not just faces to me. I realized that they are my dear friends. So I am going to put some pictures of our friends here and what we have been investing in.

Here are the some of the senior girls... Thats me taking the picture on the left at the bottom. Catherine, Atupele, Thomison, Mwai, Chokondi, and Neke. They were all so excited to be apart of the Baccaluarette Service they do every year...

Here are all the seniors seated down in the first 2 rows of the chapel. Friends and Family come to see this special service. The seniors get all dressed in their finest. They were presented in front of everyone. They were radiating. Can you find Bob and Analise? They are in the middle!

My friends Atupele and Joel. Both Graduating this year! They are planning to get married in 2 years. Atupele has been our sweet friend and babysitter over the last year. The girls love love love her. And so do Bob and I!

Here are the Founders of African Bible Colleges, Dr. Jack and Nell Chinchen and our guest Speaker for the Baccalaruatte Service and Graduation from San Diego Matt Hammett - Flood Church Senior Pastor, and the President of the College Campus, Paul Chinchen

Here are Two Professors at the college. Maggie and Laura waiting for the ceremony to start.

We had a after Baccalaruatte service get together. I got some people together and we decorated the dining hall. About 450 people came. It was fun.

Then we had a senior dinner Banquet (last night where I helped decorate again. It was prettier than prom!) where all the seniors get to share how God has used ABC in their lives and their favorite teachers and favorite stories and what they are doing after they Graduate. It was amazing to hear all the stories. And it was soooo refreshing to be reminded why we are here. To teach and impact the lives and reach Africa through Africans. I personally Loved every minute of this banquet. I cried every time one of my girls got up to share!

Here is Henry! Rosemary , Fanny and Muzanji- All enjoying the Senior Dinner Banquet

Tonight we had a special Concert! The ABC Choir put on an amazing performance. I will put on video of the singing tomorrow!

Of course it wouldn't be complete with out African drums. I will never get tired of African Music. I love it.

Anyways just to update you with pictures. Thank you all for your prayers and support! We are here loving these friends of ours and using the skills we are trained for to equip and train these African Friends to reach more African Friends. They do it the best!

Love- Amy Louise, Bob, Nya and Analise

He came home in one piece...

Bob with a friend in Luwanga, Zambia. His name is McDonald ( we always think of french fries when we say his name. ) McDonald is going to be a full time missionary out in a village! He will be doing what ABC is all about. Training Africans to reach and teach other Africans!
One of the big cats on the safari trip and that is with out zooming in!
Here is the Senior Class this year. Remember the girls from the Pancakes. Those are my girls.
On the way to Safari
God's Beautiful Creation!!!

He said it was a great time. He said he was soo close to the lions he was even a little bit scared. What Bob be scared?!? The seniors had a great time. Doesn't anyone want to come and visit? We would love to have you. Come and have fun with us!

So today we start our busy end of the year stuff. We are hosting a team from San Diego Flood church. They will be here for 8 days. We have a 2 day conference this weekend and then we have Baccalaurette to prepare for and off we go in to Graduation week.

So I will have more pictures to come from this week!

Love you and will keep more stories coming! Amy Louise