The power of Love in our lives...

Love goes deep. It transforms and quickly heals where open wounds were. The gift that Godgives us is that He blesses in healing us. The amazing things I see in the college students that are at ABC are lives transformed. God taking the broken hearted, the abandoned, and through the poverty and giving us Hope! Like for example... Orphans loving on Orphans... Powerful....

Here is Tina! My sweet friend who is an orphan - We went to Crisis Nursery here and She became superwoman taking on 2 babies. Loving deeply for these kids who are orphans. Don't you love her infectious smile. Her laugh is even more amazing. God has taken her broken heart and healed her deeply and given her a new family! Us! We Love that she apart of our lives. She brought us so much joy over these last 2 years - We love sharing life with her.

Here is sweet girlie Maggie. She is visiting for a month. She was a previous student of Bob's at Christian High School. We saw her this summer and told come and visit us and she did! What a treat to share life here in Africa with her fresh perspective. I love hearing the stories that she gets experience through her view.

Here is another college senior Umodzi! She really has been a joy to be around and she so enjoys coming to the orphanage with us. The Lady in the middle is the only nurse for the 22 babies at the Crisis Nursery. Understaffed is an understatement. Nya is so big now that she is able to love on these cute babies. She calls them sugarbears.

Tina Tina! We love you!

Here are 2 pairs of eyes that are so sweet. This is baby girl Sophless... She was delicious and so fun to feed and love on. Nya helped with her the entire time! So sweet to see my baby love on babies!

Here is Mphatso. She smiled and continually loved being on my lap. I love that it is simple to love. She makes it even more easier!

Here is another sweet girl I love loving on. She is our superhero at ABC. She teaches computers, PE, and is everyone's substitute. Candice and I have created a deep friendship and I so enjoy her.

Here is Maggie and Tina! Too Cute! Already good friends.

Loving people here and asking God to continually bring people who need Him to love them. Pray that we will be bigger than ourselves and go deeper and bigger and reach higher. Love- Us

When Life in Africa is Ordinary after 2 1/2 years...

It is amazing to get to the point when living in a third world culture is Normal and Ordinary. I find myself not so amazed by many things now, since it is all is normal. When I automatically talk in Chichewa- the language here in Malawi- How is that normal? When i drive into town, swerving around a group of goats and seeing people riding bikes that are about to fall into my path, how is that normal? I didn't know that I would feel this comfortable. When my children are so used to the power going out daily or the water stopping - how is that normal? When gas is scarce and I accept that it is fine and we will figure a way around needing the gas- how is that normal? Amazing the simple things that I don't even know that is not normal to my western culture that I have accepted as normal. It was so fun to see it when my parents came to visit and share life with them. I saw through their eyes what I have so gotten used to. Routine has come as today starts the second semester of school for the girls and next week all the College students come back to campus. We are looking forward to life full on the campus again. And Life to be Normal! :)

We have a vistor from San Diego staying with us for about a month. She was a former student of Bob's at Christian High School. It will be fun to share life with her. She will be helping at the academy and the going out to villages around ABC.

So the normal life begins. Lots of love- amy louise

Oh My Happy New Year...

Well- Happy New Year from ABC! So sorry that I haven't blogged forever. I have some weird issue with my arm and have been unable to use my desktop and can only type on Bob's laptop. So sadly the only chance I time to type is in the late evening and for some reason I never get 2nd winds over here in Africa. My bed calls me by 8:30pm. I wanted update for forever. We have had a quiet start to our new year. I can't believe that it is already the middle of January. We did have a minor earthquake so that shook us up a bit but nothing like Haiti. We are definelty praying for those people over there.

So here is the update on us...Over this last couple of weeks - we have been catching our breath from all the business of school. We all got sick right before school ended and then right as Christmas week started Bob had a serious sinus infection that laid him out for about 2 weeks. Vacation is good for the body and spirit. We were able to get away for a couple of days to the southern region of Malawi. There is a mountain called Mount Mulangi. They have amazing tea plantations down there that were started over a hundred years ago. We stayed at a lodge that was the owners house at one time. It was fun to rest, laugh and play together. We went with other friends from ABC Campus.

Here is the house we stayed in. It is over a hundred years old. I love that it still looks amazing for a house in Africa for a hundred years old.

Mt Mulangie

The Tea Plantation. So very lushish and really green

Here is the group before we went on the hike up to waterfalls.

Analisey is hanging with new buddies...

Isn't it amazing that beauty of Creation yells Heaven!

Here is the lower falls...

We were so blessed to have alot of fun! We are ready for school to start and ready for the students to come back! Life is full and busy and we are looking forward to rhythm of life here in Malawi! Thank you for your prayers! Love all of us!