Malawi is sometimes called, the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’. I might quibble with this description a bit and substitute the word ‘Hot’ for warm. It’s Africa hot here! When we landed in Malawi it was about 78-80 °F. Keep in mind that over the last 4 weeks that we had spent in the Midwest, it might have gotten above freezing on 7 days but most of the time it was well below freezing.
Follow this link to see some of the wintery pictures (including many from an ice storm) from Iowa: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144722&id=650243390&l=e4a1c7b1bf
We departed Minneapolis without incident and arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday morning. We got off the plane, stowed some of our carry-on luggage in some lockers, and got in line to clear immigration and while we were standing in line, I counted the passports and had five of them. However, there are six of us so we pulled out of line and checked and sure enough, there were only five and the one that was missing was mine. Yikes. I talked to someone from the airline and they sent me back to the gate where we had de-planed. The plane was still there but was already in the process of boarding for the next flight (this is maybe 90 minutes after we had landed). I talked to a guy from the airline and he went onto the plane and CAME OFF WITH MY PASSPORT! Praise the Lord! If I had lost my passport and been unable to recover it, I might still be hanging out inside the Amsterdam airport. Yikes. God is good (even when we’re stupid). We took the train into the city and ate some Dutch food and took a canal tour. Three of the kids slept quite a bit through the canal tour so those ended up being some expensive naps.
We departed Minneapolis without incident and arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday morning. We got off the plane, stowed some of our carry-on luggage in some lockers, and got in line to clear immigration and while we were standing in line, I counted the passports and had five of them. However, there are six of us so we pulled out of line and checked and sure enough, there were only five and the one that was missing was mine. Yikes. I talked to someone from the airline and they sent me back to the gate where we had de-planed. The plane was still there but was already in the process of boarding for the next flight (this is maybe 90 minutes after we had landed). I talked to a guy from the airline and he went onto the plane and CAME OFF WITH MY PASSPORT! Praise the Lord! If I had lost my passport and been unable to recover it, I might still be hanging out inside the Amsterdam airport. Yikes. God is good (even when we’re stupid). We took the train into the city and ate some Dutch food and took a canal tour. Three of the kids slept quite a bit through the canal tour so those ended up being some expensive naps.
For pictures from Amsterdam: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144023&id=650243390&l=9cf3858267
We went back to the airport and it was snowing outside and they de-iced the wings before we departed. After a brief stop in Nairobi and a touch-down in Lusaka, Zambia we arrived in Malawi at about noon on Sunday (we are 9 hours ahead of Colorado time in Malawi). All of our luggage arrived fine and we cleared immigration and headed to our new home on the campus of the African Bible College. So, after the trouble we had with trying to depart from Minneapolis earlier in the month, this trip was remarkably uneventful. Unfortunately the change of tickets to the later date ends up costing almost $2800 more than what we had paid for our earlier flights but the extra time we had in Iowa was really good.
We are kind of getting adjusted. It will be several weeks (at least) before our container with household goods arrives but people have pulled together beds and some other pieces of furniture so we are not sitting around in an empty house (or sleeping on the floor). People are being very kind to us and we are having dinner at different people’s houses for much of the week. We did manage to do some grocery shopping yesterday.
Thank you for praying for us and supporting us through this transition. Please continue to pray for the adjustment as we all begin to fit into our new roles. We found out last night that Beth will be taking over teaching one of the 2nd grade classes starting in April when the current teacher and her husband head back to the United States to have their first baby.
Prayer Items
Praise
· Safe and successful travel
· Arrival in Malawi on God’s timetable and the extra time in Iowa that we had before moving to Africa
· Good health
· The beginnings of a good transition to our new home
Requests
· The transition to the new culture and our new responsibilities can be a bit daunting. Please pray that we would approach it with a sense of adventure and in dependence on God.
· Health – it’s malaria season and we haven’t begun taking our malaria medication yet. Additionally, we may be exposed to a bunch of new viruses and stuff here in Africa so please pray for God’s protection of our health.
· We have had some very generous financial gifts and December was a strong month. However, our ongoing committed support level remains below 60% so please pray for God’s financial provision for us. While we don’t know exactly how God will meet our needs, we know that He is faithful and that our needs will be met. We certainly have much for which to be thankful.
Thanks for your prayers and support (financial and otherwise).
Missionarily,
Dan (for the Trumbles)
Follow this link to see several Malawi pictures from our first couple of days http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144608&id=650243390&l=e0445fb6c9
Four Trumbles standing in front of our new house
A thermometer in the shade at the Dehnert’s house on Monday
We went back to the airport and it was snowing outside and they de-iced the wings before we departed. After a brief stop in Nairobi and a touch-down in Lusaka, Zambia we arrived in Malawi at about noon on Sunday (we are 9 hours ahead of Colorado time in Malawi). All of our luggage arrived fine and we cleared immigration and headed to our new home on the campus of the African Bible College. So, after the trouble we had with trying to depart from Minneapolis earlier in the month, this trip was remarkably uneventful. Unfortunately the change of tickets to the later date ends up costing almost $2800 more than what we had paid for our earlier flights but the extra time we had in Iowa was really good.
We are kind of getting adjusted. It will be several weeks (at least) before our container with household goods arrives but people have pulled together beds and some other pieces of furniture so we are not sitting around in an empty house (or sleeping on the floor). People are being very kind to us and we are having dinner at different people’s houses for much of the week. We did manage to do some grocery shopping yesterday.
Thank you for praying for us and supporting us through this transition. Please continue to pray for the adjustment as we all begin to fit into our new roles. We found out last night that Beth will be taking over teaching one of the 2nd grade classes starting in April when the current teacher and her husband head back to the United States to have their first baby.
Prayer Items
Praise
· Safe and successful travel
· Arrival in Malawi on God’s timetable and the extra time in Iowa that we had before moving to Africa
· Good health
· The beginnings of a good transition to our new home
Requests
· The transition to the new culture and our new responsibilities can be a bit daunting. Please pray that we would approach it with a sense of adventure and in dependence on God.
· Health – it’s malaria season and we haven’t begun taking our malaria medication yet. Additionally, we may be exposed to a bunch of new viruses and stuff here in Africa so please pray for God’s protection of our health.
· We have had some very generous financial gifts and December was a strong month. However, our ongoing committed support level remains below 60% so please pray for God’s financial provision for us. While we don’t know exactly how God will meet our needs, we know that He is faithful and that our needs will be met. We certainly have much for which to be thankful.
Thanks for your prayers and support (financial and otherwise).
Missionarily,
Dan (for the Trumbles)
Follow this link to see several Malawi pictures from our first couple of days http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144608&id=650243390&l=e0445fb6c9
Four Trumbles standing in front of our new house
A thermometer in the shade at the Dehnert’s house on Monday
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