Been a while...

Well, I guess the reason to create a blog is to actually write in it. I told people I would try to be a little better at updating, and well I halfway lived up to that. I have been updating the building blog, so hopefully you have also been checking up on that (http://bicmalawi.blogspot.com). Since it’s been quite a few months since my last post, I’ll try to give a brief rundown on what’s been happening in my life.

I think the next “big thing” after the last post was the BICWM (Brethren in Christ World Missions) Southern African Retreat in Zambia. This was such a blessing as there were missionaries who have been in Africa for 40 years to share their experiences and words of wisdom. It was an encouraging time filled with fruitful discussions with some R&R mixed in. Then from Zambia the next destination was Victoria Falls.

We stayed beside the Zambezi River just above the falls for two nights with a touristy day in between at the falls. It’s an interesting way of living, having to make sure your valuables are safe and secure from both people and monkeys. Then there’s the falls…um, yeah…all I got is, WOW. Then from Vic Falls we crossed the Zambezi into Botswana via a ferry, en route to South Africa. I traveled with the Lloyds down to South Africa because I am a blood match with Erica, and the doctors said that there could be complications, so I was the walking blood bank. It was pretty neat driving through southern Africa, definitely different than driving in America. Just from the road we saw zebra, cape buffalo, giraffe, kudu, and wart hog. The whole time, I was just in awe of God’s creation.

We reached East London, where the Lloyds would stay until the delivery, and I stayed with them a few days. We (the Lloyds and Seth Miller, a traveling buddy) stayed in a friend’s house with the Indian Ocean in view from the front porch. Then when Erica had her check-up, the doctor in SA said that there was little chance of needing a blood transfusion; the medical care in SA is just so much better than in Malawi. With this news, Seth and I went to Cape Town to visit friends there. Once again, I was in awe of God’s amazing creation. There in Cape Town, our stay was extended a bit longer than anticipated because of a problem with my visa…interesting story there, but not getting into detail here. With that extended stay, I was able to take in a good bit of the area; including a bit of hiking (some of it before sunrise to take in the sun rising over CT), visiting the

African penguins at Boulder’s Beach and climbing up in Slangkop Lighthouse, one of the last working, manned lighthouses in SA. Needless to say, we were finally able to get back up to Malawi after a flight up to Johannesburg and a 24 hour bus ride through Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Then I was back in Malawi for a few weeks to work, until I flew back to the states via South Africa.

Being “home” for a few weeks was great. It was such a blessing to see family and close friends. The main reason which brought me back was for me to witness the uniting of two of my close friends in marriage, Dave and Laura Hostetter. Dave was my roommate of 2 years at Messiah, and a close friend of 5ish years…we have gone through a lot together, so it was an honor to have the ability to come back and be a part of the celebration. The wedding was up in Connecticut, so then on the way back to PA, a friend and I stopped in at Boston to check it out since we were so close and I’ve never been there…sweet city with a lot of history. Once back home, I met up with a lot of friends and family. I booked my return flight back to Malawi fairly strategically, so I could be home for July 4^th. Pretty much every year my whole family goes up to our cabin in upstate PA. There it was a blast just spending an extended weekend with my whole family and a good bit of extended family. A few days after the festivities, I was back on the airplane heading to Africa.

Once the plane landed, I pretty much hit the ground running…not so much literally. In a week, we were all set to pour the concrete of the retaining wall. It was such a blessing to have so many volunteers from the BIC church here show up and help. Then 5 bricklayers from the church were called in and were able to start on the wall construction. Now we are still working on the wall, and just got approval by the Blantyre City inspector to go ahead and start digging for the building foundation. There are many things to be working on at the Maone BIC Church site, but finding enough labor has started to become a difficulty. We may need to resort to paying some people to come and work, but then that would take a little away from funds for the building materials, which there is not much of. We may (emphasizing may) have enough to pour the concrete footers for the foundation, but really don’t have enough to go beyond that. We would like to try to push the construction as much as possible because the rains start to come in another 8-10 weeks.

Just a couple weeks ago, the Malawi BIC Church had their 2010 General Conference, which they hold at the Maone Church Center. I helped them pick up the large tent that they rented for the conference. It was pretty neat how after it was pitched up, it was still only about a third of the size of what the church building will be. There were about 350 people in the tent. I’m hoping that since the people saw that things are happening on the construction that they would get excited and either come and help or send money/food to contribute. Also, since the conference was held literally on the construction site, the work was postponed a few days.

With work being pushed back, I had the opportunity to join a team from Ohio and California out in Zomba, which is about an hour drive from Blantyre. I was able to help put a roof on a new kitchen/cafeteria for the Passion Center Orphanage (www.passioncentermalawi.com). We set the trusses and put on the purloins in a day then put on the tin sheets and ridge cap the next day; which was hard work, yet was really refreshing to me personally because I was working with another construction worker from the states so we were able to work quite well together. When I was out there, I realized that this orphanage is run really well. The staff is all Malawians, and they truly love each and every one of the kids…and that love to the children is evident that it comes from God and flows through the staff. The staff there is also in regular contact with a social worker that serves the Zomba area. I learned of a program there just in the Zomba area called “Children Head of Household.” There are around 400 households registered in the program that are head by children ages 11 to 17. One of the households is head by a former Passion Center child. The team that came over found out about her and how her house was falling apart; so the team decided to try to round up some resources and build her a new house. Last weekend I went back out to Zomba to help with building the trusses for the house, and then soon after that, the team had to leave to head back to the states. Another former Passion child is out there now laying the brick for the house… which is very encouraging to see that a former Passion kid is helping out another former Passion kid just out of the compassion of his heart, without even getting paid! It’s just really neat that I was given this opportunity to go out and serve alongside the team and get to know the people out in Zomba. I am planning on going back out sometime next week for a day to help put the roof on the house, so that she can stay dry when the rains come.

Did I mention that the Passion kids can sing??

Time Flies...

Wow, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for a month and a half! I guess time truly does fly by when you’re having fun! It’s kind of tough to think of what’s been happening, it seems like everything just mashes together. Things have been progressing on the building project, though not nearly as fast as it would if the project was in the states. I won’t talk much about that as I created a blog for the project. If you would like to keep updated with the project, visit the building blog at www.bicmalawi.blogspot.com

I have also had the opportunity to travel with church leaders to Chikwawa for a food distribution. Chikwawa is about an hour south from here, and is on the other side of a mountain range, so it is very tough to grow the staple crop, maize. The Shire River is also there in the district; so the area frequently floods, wipes out the crops, then leaves a small amount of time for the corn to grow. So around here in Blantyre, the corn stalks are 6-8 feet tall whereas in Chikwawa they are about 18 inches tall. With the dry season coming in, there is not enough time for the corn to grow and produce a crop. We went there and distributed 80, 50kg bags of maize there for the 11 BIC churches in the Chikwawa district. They plan on having another distribution here in a few weeks to help the people, though it will still not be enough for the people to make it through the upcoming dry season.

A few weeks back I traveled with the Lloyds to Mangochi and Mpalume, where they used to live during their previous term here in Malawi. It is about 3-4 hours northwest of here, almost right at the southern tip of Lake Malawi. Jonathan and I worked on a few things on their old house, and then we all were able to go up to Lake Malawi for a nice and relaxing time.

Finally, I was asked to make a video for the kids at my home church, Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church, describing missions and what I’m doing here in Malawi. Here are the videos:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Oh, and mom - here's a very common meal if I go out for a bit to eat:

Chicken, chips, and a Coke :-)

Alrighty, well hopefully that's enough pictures and videos to get a feel for Malawi!

Blessings,

Tim

Here - alive and well

Well, after being here in Malawi for just a week, I feel like I'm getting settled in nicely. We'll start with the flight... I just love how much nicer -aka food- you are serviced on international flights (at least with my few int'l flights I've taken). I also spent a night in Johannesburg at a bed and breakfast, which was very nice and refreshing to have a shower and a bed after a long flight (18 hours) across the pond. Then once I got here I was able to share with the celebration of Lydia's (the middle child) fourth birthday (see picture :) -->).
The people here are great; from the Malawians to the missionary families. I have gone to two different churches already - the Maone BIC Church and the Blantyre Community Church. Both services were very good, and for some different reasons. The Maone Brethren in Christ Church is where I will be helping to build the church building. There we met in the house that is on church property and the service was almost all in Chichewa (the national language of Malawi, whereas English is the official language). The Blantyre Community Church, where I went today, was very nice because it was all in English, since it is in association with the Church of England in South Africa. The sermons were very good in both (I got a summary of the Maone sermon afterwards in english by the person preaching) and was nice to meet many of my brothers and sisters in Christ here in Blantyre.
This past week was just a lot of getting settled in and familiar with the area. I have been able to help out the Lloyd's with some general upkeep of the house/property. [On a side note, the hospitality of Jonathan and Erica Lloyd and family is amazing. I feel like family already, which I'm sure is helping to the ease of moving into a different culture and area of the world.] Anyways, I now have a cell phone so if I want I can venture outside the walls... but needless to say that hasn't happened yet :). I also got to experience driving... a little different than in the states - especially when you drive on the other side of the road, the driver's seat is also switched and the vehicles are almost all manual transmission = fun stuff.

We also had a meeting about the Maone BIC Church building project. As of now, we are ready to start building. The plot is dug out, ready for the footers/foundation to be poured. The only hold back now is funding. The church has been able to provide volunteer labor and raise some finances, but not nearly enough to get the building built. This week I will try to come up with 'accurate' estimates of the costs of the main areas of construction. It's kind of crazy that this building has been in the works for the past 10+ years, with the drawings being drawn up by Erica's grandfather; and now that everything is all set, the funds aren't there. I think this is where God will really step in and provide donors if this construction is to happen while we're here. It would be awesome if you would pray for the church and their building project; but that the focus will always still be the people and their relationships - with God and then with each other.
Well I think that's the big stuff that's happened thus far. I hope and pray that all is going well with you, especially today as you spend with loved ones.

God bless,

Tim

a little update

Well, it's down to less than 2 weeks until I leave! I leave for Blantyre, Malawi next Thursday, February 4th!! I don't think it's totally set in yet... but there are a good bit of things to get done before I leave. I guess with that I'll leave you with a few prayer requests:

-for all the little details to be covered, especially the ones that I haven't even thought about...as I'm sure there's probably a good bit

-for God to give me strength physically, mentally, and spiritually -- I've been having headaches on and off for the past couple months and just recently started having cold symptoms; so that won't be too fun if I am still feeling a little ill when I leave

-for God to give the missionaries over in Malawi strength as they are very busy... pray that they will be able to find a balance between their work and their relationships with God and their families

-for Haiti. I know I'm going to Africa...but Haiti needs your prayers. Just last night/this morning four guys from church (Carlisle BIC) left to go down to "assess the damage and the needs of the orphanages, the schools, the church and many friends we are connected with in Haiti." For more details you can go to their blog that I put a link to on the side.

I hope and pray that you all are striving to be more like Christ in each moment. We need more "little Christs" in this world.

-Tim

...being Christ's hands and feet...

I am writing this letter to update you on what God has been doing in my life. If you didn’t know, in January of my senior year at Messiah College, I had the privilege of going on a short-term missions trip to Burkina Faso (sub-Saharan Africa) for three and a half weeks. Before that trip, I had never really put any thought into becoming a missionary. However, during that trip, God really grabbed hold of my heart and gave me a passion for missions. Then fast-forwarding to this past summer, I was able to go on a trip to Guatemala with a group from the Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church. That trip reaffirmed the passion that I have for missions. It almost felt natural for me to be there, and I have had multiple people comment on how comfortable I looked surrounded by unfamiliar territory. Just prior to that trip to Guatemala, I learned of an opportunity to go and serve in Malawi. During and following the time in Guatemala and after a lot of time spent in prayer and devotion, it became clear that a time in Malawi was to be the next step for me. I can also recount several instances where God’s hand can be seen in and around my life to lead up to this decision.

As I said, I’ll be going to Malawi, which is a small country in south eastern Africa about the same size as Pennsylvania. I will be classified as a Short-term Global Missionary in Malawi with Brethren In Christ World Missions (BICWM). The majority of the time I will be in and around Blantyre, which is “Malawi's centre of finance and commerce and its largest city, by population, with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants as of 2008. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe.” (Wikipedia) I’m planning on being in Malawi for about 10 months: leaving in the beginning of February and returning mid-December of 2010. Below are the primary goals for my time in Malawi:

· I will be assisting Steve Ginder and Jonathan Lloyd (missionaries with BICWM in Malawi). Steve will be the General Contractor for the construction of the church building at the BIC church center in Blantyre, which will serve as the BIC Malawi headquarters. My main role will be to help with on-site supervision, since Steve will also be juggling responsibilities teaching at the Bible College (EBCOM), etc.

· Helping to finalize a new building at Evangelical Bible College of Malawi (where BIC pastors are trained).

· Assisting with repairs at the BIC church headquarters in Malawi.

· Making repairs at the BIC owned house in Mpalume village.

· I will potentially be a liaison between BIC in North America and Malawi to help facilitate sending individuals to Malawi for about 2 week periods to come and help out throughout the year.

· I will have opportunities to visit numerous village churches to learn about some of the challenges our brothers and sisters are facing around the world.

· In everything that I will be doing, the main goal is not to build buildings, but to build relationships. This means to work right alongside of them, from making and laying brick to building walls. In time, I hope to build solid relationships with the people where we can trust each other and share with each other; with the purpose in mind to further expand the kingdom of God.

As you can see, there are a number of goals while I am in Malawi. However, I definitely cannot do this alone. First and foremost I need to receive my strength from the Lord. I can’t do anything worthwhile without Him. What I also need are prayer supporters. I would love to get 100 prayer partners (as of right now I have 45) who will commit to pray for me once a week. These prayer supporters will also be a part of this time of service to people halfway across the world. In addition to prayer support, I also need financial support. As of right now, the necessary funding is estimated to be around $17,500 (as of right now I have $9500). If you would like to support me in prayer, please respond with an email to me (jones.tim.r@gmail.com) stating that you will commit to keeping me in your prayers. If you feel led to financially support me, please send your tax-deductible donation to Brethren in Christ World Missions, PO Box 390, Grantham, PA 17027 with “Tim Jones Support” in the memo line.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and may God bless you abundantly.

-Tim Jones