Arrived Johannesburg

I spent the day with Dr. Dean Carlson, a career missionary and Africa Regional Director for One Challenge--a organization focused on resourcing African church leaders for church planting, mobilization, mentoring and leadership development. I met Dean in college, and it was wonderful to reconnect after 25 years, and to see how his work strengthening indigenous African Christianity (I want to reflect more on what I learned from him today at a later point on the journey).

I arrived in JoBurg last Wednesday, and Trinity, Monique and Dennis arrived yesterday. The rest of the team arrived tonight, and now we are all together and staying at the Africa Centre Lodge--a clean, safe, quirky, family style Hostel near the airport.

After checking in, we walked about .75 miles to a strip mall of restaurants, and we chose just the right one for our first meal together in Africa: Dreus Beef House. After 24+ hours of transport from home to the Africa Centre Lodge, everyone was surprisingly energized, giddy and ready to celebrate our first day on the Continent. We thoroughly enjoyed what will probably be our last world class meal before returning home, and we savored every bite (Don and I both had Hake and calamari).

Rise and shine will be at 6:30am, to get back to the airport by 8:00 to fly to Lilongwe and on by minibus to Mzuzu where our mission begins. Tonight, we all are safe, tired, excited, feeling well, and in good spirits.

Let the River Flow: Why WorldHope Corps digs village wells

Sunday Sermon at the The Water's Edge in OB , San Diego, CA. "Woman at the Well" (John 4:7-15) When you think about the gospel story of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well, I’d like you to picture this Woman at a similar well in northern Malawi. Sitting and talking with Pastor Dennis Singini about water. Her name is Nyang'oma, which means "drum." Her Christian name is Mary Botha. She is 85 years old and lives in a village in the Kampenda area of Northern Malawi. She has cared for 11 children, two of whom have died. And her husband has died. When Dennis and I first met Mary in 2008, her village did not have a deep well or access to clean water. Nor did the six surrounding villages with over 1,500 people. Women and children had to drink with animals from shallow seasonal wells or walk about of 5km away to drink from the closest stream. Sometimes they would get sick and complain of stomach aches. Cholera and dysentery were widespread, and m...

Not Afraid of Death by Julia Esquivel

In reading your blog, Michael, I immediately think of these two poems is poem by Julia Esquivel, from Guatemala, whom I had the pleasure of meeting years ago. Un abrazo, Ada Maria I AM NOT AFRAID OF DEATH I am no longer afraid of death I know well Its dark and cold corridors Leading to life. I am afraid rather of that life Which does not come out of death, Which cramps our hands And slows our march. I am afraid of my fear And even more of the fear of others, Who do not know where they are going, Who continue clinging To what they think is life Which we know to be death! I live each day to kill death; I die each day to give birth to life, And in this death of death, I die a thousand times And am reborn another thousand Through that love From my People Which nourishes hope! THREATEN WITH RESURRECTION They have threatened us with Resurrection There is something here within us which doesn’t let us sleep, which doesn’t let us rest, which doesn’t stop the pounding deep inside. It is t...

Twelve New Wells in Malawi in 2012

New Well for Mayaka UMC sponsored by Church of the Resurrection Villagers in Zomba Mayaka wait their turn for clean water from COR well. WorldHope Corps, Inc. succeeded in drilling 12 new villages wells in 2012, including three for Church of the Resurrection in Leewood, KS; two for World Childrens Fund in San Jose, CA, one for Helen Ford in Ocean Grove, NJ; one for Pittman Presbyterian Church in NJ; and five for local sponsors in Malawi. From 2007-2011, WorldHope Corps drilled a total of 18 wells in northern Malawi by hiring borehole drillers from the southern Malawi. In April, 2012, we acquired our own well rig and equipment, hired our own crew, and learned how to drill wells ourselves. By the end of 2012, we had drilled 12 new wells for a total of 30 wells since 2007! Over 50,000 villages now can drink clean, fresh, safe water and not get sick from water borne diseases. For this we praise God! For 2013, we have 2 more boreholes to drill for Unite...

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