A long overdue update

It seems like things have been pretty crazy here the past couple of weeks finding time to stop and write a blog has been near impossible. On top of that the generator for the top half of campus is no longer working so we are often without power. It's okay we're finding ways to entertain ourselves and getting a lot of reading at such done.
Unfortunately, I missed... all of the countdown to Christmas break, but rest assured there was much counting down and happiness when it was all said and done. Let me see if I can give you a quick run down of what has happened in the last three weeks or so.
-we got a cat... her name is Beyonce she is probably one of the most obnoxious things I have ever seen. Lucky for her she is cute, and will (hopefully) one day eat many many rats and other unfortunate things.
-We eat a lot of pancakes. We try and make sure to share these with our wonderful friends
-We have sat in a few fuel queues some successfully others not so much.
-we have had some incredibly awkward conversations
-We were brave enough to take ourselves to the market, which really isn't all that bad. Santo, that sells us our vegetables really likes us so that's fortunate (kinda)
-We attended the MR. and MISS ABC pageant which was phenomenal and hilarious and just a really good time. It carries such a different atmosphere from anything like that back home. It was really enjoyable.
-We've managed to lay in bed for almost an entire day.
-We have contemplated our decision to come here... and despite what sometimes seems better judgement know that this is where we should be.
-Started and finished counting down to Christmas break
-Attended the Christmas band/choir/other random stuff concert at the college. The concert was probably one of the best things I have done here yet. The students are so sincere, and it was truly a blessing when I really needed one.
-I got a Christmas package from my family!!!! (and I have some how managed not to open anything yet.)
-we had lots of friends over for dinner (something other than pancakes)
-We made several attempts to visit the post office
-we spent an entire week making Christmas cookies with Michelle for the college. We would make them in the afternoon and take them up to the cafeteria and hand them out during dinner. We had so much fun and got to meet a lot of wonderful people!
-We successful had the Christmas program at the academy
-We played a crazy game with Michelle and bunch of the college students.
-We ran into some friends from home.
-WE SURVIVED OUR FIRST SEMESTER TEACHING AT ABC!!!!!!!!
We really did it. While teaching had been fun I am definitely glad for a break Ogles and I have made very few plans aside from spending some time in Cape Town and even then we didn't make many plans for that week. We're just planning on taking things as they come. Our only real plan is to watch the entire series of numbers before school starts again. So far we're well on our way. (HAHA) Thus far the break has been mostly uneventful and we're glad of it. We spent yesterday evening at a Christmas party with the Floreens which was excellent times we even managed to meet a few new people I think.  Not much else in the works for this week we may have some friends over for dinner. Saturday we'll head to the Kyser's to spend Christmas with them the we'll be packing and getting ready for Cape Town!

Thanks to everyone who is sending support in every form Money, letters, packages, e-mail, facebook, and most importantly prayer. I most definitely would not have made it this far without all the prayers and support from everyone.  Please continue to pray that we would have a restful and relaxing break. that we would have safe travels, and that we would continue to learn and be open to God's teaching even (especially) on our break.

Until next time...
"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'" Isaiah 6.8

The countdown is on!

It seems as though I have finally managed to coordinate working internet, power and actually have time to sit down and write a blog. It seems like everything and nothing has happened since I last posted.
Ogles and I have booked our tickets to Cape Town as well as our hotel room for the week (If you would still like contribute to this cause please let me know). We are so stinking excited about getting out for a bit. It will be a much needed break from life here. We didn't do a whole lot last week just the normal routine, which I am honestly okay with. Even the "normal" routine involves learning something new everyday. We're making it though. God is providing.
Last Friday was International Day here at ABC. This is a day that is in place to recognize the, over 23, different countries and cultures represented at our school. All of the kids come to school in "traditional" dress from their country. (Good luck if you're from America, Ogles and I decked out in sports gear and had a grand time!) There is a parade of countries and some entertainment including several national anthems and performance of local drummers which was excellent. (hopefully I can get some pictures posted, soonish) After that we all went back to our classrooms for a bit and then we feasted. All of the parents bring "traditional" food to share with the school. There was SO much food it was crazy! Everything was great, everyone look great and we had a lovely time. AND It RAINED! Oh the rain is a beautiful thing here! Later Friday night we went to Thanksgiving Potluck... where there was TURKEY! it was so delicious. We had a good time sharing a meal with many of the other single folks on campus and just having a good time.
Saturday we spent the day with the excellent Kyser family and enjoyed a more traditional southern Thanksgiving dinner (sans the turkey) and afterward watched White Christmas! We had so much fun we are so truly blessed to know the Kysers! They have made so many things so much easier. The rest of the weekend was pretty low key reading books watching movies... just relaxing before we were back to school on Monday.
AND SO NOW ONLY 3 WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for it to be Christmas time. We have our decorations up and our Christmas clothes out and basically everything that I am doing in school is Christmas something or another. HOORAY!

Until next time...

"My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." Proverbs 3.1-8

I do not have a good title.

Lets see... what has happened since my last post...? Well we left off on Monday... So, Tuesday. Tuesday was a pretty average day wake up early (well less early considering the late night basketball game) and go to school. School was followed by parent conferences and a pizza night with the guys. (there was also a chop chop involved which Owen thankfully killed) Wednesday was game one of the championships so Ogles and I decided to nap that afternoon so we could stay up late and watch the game. The guys played hard but we lost. Thursday was back to school and more parent conferences and Friday was the same. Friday was the second game of the championships, another well played game but we lost putting us second. It was fun though and everyone played hard. The guys still have a few more opportunities to play before the season is completely over though.

Saturday we attempted, once again, to sleep in but our faithful friends came to sing at our windows. Clearly, by friends here I mean the men who are working to build a trench in our back yard, which is all of 5 feet from the back of our house to the wall around campus. Its okay though we've learned to just embrace them at some point one of them really did start singing and all I could do was laugh. 

Later that day some friends came over for lunch and just to hang out. I also had the opportunity to go to a wedding on Saturday for one of the girls that works at the academy. We only went for the reception, but it was fun. One of the main things they do is call up different groups of people to dance and throw money around the new couple. We arrived just as they were calling up the ABC staff, what an experience. 

After the wedding we came home and decided that ice cream was clearly in our future so we drove up the street to have ice cream and coke (no judgment please). While we were sitting around Michelle called and told us there was petrol at such-and-such a place and we should go, and so we did... only to find out that they had stopped pumping for the evening and we would could come back at 6am. Okay that was the plan. We went back home and were just sitting around when Michelle called again and send several other places where also pumping and we should go to one of them after some (much) debating we decided we should probably go. So we drove around town for a bit, but no luck. So we came home and resolved to go back out in the morning. 

Sunday... Ogles got up around... EARLY... and took some students from the college and went and managed to be car number 5 in the queue and get almost a full tank of gas! Praise the Lord!  We also had lunch with with a lovely family Sunday afternoon and then spent the rest of the day being lazy. SUNDAY was also the 100th day we have been in Malawi!!!!

Monday morning... day 101... the stomach bugs strikes! Ugh! apparently tons of people on campus came down with this rather nasty bug... and in true Aly and Ogles style we managed to catch it. Ogles was out most of Monday and I was out Monday and most of Tuesday... WEDNESDAY we recovered!  and its back to work I was so glad to be back with my students today (even if they were a bit crazy). As for the rest of the week nothing much is planned except for the LECRAE CONCERT ON SUNDAY!!!!! Ahhh! I am so stinking excited!!! You have no idea! Lecrae is coming to Africa... TO Malawi.... TO LILONGWE... Ahhh! This is so great! 

Things are still hard sometimes, I still miss home... the thought of not spending Thanksgiving with my family is tough, but I believe that God has called me here and he will provide for me as he already has time and time again. (today I got a thanksgiving card from my mom! and several other pieces of mail!!! Mail is great here by the way!) For that I am so thankful!!  I'm learning something new everyday, some things are hard some things I've learned before, but all of them are good things. 

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! We need all we can get here! 

Until next time... 

 "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

   for his steadfast love endures forever!

 Let Israel say,
   "His steadfast love endures forever."
 Let the house of Aaron say,
   "His steadfast love endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
   "His steadfast love endures forever."

  Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
   the LORD answered me and set me free.
 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
   What can man do to me?
 The LORD is on my side as my helper;
   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to trust in princes." Psalm 118.1-9

Listen closely

... I realized today that I have not been listening closely for God. I have expected him to jump out at me to come through the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, but I've not been listening for the whisper.
    Last week was tough, the lack of power, Internet, fuel, water, and sleep accompanied by tense relationships and close quarters made for a really emotional week. Honestly, most of this I can deal with quite easily. Sure its an inconvenience, or just plain obnoxious, but you deal with it, you move on, no big deal. The things that really make life here difficult are my own struggles, things that make me more comfortable, things like anxiousness and worry. If I can just fret about something I'll be okay... right? NO! Praise the Lord he puts intelligent people in my life. A very wise friend said "Quit giving Satan names." What  I really wanted to say was. SHUT UP, Don't say things like that to me! Just feel sorry for me and let me have it. Thankfully another wise friend who God sent with me to Africa said, "He's right you know...." Okay guys smack me in the face one more time why doncha... Well they didn't have to God took care of that as well.
    Last Wednesday it was one year since a dear friend of mine passed away. I was reading on of the last sermons he wrote, and was encouraged and convicted even more than I had been. I am so grateful  for Christian and the live he lived. What a magnificent example his life was and has continued to be to me and many others.
    It's hard to pinpoint exactly what made last week so incredibly difficult but I'm glad its over and we can start new... a new week... a new beginning. I'll be listening closely this week for the whisper.  PRAISE THE LORD!

In other news we started off this week, Monday, by going to the guys basketball game. The team has made it into the championship playoffs (secretly I'm really confused about all of it) but Ogles and I went to the game last night and it was really great. First off I got to hold the sweetest baby in the world and just enjoy her and it was great. Second, the guys played a great game, and really close game. In the last period of the game the students started singing hymns... I promise for the next 8 minutes or so the other team did not score. It was all really excellent, and we won! so Wednesday we'll play the championship game and see what happens there. It was great!  The week is young, it's been a good week thus far fun things are happening my God is big, bigger than all of the mess that is my life some days.
Please continue to pray... Pray for Malawi its tough right now, things are crazy. Pray for ABC, for the students, teachers, staff, everything you can think of. Pray for peace, wisdom and understanding, and lastly pray for continued financial support. I feel your prayers here more than I can express and I am so grateful!

Until next time...
"And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper...." 1 Kings 19. 11-12 (I strongly encourage reading the rest of the chapter)

A day in the life of...

Not much has happened since my last post... last was a busy week, but it was pretty routine... kinda. I don't really know everything is mushing together, but I'll do my best to tell you about a day in the life of... well me and the many roles I seem to have found myself in here.
Sunday was actually not typical, since Ogles and I were both free of any duties at IBF on Sunday we decided to visit Flood which is a church popular with the singles and college students here on campus. It was good, it is a bit more contemporary, a bit more like church back home, but I think O and I both realized that IBF is where we need to be right now and we're happy there. It was fun to visit though, I'm sure we'll go back.
Mmmmonday, was back to school after our week off, it was a long day. The fabulous routine we had finally fallen into was nonexistent, and the day was just challenging, but we made it! Later that night we went to the basketball game (GO LIONS!) here on campus it was a really great game, the guys played hard and won! It was a very different atmosphere instead of yelling and screaming everyone sings and dances, and just enjoys the game for what it is.
Tuesday was a much better day at school. I was so glad that it didn't take the kids long to get back in the swing of things. Tuesday night Ogles and I ran off and had dinner. Its always nice to escape campus for a while and just sit and be normal and not have to think about and analyze everything I say. Afterward we came back and just hung out around campus we went to the caf and spent some time there and then we just walked around and were lazy. At some point Tuesday night there was NO ONE at my house except me and it was wonderful and peaceful... I'm praying it happens more often. :D
Wednesday was another day of getting up early and heading out off to school. I really enjoy being greeted by my students every morning. They are always so excited and full of love. Wednesday is staff Bible Study on campus. This week we had the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Kamadan (Not sure how to spell that) He is know around campus as Uncle Krabby. He brought a message about being joyful even in the trials. It was such a refreshing and MUCH needed reminder. Life here is special there are rules and regulations for everything and sometimes that is suffocating... other times is frustrating and sometime its just obnoxious. However I realize rule are good... I like rules... but sometimes I am not sure what the rules are that's hard. Also, its November... waking up in to the heat is just a little bit sad. Everyone back home is enjoying the nice fall weather and carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating... don't get me wrong I love it here we're doing fun things its just not the same traditions that we're used to and love. Not to worry though I have already started decorating for Christmas and since there is no Thanksgiving in Malawi I see no reason to put off the rest of the decorating. SO all of that to say a message on joy was just what we needed right now. Praise the Lord he always provides.
Thursday was back to school... haha this is fun (you should at least pretend) Thursday I had my computer at school and my current background is a picture of Ogles (Miss O), Owen (Mista Owen), and myself. (Miss O comes into my room every Tuesday to help with reading centers so my kids know her well) So a bunch of my kids were standing and looking at the picture when one of the says, "Miss Weimer, I didn't know you knew Mista Owen..." Confused I look at them I said, "Guys, Mr. Owen works across the hall, we see him all the time, he come into our classroom EVERYDAY." They returned my confused expression and said, "Yes but we didn't know you KNEW Mista Owen." Okay okay fair enough I really enjoy this age and their mindset. Later that day they were looking at the picture again and one of them asked me. "Where was that picture at?" So, I said, "that picture is at Mr. Owen's house." to which the replied wide eyed... "MISTA OWEN HAS A HOUSE!" at this point I just had to laugh they are so cute I didn't even know what to do. Thursday was also shopping day so Ogles and I mustered up all of our courage and went shopping... okay not really we asked Owen to come and since Owen is a wonderful person he toted us around town and even led us on our first adventure to the clothes market. In order to get to the clothes market you have to cross, what I am sure is the most unsafe bridge in the entire world. I was scared, fortunately Ogles is awesome and didn't rat me out she just let me walk in front of her slowly slowly slowly until we got to the other side. Oh! such good times. 
Friday was a lovely day the weather was a bit cooler and everyone was looking forward to the weekend. Ogles and I decided to skip pot luck and enjoy a quiet evening at our house, and then we went and watched the girls basketball game (AHHH THERE IS A HUGE SPIDER) AHHHHHHH!
Saturday of course was sleep in late and do nothing day later that day we made  p(that spider is really close  to me this is no good) pancakes for dinner and then watched despicable me. what a good way to end the day! (EISH! Its a chop chop! Allison is my HERO! She is trying kill it! there is much screaming, don't judge!) Okay I cna't even think right now. I have tortured you enough with my life. Much love keep the prayers coming we need all we can get!!
 Until next time,
"Count it pure joy, my brothers, when you meet trial of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1: 2-3


also pray that this spider dies!

The Best Thing That Could Be Happening

Where do I even start? The past week was quite possibly the best week I've had here! I wish there were words enough to describe the fun we had and the joy that last week brought. I am so glad that my God is faithful even when I am not. The blessing that have been poured out on me are far more than I deserve and I am so thankful! Okay, so let me just tell you all about last week.
For starters it was mid-term break, so we had the week off! Praise the Lord! It was definitely a much needed break for students and teachers alike.  We started our break by going to pot luck and then a movie night with some of the other teachers and some college students as well. We just had a really good time after the movie we were standing around the kitchen drinking coffee and talking when suddenly all eyes in the room were open wide staring at something behind Allison and myself. Needless to say we quickly made our way to the other side of the kitchen and were told that a rat and scampered out from under the fridge and in the laundry room. (NOT COOL! If you remember from my last post I am not really a fan of rats.)
Saturday, we slept late and then stayed in our beds even later, I think it was 2 or so before we ever left our room, that is the best way to spend the first day of a vacation in my opinion. I don't think we did much else on Saturday maybe watched another movie or just hung out I don't know. Sunday was another relativity lazy day we went to church and had lunch with the Carlisles. We came home and there was an excellent rain storm, perfect for Sunday afternoon nap, and doing nothing.
At some point Allison and I had decided that we were going to try and stay out of our house as much as possible this week. We haven't done a whole lot since we've been here and so we thought it would be a good idea simply to get out and see other people and do different things. In an effort to fulfill this goal we decided we would get up early and go to chapel at the college every morning. So that's what we did early Monday morning we walked up to the chapel... little did we know it was a public holiday so there was no chapel, no class it was very quiet on campus, mainly because we were the only people awake I'm pretty sure. OH well, it was nice we just walked and sat and enjoyed the quiet early morning.
The second part of our plan was to attend some classes at the college that week (yes, we realize that's lame and we're okay with it). But it was also mid-terms on campus which works more like finals in the states so everyone was out and about studying and just taking a break from the everyday routine. This also meant that Mista Owen (Owen is from Zimbabwe, but has been working at the academy for about 8 years or so teaching reception) opened up his house (because his other housemates were out of town for the week) as a place for some of the college guys to come and find a (mostly) quiet place to study, or just some where to get away from the stress of mid-terms and the madness that entails.  Because Owen is awesome, he also allowed Allison and I to come and crash his house whenever we felt necessary this week. So we spent a good amount of time there hanging out, watching movies, helping some of the college guys study, and most importantly gaining some really great friends in the process.
Other adventures from this week included: much swimming (because it is hot here, and we can swim in October.), laughing, drinking coke, reading in the garden, making doctors appointments for people, walking around, watching football (soccer), ending up at the one place we have been told never to go, making cinnamon rolls, swinging, "playing" basketball, and just having fun.
I must include the end of a story we started a long time ago... Remember the rat from Friday night? Okay good. SO I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday and Owen was making French Fries (because he's awesome) and Allison and I were rearranging the magnet letters to remind Owen he needed to take his friend to the doctor.  Several other people were just standing around talking and laughing at us... it was good time. So while were standing the rat crawled out from underneath the fridge and got on mY FOOT! AHHH! I screamed quite loudly and ran out of the room, I almost ran out of the house, but I managed to control myself... you'll have to read Ogles' blog to see what happened after that...I do know that everyone was laughing even Allison laughed at me. Zack was the first one to come and make sure I was still alive. I shook for about 10 minutes after that. Zack kept saying, "let me see your hands." It was all really excellent.
This week was excellent I really feel like I am finding my place here, thanks to some really great friends, Andrew, Ndaba, Owen, and  Zack this is finally starting to feel like a home. As I said before God is so good and has showered blessing upon blessing on me this week that I simply did not deserve. I can't wait to see what happens next.
 Once again thank you all for your prayers keep them coming they mean more than I could every express. We also really appreciate your notes and encouragement it's hard to be away from home and just knowing that people are thinking about you makes life that much easier!
Until next time...
"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his fact to shine upon you
           and be gracious to you;
the Lord life up his countenance upon
           you and give you peace."
 - Numbers 6:24-26

Oh, the things that have happened here since my last post.... really aren't all that exciting. Sorry, just having a dramatic moment! :) But really last week was an okay week, it was pretty routine go to school come home the usual. I did receive my first marriage proposal from the guy we buy our vegetables from... It was funny. I didn't really know what to do so I just said we needed a mop... which we did and now don't.
Friday, however, was a big day. It was reading day at ABCCA! Possibly the craziest day thus far.  Friday morning everyone showed up to school dressed as their favorite character from a book (kinda) I had four spidermans in my class, but that's okay.  The entire day is about reading! We started the day in chapel with singing, poetry reading, and a little readers theater put on by some of the ABCCA staff. It was pretty funny, everyone did a really excellent job. Afterward we went back to our classroom and we read all day. We had some wonderful parents come in and read to us, as well as, one of the third grade classes who came and read to the students one on one. It was a fun day but definitely exhausting. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get the pictures up...
Saturday... OH SATURDAY I ALMOST FORGOT! Well first off we slept until like 10:30 which is almost unheard of here... but we did. So later Allison and i were standing in the kitchen and she said. "by the way there is a dead rat in the toilet of the spare bathroom." Are you serious! How does that even happen? I don't wanna know that's gross. I hate rats!!! Bugs, spiders, ants, whatever I can handle that... even the occasional roach (though Katie usually has to come kill them) But not rats! UGH! Well, Allison took a picture of it (you can find it on facebook if you would like) and posted that some of the campus men should come and rescue us from it. Thankfully a couple of the college guys that we've become friends with here came rather quickly to the rescue. They made fun of me for refusing to go in the bathroom and not wanting to see the rat. UGH!!! I still haven't gone in that bathroom.
Later that evening we had a bunch of the singles over for homemade pizza night which was fun. We were proud of ourselves for being so social. haha
This week has been pretty normal... the coming week is a holiday and we are all ready for the break! I can't wait! It's going to be excellent.
Well, please pray. Pray for Malawi, for all the people here, pray that we would have strength and peace to make it through the long weeks and that we would take advantage of the really good ones, pray that we can continue to live in peace with each other, and that we will not forget the reason we are here. Thank you all so much!!

Until next time...
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another is showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." Romans 12:9-13

In Christ Alone My Hope is Found

This past week was a particularly long one. Possibly one of the longest I've had since arriving here. Sometimes I think long is just a nicerish way of saying horribly awful, but last week was both it was a long horribly awful week.  I don't think that there was any one incident that made it so bad it was just everything. Homesickness hit hard last week, and since we're in Africa things happen. So our Internet only worked 1/2 the week and the other 1/2 the power was off. If things were going right it was a bad time to talk with family,  we ran out of doom (ant killer) so the fact that our house wasn't carried away is a miracle, despite my best efforts I never felt prepared for class and was just stressed out...and so it just all piled up. Basically, Monday around 9am we were praying for Friday in a very serious manner.  But we survived! Praise the Lord!! Some folks somewhere must have been praying very hard for us last week, and we are so grateful!
 Saturday was a fun day. We were invited to a breakfast for missionaries at the Kumbali Cultural center. This was basically the furthest out I have been since being here. We drove through a village to get there which was a true taste of the culture and where we are. After breakfast we headed to the IWAM fair.... or something along those lines IWAM is the International Women's Association of Malawi, or something along those line. And I guess every year they set up a big crafts type fair with lots of fun things to buy and yummy food to eat. They even had ice cream and cotton candy!  Later we went for a swim in the still freezing pool, but it was so worth it. It was excellent!! We owe all the fun we had to the wonderful Kyser family for inviting us to join them! We ended the day having dinner with a bunch of the other "singles" on campus, it was fun we enjoyed the company. The whole day was really a excellent cure for a horribly awful long week.
Sunday we went to church, and Allison and I worked the Creche or Nursery. We had fun. It just felt normal... with the exception of at least 3 different languages being spoken by the kids. But, it was good.
I think that things are starting to get better. We're meeting more people and finding our place here. School, while still difficult, is getting better we're figuring it all out. This Friday is reading day! Its a fun day when everyone gets dressed up and we do fun things! So, look forward to that!
Several of you have asked about sending packages and such... I gave my mom some more info on all that so just look her up and she'll help you out there. We're also putting in a t-shirt order soon, so let me know, or just my mom,  if you want in on that too.
And so... until next time please continue to pray it means  so much!

"In Christ alone"


In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

It's not nice to lie.

Well friends, I am happy to report that it has been a lovely week here in Malawi. The weather is starting to get warmer which is fun. It's still cool in the mornings and evenings, which is nice, but probably won't last long.
We started our week as we usually  do. I really love the church that Allison and I have been going to. It feels normal... a bit like home, but not... I don't know it's nice. Allison started singing with the praise band and we've signed up to work the nursery and such it's going to be fun.
Monday was just a normal day. My class room was a bit chattier than normal, but they're in kindergarten so everyday is an adventure. Tuesday we were all a bit more on edge  I think. There were demonstrations planned for Wednesday so we were not even sure if we were going to have school, and the atmosphere was just a bit more tense than usual. This really just resulting in the kids being extra talkative and it taking about 3 times as long to do things as it should have. But we made it... and at some point during the day one of my kids said to the person sitting next to him, quite out of the blue...  "you have a nice face, I wish I had your face." I am certain that this was and is only funny to me, but I laughed for quite some time.
Wednesday we did not end up having school, but it things were quiet. So basically we sat around in our pj's all day, ate far too many cookies, watched Gilmore Girls, and did some lesson planning. We really appreciate everyone who  is praying for Malawi, please continue to do so.
Thursday we were back at school... most of us spent 93% of the day thinking it was Monday only to be completely thrown off to realize it was actually Thursday. However, that is always a pleasant surprise.  Friday... oh how I so enjoy Friday. The day did start off rather rough... I am still not sure why, but I am blaming it on the fact that my alarm scared me half to death this morning and it just took me a long time to recover from it... I do think that today was one of the best days I have had with my class. They were well quiet and behaved and just a lot of fun.
... So story time... there are several dogs here on campus supposedly most of them belong to people, but a few of them belong to no one... anyway we all know that I am not much for dogs or cats... or squirrels... or really any animal for that matter, but I have grown to love Tara... she is a gigantic dog that runs around campus. She really is HUGE, but she is just sweet and wonderful.... so she lives with the single guys on campus. She is supposed to stay tied up or fenced up or something along those lines during the day so she doesn't come to school... well she's huge she jumps the fence, pretty much everyday I guess. I dunno, but today she happened to be running around campus, and Mr. Owen was getting ready to take her home so she was on our end of the school. My kids were eating snack so I was standing in the doorway to keep her from coming in and joining us in our snacking. Once they were gone several of my kids asked "what was THAT!?!" and so I told them that it was Tara the dog... "NO! What was the big thing with Mr. Owen?" That was a dog... "Miss Weimer, you know it's not nice to lie...?" It really was a dog... "NO, that is a horse or something!"
 They're hysterical. That's just all there is to it. I didn't even know what to say. They were still not convinced that Tara is a dog but whatever.

In other news...
TODAY I GOT  A PACKAGE!!!!! There simply are not words to describe how exciting this is. Allison got one too, simply doubling the excitement and making it that much more difficult to describe.
Please continue to pray for us here, for a health and safety, for our sanity, and for our spiritual lives.

Something Original...kinda

As promised, after my last two posts I am sitting down to write you all something. This week as been a particularly crazy one. After last weeks 4 day weekend I was feeling much better and headed back to school on Monday. However after 4 days off Monday was simply a LOOONG day. But I made it no worries. Tuesday was another day at school, followed by ballet class, and back to school night. My ballet classes are going well the girls and I are still getting to know each other, but we're getting there. Back to school night is a night for the parents. They come in and meet the teachers, see the classroom, and hear about what we have planned for the year. Easy enough, but it makes for a quite a long day. Wednesday was just another day as well, which I am quite happy with, I finally feel like we're forming a good routine here. For some reason Thursday was just a blah kind of day. The kind of day where you're sleepy and cranky all day but you still have things to do so you have to pretend you're not, making the day even worse... yeah it was one of those. Ahhh! Friday! Praise the Lord for Friday! We woke up early and went to school. My class was particularly rowdy and hyper Friday. But we figured it out and made it through the day. Friday is nap day at my house and so when I came home from school I went to my room and watched a movie and took a less than glorious nap.... there is construction happening literally (and I mean this in the purest sense of the word) in our back yard. So yesterday our entire house was shaking, and we were all just waiting for the walls to cave in. That makes for a fun afternoon. Friday was also pot luck which is just good times. And today we don't plan on doing anything we slept in, and we're all sitting around in our pj's doing nothing. It's wonderful!
Next week should look fairly similar (I hope) with out all the craziness. There are demonstrations planned for this Wednesday so that may add a little excitement to our week, but we'll see.
We're getting this figured out. I love it here everyday we meet new people or learn new things and it's just fun. We've starting putting up decorations on our walls and we got new  curtains for the living room and kitchen! This is very exciting. Our house is finally starting to feel like home, which is very much a necessity here. Thank you all for reading, and sending encouraging thoughts. It means a lot. Your prayers as well, please pray this week especially for peace in Malawi.

Until next time...

Everyone should read this

I promise that soon I will right something lovely an original for you, but this week (aside from what you've already read) has been much the same as any other week.  I have been sick, but I'm 85% better now and by the end of this week I'll be 100% !! I still have a lot to learn but things are definitely getting easier! But I do want you all to read another post from Allison that puts into words pretty much everything I am feeling here. AND let me just add that I am so incredibly blessed to have her here. This journey, while difficult, would have been significantly more so if I were having to do it on my own. God knows what he is doing and I am so grateful!!! Okay okay the next blog I'll write on my own... probably.... but for now lets allow Allison to (pretend to) make good use of the English degree by writing you all back home. Click here and she'll do a much better job of using written words than I could ever dream of.  Okay I'll leave you with this for now.... "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18 Okay you can click here just in case you missed it the first time! 

I have tried no less than 10 times to write something here today... Each time I have been completely lost for words.... Rather than try I will direct you to the thoughts of  two great individuals who share the thoughts and concerns of my heart today. I hope that you will read them and be touched by what they have to say....
Allison

Jill

One Month later...

...and we're still alive! Some things are getting easier, but some things are getting harder.  The entire journey has been simply incredible. The past week ran pretty similarly to the first. We woke up VERRRY early and went to school. School is one of the things that is getting easier, some things just happen. I finally know all of my kids names and only confuse them in moments of chaos. (This is something I was worried would never happen) My class and I are starting to get to know each other better and to find a routine that works for us all.
 I also started teaching ballet this week. I think this may be one of the hardest things I do here. My class is 3rd-5th grade (not my favorite age group) and there are about 20 of them. Hopefully we will be able to get into the swing of things just as quickly. But they come in around 3 after having been out of school for most of the afternoon and trying or regain their attention for an hour proved quite challenging. Some of them do not really want to be there, which is hard, some are only there because their friends are there, and some really do want to be there. So, we'll have to see how that all plays out...
 So, week two was quite a long one. By the time Friday rolled around I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep. Fortunately, Friday afternoons are pretty mellow. I just sat around the house watching movies and preparing mentally for the excitement of staff potluck.
   Potluck is something we haven't talk about before so I'll let you all in on that for a moment.  It is actually quite fun (but a bit stressful after a long week at school). All of the staff gets together every Friday night to share a meal and fellowship with one another. Each week one house is in charge of what to bring to potluck, they make a list of things that are needed and pass it around for everyone to sign up. Potluck is always held at the Chinchin's house. They have a room built on the back where we all come together to eat and chat and hang out. Like I said its a very neat thing and fun tradition, but very tiring.
Today (Saturday) Allison and I got to experience a bit of a more realistic Malawi... Thus far we have either been on campus or only gone grocery shopping which, despite the fact that it takes 3 times as long, is pretty similar to shopping in the states. But today we went to the chitenji/chitenge (not sure how to spell that) market with Sharlie who is AMAZING!. Chitenji is just fabric... but it is beautiful! The market is very exciting all of the woman are set up in two long rows at tables with tons of Chitenji out for you to look at. Allison and I being who we are had a hard time deciding and came out of the market with tons of fabric. The woman are wonderful though. They would look at the Chitenji we had already purchased and pick ones they thought we would like. I loved everything about it. The entire experience is just tons of fun.
 After that we went to... the post office... but really it was the parking lot where tons of people are set up with things they have made... earrings, wood carvings, stone carvings, anything you could ever imagine made out of bottle caps, pictures... tons of stuff. Here the men are a bit more, okay a lot more aggressive and try to sell you everything! It was hilarious! One of the men told Ogles his name was Chicken Leg... We left there with a few things and probably paid entirely too much for them, but that's okay we'll get the hang of it. The experience alone was worth it. We left saying we could probably have tons of fun just hanging out with those guys and helping them "sell" stuff to other people.
 Last we went to a little shop that seemed very normal... well after we went through what appeared to be a bit of a sketchy  parking lot/court yard. We went to a little mall type place and into a shop that had tons of fun things bags, wood carvings, wall hangings, pens, key chains... lots of fun stuff. But it was just a normal place.  A little feel of home.
All in all it was a very stress free day of shopping and a good time to just get off campus.
After shopping we spent the rest of the day reorganizing and cleaning our house... it's been quite a busy day.
So yeah we're getting used to life here. I love it here. There have been a few days when I thought I wouldn't make it, but I've been determined not to let stress and anxiety get the better of me. I really do love it here, this has been such a great experience already and I am so excited to see what else is in store. I have learned so much in the last month and have been stretched more than ever. Fortunately, I have a magnificent Savior who provides. And, I know I   add this all the time but it is just true... I feel the prayers of everyone. There are simply some days I am convinced I would have gotten on a plane home if it were not for the prayers and support of everyone at home. So thank you, thank you so much for faithfully lifting us up it means more than I can express with words. Please continue to pray that we would have an impact in the lives of our students and in turn their families, that we would continue to live and work in peace with those around us, that the country of Malawi will remain peaceful, that we would continue to adjust to life here and all that entails, that we would stay healthy physically and spiritually, and that we will not be overcome with anxiety or worry.
And so until next time I will leave you with these wonderful Lyrics by Kristian Stanfill...
SPRING OF LIFE
In this life we will find 
We will be yearning
In this life we will find
The world won’t satisfy
In this life we will find
That we will be empty
Without you

Jesus you’re the well
That won’t run dry
Jesus you’re the drink
That satisfies
Living water spring of life
Jesus you’re the well
That won’t run dry

In this life we will find
We will be searching
In this life we will find
The world won’t satisfy
In this life we will find
That we will be hopeless
Without you

We will thirst no more thirst no more
When we drink from you drink from you
We will search no more search no more
When we drink from you drink from you

Also don't for get to read Allison's blog you can get to it here

A new language?

So it is not entirely necessary for us to learn Chichewa to survive here in Malawi, it is suggested that we learn some basic phrases and we are encouraged to try. The people here really appreciate that we put for the effort, and its fun... This, however, is not what I wish to discuss today.
The sweet students in my class all speak English, some as a second language possibly. But there are certain things that are simply not the same. Here are a few examples
*Pants are underwear... you wear trousers.
*The garbage can is a bin.
*A bookbag is a little plastic thing that you put books in... a backpack is what you put that plastic thing into and carry around.
*cookies... no such thing they are biscuits.
*sneakers, probably not even a real word its Sports shoes.
* A jersey, something you were while playing sports? No, it's your jacket or sweater
These are big ones for now... I am certain there are more. I am just glad that more sweet kindergarten class is so forgiving of their crazy teacher who doesn't even know what shoes are called or the difference between a book bag and and a backpack... Its just good times.
Not to much else in the way of new and exciting things here. I am sure there will be though... Until then keep praying we can feel those prayers more and more everyday!

A Joyful Sacrifice.

Survival... It seems that this is the only appropriate word for the end of our first week of school. Now, don't get me wrong this has been an excellent week. TONS of fun and exciting things have happened, but it has been quite a long week.
There are just some things that you cannot prepare for when you move to a new country and start a new job. So, as of today (Friday August 26) I have been in Malawi for 22 days. It really doesn't seem like its been that long... and it feels like its been much longer than that all at the same time. In those 22 days we have: started adapting to a new culture, moved into a house (mostly), met what seems like 8000 new people, been given 17KAZILLION new sets of rules and regulations that we should be following for everyday living as well as working, attempted to learn how to shop in Malawi, set up a classroom, prepared lesson plans, and taught a full week of classes. Thinking about all of this now is making me feel like I need to take a nap... It has been a very busy couple of weeks. It has also been a very emotional 22 days. Some days I wake up and am so excited about everything, other days I wake up and think "clearly, I am out of my mind for coming here, I want to go home!" Fortunately the exciting days far outweigh the crazy days. So, hopefully now that the first week of school is done we can move out of survival mode and start getting into a routine and simply start living life....

Okay okay I know that you want to know all about school so here it goes
Monday was an assembly day the kids came into the classroom for about 30 minutes and then we all went to the assembly. Then the day was over. PHEW! We finished up teacher orientation that afternoon and then took a NAP! A much needed nap I might add.
So Tuesday was our first full day in the classroom. In Kindergarten we still didn't do a whole lot as far a curriculum goes. But we spent a lot of time going over "how to be in kindergarten." It was a really good day to do things like... learn everyone's name and see personalities and other things like that. Unfortunately Tuesday night I came home without much of a voice.
Wednesday is when the fun really started. We started learning about the letter 'I' "I says iii INDIAN!" Ahhh! But really. I was glad the kids already knew what to say because my voice was still not really cooperating with me, but Praise the Lord we made it through the day. The kids were troopers listening closing and paying attention. Teaching here is very different from teaching in the states.
Thursday was pretty much the same, continuing to learn "how to have kindergarten" and working on our phonics, math, handwriting, science... all of it. I have told you before I am incredibly blessed to have Mrs. Mpata as a team teacher. She has been teaching with ABC for 8 years. She knows EVERYTHING and is AMAZING. Its very nice to have someone in the classroom who already knows the rules and routines and can focus on other things.... i tell you all of this because
FRIDAY Mrs. Mpata was sick! I feel the need to preface this all with the fact that my phone died in the middle of the night which means that my alarm did not go off this morning. I only woke up about 15 minutes late, but I was still stuck with that rushed feeling. My voice is on the fritz still as well. I was hoping that between the time I got to school and had to teach my first lesson I would have had time to pull myself together... No such luck. Mrs. Mpata was not there. My poor sweet class. I couldn't get their names straight, we were late for chapel, I didn't remember to count to 100 during calender time. But, they took it all in stride and they just help crazy Miss Weimer remember all the things we do in Kindergarten everyday. We made it! I am so grateful that I have a magnificent Savior who provides!
Needless to say it have been a very long very exciting week. I still have A LOT to learn and figure out, but everything is falling into place. I am very happy.

In other news. We have ants... I am still reminding myself everyday that they are not rats, and that is a blessing. I am still very stressed out by, even the thought of shopping here, our drying does not work (we even have two) and someone told Allison that if we hang our clothes out to dry flies will lay eggs on them and then they will burrow into our skin... NOT OKAY! Our tubs leak when we use them which is just good times. I am trying very hard to make sure everyone in my house takes their Malaria meds regularly. I still think it is very strange that when I wake up in the morning you all are just getting to bed and when I get home from school you all are waking up again.... some of you do not sleep enough!
And so here were are day 22. I am convinced that I would not have made it this far without the prayers and support of all of you. So please continue to pray. Pray that school would get easier, that we would continue to learn how to live here, that we will continue to live in peace with one another, that we will be healthy (you all know what this means.), and for continued financial support.

Until next time I am leaving you with this, but you should just read Philippians it is excellent!...

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Philippians 2. 14-18

Day 3 of Kindergarten!

Hopefully these pictures will be a sufficient blog entry for today

My first day of Kindergarten

That's right kids, today was my first day of kindergarten here in Malawi. I must admit that waking up before the sun comes up is definitely NOT my favorite thing in at all. However, I know myself well enough to know that I must wake up that early in order to be fully functional for school at 7:15.
Aside from that, I think I am going to like kindergarten very much. I met most of the kids in my class today, and they are wonderful and magnificent and beautiful and 17zillion other fun things. One little boy walked right into class stuck out his had and said "Good morning Miss Weimer." Naturally I responded "good morning, how are you today?" His response, "Fine thanks, and how are you?" The entire exchange was adorable and brilliant.
Anyway, for the first day of school we spent about 30 minutes in our room, we met the students and parents and helped the students find their cubbies and desks. Then they played for a few minutes before it was time to go to the assembly. We spend about 30 minutes in the assembly and that was the end of the day. So not an incredibly eventful first day, but I am certain tomorrow will be so stay tuned in for another of addition of the day in the life of a kindergarten teacher....

A successful day in Malawi

School starts MONDAY! Ahhh!!! Okay, really I'm ready for it kinda... as much as I can be... At this point we'll just have to see what happens, but I'm excited.
Today I met with the head teacher about what plans should look like and had a basic rundown of a day in kindergarten at ABCCA. It was really informative and wonderful. I spent the next several hours coloring things and doing all the fun things you get to do as a kindergarten teacher.
We also decided that we should probably go shopping today because we were starting to run low on some basic necessities, like.... bread. And since we don't want Allison to starve we thought bread would be good idea. So we ventured out on our own... well not really. Chris was here last year so she drove us around, but it was the first time we had gone out "just the roommates." We hit up all the shops and even the market. I may or may not have told you all this, but in order to complete your shopping list here in Malawi you have to visit at least three stores, possibly more. Today was the first day we were able to come home with everything that was on our list!! I am sure this seems very simple, but sometimes you just can't find things you're looking for. Just because Chipiku has something one week does not mean it will be there the next week or ever again for that matter. Its all very fun and exciting. But like I said today we came home with everything on our list. And that isn't even the most exciting part.
So, there is a fuel shortage here in Malawi. That basically means that there is only fuel every once in a while and when there is fuel EVERYONE needs/wants some. So, when there is even a rumor that a fuel truck might be coming in there will be a line 17zillion miles long at the gas station and down the road, around the corner... pretty much forever, BUT! today we decided that because it took forever (about 4 hours) to shop we would just pick up dinner at Steers (which is basically burgers or chicken sandwiches) and take it home. So while we were sitting and waiting on our dinner Chris thought she noticed some activity at the petrol (gas) station. So we decided when we left we would drive by and see what all the fuss was about. They had petrol!! We were the 4th car in line! That's amazing!! We were able to get a full tank of petrol, and we really needed it! We were so excited!!! We did wonderful little happy dances as we pulled out of the parking lot! A lot of the Malawians in line were laughing at us. It was excellent. I took some pictures on my phone so I'll have to see if I can figure out how to get those up, but Praise the Lord! It was a good thing we didn't want Allison to starve and we had to go out and shop. (she didn't even come. (: )
Other than all of that excitement, we're still just getting ready for school. Sometimes I feel a little bit guilty because my school prep involves making playdough and coloring while everyone else sits and work diligently on lesson plans. (that why Ogles couldn't come shopping ): ). I have to make lesson plans too, but mine are not as extensive as some others.
But we're really starting to get settled in Wednesday we were on a "lock down" of sorts because of possible demonstrations in town (they didn't end up happening) But we got a lot of things done. we cleaned up our house and organized things... so now we just need some curtains so that it can really start to feel like home.
Thanks so much, everyone, for your prayers and support. They are definitely felt here in Malawi. Please continue to pray. Pray for energy as school starts up, patience as we learn what we're doing here, health (NO MALARIA!), and for no anxiety!

Until next time

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

Ice Cream and Light Bulbs

Many of you may know that I REALLY like ice cream. I probably eat ice cream at least 5 days out of the week, if not more. Unfortunately, ice cream is hard to come by here in Malawi and when you can find it, it is extremely! expensive. But today we were out shopping and we happen to walk past some people buying an ice cream cone. We talked about if for all of about 2 seconds before deciding that we had to go in. AND they had ice cream for real and it was cheap and yummy!!!! We owe all of this to the AMAZING Kyser family who took us all around town today, as we attempted to find light bulbs.
This is where things get fun. As many of you may have read we have not had very many light bulbs in our house that work. So, today we were determined to get some. Now in Malawi there are two kinds of light bulbs, the twisty kind like we have in the states and then the push and twist kind. (apparently, similar to what you would put in your car) The push and twist kind are the more popular kind here, so naturally we have the twisty kind. I am pretty sure we went to five stores before finding and twisty light bulbs, and then buying as many as we could carry. This is something we have found to be incredibly fun here. You may find something one week, and not see again the next. You may have to travel to five different stores to finish your shopping list, and you still may come home a few items short. Its all very exciting. BUT! now we have lights! in our whole house, EVERYWHERE! Right now it is starting to get dark outside, but that's not bothering us today because we have a WORKING light bulb in our front room!
Today has been a very good day! We were able to get our video skype working and talk to Caleb for a bit this morning which was double exciting because we haven't seen him in a very long time. We went to our ABC orientation which was very informative and fun. Afterward we ate a traditional Malawian meal, which Allison and I both enjoyed (I know you're all shocked). And then the Kysers took us shopping and we learned how to get our coke crates filled, and we just saw a lot of things that we hadn't seen yet. Then we ate ice cream!!! and came home a put in all new light bulbs!!! Like I said it's been a great day!!! OH! and we found out our address here!! I don't really want to post it on the blog, but if you want it you can e-mail me at aly.weimer@gmail.com and I will be sure and send it to you. Please continue to pray for health, safety, peace of mind, and financial support.

Until next time....

adjusting

I am really no good with change. Why I thought that would be any different in the middle of Africa, I .have no idea. However, I am adjusting. Possibly one of the most difficult things right now is simply learning what can be fixed, and what we're probably going to have to live with because we're in Africa. For example, we only have light bulbs in half of our house right now. This can, and will, be fixed very soon. On the other hand, if you even think about leaving that little crumb laying on the counter there will be no less then 17,000 ants coming for it before you finish your thought. This we will have to live with, but if that is our biggest problem I think we'll be okay.
So here we are, a lot of the novelty of being in Africa is beginning to wear off and we're ready to be settled in and adjusted. I don't think any of us are expecting this to happen over night, we're smarter than that, but we're beginning to feel the frustrations and anxieties that come with being in a new place. Allison and I are incredibly blessed to know each other, as well as the Kysers. I can't imagine being here all by myself, and not know one person. Having people that you already know and that are familiar is something that I don't think we'll take for granted. Please continue to pray that things will get easier, and that feelings of anxiety and worry will not overtake life here. Also pray that we stay healthy (NO MALARIA!) and continue to adjust here in Malawi.
"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Ever so slightly overwhelmed

I assumed that as some point this would probably happen, and to be honest I am glad it is happening early as opposed to later when I am standing in front of a room full of 5 and 6 year olds. Nonetheless this past few days have proven to be quite an overwhelming adventure.
If you've been keeping up with Allison you are pretty up to date on what has happened, but here is a brief run down... Sunday we went to the church here on campus it was good, it felt a little like being at home. We were also able to meet a lot of people, honestly I don't remember many of their names. Hopefully that won't be as much of an issue in the near future. Later we slept... A LOT! Then we went and had dinner with the Carlisle family. They were amazing! They made pancakes! And since, neither of us had much of an appetite until this evening they graciously allowed us to eat them out of house and home.
Monday we went up to the school for the first time to see our classrooms and get acquainted with things there. That is where the fun begins. School starts in two weeks and there is so much to do. I have been incredibly blessed with a team teacher, Mrs. Jean Mpata. Basically, this means that I am not in charge of my entire class alone we will share all of the teaching responsibilities. What a blessing!! We were also able to meet Craig, who is also working at the school this year. We decided that it would be a good idea to have him over for dinner. This may or may not have been a good idea considering this was our first night cooking on our own. We managed, and actually didn't do to badly. Allison posted some pictures so you should go look at them.
Tuesday was another day up at the school, I was able to start going through cabinets and looking at the plethora of resources I have to work with. Everything I think I could ever dream of needing as a kindergarten teacher is already in my room. So I worked at looking this over and looking at old lesson plans activities that will prove to be very helpful.
Today has been a very good and crazy day. I woke up earlyish... really it was just not 11, and headed straight for school. I spent most of the morning continuing to go through the cabinets and look over lesson plans and really start thinking about what the first few weeks of school with look like. Later I attended a very informative meeting on actually making lesson plans, and running a classroom. Like I said, very informative, but at some point all of the information is just a bit much. Although most of our things are not here yet most of our ABCCA boxes were sent over on the first crate and today we were able to dig into those. There was so much stuff it was amazing! I was finally able to put up some decorations in my room. It is finally starting to look like a classroom. Allison came and helped me move things and put up decorations and mainly keep me from going insane. She may regret that now, but I was glad to did.
Tonight we cooked our second meal! Spaghetti. It was delicious. (yes, we did skip Tuesday, we opted for cereal) We have also been trying very hard to work on lesson plans and get things ready for when school actually starts.
Looking at this blog again, it doesn't seem like there is too much to be concerned with, but it really can be a bit terrifying at times. The amount of work that still has to be done feels like a daunting task at times, but I am excited to do it. I feel like this is finally starting to "be real" and maybe that is the most terrifying thought. For anywhere from 6 to 9 months we've been talking about "moving to Africa" and all that may or may not entail. And now we're here! The first wave of shock has worn off a bit and we're settling in to our home and now work is the next big step. Like I said, I am excited about all of the things in store, but I am still ever so slightly overwhelmed at what has to happen.

Day 2 in Malawi

So far so good. The only thing that has gone terribly wrong is the lock on the bathroom door. I am sure many of you have heard from Ogles, and it is true, I was locked in the bathroom. Not for long, but long enough to know not to lock the bathroom door any more. Good times. The container has not arrived yet, but there is rumor that it will be here Monday or Tuesday. That would be wonderful. It may also be terribly overwhelming, but we'll deal with that when it gets here.
It was wonderful to sleep in a real bed last night! Even if the mosquito net is a bit strange. With a little imagination everything was fine. (also be sure to read Allison's blog allisoninmalawi.blogspot.com) We didn't wake up until about 8:30 this morning which was amazing! We woke up just in time to head to the market with Becca and Carson. They were wonderful considering the three of us had no clue what was happening.
The market was fun, everyone wants to sell you things and help you carry your things... it was a little overwhelming but fun non the less. I am pretty sure we made it out with everything we needed without getting suckered too badly. Then we went to a little shop where we picked up most everything else we needed. It was a little overwhelming as well, but I think we'll figure it out quickly. Like I said Becca and Carson were helpful as we attempted to figure things out.
After a lovely time shopping we came home and cleaned our kitchen... kinda. We're still working on that. We finished unpacking things... mostly. We still have a bit to do. Really we're just hanging out and taking it all in. Everything is wonderful. There are always people around, and you can hear them talking or walking along. No one seems stressed out or worried. Just taking their time and enjoying life. Its wonderful, everywhere should be like this.
We had a visit today from some of the older girls on campus today, they were also able to provide us with some helpful information from a different perspective.
Tonight we had dinner with the amazing Kyser family! I love them all they're wonderful. Even though they have only been here for about six weeks they provide wonderful information. The feelings of being the new kid on the block are still fresh and they are still trying to figure things out so its nice to have someone to do that with. We enjoyed a lovely dinner during our first experience with no power. Luckily it was at the Kyser's house and they were prepared. I think we have three candles in our house at the moment... that could have been fun...
Tomorrow we'll head to the church here on campus which I'm sure will hold many adventures. We are getting settled in nicely and I hope we'll be able to adjust to everything else just as well.

I do not think I like traveling...

Hello again!
I am certain you have all been wondering what happened over the past several days, and to be perfectly honest I am wondering the same thing. The following is what I do know about what happened...
Tuesday morning I loaded myself up into my car and drove to Jackson to meet up with Allison, Liz, and Amber. We had planned to just hang out and enjoy the weekend sense Ammie was back from Peru finally. That was all very lovely. We hung out with lots of wonderful friends from school and we got to see Ashley and Tim and of course sweet baby Isaac. (Sweet baby Isaac is definitely not a baby anymore. :( ) We had so much fun doing nothing really, but it was fun.
Wednesday, the BIG day. The combination anxiety and excitement made for a horribly long day. We survived though. We headed to the airport around 3pm, and with the help from the amazing Mrs. Jan we were checked in by 5pm. Yes, all of that is correct a speedy 2 hour check in process. We said goodbye to our parents and headed off, no turning back! We left out of Jackson, so naturally our flight was delayed causing some stress (not much though) over whether we would make our connection in Dallas. We did. Praise the Lord. We didn't have much time, but we made it and thats all that matters.
At some point on our way from Dallas to London it turned into Thursday. This would have been much less unfortunate if we had been able to sleep well. But, we didn't which made our lovely 7 hour layover in London... not so lovely. We did strange things and slept in airport chairs and blinked stupidly at people until it was finally time for our flight. London to Jo-Burg 10 hours...
Once again at some point in turned into Friday this was a little bit better, but we were still incredibly sleepy. In Jo-Burg we met up with Katie who is another teacher at ABC this year. I felt bad because Allsion and I weren't much for conversation during our layover there... we eventually woke up a bit, but not really. Once we boarded our FINAL FLIGHT from Jo-Burg to Lilongwe... i don't really remember I slept from before take-off almost until we landed, it was lovely. We made it through immigration and customs and baggage claiming and everything else without any problems and were met at the airport by lovely people from ABC who bought us to our house!
All we have really done is make a mess... Most of my stuff still needs to be unpacked a put away, we had dinner with a family here at ABC and now I have spent most of the night trying to update everyone on our progress thus far.
So here I am very sleepy, but very excited in Malawi.

8 DAYS!

Well it has been a while since I have posted and updated everyone. In some ways things have been crazy, but at the same time not a whole lot has happened. I did have the opportunity to spend a week in Louisville, KY at a youth convention a few weeks ago. While many aspects of this were tough (I was in charge of planning the event for the Mississippi District) and there were a several negative attitudes, including my own, and a lot of stress in planning the event as well as dealing with things on the Africa side of life. BUT despite all of that it was a really excellent week, I was able to get past a lot of the mermermer parts of the event and really seek God and hear from Him in a way that really filled me spiritually at a time when I really need it. I also had the opportunity to realize how much I have grown and learned to rely on God for His peace and timing in my life. All in all a successful week. Once that was all over I really just had a few weeks of down time to hang out with my family are start seriously thinking about packing... Well I may not have started yet, but I am getting there. I was able to share my "Africa Testimony" with my church last week. That was such a huge blessing. I think it was also a bit of a reality check in regards to what a big decision this really is.
We have found out so much information in the last few days it is almost overwhelming. I will definitely be teaching kindergarten which is excellent! Who doesn't love kindergartners? I will also be teaching a ballet class which will be fun as well! Allison and I will be living in a house with two other girls, Chris and Katie, and that is just the start of the information! All of it is wonderful! Now it's all about packing! mmm that'll be fun, and by fun I mean CRAZY! Well, that's the update for now please continue to pray for peace in Malawi, a stress free packing and preparing experience, and faith and peace as for Allison and I as well as our families as we continue on this great adventure!

Until next time
"These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here." John 14:25-31

AUGUST 3rd

It is always amusing to see how things play out... at some point when you tell people you are moving it seems the only thing they can ask from then on is when you will be going. However, if you don't know when you're leaving you just have to smile and say " I dunno..." then there is a moment of freaking out because you have been reminded that you don't really know anything about your life. So clearly the logical solution is to pick a random date and start telling everyone that is when you're leaving. That is what Allison and I decided to do anyway. We pick August 3rd, doesn't that sound like a lovely day? Every times someone would ask "when are you leaving" we would say August 3rd despite that fact that we had not even contacted a travel agent yet.
About a month later we finally managed to remember that we needed to get plane tickets and have a date that we were actually going to leave. So Allison, because she is awesome, e-mailed them and they returned her e-mail with the date August 3rd! around 6pm (I realize I have posted this date already, but the story is just too exciting) Yesterday we paid for our tickets, which means that now there is NO turning back we've begun getting our shots the tickets are paid for and most of our stuff is halfway to Malawi!!! Ahhh! we're going and it's going to be GREAT!!!

As always your prayers and support are appreciated.

T-shirts

This is what the design on the shirt will look like, and they will be printed on a shirt roughly this color. They are $12 for child sizes through adult XL ($2 more for larger sizes). If you would like one please feel free to call, text or e-mail me.

228.238.2137

aly.weimer@gmail.com

Thank you all so much for your prayer and support

To God be the glory!

It is becoming very difficult for me to remember that the summer is still young, so much has happened already this summer. What is on my mind right now, however, is the week that just past. I had the ever enjoyable (well mostly enjoyable :D) privilege of going with the youth group from our church to camp. Now, to be perfectly honest I was absolutely dreading the zillion hour road trip in a church bus full of stinky boys windy through the mountains. Some how I managed to survive, and what happened when we arrived at camp was absolutely worth every second of that insane ride up.
I never cease to be amazed and encouraged to see God working in the lives of teenagers. They are always so passionate about what is happening, and while I am not old it is extremely exciting to see kids that I have watched grow up becoming such incredible men and women of God. And while this week at camp had its struggles, I am certain that it was where I was supposed to be. I cannot even put into words how blessed I have been by the people from Crossroads and the things that are happening in their lives individually and as a church community.
I suppose how all of this really relates to my upcoming trip is this. Many of you may know that recent my life has been frequently plagued with anxiety and worry. This is something that I have had to turn over to God time and time again. I have no idea why, but this is one of the most difficult struggles I have, and with this calling and decision to move to Malawi those feelings have been even more apparent. One night at camp this week we concluded the evening in a time of prayer preparing ourselves for communion, and spending time in the presence of God. The moving of the Spirit that night was so apparent it was overwhelming, but as I sat and and prayed I was overcome by the presence knowledge that my God loved me more than I know and would never leave me. We had the option to write on a piece of paper whatever it was that we were turning over to God and then throw it into a fire pit as a symbol of the release. I walked over to the table and I wrote WORRY on a piece of paper. As I walked out to the fire pit I was terrified of what it might mean to truly turn over to God what seems to have become an almost comforting part of who I am, but I threw that paper into the fire I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace like I cannot even describe. I desperately wish that putting thoughts into written words was a gift of mine. I would love nothing more than to recount every aspect of what has happened since we pulled out of the parking lot last Sunday afternoon. The Lord moved while we were at camp and it is most definitely not stopping at the camp. The lives saved, stories told, and the spirit moving is something I hope everyone experiences.

"And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?"

We're really doing this!

I cannot remember the last time I was this excited! Last week Allison, being the wonderful person she is, began to correspond with the travel agency. NOW WE HAVE TICKETS! We'll be flying out August 3rd around 6:30. It is such a crazy feeling knowing that this is really going to happen... it seems like now all there is to do is wait. That is most definitely not true, but it kinda is. We really have to a lot of things like pray and raise support and pack and do all of the things that come with moving across the world... whatever that means. :) But, like I said I am very excited and I have people to catch up with and things to do and fun to have before I go. mmmh.... this is going to be so amazing!
As always your prayers and encouragement are much appreciated.

Do you think we'll need this?

This, my friends, is a phase I heard or said many many many times a few weeks ago. Allison and I decided that it would be a really great idea to meet up in Jackson with our mothers and do one great big shopping trip for Africa. Now, in theory, this makes perfect sense. This way we don't end up with several of the same thing and we can have matching stuff and all that. However, when you start shopping for stuff for two people to live on for two year things quickly become a bit overwhelming. Not to mention that neither of us has been to Africa be so we have no clue what kind of things we may or may not what, need, or have while there. We were incredibly blessed by the Kysers who came along and answered many of our questions.
While the trip was somewhat overwhelming it was also a great time to just hang out and talk and prepare for what is to come. We may have accomplished more in that single weekend than we have over our entire college careers. Now it seems that we are in this very strange, mostly anxiety filled place. We have several boxes mostly packed and several more waiting to be filled and stuff everywhere it seems. This has however provided an incredible opportunity for us to lean of God more and more and to trust him and rest in his peace when life seems CRAZY.
This packing and preparing has also served up a large dose of reality that I am not certain either of us were really expecting, but once again I think it has been good. I know that my God is faithful and I can rest in that promise. At time the whole process seems a bit overwhelming, I feel that at any moment I may cry uncontrollably simply for the sake of getting it out. To this point however there have been very few tears (believe it not friends). I am so incredibly excited about all of this! I cannot wait to start this journey, but that doesn't mean that getting there is going to be bubbles and sunshine. BUT tomorrow we get to take all of the boxes covered in our names and infamous "R" Dinosaur and put them in a warehouse where they will leave from and be shipped to Malawi. Hopefully this will relieve an significant amount of stress from life if nothing else. All in all we're doing good, we have somehow managed to life here and prepare for there without dividing the two completely (which I was very concerned about). I am excited, I am terrified, I am inspired, I am scared and a host of other emotions, but I am looking forward to what God has planned for the next two years.

Until next time...
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

She's right, you know

Allison, that is. To get the whole story you'll have to start here: http://allisoninmalawi.blogspot.com/ ... but... WE'RE MOVING TO AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I realize we've been saying this for a while now but tonight we got the official text message (this is the 21st century, after all) from Mrs. Jan saying that Allison and I have full board approval and we will in fact be moving to Malawi. This text message will of course be followed by a more formal letter, but for now its what we have! Ahhh! This is crazy! Hopefully letters will be going out soon and you'll have more info than you could ever imagine. Thanks in advance for prayers and support.

Until next time...

This Morning...

But really! This morning I got a call from one of the board members at ABC! He basically just wanted to make sure that I didn't have any questions and let me know that they're working on my paper work and such! I am so excited Ahhh!

Just a quick update...

We have basically received our "official" confirmation. It kind of long and complicated, but basically we're going. SO now we just have to do all the crazy things that come with that. Ogles and I have already started buying a few things that we think we'll need in Malawi, and we've started getting shots and doing all of that. By the way I am not thrilled about the 17 thousand shots we must have in order to leave. But I'll get them probably without a smile on my face, but I'll do my best. We've set up a big shopping date with our moms in order to get the rest of the things we'll be sending over and we're just continuing to pray that everything comes together. Support letters will be going out very soon, and we'll have to start looking at purchasing plane tickets as well. Ahhh! We're still extremely excited and just waiting to see what will happen as we continue to get ready to go. As always your prayers are appreciated

Until next time...

"In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?" Psalm 56:4

How this all started.

This my dear friends is shaping up to be an extremely true statement, and I am thoroughly excited about it! I believe that for many of you this will be a rather shocking statement... don't worry it was for me too, but as I tell you this story you may find that there is no way that our fantastic God is not putting this together.

I suppose this all started when Lauren, a girl from my church serving in Tanzania, came and spoke at church about what she was doing there. Later that same week she showed up at small group, and shared in more detail what she was doing in Tanzania and what God was teaching her through that. During these times that she spoke I felt God clearly calling me to go and do something in Africa.... I think we all know that I ignored this. Fortunately, about this same time Ogles, you can read about her here: http://allisoninmalawi.blogspot.com/, was really sensing that God was calling her to work in Africa as well. So it was rather hard to ignore God telling me to do something when someone so close to me is constantly talking about if .For this, I am grateful. At some point in all of this I began to really pray about what serving in Africa would look like for me and how that would happen.

One evening we ran into the Kyser family at wal-mart and they started telling us all about their plans to move to Malawi and how God had called them there. Personally, I was excited and ready to go... I like to believe i hid this well, but others may have a different story so... yeah. So about a week later Ogles came home from the Open house she had been to at the Kyser's at crawled into my bed and started telling me all about ABC, which you can read all about here http://africanbiblecolleges.org/, and her plans to go... After what I think was at least an hour, if not two...I finally said well Ogles I've been praying about going to Africa... and I told her that my devotion early that week had been about Jesus sending his disciples out in pairs to serve together. At this point I was still just praying and looking into ABC. However, I was out one afternoon picking up a book my mom asked me to bring home and I was just browsing the store when I came across a collection of C. S. Lewis' books all bound in one book... I picked it up and thumbed through it and said to myself, "this will be really convenient for when I go to Africa." I then book the book down and left the store immediately.

Over Thanksgiving I continued to look into ABC, and I talked my mom and let her know that I was seriously considering moving to Malawi to work with ABC after I graduated college... and that was about it. When we went back to school everything really started falling into place. Ogles and I were able to have dinner with Jan Harper who is wonderful and works for ABC. Another girl that is currently serving with ABC came to eat with us as well. It was a wonderful evening of being able to ask questions and simply learn more about what we would be doing and how that would work.

This is my favorite story to date... Ogles and I had been out with Max finishing up some Christmas shopping at Barnes and Noble when we came across the Nook... and after looking at it for a while we we decided that should we go to Malawi we should invest in a Nook, because books are simply impractical in Africa. Later that evening we were talking to Ammie about our plans to get a Nook. Ammie went to class the next day and a girl in her class had just purchased a Nook and was telling them all how wonderful it was. Ammie told them that Ogles and I were thinking about getting one for when we moved to Africa. Another woman in her class asked her if we were planning to missionaries there and if it would be possible for her Sunday school class to purchase the Nook for us as a mission project. Ammie told her that she could get in touch with us and figure out more about it. That was on a Monday. The following Wednesday the woman handed Ammie an envelope with $277 in it for Ogles and I to get a Nook! Oh my STARS! What a wonderful reminder of the promise of God's provision in everything that we do! I am so excited about how God is growing and teaching me.

To bring everyone up to speed I have sent in my application and believe that all of my references have been turned in as well. Everything seems to be falling into place and I am simply waiting for official confirmation from ABC. There is still much support raising and preparing to be done, but for now I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers as God leads me down this journey.