Malawi Bound

So....yeah, the title says it all! You knew it was coming, didn't you? Well, we sent out a wave of prayer letters last week and so I feel like it is "official" but something inside me feels like it isn't an "official" life-altering announcement until I post it on my blog! And so, here it is...Saturday @ 11:30pm and I can't seem to go to sleep until this blog is posted...I can't let another day go by without some closure to what I have been wanting to do all week...post the "we are moving to Malawi" post!

I was listening to a Rob Bell message today in the car when I was driving and he summed up what I felt my message has been the last couple of months. (Rob, how do you always know how to do that?) He said, "Jesus tells us just to follow Him...He doesn't promise us anymore than that." Wow...so true. And so, as Daniel and I try to obediently follow Him in our everyday lives, we have heard the calling and felt the nudge to take the next step in our faith-journey--in our marriage together, with our family's future on hold and with our family and friend's support and blessing...we are excited to announce that we will be moving for 12 months to Malawi, Africa in July 2009!

This journey for us started way back when we were dating and talking about the "M" word...marriage. At that time I was living with another couple from our church, Jonathan and Kayla. As Daniel and I prayed about our future and about one day serving overseas together, Jonathan and Kayla were also praying and wrestling with the same thoughts about living in another country. The four of us started to engage in conversations about this topic periodically over the last 2 years, and eventually it turned into "quite often". For a long time we had no idea where or when. Watershed, our church community, and Equitas, the non-profit organization that Kayla and Daniel are board members on, started to really focus on Malawi, Africa this past spring through several projects. To make a long story short, our hearts and souls started beating hard for this country that we have never been to, and for her people that we have yet to meet. We resonate strongly with the idea that God has blessed us so that we may also be a blessing to others and feel like there is not a better time to do this but now.

There are many questions and not many answers at this point as to what exactly we will be doing in Malawi, but the main thing is that we will be taking on new initiatives and plans to reach the youth in the city of Balantyre, we will also be supporting the mission there with administrative and project planning skills.

There are many details, questions and emotions that will be leading up to our departure in the summer.But for today I know that I am to "follow Him" and He will fulfill the details, provide the answers and calm the emotions. For more information on our upcoming African adventure visit our website www.mccollumsinmalawi.com