Merry Christmas

I can't believe Christmas 2010 is over...so sad. I'm contemplating putting away all the ornaments and decorations today, but I just don't want to. I love Christmas!

We had such a wonderful week together here in Charlotte. Of course, no baby yet, but as inpatient as I was last week to have to the baby, I'm glad that he/she held off. It was just so nice to have spent one more Christmas just the two of us. Our Christmas' will never be the same from the point on.

Anyone sentimental like I am? At every holiday I always have these moments of remembering back to where we were last year...what we were doing...who was with us...what was the biggest highlight, etc. Well..I thought I would share a few comparative pictures.

Christmas 2009--Malawi, Africa. So funny that we are sporting strappy dresses and short-sleeves. IT WAS HOT!

Christmas day walk--through the tea plantations on Mt. Mulanje in Malawi. We were lost for like 4 hours trying to find this lagoon...but the views were breath-taking.

the many waterfalls...so pretty!

then..we got caught in this massive rainstorm on our 4 hour walk...ahh, it felt nice after the heat.

my "bestie" and I--so grateful to have experienced Malawi with our dear friends, Kayla and Jonathan.
SO....FAST FORWARD to Christmas 2010...

and here we are--me and McBaby at 39.5 weeks. Ah, no pics of Daniel and I together this year..bummer.

Our day-after-Christmas walk this year was a snowy one...we were so excited to see snow yesterday! It has been 2 years for us since we've seen the white, fluffy stuff.

Here's a picture of Daniel--cleaning off the cars! I love him!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Contemplating HOPE

I was asked to guest blog on our church's blog. Here's the link if you are interested in reading.

Waiting Game

This post is mainly for Judy...the rest of you can enjoy as well. :) Judy, I know you've been wanting to see "after" pictures of our house since our re-do this summer. I've wanted to post pics, but truly I feel like each room has to be PERFECT before posting "after" pictures. I'm realizing, though, that living in a house means that the small projects list is ongoing! So, let's consider this post as the first of many before/after posts on the house.

And so I introduce to you our nursery. Let me just warn you, as I will in each room post of the house, that the "before" pictures are very scary. We bought the house 3 years ago as part of our business and had renters in it every since. It was interesting this summer when we moved back from Malawi and started prepping the house for all the work, that we found this beautiful (enter sarcasm) mural on the wall in our baby's room. We tried to figure it out...but really just chalked it up to weird renters. I'm sure, if left (like we every would), it would lead to crazy nightmares for our little one.

More of the "befores".


And then, after moving in and pouring all our energy and time into the other rooms, the baby's room ended up being the storage room for a few months. Everything we didn't want in the other rooms or didn't know what to do with ended up piled high into the room. We seriously couldn't even walk in at one point. Tell me we're not the only one who has ever done this. :)

Ok...so here are the "after" pictures. There are still some things I want to put on the walls probably after the baby is born so I can add either a boy or girl touch to the room. I made the curtains and bed-skirt myself as well as the origami mobile and framed quote over the changing table. I love the rocking chair that I got for $100...I'm not a huge fan of slipcovers only because of all the wrinkles and tucks...but, you know, some things you just have to deal with for a higher comfort level.


The last picture is just a boring pic of the side of the room with the closet. I do love the antique armoire that we have tucked into the corner nook. I was going to get rid of it this summer, but glad I decided to keep it for storage. One thing about an older, small house in the city..storage is limited. I also love the bassinet that our friend is letting us borrow for a few months..so cute. Right now the bassinet is holding the car-seat. The bins to the right are Christmas bins, just hanging out for a few more weeks until we pack away the tree and decorations.

Well...that's it for the nursery tour. Hope you liked it. Stay tuned for other after posts. McBaby and I are at 38 weeks now...so now we wait.

Decision Made

Back to baby news...it seems that is where my mind is every minute these days...oh, wait, not as much today since we've had car drama! Ah, there is never a perfect time for car problems. Thankfully we seem to have found a great deal on a Honda Pilot that we are going to check out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Ok..so I'm here to tell you that I have finally made a decision on curtain fabric for the nursery. After too many conversations, holding up fabric swatches, scouring fabric sites, looking for the best deal, indecisive moments, phone calls to my mom...ah, I finally decided and ordered the yardage that I needed. I forced myself to make a decision on Cyber Monday when I found some great deals and sale sites.

So...drum roll please...


Michael Miller is the designer...and I just love his prints, colors, fabric! I wasn't even going for a "theme" in this room...I just knew that I wanted more of a yellow/gray room so that it could go either way for a girl or boy. But, after seeing this fabric and already having a few giraffe items from Africa...I decided that this was it. I love the contemporary design and colors..and love that I can incorporate some African items in the room...since that is where McBaby's journey started. I hope he/she loves it.

World AIDS Day 2010

I've been thinking about Malawi all day today! (Not that it is ever far from my mind!) But there are so many that we met that were/are affected by the HIV/AIDS disease. Equitas, one of our favorite non-profits, asked me to be a guest blogger on their site. Here is the link to check out...it is a short, concise blog post..but one that brings hope and love in the midst of this awful and dark disease.

Read my post HERE!

Baby, Baby...

I love this picture! We had a friend take some pictures of us last week--mostly to have one or two to use for Christmas cards, but she also took a few "belly" pics as well. I didn't want to take professional "belly" pics...I know a lot of people do and they turn out so cute. Practically speaking for me, I just don't know what exactly I would do with a bunch of professional pictures of my belly. So...I'm thankful now I have a few for memory sake. I do love this picture...the frame was a cute idea.

In other baby news--I had my baby shower today! It was such an amazing morning with amazing women, most of who have known me through my single years, married years, supported us in Malawi and now...now, supporting us in becoming parents! This shower deserves a separate post...so more to come when my girlfriend sends me a few pictures.

"McBaby" is doing well. We are 6 1/2 weeks away from D-day...though I know we will go longer..I'm already mentally preparing for like first week in January. :) We were looking and sharing pictures with Daniel's grandparents the other night of our Malawian adventures and I saw myself in pre-baby pictures and almost forgot what I looked like without this growing stomach of mine. So funny--I'm looking forward to those days again, but this time with baby in hand. I can't wait.

Counting it Down

8 more weeks until "McBaby's" due date! To say that I have been flooded with varying emotions is an understatement! It still feels so surreal that we are going to have a little baby to care for in a few short months!


Here I am last week at 31 weeks. I think this maybe the only time in my life that I feel comfortable wearing stripes--you know? I love that they show off my roundness even more. ha ha.

Pregnancy has been great--I can't complain at all. I've really enjoyed every step of it. Well, except for the nights that I have a difficult time sleeping...I think that must be natures way of getting me prepared for the months/years ahead.

When we returned home in July, Daniel and I made the important decision to use a midwife and birth at a nearby birth center vs. the hospital/DR route. It has been one of the most peaceful decisions that we have ever made. We are constantly amazed by the care and attention that our midwife gives us at each visit. On top of that--we are currently taking the Bradley class for natural childbirth--man, it is empowering. I love it too that they speak/teach equally to the husband and include him in the whole process. It has been so fulfilling and enlightening to learn more about our bodies, how God made them and the way our bodies know how to relax and birth. We are excited (and a little nervous) about the whole journey that will be underway in a few months--but mostly excited to hold our little one in the end. (for the skeptics out there--there is a hospital nearby just in case...I know some worry about that.)

Baby room pics and house pics to come soon...I've been negligent on that front since I have yet to put up curtains. Just blinds make for boring pics!

25 Weeks

Not much to really report in baby news area...except that McBaby and I are getting bigger by the day, at least that's how it seems to me. Here we are at 25 weeks. Facebook correction: for some reason I said I was 26 weeks on Facebook the other day...where is my head? Nope, only 25 weeks. 25 WEEKS!! I can't believe how quickly the time has flown. I can almost hear all you moms out there shaking your head and saying, "just wait for those last couple of weeks"...I know, I know!

I think what really gets me is that I only have 15 more weeks to go. Translation: 15 more weeks until Christmas! There is so much to do before McBaby makes his/her appearance. Like--clean out his/her room. Since we've moved into the house the baby's room has been the throw-every-box-that-we-don't-feel-like-opening room! Ugh. I've been doing a nanny-gig for the month of September along with a few substituting gigs...so as soon as I have a free day to have to myself I am heading into that room with some serious gumption and ambition! I can kind of see my vision for the room and can't wait to decorate.

In other decorating news--the rest of the house, well, let's be honest, the kitchen, dining, living and guest bath are coming together! Daniel has become quite the DIY project guru...our whole kitchen is his very own DIY project. Before (aka scary) pics and after pics to come soon...it's a pretty incredible transformation if I do say so myself.

So that's really our surface update. Under-surface update: we've been dealing with a lot of emotions being back and adjusting to life in America again...not just America but life in general. It is amazing how much a year in a simple, slow and loving culture can "mess" you up in a good way. Maybe I'll share more in another post later.

19 weeks...seriously

I can't believe that I'm already 19 weeks...sheesh, time flies the first half of pregnancy. I'm sure it will start slowing down towards the end when I am HUGE and uncomfortable. :)

This past month has been a whirlwind. We are still homeless and living out of our suitcase...okay, the homeless part isn't actually true, but the living out of our suitcases is very true. We've been working hard on the house remodel and are so anxious for Saturday aka Moving Day to come. Plus, I can't wait to post before and after pics of our little house, but I'll wait until it's totally complete. Just to warn you, the before pics are very scary!

We did take some time out of our house remodel schedule to visit with my family in Northern VA. What a fun time we had...especially all the time we spent with our 4 nieces and 1 nephew. When we left last year for Malawi, we had 4 nieces total (3 on my side and 1 on Daniel's side). This year Nicholas was born (nephew on Daniel's side), Ethan(nephew on my side) and Ava (niece on my side just born 2 weeks ago)! Babies, babies everywhere!

Speaking of babies...our "McBaby" is never far from my mind. We had our first midwife appointment this afternoon. It was so fun especially since we were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. (Our doctor didn't have that technology in Malawi.) What a beautiful noise...so sweet.

Well...I promise to do a better job at blogging on here...pics of our house to come soon! :)

Made in Malawi

We brought home a little souvenir from Malawi...We're having a BABY!

15 weeks into this pregnancy and I still can't believe it. We found out about our new little one at the end of April and quickly decided that we would keep it a secret until we got home to the USA to tell our family and friends in person. That's the longest time I've ever been able to keep a secret about myself. :)

"McBaby", as we are playfully calling him/her in the meantime, is currently due December 30th. I've had so many questions the last couple of days about how I feel now and how I felt during my first trimester in Malawi. I'm not going to lie, once I saw that the 6 pregnancy tests that I took all were positive (yes, 6 that's right...I couldn't believe it and plus the tests in Malawi are SO cheap!) I started to freak out a little bit about enduring through my 1st trimester in a 3rd world country. But all went well...God protected me and gave me a safe and healthy couple of months. I was really tired and definitely nauseous at times but no extreme sickness to report...and for that I am very, very thankful. It would have been difficult to end my year in Malawi holed up in the bathroom. And just in case you are wondering, because I know that some of you are, I had a few bottles of pre-natal vitamins sent over from the US and have been faithful in taking those. I also saw a doctor in Malawi a few times and had 2 sonograms taken. You really just can't pass up sonograms that cost only $30 out of pocket with no insurance...and only $10 out of pocket to see a doctor. Those days are long gone now.

It has been a very fun week seeing all our family and friends again after being gone for a year...and being able to share our baby news with everyone in person. We're 15 weeks along and I feel great...most days I don't even feel pregnant. Is this normal at 15 weeks? It's kind of a scary/weird feeling to tell people you're pregnant when you don't even feel pregnant...I wonder at times if I am making it all up in my head.

Then, I look at this sweet little pic of my McBaby! It was so fun to do this sonogram the last week we were in Malawi (taken @ 12 weeks). The doctor put the wand on my stomach, wiggled it around and all of a sudden on the screen Daniel saw the baby dancing around and doing laps around my uterus. It was so crazy to see it move so much but to not feel it inside of me. The Indian and Malawian docs and nurses were in awe watching an "azungu" (Chichewa for white) baby. (I literally had 6 people in the sonogram room...so much for personal space.)

I guess to sum up this post...God is good. As we say in Chichewa "Yesu wabwino". Daniel and I remember clearly a late night conversation we had 2 years ago when we were trying to decipher God's prodding in our lives to go to Malawi...we had strong desires to start a family even at that time. However, we felt like God was clearly asking us to sacrifice those baby desires to go and serve in Malawi for a year. So, with tears in my eyes I told Daniel (and God) that I would put those baby dreams on hold for His Kingdom. My heart is truly overwhelmed now at God's goodness, love and provision for us in His timing.

I'm sure that this is just the start to the many McBaby posts in the coming months. Thanks for reading and letting me share my story and thoughts about this new little one.

Home Again...Home Again

Home again, home again!

We've arrived home again in Charlotte! Well, not really to our home..we are staying with my in-laws for a few weeks while we fix up our house that we are moving into...stay tuned, I'm so excited for this new place!

We arrived into Washington Dulles this afternoon and had about a 4 hour layover--perfect amount of time to go to dinner with my family! What a reunion we had! It was so special to meet my little nephew, Ethan, that was born in January and to kiss and hug on my 3 nieces! Our newest niece is expected to make her appearance any day now.

Ethan and his Auntie--meeting for the first time!

Tio Daniel and Anna...she's gotten so big this year, ready for Kindergarten in the fall!

So then it was off again on the last leg of our journey to Charlotte. Our flight arrived around 10:30pm. We were only expecting our parents to be at the airport...but what a surprise it was to walk down the stairs to the baggage claim area and see some of our closest friends in addition to our parents and brother and sister in law! Let's just say that there were lots of tears and a bazillion hugs to go around! We really are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends!

I should really shut down the computer and head to sleep now--it is 2am after all. (But really its 8am Malawi time.) Oh how I hate time change..I'm going to be paying for it tomorrow! Good to be back on fast-speed internet, blog world!

3 Weeks & Counting

That's right...only 3 weeks away from our departure! I really can't believe that we have been here for 10 months already...some days it seems like we have been here for ages. There is just so much about this country that I will miss...mostly our new Malawian friends...oh, what a sad day it will be to say goodbye. The only good thing about goodbyes is knowing that I will see that person again. However, the sad part is that there's no promise that we will be back to Malawi, at least any time soon.

So much to do in the next 3 weeks...selling our household items, packing up, saying goodbyes, doing a few last minute sight-seeing adventures, etc.

After departing Blantyre, we are heading to South Africa for 2 weeks. Ahhh, looking forward to sushi and seafood in Cape Town! We're mainly going to Johannesburg for a few World Cup games (if you watch the USA vs. Algeria match, look for us in the stands!)...but then off to Cape Town for some r&r! I'm sure we will have lots of stories and pictures to share once we return!!

**Oh quick random story. Our mission is hosting a marriage and family conference here in Blantyre this week. The speaker is a former UN ambassador and diplomat. He was on the transitional UN committee in South Africa during the regime change from the Apartheid government to the democratic government that they have now...can you imagine meeting Nelson Mandela in person!! Anyway, Dr. Adei came to our house the other night...it was so fun to have him around our table sharing stories from his UN days! What a memory!

Time Is Ticking

I can't believe that it has been 9 months since we first arrived here in Malawi! We are in the final stretch here...6 more weeks until we depart Malawi. Maybe you're thinking, "I thought they were suppose to be in Malawi for a whole year?"....well, its true, that was the original plan last year. However, with finances and the need for Jonathan (Kayla and Jonathan are our 2 close friends that we came with and live with here) and I to get back this summer and search for a teaching job before August, it worked out that we needed to arrive home in July. So we are looking at a departure date from Malawi on June 22nd. When we leave Malawi we head to South Africa for 2 weeks! We are excited to be able to catch some of the World Cup Games (especially the USA game in Jo-burg...U-S-A!) and to tour around Cape Town!

And the best part is when we land in the US on July 6th! We just cannot wait to see our family and friends again! What a reunion that will be. To think that I will be finally be able to meet my two nephews that were born this year...yeah!!

Departing Malawi will be a bitter-sweet time for sure. There are so many new friends that we have made here who have shaped our year and our life in tremendous ways. It's going to be sad to say goodbye. Be praying for us as we head into our transitional months ahead...I know that God has some exciting things in store for us next! Stay tuned!

My time in the villages

Last week I traveled for 3 days out in the villages visiting our "Hope for AIDS" orphan daycare centers. During my time I made lots of new friends and visited some that I had met previously on other trips...but this little guy is different. Meet my new friend, Zhawu. Zhawu is a 12-year-old boy who lives near the village of Chilumba where we have another orphan daycare center. Not only do the volunteers of these centers work with the children under 5 years that attend the center each day, but they also have the responsibility to visit and minister to the orphans and vulnerably, needy children in the surrounding areas. Zhawu was one of those children. His mother remarried either by divorce or death of his biological father. His new step-father didn’t give him time of day. Not just that, but Zhawu was also born crippled with clubfeet and suffered with this handicap until recently. Last year because of the funds from our program, Zhawu was helped! Our Hope for AIDS program assisted him in being transported the 4 hours to Blantyre to the CURE International hospital, a non-profit hospital that does free orthopedic surgeries that bring healing to so many children. So over the course of the last 2 years Zhawu has had two successful surgeries on his feet! He now has a new-found freedom on life—walking on his own, even starting to run, and wearing shoes! Can you imagine being a 12-year-old boy and not being able to run the soccer field with your friends? Can you imagine never being able to wear shoes because your feet were so twisted? I didn’t meet Zhawu before, but I can say that having met him last week, his smile says it all. We are so thankful that there was a program in his village that could see that he needed help and healing…and so thankful that Malawi has a CURE International hospital that specializes in this kind of thing. We know God has big things in store for Zhawu! Picture: Zhawu last week, 2 months after his last surgery, sporting some Crocs and a big smile on his face.
(The above excerpt comes from our McCollumsInMalawi blog. Visit our photo gallery on our site to see other pictures.)

Watershed Takes Malawi

Our team from Watershed (our church back in Charlotte) just left yesterday! We had an incredible 2 weeks with them...ministering in the villages, checking out the orphan daycare centers and irrigation systems that they have supports, and just loving on the Malawian people. We are so sad to see them go but happy that we get to see them in 2.5 months time...can you believe that our time here in Malawi is coming to an end?? Here are the pictures from our 2 weeks with the team. PS: My margins from Flickr are off and I have no energy left to go back and change it seeing as I am dealing with slow internet right now...so sorry that the pictures are off centered.

Guest Contributor

Check out the below link to read a post that I wrote as a guest contributor for the Equitas blog.

equitas_inc via twitter

"New blog post from Jamie McCollum, our guest contributor in Malawi: http://bit.ly/cmjBA4

Please Pray

Check out our latest blog on our site. www.mccollumsinmalawi.com

We could really use your prayers.

Link to Pictures

Usually we post our pictures from each outing to a village, lake or other exciting event that we have been a part of this year, to our mccollums in malawi site. However, the link is broken that we use to post our Flickr pics to that site. Daniel is working on it...the fact that Daniel can fix all things related to computers and IT work is ONE of the things that I love about him. :)

Here is the link should you want to see more pictures of our time in Salima and its surrounding villages. Click here to be taken to the Flickr pictures.

The blogging continues

I had thought about canceling this blog since we do a lot of blogging on our Malawi site...and I think I may have lost some readers since I have moved to Malawi, seeing as I haven't kept up with the posts as much as I did prior to our overseas adventure. (I do see a lot of activity on my site tracker, but not a lot of comments...that's okay, there are sites that I read and don't comment...but I do welcome your comments and encouragement anytime you want to leave them.) However, I was reminded that we have only 4 more months of our Malawi adventures and then another chapter on this journey will start and I will want to blog on all that will happen next. So, the blogging continues...and I am happy to have a place to collect my thoughts, pictures and events that keep Daniel and I busy.

With only 4 more months in front of us, and 7 months now behind us here in Malawi, there is just so much that weighs on my heart and soul. There is so much that I see each and everyday that I struggle to find words to capture for others to read and be informed on; so much that happens here in one of the poorest countries in the world that no one hears about in the developed countries. BUT, I want to dedicate myself in these coming months to start processing these experiences, and put into writing on paper (blog) for you to read. I think this will be good for me to do as in 4 months time I will be thrown back into western/American culture and will experience much of what is called "reverse culture shock"...these blogs will help me work towards that and help soften the blow a little. I invite you to leave thoughts, questions and comments as you read, maybe your questions/comments will ensue some interesting conversations.

Pictures from the village

Here are a few pictures from our time this past week in a few villages near the town of Salima, which is near Lake Malawi. We will be going back in April with a team that will be coming from Watershed (our church in Charlotte, NC)...we are so excited about the team coming as we will be seeing some of our dearest and best friends! By the way, when I say "village" it is just about as accurate as what you might imagine an African village to be...we walked 45 min one way through the mud to get to one village. Some of these places are so remote that they are not accessed by vehicle, especially during rainy season. I'm not sure how this one village will react when the team comes in April, not sure what they will do with 20 white people in their village, a sight that I am sure many of these villagers have never seen before.



Isn't this boy just darling...oh, his smile just melted me.

A lady retrieving water at the village water pump.

Wash being hung out to dry in the Gadi village, love this picture and the colors of all the fabric.

Tour of Malawi and more

We (the four of us: Jonathan & Kayla and Daniel and myself) have been out of town (Blantyre, the city where we live in Malawi) since Sunday. It has been a nice little tour around Malawi (well, a small tour). In a nutshell, we left home on Sunday and headed towards Lake Malawi, Salmia to be exact. We went to visit another missionary couple who have literally lived in Malawi their whole life, I mean, fluent in the language, culture, everything...the Barr's are two of the most amazing people we have met. Anyway, it was amazing to see their ministry. We have a group from our church coming in April and we will be partnering with the Barr's on an irrigation project in a neighboring village. (side note: we had to walk to the village of Gadi because there are no roads for cars and it should be noted that it is rainy season in Malawi...we walked in pure mud for 45 minutes..a memory for sure!) Monday we headed out to spend 2 nights on Lake Malawi...ahhh, love the lake. Wednesday we drove an hour to Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city. We are staying in guest "huts" on the campus of a Bible college...it actually is really nice and comes with internet...thank goodness! It has been such a treat to just pop online whenever to check email, or chat on skype, or write a blog, or read blogs, or post pics, or surf the net on whatever just comes to mind...ah, I almost couldn't sleep the first night because I was just so excited to be online. I know some of you are rolling your eyes right about now, but living in Malawi has made me appreciate these small things in life. :) Ok, back to our time. So Thursday morning we woke up and I walked out to meet Kayla for breakfast...uh oh, we informed each other that both of our husbands were up all night sick. So...we took them to a hospital that a few of our missionaries work at. Not only was it comforting seeing an American doctor, but it was also a relief to get a negative malaria test back for both Daniel & Jonathan. We were a little worried about malaria since it is rainy season and mosquitoes are out in full force. Come to find out it is a bacterial infection...antibiotics were given and taken and both of them are feeling a bit better this morning. To be honest, though I hate it that Daniel isn't feeling 100%, it has been quite nice just to lay around and relax a bit. It has given me a chance to work on things that I haven't been able to work on in a while.

One of those things is learning more about Photoshop. Yes, I have been photoshopping! And I am addicted. I know, the eyes are rolling again, but I think I might be the last person on earth to not know how to do all those cool things on photoshop...so today was my day to teach myself some new, cool tricks. Here they are, blog friends. I wish I had brought my USB cord with me, so I could edit the pics that I took at the lake this week. So, stay tuned...more photoshopping to come.

Original Photo--straight from camera

I call this one "True Blue" ha, original, eh?

And this one, "Sunset under the Baobob" I know, brilliant, right? ha ha.

And this one, "Baobob: black and white" seriously, I'm so good at naming these photos! Just kidding.

Words to LIVE By

May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God’s creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and
All our neighbors who are poor.
-Amen

A Franciscan Blessing

Small Blessings

Just a few more "sleeps" before my hubby returns to me here in Malawi! He has had a busy week so far with visiting my family in VA, seeing as many friends as he could in Charlotte, doing a little shopping for me, helping his brother prepare for the big day, flying to Miami and driving to the Keys and being the best man...he is heading back to Charlotte today and flying out on Tuesday...he is going to be one tired guy when he arrives on Wednesday!

Daniel and I both have realized this week being apart just how much we have grown as individuals and how much our marriage has grown and been strengthened since being here in Malawi...the amount of time that we get to spend together here has been a HUGE blessing and gift to us. We are able to do so much together...and have so much time to talk, dream, think aloud, grow in our love and respect for each other, etc...it has been amazing! And I think we realized just how much we value that time together now that we have been apart this week.

Another HUGE blessing this week was the arrival of my newest nephew (first on my side..our other nephew on Daniel's side was born in Sept...I can't wait to meet my nephews in July.) Ethan Alexander arrived 6 weeks early! 4 lbs. 2 oz..he's a little guy. Thankfully he arrived very healthy...all was good--he was breathing on his own and didn't need to be in the NICU. I think he is staying in the hospital for another few days just to be watched.

Along with a nephew, I also welcome (from around the world), a new sister-in-law. Tim (Daniel's brother) married Julianne on one of the Keys (I can't remember which one) in FL on Saturday. Wish I was there...but I am here...and have lived vicariously through all the pics from my in-box and Facebook this week! Here's a pic (from Daniel's phone, so not the best quality) of the happy bride and groom.

This was the picture that came into my in-box on Monday after Daniel spent a long lay-over at Dulles and was able to spend the day with all my family. Here he is with two of my nieces making silly faces for me!

the beginning of 2 weeks

I just dropped Daniel off at the airport here in Blantyre...he's off for 2 weeks in the US for his brother's wedding next Saturday. When we found out the wedding details a few months back I decided that it was best that I stay here...there are so many reasons that I can't list them here...my heart wanted to go, but it was just best for me to stay. Hopefully these 2 weeks will go by fast...Kayla has a lot of things planned for us to stay busy...including a trip to Lilongwe (the Malawian capital, both of us haven't been yet). So, if you are of the praying type, please say a few prayers for Daniel and I...mostly for safety. I know that so many have spouses that travel on a frequent basis, however, it is a little different and odd being the one staying in Africa and he is the one traveling back to the US...seems opposite. I'm counting down the days already!

New Year :: New Committments

I've just posted a new blog on our McCollums in Malawi site. Check it out. I have recently received a few questions from friends on what life is like here in Malawi and what we do exactly in order to make life functional with our day to day activities. One person wondered what we do if we need a haircut? ha. it made me laugh...because I also had the same question before coming here. Anyway, some of you may have the same type of questions about our life or questions about our "ministry" or relationships/friendships here. I am feeling a question/answer blog coming up...but I need your help. Please either check out my latest blog on our site and leave your questions in the comments...OR you can leave your questions about our Malawian life here on this blogspot. I can't wait to read your questions...

Attack in the Sudan

At 4 am on New Year’s Eve one of the SIM bases in Southern Sudan was attacked by a neighboring tribal group. The mission base was burned, and although it appears the attack was aimed at the mission, all the missionaries escaped with their lives but lost all their possessions. Two of them sustained burns and are now being treated in the Kijabe Hospital in Kenya. The six missionaries and five children on the base are from Nigeria and Ethiopia and have been serving in Southern Sudan for a number of years. We praise the Lord that they are now all safe in Nairobi.

Pray for them as they recover from the trauma and the loss of their belongings.

Below is the account of what happened. If you would like to see some pictures of the village after the burning feel free to check out the link.
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Good morning, Kenya time.

That there is trouble in South Sudan won’t be a surprise to you. But when that trouble hits close to home, when friends and co-workers are attacked, the reality of it is sobering.

One of the villages along the Nile where SIM has a base, a place known as Atar, was attacked in an inter-tribal conflict on New Year’s Eve. Half the village was burned, including the local Sudan Interior Church and Presbyterian church buildings, and SIM’s base was decimated. The three missionary families - two
from Ethiopia and one from Nigeria - escaped in the dark of night with minor burns when their thatched-roof houses were torched. The Lord protected them from a hail of bullets. They lost all their possessions.

They have been evacuated to Nairobi and are receiving care. Please pray for them. They are six adults and five sweet little children, and as you can imagine are very shaken by the experience. Please pray for the Sudanese villagers as well. More than 150 houses were burned to the ground, and some families lost loved ones. Please pray for the attackers, too.

As one of our teammates wrote: “This is a reminder of the realities of tribal unrest in South Sudan – let’s lift them up to our Father and pray for peace and reconciliation in Christ.”

Also pray for ____, who is spending long hours with the families in her member care role. She needs special wisdom dealing with each unique family, each child, each situation.

We’ll attach some pictures of the base, taken at the time our fellow missionary pilots from AIM Air flew to Atar to evacuate the missionaries.

You will be wondering about Doro, which is about 150 miles away from Atar. Our team of nurses including are there, along with two other families and two small children. They’ve had very peaceful, enjoyable Christmas and New Year’s celebrations with the Mabaan community, and we’re thankful that the sort of conflict which has plagued the countryside along the Nile River has not come to our area. Thanks for praying from them as they fly to Nairobi tomorrow for our annual conference gathering. _____ and I will host the Doro health team at Kijabe next Tuesday for a day of fun, reminiscing, and looking ahead to plans for 2010. Thank you! Love to you from all of us

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