Flood Impact Blog

Some of my favorite memories from my childhood are nights I spent at the ballpark with my dad, mornings I spent on the lake fishing with him, random afternoons of playing catch and the hundreds of times I’d ride next to him in his truck and talk about sports, girls, school and whatever might come to mind.

Unfortunately, not every little boy is as blessed as I’ve been.  That’s why a little over a year ago I decided to get involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters.  Through the encouragement of Wanida Mertz, who attends Flood and leads worship with October Inc., I was matched with an 11-year-old boy named Dominic.  The interview process was smooth and painless.  There are a lot of boys in need of mentors and I was welcomed with open arms.

The night after we met, I picked Dominic up after work and we headed down to Petco Park for his first Padres game.  We had a great time getting to know each other that night and it thrilled me to give him his first experience of something that I’ve enjoyed so regularly throughout my life.

I work a lot of hours and my job is pretty stressful from July through February, but the commitment to Dominic has never been a straining one.  I’m asked to see him at least twice a month, and during the spring we often hang out once a week.  On weeks we don’t see each other, I always place a quick phone call to check in on him.  It’s a high reward relationship without an overwhelming amount of commitment.  At times when things get a little busy and I’m not able to see him every couple of weeks, he and his grandmother are very understanding.  It’s a great relationship with both of them.   

The time we spend together is pretty low maintenance.  We’ve gone to Padres games, spent evenings at Dave and Buster’s, gone bowling, ridden go carts at Boomer’s and hung out at my house where I’ve taught him to play chess.  Generally when we go out, the night ends with us playing Guitar Hero or Wii at his house, laughing and having a blast.  One of these days I’m going to beat him at Wii bowling!  Even with my “adult” friends, it’s never what you do, it’s who you’re with.  My time with Dominic is always fun and beneficial for both of us.

As Christians, we’re called to bless others as we’ve been blessed.  BBBS has given me an opportunity to be very specific in that calling.  I thank God for the men who have played such key roles in me becoming who I am, and I feel fortunate that I have an opportunity to encourage Dominic, help him understand what it means to be a man and allow him to know that someone cares deeply for him.  Volunteering with BBBS is not a matter of time or resources; it’s simply a matter of stepping out.  The experience has certainly been worth any price I could put on it, both for myself and for Dominic. 

If you would like to help out and be a big brother, email noelmusicha@diveintoflood.com

On Tuesday we had all the widows bring their children so that we could take family pictures for them. Since we can’t get them printed here, we are planning to send them back as a gift after we leave. Not only was it special for them, but it was also helpful for us so that we can have each woman’s picture and name to use for future prayers and memories. We then made an announcement for them to bring a plate with them on Thursday because we wanted to serve them lunch. They were sooooo excited (what’s new? Haha) and the afternoon was finished off with usual singing and dancing!Our normal schedule for Thursday is to spend the morning with the widows and then come back for lunch and a siesta before we go back in the afternoon. This Thursday, however, we stayed behind in the morning to prepare lunch for all the women. We purchased rice, beans, and greens from the market in order to feed over 40 women. It was quite a process since the beans have to soak overnight and the rice has to be sifted for rocks, but luckily the cooks helped us with the quantities. We arrived at noon and as we walked in with our 3 pots the women surrounded us with singing and dancing because they were so excited and thankful. After about 8 songs or so, I had prepared an encouraging word and blessing to share since it was my week to lead Bible study. I thanked them for allowing us to serve them in this way because they always serve us. I shared my love for long meals with friends because of the fellowship that goes along with it, along with Jesus’ love for community that they exemplify so well. I read Romans 15:5-6 which says, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. I reminded them that the most important thing we have in common is our love for Christ and thanked them for showing us a deeper sense of His love in the way they serve us and each other. As we were serving food we were worried that we wouldn’t have enough for everyone, but we just kept praying for God to provide and make it stretch. Everyone was served a substantial helping and about half of the women were able to come back for more!!! We enjoyed an amazing time of fellowship and eating (with our hands of course! Malawian style….) and I can’t even describe the presence of God that I felt in that room. The most amazing thing to me as I reflect on the day is the women’s response to it. Up until that point all we have “done” is sit with them and fail at knitting, most of the time not being able to communicate. Yet, this was the first time we “did” something by bringing them food, and their graciousness and joy was exactly the same as every other time we have spent with them. Their hearts are amazing and I have learned so much from them!On Friday we did a photo scavenger hunt in Mgwayi where we broke up into teams and wandered around the village taking as many pictures we could of things on the list. The kids loved it!! Well anything that involves a camera is pretty much always successful!Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers! This current week is our last week of ministry which is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought! I have been blessed with amazing relationships and a deep love for the people here that it will be hard to leave. Please pray that God will continue to lead me in His will and that I would be open to what else He wants to teach me with my little time left here. Please pray that our goodbyes would be blessed and for our physical and spiritual health. I love you and miss you! See you in 2 weeks ☺Love, Karin Holmgren (karinsmalawiadventures.blogspot.com) 

Our trip to Malawi this summer fits the description of an adventure with a purpose more that it does your typical “missions trip.” Although we have a video coming up that will give you more details of what we did, I decided to write and give you a brief synopsis of how God took this adventure and used it to great proportions.

Since to me English is a borrowed language, I realize I am not going to be your most amazing writer but I hope that even through my writing limitations you can still catch glimpses of what God did in and through us- or even better, what God can do in the life of “somebody” that realizes that he or she is a “nobody” but is willing to be used by Him.

Portrait One
Our journey started with 14 people. All athletes. We, together, realized the call of God on our lives and decided to take on the challenge to go to Africa and let God take us places. We planned to run sports clinics (basketball and soccer) and run a tournament at the African Bible College while we were at it.

Portrait Two
14 people quickly became 4 when some of life’s toughest realities set in. At that point, the only thing that seemed logical was to cancel the trip. There was no way our plans would work with only 4 people.
And then something drastic happened…my father got sick in Africa and lost sense in almost every part of his body- he had stroke. That was supposed to push us over the age. It was the final blow in our anticipated adventure, a true moment of test for me, both as leader and a son.

Portrait Three
I picked up the phone to let the rest of the team members know that we were going to cancel the trip. But just after I dialed the first number, in that exact moment, something came to my mind. I realize that this could just be part of the warfare we had to fight through in order to win the spiritual heart of our mission. So instead of talking about canceling the trip, I asked everyone what would have to happen to order for them to not go on the trip and everyone agreed that “a heck of a lot.”
That moment changed everything because it was then when we decided that even when the doors and windows seemed to close on us, we would just have to crash through the wall to make the trip happen…Yes, this does sound illogical- that was the point.

Portrait Four
Then God added to our numbers as two new people stepped up and took on the challenge of raising all their support in just about 11 days.
They did and God also brought us another confirmation from the most unlikely source as Soccer Fanatic donated $3,000 worth of supplies.

Now we had our team of six: Me (Noel Musicha), Melissa Musicha, Allison Sampite, Kelsey Minard, Ron Nord and Matt Forrey. This was not your all star sports team but it is your all star God’s team. It was a team of a bunch of servants who would give their last penny and their last ounce of energy to make significant changes in the lives of people they would otherwise may never met.

Portraits Five, Six, Seven and Eight
We got on a plane, landed in Malawi and run six clinics and a tournament at the end that brought in kids from different parts of the Malawian capital, Lilongwe.
The clinics were capped by this message: “You can be an amazing athlete if you work hard at it and that is important, but if athleticism is all you focus your life on, you risk missing everything.

…TRUTH IS, THERE IS GRACE WAITING AT THE ALTAR OF THE LIVING GOD THROUGH THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST AND IF YOU ARE WILLING HE WILL CHANGE YOU…BUT YOU HAVE TO WANT TO BE CHANGED….I DON’T KNOW YOU SO I DON’T KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO BE CHANGED BUT IF YOU DO…”

…And as we shared that message, through out the clinics, God flexed and a total of 125 teens gave their lives to Christ.  Not only that but with a better understanding of grace, they decided they will join hands and get involved in community service projects to make their communities better and to become part of creative solutions to the problems their communities face.

The clinics were strategically set up in communities that are close to each other, communities that are considered to be the cornerstones of the Lilongwe city, because that is key in the follow up strategy.

…and leaving you in the air is key to keeping you wanting more.

Portrait Nine
If you are an athlete or you know one, this portrait involves you.
1. Be on the lookout for our upcoming video that will share this story in great detail
2. Go to http://malawisports.blogspot.com hear about our next steps and ask us questions.

Portrait Ten
Now that you know what you know, what are you going to do?

Hey all! 

Today marked our mid.way mark in terms of weeks i think… not really sure. too many days to count… A fun story from today, i was scheduled to make breakfast, but seeing its malawi there was no power, no gas, and no water so i ended up making scramble eggs on a b.b.q. that the cooks put inside the kitchen. quite the experience, not really sure why they put in inside, when in rome. 

On Wednesday afternoons we go in to the nearby village, Mgwayi, and we were doing our sports, games outreach-vbs, and as i approached the house that i visit twice a week, the 2 year old girl, Pempero, and she came running towards open armed. It was just one of the many signs to see God’s hand working in the village. 

I dont remember if i told this story last post… but during teaching art last week, normally we have 2 translator, except last thursday we had none, it was amazing to see how much can be said in silence. needless to say their projects came out amazing. 

the last story or comment i have is the amazing interns that are here, each one of us can connect on different levels, and are encouraging to one another. it sounds cheezy but its true, even though we may not all be best friends when we return home, we will be able to say how we helped another intern grow and change.

my eyes are opening up to what i want to do in my life and where i want to my feet to rest. this is an experience that many have told me will change my life, and each day im seeing that happen more and more…

xoxo Leslie Murray (leslieinmalawi.blogspot.com)

Hello friends and family! I appologize for not writing sooner but this has been the first chance myself or anyone on the team has had to get online.  I was thinking earlier today how much we have in America and how all that stuff is such a distraction to what we are turly meant to be doing.  It has been such a blessing to not have access to a computer/internet and not have a mobile phone (or two) attached to my hip; add to that the fact that we have no TV and having power only about 60% of the time.  When these things and all that is asociated with them are taken away there is much more time to spend with the Lord!  This was just one of my many thoughts I have had in the past week. So how was the trip?  Well, after 4 flights in 3 days and 6 airports on 3 continents we made it to Kapmala, Uganda miday last Sunday.  All of the team members arrived in good health and with all of our personal luggage (we were missing one of the boxes of supplies though it eventuall made it).  We had a night at African Bible College (ABC) that evening and the next day began the 7 hour drive to the north, to the city of Lira.  Since arriving in Lira we have had a grueling schedule of visiting 3 schools a day in addition to a visit each eveing to the COTN Children’s (orphane) Home.  Most of the team is still healthy with the exception of minor scrapes and bruises from hours with all the children.  The Lord has done some truly incredible things to and through our team in the short week that we have been gone.  All of that could never be sumed up on paper nor writen here.  Know that none of us will come back the same, even those of us who have been before; there is no way could.  The motto of the trip for me has become Mark 10:43-45, look it up and you’ll see why.  Please continue to pray for us, we are still praying for you.  May God bless you and our safe return.  But remember, dont expect the same people who left.  Night!  Derek Olson

                     I just wanted to share a quick story with everyone. Yesterday my mother came over to my home, like always we talked about Life, God, and Faith. My brother happen to be here that day when out of the blue my mother said I have a message for you boys, and she then stated the message (God Says He Misses You) it took me by shock but after thinking about it there was no shock but only conviction.                  I was raised and born into a Christian home and up bringing, it seems lately that I have been living in the flesh and distancing my self from god, I know what it is to struggle and back slide. Not everyone is perfect but if you put your faith in god only he can forgive you and walk along side of you to help you get up when you fall. 

Happy July, my wonderful family and friends!!! Today, we are in town at an internet cafe and so I can officially update and say hello to you all! Yay!!!As most of you I hope heard, I arrived safe and well on June 24th, along with an amazing team of interns! We all met up in London and were able to travel together from then on. The relationships that God has grown within our team so far have been AMAZING and so encouraging! Anyways, we arrived in the afternoon, looking and feeling like, well…travelers who had ate, slept, and sat on a plane for 3 days! Hahaa…but in really good attitudes and excitement as we climbed down the stairs out of the plane onto the ground that would be our home for the next two months; the adventure had only just begun! Our arrival day was filled with excitment, bus rides, songs, and a welcome dance and presentation from COTN supported orphans in Chitipi Home that brought most of us to tears! : )The rest of our first week was full of cultural preparation, team bonding, visiting the village of Mgwayi that is only a minutes walk from our compound, Njewa, and a market challenge day to give us the chance to try and be “true Malawians” for a day and buy enough food on a Malawian’s budget and then prepare the meal (complete with live chickens I might add.) : ) The next week and up until now has been full of our ministry teams going full force! : ) I have had a the priviledge of going into the village of Mtsiliza and spending time with the widows and their children multiple times a week for the whole day! The joy and songs of Christ’s love that overflows out of these amazing women is truly a testament of His grace!Ahh, I am running out of time and have SOOOO much I would love to share with you all, but I will leave with this; God is so good and even though there have been struggles and don’t get me wrong, there has been…it is amazing to see Him working in not neccessarily the ways we would even expect. One of the Malawian staff shared with us last night from the story of Elijah and how God does not always come in the earthquake and clouds, but in the gentle whisper on our hearts! I pray that you are all doing well and listening to His voice on your heart today!P.S. The COTN staff will be updating a blog for general activities and pictures more often than I will be able to so if you would like to check it, feel free! It is….malawi2008interns.blogspot.comPosted by Rachel Burton (transformationmalawi.blogspot.com)  

Iwe! (phonetically E-way meaning Hey!) So this weekend was crazy with American Independence and Malawi Independence celebrations, two short term terms arriving totaling of 60 additional people moving the intern girls from our dorm to a slumber party setting in our leaders living room, four of our girl interns getting extremely sick not eating for four days or having 102 fevers, and my own emotional roller coaster.

Last Sunday the four of us girls from Flood got to go to Flood Malawi but this Sunday we got to go with the whole intern team and take along a short-term teacher group.  It is amazing the energy and passion that is Flood San Diego mixed with the culture of Malawi to be somewhere that I feel so at home. 

As far as in the village of Mgwayi where we spend about three fourths of our time, an extended family of children have stolen my heart. Where as some of the interns are feeling so bad for these children who are poor and malnutritioned in living conditions that are surreal, the joy on these kids faces and that they express to us makes me so happy for these children.   There is Dorlica, Vanessa, Manis, and Esama.

Esama a while ago was pushed in a fire by a friend playing around as kids and burnt all down her mid-back to her left leg.  Now it looks infected with a centimeter thick scab and it breaks my heart cause from day one she was by my side and children were pointing it out to get my away from her and adults were showing me as well after I had seen it a million times.  How degrading as a 8 year old to have your peers lifting up your dress when you don’t have underwear.  I told our leader and we got a COTN national staff member notified, so hopefully since she is sponsor they can get her to a hospital to be scraped.  Prayer for Esama that it does get help and that there after it is properly cared for would be appreciated.  She doesn’t seem in pain but it can’t be good and I think it has caused emotion issues of being different.

Posted by Sarah Prieto  (http://web.mac.com/sarahpea)

I realize that the last entry of my journal was quite inconclusive, so hear is my reflecting entry that I put together on the plane ride home.

June 24, 2008
Out Flight Reflections
So we are on our way back to the States. It has been a pretty crazy trip and it just feels like I need to start back at the very beginning:
We had a great start to the trip minus our bags being lost then found the next day. But in the first 24 hours we did so much. I’m pretty sure no one from the other regular Flood COTN trips got to go to a Civo United football match in Lilongwe. Nor take a minibus from Noel’s our hotel to town then across Lilongwe River to Area 47 where the Police Field is. We walked around and experienced life there right away. It was different at first: people everywhere, minibuses galore, and street shops set up at every two feet. I’d never seen or been right in the middle of another culture like this before and it opened my eyes right away. We got to the Police Field where Noel used to play when he was younger for the Young Eagles and we able to catch a game going on. We had our cameras all out and immediately the kids just started going crazy and making all sorts of moves in front of the camera. It was exciting to see them get so much joy out of having a picture taken. We eventually made it down passed the field towards a few of the shops and walked into a local bar to see how you were supposed to drink Chibuku Shake Shake (Malawi’s national beer). Noel was telling us that he wanted us to go through Lilongwe like we did simply because no other Flood trip had done this. We got to walk the paths and roads Noel did growing up which was special to see how it was for him.
I was surprised once we got done with our little adventure. When I came to Malawi with a media centered view of a third world country I did not expect what I saw. Yea this country is poor and there are so many things but my mind had this picture of a third world country having nearly nothing and that was just wrong. I never thought that I was going to eat Pizza and Chicken almost every day we were there. It was the pictures that the news shows that gave me that view instead of how life really is. These people have things contrary to what the news shows us (which are normally the most depressing pictures ever) and those pictures are true to some extends but not for the entire country. They obviously have way less than most of the people in America but they also have more than I thought they would as a whole.
Sunday was the day of the Flood Malawi opening also. It was incredible to see the turnout. I wasn’t expecting that at all. Not to mention I was excited to see the other Flood team. It was special to me to be apart of something so momentous. A church plant in a country almost half way across the world. Who gets to do that!? Seeing Christ alive in another continent like that is priceless. The highlight of the night was definitely running into Sarah Schwenk at Flood.
Monday was then our first clinic. I was super excited to get going on them but also nervous seeing that I did not know whether the kids spoke english or even if I had enough drills to keep them busy and learning. Oh I was wrong. I went through the drills and soon realized that I probably would not be able to get all the drills in as I pictured and had kids that spoke english at nearly every clinic. It was a sigh of relief and thanks to God. We were ready to administer to the kids and it went better than I could have imagined. Afterwards Noel began speaking to the kids of why we were out there and how a team with predominantly nothing to give expect their skills and Grace came all the way from America to do this for them. That is was because of Grace that we were there. And that it is because of the Grace of Jesus that makes everything worth while. Now Noel and I had of course spoken about this before we left but the power behind it hadn’t hit me until then. To feel and be apart of something God was doing that was so greatly appreciated and admired by the kids is a feeling I’ll never forget. I’ll admit it again: I cried a little while Noel first spoke, it was that powerful. This continued throughout all the clinics. For the next six days we went around rural and urban Lilongwe doing these clinics and not only administering but experience God in a way that I will not only always remember, but in a way that these kids had never experienced before either. Every clinic was filled with joy, grace, and kids running after our car. The second clinic was so chaotic but amazing. We were so lucky to have Sarah and Ariel join us for it. They helped soooo much and I was really stoked to have them see and be apart of what we were doing. It was a bummer to see them go but amazing to have been able to spend two days with them in Malawi.
One thing I have to write about in regards to the clinic is something I was not ready for. Now know that most of these villages are filled with people in the lower class. The amount of money and opportunities these kids and families have are very limited. But one thing that was a repeated trouble for me to grasp was this: Every time we were getting ready to leave I would have so many kids come up to me and the team saying things like: “gimme my ball, gimme boots” and even ask for money. Now know that this trip wasn’t supposed to be about giving the children free stuff but instead it was about starting something from the ground up. These kids all had brothers and sister that were younger and what we would love to see happen is them starting to better their villages and communities by putting together community projects and working to get the things they need. For example, if there was a widow who needed help on a weekend, go help her take care of her children, or even clean up their part of the village once a week, just something that would get their village behind them and want to help them out. What would come out of that would be two priceless attributes: 1) The coming together of Gods people for the better and more importantly 2) creating something for their younger siblings that they did not have. We would love for them to realize that a movement from the ground up starts with them and will benefit the kids that look up to them so much. That is what we were trying to do. And when we tell the kids, “no we don’t have anything to give out, we can’t give out the balls we need them for the other clinics” and they repeatedly come up again and again and again and again saying that and banging on our car windows it sucks. We want to be able to give these kids the world, and yet we can’t. So we basically have to tell them that and the fact that we literally have nothing physical to give to them is not a good enough answer for some of them. It is simply not good enough for them. It’s depressing and hurts so much to fathom that. If I could have one wish for the trip it would be that the kids that would not stop would realize that we really came over to administer to them did not have anything we could give them except our story because of the grace.
Once the clinics were done we were able to drive out to Blyantyre which is the biggest city in Malawi. We arrived literately right after Malawi had beaten Egypt 1 to nil and basically experienced something no other Flood Team had: a celebratory riot in the streets of Blyantyre. It was absolutely insane. We got to meet some of the players that night and it was great. Russell, starting striker, who is one of Noel’s really good friends was so happy to see us there. He really believes in everything we were doing. It is so awesome to see someone who is looked up to so much in his country look up to us like that.
The next morning we set off to go to the Chisomo Feeding Center Noel and Melissa had set up outside of Blyantyre. Now I don;t know if you know what it is like to see and hear 100 kids seeing praises and songs to you just for coming to where they are but it is simply one of the most powerful and joyous things I have ever experienced. These kids, who are orphans or apart of families with nearly nothing, are so comfortable with God and where they are it’s amazing. Their primary focus is on Christ and His Glory and yet it is so hard for us in the States to get to the same point spiritually as some of these kids. We live in a place in which we have everything we do not need, yet they have barely anything they need and are more dependent on God than most Americans will ever know. It is a blessing to see that but also a trouble seeing that most people won’t ever be able to experience the level of joy, grace, and completeness in Christ as these kids do. At the end of the day we stood around the center that is being built holding hands with the kids. We took pictures as one. We were are all one in the eyes of God, his people were together from across Lilongwe and it did not matter that we were from America. We too are children of God just as these kids were and the symbolic power of these shots show that.
After the feeding center we made our way to Mangochi. Now this is also something Noel has never done with a team from Flood before. We got to stay at Noel’s cousin’s house and then make our way to Cape Maclear of the shore of Lake Malawi. We stayed at a place called Monkey Bay and were able to relax a bit and even take a boat ride around the closest island to the resort. It was a great end to our first week in the country.
We made it back to Lilongwe on Tuesday and got ready to go on a Safari in Zambia. It was such an amazing experience. Not just because we saw 13 Lions twice! 4 leopards! 2 Hyenas! and so many other animals but because this is where I felt we started to become one as a team. We all began to connect on levels that I for one did not expect and will always treasure. This team is and will forever be apart of my family and I’m so thankful for this gift of time and community God gave us.
Once we came back late on Friday, we began getting ready for the tournament on Saturday. It was such an amazing time. This is what we were working for. A tournament that would be the start of a one day Sports Academy for this kids in Lilongwe. It ran all day and I could really see how much fun these kids were having. Their was one kid, Humphrey, that stood out to me. He was a striker for the one of the teams for Chisapo and was amazing. His abilities were by far better than anyone out there and we name him MVP of the tournament rightly so. It was cool for me because I presented him a jersey of mine and also the trophy. He later walked up to me and handed me his address and contact info. I was really touched by this. Noel later asked me if I was actually going to write him and I said yes of course I would. He was worried that I would not since I took it and told Humphrey yes. He said a lot of these kids are promised things like that all the time and people rarely come through with what they say. The next morning Noel and Matt went back to Chisapo to follow some of the kids around interview them for the documentary Matt is making. They came back and told me about it and that they had interviewed Humphrey. It was incredibly moving hear about this kid’s life and how much the tournament and our ministry meant to him. He is now a senior at Chisapo Secondary School and is incredibly smart. Noel says he is one of the few that has a real shot of making something for himself and his family outside of his home village. And that mainly would not exist had it not been for Noel speaking with him. It is nearly impossible for these kids to make it without knowing someone. The country is still in a place in which the rich keep getting richer and you only join them if you have the right contacts. It is incredible to meet a kid with a head so straight on his shoulders in light of this. Just thinking about what happened to them that day choked me up. They went back to Chisapo that Sunday to give Humphrey some things including my shin guars, shorts, socks and a new pair of boots (the craziest thing was that he had to rent his boots from someone for the tournament!!) and also to give some things to the girl who won MVP for their tournament. Noel told me he is going to try and make this kid is project: Start by getting him on Civo Utd and hopefully a move to a college in the states to play. Being apart of something like this is beyond what I thought would happen. I would have never guessed one kid’s story could impact me as much as this has. And to know that we as a team have impacted his life is beyond anything I can explain.
One thing other thing that struck me was that of the level on the scale in which people would barter just to get some money. Alli, Kelsey, Melissa and I went to the market on Sunday morning to get some souvenirs and what not. We got there and immediately found Hippo, a friend of Noels and began looking at some stuff we wanted. I went in with 12000 Kwacha and with what I picked out they started at 20000. I simply told them I had no more money. They kept lowering and lowering the price and really would not understand that I had no more money. They even started to ask if I would trade something I owed for part of the payment. Now at this point I almost blew up at them, granted they did not know, but one of them asked me for my green bracelet I was wearing in remembrance of Ben Hedberg. It took all my strength to not go off on him. I was simply shocked at how I was able to calmly explain to him what it meant to me and how priceless it is. He was incredibly apologetic which I excepted and then a few minutes later gave me everything I picked out for the 12000 kwacha I had. During this Alli got a bunch of stuff super cheap and then got even more of a discount from a persistent seller. Next Kelsey was buying things and Melissa had no money with her to buy things this day. Now this reminded me of how the kids wouldn’t take no for an answer because they sellers would not leave her alone. It got to the point that she was near furious with them and I had to step in. It just bothered me so much that I saw the same mentality in them as in the kids; That just because we were white and were able to come to the country we have money and will spend it. I repeatedly just had to say “she has no money stop, we have nothing else to buy”. This happened again the next morning when we finished up the last bit of shopping and headed to the airport. They would not take no for an answer and even traded shirts for items. It just makes me think that they would do anything for something. Thank God Hippo was there again because of few of them got a little mad about something and he started telling them to back off since we didn’t have any more money. They then started to say things to him with to no avail and we left.
And now sitting on the plane reflecting on all this, I’m scared to see how this is going to effect not only me but this team. This trip was about so much more than just experiencing another culture, but embracing it and beginning to understand God more and more. Because when you learn more about God’s children you learn more about God. When you learn more about God you learn more about yourself, how to love yourself, how to love His people, how to love Him, an experience of being one with Him. This time has been something that I can never forget. This chance of a lifetime to be apart of some of God’s greatest wonders. I cannot thank Him enough and I cannot thank this team enough for being who they were because it would not have been the same without them. I took more than just a part of Africa in my heart when I left; I took a memory of a team helping to start of movement that would change the lives of children half way across the world and also change my life. To what extent….only time and God will tell.

-Ron Nord

So I was asked by a few staff members to post this journal I had written while in Malawi. It consists of nearly everything we (Allison Sampite, Matt Forey, Kelsey Minard, Melissa Musicha, Noel Musica and myself, Ron Nord) did while in Africa this summer. Enjoy!

June 8, 2008
Malawi!!!
So we finally got to Malawi after 48 hours of traveling in which I got only about 5 hours of sleep. And when I finally got to sleep the girls had decided to write “I LOVE JESUS” on my hand with a highlighter. When we flew in we were also missing all 5 of our bags that we checked in in San Diego. So I wore the same shirt and understuff for about 72 hours!!! Once we got to Lilongwe we got to go to the African Bible College graduation where my friend Guise Pempa was graduating! I didn’t know he was in it until I saw the pamphlet for the ceremony and then later surprised him. Then after we were all able to attend a soccer game of Noel’s old team Civo, against bad boys Big Bullets. It was amazing getting to see such a crazy atmosphere like that. We had to leave before the final whistle simply because the Big Bullets are sore losers and we didn’t want rocks thrown at out car!
The next morning we traveled down to Noel’s parents house by minibus which are civilian ran mini-vans that run anywhere and everywhere for the public. It was jam packed in those things. After going to the house we hitched a ride on another set of minibuses down to a really busy district in Lilongwe and then started walking through small townships called Nchesi and Biwi. The children there were awesome. They were so excited to see cameras and were going crazy to show us what they could do in front of them. If we showed them the pictures they all went crazy afterwards. We showed up eventually at a soccer field in which Noel played on for his first competitive team. Noel showed up some kids and had a juggling competition with one of the kids. We kept walking to another township and another soccer field. In this township Noel took us to a bar to show us what it was like. He bought a Chibuku Shake Shake to show us what we would do if we were actually going to drink. It was pretty sketchy and looked nothing like how a beer should…especially in a carton! We eventually made it back to the other side of town where we had lunch and picked up a car for us to have for the next two weeks, only problem was it didn’t start at first and we had to jump it! I then made it over to the Flood Malawi location to help set up because I was running sound.
Oh and side note…supposedly while the other Flood Team was on their safari. My name came up and they then decided to try and put my name in as many sentences as humanly possible, so to the members of the team that did not know me, I became extremely famous to.
K back to the Flood Opening. It was amazing seeing such a body of people there tonight. I was really surprised to see the amount of people that were there. Bad thing though is that we lost power during the service so we had to do the last bit of worship on acoustic. After the service I ran into the one and only Sarah Schwenk! She is a friend of Ariel, Shawn, and Kate and I was really stoked to have seen her in Malawi. Although Ariel was no with her yet.
And now I’m back to Noel’s parents house for the night about ready to get to bed. This day has been very busy and crazy. I’ve never experienced anything like this before and have so many pictures already. It was amazing seeing the life that God has put into this church plant. I’m excited to be there for the next two services to see what He has in store for this county through Flood. Not to mention I am playing bass in two weeks with Guise.

June 10. 2008
Amazing
So yesterday was our first football clinic at the African Bible College in Lilongwe. We got there early to start setting up and messing around. We didn’t really know what to expect in regards to the number of kids that were going to be there. At first only a handful showed up but then out of nowhere a bunch of kids came. My part with the other keepers was pretty fun. I had a lot of keepers that were actually good. We eventually joined the others and played a quick 6 on tournament which was a lot of fun to watch. Noel decided he had to join in and play with the kids.
The best part of the day was definitely after the clinic was over when Noel was talking. The joy on those kid’s faces was so amazing. Noel began speaking about the reason why we came here to Malawi. That it was because of the grace of God that we were able to come, that we are here, and that this sport means so much more because of it. I’m not going to lie, but I had a tear in my eye. He invited the kids to respond and if they wanted to, to raise their hands so that he could pray for them. Afterwards the ones who raised their hands stuck behind and Sean the pastor of Flood Malawi was there and he spoke with them and then had them pray with him. There was about 10-15 kids who talked with Sean. I can’t express how amazing it was to see this happen, and to be apart of this. I came in a little afraid of what God was going to do this was mainly because I had a few friends mention to me that they did not feel in touch with God at all when they were Africa. So to feel that close to God at the time meant so much to the team and myself. I’m so excited to do all these other clinics and put on the tournament next week.
So to top it off when we came home, we found Schwenk and Ariel at Noel’s house! They were coming over to pitch a tent in the backyard and Noel’s parents wouldn’t let them stay outside so they fed them and also let them sleep on the couches. So this day is going to be spent hanging out until we have our clinic at two today. This trip is doing so much for me already. I’m so excited to see what else God has in store for us.

June 11, 2008
Molested
So yesterday was our second clinic in Area 49, Gulliver. We got to the village and the field was literately right in the middle of this place. Kids started to come up as soon as we drove up, It was pretty crazy. Kids were crowding around and just getting super excited. The only part that bummed me out was that there was a mentally ill kid there who was a bit older than the other kids. For some reason he began throwing rocks at some of the girls and then the kids, to stop him, started throwing rocks at him which made him start bleeding from his ear. It was terrible that we couldn’t do anything for him. An adult said that sometimes that is the only way to get him to stop is force. Once we got everything going the clinics went really well. It was super fun doing all the drills and for penalty kicks I had some of the young children watching come at take the kicks for me! They loved it so much. I remember two guys specifically, Sean Luis and Elijah (Elijah looks just like the main character from Cool Runnings! So crazy) Their english was really good and they stood out over other kids. As we were beginning to leave, it got a bit crazy. As the sun went down we were getting the cars together and kids were just bombarding us in the cars. It was full on “DUDE MAN BRO!” haha. I know that when we were trying to get in the car Ariel basically got molested like thirty times. Her and Schwenk helped out and it was great for them to have this oppurtunity and to hang out.

June 12, 2008
Thirty-Seven
Okay, so we say that a big number does not matter when it comes to people decided to recognize the work that Christ does in other peoples and their own lives. But when a number such as thirty-seven raise their hands and stay behind to talk you kinda get excited. I mean its awesome when only a few do it, but when well over half of the kids at the clinic raised their hands, I can’t express the joy and grace that comes out of that. I’ve felt apart of God on every part of this trip so far. I’ve gotten the biggest culture shock. I’ve never been off of North America before so most of what I knew about the life in Africa were from depressing pictures on the news, because that is all they will ever show. I got here thinking, oh third world country…I’m gonna be lucky to shower. Yea uhm I’ve eaten pizza and chicken every day so far. Third world doesn’t necessarily mean nothing, they do have a lot here but nothing close to the extremes that we have in america. Some townships and villages have the bare minimum, just a whole to go to the bathroom in, tiny brick huts that are falling down, and a hope and knowledge of Jesus that keeps everything going for them and gives them the motivation to thrive. Jesus is all they need. I’ve said something to a few friends before I left and they agreed but its the perfect time to say it again. In america we have everything we do not need yet they have nothing they need and their spirits are so much brighter. It is because of Christ they are like this. They know it will be different in heaven and that it matters what they do on earth to follow the path towards God and His Kingdom.

Part Three- A Realization
So I don’t know what to say right now. We just got back a little while ago from a private catholic primary school in which we held a clinic at. There were a bunch of kids there again and it was super fun. But when we were getting ready to leave something really hit me. We were sitting in the van waiting for Noel and Melissa to finish talking to some kids and all these younger kids kept banging on the van and yelling at us. They were saying things like, “Gimme my ball, Your boots, and Can I have gloves.” It sucked for me. I’ve never been in that situation before where the kids just would not stop. And it’s not like we have a bunch of stuff we can give the kids because we don’t. Our objective was to administer not give away and the younger kids just don’t understand that. It’s really hard to cope with that for me. You want to be able to give these children the world, yet when you can’t they still expect you to. It’s depressing to me. I can’t explain it any other way than that. I guess you could say it’s a reality check but still not a feeling I wish upon anyone.
June 13, 2008
Netherlands 4-1 France
So we just got back from watching the Netherlands thrash France at George’s house. George is awesome and is basically Sean’s (Flood Malawi Pastor) right hand man. He has been helping us with the clinics and cooked us all dinner tonight. Today was a pretty interesting day. We walked into town today to just look around and what not. Eventually got back to the house to change and head out for another clinic. The girls stayed at the African Bible College while Noel, Kevin, and myself went to a village known as the Police Houses. The field in the middle of the village is where Noel grew up playing soccer for his first competitive team. His old coach was even there. It was awesome getting to work with the kids again. You could definitely tell that they were the most organized and technically well rounded of all the footballers so far. I felt pretty bad though because when I was running a drill with the keepers and a kid got hurt. I was shooting on them as they ran across the goal-line and a shot of mine bent one kid’s hand back. We had to ice wrap it and he couldn’t continue. He was a trooper though and knew it was one of those things that just happens, but I still felt bad. The location of the clinic was special today because it was the first time Noel had been back on the Police Field in a really long time. You could tell how much it meant to him to be back there working with the kids that are in the same place that he used to be in, doing the same things he used to do, and not knowing the power behind the cross of Christ. We had a huge turnaround again today of kids wanting not to necessarily give their lives away quite yet, but to at least dive in and see what it means, see what is behind the grace that is given to us. Because it is that grace that gives us slightly more than others. Even if we have nothing, with grace we have more than we will ever need. That is the beauty of it.
June 14, 2008
Malawi 1-0 Egypt
Today was the last clinic that we we’re going to hold. It was pretty chaotic with a bunch of little kids everywhere, but it turned out to be really good and very fun for everyone. It is a shame to see these clinics we are doing come to an end. We have had an amazing time working with all these kids in their villages and that is the biggest thing too. The fact that we went to their villages, to the worn-down fields they play on every day. When Noel was first telling people about his ideas they all said, “yea, ok. Do it at this stadium, this college, this other stadium, and here”. Noel said no simply because the children did not live there. He wanted to go straight to them, not make them come to us. I’m really excited about the tournament on Saturday. It should be a good turn out and just a great time to end the trip.
After the clinic was over we made our way out to Blyantrye which is about 4-5 hours south of Lilongwe. It is the biggest city in Malawi. The way out was a bit crazy. The spare tire holder on the car broke off and started to drag underneath us so we had to pull over for a little bit and fix it. It is so weird that the people here burn fires whenever and where ever they please to get rid of trash and whatnot. We drove by some many tiny tiny fires on the side of the road today and one was even big enough that we felt the heat from the flames as we drove by. We were trying to get to the city in time to get to the Malawi vs. Egypt game but we didn’t make it in time. Instead we found out that Malawi had won by the fact that people were going crazy in the streets. Noel decided we needed to drive by the stadium and try to catch up with the players since he knows almost all of them pretty well. As we drove closer to the stadium it got soooo crazy. I’m talking riot status, well minus the tipping of cars, fires, and mass looting. People were running throughout the streets chanting “He Ho Malawi are winners” and other things. I lost count of how many car horns are heard after two seconds. It was won of the craziest things I have ever seen. This went on for about 20 minutes as we were slowly inching towards the stadium. Once we got through everything we ended up at our hotel, then changed hotels because the first was the worst place ever. We eventually went to dinner at the same hotel in which the Malawi team was staying. We got to go up and meet a few of the players and who Noel says is the greatest legend in Malawi football history. It was really awesome and the guys were all super nice. So now I’m getting ready for bed in another bad hotel in which the space between my bed and Matt’s bed is less than a foot and the one mosquito net in the room we have has a bunch of holes in it. So yea…tonight should be interesting.

June 15, 2008
We Found Bin Laden
So today we went spent most of the day at a feeding center Noel and Melissa started on the outskirts of Blyantyre. As soon as we showed up we had over 100 kids running towards our van singing to us. It was absolutely amazing. We were welcomed so much I can’t explain it. The kids were so happy to see us there. We ended up playing around with them a little bit and took a bunch of pictures. It was so amazing to see how bright their spirits were. They have so very little, some of them orphans, and yet their spirits are higher than most people in America that have way more than they know what to do with. Oh and we found Bin Laden…he is a 3 year old African kid living in the village that the feeding center was built for. Tell the FBI we found Bin Laden. His name really is Bin Laden and he rules. The big thing about today was that we had brought the kids a bunch of volley balls, soccer balls, tennis balls, and other stuff for the center. They went so crazy it was unreal. I just can’t say enough how amazing it was to see the joy on their faces; and not only when we gave them the balls, but just in general. We our now in Mangochi for the night at a hostel on the University of Malawi School of Medicine campus. And it is way better than the hotel last night.
After the day was over and we drove to Mangochi. I thought over and over again of the conversation I had with Shawn the day before I left. She told me so much of how the kids were in Uganda when she was there. I think that conversation is what has been keeping me together right now. At one point in the car I just tuned everything out, put on some Explosions in the Sky, and just let everything process. Hearing about how it was for someone else shed a little light on the glory behind it all. This experience is just so powerful. It seems so hard to go through this without seeing God behind it all.

June 17, 2008
I Saw Rafiki
So yesterday we left Mangochi early in the morning to drive out to Cape Maclear off of the shore of Lake Malawi. On the way there we saw a huge herd of baboons on the road. It was amazing. Once we got to the Lake we just hung out for a while. It was so beautiful out there. There are a few islands right off the shore and at sunset we were able to take a boat around one of them. It was so awesome. The first week of this trip was filled with ministry and activities; and these next few days are about relaxing and enjoying the country. We got back to Lilongwe today and we now leave for a Safari in Zambia tomorrow morning. I’m super excited about it. Mainly because I don’t know when or if I will ever be able to come back. God has blessed this trip and the team so much. We have so much to be grateful for already, and that doesn’t even include the learning experience we are getting. I’m getting really excited about coming home and sharing this experience with everyone. So many pictures, so much fun, so much grace given.
June 19, 2008
A Lion Pooped
We’ve been in Zambia since yesterday at South Luangwe National Park on our safari. We got here and went out on our first ride right away basically. It was so awesome. The sunset was amazing. There’s just something about African sunsets…idk. I don’t remember the last time I went to the zoo but even so, seeing these animals for the first time in their natural habitat is beyond belief. God made all this so beautiful. The morning before we went out into the park, our driver had found a pack of lions. They were feeding off of a water buffalo and we head straight out to find them. It was so crazy when we found them. They were back at the same water buffalo getting some seconds. There were a total of 13: 1 male, 3 females, 4 middle aged and 5 cubs. I can’t explain how cool it was to see something like that. We then started to venture back in and it was dark. So the adventure turned into a hunt for Leopards. We ended up finding two! Ah those guys are so cool. We basically saw every animal in the park except Hyenas and Giraffes. We ended up seeing giraffes in the morning though and the herd of lions again too! Two days in a row! Oh and one of them pooped in front of us. It got so close to the car…like 5 feet!

June 20, 2008
Good Thing I’m a Picky Eater
So the title should be pretty self-explanatory. Last night after we got back from the safari Kelsey started to feel sick and then we heard that also two people from the English group that was staying at the same resort were also sick. It turned out that throughout the night everyone in our group was sick (except for me) and two more people from the English group got sick also. We think it was a mild case food poisoning, seeing that I was the only one out of our group that did not eat tuna yesterday for lunch, and I am the only one who did not get sick. Total bummer to end the safari on but thank God that it happened at the end of our time in Zambia. I felt so bad for everyone else though. It’s definitely not something I wish upon anyone. Especially now as it is 8:15 and four of them are still sleeping. A few have been up a little but still now our back to sleep.
This makes me worry about the tournament tomorrow. This is the biggest thing we are doing while we are here. And it would be terrible if any of them had to miss it. Especially from Matt’s standpoint as he has so much good footage so far and this would be the end of all his filming. I just pray for healing and that they will all be okay for tomorrow. It’ll be hard to run the tournament if they aren’t there also. And plus, you never want to be sick while on a trip, let alone a trip like this.

-Ron Nord