Africa 2.0 Day 15 - Missing Malawi
Today, we are headed back home from our incredible experience in Malawi. We have all been overwhelmed with how God is working. In a few short weeks, the word has been beginning to spread, and many are requesting to be involved in our training sessions, really through the presence of the Holy Spirit in the unified body of believers who lead. We have begun initial discussions about sustainability, so we will be looking into a couple of suppliers. Both of them will be identical,
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 14 - Farewell Malawi
This was our last full day with our African family, so many people stopped by to bid us farewell. I believe we had the highest number of people at the house today since we have been here. Heidi and I were talking about it, and it is almost like a Christian community of sorts. You are living with like-minded people 24 hours a day. It is quite enjoyable, and we have witnessed very consistent behavior by all. That is a wonderful sign that the Spirit is at work. The body is opera
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 13 - New Friends
Today was the day for another round of pastors. This will make 36 that have come through the doors of the EchoAfrica house. We are in the infancy of this training process, and are continually evaluating our effectiveness. Heidi and I went to the store to pick up some more supplies for the house. Since we only have a few days remaining, we are trying to get as many things taken care of as we can. We were able to pick up a new toilet seat for one of the bathrooms that was in de
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 12 - Spirit Filled
This was quite an interesting day. Our intentions were to go to Tony and Rhoda’s church. Earlier in the week, we had met Deverious and Mary. Heidi found it interesting that Mary’s mother actually called her Maria, as that is our daughter’s name. Deverious is the pastor of the church. I learned some interesting details today. Before I came to Malawi last December, the pastor had a prophetic dream concerning Tony. He said that God was preparing him for something special. When T
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 11 - Time with Rhoda
Today we were able to visit William, Tony’s cousin. My first introduction with William happened after I got bumped off the flight in December. During the second 10 days, when we accomplished much, I was around William almost every day. We were able to go over to his house to meet his wife and beautiful little one-year-old daughter. This gave Heidi the opportunity to interact with Amy, William’s wife. Their little one year old, Kathryn, had never seen a white person before, so
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 10 - Heidi's Gift
I sat in the lounge area listening to the pastors sing praise and worship songs. There was a peaceful presence with soothing voices. Our intentions were to go visit a few different individuals today and see what God had in store. This was the last day of group 2 pastors, who showed a noticeable change in interactions with each other. Everyone seems to be inspired and uplifted by this opportunity. Heidi continues to be engaged in personal conversations each day with people. Go
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 9 - Womens Study
Today, Heidi and Rick joined up with Rhoda and Marvelous to attend a women's Bible study. There were probably 300 in attendance. Joe joined them a bit later to do the interpreting for Rick. During this time, a young man of 19 years old ran some errands with me. His name was Wyson White, and we talked quite a bit about Jesus. He was interested in having Jesus in his heart, and not just his head. He told me that he could feel his heart pounding in his chest while the pastors we
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 8 - Moving Forward
We continue to get the teaching house in order, but the power has been off many times, as much as 10 hours or more! This causes things in the fridge to begin thawing, so we have purchased a small generator and hope that we will receive it next week. In the meantime, Nazer was kind enough to loan us one. When we met with him and his father, Abdul, it was warm and cordial. Honestly, they treat us like family and try to help us out anyway they can. I have a great deal of love an
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 7 - The Team
On this morning at 4:30 AM, I was awoken by the sound of a dozen or so people singing African praise and worship songs. That is the time that the activities start at the teaching house. You would think that the EchoAfrica team had been at this for some time. The Holy Spirit is clearly in control because of such advanced improvements. We support Tony and the team as we complete the facility to operate as smoothly as possible. There are many different challenges that are prese
EchoAfrica 2.0 Day 6 - The Training Center
Getting up at three in the morning to return to Malawi made for a short night. I was so blessed to hear a positive report from the Malawi team while I was gone. Heidi is gifted with her one-on-one ability. Male or female does not seem to matter, because she makes a connection. There was a gentleman named Memory that she had a lengthy conversation with, about issues in his marriage, and they were both genuine in their talk. There is something very special going on here, and it
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 5 - Kenya
I made the decision not to return to Elijah’s church this morning. The primary reason for this choice was the lack of time. The journey back to Nairobi was a good seven hours. On the previous day, heavy downpours had washed large amounts of dirt onto the road, making it impassable. Driving at nighttime is treacherous and not recommended, but we viewed some zebras and baboons from the road today. I again marveled at the number of near misses that did not end in catastrophe, as
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 4 - Kenya
Around 3 am this morning, I was awoken, my awareness quickly embracing the power of the Almighty. I broke into questioning God right away. “Heavenly Father let all my decisions be guided by You.” Then I went on to ask about Duke, “Is he a key person to work with?” Then the images flooded back into my mind. In each one, he was wearing an apron, and was head chef preparing the food for everyone. I even watched him cutting vegetables and adding spices to a dish he was preparing.
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 3 - Kenya
Sammy, our driver, picked me up at the hotel at 8 am. Pastor Elijah and Pastor Douglas arrived shortly thereafter. The plan was to return to the church and the village area. I would say depending on the conversation, the language barrier only allowed for 60% to 80% efficiency. Based on what I have seen, the similarities between Pastor Doug in Kenya, and Pastor Duncan in Malawi are concerning. Elijah is simply an uneducated village pastor with a heart for the Lord, much the sa
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 2 - Kenya Bound
The day began with an eight hour journey to Kisii. Had I not witnessed it, I never would have believed that there were hundreds of speed bumps. Stopping at the “chemist,” their term for pharmacist, I retrieved some Dramamine type medicine. The journey was grueling, but I asked God to help me, and He delivered. I kept reminding myself of what Paul went through. He was persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and nearly killed, while I was slightly inconvenienced. I asked someone if God
EchoAfrica Trip 2.0 Day 1 - Long Flight
After nearly 40 hours of flight and layover time, I was able to physically see Tony once again. His beaming smile and pleasant countenance is a magnet to draw in personal interaction. We actually arrived at the airport about an hour earlier than anticipated. This was a good sign. When it was time for us to go, the trip was blessed by God’s hand in many ways. The ability to travel for nearly 2 days and maintain a cheerful attitude is supernatural. I have learned to judge the l
