Packing UpIt has been a joy to be in touch with multiple missionaries currently at EBCoM to get a feel for what life is like in Malawi right now. Due to fuel, water and electricity shortages, life sounds a good deal different from when we visited just a year and a half ago. We anticipate living simply and adjusting to some new routines. In packing, we’re trying not to take too much or too little, and to include some things that will help us feel “at home.” All that being said, it is challenging to balance stuff preparation with self preparation. Please pray that we will rest in the peace and confidence that only Jesus can give, as it is he who has called us to this move, experience, and service. We hope to wrap up our stuff packing before flying to Colorado for some down time with family and further training.
Little O’s
(from Micah’s perspective)
Mommy and Daddy have a lot to tell you about, but I have a few updates, too! First of all, you should really stop in at our house because I have my very own bunk bed! I like it a lot. Plus, a big backyard — I like that, too. We’ll be moving a lot this year, so Mommy said we can make a “new house cake” at each new place to celebrate. (See picture of me cooking below.)
We live on a corner and I can watch the traffic from where I eat and from the living room where I play. Monday is trash day — lots of trucks go by!! There are real trains and train tracks down the road and a bus stop right on our corner, too! Most days, I play inside with Rachel. She’s starting to sit up with Mommy’s help, so we can play tractor, bus, train, airplane, jungle gym, or dog house. We liked playing in the snow, too! (See picture at right.)
I love Rachel, but she’s starting to screech really loud a lot when she’s happy and I’m not allowed to do that. Not fair. She doesn’t have to stop playing to eat at the table, either. Again, not fair. But, she did get a tooth, so maybe soon she’ll have to eat with me. Mommy says that when I turn three in April, I will have to give up my diapers and go on the potty — we’ll see about that.
Diapers are just so convenient! Especially for all the plane trips we have scheduled. I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to having a dog in Malawi, too.
So, Jonathan will be teaching … what will Becky be doing?
I (Becky) get this question a lot! I’ve felt called to missions since I was very young, but I never had a specific idea of where I’d go or what I’d do. In fact, what I anticipate I will do in Malawi will be rather ordinary, just in an extraordinary place. I will watch our children, run the house, buy the food, filter the water, clean the veggies, prepare meals, clean the house, wash the dishes, supervise our house helper, apply sunscreen and bug repellant (to whole family), play with the kids, clean the kids (bucket bath style?), home school the kids, potty train the kids, wash the clothes, hang clothes to dry, wash the diapers, hang diapers to dry, meet the neighbors, care for the neighbors, learn the language, visit around campus, get together with other moms and children, write home, assist Jonathan when needed, and generally attempt to represent Christ and love everyone I meet while doing all these ordinary things in a place where things are done differently than I’m used to.
Jonathan will be teaching … but teaching what?
It’s a bit intimidating moving from one career to another. As if being a beginning
lecturer in another culture wasn’t intimidating enough, I don’t know when I’ll know what I’ll be teaching. I probably won’t know for sure until at least July—and we hope to arrive in Malawi in July.
While I’m excited to start teaching at EBCoM, I admit that it’s difficult to know how to prepare. (It also makes it harder to decide which books to take!) At least I shouldn’t be creating the courses from scratch! I’m very thankful for all of those who have taught these courses before me, and who have left their notes/syllabi behind for others to use.
I look forward to getting to know the students, staff, and faculty, and beginning to adjust to life in Malawi. We’ve been thinking and dreaming of this for over two years now!
Pray with me, that we will serve well at EBCoM, and that God would use us to bless our brothers and sisters in Malawi. We are going there to teach, but we know we also have much to learn.
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| The house we’ll live in, built by BICWM for missionaries at EBCoM. It sits within the campus compound with its terraced lawn overlooking part of the city of Blantyre. At the end of April we’re headed to Colorado to see Jonathan’s parents, his sisters and their families, as well as attend two trainings at the Missionary Training Institute (MTI). |
Cultural Adjustment & Language Training
From talking with others who have been to MTI before, we’re in for some excellent training — here’s what we know about it:• SPLICE, which stands for Spiritual Personal Lifestyle Interpersonal Cultural Endure/enjoy, is a 3-week long, pre-departure training intended to “interweave the knowledge, skills and attitudes from both cultures to make your transition and ministry a time of unprecedented personal and spiritual growth.”
• PILAT, which stands for Program In Language Acquisition Techniques, is a 2-week long training in language learning skills that we can implement once we arrive in Malawi to learn Chichewa (one of two national languages, the second being English).
If you’d like to give either financially or in prayer (or both!), please ask us for a commitment form to send to the BICWM office with your pledge. If you’d like to
give online (one-time), you can visit www.bic-church.org/wm/give/donate.asp to do so, or you can sign up to automatically give each month by requesting a form from us at
jonathanbeckyowen@gmail.com.
We have moved!
We have completed moves #1 and #2 of 6 total moves this year. So that you can keep up with us, here’s our itinerary:
• Move to the Missionary House (first floor) in Grantham, PA [done]
• Move our stuff to storage (thanks Mom & Dad Hague and Grantham movers!) [done]
• Move to Mom & Dad Owen’s in Divide, CO for 3 weeks [April 28th]
• Move to MTI at Palmer Lake, CO for 5 weeks [May 21st]
• Move to a friend’s house in Dillsburg, PA until departure [June 26th]
• Move to Malawi, Africa [Lord-willing, July!]
Things we’re looking forward to
• Having a dog or dogs (watch dogs are standard)
• A big back yard (see picture)
• Playing in the dirt
• Teaching! (Jonathan)
• Connecting with moms in another culture (Becky)
• Having students over for tea and/or games
• Mangos…Real. Good. Fresh. MANGOS!
Things we’re nervous about
• Frequent power outages, unpredictable, at times
• Water and fuel shortages
• Learning a new, very different language and culture
• Having dogs (Becky has never had a pet beyond a tadpole before)
• Possible break-ins, burglary, and illnesses
• Being far from our family and friends
• Calculating money conversion
• Driving left-handed stick shift on the left-hand side of the road
Just so you know, our U.S. mailing address for the next 3+ years will be Jonathan’s brother’s house (David & Gretta Owen): 104 Holly Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.
We’ll keep you posted on our address in Malawi as that time comes.
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