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| Victoria Falls - Zambia |
These last couple months have been filling with a wide range of emotions and experiences here in Africa. Since we last wrote in May, we have seen a great many friends end their time here in Malawi and transition back to their lives in the United States. It is often said that you don't know what you had until it is gone. Well, that wasn't the case with us. We knew exactly what we had. We had an amazing community and group of friends here, and we are so thankful that the Lord blessed us with a wonderful year spent with them. And yes, now that many of them have gone back home, they are missed, they are thought about, they are prayed for, and they are appreciated. And I hope that they all know how much they are and will be missed this year!
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| Summit Church and Malawi Staff |
In May, I (John) had my first mission group come back for a second trip. Last year, the group from Summit Church in Orlando Florida spent a week traveling around the villages of Salima, spending a lot of time with a support group of people living with HIV/AIDS, and getting to know many of the staff in the district. This year was a reunion with two of the group members (Lauren Gaines and Alison Porter) who were joined by four new members, and really dove into building relationships with the Malawi staff. The Summit team facilitated a "Strength Finders" workshop for 13 members of staff who work together on a daily basis. It was a wonderful time getting to know each other, getting to know ourselves, and seeing all of the strengths that were already at work within the group. In addition to the workshop, the team was able to get out into the community, attend a church service in a local village, tour a new windmill project that is bringing water for irrigation into the community, and bring a lot of joy to local villagers every where they went. It was a wonderful week, and a true highlight of my year.
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| Victoria Falls - Zambia side |
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Victoria Falls - as seen from a bridge connecting
Zambia and Zimbabwe |
Dawn and I were also just recently blessed with a visit from Dawn's parents (Mike and Chris Flandermeyer). For Mike, it was his first time flying out of the United States, and for Chris, it had been many years since her last world tour. They both endured the two days of travel to get here, battled with jet lag, spent a great day at Lake Malawi, and then we made them jump on another plane! We spent an amazing week visiting Victoria Falls and South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Victoria Falls had been on Dawn and my bucket list ever since we knew we were coming to Malawi. It is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. If you ever get a chance to visit, it is well worth it. We spent three nights near the falls, had a couple sunset cruises (because one just wasn't enough), had a walking tour through a local village that lodge we stayed in helps to support (education and development), and spent a good part of a day walking all the trails around the falls getting pictures from every angle available.
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| Zambezi River on sunset cruise |
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| Part of "journey" of 14 giraffes |
After our third night, and a leisurely morning, we boarded a plane and flew back across the country to go on safari. It was an unbelievable experience. We arrived at our lodge after the sun had set, yet we were greeted to a lighted viewing deck that overlooked a landscape teeming with antelope, birds, hippos, and crocodile. I couldn't have imagined a more amazing view to start our safari. The next morning we had a 5:30am wake-up call, 6:00am breakfast, and by 6:30am we were loaded in our safari vehicles covered in blankets ready to see animals (it is winter here in the Southern Hemisphere). And see animals we did!!! Antelopes (many kinds), warthogs, elephants, water buffalos, lions (6 of them), leopards (up close and personal), giraffes (first a "journey" of 14, then another of 17), and more beautiful birds than we could even count or identify. South Luangwa unfortunately does not have any rhinos, but we did see all four of the big five that they do have (elephants, water buffalo, lions and leopards). It was an unbelievable drive to start the trip with, but it really set the stage for an incredible stay.
Things did get a little emotional on our last morning as Dawn and I were heading back to Lilongwe, while Mike and Chris were continuing on to spend a week in Cape Town. It was so great to see family, which we have been looking forward to for so long. But it was also hard to have to say good-bye and not know when we will be seeing them again. Mike and Chris, thank you so much for flying half way around the world to see us! We were so very blessed, and we made some incredible memories.
Lucky for us, we won't have to be without family for long. My parents and sister (Jim and Lesley Kopp, and Michelle Schmutzler) are going to arrive in Lilongwe at the end of August for a visit. Similar to the Flandermeyers, this will be the first time any of my family has been to Africa, and we are looking forward to making more incredible memories!
Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers. Please pray for us as we begin our second year in Malawi, and may it be as rich and rewarding as the first. As you all know, it hasn't always been easy here. We are praying for new friends and deeper community. We also pray that the Lord give us the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the heart to understand the ways in which the Lord is moving here in Malawi: both through us and around us. The Lord is definitely active here in Malawi, and we are blessed to be a part of it.
God bless you all!
John (and Dawn) Kopp
