ABCCA 4th grade classroom

These are pictures of my 4th grade classroom at ABCCA next year. This will also be my daughter's classroom. I'm so excited that I will get to teach her and I can't wait to begin decorating the room. We've been collecting items for the children and we can't wait to share with the precious class that we are blessed with.

Just a taste!

Some friends of ours in Malawi recently went on a safari in Zambia. Just thought I'd share a taste of what's to come! Enjoy!

Photos by: Beverly Mannen Long

So much has changed over the past month that we find it hard to keep up with the work the Lord is doing! Praise God! We wanted to update you on a few things to keep everyone "in the know"! Thank you for your prayers! God is so GOOD!

Praises!!!!

-We have a house to live in! Our family has been blessed with a house a short drive from campus that we will rent during our first year in Malawi. A missionary family from California is going on furlough next year and have asked if we would consider renting their house for them. We will be provided with a completely furnished home complete with dogs to care for and a trampoline (a huge selling point for the kids). This is a blessing in that now we don't have to move our furniture until the following year. We are still packing everything up and getting it to the ABC warehouse, but the pressure to have everything done by March is somewhat gone. Praise God!

-We have a DATE! As of yesterday, we have plane reservations!!! We will fly out of Atlanta on June 21. We will fly first to London, then to Johannesburg, and finally to Lilongwe. We will arrive in Lilongwe on the 23rd. Praise God!

-We have met 100% of our one-time goal!!! Our support comes in two different forms: one time gifts and monthly commitments. We prayed for one-time support to cover moving costs, set-up costs, travel costs, etc. The Lord has provided in AMAZING ways, and we are so very thankful! Now any one-time gifts that come in will be set towards buffering any lows in our monthly living costs. Praise God!

-We have met 40% of our monthly goal! Monthly commitments cover our basic living expenses and supplies required to live and minister in Malawi. Our expenses increased slightly due to having to live off-campus, but pledges have come in to increase our funding by 5% since our last update in November. Praise God!

Prayer Requests

-Please pray that the Lord is glorified in all of our actions and words. Our family is being molded into who the Lord wants us to be in order to accomplish His ministry in Africa. Some of this molding is painful, yet it is all necessary and amazing! The Lord is teaching us so very much and we pray that we will remember what He's teaching us and become the family that He needs us to be.

-Pray for opportunities to speak to SS classes, churches, and any small group or family that would like to hear about the ministry of ABC. We are confident that our financial needs will be met in the Lord's timing. We are more concerned with gathering prayer support and spreading the news of this ministry with as many people as we can. The Lord is at work in Malawi, and we want to share it with whoever will listen!

-Pray for our house to sell. We have special friends who are interested, but they need to sell their house first. We know the Lord will work all things according to His will. We are praying for whatever family the Lord has picked out for our house and are praying that our house sells in His timing.

-Pray for us as we gather our supplies and pack our house over the next couple of months. Boxes are everywhere right now, and the house is beginning to look bare. This is a good thing, but also it's hard at the same time. Pray for our family as we try to make sure we have everything we need. Pray also that we would give away or sell most of what we have, especially the "stuff". "Stuff" is not going with us to Africa! HaHa!

-Please pray for our precious children! They are so very excited about the move and have handled it amazingly well thus far. However, this is a huge change, and we are beginning to see the anxiety that a move of this nature is causing in their little minds. Pray that they will feel secure (even though everything around them is changing) and that they will have the peace of the Lord that surpasses all understanding! Pray that we, as parents, will know how to best prepare them and deal with any issues that arrive.

We are so thankful for your interest in the ministry of ABC and the prayers that you have sent to the Lord for our family. We can feel the prayers and we blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing support group. Thank you! Please let us know how we can pray for you! We'd love to be prayer warriors with you. Also, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. We are full of questions ourselves! Thankfully, the Lord has provided very special families in our lives from ABC that we can call with any little question we have. So please, ask away!!! If we don't know the answer we DO know where to find it!

If the Lord leads you to support our family through this ministry please see the sidebar for information on how to help. God is faithful and we know that He will provide for our needs. He shows us His power daily and to GOD BE THE GLORY!

In His Service,
Jill

What would do for you?

My mom sent me this article today written by Rev. Peter Wallace. I wanted to share it with everyone as a call to take the road that the Lord is leading you down, even though it may seem crazy to the "world". Many people think we are out of our minds. They question the choice to leave an excellent job with great people to work for in this bad economy. But for us, it's not a choice. It's a calling that the Lord has placed on our lives and we have chosen to follow Him. Because of this we are seeing the Lord work in ways that we have never seen before. He is faithful! Read what Rev. Wallace has to say below.

In His Service,
Jill


In the Hebrew Bible, God tells Abram: "Leave your country, your family and your father's home for a land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1).
There comes a time when each of us who accepts God's invitation to authentic life must leave home, comfort, familiarity and security to step out into an unknown land.

Recently I spoke with someone struggling with a decision over which of two job offers to take (yes, even in these times). One job would pretty much continue his current work and routine, but in a new setting with a little higher salary. The other would take him into a new area of his field and could be quite fulfilling, but it carried plenty of potential risks. Even so, he felt this riskier path reflected his heart's true desire. He couldn't shake the feeling that if he didn't take it, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
So what should he do, especially in this precarious economy? Take the safe path, or the more meaningful path to which the heart beckons?

All of us at some time or another are confronted by a calling to step out of our comfort zones into the unknown in order to thrive. To risk coming alive. As the great theologian Howard Thurman put it, "Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
What would happen if you honestly considered that?

For me, one of those moments came on Memorial Day weekend in 1976. On my way to spend the weekend with my folks on the James River in Virginia, having just graduated from college, I side-tripped through Richwood, in the eastern mountains of West Virginia, to touch base before being added to the payroll of The West Virginia Hillbilly, a weekly newspaper (now sadly defunct) that focused on state arts and culture, politics, history and humor, published by one of the state's most beloved eccentrics, Jim Comstock.
I discovered that Richwood was a postcard vision -- a beautiful little town that filled the Cherry River Valley, surrounded by lush wooded hills. My heart beat with nervous anticipation as I drove into the heart of the one-stoplight town.
I found the rickety, white frame Palotta Building smack in the middle of town, right next to a busy corner gas station. This modest, ancient structure was the Hillbilly World Headquarters. Downstairs was a shop crammed with books by, for and about West Virginians, some of them published by Comstock himself. Upstairs was a suite of offices, most of them filled completely, floor-to-ceiling, with books and papers. Stretching across the front of the building overlooking Main Street was Jim's ephemera-strewn office.
Jim spent maybe a half hour giving me the nickel tour of the building and chatting with me about my joining his tiny staff as assistant editor right after the holiday weekend. He graciously offered to let me live in an apartment right on the premises.
He took me up the creaky, junk-strewn stairs to show it to me. "This will be your room," he announced proudly. "You can live right here," he added, as though trying to convince me he was telling the truth.
What I saw stunned me. Books, boxes, papers and assorted odds and ends filled the tiny room. I did see a window behind some stacked boxes, but it only looked out on the wall of the building next door, a foot away. Just behind this 10-by-12-foot room was a bathroom. I could tell because I could see the claw feet of an old bathtub poking out from behind a mound of junk. The tub itself was filled-to-overflowing with more books and papers.
I smiled weakly. Sensing my chagrin, Comstock quickly assured me, "We're going to clean this out and paint it and get a couch in here for you to sleep on. It'll be ready by the time you get back on Monday."
Okay. Sure.
This was Thursday. It would take a miracle to renovate this place into something habitable in less than four days.
I soon left, wondering what in the world I was getting myself into in this strange land. I tried to forget my doubts that weekend and enjoyed the time with my family. But my heart was filled with apprehension on the drive back that next Monday.
But sure enough, that little room had been transformed. It was clean, painted and nicely furnished. All the junk had been moved to other rooms in that ramshackle building. The new couch would make a comfortable bed. I was impressed.
That room would be my home for nearly a year. There was only one problem with it: It was right next to Comstock's office. He came in every morning at six, turned on the Today Show loud and started to work on his manual typewriter, which sounded like a machine gun.
This generally woke me up. So I'd take a bath in that classy old tub, dress and report for duty, with no idea where I might end up that night.
"Pete!" he'd bark in an energetic, high-pitched voice every morning, "Here's what I want you to do today."
And I'd be off on another adventure covering a coal miners march in Washington, D.C.; selling ad space to some very dubious businessmen; taking Jim's place as grand marshal in a small-town parade; giving a speech at a Pearl Buck Birthplace Chautauqua; covering the state legislature session; interviewing the just-elected Governor (now Senator, Jay Rockefeller) or the new and very colorful Secretary of State, A. James Manchin (the late uncle of Senator-elect Joe Manchin); investigating old railroad ghost towns; covering President Jimmy Carter's visit to the state capitol; touring flood ravaged areas in the southern part of the state; or chauffeuring Jim to a speaking engagement while he scribbled his lively "Comstock Load" editorials on a yellow legal pad
During that period of my life I frankly questioned what I -- and God -- was doing. They never taught me this stuff in journalism school. The job stretched me far beyond what I had ever expected. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Looking back now, I can see how much I learned and how foundational that experience was for much of what I would do later in life. The only thing that could move me to leave it some three years later was seminary and a growing desire to learn how to communicate my faith more effectively -- another huge risk in itself. But I'm still doing it today as producer and host of the "Day1" radio program.

What if I hadn't taken that first terrifying risk? What if I hadn't listened to God's inward call to move to a strange land? I would have lost a lifetime of wonderful memories and life lessons packed into those three-plus years.

God told Abram: "Leave your country, your family and your father's home for a land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). I'm certainly no Abram, but I do hope to be a willing child of God, sensitive to divine coaxing, open to God's calling for me -- no matter my age or how overwhelming, strange and faraway it might appear.

How about you? Let me encourage you to take poet Mary Oliver's suggestion, from her poem "Evidence," to "keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."

"I ask you again: if you have not been enchanted bythis adventure--your life--what would do foryou?"

Family Vacation

Here are a few of the 700+ pics that I took on our family vacation. Aren't you glad I didn't upload them all? I guess you can tell I love my new camera (and my family)! Enjoy!

Whirlwind Week

Wow! What a wonderful week the Kyser family has had! It's been very busy but full of blessings. We started out the week of Thanksgiving being blessed with a visit from Hannah (the sister of our adopted daughter, Rachel). Hannah and Rachel are from Buffalo, New York and they are both in school in Mississippi. (Rachel is actually in Basic Training right now for the Army Reserves). Since it's too close to Christmas to fly home, we had Hannah spend Thanksgiving with us! Gidgi did most of the cooking, oh...it was heavenly! There is nothing like waking up to the smell of mom cooking her cornbread dressing! We always watch the Macy's parade while getting our feast together. It's been a tradition since I was a little girl. What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we traveled to Picayune, MS (my hometown). We were asked to speak at a couple of churches and small groups this weekend so we had a busy yet productive time there. Of course we DID watch the Egg bowl with Daddy on Saturday night! GO DAWGS! Jeremy was feeling sick with sinus crud but the Lord was gracious and he was able to speak 4 times in 24 hours! What a blessing! Now it is in the Lord's hands!

We left Picayune on Monday (mind you, Picayune is 45 minutes from New Orleans on the the Gulf Coast) and traveled to Gatlinburg, TN. Jeremy's parents were on vacation up there and wanted us to join them. It was a 10 hour drive in the pouring rain! Ugh! But it was so worth it! There was an indoor waterpark where we were staying and we spent the first day there. The kids all loved it! It snowed that night and we were able to drive into the mountains and see a little of it the next day. We took tons of pics and I'll put them on when I get them downloaded. We were in Gatlinburg for 4 days and we were busy the entire time. We hike the kids to a waterfall (which they LOVED). We toured Gatlinburg and rode the chair lifts to the top of a mountain. They picked out tons of candy from a sweet candy shop. We saw snow, ice cycles the size of a pringles can, deer, and even a bear! The bear was a very nice surprise. We even have him on video standing up and scratching his back on a tree! How fun!

We left Gatlinburg on Friday night and traveled to Montgomery for our niece's first birthday. We drove into the night and arrived around 1am. After the birthday party we had the Kyser family annual hayride and bonfire! This has been a tradition since Tink was an infant. We love roasting marshmellows and hot dogs in the fire. And being with family is the icing on the cake! Jeremy spoke in two more Sunday School classes on Sunday morning. And after a lazy afternoon with family we packed up and finally headed back to Clinton.

Now it's back to real life for two weeks and then Christmas is here. It is so very hard to believe that Christmas is that close. I pray that during these two weeks we will be able to slow down and truly experience the meaning of this blessed holiday. It is not about toys and parties. It's not about Santa and trees. It's about the Lord of the universe coming down from heaven in the form of a little baby. It's about the Savior of the world being born in a tiny manger without a bed. It's about the sacrifice of God the Father because of His love for a sinner such as me! Lord, help us to truly worship you this Christmas season!

Jill

Our Purpose

I must admit...I'm a blog stalker! Ok, there, I've said it. I'm truthful and open about it though. About once a week I go to the sidebar of my blog and check in on all of the blogs that I follow. I put that sidebar over there mainly for my own use to be honest. It's easier for me to follow my favorite blogs that way. However, I do hope that many of you follow some of them as well. When the Lord called us to a third world country as missionaries I figured that I'd try to learn as much about the jobs, people, and culture as I could. Well, what better source than the actual missionaries who are there (or who have been there). So, I began stalking. I really think it's a harsh term. I mean, isn't that why a blog is there in the first place? Nonetheless, I love learning about ABC and Malawi.

I just stumbled upon a GREAT post by the Carlisles family. The Carlisles just moved to Malawi this past August and they are serving in the ABC Academy (where I will be teaching). They just wrote a wonderful entry on what they are doing in Malawi and the purpose of us being there. I thought I'd share part of it with you:

"So, I've been wanting to let you know what we do here--both how we serve and what life is like.I remember the first time as we were referred to as "missionaries." It seemed really strange. It still is, as what we do isn't what I think of missionaries doing. We have not yet had an opportunity to visit a village or go evangelizing like my sisters talk about from their time in Uganda. (Though we're going to a refugee camp later this month). That's not even what we're primarily here to do. I guess you might say that we serve in a support role. I'll explain.Malawi was evangelized by Presbyterians long ago (the Dr. Livingstone you've heard of). So many Malawians will call themselves Christians. There are many, many "prayer houses" all over the country. But there are very, very few pastors. Most pastors here cover a number of these small churches and may have thousands of parishioners. Of course they cannot preach in 20 places each Sunday, so when a pastor is not present anyone may "say a word." As you can imagine, with the level of education, particularly theological education, here, what is said may not be AT ALL Biblical. So you end up with lots of dangerous mixtures of old superstitions and religious beliefs. (Baptisms being thought of as magical, lots of health and wealth type gospel. There was even one church--or anti-church that was telling people and Jesus was just for white people and a new type of religion was needed for Africans). This was why African Bible College was begun, to train pastors and lay people in theology and communication, so that as they go out into their country they are leading others in the right direction, whether as pastors, teachers, leaders in their churches or in businesses, or government (and ABC graduates are everywhere here and being a positive leaven wherever they have influence--I know, I teach with one). So, then those who were teaching and running the college needed to have somewhere to send their children to school. Local schools were not a terrific option. Home schooling was going on, but there were getting to be a lot of children and so a school was begun. At first it was only children of ABC missionaries, but soon there was a desire that it be serving Malawi as well. So, now each class is kept at 50% Malawian and 50% Non-Malawian. Now, this is where we come in. This is where in begins to make sense for us--Brian and Scharlie--to be here. Brian's been working in schools for over 10 years and has had a lot of different experiences that help him with this one. I like teaching and being a part of a school community. Education, and yes, Christian education is something that's been important to us for a long time. We're really encouraged about how self-consciously Christian this school is. It knows it is Christian and evangelical. There are (of course) nominal Christians mixed with true ones, and there are also a few atheists, Muslims, and Hindus sprinkled in. We respect that their beliefs are different, but students are not excused from Bible classes, or chapel, or Scripture memory. So, in that sense, we are evangelizing, just not in the same way. I love being so free in the way I'm able to pray and speak about the Bible. Brian's Bible class had a pretty good discussion recently on the problem of suffering. I'm thankful He's their teacher. He made those older kids think. This brings me full circle, I guess--We don't always understand why we have difficult things to go through. We don't always know why God calls us to certain places at certain times or away from others at times, but we can know that He is good and that if we are in Him, he has our best in mind at all times. We are glad to be here. There are hard things (though, not really in the areas you might imagine or we expected). But, just pray for us. We will learn what we are supposed to from those things, I trust (sometimes)."

I am thankful that the Lord has called us and that He is providing the means for us to follow Him to Malawi, Africa. I pray that we will be able to glorify Him in all that we do. God bless!

Jill