I am here!

I arrived in Malawi on Friday afternoon. Looking out the plane window and seeing this gorgeous green, rolling hills, land was so breathtaking.  I know I keep saying this, but it is so beautiful here. As I got off the plane, there were probably about 10 missionaries there to greet me. Hugs and smiles, and "We've been praying for you for a long time..." was so exciting to hear.

I am staying with another single missionary girl here. She has another friend staying with her for a just a week or so, so we have plenty of company in the house. It was instant connection with all of us. It seems everyone "white" that I meet here used to be a teacher in the states, or they are a teacher here at a school! Everyday has been exploring the city: grocery store options, clinic options, how to go to the ATM, where are the restaurants, etc. It has really been a lot of fun. We just hang out with different missionaries at their house for dinner each night, so I am meeting a lot of amazing people.

The weather here is pretty much like Charleston weather. Humid and a little on the hot side in the early mornings and day...then rainstorms in the afternoon...then back to sunny. Obviously, there is no air conditioning, so the house stays around 78 degrees. It feels normal though. :)

The cost of living here is so high! No wonder that people here are so poor. It cost almost 2 days wage to buy a bunch of bananas! It is even very high for a white missionaries salary. I am learning that I will have to be a better "budgeter" than I was in the states.

I think I will be in Lilongwe (the capital city) for a couple of weeks. I am still waiting on my family to get here. Which also means I have not been to the city I will acutally live in yet...nor my house. I just keep hearing from everyone though "It is even more beautiful up in Mzuzu! The people just get nicer! Your house is the biggest!" The only "bad" thing I've heard is that it rains all day, every day during the rainy season, so my things will grow mildew - no stopping it.

I can only say that I am very thankful to the Lord for the people he has placed me with and the country he has placed me in. I am just so grateful. I can not tell you how amazing it is to finally live here. I can not WAIT until family and friends from back home can come visit!

I'll leave you with some Switchfoot lyrics that really say what I want to say...

"I've got these memories always inside of me,
But I can't go back, back to how it was.
I believe you now, I've come too far, no I can't go back,
Back to how it was.

Created for a place I've never known....

This is home,
Now I'm finally where I belong.
Yeah, this is home,
I've been searching for a place of my own,
Now I've found it..
Yeah...this is home..."

p.s. I'm goign to try to figure out how to upload pictures...right now..it won't even upload one...