One Year

Lots of laughing and tears. Missed home and enjoyed all things new. Prayed for the year to go faster and wanted time to stand still. Ah, transition. We are so thankful for the Lord's sustenance and for keeping us close to Him in the roller coaster which was our first year in Africa. We have learned that when we are weak He is very strong and great is His faithfulness to us. Looking forward to year number two.

Here are a million family photos we took this morning...for the grandparents whom we miss very much!

Academy Activity

 The end of the year was a busy time at African Bible College Christian Academy(ABCCA) I volunteer once a week teaching two academy choirs.  JJ had a wonderful year in Reception with Mr. Owen. Reception is a pre-kindergarten program 5 days a week and 5 hours a day. He had classmates from Portugal, Zimbabwe, India, Jordan, Malawi and the US. It was a great school year for JJ.

 Upper School Choir with Taritta conducting

 Ballerina /Choristers

 Mr Owen's and Miss Kiti's Reception Class

 JJ and Mr. Owen on awards day

 Brenda my wonderful accompanist

Taritta my very talented conducting assistant

Graduation

On June 4 the African Bible College Class of 2011 crossed the graduation stage. Parents were cheering, students were smiling, the faculty was proud. May the Lord bless them and keep them.

 Proud Parents...

 and Grandparents.

 Saying goodbye to the rising Sophomores

and future Seniors!

Oh Where is My Prom Dress?

Malawians like to dress "smart" as they say.  I mean 6 inch heels to class and never slippers (flip flops). It shouldn't have been a surprise that for the Senior Dinner all the girls were dressed in FANCY gowns. I also had a dress thanks to the Salvation Army in Thomasville, GA! It was a fun celebration.

Spring Concert and Peter Mawanga

The ABC Spring Choir Concert was on June 1.  A semester of hard work came together nicely. We sang a three part arrangement of "Salvation is Created" by Tschesnokoff. It stretched the students abilities as well as their stylistic preferences. I was proud of them. This piece is slow and very different from anything they've heard before. When I played it for them in January they thought it was boring and by June it had become a favorite. We also sang the gospel song "Hallelujah, Salvation and Glory" and a beautiful original Chichewa composition by Senior Linda Chiyani.

 Dress rehearsal

 The Seniors

 

Me and Peter

 Peter Mawanga, Malawian international recording artist, spent a few rehearsals with the ABC jazz combo, Mingoli, teaching a song from an upcoming album titled, "Mau a Malawi, Stories of AIDS." Here is a link to a website that explains more about the heart and mission of this album. We are also honored to have Peter working with Mingoli for a few rehearsals in September. He will be performing at the University of North Carolina in the fall for a large benefit. Go if you're close!