This is really happening!

God has given me an incredible opportunity this summer and I am excited to share it with you, my friends and family. I am leaving in the morning for an 8-week period to serve in Malawi, Africa with Esther’s House Ministries. As you may know, First Baptist Springdale and The Church at Pinnacle Hills have started many ministries in Malawi. With a population of 13.5 million, Malawi has approximately one million orphans. This is heart breaking! Over the last couple of years, God has really directed my heart and focus towards missions in general, and more specifically, working with orphans. This is the deal of a lifetime for me. I will be there June 6-July 30. These eight weeks I will be involved in developing a children’s program for Esther’s House Orphanage, working in the local feeding centers, helping teach English, and doing discipleship. I am so excited to see what the Lord does through this experience.

We are supposed to be getting Internet access in the house that I, along with my two teammates, will be living in. However, things work on a different timetable in Malawi, so we will see! Hopefully, I will be able to update you on our work every so often through this blog. I do ask for your prayer. I would be so grateful to have your support in that way this summer. Feel free to share the blog with whomever, we can use all the prayer and support we can get!

Some specific requests at this time are as follows:

• Prayer for safe and smooth traveling both ways. We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow!! (Northwest, AR --- Dallas, TX --- Washington D.C. --- Rome --- Ethiopia --- Malawi --- Ntcheu!)
• Prayer for our team to be united and have an easy time working together.
• For my mother’s stress levels :)
• Prayer for doors to be opened and for relationships to be built with right people.
• Prayer for strength and that my personal relationship with the Lord would not take a place on the back burner, but that it would grow and thrive through this experience.
• Ultimately, I would ask that you pray the Lord is able to work in and through our team this summer in a major way… that we are able to clearly see what He is guiding us to do.

Thank-you so much for already giving your support, even at this point. I am so blessed and cannot wait to share this blessing with you all.

Anxiously, Alyssa