Joy

What is joy? Joy was threaded throughout our entire day today in various forms and ways. What a wonderful day it has been -- and a long one, too! We started out by going to school this morning. It was a bright beautiful day; the sun was warm and comforting in the midst of the cool morning breeze as we started out. There truly isn't anything better than driving into the school yard with hundreds of smiling faces and waving hands greeting you with great joy. They make us feel like celebrities! :) The RU students brought a parachute to play the "parachute" game with each class, and the kids LOVED it! It was an action-packed morning with parachute activities. The RU students are an amazing group; they will be wonderful teachers. I was so proud of them today. At mid-day, we left school and walked down the rocky, village dirt road with little children holding each of our hands all the way. That village walk with the children is always my favorite part of each day here. Words cannot adequately express the feeling it brings. We don't speak the same language, but yet in many ways we do. We connect during the walk each day, and it is a special time. It was during that time today that I realized my cheeks were hurting, because I had been smiling so much. At noon, we walked two miles to Malika Church (We had already walked 1 mile to get to the starting point for the venture to the church). Malika Church is a Catholic Church, and it has permitted the people there to integrate some of their traditional songs and dances into the worship service. It is quite unique and beautiful. The church is simple but has a painting of Paul and his conversion experience on the wall, with scripture written under it. They have decorated the church with strings strung from side to side that have fabric strips hung on them. The alter is similar to what we have in modest churches in the USA. The choir was comprised of young men and women, along with a choir director. They had uniforms on and had synchronized movements to each song. Their singing is like that of angels; it brought me to tears a couple of times. They sang songs praising God for His creation and for His blessings upon them. They sang about the angels who first announced Jesus' birth, and they sang that there is no other name like the name Jesus. The music was filled with such joy and praise; the Spirit was alive and well there. Several of the women started dancing, and somehow I got "selected" to dance with them. I danced with them through the entire performance (and eventually several students joined in). At the end of the performance, they sang a song asking God to look after us until we meet again some day in heaven. It warmed my heart. When we got back "home," we were informed that the lodge staff were planning a party for us. So, we changed clothes and walked to the party where more dancing commenced. We were there from 6:30pm - 11:30pm....mostly dancing the whole time by the students; I joined in some, but gave them their space. It was a fun way to end a most joyous and meaningful day. Joy is in the Spirit of Malawi. It connects people and it energies the soul. Joy is familiar in every culture and language. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be here.