'Our Malawi Summer Vacation'

Dear Friends and Family, 

It may be summer in the states, but not here in Africa. In the Western Cape its now winter. The weather here is like California; Northern California that is. But here the homes aren’t heated so you can be colder inside than out. I’m glad that I bought two pairs of fleece lined pants which I bought at Eddie Bauer. It seems I wear them almost every day. We even wear our jackets indoors here. So between the weather and being between semesters at the University of Stellenbosch this was the perfect time for our whole family to return to Malawi.

These guys did a great job moving us! 

We went to Malawi, not for the warmer weather, but for a couple of important reasons. First we had to move ‘our stuff’. We have had ‘our stuff’ stored in one room in our old duplex at African Bible College for the past two years. When we left Malawi two years ago, we didn’t know whether we would return to ABC or not. We only knew that the college was moving in one direction and the Lord was moving us in another direction. When we left things were not particularly clear to us so we never said any formal ‘goodbyes’. Since that time we have been in transition but ‘our stuff’ stayed where it was packed away in one room of what was our home for ten years.

Ironically Malawi was almost closed to us before we returned. South Africa just recently implemented a new law that requires those traveling with children to carry birth certificates. While we had all this to get our South African visas but they were locked in a safe in our flat in Stellenbosch. They weren’t going to let us through immigration until Clara cried and made a scene. This got us through but they said we couldn’t get back in without them. That was one fit that I really didn’t mind. When we arrived in Malawi the ministry opportunities we were considering never materialized. Not only had the ‘School of Storying’ fallen through but the Conference Centre our friends wanted to build had suffered some serious setbacks. So we were really left with no other choice but to move and sell ‘our stuff’.

Saying 'goodbye' to 'our stuff'!

A former colleague at ABC was so gracious to us that it was humbling. He let us stay in his house while he was away so were able to use his garage and container to move and sort through our things. We were able to move, unpack, sort through and sell almost everything that we had. The cost of moving it to South Africa would have been close to the same price to put it on a shipping container and send it to the states. Well it was a busy few weeks but everything came together beautifully. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away! A former student, now a ‘Member of Parliament’, bought almost all of our furniture. So we said ‘goodbye’ to both ‘our stuff’ and to many good friends and former students. Our girls loved playing on the ABC campus with some old and some new friends. The warmer weather and the familiar surroundings were a real blessing.

Pempo & Livinia; former students & babysitters. 

We also had some significant opportunities to do ministry while we were there. We taught and told Biblical stories at the prison where we ministered for several years. We also taught a couple times at a hospital chapel, and preached three times at Churches pastored by former students. Everything really went pretty miraculously. The US embassy in Malawi was able to give us birth certificate for Katherine since her passport was renewed there. But when we went to the South African High Commission they said we wouldn’t be able to get back into South Africa without birth certificates for each child. However, while I was in line I read their law which was posted on the wall. The law said that if the child has a valid South African visa then the law requiring a birth certificate no longer applies. When I pointed this out it seemed to be news to them. They printed a copy of the law which the signed and stamped and when we showed it to immigration we had no trouble getting back into South Africa.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Jay, Laura, Clara, Katherine and Lauren Stoms