Day 1

Our group of 13 assembled at the Kansas City airport on Thursday, November 6th, to begin our journey to Malawi. Nerves may have been on edge over the 2-day journey ahead or the potential for recently announced airport capacity impacts, but no one showed any concern. Smiles, stories and hugs were shared all around as we quickly grew to be a team heading into this journey together.

We each carried a full suitcase of books for the library in Malawi and supplies for our host organization there. As a result, each of us had a story to tell about how we packed for our entire trip in a carry on. We are a creative and thoughtful group, we soon learned.

Our journey took us through Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa, where we gathered for an evening meal and a quick night of rest before we headed for our last flight leg, to Lilongwe, Malawi. When we landed in Lilongwe, we were greeted by hugs and smiles and the warmest airport greeting any of us had ever witnessed. One team member noted: I’ve never been hugged by airport security before! We soon realized we are in the “warm heart of Africa”, indeed.

The organization hosting us for our stay in Malawi is the Opulence team, who packed us in their van and guided us to our hotel for the next few days, in Mponela. Our first night in Malawi was hosted by the Opulence team where we made fast friends and experienced a warmth that overwhelmed many of us. We started our evening with a highly energetic ice breaker: a Rock-Paper-Scissors competition. We all quickly realized that friendly competition bridges culture! Shared  stories and laughs created a beautiful hum that started our evening in a lovely atmosphere.

Our dinner with this team was loud, full of smiles and stories, energized, generous and filled with moments that made memories we will cherish. And this is just Day 1 in Malawi!

The ladies in our group were gifted with traditional chitenje, or beautiful fabrics that are wrapped into a skirt—along with a quick lesson on draping them. Rebecca from the Opulence team led a beautiful song in Malawi’s Chichewa language. This was a night of many special moments. And we are each ready and excited for the days ahead!

Dave led the evening’s  devotion at the table with the Opulence team, and he spoke of being a light to and within the world. On this day, we were witness to the beautiful light cast from the loving, warm hearts of our Malawi hosts. And we are each eager to continue to recast and contribute to brighten that light in our energy and time here.

Photos: KC airport photo before we left, our dinner in South Africa during our layover, our dinner with the Opulence team, our team on a bus after arriving in Malawi