Malawi Update Tuesday March whatever

Hello to all you brave souls who somehow found this blog site. Wanda and I are trying to double-team you! She's answering e-mails while I type frantically, trying with little chance of success to catch you up on the evnets of the last 2-3 days. I typed a 2-page summery of my first day here, then realized that the summery would take longer to read than it took to live it!
The Lord has been very good to us - He has moved in ways that are unbelievable, and the pastors are seeing it and are amazed. I hardly know where to start. First, a disappointment. Grey Mnunka, the pastor who left Blantyre with some of the ministry funds and several important documents, is not meeting any of the criteria for repentence. I had thought that he would have repented, placing himself under the authority of the local church for appropriate discipline, and that Wanda and I would have the opportunity to help restore him and establish terms of restitution. I had hoped to proceed from there to using him in a position of carefully-watched authority over some of the purchasing situations. However, I found nothing of the sort. He has evidently left Malawi again, talking repentance while trying to set his own terms for return. He has shown no real contrition that I can identify, and we are moving on without him. We have taken several final steps to remove any possibility of his doing further damage, and the Lord has clearly blessed every step that we have taken. We have replaced the corporate seal that he kept in his possession with an imprinted seal, so that his seal can no longer be used. We have copies of the corporate license and the constitution that have been located and placed in safekeeping. Grey no longer has any leverage, and his plan to use these items as bargaining chips for some kind of false "negotiated repentence" has been thwarted. If He had thrown himself at the feet of the cross, and accepted the consequences, we would have loved to work with him and to restore him. Without that choice, I will be discussing with the Board of Acts3 the apparent fact that we are not dealing with "taking a brother to court", but rather with placing consequences on one who needs saving grace.
Sorry to labor that point, but, since that decision has been made, the Lord has been carrying us along in marvelous ways. We have met with the architect, and he had 4 sets of plans extra that he offered to sell to us at 7000 Kw ($45). Since Randy had suggested that we get an extra set of plans for $30, I countered for him to give us 2 sets for the $30 (since that's all that we would ever need), and he accepted! We have the stamped copies with us, and the contractors took a set for their work.
We went to the Foreign exchange expecting to negotiate for 148 kwacha per dollar, and were offered 151 Kwacha per dollar, a 2% increase in available funds! Today, in completing the transaction, we got all of the donated money into the bank, then learned that the Malawi government is closing all foreign exchanges as of the end of the day. If we had waited until tomorrow to do the exchange, we would have been forced to trade at 136 Kwachas per dollar, a big loss (the prevailing bank rate). the Lord protected us in a most unusual circumstance, exchanging dollars for Kwacha in the back room of a Cell Phone repair shop front in a very dark town north of Blantyre. It all went well.
As we approached the National Bank to deposit the funds, the Lord had put a real check in my spirit (not that usual for me...) and, after the lady at the bank told us that she couldn't help us because it was too late in the day (it was 10:30 AM, the bank opened at 9), We immediately went down the street to the INDE bank, and opened our account there. (Randy had threatened to do this in the past, so we felt that it was time, and the Lord confirmed it big-time.) We met a marvelous Christian banker lady there named Martha Moto, and she helped us SO MUCH, including visiting the site of the orphanage personally and discussing our project in detail. After the fact, I was reminded that the lady at the National Bank was a friend of Grey's.
THIS PROJECT IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN ONE MAN - bigger than one founder (I'm sure Randy would agree), bigger than one runaway pastor, bigger than our sometimes pitiful efforts, bigger than one wonderful donor, bigger than one church, bigger than one missionary family that is about to invest their lives in the project, just bigger.
We met with the contractors this AM, and I was not surprised to find that they have seen me as an easy mark for their plans to run up the price and dominate the playing field. If they think this, they have another think coming! They tried to say that labor costs have gone up 10% since the project was delayed, so that the prices should be renegotiated. I expressed willingness to discuss a 1-2% increase - they were not happy, but I think they understood my reasoning. The property really does have a drainage problem, and KAMA Construction offered to deal with it, for a price. I am still waiting for the price, but I think they will be surprised when they find me unwilling to pay their price - the pastors and myself will do the trenching ourselves, if need be, to prove that their estimates are ridiculous for extra work (I haven't received the estimate yet, but I'm very sure that it will be something idiotic.) I'm now dreaming about trenching and drainage pipes - I have gone around the entire property wall, and have identified a number of needs that we will be addressing.
The pastors are marvelous people - they each have their limitations, but they are a joy to work with, and we have been well-received. We have been scurrying around from one difficulty to another, and are looking forward to a little rest in the next few days. We have a long list of issues that are right in the middle of resolution. Wanda and the girls are walking miles and miles, riding minibuses like pros, meeting local ladies and fitting right in here. They are very tired, but very satisfied thus far...
I have so many prayer points for you, but I'm honestly running out of mental energy - I have been taxed to the full. Here are a few, I'll provide a more complete list tomorrow:
1. Pray for wisdom in dealing with the very nice and polite snakes from KAMA Construction. I have not been fully impressed by the quality of their work or of their work ethic. Money seems to be their language.
2. Pray for efficient use of funds. We are looking seriously at the purchase of a truck to reduce transport costs. Pray for Pastor Bosco, who has been given this responsibility. The Lord has given us an extra 2% (almost an extra $1000 !!!). We should respond appropriately.
3. Pray for strength for Wanda and the girls. The schedule is very taxing. The stress today from the money exchange was unbelievable (Wanda was there but not the girls - they were at the hotel entertaining Madalo, the fiancee of one of the pastors (Aubrey))
4. We are entering another phase of our time here - looking at various networking options. We already have, through Frank Mieni, contact with a government office to help with needed procedures. We will be visiting the Congoma office, a central NGO office that Randy has visited before. We will be visiting a YWAM base once things settle down sufficiently. Pray for good relationships to be begun that will benefit the Wallaces when they come.
5. Pray for Shawn and Heather as they close down their ministry at the church in Kinsman, Ohio. I would like to express my strong feeling that the ministry here will be so effective that the Kinsman Chapel members will rejoice to give up their senior pastor to such an effort, although they are currently suffering the loss.
6. Pray that I (Rick) will find quiet time with the Lord regularly. I need it. The day starts so early here, and I'm up before 6AM, but it's not enough to get in true quiet time. I will need it to organize my thinking on other issues, such as much needed interim pastors' training, and speaking in several of the churches. The Lord was gracious to me in providing words on Sunday to augment Pastor Aubrey's call to obedience by Christians. I need more of that provision.
7. Pray for Elton, pastor of the third church here. The Lord has used the experiences with Grey to strengthen Frank Gama, but Elton is definitely flailing spiritually. I will be meeting with him tomorrow (Wednesday) evening.

I am so much in need of communication with Randy, we have a number of decisions to make together. So far, we have not been able to get in touch effectively. I do know that he's alive...

The Acts3 Malawi phone number (new) is 09432036.

Love to you all!! I believe that Wanda is returning e-mails individually while I am providing this long, long missive.