Time is flying in Malawi

Hi to all of you Americans from your Malawi friends ( I guess there are a few Ukranians checking in as well...). So much is happening here, I honestly can't imagine telling it all. Every day is filled with such evidences of God's favor, that I don't know where to start, particularly since the Icon cafe is closing in 15 minutes - this day didn't end until dark... We now have a truck, and it has carried 2 loads of stone. Bosco, our pastor/driver, is thrilled with this new responsibility, and WOW is he taking it seriously. This is expensive up front, but will save Beaucoup bucks in the future. We are beginning the legal channels for the operation of the orphanage - it is a laborious process, but looks very do-able. We have 5 government organizations that need to be on board to operate, the last 3 have their hands out for big fees to join. Fortunately, most of these steps are at the end of the building process. In the meantime, one of the pastors has discovered that we can apply for a tax waiver for the purchase of cement directly from the factory and, since this is our single largest expense now, the tax break would be HUGE!!! Kudos to Frank Maini for discovering this. We are now pursuing it, but it appears to be a subjective decision by just one man in the Malawi Regional Authority tax office. The GREAT news is how personally the pastors are taking the saving of money on each step of the process! Today, while several of the pastors were shoveling quarry stones off the truck, two of us went into Ndirende, and visited 4 sick people from the church. The first was Rhoda, well-known to many of you. She has been becoming progressively weaker over the last 2 months, but has been afraid to look into it further. She is a widow of 3 years, and is pretty much alone in this problem. After discussing and praying with her, she is agreeable to go to the hospital, as long as Wanda will go with her, for further testing. We need a lot of prayer for Rhoda. She has a 3-year old daughter whose future hangs in the balance. With Rhoda's progressive weakness, she is unable to do the business that she has carried on for years, and she is failing financially. Acts 3 and the church have agreed to take her under their wing for the present, offering her a low-effort job at the property. Another man was visited who is about 45 years old with a 3-month wasting illness, a powerful time of prayer was held and some vitamins were purchased, as well as providing a small amount of money for food. The church was admonished to provide food for this family. Their are young children involved. As we approached the house, the sound of heart-felt praying was evident by this man's wife, begging God for help at that moment. We were so glad that we were there to provide a temporary answer to that prayer, at least. Much more help is needed. Please pray for each of these situations. The project itself is going very well, the foundation trenches are pretty much finished, and the concrete pouring is about to begin. These are exciting and a bit anxious times. I am asking each of you to pray about your own roles in this process, if any. Love to you all!!! Rick & Wanda