July 1, 2004

Dear Friends and Family,

We arrived back in Mzuzu on June 13, and since our arrival we all seem to have given an emotional and mental sigh of relief on being home. Our 10 months in the States went by quickly with our visits to churches, with the opportunities to spend time with family, and with Michael and Jason in school. We not only enjoyed our visits to the churches and our role as a bridge between the church in Malawi and the church in the United States, we discovered much about our denomination and the dedication of the congregations to serve God in many arenas. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with friends and family and to make new friends. It was also a challenging time, a time to reflect on the disparity within peoples who live in the States and on the inequity of resources throughout the world. We do hope that some of you will take us up on our invitation to either visit Malawi or to invite a Malawian from the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP) to visit you.

The presidential elections for Malawi were held on May 20. There are still questions about the fairness of the results, and many are disappointed about the outcome, however, the country is peaceful and hopeful for the best. Although there is a plea registered with the judicial system about the elections, Dr. Bingu Wa Munthalika has taken office as president. Please continue to pray for Malawi.

We are living in temporary housing for now and have had the usual difficulties of getting connected to phones and finding transport, but by the end of July we will be settled. We will be better able to communicate with you all after that time.

Thank you all for your hospitality when we visited, your understanding when we couldn’t, your prayers and thoughts that sustained us during our time in the States and that continue to support us, and our friends and coworkers in Malawi.

Jim and Jodi

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 58