Fall 2012 newsletter – The Goin' Owens

Jonathan & Becky Owen, with Micah and Rachel, will be serving with Brethren in Christ World Missions at EBCoM (Evangelical Bible College of Malawi) in Blantyre, Malawi.

Assume Difference

One thing that really stuck with us from our training is that we are to “assume difference” as we enter another culture. Even in everyday ways of doing things, just assume difference until proven otherwise so that we’re not shocked everywhere we turn and wonder why “they” don’t do anything the “right” way.

Most people do act rationally — it just might be a different rationale than we’re aware of, so we will try to suspend judgment until we know more information. A few days before we flew out we had the following conversation at the breakfast table which we thought was a humorous way to display this point:

Becky: Do you know what, Micah? I heard that there is a John Deere tractor
dealership in Malawi!*
Micah: Ohhh….can we go to it?
Becky: Well, I don’t know where it is, we’ll have to find out. Where do you think they put their tractors?
Micah: In the water.
Becky: They put their tractors in the water? Don’t you think they would break?
Micah: No.
Jonathan: Micah’s got this figured out.
Becky: Yep, assume difference!

* We learned that the JD dealer is in Lilongwe, so when we get to visit the U.S. Embassy, we’ll try to visit John Deere, too. It is about a 10 hour drive to get there, though.

It’s Just Stuff

Thanks Beth Huffnagle for traveling with us!

In preparation for moving to Malawi, we packed up our bins (similar to a big plastic bin) and suitcases and prayed that it would all arrive with us! When we asked people to pray for our luggage, we got some interesting responses. It’s not the most typical prayer request … unless you’re a missionary moving overseas!

Half of our luggage arrived with us on the plane. A couple days later another quarter

arrived, and another couple days later the final cases came. At first, this was disappointing, but as things played out, it became a very good example of the lesson we learned the first day of training in Colorado on paradox. As presented to the kids in an age-

appropriate manner, paradox is a pair-of-ducks: “yay” duck and “yuck” duck. These ducks have helped our family process our experiences. Appreciating the good while

acknowledging the bad.

At first, the delayed arrival of our luggage was a “yuck” duck, but as we began to settle into our house, it was a relief not to have so much to unpack at once! So, the built in staggered arrival of our stuff was also a “yay” duck! Ultimately, we know that all that

we packed is just stuff and that we could live without it, but we praise God that it all

arrived, intact!

Care Packages

FYI – Care packages are welcome, but just so you know, a padded envelope may arrive in 6 weeks, whereas a box/package could take up to 9 months or so, so choose items carefully. Once we settle in and get familiar with what is available in Malawi, we’ll post some ideas to our blog for those of you who are asking.

New House Cake

With each move, we have made a “New House Cake” to celebrate the new place we live. So, we’ve had a new cake at:

• The Missionary House in Grantham, PA

• Jonathan’s parents’ house in Colorado

• MTI training at Palmer Lake, CO

• Friend’s house in Dillsburg, PA

• Malawi, Africa!

Our First Days in Malawi

At the writing of this newsletter, we have been in Malawi for one week. We are settling into our new house and community. Our dog, Simba, is the best, and both Micah and Rachel very much enjoy her. It is so fun to have a yard to play in the dirt, envision a garden and explore. The gutter systems on the ground are particularly interesting for a 3 year old and his tricycle. And as in any country, every rock, stone wall or couch becomes a “train” in Micah’s world. The greatest challenge for our children thus far has been the time zone change. We are six hours ahead of Eastern Time.

Because school is not in session, the campus of EBCoM is pretty quiet, however we have been able to meet some Malawian neighbors and colleagues in our walking around campus and attending church on campus. We’ve also taken our first food shopping trip in Blantyre and begun to get acclimated to the currency here — the Kwacha. We look forward to learning more Chichewa as we greet our neighbors as well!

Teaching Schedule

The wait is over! Jonathan knows what he’ll be teaching for the first term (although, flexibility is our new middle name). At this time, he is slated to teach two classes:

1) Discipleship

2) Bible Book Study: Matthew

Please pray for him as he adjusts to this new career of teaching. Preparation will take up as much time as he gives it, so also pray for balance with family and community life, not to mention language learning (and sleep)!

Many thanks to Beth Huffnagle for accompanying us as our travel helper. She carried luggage, babysat, washed dishes, mopped floors, fed kids, braved spiders, and took great pictures! We can’t say thanks enough!