Tamara's Story: "I Feel So Blessed to Serve with Reaching the Hungry"

Posted July 2022

I’ve served with Reaching the Hungry at an orphanage in Mexico several times over the past few years. I love seeing the children and sharing Bible stories, games and crafts with them, as well as serving with great volunteers. Due to Covid-19, I've waited over 2 years to serve on a multi-day mission trip. Finally, I was able to travel to Malawi this year to support the RtH Ministry Team over there! I was looking forward to meeting the Malawi team and serving with them on this trip. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect but I was well prepared for my day of teaching and ready for whatever was on God’s agenda. On May 1st, the flight to Lilongwe, Malawi took off from LAX at 11:30pm for a total of 28 hours of travel. Once the flight landed in Malawi, my 10 days of ministry officially began.

My heart & calling are for children, locally and globally. I am the Children’s Pastor & Missions Pastor at North Coast Church in Fallbrook, as well as the Children’s Ministry Director for Reaching the Hungry. I love helping to encourage & equip children’s ministry leaders as we lead kids to love & follow Christ.

I love seeing the wonder of God’s creation and His heart for people everywhere! I love the adventure of traveling to new places and always being reminded that people are the same wherever we live. As parents, we all want the best for our kids, and we all want to be healthy and loved.

So what were the highlights of this mission trip to Malawi?

• 
  Traveling down dusty roads to the villages and sharing smiles and dancing with the women 
• Taking photos of the kids on my phone and hearing their peals of laughter and joy when they see their adorable faces! 
• Installing water wells in 2 villages, watching the villagers share in the work and knowing children will have clean, healthy water. And pointing them towards the living water that Jesus offers.
• The strength of the village women who carry 5 gallon buckets on their heads, filled with water or sand or rocks, with a baby wrapped on their back 
• 
  Elementary kids coming home from school in their uniforms, so happy they are back in school after losing 2 years of education to Covid 
• Witnessing hundreds of people accept the Lord at the Jesus films and knowing they will soon be invited into small groups for ongoing discipleship 
• An impromptu invitation to teach a group of “nannies” at a small orphanage. Sharing ways to minister to these kids and how the trauma they have experienced impacts their behavior and special needs. Encouraging the nannies to love Jesus and love the children as a ministry, not just a job. 
• 
  Just serving alongside the Malawi team, with their passion, talents and joy for sharing Jesus 
• Simplicity of life in the villages. Though existence is so very hard, they are not encumbered by so much busyness and stuff that so easily distracts me at home 
• Encouraging and equipping pastors and children’s leaders in their ministry to kids 
• Learning from the Malawi people and the ministry team
• Appreciating the many blessings that God gives us all 

The trip was such a wonderful first experience for traveling overseas with RtH, — despite my struggle to communicate when I didn't know the language, despite a stuffy nose from allergies on the dusty roads, and despite a mechanical problem on our return flight that resulted in 41 hours of travel to get home! With all that I shared and experienced, I feel so blessed to serve with RtH. Now I'm really looking forward to RtH's upcoming mission trip in July... let the next adventure begin!