Good Morning 2009!

Welcome to a new year!  It's 8am now as I write this, which means it is just becoming 2009 in Chicago but I have been awake since we celebrated the new year here in Karonga, Malawi.  After a very fun and fairly spontaneous New Year's Eve celebration at a local bar with some friends, we got back home at 1am.  Kat and I remained awake and chatting for the next 3 hours and by the time we finally headed to bed it was about 4:15.  As I tossed and turned in my bed, sleep just wasn't coming but it wasn't that annoying feeling where you start counting down the hours that you have left to sleep- it was just a calm, "I can't fall asleep right now."  At about 4:55, I looked out the window next to my bed and saw through the tree branches that the sky was lit with a beautiful pink and realized the sun was rising.  I jumped out of bed, grabbed my camera from the house and headed out to a spot out back where I've watched the sunrise before.  As I watched the sky gradually change as the sun rose, I was filled with a peace and hope that I wanted to share with all of you.

Here is my prayer on this New Year morning:

Lord, let this be a new beginning for me.  Let me embrace this new day and new year with the peace and hope You've filled me with this morning.  Help me to let go of my frustrations with the people I live with, work with, interact with and even those that I ignore.  Teach me to appreciate my friends and family better.  Help me to understand my housemates more.  Teach me to respect even the people that I do not like.  Loving God, fill my heart and let today be a new day.  Let this be a new beginning for me.  Amen.

As we begin this new year, I have to tell you all that I have hope.  I have great hope for the work I'm involved in and I'm glad that school will start up again in 4 short days.  I have hope that relationships can continue to improve in my living community and that if I truly am able to let go of some of my frustrations, there will be room in my heart for the love that God demands me to share.  I have hope that members of my community can have better experiences in their job placements as we begin a new school year.  I have hope for my faith to continue growing as I now have my spiritual home with the Brothers community who I go to prayers with regularly.  I hope that you are finding things to be hopeful in as well in this new year.

Love and holiday greetings to you all,

Molly :)