Prayer Guide - Malawi Trip with World Relief
As many of you know by now, I have the privilege of traveling to Lilongwe, Malawi with the organization, World Relief to study church partnerships. World Relief is an organization that I highly respect because of the work they do and how they do it. I feel fortunate that I was able to focus my international business coursework of my MBA on a project that will not only stretch me professionally, but also have a meaningful purpose that will benefit World Relief. I’ll be spending my time researching what influences the relationships between US based churches, WR’s corporate headquarters, WR field offices in Malawi, and those the US churches have the opportunity to interact with on the ground in the remote areas of Malawi.
Below is an outline of a few areas that I would invite you to be in prayer for while I’m away. I know these prayers will help make this a positive trip. Also, I have outlined specifics about the type of project I’m working on and the deliverables I hope to report on if you’re interested in knowing more.
I anticipate that I’ll write on the blog if I can and will do my best to keep my Social Media Accounts buzzing if web access is available.
Prayer Requests
Family – Being aware from this crew for 9 days is always challenging, especially when you have three kids under 4 with twin 16mo olds. The blessing is that Michelle will be traveling to her parents for the week to have help. Please pray that the family stays healthy. The last few times I’ve been away for multiple days like this, either Michelle or the kids get sick and it makes the pressures of taking care of the kids all alone even harder. Please also pray that we’ll be able to communicate regularly to help stay connected to help keep the tensions of being away low. Internet and phone access will be limited.
The Projects – Please pray that I’ll be able to keep the many projects I’ll be working on organized and on track. Not only am I responsible for the project for WR, I have two other projects for my MBA that have to be developed from content/experiences from this trip. It seems like I have about 20 different elements to keep in mind during every aspect of this trip and that’s a little overwhelming to me.
I really want to do a great job for WR on this assessment because I know it can help them attract new partners. I am also aware of some underlying challenges they’re facing through what research I’ve done to date, and I’m praying that my research has bigger impact than just the project I’m working on.
Personal/Professional Growth – You can pray for what the Lord may be ready to teach me both personally and professionally through this trip and project. NL is like WR in a lot of ways in our desire to work through the local church to impact the biggest issues facing the vulnerable in our community. I’m praying that there will be new insights that I can learn from another culture and work in another context that could have greater impact on my work at NL. How great would it be to see Malawian principles integrated into the work of NL in the US.
The Unknown – I feel privileged to have another opportunity to travel to a new country in Africa. I pray that I would have a sense of adventure and be open to the unknowns of the trip. I’ve sensed myself wanting to minimize this trip into just a project that I have to complete and wanting it to go as quickly as it can. I’ll be praying that I’ll remain flexible and present in the moment while looking for opportunities to see things with fresh perspectives of and a wider worldview.
Overall Objectives & Deliverables
Key Success Indicators:
2 perspectives: US Churches/World Relief Field Operations
Identify the 5-7 key indicators of what has made for successful partnerships for each audience. What can we learn from this that will inform the shaping of this platform globally for WR.
Value Prop - Create the basics of a value proposition so that WR’s sales team can be trained in how to best present our partnership offering
Basic Pitch Book/Deck for Partnership
