Update from Steve & Nora

2-13-09

To all of our loved ones:

Nora & I arrived at the airport from South Africa on 2/9, greeted by Pastor Tom & members of his congregation. As we came out of customs, they broke out in songs of praise for us arriving to join them. That was followed by lots of hugs from everyone, & then we loaded a bus to drive to their church location. They sang the entire trip (30 minutes); you cannot envision the beautiful sounds they are able to make without any instrumentation. Absolutely marvelous and I know that it must have been pleasing to our Lords ears!! It sure was for Nora & I, as we made our way back into Lilongwe proper.

Their church facility is in the middle of their village, and it is able to seat over 200 people. Pastor Tom indicates it is full every Sunday & Wednesday for the services. There are several buildings on the property that house a Christian School, from K through 8 and also a High School 9-12. These buildings are very simple structures, but functional for their purposes. It is also where the Pastoral Training & Discipleship School will be located. We will be sending lots of pictures soon.

Pastor Tom is so organized as well as excited about what God seems to be preparing us all for in expanding the ministry into many parts of Malawi. Their needs are many, but they make use of what they have and do not let their lack from stopping them from sharing the gospel wherever they can get to, to do so. Pastor Tom and a group of other Pastors have planted 29 small little churches through out the surrounding areas. We will be updating what their needs are specifically, so if anyone who may be interested and able, might want to contribute towards. Lack of Bibles is a major issue. Any gifts toward any specific need can be handled through CCMB with a note attached stating what area of ministry their gift is to be directed. Please know all designated gifts are used only for that purpose and not used for general expenses. Getting to these places is very difficult and gasoline is roughly $10.00 per gallon. The necessity for a good 4 wheel drive or comparable vehicle is a real & current need to be able to travel in difficult terrain. Their roads are primarily very rough dirt roads and it is the rainy season right now, which starts in November & runs through March. Efficient/safe transportation is high on the prayer list in or out of the rainy season.

I taught this past Wednesday night at their mid-week service, followed up by Nora & I having dinner with all the fellowship. They are such a gracious people, full of the love of God! Our goal is to get to know them well as soon as possible, for in Africa, not much can be accomplished without first establishing a good relationship with the people. They are so ready to be taught in the depth of the Word, and Pastor Tom is so open to having that done in his fellowship.

The team from South Africa, led by Pastor Demitri from Cape Town, along with several other Pastors are coming to do a four day Pastor Seminar in early March. In addition, Laura Bomarito and Laurel Fuge will be arriving on March 28th and will stay for two weeks, using their medical skills within the church at CC Lilongwe as well other places. We are so blessed and excited about their upcoming trip, & they are taking their shots right now and have already purchased their airline tickets. PTL !!! We have also had some others tell us they might be coming in April and others in June.

So as one can see, God is not wasting any time getting more people involved in giving away the gifts they have been given by the Lord, to share with those who have so little. Both Nora & I are so extremely blessed that HE has allowed us to come & serve here in Malawi. After being picked up at the airport, we drove to Pastor Tom’s church facility, where we met yet additional people from the church, and both Nora & I had the opportunity to share with them through an interpreter, and to see their joy in their faces is a sight we will never forget!

We were then driven to Annie’s Lodge where we will be staying for a while until we have housing, which we hope & pray God will provide for us at a rental rate we can afford. We want a home where we can put up teams coming to minister here, so please pray that God will show us where and how! Later that evening a couple we met in 2007 while in Lilongwe invited us to their home for dinner. They are a Belgium family, Christophe & Sabine Horvath, along with three beautiful children, Jonas, Lila & Katayana. They are a most gracious and hospitable family. We were truly blessed by the whole day of events; God is truly blessing us and showing us we are just where HE wants us to be for this season.

Today (2/10) we are resting, praying and studying for tomorrow night at CC Lilongwe. We are at peace with our Lord and with each other, ready to begin in earnest this new chapter of our lives & ministry. Our entire trip over to both South Africa and now Malawi has gone without a problem. All of our bags were there when we arrived at each location, although one of them has been ruined due to hard handling, but we have not lost any of our belongings. Quite different than in our last trip here when our bag with all of our valuables was stolen in Johannesburg.

Oh, we have a wonderful story to share. When we were here in 2007, the manager of Annie’s Lodge, who is a Christian brother, attended all of our sessions we held there and was full of questions on each session. He shared with us that his heart was to be a full time minister of the gospel. So we prayed over him and asked God, if it was HIS will, to grant Joel the desires of his heart. Well, we just learned that he is now a full time minister, traveling all over Malawi as an evangelist and teacher! God is so good, praise HIS Holy name! We will be meeting with Joel in person on 2/13 to get up to date with he, his family and his ministry. His prayer for us in 2007 was that we would return to Malawi to teach his people, as he was so encouraged through our teachings. And lo and behold, here we are!

Thank you for your prayers and support, we have seen so many answers already. Continue to pray for open doors and receptive hearts as we move forward. God bless each one of you and we remain,

In HIM,

Steve & Nora Braselton