April 10, 2011

It has been a crazy two months since we arrived back in Lilongwe after our annual furlough! Getting back into life in Malawi, things like not having fuel for our car, no electricity for extended periods of time, Internet being extremely non-dependable, finding out we have bats living in our ceiling, and being told we have at least two feet of bat dung sitting in our ceiling panels, our hot water going completely off in the kitchen & bathroom, a power surge occurring shortly after our arrival, knocking out our complete security system, all our power cords to our laptops,our sensor for our outside lighting which comes on automatically at night, and yesterday, during a heavy rain storm, we lost two large trees in our own yard, which by the grace of God, fell away from the house. Other than these things, all is normal! Welcome back to Malawi!!!!

We began almost immediately to get back into the swing of daily & weekly ministry, with the ministry of Ruth's Shawl to the widows & orphans, weekly Bible Clubs at the Primary School, outreaches to the outlining villages, outreaches to local colleges in Lilongwe with our church, wrapping up the final details of the four community Special Chicken & Sewing Projects that have been started last May, waiting for clear direction from the Lord on the restart of the School of Ministry and choosing the participants for the next semester has kept us very busy.

We also were blessed by a team from Tent Makers Ministry, Bill & Susan Weibel who minister in South Africa, along with three short term missionaries, Joe, Aurel, & Jenn from Pennsylvania, interns with Tent Makers. We enjoyed the whole week of ministry with them, their fellowship, and their love of Jesus Christ which was expressed so clearly to all. They left on April 5th and we are now back into our regular routine and at the same time trying to get some much needed rest!

We have not sold our Mitsubishi Pajero as of this moment, but we had a man come today who seems very interested in purchasing. Please pray that the Lord will allow this sale to consummate in order that we can purchase a Mini-Bus that we need so badly for transporting all our people back & forth to the villages & outreaches. We also are need of some additional money to add on to what has already been raised to purchase the vehicle we need.

We are always in need of supplies for internal usage as well as the needs represented in the villages. The pastors attending the School of Ministry (SOM) are very poor, so transportation costs, food costs, medical cost assistance, & some financial assistance for their families while they are attending classes is another need.

So, one can easily see, the need of financial aid is a key component to maintain & expand the open door ministry opportunities that are available to us, right now! If Jesus is returning for His bride soon, and I firmly believe He is coming soon, then we all need to extend ourselves as God has called us to do, so we can reach as many as possible for the kingdom before He returns! We have had several individuals indicate their desire to come to Malawi & use their God given talents here ministering to the people of Malawi. We can only say, Praise His Holy Name! But not all can come to Malawi, but God can use us in so many different ways to accomplish His will. Let's all of us pray for wisdom according to James 1:5.

Thank all of you who pray for us and for the work here in Malawi. Without all of your prayers, the work here cannot grow and for those of you who give of your finances sacrificially, know that this work cannot happen without you generosity. We give our Lord Jesus all the praise, honor & glory for what He is doing in & through the ministry of Malawi Outreach Ministries!!

May the Lord bless you all and surround you in His loving arms, & may the Holy Spirit that dwells within us be allowed to "guide us into all truth". We love and appreciate all of you.

In Him,

Steve & Nora