April & May have been very busy fruitful and extremely exciting as we have been able to reach several villages for our week long conferences, as we witnessed the Holy Spirit working in the lives of the saints in these remote villages. We were in the village of Chipolopolo, to do a follow up to see how they were applying the teachings & resources we had provided them when we last there for our week long conference. We were so blessed to hear the amazing stories being shared with us on the transformation that had taken place since last November. Accounts of renewed marriages, forgiveness of people who had wronged them, different churches spending time getting to know one another & focusing on what they had in common Biblically & not their difference.Pastors sharing how they have taken new Biblical truths they had learned & are now teaching their respective fellowships in a confident & powerful manner!
We then did a week long outreach in Chisanja, in the Ntchisi District, to a group of 8 churches, including pastors, elders & Youth leaders in the churches, with a total attendance of 89. We had an additional 900 children to minister to as well, as the adult sessions were taking place was taking place in the church building, led by Timothy, Ben, & Danny, our young Malawian team of dedicated Christian men who love to minister! The lead pastor, whose name is Mphatso, has a large fellowship here in Chisanja as well as 14 additional fellowships he is responsible to oversee. A real man of God, with a heart for the people. We are planning on doing an additional outreach to these 14 Pastors, so we can present the IBS training. A well recieved & very fruitful outreach!
We then had an outreach to a village in the south of Malawi, named Chiphazi, located at the base of a large mountain range, in a Forest Reserve area containing a huge protected forest of large Pine & Eucalyptus trees. There were 10 churches and 75 attendees in this beautiful forest setting. Another wonderful outreach, with great attention to the studies being given by taking copius notes, wonderful, thoughtful questions regarding the subject matters being taught. We were requested to pray for several severely handicapped children, women with serious medical issues. Just a generally warm & thoughtful group of Christian brothers & sisters in Christ! After the teaching on the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of a beleiver, all the women (50) ask for prayer to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit
In May, we had a one day set up meeting in the village of Tembwe, located in the Salima region near Lake Malawi in preparation of the team from North Carolina arriving to minister with Malawi Outreach Ministries & Ruth's Shawl Ministry . Their first week was spent in Area 44, where Ruth's Shawl ministers with 39 widows & about 350 orphans. They also taught one Friday at the Primary School in the same area where the student population is 4880 students. Ruth's Shawl runs Bible Club ministry at & in the school rooms. The school also has a Special Needs class of 30 students, from mild to severely challenged students. The team ministered the first week all in Area 44 at each location noted above. Pastor Brad Wright, who led the team also had the opportunity to do one of the Chapel Services at the African Bible College, & also held a 7PM Forum for the college students as well as those from our church we attend. The Evangelism Explosion Building at African Bible College was packed & he had a great response from these young Malawian men & women who are preparing for ministry after graduation. The second week was with the Malawi Outreach team & the visiting team spent the remainder of their their time in the village of Tembwe where we ministered to 100 pastors, elders, youth leaders from 10 different churches. Attendance was consistent, the attendees took very good notes, asked good questions during the Q & A time, & we all felt the receptiveness of those in attendence was excellent. Our format was as follows:
* We showed the Jesus Film on the first night.
* We ran two teaching sessions in the morning & two in the afternoon each day.
* Youth Ministry taught by Timothy Kailedzi to 8 Youth leaders.
* Medical Outreach done by one of the visiting team members.
* VBS was run by the visiting team members to 400 children.
* We also donated Bibles in Chichewa to the Pastors & Elders.
We have also been blessed by the arrival of a brother, Gary Guthrie,from CC S.F. & Napa Ca. He has begun a work on repairs of the Ruth's Shawl widows in Area 44, as well as going out on the outreaches to the remote villages. He has done an outstanding job, not under the best of conditions here in Malawi. It is most certainly not anything like the USA as to being able to get quality tools, lumber, experienced help, & the list goes on & on, but he has run the race well. We are so grateful for Gary & all his very hard labor of love while he has been here for almost two months! Gary has also organized the tools & procedures to follow for those who may be comning in the future to continue the house repairs of the Ruth's Shawl Widows.
We are expecting the Chairperson of the Ruth's Shawl Ministry, Robin Hughes, who is due here on June 7th, followed by Professor Judith Canner from CSUMB, & a precious sister fro CC Monterey Bay, our home church. Later in June, we are expecting Dr, Chris Hansen from CHOMP Hospital in Monterey, who will be working with the two major Hospitals in Malawi, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre, & Kamazu Central Hospital in Lilongwe.
So, all in all, we have been & will remain busy doing the work of ministry we have been called to here in Malawi by the grace of God. We started earnestly praying for individuals & teams to come to Malawi to minister along side of us since last June. When we were home on furlough last year, we encouraged all who would listen to us to come, & look at what God has done to answer our prayers. We also have teams coming in August, September, & in October. Wow, what an awesome God we serve!
Please be praying for our continued good health, strength, vision, & attention to the Holy Spirit, to make sure we are following His lead, not going on our own wisdom. There are so many needs in Malawi, & we would like to mention just a few for your prayers:
1. For our Lord to raise up more long term, called people of God, to come serve here along side of us.
2. For many more Malawians to be raised up to be trained to expand the ministry into so many more villages.
3. For medical teams to come to assist in the awful conditions found in every village, that have no resources to get the proper
medical assistance they so desperately need!
4. Financial assistance for students who desire to go for their education. The Malawi Kwacha has been devalued by 59% over the
past year, making it so very hard to continue their education due to lack of financial resources.
5. For the new President of Malawi, Joyce Banda,a Christian woman, who has inherited a true mess from the former President who
died suddenly in April. That she might continue to be led by the Holy Spirit, as she leads this nation back to stability
that has been missing for several years!
Thank each one of you who faithfully pray for the ministry & for us personally. To those churches & individuals, who faithfully support the ministry financially, we say Zikomo Kwambiri to all of you! We cannot do the ministry God has called us to, without all of your involvement! To Him be the glory forever & ever!!!!!!
