Steve & Nora
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
May 28 2012 Malawi Outreach Ministries Update
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!!!!!!
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!!!!!!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Outreach to the village of Msambiamfa
When one experiences & is aware of the Holy Spirit working among His people, it is an extra - ordinary blessing! Well, that is exactly what happen in our Outreach on 3/25/12 to 3/29/12 This village is located in the Ntchisi District, which is about 2 hours north of Lilongwe where we live. It is in a remote, mountain area, with dirt roads that have been destroyed by all the heavy rains we have has this year in Malawi. We just read a report that in the last storm, over two hundred homes have been ruined & washed away during the heavy rain & strong winds!
But God...... He allowed us to reach this village with some difficulty, but safely, & no automobile problems. (Thank you Lord for a 4 wheel vehicle. When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by the church & local leaders, as well as 6 Chiefs of this village & surrounding villages. We had in attendance 175 people, 85 were women, & the rest made up of the men. There were in addition approximately 200+ children & 50 young adults of High School age.
We are attaching a photo log so you can see their faces, & the conditions associated with living in a very poor country & village. That being said, they are very gracious loving people, with joy being openly expressed upon our arrival! Our teaching was to the whole community; Men, women, children & young adults. My attention of teaching was to the churches Pastors & leaders, Nora to the women & also special time with the widows, Timothy with the Children & Youth leaders, & two other young Malawian men ministering to all the young ones!
Glorious is the one word that comes to mind regarding this outreach & this village! When the conference was over, the leaders of the communities all stood up & thank us so richly for the quality of the teachings, how we conducted ourselves among all the different churches represented, & pleaded with us to return very soon to build upon the foundation that had been laid! The Head Chief of the area, who all the other Chiefs report to for direction & leadership, then got up to share. We were amazed & blown away by his comments. He indicated that when outside people come to their villages from time to time, they are never very enthused with the content of what they have to share with them & the people. However, he, as well as all the other Chiefs came everyday because they heard the teachings which were so badly needed for all of them to hear & they learned so much! Then he indicated that we are welcome anytime in their villages, & please come back as soon as we can! He then said that he & all the Chiefs will make sure that the whole area of villages will be informed and the Chiefs will be very active in desiring to see their people being blessed with the Word of God taught by people who clearly loved the Word of God & were able to share it in a manner that they can easily understand & believe!
Then, one of the most emotional encounters we have ever experienced here in Malawi took place. As we were saying our heartfelt good-byes, they asked to wait a few minutes, they had something to present to us. All the women left the building for a couple of minutes, then returned in single file, singing their beautiful Malawian worship songs, their hands filled with produce from their gardens to bless us with out of gratitude for coming & sharing the Word of God with them! We had a large Chinese bag with us that was filled with their gifts for u; corn, pumpkins, beans of many different varieties, cumcumbers & etc. All any of us could do, with our eyes filled with tears of joy, was to look each woman as she passed by us, to hug them & say, Zikomo Kwambiri!!!!! Blown away is the term we have all used to describe our emotions!
God is so good to us & we are truly blessed by our Lord as well as the team He has has surrounded us with, to work side by side, to accomplish His will & be a blessing to His people of Malawi. Continue to pray for us, the team, the country of Malawi, & all its people, that they all may come to a real understanding of how much God truly loves them, & how important it is to know & understand the Word of God!
We have not had any petrol or diesel delivered to the entire country in two weeks. We cannot to go out to the remote villages without fuel, so please be praying that our Lord will intervene in this matter & provide us with what we need to continue His work here in Malawi. We love & appreciate your love, your prayers, & your support of the ministry. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit & your involvement, holding the rope across the ocean, half way across this earth, we cannot do His will. To God be the glory, now & forever! Amen & Amen!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Please be praying for us as we embark on a heavy schedule of village outreaches beginning next week as follows:
3/13/12 -Initial visit to the village of Msambaimfa to meet with church leaders & chiefs to clarify what we are coming to share & to gain their committed participation in the process.
3/14/12 - Follow up visit to the village of Chorwe to meet with church leaders & chiefs to determine what they have done with the teachings, bibles, & other tools we left them with since our outreach back in late 2011. Also to set the stage for our next session with them later this year.
3/20/12 - Initial meeting to the village of Chisanga to the meet with church leaders & chiefs to clarify our what we are coming to share & gained their committed participation in the process.
3/21/12 - Follow up visit with the village of Chipolopolo to meet with church leaders & chiefs to determine what they have done with the teachings, bibles, & other tools we left with them in our outreach in 2011. In addition, to set the stage for our next session with them later this year.
3/25/12 - Begin our 5 day village outreach in the village of Msambaimfa.
4/8/12 - Begin our 5 day outreach to the village of Chisanja.
4/18/12 - Initial visit in the village of Chiphazi
4/22/12 = Begin our 5 day outreach to the village of Chiphazi.
5/9/12 - Initial visit to the village of Tembwe to meet with church leaders & chiefs to clarify what we are coming to share & gain their committed participation in the process.
5/14/12 - Arrival of the team from So. Carolina led by Pastor Brad Wright.
5/15/12 - Ministry at the Onesimus Homeless Boys Home.
5/16/12 - Kodoko village with Pastor Brad's team & the Pempo Widow Group in Area 36.
5/17/12 - Ministry at the Nsambeta Primary School with the Special Needs class. Leadership team dinner with RS team at our house with Pastor Brad leading a teaching about servant hood later that evening.
5/18/12 - Nsambeta for Bible Club Ministry. In addition, we will be again at the Special Needs Class.
5/19/12 - Area 44 widows & orphans ministry, then travel to the village of Tembwe to begin our outreach for 5 days with Pastor Brad's team.
5/24/12 - Pastor Brad's teams leaves for States.
6/12/12 - Judith Canner from CC Monterey Bay will arrive for 5 weeks of ministry.
6/18/12 - Dr. Chris Hansen & team arrive from CHOMP in Monterey for three weeks working first in Blantyre & then in Lilongwe.
8/15/12 - We also have a team from Flood Church in San Diego arriving in mid August
* On September 24-28th we will be attending the Annual CC African Pastors Conference in Cape Town South Africa.
* We will have another team from CC Foresthill due to arrive in the first week of October.
* In between all these dates we have additional Outreaches to the villages which have as yet been set within the calendar.Villages are Chapulapula & Mlesi are picked with WMI, but waiting until their work is complete before we set the exact dates for us to go.
So, as can be plainly seen, we have a full schedule ahead of ourselves which brings us much anticipated joy, but we need the prayers of all the saints of God praying for the Lord Jesus to be uplifted & glorified in all we do in His name; for safe travel, & that all the dirt roads will be passable for us to arrive at each destination on time & safely.
In Him,
Steve & Nora
3/13/12 -Initial visit to the village of Msambaimfa to meet with church leaders & chiefs to clarify what we are coming to share & to gain their committed participation in the process.
3/14/12 - Follow up visit to the village of Chorwe to meet with church leaders & chiefs to determine what they have done with the teachings, bibles, & other tools we left them with since our outreach back in late 2011. Also to set the stage for our next session with them later this year.
3/20/12 - Initial meeting to the village of Chisanga to the meet with church leaders & chiefs to clarify our what we are coming to share & gained their committed participation in the process.
3/21/12 - Follow up visit with the village of Chipolopolo to meet with church leaders & chiefs to determine what they have done with the teachings, bibles, & other tools we left with them in our outreach in 2011. In addition, to set the stage for our next session with them later this year.
3/25/12 - Begin our 5 day village outreach in the village of Msambaimfa.
4/8/12 - Begin our 5 day outreach to the village of Chisanja.
4/18/12 - Initial visit in the village of Chiphazi
4/22/12 = Begin our 5 day outreach to the village of Chiphazi.
5/9/12 - Initial visit to the village of Tembwe to meet with church leaders & chiefs to clarify what we are coming to share & gain their committed participation in the process.
5/14/12 - Arrival of the team from So. Carolina led by Pastor Brad Wright.
5/15/12 - Ministry at the Onesimus Homeless Boys Home.
5/16/12 - Kodoko village with Pastor Brad's team & the Pempo Widow Group in Area 36.
5/17/12 - Ministry at the Nsambeta Primary School with the Special Needs class. Leadership team dinner with RS team at our house with Pastor Brad leading a teaching about servant hood later that evening.
5/18/12 - Nsambeta for Bible Club Ministry. In addition, we will be again at the Special Needs Class.
5/19/12 - Area 44 widows & orphans ministry, then travel to the village of Tembwe to begin our outreach for 5 days with Pastor Brad's team.
5/24/12 - Pastor Brad's teams leaves for States.
6/12/12 - Judith Canner from CC Monterey Bay will arrive for 5 weeks of ministry.
6/18/12 - Dr. Chris Hansen & team arrive from CHOMP in Monterey for three weeks working first in Blantyre & then in Lilongwe.
8/15/12 - We also have a team from Flood Church in San Diego arriving in mid August
* On September 24-28th we will be attending the Annual CC African Pastors Conference in Cape Town South Africa.
* We will have another team from CC Foresthill due to arrive in the first week of October.
* In between all these dates we have additional Outreaches to the villages which have as yet been set within the calendar.Villages are Chapulapula & Mlesi are picked with WMI, but waiting until their work is complete before we set the exact dates for us to go.
So, as can be plainly seen, we have a full schedule ahead of ourselves which brings us much anticipated joy, but we need the prayers of all the saints of God praying for the Lord Jesus to be uplifted & glorified in all we do in His name; for safe travel, & that all the dirt roads will be passable for us to arrive at each destination on time & safely.
In Him,
Steve & Nora
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