Ministry partners update.

From August 24th through September 2nd I had the pleasure of hosting a 13 member mission team from the United States most of whom were from my home church.  It was a great time of ministry to the people of our village and surrounding areas.  We held a two day medical clinic and treated 342 people and had over 100 profession of faith during the process.  Each patient heard the gospel through a device called the Proclaimer that plays the message in the language these people speak.  The Proclaimer was brought by a gentlemen named Ken Edwards who is in ministry work with the organization called Faith Comes By Hearing.  This device was used several times throughout the week to witness to villagers.  We also held a two day pastor’s conference for 25 local pastors of many denomination.  This was a great success with many pastor’s being refreshed, revived and encouraged.  We held discipleship classes for local adults and Bible School classes for children.  One day was spent in a predominantly Muslim village where we shared hut to hut evangelism and then an afternoon of worship and discipling in a central area of that village.  This was attended by the village chief and village headmen who were all Muslim.  They welcomed our team and allowed us to plant a Baptist church there.  God is so good.  Another day was for general repair and maintanance at Esther’s House Orphanage and the missionary house in Ntcheu.  So much work was accomplished and the team maintained a great attitude and cooperative atmosphere the whole week.  We all stayed in my home and shared the activities of daily living in close quarters.  They were so great and it was a joy to experrience the time together. 

Now there are 2 women from the team remaining here with me, one for 2 months and the other for 6 months.  We have spent the past two weeks focusing on interviewing potential orphans to enroll in our residential orphans ministry and move them in to Esther’s House.  These women are experiencing firsthand the process of going to the villages, finding the village headmen and going around to visit all of the homes with qualifying orphans in them.  We are seeking to find those that are most vulnerable.  They are the double orphans, both parents deceased, and under the age of 6.  This is the work that really gets in your heart and makes you appreciate every good thing in your life.  These children live in tiny huts with extended family, all sharing a  small space to sleep each night and a small amount of food each day.  Villagers must travel a good distance from their homes to collect water for cooking, drinking or washing.  They also travel a good distance to reach their gardens where they grow maize which provides their staple food called nsima.  Nsima is a thick porridge made from maize flour.  Many families have little else to eat besides nsima most days.  We are working hard to complete the process of enrollment so we can provide relief for some of these families and orphaned children.

We are also working with our current orphans teaching Bible lessons, playing games and encouraging their progress in learning English.  We want these children to feel that they are loved and to know that they have a God in heaven who has a wonderful plan for their life.  Pray for us as we carry out the mission God has sent us to this country to fulfill. 

Unfortunately I have not been able to raise the monthly support that I am requiring to live here in Malawi. I have only raised 50 % of my initial projected requirement for monthly living and this will soon present a problem for this ministry.  I was able to raise a surplus for the move over here and have been able to stretch the extra funds to this point, however, now there are no surplus funds to  draw from and I am asking for you to please join me in the work here by helping support this full time missionary.  As I was preparing to make this commitment to move to Malawi for two years there were several people who spoke of their intention to help support me that have not  acted on those intentions yet.  As well, there are others who sent in pledge cards to support monthly and have failed to follow through.  As much as this grieves me I have to acknowledge that it grieves the Lord even more.  He has a work to be done here and has called me to be the one to leave my home and family and country and fulfill this post.  At the same time he has called people to be financial supporters of this ministry.  As I recently read in David Platt’s book “Radical” that God will never say to you ” I wish you had kept more for yourself”  I became emboldened to simply state my situation and ask that God’s people evaluate again what they can sacrifice for the sake of the gospel being shared here in Malawi.   You will never out give God and He will never let you down as you act in obedience to give to missions.  Many will say I am already doing my part, but I say to you if there are still so many millions who have never heard the gospel then we are all falling short of our part. If there are still millions of orphans living in desperate conditions we all can sacrifice more.  Please look further and deeper into your resources and help with support so I will be able to continue the work I have been called to with the orphans and widows of Malawi.  You can go to www.puremission.org and select “Send A Servant” , chose my name and follow the prompts.  It is easy to set up monthly support one time and then you don’t have to keep returning every month to make your contribution.  You can also set up to make a one time gift.  There is no gift too small for this work so don’t think that there is nothing you can do.  Please follow as he leads because the need is real and it takes all of us to meet it.  Pray always for the people of Malawi and the work that God is doing here.  God Bless you all!