Malawi 2018 Team

The Malawi team arrived safely and with all the bags and suitcases on Tuesday afternoon. It’s been a whirlwind of activity here as we hit the ground running! We started off our first full day in Malawi with a tour and orientation of some of the areas of ministry under Mulunguzi Community Church. We got to see the Passion Center for Children, the Mulunguzi Church, the new Mulunguzi Community Hall and the farm out in Namikango. It’s amazing to see how much has changed in just one year since our teams were here last. It’s also such a blessing to see how much God has done and is doing here.

The Weaver’s Farm & Namikango Community Church

The farm, where Chris Weaver has been working alongside some local men and women has changed so much! Last year there was just a little field with maize and soya. This year there were fields as far as you could see, filled with all kinds of vegetables and a water irrigation system. The biggest blessing that has come out of this is, not only are the people in this village able to feed their families, but they are being fed spiritually and able to tithe to the church with their crops. The Namikango Community Church had their first service in their newly built straw church last Sunday, August 6 and they are bursting at the seams. Praise the Lord for all the people who have come to know Him because of this ministry that is growing so quickly and feeding so many people!

Visiting Widows

On Thursday, we started out the day with a couple different activities. We had Mercy Outreach visits in the morning. This is where we come alongside the women from Mulunguzi Community Church and go out and visit the widows and the elderly. We presented them with the gospel message, some testimonies from a couple people on the team and gave them each a blanket since it is winter here and has been cool.

There were 37 widows at one village and 38 at the other that the women’s ministry visit on a regular basis. They come out and meet with them and encourage them with the word of God. It’s always such a sweet time to get to walk around and pray for each woman.

Community Health Network & VBS in a Prominently Muslim Village

While the Mercy Outreach was going on, back at the church there was a Community Health Network (CHN) training session. A couple ladies on the team led the CHN teams from eight different villages on how to do some physical therapy and occupational therapy exercises with people they are treating. That afternoon, we had our first VBS. We went out to a prominently Muslim village where a girl named Fatima lives. She is a teenager who is the head of the household of her and her sister. There were between 600–700 kids who showed up, which is way more than we expected but praise God for all the kids who got to hear the message of salvation!

Passion Center for Pastors

On Friday, some of the team went up to Ntaja, which is about two hours north and is one of the Passion Center for Pastors’ training sites. There are about 200 pastors who come to the PCP training and some of our team went up to do a vision clinic for the pastors. Some of them were so overjoyed when they had lenses placed on their faces that allowed them to see clearly for the first time, maybe in their entire life.

These men are being trained by Pastor Pilira Chibwana and Pastor Mark Trotter to be able to go back to their villages and share the gospel. Now many of them can better read the bibles they are preaching out of. Such a blessing to be able to be part of this. The people who received the glasses were so thankful and were prayed for before they left. They were each asked about specific prayer requests and what a blessing to our team to be able to pray for them.

Champs Mobile

That afternoon we also had Champs Mobile, which is where some of the Champs staff at the Passion Center go out and visit special needs kids who can’t come to the actual facility for lessons. There are three stations they focus on…occupational therapy/physical therapy, educational and spiritual. It’s a blessing to get to encourage and thank these children and their caregivers for taking the time to show these kids love.

Building Bookcases for the Library

While we are here, the team is working on a construction project. They are building bookcases for a new library. The old library is too small and there is available space close to the school. So far, construction is going well and today even some of the Village kids got to watch and help a little bit.

Thanks for your Prayers

Your prayers are so appreciated! Our team consists of 43 people, which is huge. There is a lot going on each day and not every person can be part of each activity but a lot is getting done because of the number of people. The team is made up of our 11 people from Northwest Bible Church, 11 youth and 5 adults from Grace Baptist in Cedarville, some ladies from California and some others from Washington state. It’s been great getting to know the others and serve alongside them.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! Blessings from all of us!