Please pray for the maize harvest in Malawi. According to the Famine Early Warning System, large swathes of the country are already “stressed”. Much of the Lower Shire is “in crisis” and Anna’s recent burglary reminds us that crime inevitably occurs more frequently when life is so difficult.
Unbelievable. But true. 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of our first experience of life and work for the Lord in Malawi.
We were young and inexperienced, but Gail and I were both feeling the unmistakeable weight of a burden from the Lord. Not particularly for Malawi, at first, but each of us had a very definite sense that the Lord was calling us to dedicate ourselves more fully to him. For many months it seemed that every passage we read, every message we heard, was a voice from heaven straight to our hearts. (How I long for days like those again!)
We are sorry to report that Anna suffered a house break-in overnight. We praise the Lord that she is at peace. However it was a traumatic experience, so please pray that she will be kept in heart, mind and soul as she processes what has happened.
Three men attacked their compound, tying up the guard and Anna and the neighbours. They then ransacked the houses and took whatever valuables they could find. Although they stole vehicle keys, they did not attempt (or succeed) to take Anna’s vehicle, but did steal phones, laptops, electronics.
Recently Stephen posted about Nthawi ya Baibulo, the Chichewa version of Bible Time. We were greatly encouraged to receive the first fully designed lessons! Though there remains a significant amount of work, we are excited about the potential of the curriculum.
Since translation and publishing work is a big part of what we do at SALT, I thought it might be helpful to give an idea of the steps that we have to take to get to the point of publishing translated material.
I had the perfect opportunity to review progress at the Saidi Building Project during my recent 3-week visit to Malawi.
As you may recall, in January a lightning strike and fire seriously damaged the msasa we built for the children’s work at Saidi. This really discouraged us at the time as the msasa was still not completely finished. However, with the Lord’s help and the passage of time we have got over the disappointment. The cyclone that followed caused enormous damage across the Southern Region of Malawi. Thousands of people suffered loss of their homes and/or their crops. Many have no means to rebuild and are still sheltering from the tropical rains in makeshift shelters of plastic sheeting. This puts the msasa fire in perspective, especially as some of our neighbours at Saidi we affected.
After a final flurry of activity this week, MGO 2022 is now fully subscribed. It looks like we are going to have our biggest team ever, with 22 participants signed up, plus our local volunteers, Lord willing.
As in previous years, the team will have an international flavour, with participants from USA, Canada/Mexico, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.
We expect that MGO may have a slightly different twist this year. For the first time we have our own property on which to run children’s day camps, and it looks like this will feature this August. It will be a great opportunity to bolster the children’s work which Goodson and Anna carry on at Saidi.
Please pray earnestly for the Lord’s blessing. With such a large group there will be much more organisation and logistics involved. So, we ask you to pray for wisdom at this planning stage.
Brother Harold and sister Anna caught up with brother Yamikani Issa from Liwonde, who has been distributing literature since 2015. Below is what he had to say about what motivates him to distribute gospel literature. (Note: the answers have been lightly edited to improve clarity.)
We are asking for prayer concerning our ongoing vehicle reliability problems in Malawi. Regular visitors to this blog are aware that we have been struggling with vehicle troubles for quite some time.
Malawians refer to their beautiful little country as “The Warm Heart of Africa” – and I heartily agree. Since Gail, Philip and I relocated from Malawi to Northern Ireland in 2011, I have made more return visits than I can remember. When I am away, I definitely miss my family and the fellowship of saints at home. But there is something about The Warm Heart that irresistibly draws me back.
Without exaggerating, this could prove to be the most significant step forward in the 20 years I’ve been involved in Malawi.
Earlier this week, we received the very first Nthawi ya Baibulo (Chichewa Bible Time) lessons from the designer for final checking. I confess that I teared up when I saw them!
