Meet Cyford Chimwaza who shares how tracts help him share the gospel in the most remote areas of southern Malawi.
Transcript:
My name is Cyford Chimwaza from Phalula in Balaka district.
[Tracts] help very much because we distribute in the remotest areas where people cannot find any literature, and when we reach them it shows that we are reaching them with Jesus and the Word of God. And we very much appreciate for the tract.
[We distribute] In the district of Balaka and also in other districts, but our ministry we do very much in the remotest areas. So it’s like in the village, like in Manjawira and even in Phalula and around, even we enter into Ntcheu, Neno – around this area it’s where we distribute the calendars and also the tracts. And also we show Jesus film. So wherever we show Jesus film, we distribute the tracts. So it’s very effective in our ministry.
We would like people to pray for us, especially this year as we are going through [a] difficult time with hunger and economic challenges. So when we meet the Christians and even other people, when we are talking about the Word of God others wonder how they can understand this as they are going through the hunger problem and other things. So if God [can] help us to give us wisdom so that whatever little we have we can also share. We share the Word of God spiritually but also we could love to share other things practically, like food and even medication. So, if God can open the doors of the help so that we can also extend the help to the needy. As we show spiritual love, we show also physical love as Jesus did. So help us to pray for that.
We’ve added a new gallery! Click here to explore images from a visit to the Lower Shire to meet literature distributors and supply them with gospel calendars in January 2024.
Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a conference hosted by Bible Educational Services (BES) in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. It was tremendously encouraging and energizing to connect with people from all over the world who are involved in similar ministries.
Perhaps one of the most impactful things was meeting the woman who started it all! To think that it started with one woman posting lessons to one student and now today the curriculum is being used in over 80 countries and in 45 languages! Wendy Gray and her husband, Bert, and another older couple who have been involved in children’s work for decades, Stephen and Jean Gillham were both an inspiration and a challenge to me. Results are not often seen immediately in children’s work, but these couples reminded me that preserving and trusting the Lord to bless will result in fruit for His glory!
Results are not often seen immediately in children’s work, but these couples reminded me that preserving and trusting the Lord to bless will result in fruit for His glory!
Left to right: Wendy Gray and her husband, Bert, stand with Stephen and Jean Gillham (Image credit: Bible Educational Services)
I was also encouraged by the testimony of several of the delegates who were saved as children. One was taught the word of God while he was a child at a Sunday school. Though not from a Christian background, what he had learned as a child stuck with him and was used to bring him to salvation as a young adult. Another woman, also not from a Christian background, came to know about the Lord through children’s work, eventually accepting Christ at a Bible camp. These testimonies were a reminder of the importance of sharing the gospel with children and have bolstered my faith as I pray for God’s word to do a work in the hearts of the children we have come to know and love here in Malawi. Let us pray that this will indeed be the case!
Another takeaway was the importance of working with others. This is not a work that can be done single-handedly! Sessions on cooperation with coworkers got me thinking about how we can partner well with others to reach as many children as possible. It is something that needs much prayer and consideration. We want the work to be sustainable, i.e. not dependent on us. Please pray that the Lord will give clear direction from the start as to how we can best partner with others in a way that encourages this.
…more than ever we need to be in prayer for the Lord’s direction and blessing.
Overall, I was inspired and revitalized by spending a week in the presence of so many men and women who are giving their lives for the sake of sharing the gospel with children. What a privilege we have to tell the next generation about our God and Savior! What a responsibility! As we anticipate the launch of Bibletime in Malawi and look forward to training and distributing to others – more than ever we need to be in prayer for the Lord’s direction and blessing. It is, after all, His work, and He knows best how it should be done. Please pray with us that we will have a clear sense of His purposes for us and this resource in the coming months, so it can be used to reach thousands – perhaps millions – of children in this country who desperately need a Savior.
Saulous Chilima, Vice President of Malawi has died in a plane crash in the northern part of the country.
As well as praying for his family at this difficult time of personal loss, also pray for political stability. Relations between the President and Vice-President have been strained, and any speculation about the cause of the accident could be destabilising.
Remember the families of the other victims of the crash.
Here’s what Harold had to say about why schools ministry matters to him:
Why do school visits matter?
Schools matter a lot to me for two reasons…
First, this is the time when you meet students who are starting to mature. They don’t have much knowledge about salvation or the Bible. But they have open hearts to receive the gospel.
The second thing is that many of these students do not have the background of the gospel in their homes. And so, when you preach to the students, it’s like you’re giving them the gospel for the first time. And you can see how the gospel is accepted in schools and appreciated by the students… people who are coming from different backgrounds… they all have the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Harold (L) stands with the headteacher (R) and students after distributing gospel calendars and exercise books
When did you start visiting schools?
Immediately after I got saved, in 1998, I felt that God wanted me to concentrate on going to schools and preaching the gospel. So, when I completed my secondary school in 1999, I started visiting schools and preaching the gospel. It has been like that partly, I think, because I was saved when I was at secondary school.
What’s your favourite thing about school visits?
My favourite thing about school visits is that it’s a place of open doors for the gospel… Sometimes when you go to the markets, others may want to sit down and listen, but others may not. But it’s different when you go to a school, everybody sits down and they listen.
Any favourite memories?
I’ve got so many memories about school visits, but one of the prominent things that comes to mind is the team in 2022 when we were visiting schools around Thondwe and Zomba. I have very good memories about how the gospel was dramatized and how everybody was able to contribute… it was presented in such a simple yet beautiful and lovely way.
Malawi Gospel Outreach (MGO) team perform the parable of the lost son for students
Is there any feedback you’ve received?
I have received feedback from many students… in various schools. Good feedback like “I am from a Muslim background, but I would like to learn more about the Bible. Would you please help me and we develop some kind of relationship and we talk about the Lord?” And this has been so encouraging. Sometimes they just drop a message in my phone and say, “I come from a Muslim background. I received the gospel when you came to preach at our school. I’m not allowed to go to church, but I’m so happy that you came. I was able to hear what the gospel means”. Also… in towns and various places, some people have stopped me and said… “You came to our school at such and such a time… you were preaching to us with the white people that came.” So it’s just fantastic to see how the students in schools remember things – sometimes you even forget… and they’re able to remind you of some of the verses that were used.
Anna and Harold speak to secondary school students
“I come from a Muslim background. I received the gospel when you came to preach at our school. I’m not allowed to go to church, but I’m so happy that you came. I was able to hear what the gospel means”
What can people be praying for?
Schools are one of the best places to spread the gospel. And the Lord has actually opened such opportunities here in Malawi that whenever you go to schools, you are able to preach not just to the students, but also to the teachers. And one of the things that folks can be praying for is that in the course of time the Lord will be able to raise people, the teachers, that would be able to help in the Bible clubs in schools with sound gospel and that the Lord will continue to keep the door open… because there are some places, some countries where you cannot preach in schools… And that while the door is still open, that the Lord will also raise people so that the open door can be utilized. In my understanding, when I visit the schools, I always feel inadequate because I very much feel that with such open doors they’re just a few people who are taking advantage to preach to the students. So, it’s like open doors that are never fully utilized because the labourers are few.
Harold explains why he’s so enthusiastic about MGO – it has opened so many doors
Recorded October 2023
Transcript
2023 MGO was just like any other MGO – special in such a way that MGO’s are always different but this time we think of the MGO that was with the few people that participated and we were just thinking of how I was going to try and do what we have been doing in the past with the the few of us
But like Gideon we were able to see that the Lord is not very much interested in the numbers but the commitment and the trust that we have in him
He is able to do [the same that] he can do with many people with a few people
And so 2023 MGO was such a great encouragement to to me because we saw the Lord did a lot through a few people who were committed to do the job
I was encouraged with the order we have seen especially when it came to the kids the Children’s Day there was good order and it was such an encouragement to see lots of children sitting under the Word of God and listening attentively
I think the Lord gave much help and so I was really encouraged to see that many children
MGO is a vehicle which has opened so many doors when it comes to service to the Lord we just pray that the Lord will continue to not just open these doors but we take time to fully utilize those doors
There are school programs that have been opened because of MGO
There are hospital visits and time of gospel in the hospitals that was opened because of MGO also prisons such an important place to be to preach the gospel to prisoners
The Lord through MGO has been able to open so many doors
And we pray that the Lord will help us to fully take advantage of spreading the gospel strategically in these places
I’ve had the audiobook version of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind on my Audible playlist for a long time. I eventually got around to listening to it recently on a solo road trip. I instantly wished I’d done so earlier.
The Boy who Harnessed the Wind is not a Christian book, but it is an entertaining and enlightening read (listen!!). It’s the story of William Kamkwamba, who like so many Malawian boys, had to drop out of school. Nevertheless, against all odds, he managed to teach himself to build a wind turbine and light his village home. It provides an excellent insight into Malawian culture (especially the Chewa people) and the cruel hardships of village life. Although I’m sure the narrator is not himself Malawian, the African accent added much to my enjoyment of the book. For that reason, I do recommend the audio version.
A lot of things resonated after more than 20 years’ experience of The Warm Heart of Africa. I learned a few things too! It was especially poignant as most of the serious action took place around the time we first arrived in the country. The book recounts the serious famine of late 2001, the aftermath of which we remember vividly. The Boy who Harnessed the Wind is mostly set in Kasungu district (Central Region), which I don’t know as well as the South, but I got a very pleasant surprise in the penultimate chapter when a dear personal friend from our days in Zomba was mentioned in dispatches!
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Goodson explains how the building works at Saidi have already been so helpful. He asks brothers and sister to pray about the future needs of the Building project
Recorded October 2023
Transcript
For all the buildings here it’s encouraged me because right now we have a printing room an office now we have our stores so you’ll see the container there and also we have the Msasa
So all these houses [are] help[ing] us
People they need to pray for us because we have so many works here we are looking for the gospel hall that we plan to start the building I’m not sure if we can start this year but we plan to start the gospel hall
So people they need to pray about this myself I cannot do anything myself so I believe in the fellowship If we can work together we can manage to do something
So everyone who have a chance to help and work of the Lord here in Malawi It is a good time to take part
And I pray for other brothers and sisters who was not here in Malawi even other countries remember Malawi sometimes when you are gathered together to pray
Tomorrow Anna leaves for the Bible Educational Services (BES) conference taking place in Northern Ireland. DV. Please remember her in prayer.
The conference aims to provide attendees from all over the world with the opportunity to interact, build connections and acquire useful knowledge about training methods, safeguarding laws, and advancements in the field of children’s work.
