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Dave & Kari share their thoughts on their visit to Malawi in March 2024.

Dave is from a farming background. He has an interest in sustainable farming and how simple techniques can be used to improve yields and thereby food security.

Transcript

Hey, everyone

Stephen had asked us if we would just put a short video together for you all to be able to, just hear our thoughts and our first impression of our visit to Malawi

I think for, for both of us when we first arrived in the country, the one of the first things we noticed was the beauty of the country, mountainous, hilly

We would call them mountains, from from where we live in Ontario. a beautiful country. it’s densely populated

That’s the one thing that we both felt. having lots of people, lots of opportunities also to be able to share the gospel. we got to go to, a couple of schools and, and share the gospel with, with the kids there

We handed out some literature there as well. then some calendars calendars. yeah

The kids are pretty excited about that. when we arrived, the container with, Christian literature, had arrived yet and I know Stephen was, disappointed because he wanted us to be able to experience that. seeing the logistics of how everything works with, handing, the literature out throughout the country and to be a part of that would have been, would have been pretty neat. it was nice to be able to first take in salt and go to the facilities and see the buildings and, and the layout of the land and the farm and, what your hoping to, to do there. and of course, with my farming background that was, neat to kind of get the wheels turning and, and see the opportunities that, are before you there with, being able to grow food for people

I think there’s, a lot of potential with, with what you’ve got there for a layout on your property and, use that for, for the Lord’s work. we we had a chance to go up to Lilongwe and to the, refugee camp

We able to take that and and tour around a wee bit just to see what it’s like

I’ve never been both of us have never been to a refugee camp before

I really enjoyed, having the opportunity to see the ladies and at their sewing machines when we first went in, and, and, they quickly brought it bags of things that they had sewn

And that was really cool

I just felt like I really made a connection there with some of those ladies, and, it was really special, a really neat opportunity

It’s neat how you can connect, so quickly, I find with, with people. when you come down to their level and, and, you take an interest in what they’re doing, the kids feeding program, that was, that was an eye opening experience for myself

I remember getting a little teary eyed, as I was handing out the food, just, to see these children, you know, literally having nothing or very little and and to be able to provide, a meal for them and to be able to share the gospel with them

So, yeah, overall, we had a really good a good trip, a good time

I’m just grateful for Stephen’s. kindness and taking us around, driving us around and we’re thankful the Lord kept us safe and provided a vehicle for us to be able to do that with, even though it did break down a couple of times

Nothing too major

We’re thankful for Stephen’s, hospitality and kindness and and, willingness to, to give us, a tour of the country part of it

Anyway, so it was it was a fun experience

Yeah. we’re going to be in prayer for you guys, Yeah

Well, I’m not sure what the future holds for us, but we would ask your prayers as well. as we were seeking for what the Lord would, would have for us, so

Anyways, thanks so much

Okay

Thank you, thank you

Yeah.

Harold shares about the trauma of his robbery last year.

Recorded October 2023

Note: Please remember Harold and his family in prayer. This incident followed and equally traumatic experience in March 2023. Harold and family feared for their lives as their home was caught in the gap between two major mudslides during Cyclone Freddy.

In March 2024, Harold had a further upset when he was mugged in Lilongwe

Transcript

My name is Harold Makawa from Njuli and working with SALT.

What happened recently with my family was so horrible. Armed robbers came. That was on the 18th of September. Monday night around 11:00 the robbers came fully armed with guns and they banged our doors but they were not able to break the doors so they resolved to break the wall.

In the meantime we tried to call for help but help didn’t come until they came to where we were.

They were really looking for money and we didn’t have any money in the house.

We are so grateful that they left after 2.5 hours or so.

Just to say briefly about the Lord’s preservation and providence. The Lord knew what was coming. We didn’t know what was coming.

I had some literature I wanted to take to our depots in Mulanje and Chikwawa so I was just keeping them in the house.

When the thieves came the robbers came. They pulled all the boxes and all of the the the bags and they were just opening and Bibles and tracts everywhere. And so we see that in that in itself the Lord was able to speak to them about who we were.

And so yeah the Lord preserved our lives because we’ve heard cases where people have been attacked by robbers and they have been so much hurt or cut by panga knives [machetes].

But we are so grateful to the Lord that they didn’t beat us. They didn’t even hit us but all they did was just to demand the money from us.

So we saw that the Lord so much preserved us.

Talking about myself and my family when it comes to people praying for us we We we are so traumatized still because of what happened. It’s not easy to live with the mind that you are the target of thieves in an area. And so we just think of what is before us in terms of the Lord’s work and we feel somehow discouraged but we just request that the people be praying for us that despite what has happened the Lord will help us to continue on and never be discouraged.

Brother Goodson shares why he’s so encouraged with the spiritual progress at Saidi

Recorded in October 2023

Transcript

The spiritual work here at Saidi is going up because we started with a small small team [group] but right now we have a large number So we praise the Lord because there’s spiritual [work] is going up And right now we plan to have next baptism at the last week of this October So I’m very encouraged Very encourage Because I [didn’t] believe maybe we can find the people as we see right now so I’m very encouraged because I see that Lord himself is [bringing] the people to us We need to pray for the work of the Lord here Because every time we we meet with the challenges as you know here in Malawi people is very suffer with the hunger and other problems here so we’re looking [after] the spiritual And also we’re looking [after] the body of the people so we need to pray [for] the work of the Lord here

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One year on, team members share their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of Cyclone Freddy.

Recorded in October 2023

Transcript:

After the Cyclone Freddy happened we visited so many camps preaching the gospel and giving out some flour as a relief measure

So that has also been an eye opening to me as regards to the problems that people face when it comes to disasters like this

Initially the work started with would I say it immediate response relief. So distributing food to the camps. And with that distribution also sharing the gospel with people. But in the recent months it’s been more about rebuilding the houses of some whose homes fell during the storm.

From the time that we met with the problem of the cyclone Freddy we started to visiting in to the different camps and also we share the food and right now we are rebuilding the houses for the few families and we are already finishing nine houses

The great part of Cyclone Freddy is that we were able to visit as many people and preach the gospel in an environment where the hearts are so ready to receive the gospel in the camps that we’ve been trying to visit we are the only organization that has been able to make an impact both spiritual and physical

We’ve been able to go there and preach the gospel on a weekly basis some organizations just visited the camps once and gave them like five kgs of maize

Very encouraging because when the brothers and sisters from other countries when they listen the problem here in Malawi they take part to help us

So this is [a] very [great] encouragement And I pray for the sisters and brothers who will take the part to help us here in Malawi

And also I ask them to continue to help us because we have still a problem here

It’s been a good opportunity to share the love of Christ in a practical way. We’ve gotten to know some people that we wouldn’t know otherwise. The situation is not over and we’re in for a really bad couple of months because of the destruction of crops from the cyclone.

And the needs aren’t going away. They’re just getting more and more. So pray for wisdom discernment and kind hearts. Caring hearts.

Because it can be overwhelming.

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We praise the Lord for a very enjoyable and profitable week of teaching at our 2024 Bible Conference.

After an unavoidable hiatus due to Covid and cyclones, it was wonderful to host over 50 of our volunteer literature distributors for a week in the Word of God.

We took the entire letter of 1Corinthians as our subject for the week. This ensured that we focussed on the major themes and really important lessons of the book. It also helped the brothers see how a complete Bible book is a consistent whole.

We had to restrict the number of attendees due to our current space limitations. Nevertheless, some brothers came from Mulanje and Nsanje in the South, and a few from Lilongwe in the Central Region. At least one brother even came from neighbouring Mozambique! Many commented that they had never had the privilege to attend such a Bible Conference before. Based upon the written feedback they gave, many were learning fundamental Bible truth and principles for Christian living and Church life, for the first time. It was thrilling to see their rapt attention during the teaching sessions, and their engagement during the group study workshops. As usual, the Q & A sessions provided abundant teaching opportunities too!

During one of the breaks near the end of the conference, Anna gave a short presentation to introduce Nthawi Ya Baibulo, the children’s Bible study curriculum which we are translating. I was encouraged to see a healthy interest among a number of the brothers already engaged in children’s work. Hopefully, this will be a real help to them in reaching the young people in their areas.

Next Bible Conference, God willing?

We have already begun to think about when our next Bible Conference will be. We have only been able to reach a small percentage (less than 1/5) of the volunteers we regularly supply with literature. It is impractical to reach them all in their own areas, and impossible for us to host them all at Saidi, at present. So, we have a real dilemma. Do we invite a fresh cohort of 50 so that we reach more individuals? Or, do we invite the same group back in order to build upon what they have just learned? Please pray that we will have wisdom to make that decision.

Please also pray that, if it is His will, the Lord will enable us to build suitable accommodation to facilitate more conferences, and to host more people. This would truly be an enormous blessing for the work.

Teaching Session
Boys will be boys!
Workshop Session
Hand-washing before lunch
ScreeWorkshop in one of the Summer Hutsnshot
Q & A
Teaching Session
Some of the Brothers
Group Photo
Workshop Group

In March 2023, Cyclone Freddy, one of the strongest tropical storms to hit southern Africa, ripped through Malawi. In the space of 72 hours, the storm poured out half a year’s worth of rain, leaving devastation in its wake. An estimated 2,267,458 people were affected by the disaster with 659,278 people displaced in 749 camps. The evacuation camps were mainly sturdy structures within affected communities such as schools, churches and halls.

The Cyclone most severely impacted the southern districts of Malawi, including Zomba, where SALT is located. It affected not only SALT’s close neighbours but also our volunteers in various districts. While SALT could not do the heavy lifting in this disaster, it was a great privilege to come alongside our neighbours and volunteers at such an unprecedented time.

Emergency food response

Brother Goodson speaks at Ngabu camp which had 563 displaced families

SALT visited 7 camps in three districts (Chiradzulu, Chikwawa and Zomba). SALT began responding at Lisao camp in Chiradzulu district then in camps in Zomba district. SALT “adopted” these camps paying them routine visits roughly every two weeks. Later in the response, SALT visited camps in the lower shire region which still had large numbers of displaced people.  

The routine visits to evacuation camps were a unique element and especially helpful when it came to forming relationships and sharing the Word. Many camp managers said that they received food assistance only once from government or other organisations. This was a challenge because the food would quickly run out due to the large numbers of people there. Through the routine visits, families received regular support and heard the Good News preached.

We also provided food assistance to vulnerable members of the community. These included families from surrounding villages, assembly members, and volunteer distributors.

Overall, SALT distributed over 16 tonnes of maize flour under the Cyclone Freddy response.

Rebuilding homes

Lisao camp rebuilding work beneficiary stands outside home with family members
Enelesi (in white) stands with brother Harold (far right) outside her home under construction

Our response’s focus soon shifted to rebuilding when camps were closed to allow students to return to school. SALT constructed new homes for 14 families and assisted 3 families with partial rebuilds as they had other parts of the structures intact.

In the rural areas, many houses are made with mud bricks and some use only mud for mortar, making them particularly susceptible to extreme weather conditions. Though the rebuilding work faced significant challenges such as soaring prices of cement and building materials, we are thankful that families were assisted with safe and secure lodging.

Enelesi, is a single mother of two from Lisao camp. She had this to say when SALT constructed a new home for her: “I never expected that I could have this home. I would ask myself while I was at the camp, I’m single… How will I find a home? Will I afford a home – even a thatch one?… I’m really thankful.”

Responding to ongoing cyclone-induced food insecurity

Maize purchased to respond to food insecurity

Though not all families lost their homes in the storm, many families lost their crops. SALT purchased maize to cater to ongoing food insecurity caused by Cyclone Freddy.  SALT purchased 12 tonnes of maize to assist with responding to these needs.

Demonstrating the love of God

Visit to Lisao camp - speaking to displaced people
Brother Jim and brother Harold share the Good News with families at Lisao Camp

Above all, we are grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate the love of God and share the Word at one of the most unprecedented times for Malawi. Through the response, new connections have been formed. Even those we may not have a chance to meet again were left with God’s Word – a gift that will remain with them.

“The great part…” shared Brother Harold, “is that we were able to visit as many people as possible and preach the gospel in an environment where the hearts are so ready to receive the gospel… I was greatly encouraged that as an organisation, we’re able to identify these needs and be able to carry on and touch the lives of people physically and spiritually.”

The Headteacher of Nanjiri School which was sheltering displaced families also echoed these sentiments when the team visited the camp. “I’ve seen a difference compared to how others come to help…” He said. “Today, we’ve received both kinds of help… physical and spiritual… I don’t know what moved him (brother Goodson), but I believe it was the Holy Spirit that led him to get up and come…”

Conclusion

Malawi was hit with a record-breaking natural disaster, which led to loss of lives, homes and livelihoods. Many were left wondering if and how they would move forward from such a crisis. SALT responded to immediate needs while seeking to support future needs through rebuilding homes and food assistance. We are thankful to all who supported this response and made it possible to give not only practical help but also a message of hope at such a desperate time.

Visit to Lisao camp - interacting with the children
Newly built house at Pa Mchenga next to damaged home
Beneficiaries from Pa Mchenga camp outside house
Headteacher smiles for the camera

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