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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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Harold explains why he’s so enthusiastic about MGO – it has opened so many doors
Recorded October 2023
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
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
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.
CNN reported today that Cyclone Freddy is breaking records for the duration and strength of tropical storms in the southern hemisphere. Al Jazeera says police in Malawi have reported 11 deaths around the city of Blantyre. [Edit: The death toll has now exceeded 60 – 18:00 GMT – 13 March 2023)
Harold asks us to pray about the practicalities of the impending Calendar Distribution. We are printing 100,000 calendars in Malawi, and expecting 500,000 to arrive by container in the next couple of weeks, Lord willing.
As the annual rains are now at full strength, it is impossible to use our open-back 2-Ton truck to supply the regional distributors, and our other vehicles are of insufficient capacity for such large volumes. We are investigating some possible solutions, but all are less than ideal.
Harold ask us to pray for the Schools work in the coming months. They have more invitations than they can possibly respond to and need wisdom to know which schools to prioritise.
The school visits made during MGO were very encouraging – 1000s of youngsters heard the Gospel and received Gospel Literature. There is a wide-open door in schools.
Give thanks that Goodson and Harold’s health are both improving after their recent illnesses, but please keep praying for stamina and overall well-being.
Note: As with almost every public service in Malawi, government health care is seriously under-resourced, to the point of being useless in many areas. Our Malawian brothers and sisters have, at best, very limited access to private health care, so minor ailments can easily become big problems. Please remember them continually in your prayers,
Brother Harold asks for special, urgent prayer for his sister, Sue (55), for whom he requested prayer before.
Sue is presently in hospital in Blantyre and receiving oxygen. She has multiple problems with organ function (heart, lungs & kidney). The local health care is very basic. Harold has been helping buy additional private care for Sue, but this has been on limited help. As Harold says, “she can only survive this with a real miracle.”
The situation is complicated by the fact that Sue is the family member who cares for Harold’s elderly mother, who is in her nineties. Village life is tough, even for healthy people.
Stephen writes: This past week it’s been a real blessing for me to travel again with Harold as we did so often in years past. It’s been a joy to speak of the Lord, His Word and His Work as the miles rolled by.
Although Harold is always very discreet when speaking about his (frequent) problems and challenges, it’s evident from conversations over the past few days that the care of his extended family is a real strain on him.
