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
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
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
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
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.
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 SessionBoys will be boys!Workshop SessionHand-washing before lunchScreeWorkshop in one of the Summer HutsnshotQ & ATeaching SessionSome of the BrothersGroup PhotoWorkshop Group
Food Insecurity has improved only marginally after Cyclone Freddy. Many areas, especially in the Southern Region, remain in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and remaining official maize reserves are only enough to feed 200,000 households for 1 month, according to official estimates.
