It was an immense joy for me to sit down to break bread for the first time with the young assembly at Saidi this morning.
The Lord has really been blessing the work there. It is thrilling to see the beginnings of a spiritual harvest after years of sowing.
A big part of me would dearly have loved to be present a few weeks ago for the inaugural breaking of bread. However, I remind myself that the saints here have done exactly as I’ve always taught them they should do. That is, to seek to honour and obey the Lord, and to look to His Word alone for their guidance. To value the Lord’s presence above the presence of any missionary. And so I am glad that they did not feel that they needed a visitor’s blessing in order to begin meeting as an assembly. But I would still have loved to have been there!
Just a “large handful” of believers presently comprise the assembly. Recently, seventeen others asked for baptism and to join the fellowship. Brother Goodson has begun the process of hearing the testimonies of those interested. In conversation a couple of days ago he was telling me how impressed he is with the level of understanding of the Gospel. Many others come regularly to hear the Gospel, and today there were several new faces, as there are every week. It was a privilege to be able to share the Gospel with them… Wodala munthuyo wokhululukidwa tchimo lake; wokwiriridwa choipa chake! Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Amen!
Goodson also mentioned that other nearby churches are surprised how many abambo (men) consistently attend the meetings there. Most other churches are mainly comprised of women. However, at Saidi it’s around a 50/50 split. Goodson rightly attributes to the fact that the Lord is at work.
Over the next week, we plan to have Gospel meetings at the site each afternoon. Please pray that this would be a means in the Lord’s had to reach more unsaved, and to establish those who have professed faith. The believers have distributed many invitations.
In March, Cyclone Freddy wreaked havoc in Malawi, causing immense destruction and loss of life. With a total death toll of over 1000 and over 1,000,000 people displaced, the impact of the disaster was heart-wrenching. The storm destroyed thousands of hectares of mature maize, leaving communities vulnerable to hunger and economic challenges. In the face of this catastrophe, SALT tried to respond with compassion, wisdom and determination. The Lord enabled us to provide emergency aid to over 1000 people from around 10 villages.
The Lord’s people responded generously . We want to update you on our ongoing relief efforts and how we plan to continue helping those affected by Cyclone Freddy.
Immediate Relief Efforts
In the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Freddy, our team visited numerous evacuation camps, like the one at Lisao. We distributed much-needed emergency aid to the affected communities. The aid included plastic sheeting for emergency shelter, 13,500 kgs of maize flour, approximately 670 kgs of beans, and 2300 soap tablets. While we were able to provide assistance to those in need, we faced challenges as most of the evacuation camps were in school buildings, which were disbanded later, forcing people back to their villages, often with no choice but to rely on already impoverished relatives.
Assisting Vulnerable Individuals
Recognizing the plight of vulnerable people, such as widows or those caring for orphans, we aim to construct 15 new houses, as we are able. Additionally, we plan to assist in repairing numerous other houses for vulnerable individuals in the affected villages. However, the serious economic difficulties in the country, including scarcity and soaring prices of cement and shortages of fuel, have posed significant challenges to our efforts. Nevertheless, we remain committed to providing safe and secure housing for those who need it most.
Buying maize for later in the yearHouse construction at Pa Mchenga.JPG
Preparing for the Future
To improve long-term food security for our community, we have taken the initiative to purchase a reserve of over 12 tons of maize. We will distribute this later in the year to alleviate hunger. Moreover, we are determined to enhance our ability to respond effectively to emergencies like Cyclone Freddy in the future. With some of the funds donated, we plan to invest in an irrigation system on several acres of farmland adjacent to our site. We hope this project will significantly improve our capacity to support the needs of the community during times of crisis.
Impacting Lives with the Gospel
Our aim is always to keep the Gospel “front and centre”. Through all our interventions, we have had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with those we have assisted. This has had a profound impact on the affected communities. One heartwarming message of gratitude that we received reads,
“we want to thank you for the help you have given without respect of religionโฆ the people are very grateful because you have helped more than all the other help we received and also because of the Good News which you sowed.”
The opportunity to bring comfort and the hope of the Gospel through actions and words has been the greatest blessing during this difficult time.
Conclusion
We continue to rebuild and provide assistance in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy. We are deeply committed to supporting the affected communities in our vicinity. We trust that our relief efforts, though challenging, have been a testament to the power of compassion, generosity, and faith. We thank all our supporters and donors who have made this possible. With your continued support, we aim to bring lasting change and resilience to the lives of those affected by the cyclone. Together, we can rebuild hope, one step at a time.
Life and death are much more raw in Malawi than in the West. People here accept as normal parts of life things that we take great pains to sterilize and sanitize.
Few things better exemplify this than a funeral.
Everything stops for a funeral
Anyone who’s lived in this part of the world knows that everything stops for a funeral. As they often have no way to preserve the body, they need to attend to things promptly. Thereโs also an expectation that everyone in the village will attend. (That may be because of a strong sense of community. Or, because people donโt want to be accused of using witchcraft to contribute to the personโs death. It is sometimes difficult to tell). And so, the death of someone in the village today means that no one will be at work tomorrow. Itโs a constant reminder that death is an interrupter, an unwanted but ever-present intrusion in life.
Nothing makes that more evident than the wailing you hear as you approach the home of the deceased person. I canโt make a blanket statement about how Westerners grieve. After all Iโve heard that my Italian ancestors knew how to do justice to the whole wailing thing. But most of the funerals Iโve been to have been quiet affairs. The family and friends of the deceased silently weep. Those in attendance offer their condolences in hushed voices and whispers. Thatโs not how things are done here. The wailing starts long before the funeral and it continues throughout, as the women of the family cry for the dead person who has left them.
Weeping
Usually, the family members sit in the house around the coffin. When they nail the coffin shut and bring it out for the community to view, the weeping becomes louder and more pronounced. They continue weeping at full volume as they load the coffin into the back of a truck. Then the family members squeeze in around it, and everyone makes their way to the graveyard.
Simple things, like hearing the hammer nailing the lid of the coffin shut. Watching different men from the community fill the grave and then hoe the dirt into a mound. These were jarring for me the first time I went to a funeral. They serve as startling reminders that there is an actual dead person present. And that dead person is literally being buried โ physically removed and put away from the living.
At the last funeral I attended, I sat on the ground with the other women who were there. I was waiting to hear what kind of message the officiant would give. My back was sore from trying to imitate the ramrod-straight posture of my Malawian companions. (That’s something I donโt think Iโll ever master). I was tired from being in the sun all day. And I was desperately hoping that there would be some kernel of truth in his sermon.
Life and death without hope
There wasnโt. His words of โconsolationโ and โhopeโ? Go to church and work hard for the benefit of your church, so good things will come to you. That was it. No truth, no hope, no consolation.
As we walked back home, some of the older women were reflecting on the service.
โThere was no reading from the Bible?”
โDid you catch if he read from the Bible?โ
โNo, I think he just went right to giving advice.โ
โNo reading; thatโs not good.โ
All I could think was that the problem was much more significant than simply neglecting to read a portion of Scripture. That man was leading people astray. Encouraging them to cling to something that will neither save their souls nor give them hope for their lives. And, sadly, this is what they preach so often. In a country where life is painful and death is a constant reality, many people are living without the hope of the gospel.
Please pray with us that the gospel of Jesus Christ will reach and penetrate the hearts and lives of the people of Malawi. Through literature, open-air preaching, and relationships. Pray that the Lord will use SALT to spread His love to a hurting people and offer them true and lasting hope. Hope for this life and hope in death.
Iโm writing this on my return flight from Blantyre, Malawi at the end of my unplanned visit to assess the effects of Cyclone Freddy.
Itโs been a short trip on account of the fact that my son, Philip is getting married next week. Over the years, I missed many family birthdays and anniversaries, but I canโt miss that!
I had little idea what to expect as I left N. Ireland around 10 days ago, having hurriedly changed plans to be with the saints in Jordan for Bible teaching.
To be honest, what I found has alarmed me.
On the one hand, I am alarmed to hear seasoned ex-pats who have spent decades in Malawi speak of a catastrophe on a scale they have never witnessed before.
On the other hand I am alarmed that for so many in this country it just seems to be business as usual.
Malawi has experienced many impactful natural disasters. Droughts and famine. Cyclones and floods. Even localised earthquakes, as Malawi straddling the Great Rift Valley. In our 20-something years of experience in Malawi, we have experienced each of these โ on more than one occasion. Indeed, Freddy is the third major cyclone to hit Malawi in the past 5 years, following Idai and Ana, not to mention sever others of less intensity.
But nothing like this.
Unprecedented effects of cyclone Freddy
This massive mudslide ripped through Njuli villageThere has been serious damage to infrastructure, impeding the relief processThis river burst its banks, carrying people to their deaths
Meteorologists reckon that Freddy may have been to most powerful cyclone on record. Its destructive force was unleashed twice on Mozambique. Freddy made landfall some time earlier before retreating to the Indian Ocean. It then returned to batter the African continent for a second time. Over the weekend of 12 March, Freddy unleashed around 6 monthsโ worth of monsoon rain in as many days, or less.
Blantyre Slum Dwellings
It’s not the first time that the low-lying Shire valley and Phalombe plain has flooded. But the effect on Blantyreโs unplanned and over-crowded slum townships is simply unprecedented.
The first funeral I preached at in Malawi was not far from where so many perished because of cyclone Freddy. A young child had drowned after falling into a slum bafa โ a communal un-plumbed bathing area. Thousands of homes are piled on top of each other along the sides of the cityโs landmark mountains โ Soche, Ndirande, and Mchiru. Most have no form of drainage or sanitation.
It was a disaster waiting to happen.
Yet, Malawians have got used to hardship and disaster. Itโs a way of life. Or death.
Disasters – a way of life
Before 12 March millions of Malawians were already struggling. As they have done to greater or lesser degrees for most of their lives.
Malawi is presently the 11th poorest country in the world.[1]
In August last year, 3.8 million people were expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 โ Crisis). Almost 6.5 million others categorised as IPC Phase 2 (Stressed) and at needing help to avoid disaster risk and improve their livliehood protection. Experts were already predicting that 21 of Malawiโs 28 Districts would be struggling with food insecurity between October 2022 and March 2023.[2]
That was before Cyclone Freddy.
The reasons are many.
It is true that Malawi lacks the natural resources that many of our regional neighbours are blessed with. In their place, corruption, nepotism and mismanagement abound.
Lack of opportunities and a culture of jealousy conspire to make Malawi an unlikely place for the capable to succeed. Able young people pursue education and opportunity overseas, and understandably never come back. Thus, the brain-drain dooms Malawi to be led by a succession of people not good enough to make it overseas, but clever enough to cheat their way to comfort at home.
Nothing works in this country!
On my recent visit, one long-term resident of Malawi complained angrily, โNothing works in this country! Theyโve stolen everything!โ
Itโs true. The countryโs infrastructure is broken down.
You canโt get a driving license in Malawi because they canโt import the plastic cards. And even more seriously, I couldnโt buy coffee beans because the roastery couldnโt find gas!
I know that doesnโt sound like much of a hardship, but think about the business owner whoโs losing coffee sales every day because the country is broken.
Or the business owner who wouldnโt even give me a quotation for an irrigation pump, because heโs embarrassed to contact his supplier for a price, knowing there is no foreign exchange in the country to actually buy the pump if I say yes.
So the demand for coffee beans falls, hurting the coffee growers, and the price of maize goes up, because people like us who would grow food in the dry season canโt โ even if we could find fertiliser.
And then came Freddy!
Overwhelmed by need
Unfortunately, I canโt give you up-to-date statistics. The authorities seem to be overwhelmed and unable to stay current with the numbers. However, it is safe to say that hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the extensive flooding and mudslides. In our District (Zomba) alone, there are almost 50,000 people living in evacuation camps because their homes were either destroyed or damaged by the cyclone. Many of them are children and elderly. Around half have received no assistance yet, 3 weeks into the crisis. That is partly because of the sheer scale of the catastrophe. And partly because the network of mostly dirt rural roads can’t cope with the volume of rain which has and continues to fall.
In most cases the camps are nothing more than empty school classrooms. Typically that means bare earth or cement floors and unglazed windows. Many have no bedding and some may even have no change of clothing. The camps are fertile ground for those seeking to exploit vulnerable women and children.
Isolated Evacuation Camp in Zomba DistrictThe poor condition of the roads have made it difficult to reach survivors with aidThere are many old people in camps…and children
More than a week ago, the total number of displaced households exceeded 114,000 โ thatโs likely to be over half a million people. These poor, mostly uneducated people, are not responsible for the mismanagement and corruption of their country. They arenโt to blame for coronavirus and they didnโt start the far-away war in Ukraine. But they are certainly paying the price!
As one person wrote to me recently, โWe are overwhelmed by a world in need.โ It is indeed overwhelming.
I give thanks that our Saviour is never overwhelmed, and I am truly grateful for the grace of his people who continually respond in kindness and generosity. As a result of this kindness we are able to make a small but meaningful contribution to the relief effort.
We have reluctantly decided to cancel the Bible Teaching conference planned for May. The relief effort following Cyclone Freddy is going to demand so much of our time and resources that it will be impractical to proceed. Besides, many of those we were expecting to attend have been affected by Freddy too, and simply won’t have the means to travel.
As we have already bought air tickets for the speakers (David Williamson, Jim McMaster and me), we have decided that we will instead use the time for relief and Gospel work among the cyclone victims we have begun to help. Please pray that this will prove to be a good decision.
We are disappointed that we’ve had to make this decision. This is the 5th consecutive year our annual teaching program has been interrupted – twice due to a Presidential election, twice due to Covid, and now this dreadful disaster.
Malawi has one of the worst records in the world when it comes to child marriages. According to the UNPFA, almost half of women in Malawi are married before theyโre 18, with an alarming number married very much earlier than that. Child marriages often have devastating consequences for the girls involved. Not only are they often subjected to sexual violence, risky pregnancies and HIV, but many drop out of school early, dooming them to a life of poverty and dependance.
Thatโs 3 litres of music there. And you have NO IDEA how sweet it sounds!
Over four years ago, Goodson and I were travelling home from Lilongwe (Lee-long-way) when the engine in my Isuzu pick-up packed in.
It wasnโt a good situation. We were a couple of hundred Kms from home, on a section of road which skirts along the edge of Mozambique. Itโs an area notorious for armed bandits who take advantage of the open border. And there was only a hour or two of daylight remaining.
The car had overheated several times recently, so I put in a distress call to the mechanic whoโd been working on it.
He disowned me.
Distress call
Iโm still amazed at times that you can get internet coverage in the middle of Central Africa. Then, I was just grateful. I repeated my distress call on a local Facebook group, and within a few minutes was in touch with another mechanic in Blantyre who had a recovery truck. Or at least, he knew a guy with a recovery truck. Heโd get on the road immediately. And a couple of hours later he did.
It’s a beautiful part of the country, but I wasnโt much enjoying the scenery as the evening shadows lengthened. A small crowd of interested onlookers gathered. Some were drunk. Or had been smoking dope. Or both. Some offered kuteteza โ to protect us (for a fee, implied). Hmm. Friend or Foe? I donโt know.
It was very late when the recovery truck arrived. The Isuzu was winched aboard, we paid our protection money, and were on our way.
When travelling to/from Lilongwe, we used to joke, why not take the short way? I can tell you, it was a long way in a recovery truck, but I didnโt complain. And, boy was I glad when we rattled into the yard of the workshop โ even if it was the wee, small hours.
Where the car remains until today.
The fateful day / night
Mechanical Woes
The story is a familiar one in Malawi. Relievable parts are hard to find. Reliable, skilled people are scarce as hensโ teeth. Trust me. I know. Iโve dealt with more than my fair share of turkeys!
My mechanic โ weโll call him Mike โ has had his problems. His problems became my nightmare. Unanswered calls. Unfulfilled promises. Over and over again he assured me the car would be ready โnext weekโ. Over and over again, it wasnโt.
So, to say I was sceptical when he told me it was running, would be an understatement. Iโve lost count of how many different things he claimed he tried. But he invited me to come for a spin โ and wow โ it spun! When I arrived at his place, the car was sitting out front with the engine running – music to my ears!
Mike has lost weight and is looking well.Heโs off the booze, eating healthy and working out. After a โnasty separation, heโs dating a nice Christian, is slowly getting back to church,and has lots of good people in his life.โ As he thanked me for my patience, and apologised for letting me down, I reminded Mike that going to church wonโt take him to heaven, and that itโs the Lord he needs in his life. โYeah, yeahโ he said , โwe need a good talk.โ
Pray for Mike. A few of you know his real name. Better still, the Lord knows everything about him. Pray that the Lord will really work in his heart and that he will repent and trust the Saviour.
And pray too that he wonโt let me down with the remaining repairs on the car. CV joints, ball joints and bushes he can find in Malawi. Some other stuff, Iโll bring from the UK. Maybe if the Lord tarries weโll have the old girl back in service again soon. After all, sheโs spent 20% of her working life in Mikeโs workshop!
SALT was established to lay a foundation for the development of the Lord’s work in Malawi. We are seeing that work grow, and could use some additional skills to build upon what has already been achieved, particularly in the following areas:
It’s 4:56 AM and I’m listening to the morning call to prayer. I should say another call to prayer, for this isn’t the first one of the new day. The muezzin’s cry from some other distant minaret already penetrated my dozy darkness some indeterminate time ago.
