We praise God for the commencement of a regular Gospel meeting at Saidi this Lord’s Day.
Although Brother Goodson has been conducting a regular mid-week Bible study and Children’s work in Thondwe for several years, relocating those to the Saidi site when we purchased it in 2020, there has not been a regular meeting for Gospel preaching until now.
Anna writes:
I am thankful for a safe and positive trip to Dzaleka.
Please continue praying for the hope of Christ to shine in the hearts of these dear people, especially through the Bibletime curriculum (phase two to begin shortly).
Note: We introduced Swahili language Bible Time lessons at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp last year. This project has been very successful and has been a very useful pilot for the Chichewa work which is in advanced stages of development.
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.
By the grace of God, apart from the missed connection on the outbound journey, Stephen’s latest visit to Malawi has been without further incident. Please pray for the rest of his visit, and for travelling mercies as he begins the journey home on Wednesday.
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.
On the first morning of Harold & Stephen’s trip to Lilongwe, Harold awoke to the news that thieves had broken into the storeroom at his home. They stole 70 Bibles just brought from Lilongwe the week before, as well as other “katundu” (personal stuff) belonging to the family. On the same night they made a further (unsuccessful) attempt to break into the new home he is trying to finish about 1KM away.
Anna writes: “It is a joy to see so many adults coming regularly to the weekly Bible study.
“This week we went through Ephesians 2, and the gospel was very clearly explained. Please pray for salvation and transformed lives, as well as wisdom for Goodson to know how to take this work forward.”
Brother Stephen values continued prayer for his ongoing visit to Malawi. Much of his time during the week or more since he arrived has been spent around the Blantyre / Thondwe area, reviewing and planning in connection with the Building Project.
On Friday past, Stephen had a site meeting with a local architect, Jackson, who is formulating a proposal to help us further the work. Jackson is a lovely young brother-in-the-Lord, so please pray that this will be a very fruitful relationship.
Give thanks for help to preach each of the last two Lord’s Days – in Chichewa & English, and pray for a blessing upon the Gospel.
Brother Goodson asks us to continually keep him & his family in prayer. His responsibilities overseeing the building work at our construction site, and Anna’s nearby home construction, mean that he is constantly on the go. This is in addition to to the two weekly Bible studies he runs, and assembly responsibilities at the weekend.
Goodson is conscious of the need for divine protection as the building work on site mean that he and his family are susceptible to attacks from thieves. There is also the constant pressure of dealing with people who look to him for help in their time of need.
Anna reminds us to pray for MGO 2022, which is now less than 2 months away. Prior to Covid, MGO had become a very significant feature of our annual calendar, and we are really looking forward to resuming this year.
There is still a considerable amount of preparation to be made on site. We plan to have a week of Children’s Outreach & Gospel work at Saidi, as well as our regular MGO activities.
