Stephen asks that we join in giving thanks for his safe return and for a very profitable trip to Malawi. Although he landed in Addis Ababa in a very serious rain and lightning storm, the return journey was otherwise long, but uneventful.
Please give thanks for the hugely successful 4-day child protection training we did on site at Saidi last week.
This was very enlightening concerning the depth and extent of the problem of child abuse, and extremely informative on ways to address the issues in an African context.
Please pray too that what we have learnt will really inform the way we interract with children, and that it may ultimately result in outreach opportunities in our community.
Yes – “Give Thanks: The Nthawi ya Baibulo (Bibletime) books have arrived” from the printer.
Anna adds:
Please pray for the five groups including us who will be using the curriculum, for help to get comfortable and use it prayerfully to ground children in the truth of the gospel.
Note: This is a very significant moment for the team who have been involved in the painstaking work of translation for well over a year now. This is Year 1 of 3. The experience gained from this should enable the process to go more smoothly in the future as the next two years’ material is translated.
Anna says: It has been so exciting to see how the Lord has been moving things along with the Bibletime curriculum. Please give thanks with us that the work of printing the first Chichewa lessons is already underway.
Wati says: “We can thank God for journeying mercies for Harold and Goodson as they travelled over the past two weeks meeting with distributors and giving out literature. The roads are already dangerous and can be particularly so in the rainy season.
Anna says, “I’m thankful for a safe trip to Lilongwe. Though things took longer than anticipated, I am thankful that we were able to get all of the boxes to the different depots and storage areas.”
Brother Stephen is approaching the end of his present visit to CA, AZ & NM, USA. Please give thanks for a very encouraging response to the reports of the work in Malawi, with many of the Lord’s people committing to pray for its blessing.
Stephen will travel home on Tuesday, and plans to return to Malawi on 16 Feb (DV).
Anna says, “The BES (Bibletime) material is almost ready and the crew here are on board with using it for our Saturday class – both definite answers to prayer!”
Note: The team has been working on the Chichewa translation of BES Bibletime for the past year or more. We are grateful for the completion of the design work on the material for Year 1 of the 3-year cycle. Years 2 & 3 are still in progress. We plan to use the Y1 booklets for a small-scale pilot while the remaining materials are being translated. This is a very exciting step forward in the work.
Give thanks for the improvement in Goodson’s son’s health. Many have enquired after we requested prayer when he was taken unwell with cerebral malaria. Goodson reports that he is doing very well, but the doctor has warned that his case was so serious that he should waste no time in seeking attention if he starts to feel unwell.
Goodson wishes to thank everyone for their prayers.
Anna asks that we give thanks for the arrival of the annual rains.
Note: Over 85% of Malawians are poor, subsistence farmers. Most have very small farms and cannot afford to irrigate. Accordingly, they at depend heavily upon natural rainfall if they are to feed themselves and their families. In recent years, the rains have been very erratic, leading to serious food insecurity.
The situation has been made very much more precarious this year due to the rocketing price of fertiliser as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.
