We all continue to be moved by the needless loss of life and terrible humanitarian crisis occurring in Ukraine. We give thanks for faithful believers ministering to those in need.
However, we ought not to forget the untold millions of the world’s poor who are born into insufferable hardship. They live every day of their lives in hopeless despondency.
I had the perfect opportunity to review progress at the Saidi Building Project during my recent 3-week visit to Malawi.
As you may recall, in January a lightning strike and fire seriously damaged the msasa we built for the children’s work at Saidi. This really discouraged us at the time as the msasa was still not completely finished. However, with the Lord’s help and the passage of time we have got over the disappointment. The cyclone that followed caused enormous damage across the Southern Region of Malawi. Thousands of people suffered loss of their homes and/or their crops. Many have no means to rebuild and are still sheltering from the tropical rains in makeshift shelters of plastic sheeting. This puts the msasa fire in perspective, especially as some of our neighbours at Saidi we affected.
Brother Harold and sister Anna caught up with brother Yamikani Issa from Liwonde, who has been distributing literature since 2015. Below is what he had to say about what motivates him to distribute gospel literature. (Note: the answers have been lightly edited to improve clarity.)
We are asking for prayer concerning our ongoing vehicle reliability problems in Malawi. Regular visitors to this blog are aware that we have been struggling with vehicle troubles for quite some time.
Malawians refer to their beautiful little country as “The Warm Heart of Africa” – and I heartily agree. Since Gail, Philip and I relocated from Malawi to Northern Ireland in 2011, I have made more return visits than I can remember. When I am away, I definitely miss my family and the fellowship of saints at home. But there is something about The Warm Heart that irresistibly draws me back.
We love when our literature distributors tell us how they appreciate the materials we supply to them.
Anna just shared this letter of thanks which she received from a volunteer in Machinga. He who works to bring the Gospel to Muslim youth. We have edited it very slightly to make it a little more readable.
As “L” is at the heart of “SALT” so Gospel Literature Ministry is at the heart of what SALT does in Malawi.
By the grace of God, over the past 10 years we have been able to publish and distribute around 14 Million items of Gospel Literature across the length and breadth of the country.
During a recent visit, we met with the women participating in the skills training project at Dzaleka Refugee Camp to better understand how the project is progressing and the impact they feel it will have in their lives. We met with 26 women who are participating in the project which is training them in tailoring, knitting and batik crafts to help generate employment and alleviate poverty. Some of the women are widows and others are young mothers. In addition to the women staying at the camp, there are also two Malawian women benefitting from the project. Overall, the participants are very engaged, and they shared positive feedback and expressed gratitude about being involved in it.
We are so thankful for the arrival and discharge of a large consignment of Gospel Literature – 1,000,000 Gospel Calendars and 1,5000,000 Gospel Tracts. A large portion of the Gospel Tracts are brand new designs for Malawi.
Now the real work begins with bulk distribution by commercial courier to our various Regional Storage Depots in Nsanje (seriously affected by Tropical Storm Ana), Mulanje, Lilongwe, Kasungu & Mzuzu, as well as our main hub at Saidi, Thondwe.
Give thanks with us for the safe arrival and clearance of a large consignment of Gospel Literature.
We hear a lot about Global Supply Chain issues, and we have not been exempt. Nevertheless, we thank God that the Calendars and Tracts are now available for distribution after transit and customs delays.
