As usual, we were receiving rain because it was rainy season.

[The village] didn’t know about the cyclone. Everyone was surprised at how the rain was cause it was unstoppable. We didn’t have real information that something was happening like what happened. 

I think it was four days [that it rained]. All the time; day and night for four days. 

We didn’t think that it would reach a point where it would collapse the houses and also wipe away all the fields.

The third day, that’s when it got worse. During the night we were hearing something like a gun or someone shooting but it was the walls falling—the houses collapsing.

So the fourth day that’s when it was a disaster now. Many houses were collapsed. People [whose houses had collapsed] came to the OM school asking to stay in the classrooms and dining hall.

There were eight families and 16 singles, so close to 40 people. They didn’t run to their neighbours because everyone was affected. Even if the house didn’t collapse, the house was still affected [usually by cracks in the walls or water coming in through the roof]. So people rushed to the schools. I think they put their trust in the schools because the buildings are cement and plaster rather than like the houses that are mud. 

We encouraged [the people who stayed at the school] saying: ‘don’t lose hope’ and we were visiting them—morning hours, afternoon—to see how they were doing. It was a privilege for us as well to get in touch with them. Some of them were people who were closed people and don’t even usually talk to us because we are Christians and they are Muslims. So it was an opportunity just to encourage them during the two weeks [they stayed at the school]. 

After the rain

The fourth day, that’s when in the evening time the rain stopped. It was like community now. Families coming together and somebody cooking there, somebody cooking there. People were helping each other. 

Some of the (local disciples) were coming to say: ‘I’ve got this, I just want to give, to help.’ So I said: ‘Yes, that’s a very good idea. …You can show love especially at a time when somebody is in need.’

People always experience God in times of trouble. I don’t think that anybody was arguing to say: ‘No, why are you sharing about Jesus?’ everyone was just responding. 

Even the chief came and said: ‘Thank you for keeping our people. We have seen the goodness of having a school in the community; it’s not only just to learn but also in times like this, that’s where we can be helped to have a place to stay.’ So it was like a social time with the community, especially the chief and people who were not understanding the reason why we [are in the village]. 

Because Christ loves me, it isn’t difficult to share with boldness because of what I passed through [in my life]. …To say the truth, I share the love of Christ because [I’ve experienced it] and I can feel it. Even now as I’m talking.

Moving forward

From the radios, we heard OK, in Mozambique there were people affected as well, in Zimbabwe too. That’s when we came to realise, it’s not only for us—it’s other countries that were affected.

The total number who were affected by the cyclone [in this area] according to the numbers we gathered is almost 220. The houses collapsed completely, and some of them, their fields were wiped away. We’re going to do the follow-ups, see how the people are doing. …That’s where we are very much focused—to see that these people are stable, they are cared for and they are encouraged by the Word of God. 

If you help someone with something that they are struggling with, I think that’s when they can experience the love of Jesus.

The OM teams in Malawi and Mozambique are currently planning how to respond to the affected populations. 

“It is amazing to see what God has done with a few crazy people on bikes cycling to Transform, then South Africa, Malawi, the UK and other places,” reflects OM Sportslink* leader Chris Welman from South Africa, “and now back to the original spot connecting with the Transform conference in Europe. This warms my heart, and maybe it could inspire others to start…”

South Africa

Chris had first heard of this ride when a couple of leaders cycled to Rome, Italy, for the Transform conference. By then, he already had some experience with a similar cycling trip; in 2012, partnering with another organisation in South Africa, his team cycled from Johannesburg to Cape Town on a ‘road less travelled’, passing through a lot of small villages. In 2014, they reversed the trip, starting in Cape Town, ending in Johannesburg, this time adding outreaches and training at specific ministry points.

Malawi

By 2015, Chris was ready for a new challenge. He decided to bring a cycling team across the border into Malawi, a country where everyone cycles, and bicycles are used to transport literally any and everything.

Although the main focus was prayer, the team was able to also hand out audio Bibles and facilitate training in sports and orality. “We were nine people on bikes, and amazingly, felt that God had handpicked each one,” recalls Chris. “We saw much fruit coming from this Malawi tour, also from within our own hearts. It has helped me to focus my prayers.” Later Malawi teams have also stopped to pray in Mangochi along the former slave road.

Gert Daling (Netherlands) did his first Ride2Transform in Malawi in 2016, with a team of 17 people, and the following two years, he co-led the same outreach.

Highlights from Malawi

The areas through which the teams cycled are, for the most part, considered least reached, meaning people living there have had little to no opportunity to hear the gospel. Ministry teams were often placed in different locations along the way to train the local people, and the cyclists distributed audio Bibles in the local language.

“I remember coming up a hill in Malawi that we had passed in the two years before,” recalls Gert, “and someone specifically asked for an audio Bible because she had previously received one from us. She and her people had listened to it many times; now it was broken, and they needed a new one. These people remembered us, which gave us an opening to talk and a sense of building on past experiences.”

Another year, a team member went into several mosques, giving audio Bibles to imams, and they also handed out audio Bibles to people of influence in the community. “We went to a school right next to a mosque, and before we knew it, we were standing in front of all these kids sharing our story and sharing about Jesus,” says Gert.

Europe

And in 2018, the Ride2Transform was back in Europe, with Gert leading the cycling team during the Transform conference in Spain. The team cycled through many towns without any known evangelical witness and stopped to pray in strategic places. Gert shares, “We were able to give out some Gospels of John, but not as much as we had hoped for. Yet it’s still important that the cycling happened. We don't know what God is doing through our prayers and through the few Gospels that were handed out. And for the coming years, the foundation has been laid to organise more Ride2Transforms during the Transform conference.”

A highlight for the team in Spain was the very first night’s accommodation. They stayed at a rehabilitation centre run by a Christian group. In the evening they worshiped together and shared their testimonies. Roger Ballester (Spain), who was driving the support vehicle, was specially moved by this fellowship; many times as he prayed he found his eyes filling up with tears.

“Even though we did not speak the same language, we still understood each other,” shared Gert, “many conversations with him and others were made possible through Google translate.”

The first Ride2Transform, in Italy

“The idea of combining a personal passion with ministry was the initial reason for the cycling teams,” explains Michel Di Feliciantonio (Italy). “In the first two Ride2Transform teams (2013-2014), we cycled through Italy; first from Turin to the Transform conference in Rome, and the following year, from Venice to Rome. Each year the route was approximately 850 km, and the longest distance in one day was 220 km.”

Along the way, the team visited churches, enjoyed fellowship over a meal and gave a presentation about OM. The second year, fundraising for Syrian refugees was included.

“For me, it was a great way to connect with local churches, share about ministry, get to know my fellow riders, test my limits and, through that experience, I also got to know the church I now pastor!” summarises Michel, smiling.

All three outreaches are still being done annually; Ride2Transform Malawi and Ride2Transform Europe are organised by OM. Please contact your OM home office if you’d like to join.

*OM SportsLink International serves to equip, empower and mobilise local OM teams and partners to be effective in ministering in and through sports, in order that athletes and coaches, local churches and communities can make the most of sports within their culture through sharing the gospel in relational and relevant ways.

In the first four days on a recent trip to Malawi, our van got stuck in the mud four times. It's quite embarrassing to get stuck and have all the locals just stare and giggle. It must be entertaining to see foreigners get out of a van, get their feet dirty and argue about the best way to get out.

It was frustrating. If they had just listened to me, then this wouldn't have happened. If I could just drive, then we would not have gotten stuck. But the more we tried different ideas, the worse it got and the deeper the tyres sunk into the mud. 

Reflecting on this later, I can see how we all have times where we get stuck in the mud (even if you are the driver). It is those times where you just do not know how to move forward. You step on the gas but the wheels just keep on spinning; it is such an unnerving feeling when you realise your momentum is gone and you are stuck. 

Stuck. Ugh!

And most of the time we are stuck for a few weeks, sometimes months. Some call it the stormy season, the desert season, the ‘where is God’ season. The best you can do is to wait for guidance and help. The worst thing you can do is to keep the wheels spinning, getting deeper and deeper, draining your energy.

Jesus did not calm the storm and then talk to the disciples. No, He spoke to them in the storm and then it calmed down. He is in the waiting.

Patience.

Getting stuck is not the issue, it’s the not knowing how long you will be stuck and not knowing where and when to turn for help. Is this going to be a five-minute stuck or a five-month stuck? Should I tell my family and/or my supporters? Am I really stuck or am I making it worse than it is?

I often forget about these muddy times. They all seem to pass somewhere along the line. When I am in it, the only question going through my mind is “How do I get my momentum back?” Once I am free, I continue with my journey. When I share my story, I rarely share the part where I got stuck and the patience I needed to wait for the time to pass.

We should share our stuck-in-the-mud times more often and with more confidence. Every car that leaves the mud leaves tracks behind for other cars to follow or not follow. Those deep tracks show others where not to go, the wet tracks on the dirt road, show others that the car made it, it got out. 

I want my muddy times to help others. If my muddy tracks can guide others and help them to take a different route or encourage them that there is a way out, then I will gladly share how awful my muddy season was.

Just like the children’s game ‘stuck in the mud’ we need others to help us, to set us free. Sometimes the game gets so crazy that people don’t know you are stuck and need help; all you need to do is to shout out “Hi, can someone help me here” and then stand there and wait. The same thing happened when our van got stuck in Malawi, we had to look around, ask for help and wait for people to show up. And afterwards, we told the cars passing us that they should either turn around or go through the mud with speed.

We need to start sharing our muddy tracks. We need to be vulnerable, share with others when we are knee deep and need help. We need to start reaching out to those who are stuck, hand them the tools to get out, encourage them to be patient, wait and listen. 

OM Malawi had a vision to establish and maintain a local FM radio station, proclaiming the Word of God, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This was not to be typical ‘Christian’ radio. Instead, the team aimed to creatively address all sorts of life issues, giving solutions and answers, with uncompromising faithfulness to the values and message of the Bible.

There to help

Since the first broadcasts began, people have come to the station with a variety of requests. A young man, who had lost his driving license, asked, “Can you please announce the loss and ask if anyone has seen it around the hospital yesterday?”

One of the most intense station visits was when a family showed up to ask if the station could report that a woman with a mental disturbance and a small child were missing. Thankfully, the women and the child were seen and brought back to the family.

The young man’s driving license has not yet been recovered, but the staff at Radio Lilanguka will continue to help people in whatever ways they can.

In addition to the six full time staff, there are six volunteers, who come almost every day tohelp produce the different programmes. With many hours of air time to cover, their dedication is of great value.

Unstable electricity and frequent black outs are potential issues for the station, but solar powered equipment saves a lot of trouble and money. On sunny days, the station can run from 6:00 to 18:00 without any input from the power grid. This means that when other stations are off the air, Radio Lilanguka can still broadcast. 

Official grand opening

On 2 March 2018, after many years of prayer and labour, and as God painted a beautiful circle through the clouds around the sun, Radio Lilanguka celebrated its official grand opening. The celebration included worship and praise led by the station choir and other talented individuals as well as prayers and speeches offered by clergy, government officials and OM representatives from Malawi and Germany, who had all worked hard to see this vision come to life.

At various times during the ceremony, joyful prompts from the programme emcee of, “Lilanguka!” (Light) drew an instant response of, “Kulangwiche!” (Let there be light) from the gathered crowd.

The afternoon ended with a tour of the new facility and a tasty meal of goat and nsima, Malawi’s staple food.

That happy cry of “Kulangwiche” lingered long after the station opened and continues to drive OM’s prayers for the country: ''Let there be light!''

Please pray that God will provide workers and funds to expand the effectiveness of this new venture.

Three weeks after arriving in Malawi, Oscar paid three months’ rent on a house and recruited a friend to help him move. The next day, after unloading Oscar’s furniture into the house, his friend drove away. Oscar walked around the outside of the building and discovered that one of the doors was not hinged properly. Using a screwdriver, he began fixing the problem.

Suddenly, he felt a lightening-like pain course through his body. Oscar fell down, paralysed. “I started feeling pain like I’ve never felt before,” he described. “I couldn’t stand. I couldn’t walk.”

One of the neighbours standing outside saw Oscar’s condition and called his friend, who returned to the house, put Oscar in his car and drove to the hospital. Oscar’s friend encouraged the doctors to help Oscar. But after examining him, the doctors couldn’t explain his pain. So they put Oscar on a morphine drip, and he stayed in that hospital for six days.

Meanwhile, Oscar’s friend called the OM office in Zambia and explained the situation. Recognising that Oscar needed to return to Zambia, his friend agreed to transport him four hours to the border. OM staff met the men there and drove Oscar six hours farther to a hospital in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital. After 24 hours of observation, the doctors still couldn’t diagnose Oscar’s pain, so they transferred him to the university hospital.

There, a CAT scan revealed the source of Oscar’s paralysis and pain: One of his discs had slipped, and a small bone was protruding into his spine. Oscar was referred to an orthopaedic clinic, where a spinal specialist recommended major surgery. The odds of recovery, however, were 50/50. “If this operation is successful, Oscar will be able to walk again. If it is not successful, he will end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life,” the surgeon cautioned.

Unwilling to take the risk, the OM Field Leader asked for a second option. The surgeon told him that putting Oscar on a stretcher for 90 days and preventing any movement might also allow his spine to fix itself. Unfortunately, the cost for that treatment was equivalent to running OM Zambia for six months. “Sir, we don’t have that kind of money,” the Field Leader stated.

A final but risky option, the surgeon explained, would be to put Oscar on a similar stretcher at home. The OM staff listened to the surgeon’s instructions, prepared a bed with a thin mattress at the Field Leader’s house and laid Oscar on that bed.

For 22 days, Oscar slept on the hard bed. People, including his future wife, visited and prayed for him. “It wasn’t easy,” Oscar said. But “on the 23rd day, I just felt in my body that today I can walk.”

The people standing near his bed tried to dissuade him from standing up. “No, please don’t make that mistake,” they begged. Oscar, confident he had been healed, ignored them and stood up. He placed his hands against the wall and started to walk. Then he walked without any support.

Within three weeks, he had completely recovered. People who saw him walking outside “were happy, and some were in shock,” Oscar said. Two months later, he went back to Malawi.

Jesus heals

Before Oscar returned to Malawi, news that he had died spread around the Muslim community where he had rented the house. “In the condition I was in, no one expected me to come back,” he explained.

Three months later, however, a couple of the neighbours saw him enter the house he had rented and quickly informed other people. When Oscar came back outside, he found the whole yard full of people. “In Africa, people believe in ghosts,” he noted. Many believe that “when people die, they become ghosts.” Therefore, the group began asking him questions, wanting to know what had happened and whether he was truly alive.

Oscar saw the gathering as an opportunity to preach. “I was sick and I was almost dead,” he began. “I had no hope that I will walk again or come back to Malawi…. For you to see me standing here today is a miracle.”

To give the Muslim crowd context, he read from the Qur’an, surah 3:49-53, where Allah told the prophet Mohammed that Isa (Jesus) would perform miracles such as restoring sight to the blind, healing lepers and restoring the dead. “Among the people that Isa healed, I am one of them,” Oscar announced. As the crowd quieted, surprised by Oscar’s words, one man raised his hand. “I want to ask a question,” he said.

“What is your question?” Oscar replied.

“I want to know more about this Isa; where is he?” the man replied.

“If you want to know more, come tomorrow and we can talk,” Oscar told him. 

Two days later, the young man, Leonardo*, showed up at Oscar’s door. “I’m a Muslim, born to a family of Muslims,” he stated. “We know about Isa as one of the prophets, but what you said about Isa is really different. Tell me more about this Isa.”

First, Oscar reviewed the same surah he had read to the crowd. “What that surah says is very similar to what it says in Luke chapter one: the virgin birth, the angel Gabriel [coming] to Mary,” he explained. Then he told Leonardo that God sent Isa to save mankind. “If we believe in Isa, He can save us and has power to heal the sickness in our body,” he continued.

Three days later, Leonardo returned, interested to learn more about Jesus. Soon, he and Oscar started talking every day. After six months of study, Leonardo decided to follow Jesus.

Persecution and provision

A few weeks after his decision, Leonardo told his father he had become a Christian.

“I’ll kill you and I’ll kill whoever changed you,” his father replied. “You have disowned me and you have disowned my religion.”

For several days, Leonardo stayed in the streets away from his family. Finally, he came to Oscar in the middle of the night. “My father wants to kill me,” Leonardo shared.

Alarmed, Oscar let Leonardo in, offered him a shower, prepared a bed and fed him. The next day, following advice from his OM leaders, Oscar found a Malawian family to host Leonardo. In fact, the man who took Leonardo in also used his influence to bridge the relationship with Leonardo’s father.

In addition, he procured a job for Leonardo, who moved into his own apartment three months later. Soon, his younger brother joined him and also became a follower of Jesus. One month into his new job, Leonardo visited Oscar, this time with three other young men.

“Oscar, God is working,” he said. “These were my Muslim friends, but now they are following Jesus.”

Happy and humbled, Oscar agreed to disciple the young men. That group grew into a church. Within five years of arriving in Malawi, Oscar handed over leadership to locals. “That sickness I had was a platform God created for me to preach the gospel,” he summarised. “When I said Isa had healed me, there was no question about it. That’s where Leonardo came in and opened up a door for the gospel. And today, many people are coming to faith even though I’m no longer in Malawi.”

Praise God for His miraculous work in Malawi. Pray that the church would continue to grow and that new believers would share the gospel with their family and friends.

*Name changed

Nicole James is a journalist, ESL teacher and adventurer. As a writer for OM Middle East North Africa, she’s passionate about publishing the stories of God’s works among the nations, telling people about the wonderful things He is doing in the world.

OM Malawi has a vision to provide quality education. Chiyembekezo hosts more than 100 children from preschool to standard grade three. All of them come from families that cannot afford even reduced school fees. And while OM Malawi field leaders Div and Eleanor du Plessis see the school as an opportunity to transform the next generation, they are also seeking to make a more immediate difference in the students’ lives.

Enter the goats.

Catherine Phiri, a teacher at Chiyembekezo since it opened in 2013, leads the goat project, an initiative usually associated with businessmen in the missions world. The idea is familiar: lend out a female goat to someone in need, and in one year, receive a young female goat in return to give to someone else.

But for the students in the school and their families, it’s not about building a business, Catherine says. Any income the goats may provide in terms of business profits is a positive result, but the heart of the project is to enrich the lives of the students’ families holistically.

“The purpose is community transformation,” she says. “The school is a catalyst.”

To that end, Chiyembekezo school began the initiative by giving female goats to more than 20 grade-three students and their families. For many of them, the goats—and any offspring they produce—will be a primary source of income.

Eight of the goats have produced offspring, which have been passed on to other students. Unlike other goat projects, where a businessman will pay back a goat like a loan, Catherine says it is the students themselves who give their extra goat away to their friends, to teach them how to care for others—which is important because the project is meant to be a means to demonstrate God’s love.

The project will continue as long as new students arrive at Chiyembekezo, Catherine says, but the effects may last eternity. The lessons being taught to the students and their families opens the door for the gospel, which comes along with teacher visits that Catherine and the other teachers do each week.

“Seeing families who have these goats has reminded me of the Great Commission,” she says. “We can’t always see it now, but maybe when the Lord returns, a child will tell me, ‘Thank you very much—you showed me Jesus.’”

Another eight are expected to give birth this year.

As an OMer, the native Malawian also has a burden for unreached people.

Macdonald’s desire to see the gospel reach the unreached has led him to plant five churches; however a new passion has sent Macdonald on a journey into God’s Word like never before.

“Churches in Malawi are making Christians; they’re not making disciples,” he says. “They don’t equip them to help other people. They’re just Sunday Christians, but they don’t testify to other people.”

In an effort to help his congregations grow in their faith, Macdonald is offering theological training through Veritas, a programme designed to enrich students’ understanding of Scripture through contextual exegesis, hermeneutics and homiletics. Through his teaching, Malawian pastors and church members are gaining a level of discipleship that goes beyond what most Africans have the opportunity to experience.

“Everyone reads the Bible, but very few know how to read it,” Macdonald says of his fellow Malawians and Africans in general. “I teach people to read the Bible in context, to know the whole book of the Bible.”

Even Macdonald himself was not familiar with the terms of Veritas training until he took the class—and as he is finishing training, he finds himself energised to share what he knows with others.

“Since the time I started this Bible study course, I have a greater understanding of Scripture, and I’m able to better teach others,” he says, explaining also that the training has given him confidence to preach the complete truth of God’s Word. “Before, I just read the Bible, and I didn’t really know what was there. I just read it and taught others, and I think I misled people. But since I started to do this training, I’ve got a special understanding of the Bible, and I’m giving people the truth.”

Veritas training comes in four modules, each taking one year to complete. Macdonald currently has 29 students: 10 working in module one, 14 in module two, and five in module three. Macdonald is finishing his own training of module four at a Veritas college in the town of Lilongwe, and will be able to teach beginning in September this year.

“That is 29 believers who are being equipped to teach others how to grow in their faith,” he says.

One area in particular that has expanded his view of Scripture is understanding Jewish culture.

“We are the Gentiles,” he says. “We don’t understand what was happening in the Jews’ time. So we dig deep into Jewish culture, what the Word of God was to them. We look at their traditions and customs in those days, and we take ourselves and our own culture to compare and see what the purpose of God’s Word is in our lives today.”

He will continue to study and research Old Testament moral, civic and ceremonial law, in order to help churches better teach the laws and regulations to present-day Christians.

“The rules of the priesthood were a shadow,” he says. “The book of Hebrews talks about how the shadow was fulfilled. It was Jesus who went into the Holy of Holies once, where the priests would go every year.”

Macdonald is now seeing pastors from all denominations coming to share truth together—and more communities are begging him to bring Veritas teaching.

“Everyone now has a group to lead—and some of them are leading churches,” he says of his students. “I’m delegating, and shaping them. I’m training them to train others.”

His excitement to teach others is surpassed only by his own desire to learn. In fact, it’s his passion for understanding God’s Word at greater depth that has led him to disciple others.

“The more you teach, the more you learn as well,” he says. “I love to study and understand these things. I love to read, and present the truth of the Bible in its context to people.”

The focus of the tour—the third by the OM Malawi team—was ministry to local people, including support raising for OM Malawi’s newest project—but when all was said and done, the cyclists themselves, along with the local missionaries at various ministry points along the way, felt they experienced as much growth as anyone they met along the road. Here are three reflections on the tour:

The first and the last, from a cyclist’s perspective

Canadian education student Chris Foster first came to Malawi as part of the OM Africa Trek, a travelling missions discipleship programme. He joined the first Ride 2 Transform tour in 2015, and now he has participated in the third, as well. Reflecting on the two trips, Chris says he definitely spent more time in prayer during the most recent tour.

“It was more focused,” he says. “In the first tour, we were cycling sometimes 140 km in a day, so the focus was more on getting from A to B. This time, I was in prayer a lot more as I biked.”

Remaining focused on prayer was a challenge, he says, but the payoff was worth it.

“Seeing people come together in prayer for the [local] people was really encouraging,” he says. “To sense God’s Spirit leading us in prayers, and seeing answers to prayers.”

And as for the lessons he’ll take from this tour, Chris says he wants to take every opportunity in Canada to share the gospel with people, as he did during breaks in the cycle tour.

He also plans to stay in a prayer mindset.

“After hours and hours of prayer and worship, I could genuinely go up to a person and say, ‘We’re cycling because we love people.’ In Canada, I want to constantly be in prayer for my people, as well,” he says.

At the end of yourself

First-time cyclist Daniel Hilde, from Paraguay, enjoyed seeing an environment in Malawi that was similar to his own culture, but he was struck by the level of poverty. The surprises of Malawi also included the tour itself, which took on a lot more than he was expecting.

“I didn’t even know what would happen until I got to Malawi. I thought we would just be riding and evangelising,” he says.

Daniel’s biggest takeaway centred on obeying God in every opportunity, and allowing God to shape and refine him in all of his experiences, especially in his struggles.

“This was one of the best ‘character schools’ you can do, where you get to the end of yourself, physically,” he says. “You really get exhausted, and that brings out your real character. It reveals the flaws of your character, which isn’t nice, but it allows God to start the purification process. I would recommend it to anyone. The discipleship of the tour goes really well with the physical challenge of cycling.”

The best of the best

Heading up one of the ministry teams were Kearson and Petunia, a couple committed to serving God in Malawi. Both Kearson, a Malawian, and Petunia, born and raised in South Africa, agreed that the Ride 2 Transform tour was one of the best ministry outreaches—if not the best—they had ever been a part of.

Stationed in the village of Chiponde, to the east of Mangochi and Lake Malawi, for seven days, Kearson and Petunia, along with their team, were the final ministry stop along the cycle tour’s route. In the village, the team connected with people through three ministries: sports, children’s, and women’s.

“I can honestly say we had no problems,” Petunia says. “All of our ministries went smoothly, and the people of the community were surprisingly open to hearing more about Jesus.”

Petunia said that she has avoided children’s ministry in the past because she has little experience with it, but even that proved to be an effective programme.

The team gave audioBibles—and Bible copies—to the village chief and his advisors. Many in the village, Kearson says, begged the team to stay longer. He and Petunia agree that since the village is close to their home in Ntaja, they will plan on making weekly visits to continue sharing Jesus through discipleship.

In June 2017, OM Malawi completed its third Ride 2 Transform cycle tour, featuring 17 cyclists, and reaching the end of the original vision. And, as expected, the three trips have taken the OM Malawi team—along with local missionaries and cycling participants from around the world—to nearly every previously unreached region below Lake Malawi. This year, starting in Zomba, and heading to the OM Malawi base in Ntaja, before circling up to Lake Malawi and back in a loop, the Ride 2 Transform team has “almost saturated” the region, says Ride 2 Transform Leader, Riaan du Plessis.

During the 2017 tour, local missionaries led three separate ministry points along the route, as they have in years past.

The vision is now complete, and Riaan says the cycle tour has finished—at least, until the next time.

“If we do it again, it will be different,” he says.

While the previous three years have seen a positive team focus on ministry and support raising for OM Malawi’s work, Riaan says future cycle tours will place more emphasis on prayer. Each cycle tour has had a prayer leader, and while he doesn’t want to make comparisons, as every year has seen significant ministry, Riaan believes the third trip, with prayer leadership from OM Zambia’s Christopher Agenbag, came the closest to the team’s original desire with regard to prayer.

“Every year we got closer to our focus, and this year we really hit the mark,” he says of the prayer efforts.

The distance travelled made a significant difference, as well; each of the previous two tours cycled more than 650 kilometers, but this year saw a reduced route at 550 km. The shortened distance, Riaan says, allowed the team to stay unified in cycling, and spend more time praying, speaking with locals, and handing out audioBibles.

In total, between the cycling team and the three local missionaries at ministry points along the route, Ride 2 Transform distributed 154 audioBibles—more than each of the two previous years. And it wasn’t just visiting cyclists handing them out—Riaan says he was impressed with the efforts of the local OMers.

“What was also great this year was that it wasn’t just guys from the outside doing ministry. Some of our Malawian OMers were taking initiative and stopping for ministry.”

It was the local OMers who took the time to meet with head teachers at schools, translating there and in mosques, or on the side of the road, and praying with the staff of a small hospital along the route.

During a debriefing session after the tour, the leadership team affirmed their desire to continue the tour next year, but Riaan says the prayer focus will change the look of Ride 2 Transform. Previously, participants were required to raise a certain amount of financial support for OM Malawi’s ministry, in addition to the costs of the tour itself. In the future, Riaan says, the leaders will focus less on the support and more on establishing prayer.

“It will be more of a prayer cycle than a ministry cycle.”

After living with MacDonald, another OM worker, and his family for a month Lovedale moved into a tent set up inside a thatched structure that was divided in two; half was his classroom, half his home. 

One of the first people he met and connected with was Sarah, who soon became ‘Abaku,’ or ‘Grandma.’  Abaku took it upon herself to feed Lovedale, who is first to admit he is not much of a cook. 

“I’ve learnt in Christianity that Christ came to serve, so I was thinking how could I serve, how could I be of service to people. That’s why I started feeding Lovedale,” said Abaku.

Encouraged by her reputation within the community and seeing the commitment she demonstrated, the leadership team decided to hire Abaku as the cook for the OM run Mbweni School, though she quickly became much more. 

More than a cook

Besides preparing and cooking breakfast and lunch for around 50 people, Abaku helps translate, deal with the students and is a motherly figure in Lovedale’s life.

Though his language skills has improved greatly, Lovedale still finds himself at a loss for the right word sometimes. The half wall separating his classroom from the kitchen makes it easy for Lovedale to call out to Abaku in Chichewa (the main language in Malawi in which he is nearly fluent), for the right word. 

When a child is having a problem that Lovedale is having trouble understanding, Abaku steps in. 

“Many times when there are issues with the children I just hand them over to her. She understands the culture; the girls particularly,” said Lovedale. “She impacts the children through that and just with the way she behaves with them.”

Lovedale has also benefited from her presence. 

“She’s like the mother that I left in Zambia. In the beginning I was like ‘who is this woman?!’” Lovedale laughed. “If I don’t clean up and want to go out she’ll tell me to go wash up. She’s family.”    

“Being the cook here has grown from a job to a family. I feel at home around the children and especially around this child, Lovedale,” Abaku smiled affectionately. 

Seeing a difference

Abaku met MacDonald when he first started visiting Chisopi in 2008 to learn the language and culture. 

MacDonald shared with her about Jesus and gave her an AudiBible, which she began listening to with her family. The visit after MacDonald gave her the device, Abaku told him she needed to know more about this Jesus. 

One time when MacDonald arrived to attend a Discovery Bible Study in the village he found Abaku there participating; he had not told her about the meeting, she had found it on her own.

When the Africa Trek visited in 2009 she was baptised with 12 others and remains a strong presence in the church and community.

“But I remembered Paul and Silas in jail. So I said, ‘this has happened because no one goes and encourages (the people) in prison.’ That same day I started teaching the people in jail and sharing the word of God.”

When he was released the next morning (because it had been nothing more than a misunderstanding), Francis began talking to local leaders and asking for the local chief’s blessing on a prison ministry. With permission granted, Francis began going weekly to the prison to pray and share the Word of God.

Not just for the prisoners

Peggy joined the ministry in 2015 when she arrived in Malawi from Zambia to do her teaching practicum.

“In Zambia I used to go for prison ministry,” she shared. “When I first came here I was involved in the women’s ministry, but I wasn’t doing it passionately with all my heart because I was doing things I wasn’t shaped for. Prison ministry is what I’m shaped for, so I joined.”

At first while she was sharing with the men, only one guard remained to keep order.

“One time when I was sharing on Isaiah 18, I saw the guards coming, seven of them, and it scared me,” admitted Peggy. “The police officer in charge and all the police officers surrounded me to listen. Now whenever I go there they come to listen.”

Kelvin

Kelvin hung out with the wrong crowd. He and a friend were arrested after a third friend stole wooden planks and disappeared. The two were to be kept in jail unless the third friend was caught, or they paid for the wood, which they could not afford.

Put in a holding cell to await trial, Kelvin began feeling like he was alone in the world. His family didn’t know he was in prison and he had no way of contacting them.

When the guard called the prisoners to go listen to visitors who wanted to share about Jesus, the men refused; saying they had not eaten in days and how could they listen when they were so hungry? Feeling he needed something to give him hope, Kelvin went forward thinking maybe this was it.

Peggy and Taiwan, (Swaziland), both teachers at the OM Malawi Chiyembekezo School, told Kelvin about the love of Christ. Afterward, Kelvin shared how he had come to be in prison and how he was faring. The women asked the guards if they could bring him some bread and began bringing Kelvin food daily which he shared with the other people in his cell. In Malawi, it is up to family and friends to bring their incarcerated friend food. If no one brings food, the inmate will do without.

The police confirmed that Kelvin was being held because of what his friend had done, not because of anything he did.

The women got to know Kelvin better and shared more about the Bible. 

“The way Christians behave and the way [others] behave is different,” said Kelvin. “No [person] did what Peggy and Taiwan did for me. They were bringing me food every day. (I saw) that the God that the Christians believe in is a living God, that’s when I said I need to believe in this God.”

When Kelvin’s hearing date arrived, the judge ruled that Kelvin and his friend could go once they each paid 7,000 Kwacha to replace the stolen wood, which Peggy and Taiwan felt led to contribute.

Taking the men back to the OM base they offered them lunch, a shower and clean clothes--luxuries the men had done without while imprisoned.

Returning home Kelvin told his family about his experience and new-found faith. Peggy visited and found the family thankful for the kindness that had been shown to their son. Saying Kelvin was free to believe in whatever he wanted, they offered their support when Peggy suggested Kelvin attend Discipleship training in Ntaja.

Kelvin finished the first two months of Discipleship in Ntaja and is now on practicals.

Praise God for the testimony of Kelvin! Pray that he continues to grow in his faith and seek the Lord. Pray for seeds of hope to be planted in the prison and that not only the prisoners will be impacted, but the guards as well.    

Lit up like a beacon, OM worker MacDonald’s house is one of two buildings in the village to have power; the other is a small house that charges phones for a fee. 

MacDonald’s house was as dark as any others until April when he received a solar panel and battery from donors. Now his family can enjoy light in the evening and charge their electronics. And the benefits don’t stop at his family, or the rest of the OM team.

Seeing the bright light has caused the community to become interested and come around asking questions. In the community, it can be hard to make connections so the team celebrates every opportunity to talk with people and build relationships. Besides satisfying their curiosity, MacDonald also invites people to charge their phones. 

“We are here for the people. We don’t charge them. For them to find the money can be difficult so we are just helping them to charge their phones so they can communicate with friends,” said MacDonald.

“I want to thank God. We were praying that God could provide the solars so that we could have light and we have seen God intervene. I won’t take that for granted. I want to say thank you to the donors for the solar panels and batteries. They are with us each and every time we use power; they are a part of the ministry here in Chisopi,” he shared. 

In addition to being a physical light in the community, pray that the Chisopi team will continue to be a spiritual light as well, reflecting the light of the Saviour to all the dark corners of the village.

Praying over the vision with his mentor, MacDonald felt God was calling him to go minister to those who have never heard about Jesus before in his native Malawi.

MacDonald began doing research and visiting the villages, seeking the place where the Lord wanted him. When he reached a village 30 kilometres from the OM base in Ntaja, MacDonald felt peace that this was where he was meant to be. He met a man who invited MacDonald to stay in his home to get to know the culture of the village as well as the language. 

“I didn’t say anything about Christ,” remembered MacDonald. “But he was very interested in the way I was behaving. When I left after a week he said that I needed to come back the next week, so I did and then I started asking him what he believed in and if he knew Christ.” 

The man was was very interested to hear what MacDonald had to say because of how he conducted himself.   

Through MacDonald’s visits, the man and his wife came to know Christ and accept him as their saviour. They began to worship weekly in their house, calling for other people to join them as MacDonald preached. That was the beginning of the church. 

Gathering support

The church began slowly gaining traction in the community. 

The chief recognised that a church isn’t a bad thing and neither are the Christians who worship God there. 

“Sometimes the Lord organises people to stand with you even though they are not Christian,” said MacDonald. “Here, it is the chief. If the chief says that everyone has a right to go where they want to worship, then everyone will be quiet because the chief has the authority.” 

Disciples making disciples

From the birth of the church, MacDonald encouraged a “missional mindset.” The new believers began walking to a village 14 kilometres away in early 2015 to start a Discovery Bible Study (DBS). 

One week the chief of the village attended the meeting and asked for prayer for his sick sister. When MacDonald started praying for her she fell to the ground and started manifesting what he believed to be an evil spirit. The whole team joined in prayer and when she woke up a few minutes later the woman said she didn’t feel any pain; she had been healed instantly. 

The following week when MacDonald visited her, she was working outside, something she hadn’t been able to do in a long time. 

Excited by his sister's recovery, the chief urged MacDonald to start a church in the village, saying God obviously had plans for the village. 

On property given to the church for free from the chief, the congregation meets in a temporary structure. The original eight members have expanded to 12 and they plan on making bricks to build a permanent building.  

Praise God for what He is doing in the villages. Pray for the new believers to grow in their faith and to remain strongly rooted in Him. Pray for MacDonald and other church leaders, that God will give them wisdom in every circumstance and be the bearer of His words.

“The big picture is to challenge them about the suffering of Jesus Christ, the death and resurrection,” he explained. “What does that mean to me? If I say I die to self, what really happened in my life? And what happens next?”

The training lasts one year and consists of three months of in-class learning and nine months of practicals. For the practicals the students usually return to their own homes and either start new ministries or join existing ones through the church. 

This year’s class was made up of 12 people – “like the 12 disciples,” one student was quick to speak up. Ranging from 20 years old to over 50, the group came from all backgrounds and stages of life. 

Understanding the Word 

Through the training Fredson noticed that it was harder for some to really understand scripture as they were used to memorising passages without studying the meaning. 

“You need to give them things to discuss so they will discover and be able to explain for themselves,” said Fredson. “Like the story of Mary and Martha. I asked two guys what Jesus was doing? What happened to Mary? To Martha? What did Jesus say about these ladies? It is a simple way, but then they get the whole picture.”

Family Counselling 

Every Tuesday the group tackles marriage issues. Those who are married because it applies to them now, and those who are single because it might one day. 

In Malawi, broken families are the norm: divorce, absentee parents and abusive relationships are common. 

“We face the men thinking they have more authority than women,” said Fredson. “That the women don’t have the right to say anything. It’s a challenge but we thank God that these challenges come out and we are able to address them.” 

One couple in this year's training did not agree about money and it was driving them apart. The husband said the money was his, not the families. The wife stopped sharing her thoughts with her husband and there was a lot of confusion and shouting in their marriage. 

“We helped them through the scriptures about what God says about marriage and the responsibilities of the husband and the wife, and why God gave them these responsibilities,” Fredson said. “The couple agreed they needed to make it right. The husband said that the money that comes into the house would be for them together and he would be accountable to his wife, and she to him.”

Another issue that comes up is caring for relatives. Once a child has grown and become financially stable the relative that raised them will call on them saying, “I invested in you when you were young, so now you need to pay back.” 

“That’s the culture,” explained Fredson. “So we try to see what is the truth in the culture. The truth is the scriptures, the truth is the Bible.”

“One couple, the husband was giving everything to help his family, so the wife felt like her husband loved his family more than her. It was a big problem. We showed him that he needed to take responsibility in his house and not go to the parents. You can’t make your family struggle just to help your parents. Then you need to agree to bless both families. Helping only one family brings division.” 

Kelvin

Kelvin came to know the Lord through the OM prison ministry. After being released he returned home where OM worker Peggy visited him and his family a few weeks later. She invited Kelvin to attend the Discipleship course as a way to grow his newfound faith. His family, though not sharing his beliefs, supported Kelvin when he said yes, as they were very thankful for the OM team who had brought their son food and visited him in prison; they had no idea their son had been arrested. 

In Discipleship, Kelvin was eager to learn and quickly became one of the best students in the class, though he had been a Christian for the shortest period.

“I have completely changed,” said Kelvin. “Especially my behaviour. I know the Bible and how to use it and am walking in the spirit.” 

Returned home for practicals, friends and family remarked how much Kelvin has changed; becoming a man of good character and morals. Kelvin has started a Bible study and is eagerly sharing what he has learnt with others. 

Praise God for the work He is doing in people’s lives! Pray for the students as they are on practicals, that they will remember their training and show the light of the Lord in every circumstance.

Community work ministry began in 2013 when one of the village Bible studies suggested they fix an old lady’s house that was starting to collapse. 

“They said ‘let’s be the influence in the village, people need to know us,” Fredson remembered. “People need to understand what we are doing. They have been seeing that we are here, but they don’t know what we are doing so we need to reach out.’”

Starting with that one lady’s house, the group helped move the bricks and put on the roof. Once that house was done, they started working on others, focusing on the elderly and others who are discriminated against. 

Challenges

The work does not go unnoticed in the communities and some people try to take advantage of the generosity, saying they are in dire need of help when they are not. By involving the Bible Study groups and the village chiefs, the team is able to see who really needs help and who does not; focusing on the elderly and those looked down upon in the community. 

“We are not doing this in order to say ‘oh, we are doing community work,’” said Fredson. “We are doing this for the Gospel to be known to the people and for the people to know the truth. We are the fishers of men, going out and catching fish. To me, community work is like a net. We have different ministry nets so that we can catch more fish. In God’s kingdom you have different ways to reach out to people, I believe every ministry we have is to bring people to Christ.” 

Breaking bondages

In January 2016 the team went to the community where Alice, the school cook, has a Bible Study. They decided to fix the roof of a woman who was mad. Talking to her children, they said it’s like an evil spirit takes her, and when that happens she runs away into the bush and stays there. 

The first day the team worked they didn’t see the woman, but the second day she entered the house as they were working and sat quietly. One of her daughters said that she didn’t talk to people, only herself. 

Finishing the roof they started talking to her and, to her family’s surprise, she answered their questions. She said that she could see evil spirits and they made her hate people until she couldn’t bear being around them any longer and retreated to the bush. 

The team prayed over the woman and told her the Word of God could set her free. She said she believed, and accepted Jesus into her heart. After a week of prayer the woman no longer ran into the wilderness and experienced peace for the first time in a long time. 

“There is transformation when we do community work,” Fredson explained. “When we go out we find the sick, pray for them and they are healed. We find the demon possessed, pray for them and they are delivered. It’s like we reach the whole person.”

In the hearts of men

Friends of OM, Careson and Petunia, also use community work as a way to impact people’s lives. 

Maliyamu, whose house was recently completed, said that as she watched her house being built she “knew that God doesn’t just live in heaven, but in the hearts of people.” Continuing she said she could see the love and mercy of God in the gift of a new house that He gave her through His people.

From a different background, Maliyamu realised that God is different from the god she knew in Islam, and continues to seek Him and His salvation through the Bible study in her village and by praying from the heart. 

Praise God for the provision of people’s physical needs as well as spiritual ones! Pray for the wisdom for teams to determine who to help through acts of service. Pray for those who have received help to acknowledge the One who loves them and sends His people to help them.

The means? A nanny. No, not a Mary Poppins-esque woman to look after the children, but a female goat. 

“The goat is for the future of the child,” explained Lovedale, an OM teacher from Zambia. “At a young age, the child has got one goat and by the following year that goat has given birth to maybe four kids if everything goes well. By the time the child is older he or she will have many goats. They can sell them to pay school fees or sustain their family.” 

To make the project self-sustainable, the recipients are asked to give the firstborn female goat back to the school so that it can be passed on to another student. 

Chisopi

In 2015 the goat project began at Mbweni School in Chisopi when the school had just one class of 18 students, all of whom received a goat that year. 

The project was met with both praise and criticism. 

“Some people looked at it as something new and helpful for the community,” said Lovedale. “On the other side, people looked at it as if we were bribing the children to come to our Christian school.”

As the people of Chisopi had a chance to become familiar with the project and school they have seen how families are benefitting and the negative views are slowly fading. 

“I’ve seen some quality change in the guardians and the children (as a result of the goat project),” said Lovedale. “The children are being taught responsibility at an early age. From the guardian side, it has built our relationship and has opened doors for us to talk and share the word of God.”

Ntaja

At Chiyembekzo School in Ntaja, 24 goats were given out in 2015. 

Though all the guardians at Chiyembekzo School did the required training, only 24 made the necessary preparations for building a pen. They became the first group to receive a goat.

“We are trying to show the guardians a way they can develop themselves and also see the importance of developing others,” said Honest who runs the project in Ntaja. “If we gave out the goats and bought more we would run out of money. But if they (give back a goat) then we can give it to another person and continue like that.” 

“When they give back the goat it is painful for them. They’ve raised it, and when we say ‘you need to give us back one,’ they feel like it’s not good. But just showing them the importance of giving back, shows them how to love one another.’ 

Besides providing for the child’s future, the goats are helping provide for their owners right now in an unlikely way: their droppings. 

Fertilizer is expensive, but goat manure is ideal for the soil. Keeping the goats in pens overnight also helps speed along the collection process. 

Challenges

Littering is common and has proved fatal to the goats who have no discretion in what they will or will not eat. The death of a few goats has taught the children to dispose of their garbage properly, as well as to check the grass where they tie the goats to graze. 

“You can see where they goats have been eating because that’s the only clean place,” laughed Lovedale. 

Learning how to give

“There was an older lady we spoke to about love, because to give back you need to love,” said Honest. “She said the way she understood love was different. She told me ‘when I did the goat training I was not loving people, I need to start loving people.’ She began to understand that she needs to give, not just receive. She said it’s hard to give sometimes when she has just one small thing but wants to share the way God gave His son, because He had only one.”

The next step

The time when the next group of students will receive their goats is drawing near. The schools are just waiting for a few more goats to come of age so they can be handed over in a group to discourage jealousy. 

“I pray that every day the project grows not just bigger but that it teaches people to think about the future,” said Lovedale. “Here if you have something you use it now and you don’t think about tomorrow. So I pray that people’s lives will be changed.”

Pray that the goats will continue to impact the community. Pray that the children will be good stewards of the livestock and that through this gift people will discover the Good Shepherd.

Originally from Zambia, Lovedale completed the Teachers Training Course at OM Zambia where he heard about the opportunity to pioneer a school in Malawi. After spending three months at the Ntaja base to get to know the culture Lovedale moved to the village. 

“In the beginning it was children’s ministry; when we said it was a school people dropped out,” remembered Lovedale. “They were told that if you go to school they will make you drink your own urine and eat rats.” Because of these lies, the people of Chisopi did not consider education important. 

“I started putting a few lessons (into the children’s ministry), like how to say greetings in English. The children shared that to their guardians and it was like ‘oh, maybe this is what school is all about.’”

More and more children started attending class under the trees until they numbered around 100. Seeing that the community had accepted the idea of a school, Lovedale selected 19 students between the ages of four and five to be the first nursery class of Mbweni School, which translates to ‘have you seen?’ and is also the name of the hill behind the village. Each year a grade will be added to the school as that class advances. 

January 2015 classes shifted to the enclosed porch of the building where Lovedale now stays. When a second class was added the following September the older grade moved into the thatched church building. 

The impact

“I’ve seen changes in the students, especially standard one,” Lovedale said. “[The local language] is full of swearing. They use it all the time; the kids would use it on me. For them to change and realise to say those words are not good, that’s a big change. They’re able to identify that this is wrong even if it is right in the culture…just to identify that there is a God who doesn’t like these things for me is a big change.

“No students have become Christians. Not yet. It’s a thing we take step by step. We do devotions each day, usually we have a theme for the week like ‘helping.’ Then after school we find someone to help so that the students have a picture of what ‘helping’ means. 

“I stand there, teach them what I feel God wants me to teach, but saving comes from Him.” 

Learning the language

The main language in Malawi is similar to a few of the languages in Zambia which made it easier for Lovedale to pick up. Few people speak Chichewa in Chisopi however, so learning the language spoken in the village was crucial in connecting with the community. 

“Not knowing the language and still teaching was…painful,” admitted Lovedale. “But if you want to learn the language go to the kids; they have been my teachers. Older people when you greet them in their language continue speaking, they don’t care, they say ‘you need to learn.’ But with the kids when you don’t understand they stop and explain.

“Abaku (‘grandma’ who is the school cook), has been a big help. She’s in the kitchen so I just ask ‘how do you say this?’ and then I teach it. 

“It wasn’t always nice, but when I sit down and look at how things were in the beginning and how things are now, I see change and that’s very encouraging.” 

Prayer

“One of the things about the [people] here is they really appreciate prayer. If they are sick they say ‘pray for me.’ To me that’s great. I’ve never seen [someone] praying for a sick person since I came here, but they really appreciate it. You don't have to do it in the open, no one has to know, it can just be between the two of you.” 

Pray for Mbweni School to continue to grow and have an impact in the children’s lives. Pray for the teachers to have creativity in their teaching and for more teachers to come. Pray for Lovedale and any others who join the team to pick up the language quickly to be able to communicate effectively. Pray for the provision of funds to build percent classrooms. Pray for the people of Chisopi’s eyes to be opened so that they may see the light.

Carried on bikes, heads and in outstretched hands, the water is destined for cooking, drinking, cleaning, bathing, gardening, making bricks and watering livestock. People waiting their turn appear in no hurry as they sit on overturned buckets, laughing and talking with one another; catching up on the latest news. With the water that spills from the buckets and runs down the drain women scrub brightly coloured clothing. 

Water is life in the village and when it’s located far away, life becomes more challenging. 

Such was the case in Chisopi, Malawi. 

OM worker MacDonald and his family moved to the village in 2014 to continue reaching out to the community they had been visiting since 2008. Lovedale followed later that year to pioneer a school for the area. Fetching water is a time-consuming task, especially collecting enough water for the school each day. Having water close by would be beneficial for the school as well as in the future when a school building and church are constructed. As a team, they prayed for the provision of water closer to them. 

Their prayers were answered with half the funds to dig a borehole on the OM property. 

In line with the church

With the money provided, a crew arrived in Chisopi to dig the borehole in October 2015. 

“We struggled to find a place to drill. They drilled three places and all they were finding was rock,” said MacDonald. “Three places without getting water. It was a surprise to everyone when one guy from the team suggested drilling near the church building. Many people from the community were opposed to that. They are not happy with Christianity here anyway. ‘If you do that we will not use the water cause it will make us Christians,’ they said. When they started to drill, after just one hour, they found water. (The borehole) is straight in front of the door of the church.” 

Despite their initial misgivings, the community has embraced the borehole. 

“One couple is still refusing to draw water,” MacDonald said. “But everyone else is coming...It is a blessing to the community. Many people were getting water from very far away, but now they are getting water very close.”             

Near enough to the church for voices to carry, the team has found villagers listen in on the church meetings while at the borehole. 

“When we do Bible study and they are drawing water they pay attention to what we are discussing and how we are encouraging each other as believers,” said MacDonald. “They listen.”

The borehole has experienced more traffic than usual lately, as the next closest well has not been working. 

Up to 150 families have come to the OM well for their daily water, providing an opportunity for them to hear the Good News. 

Pray that as people draw water from the borehole they will call upon the living water.

“When I became a Christian, I started following what Jesus was doing through OM’s ministries in the village,” Samson said. “I decided to start a Bible study in the Kamala village where I am originally from.”

Samson knew returning to his home village would mean facing persecution. In Kamala, he experienced rejection not only from the community, but also from his wife and children, who refused to accept him and his decision to become a Christian. He challenged the villagers to study the Bible with him, through AudioBibles, as a way of learning and becoming educated, but only a few people attended at the study’s beginning in 2013.

“It was a challenge to start this ministry in the village that I came from,” he shared. “They rebelled against what I wanted to share with them. So those were the challenges that I had to face at first, but I kept moving, and now people are accepting what I am doing and they have accepted me as they have watched people come from different religions to listen to the Word of God.”

The turning point in his ministry came through the community work OM Malawi was doing on a weekly basis.  As a team, they reached out one day a week to the elderly and needy people in the community.  This community service was also extended to Samson’s village where they started preaching through action and not just through words.

Outreach teams on visit, like Africa Trek, joined hands with the OM Team members and helped Samson to construct a shower and a toilet for the village.  This did not go unnoticed by the chief.  Samson received encouragement to continue with his bible study, and the influence of Scripture expanded.  The Bible listening group's success in Kamala has led Samson to start a new study in the nearby village of Chikaonda, establishing the key to approaching the local people: building relationships.

“When I was looking to start a new study in Chikaonda, I heard someone calling to me,” he shared. “It was a lady, and she said, ‘We have heard that you have started a Bible listening group and many people are listening to the Word of God. We want to start a group in our village so we can know this God.’ So I started a group in this lady’s house and many people came.”

“After two weeks, the chief heard that someone had started a Bible listening group in the village and so they called me and told me that they don’t allow Christians here, so I needed to go away and stay out of their region,” he continued. “But the people told me, ‘No! You are not going anywhere!’ So the same people who invited me started a new Bible listening group in a village that is next to Chikaonda. It is growing each and every hour and I go there once a week to share the gospel.”

Another worker in Malawi, Fredson Phiri, says that Samson’s story highlights the importance of outreaches like the Africa Trek—even though the people working the outreaches may not get to see the immediate results.

“When the outreaches come, they don’t necessarily see the fruits of their work while they are ministering, “Fredson says. “When they go leave, the fruit starts coming out. I want to encourage the outreaches, because of what I have seen coming out of them. God is using them to reach out. These are the fruits of the seeds that God has sent people to plant.”

Pray for Samson and the seeds that have been planted in his village and the surrounding area. Pray for softened hearts to hear what the Lord is speaking. 

But it doesn't stop at the pupils.

“We thought that we could start something to bring hope to the women,” explained Catherine Phiri, a teacher at the school. “Where we could discuss how to raise children the godly way, and for those that desire to have a relationship with Jesus, that they could come to the saving knowledge of Christ.

“The Lord put it on our hearts to start [a Bible study] with the guardians,” Catherine continued. “We told [the ladies] that the purpose of the group is to share whatever we are passing through, pray for each other and learn different skills like cooking and sewing.”

When the group first started the ladies came because it was part of the school programme; now it is a place to share their hearts.

“Most women [here] are illiterate. It was amazing to see how joyful [the women] were when they received an AudiBible,” Catherine remembered. “It was good for them to hear the Bible spoken in their own language and understand it, rather than listening to [other books] in a language they don't understand.”

Cultural bondage

“The Bible study has started opening the eyes of the women and changing their perspectives of what they believe in from the culture, to the truth,” said Catherine. “I remember one lady had a question about white people and black people. At the time we were learning about Adam and Eve and what they did and how it came that God cursed them. The culture said that the white people were blessed, and black people cursed because of what Adam and Eve did. She learnt the truth that God created us the same, and it was everyone who was cursed, and we are only blessed through Christ.”

“Every time a lady grasps the truth, it's a blessing to be a part of that. To see bondages and burdens removed from the ladies; it's very encouraging,” said OM worker Eleanor du Plessis.

Spiritual bondage

Esther, a mother of seven, complained of pain every time she urinated. Describing the pain as something heavy pressing on her back, she tried going to the hospital and witch doctors, but no one knew what the problem was.

It wasn't only Esther who was experiencing issues in her house.

Her 11-year-old daughter saw snakes and would start screaming before collapsing. These episodes had occurred for many years, and no one could figure out what was wrong with her. As a result, she could not go far from home in case of an episode.

Esther's older daughter had problems as well. She would be at school when suddenly she would stop concentrating and become “mad”, running wild and taking off her clothes. The witch doctor told Esther that “the demons what your daughter has, they are powerful. We need to stay together, we need to train [your daughter] so she can become a witch doctor in the future.”

The daughter refused, saying she was too young to become a witch doctor, but Esther did not know what to do, thinking that becoming a witch doctor might be the only way her daughter could be healed.

Catherine urged Esther to trust God, as only God could deliver her two daughters from the demons. Encouraged to attend the women's Bible study to meet and connect with other women, Esther and her family were prayed for by the group. From that day on, Esther and her two daughters have been living normal lives. No pain, no snakes, no madness.

Esther said she feels much lighter now. She testifies to the other women in the village about what God has done for her and her family.

“[The Bible study] has built trust,” said Catherine. “The women testify to other people who don't know anything about us. They are our witnesses to other people.”

Pray that the women of Malawi would continue experiencing freedom from cultural and spiritual bondage, healing and revelations from God. 

Before the school opened in September 2013, the OM team went into the community to invite children to attend school; these children became the first preschool class and will always be the oldest class, as each year a new grade is added to accommodate them until they reach grade eight.

The second year, people came to the school to ask if their child could enrol. 

“The biggest thing that makes us different from other schools is that we are a Christ-centred school, and we apply Christian values,” said Catherine Phiri, the pre-school teacher. “Also [we have] teachers who are passionate; not just teaching because it's a career, but because it is a calling.

“Before we start teaching we have a devotion and take the value from the story, if it's love then the whole day we will be reminding them about love, and as we teach the other subjects, we go back to what the devotion said.”

The children show signs that they are different from when they first started attending the school. They are eager to go to class and apply what they have learnt in their lives.

“Many times now they remind each other if they see someone doing something that they are not supposed to do,” Catherine said smiling. “They will say, 'Stop doing that; what did we learn?'”

Chiyembekezo School is making a difference in the lives of two seven-year-old boys in particular. 

Simiton

Simiton's mother died when he was five. His father wasn't around, so he lived with his grandmother, who was very old. When she could no longer care for him, Simiton went to live with his uncle. Though his uncle loved him, his aunt and cousins did not. They refused to have anything to do with him, so it was up to his uncle to feed and bathe him. When his uncle wasn't home, Simiton would come to school dirty. After school he played wherever he wanted. He grew up without boundaries and became unruly.

Recognising the situation, OM approached the uncle about finding a new place for Simiton to live. The uncle was very thankful, wanting Simiton to be in a family where everyone loved him and where he would be safe.

Kasim

Kasim's parents separated when he was two, and he stayed with his mother who was mentally unstable and who prostituted herself. Kasim went to stay with his father, but he spent most of his time out of the house drinking. 

After staying a year with his father, Kasim moved back in with his mother. A few months later she left him in the house and took off. Kasim was sick with malaria when a neighbour found him and brought him back to his father.

Hope and value

The OM Malawi leadership prayed about the best options for Simiton and Kasim.

“We knew we had to take them in. We will always be taking care of such children,” said Eleanor du Plessis, co-field leader of OM Malawi.

They decided the boys would do best in a family setting, and they thought of Alice. 

A single mother of three, Alice was the cook for the workers who built the school and had stayed on to cook for the students. 

“Alice has really grown through the three years we've known her,” said Eleanor. “We saw her heart and her passion to work with the vulnerable.” 

Alice had already been helping the boys, washing them when they came to school dirty, and she welcomed them into her home.

During the school week the boys stay with Alice, but during the weekends they return to their families. This is important so “that they have that connection with their families,” explained Eleanor. “This is not an orphanage we are starting.

“We know that [the boys] will change, and we believe that they are going to change and that they will grow up with good principles in their lives.”

Because they had been raised very differently from the way Alice raises her children, it wasn't easy at first for the boys to adjust to the new arrangement.

Every evening Alice would ask them how their day was and what they liked about school. If they had done something wrong she would teach them what the Bible said about it, and they would pray together as a family. 

The boys used to laugh at this, but through Alice's patience and her other children's gentle reminders, the boys have learnt to appreciate this time in the evening and praying before sleeping. 

Both boys have changed. They used to speak loudly, get into trouble and hit their friends, but now they are calmer and gentler. 

At school, and now at home, Simiton and Kasim experience hope and value.

“They value what the teacher tells them in class. [Before it was just:] They don't care what I do, nobody loves me, everybody throws me away. But here they see and experience love,” Eleanor said. “They even have little tasks [around the school grounds], helping the gardener water and weed. Small responsibilities help them grow.”  

Praise God for the lives of Simiton and Kasim. Pray that they would grow up to be men of God who will lead others to the truth. Pray for OM Malawi and Chiyembekezo School.

On 23 May, people from four countries came together to physically and spiritually break ground in what is the fourth poorest country in the world. As each of the cyclists set out on their journey to raise awareness and support for three major projects, they were united in the common goal of covering Malawi in prayer.

The team’s route took them through the beauty of God’s creation, along lakeshores, past magnificent tea plantations and rolling hills, through the mountainous regions of Mulanje and Zomba, and to beautiful green lands and swamplands in Mangochi.

On the second day, the team took a break from cycling and joined the workers of Scripture Union and OM Malawi to set up a radio station. As they rested beside Mt. Mulanje, the team prayed for breakthrough in surrounding communities, the territory they would soon cycle through, OM Malawi schools, and for protection and provision in Burundi and Nepal. 

As the sun rose above the horizon on day four, the team made the 110-kilometer ride to Ntaja, where the OM Malawi base is located. The team walked the grounds of new school buildings under construction that will enable OM Malawi to reach more students in the community with education and discipleship.

On day five, the team cycled 64 kilometres to and a village. One of the cyclists on the team typically makes the trip once a week, as he has planted two churches in the area, and the team wanted to make that journey alongside him during the tour. It was an honour and blessing for the team members to see the work being done to shine God’s light in the village of Chisopi.

In each of the seven towns the team travelled through, they witnessed the work God is doing through ministries in Malawi. The team prayed for Crown Ministry, Radio Lilanguka in Mangochi, OM Malawi, and other local missionaries.

By the time the cyclists had finished their 690-kilometre trip along the lakeshores of Lake Malawi, their unity as a team had grown, and they carried with them memories of people they encountered during the ride.

The Ride2Transform cycle tour broke ground through prayer for the country of Malawi. Organisers are planning a tour next year, from 4-12 June, which will include a team of local OM workers who will accompany the cyclists and minister through prayer, training and encouragement along the route.

Are you looking for an African adventure that will enable you to use your gifts for the Lord and give you an opportunity to share about His love with people you meet? Check out OM’s opportunities to serve in Africa.

Chisomo Thedza is a bright six year old boy in Standard One with good behavior in the Chiyembekezo School in Ntaja, Malawi. Things have not always been so cheery at home, however; he is a single orphan whose father died in 2011 from HIV/AIDS. His mother makes fritters (fried donuts) for a meager living in an attempt to meet her family’s needs, while greatly desiring a man to come along to provide for her and her children.

Catherine, the head teacher of Chiyembekezo School, noticed at one point that Chisomo was dirty when he arrived at school. He was sickly and was also struggling with paying attention at school; many times he was so tired, he just laid his head on his hands in the classroom. Catherine was concerned and visited his home, and what she found shocked her. Because the mother was hospitalized with the birth of premature twins from a man who didn’t stick around, she had left Chisomo with a grandmother who couldn’t even walk and was taking care of five children.  Catherine found that they had no food in the house, and they were sleeping on the bare floor. Since it was rainy season, the roof was leaking, leaving the floor wet and a wall about to fall into this two-room house.

Part of the OM Malawi ministry is doing community work, and after Catherine’s visit to Chisomo’s home, the workers at the school decided that they needed to fix the roof. In two visits the roof was fixed and the family was also prayed for, given a reed mat, food, baby clothes and a blanket for the surviving twin, as the other twin had died during childbirth.

Catherine also took Chisomo to the clinic in order for him to get over his sickness. When a lady saw Catherine taking him to the doctor and seeing the care provided by the Chiyembekezo School, she said, “Your school is very different. You care for the children, even outside of school.” 

Catherine’s role is bigger than just teaching classes; her love that goes beyond the classroom to help meet the physical needs of her students and their guardians is a witness to people in the community.

Unfortunately, the other twin later died, but God’s love that was shown to this family remains undying. Chisomo’s name means “grace,” and the dream behind the Chiyembekezo School is to extend hope and grace to the kids, in expectation for it to ripple into this community and the rest of Malawi.

While there, Lieze*, from South Africa, and other team members talked with local ladies, who wanted to know why they were visiting the community. That was on the first afternoon.

On the second afternoon, Lieze and a couple other ladies from the Africa Trek team went back to visit the same women. They shared from the Bible with the women.

On the third afternoon, the local ladies approached them again, wanting to hear more.

That evening, the team showed the Jesus film to the community. Afterward, one lady asked, “How do I become a Christian?”

They shared with the people, and a couple of the ladies repented from their sins and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

The workers knew, though, that many of the ladies could be discouraged by their husbands when they went home, because their husbands might ask them to renounce their new beliefs. Nevertheless, two of the ladies attended church the following Sunday with the good news that their husbands had released them to join!

The local pastor will disciple them in their new faith.

Most of the time, sharing Jesus with people may be not as easy as one, two, three, but workers know that the Lord draws people to Himself. Praise God for these new lives in Christ. Pray for wisdom for the local pastor as he disciples the ladies in their faith.

*Last name not included for security reasons

Learn what 15 people – ranging from 18 to 39 years old, representing five countries and four continents – experienced while serving others and sharing about Jesus in Southern Africa during the first OM Africa Trek of 2014.

Rains will follow

During a time of team prayer and preparation, team leader Eduard* received a message from God of rains following the team wherever they went, and it was so. From Potchefstroom, South Africa, to Kang, Botswana, the team drove under heavy rainfall over the Kalahari Desert. From there, waters from heaven accompanied them.

As team member Josh* mentioned, this was taken as a miraculous sign of God’s presence with the team, and for people living in a dry and parched land. The rains stopped every time the team needed to pitch their tents, and as soon as the tents were up rain fell for most of the night.

Every morning by dawn, when they held devotions, the rains stopped and they had sunny days for ministry.

The house will continue preaching

In coordination with local worker MacDonald*, the team helped fix an old lady’s house. She had been living in another person’s kitchen for 18 months. The team re-thatched the roof with mud and grass, cleaned the yard, fixed the structure and revamped the floor, which took them about four half days of work.  

People in the community could not believe that the “white people” were willing to do the physical work and asked them, “Why are you doing this?” This opened a door for the team to share about Jesus with a very receptive audience.

The old lady was overwhelmed with gratitude. The chief of the village came to them – generally you go to the chief if he calls you, not the other way around – and said that he was embarrassed. “We walked past that house time after time; but you, followers of Jesus, did for our own people what we have not done for them,” he said.

As Josh said, reflecting upon the experience, “God did more among these people we served through our practical work than through our preaching. Our prayer is that the house we fixed will keep telling them about a God who loves, a God who cares!”

Baptised into healing

In another village, in Kamala, Malawi, the team built a toilet and a shower for a local family with local materials: wood and grass. Here they also had an audience willing to listen to their message.

Inges*, a local worker who came to faith in Jesus at the beginning of 2014, connected the team with the family. He has a Bible study group with the community. The grandfather of the house said, “I want to serve this Jesus! I want to follow Him! And I want to be baptised!”  

So, the team went with him to the river. As they went, the man complained about pain in his back, but after they baptised him and prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill him, he testified about his complete healing.

This man is the father of a chief who has authority over 12 villages, so his testimony of coming to Jesus, being baptised and being healed has the potential to reach many others. This man continues to share his testimony full of joy!

Master puppeteers

A radio station in Mangochi, Malawi, wants to reach out to the community with the news about Jesus. They aim to start broadcasting in November 2014 and need to advertise their project and do some groundwork amongst the community, especially with children.

The radio station team had the idea to start a puppet ministry but didn’t have the time, so at their request, 10 of the 15 members of the Africa Trek team created a stage, puppets and plays, and taught them to local workers.

The team divided the task into three groups: one in charge of the stage, another in charge of the puppets and props, and the last in charge of the scripts. They didn’t know anything about puppet ministry, so they had to trust the Lord. They were amazed at His grace with the resources and the creativity He gave them.  

They created two 15-minute plays: one about Noah and another about David and Goliath. The team taught local workers everything they knew about puppets, and then the locals took ownership of it. They added their own local expressions, and the kids were delighted!

Puppet characters interviewed some of the children about the stories, which will be broadcasted. Hopefully, the children will then tell their parents to listen to the radio station to be able to know more about Jesus and follow Him.

Challenges and highlights

Participant Kathleen*, and some of the other non-Africans, found being in Africa difficult with the different setting, food, culture, etc. Communication was a challenge, but even there she saw God’s hand. Once, while sharing with ladies in a village, she wanted to read Romans 10:9. Her interpreter interrupted and shared with the audience the verse before Kathleen did, not knowing that Kathleen had wanted to also share this passage of Scripture. She saw this as a confirmation of God’s message.

Another team member, Maryam*, heard God tell her, “Are you going to fear man or to trust me?” when she had to lead an open-air outreach, so she decided to trust in Him and let His Spirit give her boldness and speak through her.

Other team members overcame fear, trusted in Jesus and saw God use them to transform lives and turn communities upside down for His glory.

As team member Lieze* concluded, “We did our practical work, and God just took over!”

*Full name not included for security reasons

While teaching in Nakoli, Lovejoy felt the responsibility to find solutions for the children’s problems, all while he faced his own feelings of inadequacy. He had planned to teach for just one year, but realised that one year would not be enough to bring change to their lives and help them walk with Jesus. Despite challenges, his heart grew softer for the children as he visited their homes, saw their living environments and realised that they were misunderstood, neglected and fatherless. 

He taught for an additional six months before participating in mission’s training with OM Zambia. After learning more about missions, as well as orphans and children from different backgrounds, Lovejoy developed a deeper compassion for the children he would teach: He could be God’s vessel to change the children’s lives and give them hope for the future. “My life is not just to be a teacher, but to touch the lives of people in the communities,” he said.

After the training, the opportunity to do OM Zambia’s Teachers Training Course (TTC) opened, where he acquired a deeper understanding of children’s needs and realised that there is more to teaching than just education: He needed to journey with the children and guide them to walk with Jesus. 

While doing the training, a new heart for the local people also grew in Lovejoy. He wanted to serve amongst them and show love to the children. For him, though, it was an impossible thought, as none of the available options for teaching were in a community. 

God was faithful to His call on Lovejoy’s life, however, and through much prayer he received the opportunity to teach at the orphan school with OM in Malawi, and later among the local people.

Although God had proven faithful, Lovejoy had another seemingly impossible thought: “Would it be possible for God to start a school in a [rural] environment, to bring children to Jesus, and through that to bring a community to Himself?”

The resounding answer was yes. Lovejoy is currently a father to 15 five-year-old children. In Malawi he realised that, “speaking to the children is not the most important thing to do, but showing them Jesus! I want to reproduce Jesus, not myself!

“It’s like a brick that can be lying on the road and causing someone to stumble, or it can be used to build a house—a new house—for people to encounter Jesus,” he continued. “The effect will depend on where it is used.”

Lovejoy realised that before, while in Nakoli, he sometimes said or did things without caring about how it affected the children. He admittedly missed opportunities to build into the children’s lives because he was tired and focused on himself.

Now though, as a father figure, he thinks about everything he says and does, especially in front of the children. His focus is on Jesus, and Lovejoy misses no opportunity to be a brick in God’s house where people, especially children, can find Jesus.

*Name changed

It is this passion and confidence in the Lord that propels Donald to make a six-hour round trip bicycle ride twice a week to a Malawian village in the district of Machinga.

Donald started reaching out to its members. He started first with his brother-in-law named Ahadi*. After hearing the gospel he happily became a follower of Jesus Christ.

Ahadi declares that before receiving Christ he “was a sheep without a shepherd”. He explains that he felt like a blind person who was living without knowing where he was going.

“This message [the gospel] is very clear,” Ahadi confesses. “And [Jesus] made us to be free … Jesus has released us.” Ahadi proclaims that he has been released from drug use and an anger problem that would result in fistfights. He has a new heart that loves the Lord and others. Ahadi wants to see other villagers accept Christ and often prays, “God, can you draw your people to us?”

Following Ahadi’s decision, Donald began sharing with Ahadi’s brother Elias*. The Lord started stirring his heart even before speaking with Donald. 

Elias explains that he felt like he was trapped in a room where his prayers would bounce off the walls and ceiling and never reach the ears of God. Elias greatly desired a relationship with the Lord, and to please Him through worship.

After meeting with Donald and hearing the gospel, Elias gave his life to Christ. He now describes himself as being out of that room, and he knows the Lord hears his prayers.

In his continued efforts to share the love of Christ with the community, Donald has seen his sister as well as three other men from the village become believers. He now desires to see the ministry grow and to eventually include a church building and a medical clinic.

Though Donald sees success in his efforts to reach the village, he gives all the credit to the Lord. He points to John 6:44, one of his favourite Bible verses, where Jesus states, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day” (NIV).

Please pray for Donald and his family. Like most of the Malawian workers he receives no financial support. Donald makes his living through sustenance farming and carpentry. He is thankful for what the Lord provides.

*Name changed

For over a month, mothers brought their children to be considered for admittance to OM Malawi’s first class of its new primary school in mid-October.

The OM Malawi field leaders wanted to accept children who were five years old and from the toughest backgrounds, something not easily distinguishable in the eighth poorest country in the world. Orphans were accepted first, followed by children with just one parent.

The mothers, eager for their children to receive an education and be fed two meals per day, often lied about the age or background of their children. Through working with local village leaders and its workers from Malawi, OM discovered the children’s real ages and accepted 16 for its first class.

Many of the children have lost one or both parents to HIV and AIDS. A few others’ mothers had died during childbirth. Two of the mothers, just 13 and 14 years old, were still children themselves. Many of the children live with their grandparents, others with their aunts. Many have no idea who or where their fathers are.

The school has been named Chiyembekezo which is Chichewa for “hope”. Teacher Catherine Chipoya, who has previously worked as an OM missionary teacher for OM Lake Tanganyika, testifies, “My passion is working in the community with the children … I know this is the right time for me to be here. And God’s will will be done in this place, and His name will be glorified even through the lives of the children.”

The day before the start of the school, God gave Catherine a Scripture of promise: “… Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished. The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work … ” (1 Chronicles 28:20-21; NIV).

Catherine feels that for her life she could substitute “service of the temple” for “service of the school”. 

OM Malawi praises the Lord for the opportunity to open the school, and sees it as the Lord’s project and not a work of the people. They feel strongly that God is in control and wish that the glory goes to Him.

This question kick started OM’s implementation of a new concept, in which projects and workers are funded through self-sustainable initiatives. 

The new OM Malawi field leader wasted no time in addressing the issue and sat down with each worker to discuss ways in which they can work together to become more self-sustainable.

Though this concept is a key driving force, the organisation upholds its main focus of transforming lives and communities with the gospel. In many instances, through becoming self-sustainable, the workers are able to accomplish both.

Increasing crop yields and honey

Recently, two workers with OM Malawi, Stephano Mushaya and Francis James, were sent to partner organisation Crown Ministries to attend its Stewardship School. At the school they participated in a course that teaches farming methods using organic fertiliser that significantly increases crop yields. 

“It makes us to be self-sustainable,” testifies Francis. “This year at home we haven’t money for buying fertiliser, but through what we learnt we can make compost manure and apply on our garden. We can harvest a lot of maize.” 

They also learnt about bee keeping and how to create a business selling honey. This was a revelation for them, as many locals view bees negatively. Francis states, “I learnt that: no bees, no fruit—no fruit, no life.” He goes on to say, “[They] make good honey. And that honey we harvest and we put in the bottle and sell. It gives us income.” 

Community transformation

After returning from the course Stephano immediately started a compost heap and is teaching others in his village the techniques that he learnt. “I will use every effort so that the community can be changed now. They can use this new style of farming.”

Not only is it his goal to transform the way the village farms to meet the physical needs, Stephano desires to add the gospel and discipleship to the teachings and practices.

Before starting the work with other villagers he desires to gather the group for prayer. Then when finishing the work, he wants to gather them again to thank God. “And before I train others I need to share the Word of God so that people will be faithful to avoid what has happened before to our parents Adam and Eve,” he says. 

The workers also recently received training on managing personal finances. They learnt bookkeeping, planning and budgeting skills so they can properly handle the resources God has given them. 

Continue for generations

OM Malawi hopes to see projects funded through self-sustainable endeavours as well. Currently the field leader is shopping for a piece of land on which to build a “model farm”. The model farm would be a place where Farming Foundations can be taught to Malawians, and they can see just how plentiful the yields can be.

The food from the farm would be used to feed the children at the new Chiyembekezo School that OM Malawi recently opened. Children at the school are fed two meals per day, which is more than they often get at home.

For workers to become self-sustainable while at the same time work towards community transformation is a big undertaking. It’s going to take hard work and patience. Some ideas will work while others won’t. Mistakes will be made. Lessons will be learnt. Ultimately, though, they know it’s worth the effort and will allow God’s work to continue for generations.  

People think he’s a witch—though he’s not—and he was kicked out of the village three years ago. It’s not uncommon for elderly people to be branded as witches, though no one will ever publicly accuse them of this. 

Saini is missing several teeth and wears a thin white beard across his wrinkled face. He carries a warm smile and is often pleased to meet new people. When he’s not tending to his field, or sleeping in his house, he can be found sitting on a reed mat making straw hats that he sells for 100 kwacha, or roughly 28 US cents.  

Throughout his life Saini has fathered seven children, though three have passed away. His wife died 20 years ago and he never remarried. His children have moved away from the village, and he doesn’t receive help from them.

Lying on the floor of his hut are a few old plates, cups and buckets. Next to those a few sticks and bricks are arranged to make a small fire. Two metres away a few blankets on the ground and a hanging green mosquito net make up Saini’s bed. A few pairs of tattered trousers and t-shirts hang on two wires that cross the room.

Saini has a rough life. He finds it difficult to draw and carry water, and he lacks fertiliser for his crops. He complains that no one helps him when he gets sick. When asked about what makes him happy in life, he responds that he enjoys a good harvest, “because then I know I’m okay. I’m having peace because I have food.” 

Recently OM Malawi decided to spend Wednesdays serving local villagers in need—people just like Saini. Local worker Stephano Franciso, who lives nearby, introduced the team to Saini.

After seeing the condition of his grass hut they decided to build Saini a new house out of mud bricks. Each Wednesday for a few weeks the team rode bicycles to the village, armed with saws, buckets and tape measures. 

The work was tiresome in the hot Malawian sun, but brick by brick the walls went up. The team wasn’t alone in the work. The local chief, Dasiyano Mwamabi, showed up each week to help. Dasiyano welcomes the work OM does: “It is an encouragement that some people are coming into my village and helping some people. I feel proud they are coming to work with us.” 

He explained that OM has shown other villagers practical ways they can help elderly members of their community. “We have a big part to play, like to take care of these elderly people,” he added.

In Matthew 25:40 Jesus says, “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (NIV). Saini is one of the “least of these”, and OM Malawi considers it an honour to serve him. 

The team hopes that as they show love in a practical way, Saini and others like him will give their lives to Jesus Christ and one day find themselves in heaven where their troubles and hardships will cease.

One day, she and a colleague were riding on their way to one of the villages in Malawi when both bicycle tires were punctured. They were already halfway on their journey and debated whether they should continue on or head back home. They decided to go ahead, hoping to find someone who could repair their bicycles. 

After walking for some time, the two did not find a bicycle repair shop but were instead confronted with an experience God would use for His glory. An epileptic woman, with a baby tied on her back was convulsing helplessly while a crowd gathered at a distance watching her.

The two immediately believed this experience was the reason why God convicted them to proceed after the puncture, so they proceeded to the convulsing woman, much to the amazement (if not horror) of the crowd. They untied the terrified baby and started praying for the mother.

About twenty minutes later, the woman was restored and reunited with her baby. It was then that Yolanda’s colleague, a Malawian, explained that some people in the country believe that if you touch a convulsing epileptic the condition is transmitted to you, which explained why people watched instead of helping. The two ladies explained to the crowd that the God they worship not only has power over any disease or condition but also protects those who live in fellowship with Christ.

Francis is a missionary from Malawi working with OM, primarily with children’s ministry. He lives in the small village of Mussa—named after his grandfather—approximately four kilometres from the base. Francis, as well as several other Malawian missionaries, learnt new techniques for planting maize, trees and vegetables from South African missionary Div Du Plessis. Div and his wife, Eleanor, joined OM Malawi to head up the construction of the base.

According to Div, Malawi is a farming community. “It’s a small country with a lot of people,” he said, “and they all farm. So if we really need to reach these people [with the Gospel], it’s through farming. I mean, that’s their heart; that’s their livelihood. They can’t live without food. So for me, that’s a big entry strategy. Just teach them Farming Foundations.”

Farming Foundations is a course that teaches sustainable farming practices as well as biblical principles, such as hard work, stewardship and proper planning. The base currently has a small garden with beetroot, lettuce, cucumber, green beans, green pepper, onion and many other crops. Many trees and plants are also being cultivated, such as banana, avocado, guava, mango, granadilla, pawpaw and sugar cane.

Francis has also started to implement his newfound knowledge in his village. Other villagers have been quick to notice Francis’s activities and they too want to learn the new ways of farming. “They come to ask me, and I teach them,” says Francis. “To have good trees and fruits you can do it this way. And when there is mistake, they call me to see and teach a good way.”

With or without money, or even food, Francis has a strong desire to preach the Gospel to people who haven’t heard it before.

The success of crops is crucial to missionaries like Francis, who currently have no other means of financial support. The 21-year-old lives in a tiny two-room house with no water or electricity. He is co-dependent with his family members. Francis admits that he has trouble affording cosmetics, soap and clothes. However, he asserts that he doesn’t use his financial problems as an excuse to stop his ministry. With or without money, or even food, Francis has a strong desire to preach the Gospel to people who haven’t heard it before. “It’s my desire to go and preach the word of God where Jesus tells me to go,” he said.

Besides the plants previously mentioned, Francis is growing cotton, something he became inspired to do through a radio programme. To buy the cottonseeds he first harvested two bags of rice from one of his fields, then waited until December when the price of rice was at its peak before selling. The plants are nearly ready for harvest, and Francis is optimistic about the impact their sale will have on his family.

“They (the cotton plants) can survive me for the different problems that I face,” he said. “I can help also my parents to have food. Enough food for this year!”

Malawi: The heat is on!

While the Trek team visited Malawi, they not only faced the intensely hot climate of the area but also very obvious spiritual opposition when ministering in a remote village of a largely unreached people group, with many practicing traditional witchcraft as well.

Before the team’s arrival, every Sunday, one Malawian pastor rode two hours by bike to this village to minister to a church of just four members before his two-hour bike ride home. Though this pastor had been faithfully sowing, he had seen little fruit. The harvest was ripe, however, for the Trek team when they arrived!

During the team’s stay at the village, they encountered people oppressed or possessed by evil. One girl as young as four or five was involved with witchcraft. Others wanted to curse or harm the Trek team members in various ways. One village leader strongly opposed the Trek team and attempted to curse them, but to no avail. He wondered why the team was so strong. On the evening the team showed the JESUS Film, the pastor stopped the film to preach the good news. While he was preaching, the village leader fell to the floor and was not able to get up.

Because God revealed Himself in this village, 13 people surrendered their lives to Him and were baptised! The power of God proved infinitely stronger than the attempts of the evil one.

Namibia: Heavenly showers

While visiting Namibia, the Trek team split into three groups. One group went to the northern part of Namibia, which was experiencing a drought. Once there they felt they should pray and fast from food and water for one day until it rained; one team member specifically felt he should pray that it would rain for seven days in a row.

One Sunday, the designated day, they didn’t eat food or drink water, but prayed instead. Clouds started to form in the area around the team, and it even rained in the surrounding areas, but not where they were staying. The team continued praying past 23:00 that night, but still the rain stayed away. Yet they didn’t give up hope.

“You could see it; you could smell it; and even though it still didn´t come, we decided to trust in God until the end,” Lana, a Trek team member, said.

They decided they would break the fast at midnight, even if nothing happened. But at 11:45 the rain came. Though it only rained for a few minutes, it was enough for the team to know that God had been faithful. They had prayed, “Lord, please fill the dry river beds with water,” and so it was. Although the Trek team left before the week was up, there was a period of rainfall each day until the team’s departure.

The Trek team’s prayer was not only for the much-needed physical rain in that scorched land, but that the Himba people in this witchcraft-believing place would experience the downpour of the true cleansing and renewing Water of Life.

To know more about The Africa Trek or to be part of it, check out information at: http://omafrica.org/opportunities/the-africa-trek or contact us at: outreaches.africa@om.org.

William Amadu Mtika, of Ntaja, Malawi, loves to pray. Before he goes to sleep, he prays. In the morning, before he does anything, he prays. He even explains that if he wakes up in the night he prays for protection, for his family and for fellow Christians.

Born into a family of two brothers and one sister, William is the third born. He lost his father when he was two and his mother when he was nine. 

In 2007 William was invited to attend an Easter service at a church that his sister attended. Their grandmother, whom she lived with, raised her as a Christian (in Africa, due to economic struggles, children often are split up to live with grandparents and other relatives). That fateful day the preacher read Matthew 11:28 where Jesus states, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (NIV). The Holy Spirit convicted William. During the service he evaluated his heart and his life and felt, “I’m not pleasing God.” He decided to become a Christian by placing his faith in Jesus Christ.

Before becoming a Christian he explains that he “did a lot of bad things,” including disrespecting his family and elders, getting into fights and even stealing. After becoming a Christian, he explained that his heart changed and that he no longer has a desire to commit these sins.

Currently, William is trying to complete his last year of high school. Muhandu Muhandu, the field leader of OM Malawi, has befriended William and disciples him. One of the goals of OM Malawi is to develop the future leaders of Malawi. William credits much of his spiritual growth and knowledge of the Bible to Muhandu taking the time to teach him. He exclaims that it is this growth and knowledge that has “given me the confidence to preach to others.”

Preaching to others: that’s William’s second favourite thing to do. Though the future is uncertain, it is William’s desire following high school to become an evangelist and preach to people in Malawi, and eventually to the entire world.

He declares, “There are so many people here who are in darkness, and I was one of them. But the grace of God was upon me [and] that’s why I came out of the darkness. For that I thank God.”

William explains that the Lord knows our hearts and our desires. He believes the Lord will help him, for God knows his heart, which he describes as being very ambitious. William’s heart is a challenge to us all to passionately pursue the Lord.

Through the training, the team hopes to teach local church leaders that missions is not only the responsibility of the West but also of every believer. They also plan to equip local workers with practical job skills to earn income to support their families and train coaches to reach the youth of Malawi through sports.

According to OM Malawi Field Leader Muhandu Muhandu, some government schools in Malawi have over a 100-to-1 teacher-to-student ratio. The OM team plans to use this building to educate young people from grades 0-7 and provide one teacher for every 20 students.

OM Malawi seeks to see transformation in the community, churches and families as biblical principles and values are taught and modelled through the activities of the training centre and school. They also hope to accommodate outreach groups and students at the centre.

Currently the construction includes a fence around the property, two toilets and showers, a well, a culvert, house, outside kitchen, two store rooms, two classrooms and a carpentry workshop. The brickwork on all these buildings is complete. The next step is to erect the roofs. While much funding is still needed to complete the project, OM Malawi trusts the Lord to provide.

Please pray that the Lord’s will be done with the training centre and school for His glory and kingdom.

Though he was a good student, and successfully completed his primary education, Rodney was unable to enrol in high school due to lack of finances for school fees.

Despite his rough upbringing, Rodney can see God’s hand on his life. Ten years after his parents died Rodney met OM Malawi workers Mark and Joshua. They befriended Rodney and shared with him what it truly meant to be a born-again Christian. The Lord stirred Rodney’s heart, and he decided to place his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

Rodney describes his life before accepting Christ as being unpleasing to the Lord. He admits that he was claiming to be a Christian but wasn’t living his life according to biblical standards. He now testifies, “I am led by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit reveals a lot of things in my life. Formerly, I was not a child of God, and I was not enjoying the gift of God. Right now I am just being moved by his Holy Spirit.”

Today, Rodney is a staff member with OM Malawi and is reaching out to youth in local villages through sports ministry. “This is the right strategy to reach out to people, especially the young men,” he explains.

A mix of about 60 boys and teenagers show up every Friday in Mussa village for Bible study and soccer. Through the ministry, Rodney has led several to Christ, which has greatly encouraged him: “My passion is to see people coming to know Jesus.” Anyone who spends more than two minutes with Rodney will know that he is telling the truth. He will happily share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, who is willing to listen.

Rodney and his wife, Joyce, currently do not receive financial support for their ministry work. He describes this as a challenge yet goes on to state, “We thank God that he always feeds us.” Rodney mentions the Bible verses where Jesus explains that people shouldn’t worry about food and that God will provide.

Rodney says that his lack of education has affected him financially in a negative way. Also, while his family would like to grow maize for food, the sandy soil around his village requires fertilizer that they cannot afford. Rodney admits that he and Joyce are surviving on less than one dollar per day. He goes on to say that people in the community will look at his lack of food and his financial struggles and will begin to mock God. They will see Rodney ministering to others but will question why God isn’t helping him in these needs.

Rodney, however, endures. He explains that he gets encouragement to press on in the ministry from his two favourite Bible verses. The first, Philippians 3:12, reads, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (NIV). The second is Romans 8:18 where Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (NIV).

Rodney has had a hard life, and in many ways he still has a hard life. But Rodney has much hope. When discussing his future, Rodney describes it as being very clear and bright. When he looks back on his life and the hardships he has faced, Rodney believes that God has been preparing him for something “big”. He proclaims, “Because of the courage which I have, I know that God will achieve a lot of things in my life. I just see a good future. If God is on my side nothing is impossible.”

For more information about the work of OM in Malawi, visit www.omafrica.org.