Well
at Kaphira
We
are happy to report that we have now had confirmation that, as a part
of the Joseph Project, a new deep well has been dug and is producing
good clean water at Kaphira village. Thanks must go to Jean for all
the work that she has done with regard to this. We are also looking
forward to providing another well in the medium term future, this time
at Mambala village. Our reasons for doing these projects are that some
of the children in these areas have in recent years died because of
diarrhoea or even cholera. Tests on the water that they have been
using have shown that it is unfit for human use!! We are so thankful
that the finances for this next project are already available thanks
to the generosity of people in the UK.
Family News.
Julian and I will remain in France until the 18th December. The
weather has not been that good. We were shocked to wake up to snow at
the beginning of our trip. Temperatures of 2 degrees are not the
norm for us so it has been quite a contrast from Malawi which, at this
time of the year, may experience temperatures of 30-40 degrees. We
have enjoyed the autumn colours as we have walked through the French
countryside something we miss in Malawi.
Tom
and Nicky are both doing well. It’s amazing to think that Tom is about
half way through his course at Aberystwyth! Nicky is working hard at
her job and also in the process of choosing a university and relevant
course. On our return to England we
will meet up with both Tom and Nicky and will spend Christmas with
them. This will be our first Christmas together for 2 years and we are
very much looking forward to it.
Julian’s health has been good with no recurrence of the malaria –
thank you all for praying for him. Words cannot express the value we
place in your prayer support whether it is for us personally or to do
with the work – thank you for your faithfulness in this.
Teams to Malawi
We
have previously indicated that teams of men from churches in the UK
would be going to Malawi in order to assist our team of Malawians to
begin the feeding programmes for this hunger season. David and Phil
have just come back from Malawi after spending 10 days serving the
churches with distributing food, teaching the church members in
several villages and spending time with Jean and the Malawian team. We
thought that it might be interesting for you to read some of their
helpful reflections from their visit.
With their agreement we have copied a selection of their reports in
the following part of the letter, having added our own annotations to
explain what may not otherwise be so clear. The photos were taken by
them on that trip. We have been greatly encouraged by the willingness
of these two men to visit Malawi in our absence, and by the good
things that they are able to testify to – it shows that the work in
Malawi is clearly growing and maturing. Martin and Richard, who are
from the same church in the midlands as Phil and David, are leaving
for Malawi at the end of this month, and they are followed in January
by Brian and Rob, who are from a church in West Yorkshire. Thank you
each of you, and thanks are also due to their families who are willing
to allow their husbands/fathers to leave them in this way!
Reflections on Malawi
trip:
Phil: “During this visit we were
inevitably much closer to the three guys [Cameron, Charles and John]
than on previous visits. We shared prayer times and decisions as a
group of five. We ate with them. I am even more inspired by them.
Their personal faithfulness is a real example. Their unity is
formidable. As I know them more I can see their unique gifting yet I
can see how they have been chosen as a team. The more you know them
the more depth you can see. At the end of the week I really didn’t
want to leave. I was reminded of childhood holidays where I didn’t
want to go home. I will genuinely miss them. The bond of friendship is
much more than it might be for the limited time I have spent with
them. They feel like family. . .
(Smiles from L to R - John, Cameron, Charles)
I
am simply not capable of being in the villages and seeing what it
means to live on a dollar a day [most rural Malawians live on a lot
less than $1 a day] without being deeply troubled by the way my life
is as a norm
in UK. On one occasion we helped Charles collect a truck load of sugar
cane from
his dimba [vegetable garden]. He estimated that its value was about
600kw [less than £3]. Within hours of that we found ourselves at
Crossroads [a shopping mall in Lilongwe] buying ice creams that each
cost almost as much as the value of the entire load of sugar cane . .
. I began to wonder if the Lord was reminding me that I cannot serve
two masters. In Malawi I have learned to put my trust in the Lord and
to take each day as it comes.”
David: “From the moment we
approached the landing strip in Lilongwe, I felt a real sense of
peace, as if God were with us and protecting us, something helped no
doubt by the tidal wave of prayer coming from our families and friends
back home. It also became clear that God was often revealing himself
to Phil and me at the same time, specifically challenging us on our
lifestyles that we consider a norm in the UK. This culminated one
evening when I read the following passage in a book I had brought with
me: “If you want to be really challenged, why not try this? Walk
around your home, inside and out, structure and furnishings, and
prayerfully ask what Jesus, accompanied by an African Christian would
make of each area”. This made me feel very uncomfortable!
Witnessing how people live in Malawi, I was particularly challenged
that we have an obligation to use the wealth that God has given us
wisely and in the promotion of God’s kingdom on earth. I think it is
no coincidence that as the week went on Phil and I lost our appetite
for the “ex-pat” restaurants, preferring a simple meal prepared and
shared with our Christian brother, John.
The
time spent with John, Charles and Cameron was a real encouragement to
me and I feel a bond of friendship with them, brought about through
our shared belief in Jesus, which far exceeds that which should exist
after such a short period spent with them. Quite simply their
uncomplicated faithfulness, their unity of purpose, the witness of
their transformed lives and the gifts of the Spirit they possess, were
an inspiration to me. It was with great reluctance that I left them at
the end of the week. I believe that they also appreciated the
acceptance, fellowship and encouragement that they received from us.”
John and Betha
