Hope in practical ways

Joseph & Given are helping people do something amazing in Malawi! Joseph tells their story here.

I have been assisting locals to use the Village Journey resource and become missionaries to those around them.

I have seen encouraging growth in Mkakatavu’s Life Groups. Six of them, mostly made up of women, have been established. These groups are growing in faith and number but are currently faced with a serious problem: a drought has left the maize crop scorched – and maize is central to the local diet. Without it, people have been forced to seek piecework, and to combine their meagre earnings to buy processed maize flour for their families. This is not a sustainable solution, and the members of these groups and I are praying for God to intervene.

As we have studied Village Journey we have shared ideas about how we can meet the challenges presented by the failed crops and help people to grow as Christians. Within this, we discussed how best to use the groups’ skills, time, and money.

The Mkakatavu Life Group I established in Malapula village meet regularly to study the Bible.

Alongside their Bible study classes, the group has been meeting their village’s practical needs. Recently, they have helped the community repair malfunctioning water pumps and thus provide fresh drinking water. A gentleman in the group knew how to mend pumps so when they looked at how to love their community, he shared his expertise with them. Although the funds currently available aren’t enough to fix all the wells, the people in the group do what they can to meet the needs of their fellow villagers. In so doing, they take the Lord to the neighbourhood.

The women of the Mkakatavu group also cooperate in teaching their community how to make mudstone. Using it as fuel for cooking mitigates the impact of cutting down trees for firewood, and less time spent fetching firewood means more time for the Life Group’s Bible study.

In these ways, the groups learn to follow the Lord and bring Him to the neighbourhood. Please pray that their growth as Christians and the ways they serve their communities will continue to be blessed. We know that everything is possible with God.