Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. I (Jo) have been struck by how many are clearly lost, not sure what to do, how to continue, where to turn.
| Rose has been coming here daily to get a bottle of milk, plus oil, plus sugar (as many calories as I can cram into a bottle) for her baby who was near death. She may have AIDS and her baby, Lucia, is tiny. In five days, both mother and baby look different. Rose came looking for help – anything I could give her. Magdalena is grandma to two little boys who are only about nine months apart, one of whom is always crying (They live just on the other side of our fence so we hear him every night). The children’s mother has been sick, and Magdalena always carries a baby on her back and came, needing medicine. Nduzen helps me with my laundry. She is a single mother of two, and almost danced for joy when I gave her a gift from the Browns for the extra laundry. These are some of my neighbours. The best help I can give is to help each of these lost ones find Jesus. The hard part for me is how to get out of the way, so that they see Jesus, not me. |
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Life here is full of challenges – it is good to be here because God brought us to this place and He has a plan and purpose for us being here, but it is not easy. Everyday we are surrounded by those who are suffering. Many people here are very hungry – in fact some are literally starving because of the current food shortage. We are doing the best we can to give food to those who are hungry. Yet in the midst of all this suffering, the Lord is near and doing some amazing things. People are very ‘hungry’ for God, longing to be found. Everywhere we go people respond to the Gospel and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Whether it is scorching hot or pouring rain, people come to hear the Good news and then kneel on the dirt ground to receive the grace that comes from our Saviour, Jesus. It is exciting to be in the middle of revival. We have seen God’s glory through miracles as well. Recently at the Bible school I (Mo) had twelve pastors come to me complaining of back pain so I gathered a couple other teachers and we prayed. All of them were instantly healed. Another pastor had sores in his mouth – they disappeared. One pastor had a hearing problem – the Lord healed his tears. It was the most amazing thing. Last night we graduated our second group of pastors. As we anointed them with oil and prayed for each one individually, the Holy Spirit came upon them with power (just as we read about in the book of Acts chapter 2) preparing them for ministry back in their home villages. The Lord is awesome! He is teaching us to depend on Him more and more for everything. Jesus is all we want – He is all we need. |
| How long would you wait in line for food at the supermarket? What if what you received was only dried corn? Last month we were able to find food just in time for the 750 families who came to us desperate on the 15th of March. These are the precious forgotten ones – the crippled, blind, widowed, elderly and orphaned people of the area who suffer greatly, especially during this time. We gave away everything we had and yet still more came with similar stories that they had not eaten in days. Many people here are eating grass seed, lily bulbs from the crocodile infested river, the husk of corn – whatever they can find to take away the hunger pains. | |
| This suffering is not just here in the lower Shire but spread throughout the country. In our search for food for the ministry, we usually begin with the government food distribution centre in Blantyre where we can purchase maize at a reasonable price. However, during the last three weeks we have not been able to get a single bag. Instead, what we witness are people (mostly women and children) lined up for two days at the government depots, sleeping in their spot in line, surrounded by heavily armed guards to keep the peace, just to get a meager 10kgs of maize. These are the fortunate ones. Most, like ourselves are turned away. Through further investigation, we have found maize and will hopefully be receiving two truck loads this week. |
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We pay premium for it but at least it will help to comfort those who are so hungry. We hope to see an end to this suffering soon. However the maize in the fields will not be mature for another 4-6 weeks. Fields are dry and maize stocks wilting and scorched by the intense heat of the sun. We desperately need more rain. Please pray! “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19). |
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Yet I will be joyful in God! We have a friend who is always smiling – his name is Tobias. He introduced me to his new baby and smiling wife, and said, ‘Aren’t I lucky?’ He grinned. He is a tailor, and asked me if I could show him how to cut out patterns (after Mo told him that I too am a tailor, which is a bit of a stretch!). He is a wonderful guy, and now he is especially happy, because we were able to restore his 1992 wheelchair which until recently had warped wheels, worn sprockets and damaged hubs. He had polio as a child, and gets around on a wheelchair with bike pedals for propulsion. He doesn’t complain. He is a child of God and he knows he is found. Found in good company. We have been so encouraged by our visitors. First, back in November we had Guy Chevreau who taught at the school and preached at our outreaches speaking of the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’. Then, we had Joanna’s parents stay with us in December which helped bridge the gap of being away from family and friends during our first Christmas in Africa. |
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| In February, Jeff Hageman arrived to help us develop infrastructure plans for the Bible school and do some fine tuning on the Pinzgauer trucks. Then Richard & Moira Brown and their two children Katherine and Davey spent a week of their African tour with us and shot some video to show “God at work in Africa” on the Canadian Crossroads television station this spring (watch for it on 100 Huntley sometime in May). We look forward to Paul Craig and his team who will arrive at the end of April to begin the construction of our home. We are also thankful for Marie and Lauren MacNeil who will be coming at the same time as Paul Craig, to minister to us, help Jo with the schooling, and help us in our daily ministry to our neighbours, and others Jesus brings to our gate. |
Our friends (from left to right) Jeff Hageman, Moira and Richard Brown. On the roof with Patrick and Daniel are Katherine and Davey Brown. |
We know that not all are able to come and visit and recognize the invaluable role served by many behind the scenes. Thank you to all who are partnering with us through prayer and support. We are so thankful and receive your love. We are so happy when we get your emails updating us on your lives back in Canada – keep writing! |
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“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost (Matthew18:12-14).”
With much love, Joanna & David |
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