2009 IN REVIEW

In March 2010, we will celebrate the 5-year anniversary of our ministry in Malawi. One of our most memorable, spiritually renewing and most stressful years was 2009. During this past year God has brought us out of some tough situations and we've seen His mighty hand at work. Our commitment to ministry in Malawi was tested and shaken, but through many miracles, God reconfirmed over and over again that He intends to use us here for a while longer. Here are just a few examples of how we have been humbly used and blessed:

In January and February, we were privileged to complete our famine relief project. Despite many stressful challenges, over 40 tons of maize and beans were delivered to 131 families for six months; most of them lead by a mother, father and/or grandparent suffering with AIDS. It is estimated that in Malawi about 14% of the population has HIV/AIDS. In our hearts, we can't think of a more horrifying death than that of dying without the hope of Christ. This famine relief distribution gave us the opportunity to present the Gospel to the families receiving the food. Not only during this time, but about 200 people attend the Bible studies we have set up in three central villages. People travel many kilometers to attend these Bible studies and they are constantly asking us to start more study groups in other villages farther away.

The rains in Malawi were sufficient and we anticipated that it would be a good time for us to take a short break to travel back to the US for the birth of our daughter’s first baby that was due in August. A one-month break was planned. The Lord had a different plan as we soon discovered.

We took a trip to Johannesburg in February for a follow-up doctor's appointment with Mandy's cardiologist. He gave us good news as it seems the medicines are working and he could find no heart damage from the two heart attacks that she has had. We had been considering many options, but we praise God with our thankful hearts for hearing our prayers. There is no need for us to move closer to better medical facilities and we can continue to serve in Malawi.

March, April and May were busy months as we prepared for the intern team that was scheduled for June. Some special donations allowed us to finish construction on the new kitchen, storage room and shelter for our orphan program.

One of the highlights for us this year was hosting an intern team during the month of June. Three young people were trained by NMSI and joined our ministry for five weeks. During the short time they were with us, we led five HIV seminars, a youth retreat and an orphan VBS, visited three churches, and showed the Jesus Film twice. It was a full and fabulous month for ministry and we are so thankful to have been involved in something really wonderful and exciting. Many people were touched with the love of Christ and the message of hope.

Possibly the greatest lesson this year from the Lord is that nothing is impossible. In the Bible, God used blind men, a talking donkey, brought men out of a fiery furnace unsigned, and used a big fish to teach a lesson. God used a blind man to teach us about trusting Him. For two years, we have prayed for a pastor for our village church. All along, there was a blind man who remained faithful through some tough times of testing and persecution. One day we discovered that for years, he has been studying to be a “certified” pastor. This was another treasure from God that we can not wait to see more of His mighty work in this village.

In the midst of exciting, full days and restful, but short nights, we planned for our month-long trip to be with our daughter during the delivery of her first child. The baby was due August 15 so we planned to travel around the 10^th of August. Although we’d been saving for many months, we discovered the money saved was way short of the amount needed to travel. After reviewing our ministry finances, we found we also lacked the money to pay the rent on our house in Malawi. For months, our ministry funds had been dwindling and our ministry activities were being cut back. The future seemed dim for continuing to stay in Malawi. Our field advisor suggested we take a six-month furlough to raise the needed funds to continue ministry in Malawi. We asked a few of our closest prayer supporters to pray with us during this time and we received an email from some friends who said they’d cover our trip back to the states. Evan James Hayes made his entrance into the world early, on July 27. We missed the blessed event, but were thankful that we were there a few days after they left the hospital.

After purchasing our tickets, we didn’t know quite how we’d manage to keep the ministry running while we left everything in the capable hands of Pastor Dimba. We advertised our house for rent “as is” and within one day, we had someone who wanted to rent it until the end of January. American missionaries living in Zambia were looking to relocate to Lilongwe. This family of four (with a baby on the way) fit perfectly with our compound. God perfectly met the needs of all of us. The renter paid for five months in advance which in turn paid our rent for 6 more months and covered our workers pay. We were able to rent out our truck and our guest house to another short-term visitor which covered our ministry expenses while we are away. We were amazed how God brought this impossible situation together for His glory.

None of this would be possible except by God’s calling of others to come together through giving and praying. We are so thankful to be involved in something so wonderful and overwhelming; we lack the words to express it. We all are God’s hands and feet as we go and touch people who are desperate for His Love and Grace. Please consider this year how you can have a part of this exciting work either by giving, praying intentionally, or coming to experience it through a mission trip. You will never be the same again.

An Awesome Answer to Prayer!

Recently we have been communicating with a friend from Crossville, Tennessee who expressed interest in well projects in Malawi. The need for water is overwhelming, but little by little we have been making a difference with our current resources and time. But when Gary Ouverson contacted us and told us he wanted to work to get us a well-drilling machine, we thought it was too good to be true. Several months ago, this dream of ours became a reality as he emailed us that he had purchased the "rig" and he reported it was sitting in his drive-way in Tennessee. Imagine our elation when we saw the pictures and he even took the time to research which drill bits we'd need to drill through granite rock!

That said, we are excited about how God will get this rig to Malawi. If you would like to help, please send checks made out to New Mission Systems International (Renfro Well-drilling Rig in the subject line) to NMSI, PO Box 547, Fort Myers, FL 33902 or give online: www.nmsi.org/donate and choose Renfro ministry.

Evan James Hayes arrived on July 27, 2009

What a little doll! We love him so much!

EVAN!

We've been having a good time with Evan (and our daughter and son-in-law) in Kissimmee Florida. He's one month old and has already gained over 2 lbs. and growing like a weed.

Evan - one month old

Interns!!

During the month of June, we hosted an intern team from NMSI. They came to Malawi to work along side of us in our HIV ministry. Together, we led 5 seminars, a youth retreat and an orphan VBS, showed the Jesus Film twice, spoke in 2 churches and attended 3, experienced 2 safaris and visited Lake Malawi. The interns also visited an AIDS clinic and an orphan crisis nursery. This is a quick introduction and some pictures of them playing and teaching in the villages.

Michael Krepps is an NMSI missionary who has recently returned to Colorado Christian University to study. He was the leader of this HIVHope internship.

Sara Wissmann is from St. Louis, MO and is a third-year Health Education student at Truman State University.

Darcie Volkens is a 2009 graduate of Coe College in Iowa with a degree in nursing.

Sara, Mandy and Darcie learning how to do the head wrap.




Darcie and Sara teaching a Bible lesson to over 100 orphans.

"..thanks to Almighty God, you have saved my life.."

Yesterday a testimony was posted to this blog. But after typing the rest of the testimonies to preserve them for later use, we found this one that just made our hearts soar! We are so grateful to IDES (www.ides.org) for their assistance. It was our vision to save the lives of these people who are dying everyday due to AIDS and it happened with the help of IDES. We are also grateful for our faithful Malawian Bible study leaders who work very hard to present a lesson and a give a hot meal to the people that come to learn.

Here is another testimony:

Greetings in the wonderful Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you are fine.

The aim of writing this letter is to give you my testimony on how the Bible study has transformed my life. Before joining the Bible study group, I was confronted with many challenges from the time the doctors diagnosed that I am HIV positive. In fact, I was very miserable, and worries and anxiety were the food of my thoughts. I could no longer sleep at night. As time went by, I heard that at Zambezi Evangelical church they had established the Bible study whereby I was eager to join them. Once I joined the group, all my worries and fear have gone off because of God’s Word which we learned at the center. God’s Word encouraged us not to fear or worry but trust God Almighty who is the Creator of all things. In fact, I have learned many things and behave in a right way through the Bible study like preaching, praying, memorizing verses and many more.

I would also like to thank you for the assistance of maize and beans given to us over the past six months during the hunger season which it has helped my family a lot. As a matter of fact, I’m an HIV positive person and I’m on ARV drugs. Without your support I could have died last year during the hunger season. But thanks to Almighty God, you have saved my life and also it has helped me to cultivate my field without any difficulties because I had something to eat at home to give me strength and energy.

Lastly, I will continue to pray for you that the Bible study group should not be abolished and also God continue to guide you.

Enita Chilemba
Mvera Bible study Group

Testimony of Love

Recently we received some testimonies from villagers we have helped. What a blessing! Here is one of them:

I would like to thank you for your assistance of maize and beans for the past months. Before I joined the Bible study, I was preoccupied with worries and anxieties about my relatives who discriminated against me. This led me to have no peace of mind. All my friends and relatives deserted me and they could not render any kind of assistance in whatever the problem I was confronted with just because I was HIV positive. As if it was not unbearable, they told my own children not to talk, touch or eat with me that they will contact AIDS. In fact, my children were very arrogant to manage a household. I wept bitterly to God about my own children who have revolted against me. But thank God, when I heard about the Bible study, I went there and joined the group whereby they taught about love, prayer, forgiveness, perseverance, etc.

Therefore, what I have learned I discussed with my children the spiritual things. Then after discussion, they sought forgiveness from me that they did not know what they were doing. As I continued to attend the Bible study, we learned how to love one another because Jesus Christ first loved us. Then I also taught my children how to love one another. I have also committed my sinful life to Jesus Christ and all my worries and anxieties I have casted into His bosom.

When I have wronged somebody, I sought forgiveness from them as well as from God. My children and I are very thankful to God for your assistance you rendered to us both physically and spiritually. For the first time, we have never gone without food during the hunger season this year which was different in the past. It was normal to go without food for several days during the hunger season.
May God bless you,
Aliness Bwanali

An Unexpected Blessing

One Sunday in April we visited the litte church in Mphanda Village. The service was sort of solemn and lifeless. The singing was not lively as it has been in the past, but when Larry preached they were all attentive and laughed when he joked with them and even clapped a few times. During his sermon, some visitors walked in and sat down. After the preaching we expected to partake of the Lord's Supper and there was no communion prepared. The church leader asked for the choir to stand up and sing. There was no choir. After asking a few more times, the women began rustling and talking amongst themselves seeing who would get up and sing. Then the visitors went outside and got some instruments and brought them to the front and began playing and singing. It was so beautiful....reminded us of a hillbilly band with home-made instruments. The guitars were made with metal gas cans for the box part and a carved stick for the neck. Two of them had 3 strings and one had 4. The bass was a large stringed instrument with 2 strings and the box part doubled as a bass drum. We were so blessed. These men visit other churches and bless them with their music. Their music was a blessing and we were amazed at the quality.

Please keep this congregation in your prayers. One of the church leaders lost a child a few weeks ago. That along with some other issues is really weighing heavy on their hearts. Larry will begin next week to go out and spend time with the leaders, hearing their needs and teaching them. As always, we also need prayer when we go out because we are really "piercing the darkness" in our work in that village.

The harvest begins...

Although the maize (the staple food) isn't ready for harvesting yet, Malawians are beginning to enjoy the first fruits of their labor. March 24th was our last famine relief delivery. One very generous lady was so grateful for the maize she received for her family during the famine that she gave a thank-you gift and inspired the entire group to also give a gift. The group has invited us to return on Tuesday, March 31 to receive the gift of gratitude.

.....receiving more gifts!

We received over 20 pumpkins from the villagers as their thank you gift for the maize they received during the famine. These ladies loaded the pumpkins in the back seat of our car. Pumpkins in Africa are more like squash than the orange pumpkins grown in the USA. We enjoy them just the same as the orange ones - with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon or in pie, muffins, cakes, and pancakes. What a yummy gift!

What a sweetheart!

This one is really special! HIV positive and growing strong and more beautiful each day. She is three years old now.

One of the things we love....

One of the highlights of any visit to the village is the beautiful reception we receive from the children. This little girl wouldn't leave Mandy alone until she picked her up for a hug. Even while she was speaking, Mandy was distracted by this little one tugging at her skirt. What a joy to have a hug and a smile from Gilberta.

Preparing 160 Bags of Maize

All the maize we received had to be put into 50 kg bags. Most of the bags it came in were holey and maize spilled out onto the concrete in our driveway. Mandy started sewing up (by hand) each of the finished bags together at the top so the bags would hold all the maize.

God's Beautiful Provision

One of our most frustrating issues has been in our dealings with maize suppliers. Many of them have proven to be dishonest and don't like dealing with foreigners. Finally the Lord put us in touch with a good supplier who sold us over 10 tons of maize and delivered it and unloaded it all for a good price. We were overwhelmed by the amount of work that had to be completed before we could deliver it within two days. As we dove in and tried to get it done, the Lord also provided eight more workers (via a good friend of ours) who helped us complete putting the maize into 160 bags of 50 kg. It was amazing to see how it was all accomplished by the Lord's mighty hand. The people were so grateful that they could feed their families for another month.

God is so good!

Doctor's Appointment in Jo'burg

God has a sense of humor and His blessings come hidden in tragedy. We sometimes have to see a broken heart (heart problems) as a way of drawing closer to Him and when we do, we find there are blessings waiting.

Three months ago, Mandy experienced severe chest pains after a hard, hot day in the village. After being flown to Johannesburg South Africa by air ambulance, a cardiologist found that she had an artery that was 99% clogged and inserted two stents.

She's had a long recovery, and we flew back to Jo'burg for a follow up appointment on February 3. The doctor did a stress test and an ultrasound and said her heart is fine, but the only problem seems to be that her blood clots and the clots get caught in her heart. As long as she stays on the medicine (not found in Malawi) she should be fine. We stocked up on the meds and we're praying that there will be no problems with getting the insurance company to pay for them.

We decided to spend a few days resting and shopping (and visiting friends in Mozambique) for about 10 days and then flew back to Malawi on February 13. The break was the most needed break we've ever taken and we have seen the blessings in the tragedy.

Preaching in Mozambique

Time with special friends

We took a side trip after Mandy's doctor appointment and rode about 8 hours by Greyhound bus to Maputo Mozambique and visited friends, Don and Aleta and Zac Hulsey. It was a good time of sharing and encouraging each other. Larry enjoyed preaching at Don's church and his sermon was translated into Portuguese and Shangaan.

Larry tried to speak Chichewa to the nationals, but none of them understood. Northern Mozambique is close enough to Malawi that the nationals there speak Chichewa, but these southerners speak Portuguese and Shangaan. But we also visited another friend in Maputo. Jamene Sangulakula, formerly from Malawi, works for World relief. He understood Larry's Chichewa and we also enjoyed our time with Jamene.

In the picture, Jamene is cooking a favorite Malawian breakfast, maize porriage. It was really yummy.

Kitchen is almost complete!

Many challenges have slowed the progress of our orphan kitchen and storage building, but we are excited that the roof is almost ready to be added. Soon the cooks will have shelter to cook and serve the food for the orphans. The storage room on the right side will be perfect for keeping all the cooking equipment, etc.

Good News.......Bad News

The good news is that we are now able to feed our 150 orphans three times a week. The vision began early in our ministry as we had the overwhelming task of overseeing the needs of an enormous number of orphans in over 20 villages. Now, the number of villages has grown to 33 and still growing. Although at the time, we could only help 200, the number of orphans we care for remains the same or less. One of the challenges in meeting the needs of these kids is that they move a lot. A relative far away might decide to take them in. So, in that way, it is a good problem that our number has decreased from 200 to 150.

The bad news is that the thatch shelter collapsed last week during a heavy storm. The village chiefs built this reasonably strong shelter to shade the orphans from the scorching sun and protect them from the drenching rains while they are learning or eating. The children were learning and waiting for their meal when the storm hit this past Thursday (1/22) that caused the shelter to cave in. A few of them had some minor injuries. Our next building project is a permanent learning center/cafeteria for the kids, but we have to wait for the funding and time for the workers to build it. One side of the shelter that collapsed was the room for teaching and the other half is where the ladies cooked the food. The cooks have been anxiously awaiting a kitchen that is almost complete (see above).