Tuesday, May 19, 2009

"..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

Monday, May 18, 2009

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