Community Health Evangelism (CHE)

Take a look at the new program we are working towards implementing into our ministry in Malawi. It's called Community Health Evangelism (CHE) and we are so excited about it. Soon, we will be training to be trainers for this program and we will then train others to train others. That is how CHE is multiplied.....and the Gospel is multiplied. CHE is an evangelism and development tool.

You can read more about it on the Global CHE website: click here - http://www.chenetwork.org/whatische.php

Here's a quick description: "Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is a proven strategy being used worldwide by more than 400 Christian ministries and organizations. CHE addresses the root causes of poverty, disease, and spiritual darkness by training local leaders to share the gospel and mobilize community action. Communities learn to prevent disease, enhance agriculture, and generate enterprise. Local leaders gain capacity to implement sustainable solutions utilizing local resources and appropriate technologies."

We will be reporting on our progress periodically. CHE is a slow process sometimes and we appreciate prayers for patience.

Sweet smiles - thankful hearts!

These girls were the first to receive new uniforms. As you can see, they were all smiles. Most of the girls do not get new clothes very often so this was not only a gift that would allow them to attend school, but a beautiful new dress that they can show off to all of their village.


They were so proud and happy. We look forward to hearing news of their progress in school.

Orphan Youth Camp 2011

With the Lord's perfect timing and setup, we were able to put together a youth camp this year. Mandy had been corresponding with people from True Love Waits and has been praying for a presentation for the youth in our orphan program. We were so excited that two young ladies who have been trained to do youth seminars and followup Bible studies came to Malawi. It was such a privilege that we could have them at our youth retreat.
Kelley Barrow and Emily Douglas are from South Carolina and have been studying at the University of South Carolina. They are spending their summer in Malawi teaching True Love Waits and have become very busy walking through the doors the Lord has been opening for them.




The illustrations and interactions were very applicable for the Malawian youth. They loved the participation. The sessions really helped them to think not only about their decision to commit to purity and abstinence, but also with their commitment to Jesus.







The camp included an overnight stay and the kids stayed up most of the night singing and talking. Even after the long night, the youth were so attentive to the teaching on love, sex and marriage.







Andy was the "Game Guy" and there were some really hilarious and fun games.

The youth were strongly urged not to take the commitment lightly and to
seriously think about their decision. Of 35 youth, 17 signed commitment cards. The rest of the kids may decide to sign the commitment cards after they attend the follow-up Bible studies for the next 10 weeks.

What an awesome work of God!

Andy's Visit

During the month of May, God gave us a wonderful gift! Our son Andy came to visit us The time has been way too short, but more than exceeded our expectations. It has been such a joy to see God moving in Andy's heart about Malawi that started many months ago and then we have seen Him begin to orchestrate this visit with more teachings for Andy. Here is a brief description of our adventures during his visit.





The kids at Mphanda village gave Andy a warm welcome as he visited the church that first Sunday. We worshiped with the small congregation and Larry preached.








Andy's first Malawian meal was nsima, cooked cabbage with onion and tomato, and hard-boiled eggs. Malawians rarely eat eggs for breakfast, but mostly as a main dish for lunch or dinner.

Andy assisted with digging a well. Here, they are preparing the drainage holes for what comes out of the bore hole.
















They attach the drill bit for cutting into the ground.








As the drilling continues the water and dirt that is coming out has to be inspected for small bits of rock.



Andy and Mandy visited one of Lilongwe's parks where we saw many monkeys, baboons, a lion, leopard, python, and crocodiles. The river running through it was so beautiful.

The kids at the orphan care site loved Andy and he loved them. It's so amazing to see how he fit into our ministry. He will leave on June 13. We are praying for Andy's future. Please join us.

Harvesting and Processing Moringa

One of the fun things about our job as missionaries is seeing the wonderful things around us that God has provided Africa (as well as many other developing countries). The one that we are focusing on at the moment is the Moringa tree. From one seed that we planted about three years ago, we have planted now about 50 more trees. The entire tree is edible by humans and livestock and is highly nutritious. Just as an example, Moringa fresh leaves have:
7 times the Vitamin C of Oranges
4 times the Calcium of Milk
3 times the Potassium of Bananas
2 times the Protein of Yogurt
4 times the Vitamin A of Carrots

Dried leaves (gram for gram) contain:
10 times the Vitamin A of Carrots
1/2 the Vitamin C or Oranges (vitamin C loses its potency with the processing)
17 times the calcium of milk
15 times the potassium of bananas
25 times the iron of spinach
9 times the protein of yogurt

But there is so much more! God has provided this wonder tree to prevent and treat malnutrition. It provides so many vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, we are now using it instead of our expensive vitamins that we get from the US.

Starting with our workers, we are trying to introduce this nutrition with those we know within our scope of ministry. We have no capsules to use for distributing the powder, but we are adding it to foods we normally eat. Moringa powder has very little taste, so it works well with mixing it with our food.
We strip the leaves off the tree (they are pretty small). Then we dry them in an empty room free from dust and pests. They dry for about 2 or 3 days. After that we pick through to remove stems and discolored leaves.

We use an attachment that came with our blender to grind the leaves into powder. It is small so it can take an entire day to process this way. Hopefully we will find better ways to do this processing. Since Malawians don't have this machine, it will be better for us to use methods they would use to teach them.

Then the powder has to be sifted to remove pieces of the stems, etc. that didn't grind. This produces a fine powder that is rich and green in color. One grocery-sized bag of leaves produced only three snack-sized bags of the powder. One of these small bags would provide an average healthy adult with nutrition for a few weeks.

This tree can cure malnutrition and many diseases. The seeds can be used to purify water and oil can be extracted for many uses. For more about moringa, click on this link: http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/moringa-tree.

One of the Most Beautiful Places in the World!

We were so blessed to be able to take a short vacation in January to Victoria Falls in Zambia. It is considered the "largest curtain of water" in the world. The majestic falls is 1708 meters (a little over 1 mile).

Victoria Falls is on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Due to visa constraints, we stayed on the Zambia side, but were able to see a different view just before the Zimbabwe border from the bridge going across the gorge and the beautiful Zambezi river below.



It was so beautiful. We saw a full-circle rainbow as we looked down on the river.








In the park, the spray from the falls was very overwhelming - like a heavy rain. But on the bridge it was easier to see the beauty of it all. What an awesome Creator we serve. He has made this beautiful masterpiece for us to enjoy. It is a sight not to be missed when you are in Africa! It is a 2-day drive from Lilongwe and the landscape and good roads in between make it a very enjoyable trip.