See Larry's Faith Promise Sermon:

http://vimeo.com/59421461

Faith Promise 2013

Just in case you have never heard of Faith Promise, it is an annual missions emphasis that gives people a chance to be faithful to the Great Commission. Many churches give to missions out of their general budget. Some churches give to missions from a separate missions fund. At First Christian Church of Seminole, each year we focus on missions during the month of February. On February 10th, we kicked it off with a sermon from Larry. Larry's assignment was to inspire the congregation to give towards missions (separate from their regular giving) and inspire them to pray for missionaries. Commitment cards are distributed and each family is encouraged to give out of their faith, trusting God to provide not only for the offering they want to give, but to provide for their financial needs in the coming year. It is impossible to out-give God. We are a prime example of that. Even in giving up the lifestyle we had before becoming missionaries, God has given us back a much richer existence than we could ever have imagined. We can not give up anything, and not see Him multiply whatever we give up!

Happy New Year 2013!!

We haven't posted in a while, but if you follow our blog, we wanted to say "Happy New Year!" Thank you for your prayers and financial gifts that have made the world of difference in our lives and those we serve in Malawi. We have been on furlough in the USA since September 11, 2012. Our time has been too short, but we have savored every minute. It is almost time to return and we anticipate a happy reunion with our son, Andy and our friends and co-workers in Malawi. It will be a tearful time when we leave our family here. That is what missionary life is about sometimes - lots of tearful good-byes and excited adventures ahead. It makes for a rich, never dull life.

Our time to return will be around the first week of March. We would appreciate your prayers for grace and peace and God's provision as we return. We hope you received our newsletter in the mail towards the end of the year. If you did not receive one, please email us at mrenfro@nmsi.org and give us your email address.

First CHE Training Completed

Our CHE Training Team

We are so excited about what God is doing in our ministry. For months we have been praying for what we believed was the next step in our ministry strategy. Community Health Evangelism is a development tool that is used to develop people thus causing development of communities. We were so blessed that this past week we hosted the trainers from South Africa who represent the Medical Ambassador's program.

Andy presenting our team project in training

Please pray for us as we put together our CHE project and watch God work. Please pray for Chifundo, Charles, Andy M. and Rita as they work this project into their schedules. Also pray for Larry, Mandy and Andy R. as we see our roles clearly and support the team as they train others.

A New Era Is Born In Malawi

A few months ago, we sent out a request for prayers for Malawi, specifically that Malawians would receive hope from God. They had been experiencing a sense of hopelessness as their government had become extremely corrupt. Crime was increasing along with the prices of the bare necessities of life. Fuel was scarce and foreigners who came to Malawi to help them were being forced to return to their home countries. The president of Malawi had shunned and insulted donors from the US and the UK. Foreign aid provided 40% of Malawi's operating budget. It has all been suspended. Judges were on strike because they weren't getting paid and the jails were becoming overcrowded because criminals couldn't be processed. The hopelessness was evident in so many ways.

On April 5, news was circulating that the Malawi's president, Bingu wa Mutharika was dead. He had been taken to the main hospital in Lilongwe, but due to the shortages in medicines, there was no medicine to help him. The president's cabinet tried to prevent that news from getting out because there had been a rift between the president and the vice president over a year ago. The president tried to fire the VP, but was prevented from doing so by the constitution. So the cabinet members worked diligently to no avail to try to prevent the VP from taking office. Finally two days later, they announced the president had died and Joyce Banda, the Vice President was sworn in as Malawi's new president.

Malawian's are hopeful that Mrs. Banda will be able to put Malawi back on her feet. She has said that renewing relationships with donors is one of her most important tasks. There is a lot of weight on her shoulders and Malawians have high expectations.

Please keep Malawi and the new president in your prayers. We feel as if there is now so much hope and a new era has been born.