Here is an update from Dave from his recent trip:
I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Malawi and Mozambique, a 2 week trip.
Let me give you an update on both countries :
MALAWI first :
At Hilltop all is going along fine. Foster and Emily are well, although Foster is growing older (getting very white on top like some of us) :) Eric is doing so much better which is wonderful. Evance (Foster’s son) is also getting stronger. Henry and Felix are well, as is George, Dayton and Feston. Enoch is busy writing exams to complete his schooling and thinks he is doing well in the finals :) Chikondi starts her Business Management course next month, so she is very excited !
The piggery is doing well. We currently have 25 females for breeding and 2 boars. We have 21 piglets and over 20 pigs that we should be able to sell in the next few months.
Maize Harvests were very small this year due to the floods and drought thereafter. Most folk harvested about a third of what they had originally expected. Our > 50 partners only contributed 32 bags of maize to Hilltop this season which shows you how little some folk harvested (we normally get at least 100 bags). Emily, our top farmer, who got 320 bags last year only managed 95 bags this season. Most of the folk got between 4 and 20 bags. Shame, this is a disaster for our friends. Country wide harvests have been even worse and BIG trouble looms later this year in Malawi as food runs out. We have stockpiled some maize to sell later (to fund our wages) and to assist down in the valley.
I encountered buckets of honey in the stores on my arrival :) This was wonderful to see and Foster was very proud of the whole process. We have 70 - 80 liters of really tasty honey (i loved eating the combs) and Foster will be bottling it for sale at local markets over the next few weeks. He has made a Hilltop label too :)
We enjoyed only one gathering with the Hilltop simple church due to our schedule and it was a really good meeting at which Noel taught. Lots of joy there !
The house is looking nice too. The kitchen area / ladies loo wall damp seems to be solved and the area has been re painted and looks great, as does the ladies room and bathroom, and windows etc. All looking smart and clean :) We have 4 very nice suitcase stands now for visitors and the cupboards and displays are looking nice too.
Down in the valley at the conference we encountered a packed out hall and wonderful representation of leaders from the 3 districts involved. The Mozambican exec appointed district leaders in April and things appear to be coming together nicely. According to reports I received there were 69 churches represented at the conference, which means that some new churches have been established and some churches that had left over the last few years have returned as well. With valley Frank being so sick the last few years things had started to unravel with some divisions and power struggles but there are good signs that unity has returned. Noel taught from the book of Colossians and his input was very well received. The folk left encouraged and keen to implement what was taught. They also took 80 Bibles back to the churches and 100 copies of the conference notes in booklet form, to enable this knowledge to reach far and wide within the churches. Adult literacy materials were also distributed at the end of the conference. These mini schools have really taken off with 18 literacy schools now registered with Foster and we have 41 volunteer teachers handling the scores of students. We are expecting more adult literacy schools to be established as one of the districts has not yet launched its efforts in this area.
I was able to meet with some of the Moringa garden co-ordinators and Foster is continuing to encourage as many folk as possible to establish Moringa gardens in as many centres as possible. This is an ongoing story. I received reports with further info of the destruction and loss of life caused by the floods. Thyolo and Chikwawa districts now have 234 orphans within their churches. There are reports of flood damage and/or destruction of 66 church buildings. Come the end of year and early 2016 there will be great hunger and challenges in the valley.
MOZAMBIQUE :
Noel and I spent a week in Mozambique at the Bible school (23 students) and visiting several districts with leadership to encourage the churches. Unfortunately the planned annual conference in Quelimane had to be cancelled due to no water supply from the municipality (unable to host hundreds of people from afar without water). It was this conference time that we used to visit the districts.
Both Noel and I taught in the Bible school and we had a wonderful time with the students. Noel did the mornings and I did most afternoons. The students brought all their questions (re the Bible and the ministry) for Noel to answer and I dealt with practical poverty and planning issues in the afternoons, breaking the students into competing groups for exercises and application of knowledge. We had a lot of fun and good learning.
Noel also preached at the 3 church meetings at Quelimane, Nicoadala and Namacurra. Folk came from far and wide (outlying churches sent through some representation too) and we had good meetings and joyful times together. At Namacurra we were fortunate enough to be part of a baby dedication too :) Noel worked tirelessly teaching the folk at the different venues and he was very well received. Noel is held in such high regard in both Malawi and Mozambique !
When in Mozambique I was able to have several planning and report sessions with the exec and much was achieved during these times.
Conclusion :
This mid-year trip went off really well. I was encouraged by the progress in the churches, in the literacy schools, in the Moringa gardens and at Hilltop. I am concerned with some of the challenges we face in the valley with the orphans.
Dave
No comments:
Post a Comment