Hope Msisions Newsletter 2015: issue 2

Annie Mkandawire
Project Director

Supporting Us...

At Hope Missions Ministries we rely on the support of kind individuals and donors such as you. We very much value your partnership in our work. For more information on how to support us further please click here.

Praying With Us...

We thank God for some answered prayer regarding suitable office space for the HM team. We are blessed to have received a donation from Nailsea Baptist church to enable us to begin construction of a simple one-room block to give the team a base. This will provide an interim solution until God provides us with a longer-term headquarters. Please pray for a successful, efficient and cost-effective building process. We look forward to reporting more on this soon.

For the provision of funds to employ an Administrator who can assist with both finances and our communications

For the food security situation in Malawi in general. Crops across the country suffered greatly at the beginning of the year due to storms and heavy flooding, and the harvests have generally been poor. This leaves many in Malawi, including those we work with, facing a long 'hungry season' until the next harvest. HM will seek to ensure the children at the nursery schools are provided for but there are many others in need of help.

For Pastor Likhokho as he has assumed much greater responsibility among the church plants. Please pray blessings and rest for him and his family as they give so much of their time and energy to others, and for wisdom to teach, train, encourage and manage pastoral issues.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings to all our friends and supporters. As usual it has been a busy few months for the Hope Missions team and we hope you enjoy reading about some of the highlights shared here.

We are excited about new opportunities that God is leading us into. We are finding that the leaders in our church plants have embraced their leadership training and as a result the churches are stronger and better equipped to serve and be a light in their communities. This is enabling the HM team to look at the new opportunities God is presenting us with as we have invitations to work in new areas and new communities. I hope to share more details on this soon.

None of this work is possible without your partnership with us, we thank God for your support.

Annie Mkandawire
Project Director

Ordination of Pastor Likhoko

Back on 14 June the ceremony for the ordination of Pastor Joseph Likokho into the Baptist church network in Malawi took place at Kayabwa church. This was a significant event as now our own pastor has official authority to conduct baptisms, weddings and funerals.

We took time to decorate and make the place look amazing the day before by putting up balloons and a backdrop. The service was very lively and the church completely full. Choirs from many different villages attended and people were so excited to celebrate and give gifts. Mattresses, a suit, a double bed frame, food and much more was given to the family as a supportive gesture and most of it came from the villagers themselves.

In the months since HMM has continued, with the help of visiting mission teams, to deliver a lot of leadership training in our four church plant areas. We have seen wisdom and competence develop in the leaders as they move forward in their faith and now Pastor Likhokho and has taken over overseeing the work in the churches. HMM is continuing to provide him and the church leadership with support, guidance and encouragement but crucially this has freed up a lot of time for us to focus on other ministry areas.

Visit from Nailsea Baptist Church

In July we hosted a team from Nailsea Baptist Church for two weeks of great ministry and leadership training. Jesus film nights explained the Gospel in the local Chichewa language as the team shared testimonies and many people asked Jesus into their lives through these events. HMM and the team also hosted football and netball matches as part of youth outreach and discipleship. Martin from the Nailsea team led the church service at Chapendeka on the message in 1 Samuel 16 of God's judgement of the heart rather than outer appearance.

Visits to local health clinics and hospitals gave the team real insight into the need of the country and they were able to provide mattresses, some needed medical supplies and books of updated medical practice. The team ran health and sanitation workshops covering HIV, alcohol and drugs, healthy eating and food hygiene among other things. This included teaching villagers how to make 'tippy taps' (see the right hand picture above) to help improve hygiene practices and make it easier for people to wash their hands more effectively and more frequently.

Special practical service included painting Biwi church and the rebuilding of an unsafe and crumbling house for a needy widow. The building of communal latrines was begun and the completion of this is being overseen by the HMM team.

Chapsinja School

Star Fish and Crowborough Men's Group have continued to support the work at Chapsinja school. We are delighted to report that the third classroom block has been completed and is now occupied, which means the school now accommodates pupils up to Standard 5.

The momentum is continuing and the community is now moulding bricks for the building of the forth block and a teachers house (which we hope will be completed by the end of this year).

Leadership training for Chiefs

In September we had the pleasure of another visit from a team from Links International led by Andy Read. The primary focus was leadership training with chiefs from Gunde and surrounding villages, held from 21-22 September at Malingunde Youth Camp. There was a great turnout, with 62 chiefs in attendance. Links brought Bibles for the chiefs along with solid teaching, encouragement and developments in discipleship.

The beauty of this ministry is that as God touches the lives of the chiefs the villages and surrounding areas begin to change. The first 12 chiefs that Andy and the Links team trained in 2013 have now established their own Bible study groups and are reaching out to others. We are excited to see how this ministry continues to grow. A mighty baobab started as a small seed...

"Transforming communities through the implementation of programs which affect all areas of community life including: agriculture, education, economic empowerment, advocacy and discipleship, working through the local church and community leaders."