Hope Missions

2012: Issue 1

Dear Friend,

Please accept my apologies for the length of time that has passed since our last newsletter. This is not because there has been nothing to report - on the contrary there is a lot to report!

In April this year the country was stunned by the sudden death of the President, Bingu Wa Mutharika. This event ushered Malawi into a new era as the new President, Joyce Banda, has been able to restore the broken relationships with the US, UK, IMF and World Bank and as a result much of the donor support that was withdrawn in 2011 is beginning to return, providing a much needed boost to our economy and helping to reverse some of the significant problems of food and fuel shortages we experienced last year.

Despite this good news a big part of the restoration programme included the devaluation of our currency by almost 50%, which has had significant knock on impacts elsewhere, including for Hope Missions. Nevertheless, this year has been largely fruitful and we are seeing growth in our ministry and opportunities which we continue to manage in the face of more restricted funding. God continues to be good to us and we are excited about the future and some of the opportunities that have come our way this year.

Annie Mkandawire
(Project Director)

Star Hill Baptist Church

In July this year we hosted a visiting team from the States in Star Hill Baptist Church from Baton Rouge in Louisiana. This was an incredibly exciting few weeks for us as an organisation, as it marked the beginning of a meaningful relationship with supporters from America. We are hopeful this will open the door to a successful partnership and more growth opportunities in the years to come.

Twenty individuals from Star Hill including their Pastor, Raymond Jetson and the trip organiser, Chelsea Graves travelled the 9,700 miles from their home town to join us for 2 weeks running a number of training programmes and evangelistic outreaches.

The team divided into four groups running workshops in the areas of marriage enrichment, church leadership and youth and childrens programmes. They were well received and incredibly well attended in both Chapsinja and Kayabwa. As a part of the programme, they assisted us with an outreach programme into Nyanga village, a new area for Hope Missions and supporting the work already begun there by our church plant in Biwi - a church which only began 12 months ago!

After a day of door-to-door evangelism we showed the Passion of the Christ on the big screen and drew a crowd of over 500 people from the surrounding villages. Pastor Likhoko of Kayabwa church preached a powerful message and we promised to return to the village to esablish a Bible study programme and to teach them more about our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Bible study has already gathered over 30 adults and 20 youth and we are already in discussion with the people of Nyanga and the chief about planting a church there which will be supported by Hope Missions and the church plants in Biwi and Kayabwa.

Another fruitful development for us is the strength of relationship we forged with Star Hill during this trip and Chelsea has since joined the Hope Missions team as our representative in the US. Please do visit our updated website www.hopemissionsministries.com which shows this change and provides more information about Chelsea. Please do join with us in welcoming her to the team as we look forward to the additional energy and skills she can bring to help us develop God's work here in Malawi

Support

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 further information on supporting us please click here .

Micro Enterprise Development

It has been a while since we updated you all on the progress of the M.E.D. programme that we are running with the support of Links International . The programme is proving to be a resounding success and we have already completed a number of rounds of funding and been able to provide additional development loans to some of the more successful trainees.

Maria Kaputeni is one such shining example of the way that this programme is changing real lives. Maria is a married woman with 4 children. Her and her husband used to work as labourers on tobacco farms as a way of making their living. This work is believed to be amongst the poorest paid jobs in Malawi with incomes rarely exceeding $80 a year.

Maria attended the training programme in Kayabwa and was successful in her application for a loan of $40. With this money Maria started a tea room. Business thrived and the diligence Maria showed was sufficient to enable her to make a successful application for a further loan of $120.

Maria has since repaid the loans and even provided some investment capital for her husband to be able to start his own business. With the income the business provides, Maria is able to ensure an education for her children and that there is always food on their plates. Of course, it doesn't end here and Maria tells us she now has a tast for bigger growth - we'll be working with her to see how her plans materialise over the coming years!

Nursery School Update

This year has been a busy year for the nursery school programme. The school in Lemesi closed in 2011 due to problems experienced during the rainy season but we are happy to report it is open again.

Following the closure a community meeting was called to discuss the future of the school in Lemesi. It was agreed that the school was a valuable asset and the community acknowledged that if it was to continue they would need to take a greater interest and have more input. With the assistance of the village school committee with have come to a solution to the problems and the school has been re-opened for a number of terms now.

The school in Biwi opened in late 2011 and has now completed it first full year with its first set of graduates. We are really thankful to Nailsea Baptist Church who assisted us with the funding for the church building in Biwi from which the school operates. The school is just beginning its 2012/13 school year.

Primary Schooling

While it is not stricly a Hope Missions project we are really excited to report that the first Primary School in Chapsinja opened this year on 10 September. The school is run by the government who supply teachers and resources and the building was funded by the Crowborough Men's Group who we have a relationship with through Starfish Malawi.

Although it is only in its first term, the school already has over 200 children in Standard 1 and 80 children in Standard 2 with the numbers being significantly supported by the nursery schools that we run in Chapsinja.

Having a primary school in Chapsinja is an incredibly exciting development for the villagers as not only does it mean that children no longer have to commute 5km daily to school but it also means they can attend all year round as the road to the previous nearest school flooded every year during the rains. The first of the teachers houses has also now been built.

Please pray...

For Malawi! Pray for our continued restoration and development as a country and that we would enjoy a season of greater political, economic and social stability in the coming years. For the new President, Joyce Banda, as she makes the decisions that will affect these areas.

For the rains. The rains will be commencing any day now and a good rainy season is critical to ensure food security for the country for the next year. Too early and farmers will not be ready for them, too late and the crops are often poor.

For our new relationship with Star Hill Baptist church and that Chelsea will quickly settle into her new role supporting us from the US.

For Frank Banda as he prepares to move from Lilongwe to live in Chapsinja and pastor the people there. Pray the church will grow rapidly under his leadership and pray that we will be able to support him as he needs.

For the new church plant in Nyanga and for all the new Chrisitans there. Pray that God would encourage and uphold them as we continue to work into this new area.

For our continued growth as an organisation. For God's guidance as we pursue new funding possibilities and new relationships.

"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."