FOLLOW-UP TRIP

We were schedule to go to Mbalachanda for our fourth visit. Unfortunately, at the very last minute George got a call from pastor Banda, the main Coach for the Mbalachanda area, that they won’t be able to attend the training this time due to the rains that came. Malawi as whole this year is facing late rains. Farmers usually start planting crops in the middle of December, but this growing season things have been different due to the late rains. In most parts of Malawi farmers are starting to plant their crops now, in January. This could also be a sign of hunger coming. The DCI Team likes to be flexible, and when we heard of this problem in Mbalanchanda we started communicating with other coaches from other areas to see if we could have a visit with them, but still bearing in mind the growing season. I communicated with Raphael Hara, coach for Baula, who said we could come. So, on Tuesday afternoon we left for Mwenje after we had the truck serviced. After the oil change I went home, got prepared and went to pick up George and Caleb around 4 pm. We had a safe trip.

MWENJE
Early Wednesday morning we were set for the follow-up exercise, we had a good turn-out, 13 leaders came despite the short notice. We went over the Explosive Growth teaching and heard some testimonies of what God is doing in this area. The work at Mwenje was introduced by Raphael Hara after he returned from Nkhotakota, and this was our first to visit there. God is doing amazing things in this area and the gospel is spreading like wildfire since Raphael introduced the work. More than 10 Life groups have been started. We had leaders from the CCAP Church, the African Church, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Kalibu Kwayesu, and the Chipangano Church. From Mwenje we went to Euthini,
TENDERE (Euthini).

From Mwenje we went to Euthini, where we were following up with Pastor Manda of the Pentecostal Christ Church, whom we trained at Ekwendeni together with Pastor Chrispine Mukanga. Pastor Manda got transferred to Euthini and started to train church leaders and other people in the one-on-one discipling. The work has spread into different areas. Raphael had been asking for a visit with him. We took advantage of the cancellation of the Mbalachanda trip and visited him. We thank God that we visited him because the testimonies we heard there were very encouraging. We met people like Michael Msuku who was a herbalist assistant, but Michael was saved and denounced his connection with evil Spirits. He is now a devoted follower of Christ, and his testimony is serving to bring many to Christ.

ENUKWENI
From Euthini we went to Enukweni to hear how the work is going and to encourage them. We meet with Pastor Laswell Banda who also testified of his conversion during our first visit to Enukweni. He told us it made him cry, that he was a pastor of an African Church while he was not saved. He said I cried because he misled many people. But he said he is thankful to God that since that day when he got saved his live has been nothing but a living testimony of a true changed life. And he went on to say that preaching the true gospel of Christ is a privilege and his congregation is now full of living people who love Jesus.
– John

Note by Hans:
We heard Laswell’s testimony when he was saved during the first training. He was so convicted of the poor job he had done, being pastor of a church while not knowing Jesus Christ as His Saviour. He said during his testimony, “I need to get to my people, they need to hear the Good News, because right now they all walking dead without Christ.” This was in 2019 and we praise God for saving Laswell and his faithfulness in preaching and teaching what salvation through Jesus Christ means. We praise God for the many believers Laswell has seen come to faith in Christ.

Caleb writes:

I want to share the testimony of MICHAEL MSUKU from Euthini.

MICHAEL was a witch doctor. He was taught by his father who was also a witch doctor. He became a practicing witchdoctor while he was a young boy and now he is grown up and with a wife and children. So being a witch doctor was like a business that helped his family to survive. People would come to him searching for help and he would charge them chickens, money, or other items. Dancing vimbuza was his lifestyle. He would eat foods sacrificed to the spirits and do many things which are ungodly…

One day he was visited by pastor Manda who started discipling him using the one-on-one and discipled him. He then trusted the LORD Jesus as his LORD and savior. His life was changed because of the Gospel and he stopped everything he was doing as a witch doctor and now he is a strong member of pastor Manda’s Church as well as a devoted member of the life group. He is now farming to support his family.

But this brought divisions and dispute between him and his father who taught him to be a witch doctor. His father said to him that he cannot dump his traditional beliefs, but he said to him that he will never deny Jesus for the sake of these traditional beliefs. 
We can be praying for Michael to remain strong in the Lord, and for his father to trust Jesus also.

Another testimony is about Mr. MACDONAlD NGOMA from MWENJE

Macdonald Ngoma is an old man over 60 years old, but he is still devotedly going up and down his village doing one-on-one discipling.

One day he met Macloud  Mvula who was not saved. He had not even heard about salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Macdonald began discipling him. Macloud accepted Jesus Christ and his life changed, and he is now discipling others using one-on-one discipling with them.