Come and help us

Since 2014 the most important need for our ministry is not financial or material, but of human resources. For the past 10 years, the Lord has graciously used us to build the ministry in Malawi to the level it is at right now, but we feel we have reached the end of what we can do just by ourselves. No, we are not giving up, quite the opposite, we want to go further and beyond and for all that to happen someone has to come and help us!

The first time that call was heard in a missions context was in Acts 16; just at the end of the previous chapter Paul starts his second missionary journey, with the purpose of visiting all the churches he has planted before. After a disagreement between ministers (yes, that does happen), Paul and Silas headed over to Derbe and Lystra. In chapter 16 Paul and Silas find Timothy and then they go to Galatia, with intentions to reach Asia Minor. The Holy Spirit stopped them and then, once they reached Mysia, they wanted to go north to Bithynia. Again, the Holy Spirit closed their doors so they headed over to Troas. At night, there on the coast of the Aegean Sea, Paul had a vision. In his vision, a man was calling him to cross the Sea to Macedonia and help them. Very interestingly, Paul wakes up and concludes: “God had called us to preach the gospel to them”.

Now Luke, the author of the book of Acts, never told us who that Macedonian man was; I wish he did, but we don’t know. Needless to say, God used that to guide Paul and his obedience brought many to faith. Lydia was converted once they arrived in Macedonia, a slave girl was cured of evil spirits, the jailer is converted, jews are converted and several churches are planted. If up until this point the Gospel had been limited to Asia, the Macedonian Call brought the Gospel and the spread of Christianity into Europe and the Western world. These churches (in Philippi, Thessalonica and Corinth) were extremely important in the growth of the early church and five of the New Testament Epistles were written to these three churches. The history of the church and of the world was forever changed because of the God-given vision known as the Macedonian Call and the man who obeyed.

The point I’m trying to make is this: We, too, need help. As you are reading this, from the comfort of your life, we are telling you: Come over and help us. Paul sailed over the Sea, you can come with the plane. The seas are dangerous, the plane ride is pretty safe. Paul was imprisoned and suffered for Christ and you may suffer too, but the call is based on the same need: the Gospel has to be preached.

As I am writing this, we are in the process of planting two churches, both of them in two villages where there has never been a church before. In Kachere, the village where today we have a church, a feeding center and a school, I was the first white man many people have ever seen before. Just outside our town’s city limits there are villages, like Kalimbuka or Ntonya, where there are no churches. All throughout the Southern Region in Malawi there are hundreds of villages where Christ is not proclaimed. Many other villages have churches but the leaders are not trained. We need to Evangelize and we need to teach them and train them. Who will go to them?

If my call “Come and help us” is not sufficient for you, heed Jesus’ command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I am deeply saddened that our youth are no longer willing to go. We are afraid of the finances, we are afraid of terrorism, we are afraid of starting from 0, we are afraid of everything. Why are you afraid? Jesus promised to be with you! Go and come! Be strong and courageous.

Young people, thousands are dying every day without Christ. Go and come!
Parents, do not be afraid to encourage your children to give their lives for Jesus! They will gain everything.
Pastors, teach your youth to drop their small ideals and come over and help.
Churches, your strength is not in your seating capacity, but in your sending capacity.

Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? Yes, yes, yes! We will soon be celebrating our 10th year in Africa, on the mission field. We came 3 and we are now 5. One of our girls was born here and all of our children were raised here. Our kids see Africa their home!

God blessed the ministry beyond our wildest expectations. We now work with 45 churches in Malawi and we are partnering with 5 in Zambia and possibly 15 in Mozambique. We run Pastor’s Conferences and train leaders yearly and monthly. We hold Evangelistic Camps in unreached villages and plant churches in places where Christ has not been proclaimed. We have 2 Feeding Centers and close to 200 children and we also run a Primary School with over 650 pupils. Every year we have short-term mission teams who bring value to our work and expand the reach of the Gospel and every day we have a wonderful team of Malawian nationals who love the ministry and make it possible.

Just last Sunday, 7 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ and now they want me to baptize them! We don’t have a church building in Nasedegu yet and we meet under a tree but I love it! This is the New Testament way to plant churches and God can use you, as well.

YOU can pray with passion and tears for us. You may not be physically able to come but you can keep on knocking on heaven’s doors for us.
YOU can send someone to help us, not by pointing your finger to someone else, but by praying and financially supporting them.
YOU can come. You should come.

“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”

If you reached this point – and I prayed you did – I hope your heart is stirred for missions. As your mind may be trying to convince you it is too difficult, let me make it simple. This is what you need to do:

Pray. Yes, right after you finish reading this paragraph, go on your knees and pray something like this: “Lord, I am here, send me. Show me your will, guide my path and use me for Your glory. I am ready to go wherever you send me. Send me!”

Share. Talk to your family and then to your pastor and church. Ask them to pray for you and to support you.

Prepare. Get ready for a life-changing experience the right way. If you are at this point, contact me ASAP.

Go/Come. The Lord may want you here or somewhere else but He wants you now. It’s time to buy the visa, buy the plane tickets, pack your bags, bid farewell to your friends and start doing something important for the Kingdom.