Last Sunday we had the planned wedding and, wow, was it beautiful!!!
Over 500 people attended the event and everyone heard the Gospel and were able to eat well. Dani and Denisa covered all the costs for the wedding – it’s what they wanted from the very beginning – and they even paid for the meal given to all present.
Check these beautiful pictures below.
On March 17 this year, a young and beautiful couple from Romania will have their wedding in Malawi, at our church in Zomba, where Brother Kadwale is the pastor.
Dani and Denisa said YES to God last year, when they decided to come to Malawi as part of a mission team. Here, on the mission field, they understood that God had arranged their destinies and now they want to say YES to each other in the same place where they first served together.
As a testament to their burning love for God, their wedding will be a special and different wedding for the glory of God and the salvation of the lost. Instead of receiving money as gifts – as per Romanian customs – Dani and Denisa will give a meal for the poor. Instead of them being in the center of attention – though they deserve it on their wedding day – they have asked me to preach the Gospel. There will be many people curious about this “white man’s wedding”, but Dani and Denisa want us to use this opportunity to turn people’s attention to the Savior.
Instead of a honeymoon in exotic locations, Dani and Denisa want to stay and volunteer with Hope for the Future, putting their time, money and talents at God’s disposal!
I thank God for these two and pray that their whole lives will be lived with purpose, for the Lord!
Like every year for a long time now, it was our great joy to give again and bring happiness in the hearts of these beautiful kids. By now everyone knows what Christmas is and they know that gifts are part of the tradition so these cute children, just like all children around the world, do look forward to their Christmas presents.
Thank you to everyone who donated! We didn’t raise as much money as we needed – we know the economy suffers for everyone – but we put to use what it was sent and the gifts brought a lot of joy!
163 children – orphans of both parents – were blessed on Christmas Day, as well as all their care takers at both Feeding Centers. Also, our team in Malawi received a monetary gift that blessed them and their families.
A truckload of gifts!!!
The following pictures are from our Orphan Care in Kachere, Southern region of Malawi, Africa:
The next pictures are taken in Mpyupyu, Southern region of Malawi, Africa:
Christmas is coming, the wonderful Celebration of our Saviors birth. Many Christians will display nativity scenes of the Lord’s birth, but did you know that most of them are not 100% Biblical?
Most of those scenes are taken from the story in Luke 2, showing the baby Jesus in the manger with Joseph, Mary, shepherds and animals. Other scenes are taken from Matthew 2, where we read about the wise men from the east. Tradition says there were three, but the Bible doesn’t specify that. More importantly, they did not come to the manger, but to the house where Jesus’ family was, so it is possible that the wise men came to Jesus months or even years after His birth (Matt. 2:11).
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:10-11
Other scenes of our Savior’s birth are completely wrong, showing animals that weren’t there at the time (giraffes, lions, etc) or, even worse, showing Santa Claus. But you know what I’ve never seen in such a scene? A red dragon with 7 heads, ready to eat the baby in the manger!!!
Revelation 12:4 says: “And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.” John gives us a heavenly perspective on the birth of Jesus, showing us the devil, ready to destroy Jesus.
Many commentators say that the woman in Rev. 12 is actually Israel, but one thing is certain: the child is none other than Jesus, and the fiery red seven-headed devil wanted to destroy God’s plan for our salvation from the very beginning.
Dear friends, the enemy still lives and seeks to destroy God’s plan in our lives. If he tried to fight Jesus, he will fight and stand against us. The good news is that the Lord is in us, with us and for us, to work through us!
It’s the end of the year again and our 163 orphans are eagerly waiting for Christmas. Just like we do every year, we want to raise money for the beautiful children from Kachere and Mpyupyu. They are all orphans with no one to love them enough to give them something special for this Christmas. Help us bring joy, smiles and happiness in their lives.
So far we've raised $0!
The form is not published.
I am so happy to announce that the 5th year Bible School students have just graduated and are ready to go out and work for Jesus!!!
From the beginning of the Bible School, in Nov. 2018, a total of 73 students have graduated.
They began on Dec. 4, 2022, and have graduated yesterday, Nov. 12, 2023. These are 14 young men who have completed all the requirements and have been prepared to go plant churches and take the Gospel to new places.
Mission statement, vision, objective and the plan for this ministry: Tom Gentry Bible Training Center.
History:
Graduation of the 1st generation of students. Nov. 10, 2019. 16 students.
Graduation of the 2nd generation of students. Nov. 14, 2020. 15 students.
Graduation of the 3rd generation of students. Jan. 15, 2022 (for 2021 generation). 14 students.
Graduation of the 4th generation of students. Dec. 3, 2022. 14 students.
Graduation of the 5th generation of students. Nov. 12, 2023. 14 students.
Next month, in December, the 6th generation of students will start their year of school. Lord willing, they will graduate at the end of 2024.
Read Pastor Keith’s article on this event: Malawi, Day 5, November 12, 2023.
Read his article on the following day: Malawi, Day 6, November 13, 2023.
To God be the glory!!!
God has directed the circumstances of my life to send me to Africa, as His worker. Silently I heard God whispering to me, ‘I am looking for someone’, and then I understood that it was not about our work, but His work, not our abilities, but God’s boundless gifts and, where we end, He will begin.
Our hands would be too short anyway to embrace them all, but we found a love that does it without touching us, without words, and a hand lifted up opens heavens for others.
I wished I had died, that I had not seen and heard how people live here… a heartbreaking truth but, once you know, you become responsible.
A striking moment experienced on the mission field was the confrontation of the struggle between hunger of the soul and hunger of the flesh; Satan’s struggle to keep people hungry, uneducated, away from seeking God, and the satisfaction they find once they turn to God.
I am reminded of Pastor Mayere, one of the most joyful people I have ever met, and the meal he had. He was eating poisonous beans, wild plant seed porridge, tamarinds mixed with water and ashes…I realized then that joy is a fundamental part of faith, and joy is a personal choice.
My words would be too poor to describe the treasure I was to discover in weak people. God did so much more through those we thought we would serve, using them to serve us. In poverty I found wealth, in hunger I was filled, in suffering I saw joy. I understood that poverty does not rob you of joy, but enriches you.
I can declare that I knew more of God’s love for us and every day I would discover Him more and more full of glory and mercy.
I understood that serving Him is not optional and that God qualifies those who are called and those who are obedient, and now I can declare that God has proven the call He has placed on my heart and I know now that His faithfulness knows no bounds.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Mat. 5:3
“Blessed are you, for by your poverty you may enter My kingdom” (Oswald Chambers)
Many ask: “Are you ready to die for Jesus?”
I am asking: “Are you ready to live for Him?”
How will it be? What shall I, someone so weak, bring before so great of a God?
I had a heart full of fears, I was unsure that He had called me because I looked at myself and saw too many shortcomings, I was so focused on who I am and what I can do that I forgot who He is and what He can do. And then He spoke to me plainly, “My sons, do not now be negligent, for the LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence” (2 Chronicles 29:11).
The word that caught my attention was: “negligent”. Isn’t our fear in God’s eyes negligence? Isn’t obsessively looking at ourselves and murmuring that we are not good enough or that others would be better suited, carelessness on our part to His extraordinary plan? Doesn’t our fear or worry diminish God’s power?
I used to think I had every right to be afraid, and that He would understand if I refused His call, but God opened my eyes to understand that when you are His child, there is no reason to serve fear. Now, as sons and daughters, we no longer have the right to be afraid because we are protected by Him.
Led by His call I arrived here, the place where you discover God’s goodness. The first thing I heard from their mouths was: “God is good all the time”, and then, at first I thought: how can you, in all the deprivation here, declare with a smile that God is good? But now, two weeks later, I can say that YES, God is good, His goodness does not depend on material blessings, He is good in all circumstances, He is good because He gives the deprived more than the rich have, God pours out peace, joy and fulfillment upon them. Here He showed me that what we call joy is nothing compared to what those who put their trust in God alone experience. Trust in the Heavenly Father is the source of their joy, and our trust in our own strength is the source of our disappointment and anxiety.
How easily we were deceived! How blinded are we to believe that joy can be found in anything but God? We put our hope in the things of this world and end up frustrated and exhausted. We set goals that promise much and, once achieved, find that the satisfaction is far less than we expected. We are lied to that “if we had”, “if we were someone else” or “if we did more” … “we would be happier”. We believe these lies and then we start to give ourselves to them, we give our time, our energy and even our health, we chase after the wind and in the end we realize that it was all vanity. Out of all our toil of trying to find happiness, the only one who is truly happy is Satan. He is happy because he manages to distract us from the Source of true happiness, he makes us his slaves and we serve him faithfully. Satan tries to lie to us that here on earth we will be able to experience heaven. That’s why we fight so hard because we want to create our own heaven, to live on this earth what was created just for heaven: full joy, comfort, only good days and only people who love us and understand everything we feel, but the reality is often just the opposite. Facing reality produces suffering, and suffering brings the gentle hand of God. This is what we live for, to experience Him, to know Him and to taste the true joy in Him. When you touch Him you feel a touch of heaven and that makes you responsible for those who are burdened by the lies of this world. We can’t be selfish, we can’t just keep to ourselves, we must fight for them too, for those who think they can be fully happy here, for those who seem well but their hearts are broken, and for those who have nothing on this earth we are responsible to make known to them the treasure beyond.
Now you and I are responsible for all these souls who, in our eyes, are valuable, but all the more so in His eyes. Therefore, on the day of judgment, He will ask us: “What have you done for My beloved who have not known Me?”
My sons, do not now be negligent…
2 Chronicles 29:11
Hello! I’m Rebeca, a volunteer with Hope for the Future and, with a few poor words, I will try to open my heart and describe to you what Africa means.
In the middle of this dark continent, children taught me that happiness is born from simple things…
Looking into their eyes, I discovered an incredible richness – genuine joy that has nothing to do with material things! So much joy in so much sadness… How can this be?
A lot of people asked me if I wasn’t afraid to go to Africa… And yes, the truth is I was afraid to go… I was afraid that I wouldn’t like it too much… that Africa would not mean something more to me… but it does.
I tried at home to imagine everything here in Africa.. and I couldn’t! Arriving here, I witnessed a painful reality.
These children don’t know how to react to love. You look at them with love, you touch them, you say “NDIMAKUKONDANI – I love you” and they understand what it means but they don’t know how to react… they are not used to love.
The sincere joy that they experience so intensely we don’t experience at all because we don’t know how to enjoy small things. They haven’t eaten for days and yet when they come to praise God, they do it with all their energy, with all their strength! And when you see that, it’s OVERWHELMING!
I was amazed to see how they found ways to care for each other, share their limited resources and support each other in a deeply selfless way.
This is possible because the Gospel gives them hope. It doesn’t help them here on earth, it doesn’t fill their stomachs, but it fills their hearts with the peace of God. They need nothing but God’s love to fill their hearts!
So this experience in Africa opened my eyes to the essence of life!
I lived in a bubble where everything seemed fine, and now for me, the bubble is burst… I have seen the harsh reality, very harsh, so harsh that my words are too few to explain what is here.
God doesn’t take into account the times of ignorance… Now that I know what’s going on here, now that I understand and I’m here, the times of ignorance are over, now the times of knowledge are coming. What do I do now? What do you do now when I tell you what’s happening here?
Today, I am their voice, the voice of the children and, because I am exposed to reality, I can only ask you to open your hearts for Africa!
“Lord, You have overwhelmed me with so much love when I truly knew You and now it’s my turn to share it! Help me to spread love out of Your love to these little hearts that are so precious to You! And yet, may I not stop at this, but spread Your wonders and You in all Your splendor!“
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Prov. 31:8
Hi, my name is Dani, volunteer with the Hope for the Future Malawi team.
I’m in Africa for the 3rd time and I’m still amazed by everything that’s happening. I wake up every morning wondering if I can still be impressed by something, and at the end of the day I am speechless!
Every church I visit has something unique from God, so does every pastor, leader or family. I have met many Christians who have shared all their love with me and I have been very touched.
I felt God in them. I was enriched by the little they had. When I visited Pastor Mayere in the Elephant Village, it was as if I saw God running towards me with an indescribable love. I always came to help, but I left helped. Christians in Malawi really live the Scriptures, and the moment of separation is very painful.
I don’t think it’s possible to leave here without my heart staying in Africa. Looking at them through the eyes of Christ, you see the true work God has done in their lives.
In my mind, I believe that their ascension to heaven will be in dance steps, and they will be awaited with open arms by Jesus.
I know their hearts are beating in God’s chest.
I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone by refreshing your soul through a new form of worship. There is nothing more beautiful than adding to your prayer list the names of the Brothers in Malawi and surely your name will be on their prayer list the moment they meet you.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Rom. 12:15