Excitement, worry, questions, mixed with joy and enthusiasm: this is how we started our journey to Africa on August 14. You may wonder why now? Why all the way to Africa? The answer is very simple: God’s wonderful and perfect will. Only now, when I look back, do I realize how well things have unfolded right before our eyes, and only now can I see more clearly the wonderful path God has created for each of us this year. God is never wrong.
His guidance, every step we have taken towards Africa, demonstrates His attention to every detail of our lives. There have been a few lessons I have had to learn, and one of them is this: God provides, we just have to make ourselves available!
Once here, I found a world completely different from the one I was living in. Everything I saw in pictures I will never be able to compare with what I have experienced in reality and it will be very difficult for me to put into words what I’ve experienced here.
I stepped into one of the poorest places I have ever been, but I found a richness that so many of us have lost and that is a sincere joy. A joy that is not conditioned by material things, it is a joy that comes from God. We have been greeted by this joy every day and it has been given to us wholeheartedly, especially by the children here. We understood that words are often insufficient to show the love of Christ. A simple hug to a little child who has never received one can mean more than we could ever imagine. But for that we need to put ourselves and our time at God’s disposal. I was very impressed by the stories of women who put themselves at God’s disposal in this way. Every day for a year, they had to walk four hours to reach the nearest water source. Water they needed to prepare food for the children at the orphanage. How many of us would make that sacrifice?
God calls each one of us to share with Him in this work of spreading the Gospel. It is a privilege to give, it is a privilege to be an encouragement, it is a privilege to proclaim His Word.
We are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. If we don’t show Jesus’ love, who will? If we who have Jesus do not go and tell them about God, then who will? If we will not give a hug with our hands to the one who does not know hugging, then who will do it for Him? God wants our complete dedication. He wants me to give Him my feet to walk in His ministry, my hands to use to show His love to others, to feed a soul, and my mouth to proclaim the Gospel to those who are still in darkness.
I saw this beautiful ministry in Malawi these days, and realized how many beautiful souls have chosen to dedicate their time and resources to God. Everything here works as one body, each one knows their ministry, and the part that has been entrusted to them. But someone will always be missing. And the call for each of us has already been made.
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Hello! My name is Denisa and I am part of the Hope for the Future volunteer team. We are now on day six of our ministry in Malawi and I was challenged to share some thoughts on my personal experience from this ministry.
Truth be told, I find it very difficult to explain in a few lines the richness I have found in the poorest place I have ever stepped into. It is too hard for me to describe the happiness I have seen in the eyes of the simplest and most needy people I have ever met… but it would be too easy not to try, at least for the sake of what I have seen and experienced and in the hope that a soul will believe what I failed to believe until I laid my hand on it, like Thomas.
To be honest, I came here with the thought and hope that I would change something but I ended up being the one changed. Somewhere deep in my heart, I thought I was capable and ready enough to make a change. But glory be to the One who intercedes with the Father for us, that He is a High Priest, full of mercy and compassion to the unwise and erring. And to give you a better understanding of what I am talking about, I will try to relate one of the many overwhelming stories I have experienced on the mission field, in the hope that I will not spoil the significance of the moment.
It was Sunday. I had gotten up early to get ready. As usual, I ate before going to church, thinking I’d have more energy, and got my clothes ready ahead of time, also out of habit. And now that I look back, I realize that most of my habits are related to my body. Without realizing it, I figure that if my body is fine then my soul will be easy to please. We set off for the church somewhere far from the city. The village streets are unpaved and full of potholes. When we reached the church, we were greeted with so much joy, all our brothers and sisters were singing and praising the Lord. Joy radiated on the faces of these people who had too little in the eyes of the world to be happy. Many of them went to bed in the evening on an empty stomach, but that did not stop them from singing to the glory and praise of the Lord as we have never heard before. Most of them have only one change of clothes for church and yet this does not stop them from beaming with happiness when they come to the house of the Lord.
In 1 Corinthians 1:27 God says that He has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. I don’t know how to explain the shame I felt the moment I was hit with this reality. I thought I was the happy and fulfilled one out there, after all I had no reason not to be, I had been taking care since the morning that my body was in a good state so that I could enjoy myself. Yet those whose bodies were clothed in the simplest clothes I had ever seen, those whose stomachs had been empty for some time, were singing and rejoicing in the Lord as I had never seen in a church before, and as I had never done before.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.
1 Cor. 1:27
I wish I had felt this shame sooner. I am 22 years old and, looking back, I realize that my joy has always been conditioned by circumstances and yet the worst circumstances I have gone through cannot even compare to what I have seen here.
It is hard to describe the joy of the saints, of those who put their trust and hope in the Lord even when they have nothing left. It is hard to explain the works of the Lord but it is overwhelming when you encounter them. I came here with the intention of teaching those who cannot read the Bible, but it is they who have taught me. I came with the thought that I would serve but they served me. It is precisely those who are looked upon as the weak ones who are stronger than I ever thought they could be. It is precisely those who in the eyes of the world have nothing to offer, who have given me what I could not find in the richest people on this earth.
In August this year I will lead a team of 6 young Romanians, on their very first mission trip! They’re all young, full of potential and with a heart ready to hear God’s calling in their lives.
I need your help to open this door for them. Maybe one of them will be the next missionary to Malawi or elsewhere. Your support today has the potential to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of people and maybe even change the world.
I believe with all my heart that this is an investment in the Gospel’s reach to the nations.
Thursday, Feb. 16 we delivered a truck load of corn in the village of Nasedegu, a place where people from 4 other churches met: Makandanje, Mpokwa, Salimu & Thumbwalu. These people, like hundreds of thousands more in Malawi, were hit by a tropical storm back in Jan. 2022 and they’ve lost their gardens and, in turn, their supplies of food. Malawi has only one rainy season every year and people plant their corn around it. Tropical storm ANA hit them right in the middle of the growing season which meant these people, which rely on farming, could no longer plant and harvest their food. What followed was 1 year of hunger, all the way until the next harvest, around March this year.
As people in Malawi still don’t have access to food, we continue to help them while we pray that God will give them a good season of harvest next month.
If you would like to GIVE towards this need, you can use the form at the bottom of this page. Currently, it costs us $1,500 to deliver a truckload of maize, which is 2 tonnes of food. Whether you give for a bag ($38) or for a truckload (40 bags), your help is very much needed and highly appreciated. Thank you and God bless you.
This is my favorite picture, as it says so much about God’s work in Malawi.
The location: Nasedegu, a place that used to be full of darkness but where today the light of the Gospel shines through!!!
The churches. On this blessed day, several churches came together, churches that we’ve partnered with in order to strengthen them for the Gospel work!
The team. Faithful, caring and ready to serve their own people!
The preacher: pastor Katerere, a respected man of God who has been so vital for the expansion of our work in Malawi! Look at him preaching before the distribution of corn, showing us that physical needs go hand in hand with the spiritual ones. (By the way, he’s the one that introduced me to Nasedegu years ago!!!)
The truck. God gave Hope for the Future the tools that we need to serve Him! Praise the Lord.
The corn. God promises in His Word to provide to those who seek Him first. That’s food, that’s God’s provision for His children!
The corn (again). That’s your love and support for our ministry. Thank you for giving!
Monday, Feb. 13, we took yet another truck load of corn in the village of Muheriwa, also knows as “the elephant village”. These people, like hundreds of thousands more in Malawi, were hit by a tropical storm back in Jan. 2022 and they’ve lost their gardens and, in turn, their supplies of food. Malawi has only one rainy season every year and people plant their corn around it. Tropical storm ANA hit them right in the middle of the growing season which meant these people, which rely on farming, could no longer plant and harvest their food. What followed was 1 year of hunger, all the way until the next harvest, around March this year.
As people in Malawi still don’t have access to food, we continue to help them while we pray that God will give them a good season of harvest next month.
If you would like to GIVE towards this need, you can use the form at the bottom of this page. Currently, it costs us $1,500 to deliver a truckload of maize, which is 2 tonnes of food. Whether you give for a bag ($38) or for a truckload (40 bags), your help is very much needed and highly appreciated. Thank you and God bless you.
As food is scarce, people don’t want to waste a single kernel of corn. Everything spilled through the cracks and on the ground was picked up.
The young man in the picture above carries the 110 lbs. bag on his shoulder. So do the ladies below:
The church in Muheriwa has 53 families and every family is getting 1 bag, which will last them for an entire month. In addition, for every bag we also gave them roughly $1,50 each, so they can go ahead and take the corn to the mill. With that flour they will be making the staple food – nsima – which is like a very thick porridge.
I wrote about Siyeni many times, both on this blog but also on Facebook. Many people have followed his story, prayed and gave, so this young man can have a chance to a better life.
If you don’t know his story, allow me to briefly update you, but I will leave some links towards individual posts written throughout the years, both here and on Facebook.
Year 2016.
Siyeni was 14 years of age when we first met him, almost 7 years ago now. It was 2016 and we were having an Evangelistic Camp in the village of Mpyupyu, when the villagers brought a young boy whose stomach was severely bloated. They’ve tried everything they could, both using traditional medicine but also the local clinics. When they came to us they said: “If the missionaries can’t do anything, he will surely die.”
Picture taken on Apr. 2, 2016.
12 days later, we took him to the hospital for his first of many, many visits.
On Apr. 12, the doctors were talking about “kwashiorkor”, a protein-energy malnutrition illness. Translated from a native language in Africa, this means “the sickness the baby gets when the new baby comes”. Whatever that means, this wasn’t that.
On Apr. 15, after the first serious consultation, they were talking about a possible growth (tumor) in his abdomen.
By Apr. 26, the first exploratory surgery was cancelled as the doctors saw the swelling of his abdomen going down. At that point, they thought he was getting better by himself.
This next picture was taken on May 20th, after the swelling got worse again. Now the doctors were ready to open him up to see what the problem was.
After his first surgery, the blockage was removed but the issue was not solved yet. In the following picture, I’m at his home in Mpyupyu, next to his grandmother and immediate family.
After yet another surgery, he was given a colostomy bag and told to wait several months. Yes, 1 colostomy bag was supposed to last him several month. In the village. Surrounded by dirt everywhere. This is how I found him just a few days later…
Year 2017.
On Jan. 24, 2017, I was writing this post at a time in my life when I felt very overwhelmed with all these issues:
After that we went to see Siyeni, just to find out he ripped out his colostomy bag and fecal matter is oozing all over the place, attracting hundreds of flies all around him. Sadly, both him and his parents are mentally ill and they just don’t know the importance of keeping that place clean. With an open wound that goes straight to his gut, Siyeni is at great risk.
I am upset because the doctors refused to see him in December, due to the holiday season, and refused to see him in January, due to who-knows-what other reasons. February is so far away, given his condition, and I feel like we may lose him.
Facebook post, Jan. 24, 2017.
Just one day later, the results of the biopsy came in: Siyeni had Hirschsprung’s disease.
Apr. 3, 2017 – some complications prevent the doctors from reversing his colostomy. This was the first time they were talking about colostomy reversal surgery it! 5 years ago!
Year 2021.
Several years passed by, while we were delayed and postponed. “Come after 3 months”, “See you in 6 months” and then… covid times, when everything was delayed again. Only in 2021 we were able to get a doctor to seriously take a look at him again! At this point we have taken him to just about every hospital we could think of, public or private.
The morning of a trip to a private clinic.
Bad news again: the area around his colostomy was not sanitary (?!?) and the doctors postponed his surgery until… Sep. 13th!
If you want to know more details about this trip to the hospital, check this video I filmed then:
On Aug. 10, 2021, we found out about an American surgeon who agreed to see him the very next day.
After consulting Siyeni, this doctor told us about another private clinic, about 4 hours south of us. We decided to go there as well.
On Aug. 12, 2021, the next day again, we were there:
Siyeni had to stay in the hospital for 1 week, while the doctors took biopsies of his large intestine, in order to see how much of it was affected by Hirschsprung’s disease. The previous hospital we took Siyeni to have not kept any records, so this hospital had to start all the investigations from 0.
Year 2022.
Days became weeks, weeks became months and 2021 became 2022. On May 9, 2022 we finally found out that the samples taken in Aug. 2021 were… lost. As such, Siyeni had to go there again for his 5th biopsy collection. We can’t make this stuff up! I encourage you to read my Facebook post from that day: Updates Siyeni.
On May 11, 2022, Siyeni is discharged from the hospital again and, yet again, we’re waiting for the results of the biopsies, provided they don’t get lost again!
After getting the results, I wrote this, on May 31, 2022:
The fight for Siyeni’s health continues. Today, he’s going back to Malumulo Hospital in Makwasa, Thyolo, some 2 hours driving distance from Zomba and almost 3 hours from his village.
The results were not the best, parts of his large intestine do not contain any ganglion cells. The ganglion cells job is to allow the bowel to relax. Without being able to relax, the bowel remains constricted and narrow. No stool can pass this point in the bowel and accumulates back up the bowel. The bowel then swells giving the appearance of the tummy looking bloated.
In the next 1-2 days, the doctors will decide whether Siyeni can have his colostomy removed or he will need to live with it for the rest of his life.
Facebook post, May 31, 2022.
Jul. 1, 2022 – Siyeni is back in the hospital, prepped for the colostomy reversal surgery. For some bizarre reasons, the doctors change the surgery and collect more biopsies.
Jul. 12, 2022 – back in hospital, scheduled for another surgery. That also fails.
On Nov. 18, 2022, I write this:
This week Samuel has taken him to the hospital, well over 4 hours driving distance one way. When he got back, the doctors called that the xray machine wasn’t working and he needs to go back after Siyeni and his grandfather. This in a time when fuel is very scarce!
At any rate, long story short, he was brought in Zomba for xray and hopefully we will close this chapter this coming week.
Please keep on praying for this young boy.
Facebook post, Nov. 18, 2022.
Year 2023.
Finally, on Jan. 17, 2023, he is admitted again, for surgery to reverse his colostomy.
Jan. 17, 2023.
Thousands of people were praying and the surgery finally happened!!! On Jan. 23, 2023, I wrote:
GREAT NEWS: Siyeni’s colostomy reversal surgery has been completed and he is now able to function as normal! As a quick reminder, we discovered him in 2016, suffering from an advanced stage of Hirschsprung disease. The villagers brought him to us as a last resort, “maybe the missionaries can do something, otherwise he will die.”
Siyeni has been in and out of hospitals countless of times and underwent many surgeries. Today he walked out of the hospital as a new man, now being able to go to bathroom as normal, for the first time ever!
Praise the Lord!
Next month he will go for a checkup and, until then, we will take care of him as he needs a special diet. Nevertheless, I think I can say: mission accomplished!
Facebook post, Jan. 23, 2023.
I know this has been a very long article but, just think, we lived through this. Siyeni lived through this! Day in and day out, dragged to different hospitals, not understanding fully what’s happening. Many times his caretaker – his grandfather – wanted to give up hope. HIs mom and dad – who are mentally ill – mocked us for trying, and then accused us of doing something else with him. Initially, the entire village had hope, then they gave up hope. Delayed, frustrated, sad or angry – we pulled through this and had 1 desire in our hearts: to see this young man’s life saved. The fact he wasn’t dead in 2016 – it was God’s miracle. The fact we were even there on that day – it was God’s miracle. The fact his colostomy didn’t become septic – that’s the biggest miracle of them all.
It took us 7 years but his journey seems to be finally over. Just think, he was 14 years of age when it all began. Today, he is almost 22!
But this story is not about Siyeni’s survival despite all the reasons he had to die. Oh no, it’s a story of faithfulness. First and foremost, you, our prayer supporters have faithfully kept Siyeni in your prayers. Thank you for that!
Then, you faithfully gave towards our ministry and, from your donations, we were able to pay his medical bills, pay for transport, pay his food while in the hospital (food is not provided), pay his food while at home recovering, pay for his medication and cover every expense, big or small, related to his care in these past 7 years.
I cannot forget about Samuel, my friend and my coworker in Malawi, because this is a story of his faithfulness as well. He took Siyeni and his grandfather to the hospital every time they had to go and every time I couldn’t go myself. Samuel drove for them short on trips and long trips, many times leaving his house at 5 in the morning and arriving back home after dark. Several times he bought clothes for Siyeni or gave some from his own kids at home. He gave Siyeni’s grandfather money or bought different things they needed while in the hospital and never once did he ask to be reimbursed! Samuel always said he wants to serve and help!
I wouldn’t want to leave out Stanley, also a friend and coworker in Malawi, who managed these trips to different hospitals while I personally was out of the country. He sorted out the funds so that Samuel can go. I am grateful to pastor Misinde, Siyeni’s pastor and grandfather, who faithfully stood by him every single time Siyeni was in the hospital. At times it wasn’t easy for him, as he grew tired of it all and was later accused of doing it for money. Malawi’s healthcare system requires every patient to have a caretaker and, in Siyeni’s case, no one else from his family wanted to stay with him. No one. Pastor Misinde cooked food for him, washed him and cleaned him, effectively doing the work of a nurse.
This article would not be complete if I didn’t praise the Lord for His amazing faithfulness! Through it all, God provided everything was needed, EVERY SINGLE DAY. He used you, He used the doctors, He used us but God is the one who did it. Thank you, Lord!
What’s next:
We expect God’s faithfulness to continue, for this is His story! Siyeni is now recovering from his colostomy reversal surgery and he needs to follow a special diet, at least for some time. Hope for the Future in Malawi will continue to help him and, for now, that means providing that special diet. Sometimes next month, he will go for a checkup and I’m sure more will come in the months to come.
Siyeni’s journey is not over yet! Although he is healing on a physical level, we pray for his spiritual and mental healing. Yes, Siyeni is also suffering from a mental disorder and he needs our help there. We plan on looking at some options in the near future.
Siyeni heard the Gospel many times and, at least on one occasion, he made a profession of faith. Was it genuine? I have no idea and I don’t believe he knows either. What I do know is that we plan to continue to preach the Gospel there and continue to sow the seed, fully trusting that the Lord will bring the growth in His time.
Siyeni needs a special diet, as well as soap to keep his wounds clean.
I have an album with more pictures on Google Photos: Siyeni’s journey.
By God’s grace here we are again, with another graduation at our Tom Gentry Bible Training Center. This is the 4th generation of students and they have started in January of 2022. 16 young men started back in January and 14 have reached the end and are now on their path to serve the Lord in Africa and beyond.
From the beginning of the Bible School, in Nov. 2018, a total of 59 students have graduated.
Due to the fact we are on furlough for 3 months, we are not able to be there in person. However, pastor Keith and the team from GA were on the field and I was able to attend via Facetime. To God be the glory!
These students are going out to work! You can read about the latest church plant by one of the students who graduated in the past: New church plant in Katunga 2.
Tomorrow, Sunday, the 5th generation of students will start and, Lord willing, they will graduate in Nov. 2023. The ministry goes forward by God’s grace and your generosity! Thank you!!!
By God’s grace, the ministry in Malawi is growing just about on a daily basis!!! Fred Khaula, a second year Bible School student, is planting a new church in the village of Katunga 2. He graduated at our school in the crazy year of 2020 and, until now, has been serving alongside his father, pastor Kenneth Khaula, in Bwanali.
Fred Khaula, circled in yellow, graduating in 2020
1 year in school and 2 years under his father later and Fred is ready to go and make disciples!
Our vision to train 100 men, send them to 100 villages to plant 100 churches is slowly taking shape!
My desire is to help them with a church building. If the Lord lays on your heart, please donate on our page HERE towards a church building in Katunga 2. Lord willing, we will be building a church for these believers as soon as possible.
