This year’s Tropical Storm Ana has destroyed several of our church buildings in Malawi, so we’re working hard to rebuild them. Although I haven’t posted about them on this blog (I did it on our Facebook page), we’ve completed the church in Muheriwa and the one in Zomba.
Next up in our plans: the building for the church in Kotima.
If all these names don’t mean anything to you, I’ve put together a Google Map where you can see all the places we work in; you will see the Mission House, the School, the Feeding Centers, the Bible School and also all the villages where we have a church. Check it out here: Malawi Ministry Locations.
The church building in Kotima is an old one, done in the traditional way: bricks, mud and dry grass. I personally love these types of building, but they don’t last long as they get affected by the rainy seasons really quick. The building in Kotima was hit even harder by the tropical storm so it’s time to build a new, better and stronger one.
The church – which is quite large in size – is led by pastor Rafael Chikwati, one of our first year’s Bible Training Center students. He finished his studies at Tom Gentry Bible Training Center back in 2019 and has since taken over the role as a pastor with the blessing and from the previous pastor, pastor Chabwera.
Pastor Chabwera, like many other senior pastors we work with, saw the potential in the student he sent us and decided to step aside, while helping and guiding the young man. The result is a strong church with a great outreach in the community and I could not be prouder of them both!
Let’s talk about the church people before we talk about the building. As you can see in the next few pictures, the building is full and it’s always been like that every time I went to worship with them. People love and respect both pastor Chabwera and pastor Rafael and their good testimonies help the church grow.
Rafael is married and his beautiful family is an example of faithfulness to the people of Kotima.
Now let’s talk about the building; like I said before, it was done in the traditional way but it desperately needs to be fixed. Check the next pictures:
Kotima is a very beautiful place, with lots of gardens and beautiful scenery. Check out the following pictures:
Lord willing, the plan is to start working on a new building immediately. People of the church will help with labor, as well as to transport the sand from the nearby river. We will buy and take the materials there and oversee the project. Within a few months, we should be done and the new building should be completed.
Thank you for praying and financially supporting the work in Malawi. God bless you!
