by admin | Jan 4, 2024 | BLOG
Hebrews 13:7 reminds us to imitate the faith of our leaders, but in a world where not all leaders are good spiritual mentors, it’s important that we follow those who remain in the Lord’s Word. Such leaders can be found in Dwangwa, an area that has several villages and many chiefs. Chiefs deliberate on village affairs and generally lead and influence their people. Recently, a group of 18 chiefs from Dwangwa gathered and began holding Bible studies together through Y-Malawi.
During one of their sessions, they read Proverbs 13:22 which says “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” As a response to this lesson, it was decided that they would plant trees so that their grandchildren could reap the fruits. Y-Malawi provided the saplings needed for the project and in total, the chiefs planted 850 trees.
In doing so, not only did the chiefs lead by example by demonstrating their faith, they also invested in all of their villages by planting trees that will benefit everybody in the future. It is our hope that when people see their chiefs being proactive in their faith, they will see Christ through their work and come to Him. How are you leading by example in your community?
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by admin | Dec 13, 2023 | BLOG
In the same way that everybody goes to work every day, so did Jesus! He was a carpenter who did wood work for a living. Y-Malawi’s Economic Empowerment Program works to provide that same opportunity of a sustainable job for Malawians. This program helps many Malawians in their businesses so that they can independently provide for themselves and their families.
Earlier this year, the program provided start-up materials for a woman named Tulayi Maulidi and her small business. She runs a corner shop that sells convenient products for her village. It is through this business that she is able to support herself and her family.
Thanks to the program’s contribution, Tulayi’s corner shop is progressing well. She’s even able to purchase new items to add to her revenue so that she can boost her business. The profit she gains from running the shop, she buys food and other basic needs for her family.
This is a testimony to the effectiveness of the Economic Empowerment Program truly working and touching people’s lives. Your prayers and words of encouragement are vital to this program because they help us to keep working. In the same way, your actions towards economically empowering the people of Malawi are just as vital and helpful. As James 2:15 says “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
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by admin | Dec 12, 2023 | BLOG
Maybe you never thought about it, but God was the first farmer! Y-Malawi partner Fishers Trainers and Senders includes teaching Farming God’s Way in their Bible study curriculum. This innovation teaches class members different agricultural methods that they can apply in their own farming. Frank joined this group as an effort to aid the financial challenges he and his family were experiencing. After a few weeks of attending, Frank started his own small farm with one acre of land, where he planted watermelons.
This is new because most Malawians only plant corn as subsistence farming. They depend on this corn as their primary source of food. Frank is expecting big results from what he has learned. He is holding on to the faith that his efforts will prove to be fruitful. He has already started thanking the Lord for the opportunity to learn more about farming. His faith has pushed him to even encourage his peers to dive into the unknown as well. They are trying new farming methods too.
James 2:14 says “What good does it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” Frank has perfectly emulated this principle of acting upon what he believes. He is praising the Lord before the harvest, believing that God will provide as he has promised. Then he is acting on those beliefs. We can all take a page out of Frank’s book and apply this same principle into our lives.
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by admin | Nov 29, 2023 | BLOG
Churches and Bible study groups are working together for the good of individuals in the community. One example of this is seen through the testimony of a man with cancer. In a Malawian village, having such a serious and persistent illness is sometimes seen as taboo. Usually, the man would be viewed as sinful because they’d consider his illness a punishment from God for his sins. Eventually, he would end up being shunned by the entire community.
This did not happen. Instead, since the churches and Bible study groups have grown and more people are learning about the Jesus in the right context, the community welcomed him. They sought to help him in his condition by raising funds to send him to the hospital. The closest hospital that treats cancer is found in the capital city. To transport him there, everybody needed to contribute. They managed to reach their goal and were able to get him the best care possible. All of this was thanks to the community coming together in order to share the love of Jesus with their brother.
Sharing the love of Jesus is about putting into action what Jesus taught in parable, “The King will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
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by admin | Nov 28, 2023 | BLOG
Like many women in Malawi, Gloria was dependent on her husband for an income. She had the potential to make money of her own, but didn’t possess the resources to do so. Then Gloria joined Y-Malawi’s Economic Empowerment program. In the program women are empowered to own their own small business. Gloria is doing tailoring, but others sell maize or clothing, some have a restuarant, others are growing food for sale. This program changed everything for Gloria. Now she has not only learned new skills, she was also given the resources she needed to make money using those skills.
Gloria is running a successful tailoring business where she makes and mends clothes out of chitenje, the traditional material in Malawi. Through this business, she contributes to the household income in addition to her husband’s earnings. They’re able to support their family a little bit more comfortably now.
She has even managed to save ten dollars to start a new small business selling sardines to boost her income further. Gloria is very grateful for the Y-Malawi women’s program that helped turn her potential into a possibility.
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