A Local Congregation is Taught About Hymns

Drilling Hymn singing

By: Aubrey Bunguzu

Sparanos, Altos even Tinars were held throughout the village at Lumbadzi congregation when LHM volunteer taught Lutheran Members about how to beautifuly sing Christian Hymns.

At least eight songs were taught and rehearsed in order to get set for Sunday Prayer service. It took place in morning hours of Sunday 26th February 2012 at Lumbadzi Lutheran congregation the time when LHM was preparing to court Lumbadzi villagers with Gospel message through live drama perfromamces in the afternoon. Indeed it was necessary to have such time with local congregation members as signs indicated that people could not sing fluently.

The approach helped to have a wonderful church service. We had no problems with singing hymns throughout the liturgy as well.

Evangelist Austin Luwanda, who took the congregation on board rehearsing hymns, comes from Area 25 Lutheran congregation in Lilongwe. He is the most active volunteer for LHM Malawi. This time around we were preparing for a live drama performance that would held at community ground in the afternoon. Because we arrived early in the morning, we were previlleged to attend sunday service first. This when Evangelist Luwanda begun by teaching Hymn songs. I myself led a liturgy during the service. We enjoyed the trip despite the fact that we failed to convene live drama due to local technical problems.

Lumbadzi congregation is located in Dowa District, about 50 Km from Lilongwe City North. It has a membership of about 20 people. They do not have a permanent church building. They move up and down should they encounter a problem with landlords. This time members are holding prayers at local oprhanage centre.

LHM Malawi Gift Invites Appreciation

The Principal's letter of Appreciation to LHM M from Mlodza Secondary School

By: Aubrey William Bunguzu

Mlodza Secondary School is appreciating a gift of a football that LHM Malawi staff presented to the school students in December last year. Presenting a letter of thanks by a word of mouth, Mrs. Catherine Kakhongwa, the school principal, said that the school management and entire students’ body are very grateful to the ministry for the gift as this has empowered students in sports.

She reported that at the moment students are able to register into various school tournaments that are taking place within Lilongwe Zone. In the previous time there was no any ball at school that could have been used to engage students in sports, but LHM Malawi has made it possible now.

She further told this author that students have started playing the ball games and she believes these games will add value to individual students’ physical, social and spiritual lives.

She handed the letter over to the Ministry centre’s Audience Relations Coordinator on Wednesday 15th February, 2012, a month after the handover ceremony of a ball took place at school.

The Audience Relations Coordinator was on his follow up visit to a Bible Club where he distributed other lessons of Real Life Series in exchange for answered questionnaires from the actively participating students for marking and grading.

Meanwhile there are over ninety BCC actively participating students at Mlodza, and they are expected to complete the course this month-February.

Bible Club Survives Students Riots

By: Aubrey William Bunguzu

More than fifty-two Bible learners from Ngwenya Club say they will not be shaken by the students’ riot that happened on January 18, 2012 as the students were demanding classrooms, instead they will continue pursuing the Bible Correspondence Course they are currently undergoing with LHM Malawi.
On January 2012 starting from early morning hours, students took the school administration to task in a riot, demanding classrooms for learning.
In order to calm down the angry students, the armed police from nearby Trading Centre were forced to use teargas.
Students stung with pangs chanting demanding songs despite the police presence.
The police were actually engaged in running battles with the school pupils causing mayhem in the whole township.
The young learners are protesting shortage of classrooms. Peace has since returned to the location. Arrests have been reported but no specific details are yet available on identities.
Ngwenya Primary School closed for a week as pupils demanded classrooms.
With about ten thousand learners, Ngwenya Primary School is said to be the most populous school in Lilongwe city.
According to Mr. Victor Kwacheramwina, a school principal, students stoned headmaster’s office and block the road from Area 22 to Ngwenya no vehicles passed through.
“Learners even came to my office demanding classrooms”. He said.
Some students come in the morning shift and other group comes in the afternoon and they said even there are two shifts the classroom space is not adequate, other students learn under the tree, students told our reporter.
The School Principal further says the issue started sometimes ago adding that teachers are also demanding hardship allowances because of large number of students at Ngwenya Primary School in Lilongwe.
A week after the school closed, LHM Malawi staff visited Ngwenya school for a follow up our Bible Club.
Students were asked if the riots caused them to forget about the Bible course they were currently undergoing, and majority said they will continue learning until they complete and then graduate with LHM Malawi.
Ngwenya School Bible club has over one hundred active students who are studying the Real Life Series with LHM Malawi.
The School is also in Education partnership with the Gibraltar Elementary School of United States of America. This tremor might have disrupted these projects but God did not allow it to happen.

LHM Malawi Conforts Orphans

By Aubrey Bunguzu

Area 25 Orphan Centre, established in 1995, started caring for 40 children in 1995, but today it shelters more than 834 with little resources. According to Mr. Mphande, the Director of orphanage, children face challenges ranging from clothing, beddings, food, shelter to school fees.

Lutheran Hour Ministry centre in conjuction with Choir B of Evangelical Lutheran church in Malawi (ELCM) on 24th December 2011 shared the living Gospel of Christ with orphans and centre marking Christmas Cerebrations. Children were donated with food items, plastic containers and pails/basins. They also recieved the Word of God through praise songs by Choir B, Bible teaching by a volunteer, free Children Bibles and presentations. Orphans were accompnied by guardians, centre staff as well as visitors. Generally the outreach activity brought the Gospel to about 1,000 people on this day.

A.Bunguzu (LHMM Coordinator) presenting Children Bibles to Mr. Mphande

 

Some of Orphans

 

Choir B pose

 

Mrs. Marble Madinga Choir B Matron presenting gifts

A Young Couple Speaks on Free Children Bibles

Essence of using His Word expressed in dramaMr. Richard Ngwala (LHM Volunteer) exited with praise songsA couple appreciating a Children gift

LHM Malawi-Four Festives to be Cerebrated At Once

LHM Malawi staff posing outside the office building

By: Aubrey Bunguzu

Staff, church volunteers and the Board are cerebrating the Ministry centre’s ten years anniversary, one year blogging, Christimas and New Year, all in this December 2011. LHM staff has organized to reach people and cerebrate with them at several joints in the city of Lilongwe. We are having Children Bible Distribution outreach at a local congregation at Chilinde Township on Sunday 18th December, at Area 49 Lutheran Congregation on 24th December and Chinsapo Congregation on 25th December.

The Ministry staff are very thankful to God for His guidance and mercies upon us to have exelled all through 1st January 2002 when the ministry was established in Lilongwe to date. Mr. Mphatso Thole the centre Manager expresses gratitude, on behalf of all staff, to our international colleagues in the ministry, the local church partner, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM) and its leadership for having demonstrated participative, supportive and receptive partner in as far as evangelism is concerned.
Generally the ministry centre envisages exploring more on new means of serving non believers. In addition to Bible Correspondence Course, Equipping The Saints, Personal evangelism, visitations to prisons, hospitals, rural poor communities; Public Drama and Music performances; LHM Malawi with God’s help is insisting to utilize new technologies like internet, face book, flicker etc. As we are cerebrating together LHM Malawi would like to invite for more prayers towards these ministries.

 

 

 

It Is More Than Encouragement!

A BCC student Completing the course

By:      Aubrey Bunguzu

God’s Word is not only encouraging people to believe through the Good News of Christ. A recent example of this was reported in person by Mr. Dick Chatanga to Lutheran Hour Ministry Malawi office on Friday 9th December 2011.

“The Bible Correspondence Course booklets have done a lot of significant changes in my spiritual life. The first lessons have inculcated curiosity in me to learn more about God. When I was in the mid course the message further encouraged me to explore more details about God. Not only that, the lessons also uplifted my personal faith in Jesus Christ. It is more than what people think. So I thank the Lutheran Hour Ministries for making the encouraging Gospel accessible to other people!” He told this to Audience Relations staff on this day when he dropped the final lessons for marking and grading.

Dick, a practicing Christian at Presbyterian Church, comes from Area 24 Township in Lilongwe city south. He is amateur building contractor. He started studying Real Life Lessons with LHM Malawi in 2009. After taking first two lessons he dropped out due to his business. Later this year in October, 2011 Dick came in person to resume studies and finished on this particular day. Pray for him.

____________________________________________________________________________________

BCC Follow up Ministry Stirs Mlodza Secondary School

Its good to play a new ball (Mphatso presenting a ball)

By Aubrey Bunguzu

Today Wednesday 7th December 2011, over a hundred people at Mlodza Secondary School were reached through various forms of activities including Drama, Football Match comptetition and Bible Correspondence Course. Activitites started at 1 oclock afternoon with joint programming  with School Authorities. Then students played football game competing for a brand new ball that LHM brought to donate to school thereafter. It was interesting to see young boys in school uniforms with hungry stomachs sweating on scorthy sun for a ball possession. Teams played were Day School and Night School teams and the game ended in favor of Day School team who won with one goal to nil.

As it was planned after the match, the whole school gathered under the local tree behind school block. Luther village Drama group that performs for LHM acted a play titled “The wages of Sin is death” a faith based play warning young people to refarin from sexual relationships because this behaviour brings alot of negative impacts on many youth, including deaths. Then Mlodza School Drama came up with their play titled Education is a right to everyone”. Both plays took the audience on board as they were waiting for the LHM to present a ball to a winning team.

First Mr. Mphatso Thole (LHM Manager)presented money as special gift to Andrew Mthiko, the scorer from Day Team. Second, a ball was presented to the whole school through Mr. Joseph Mzungu, the Deputy Head Teacher along with oother students and teachers amid hand clappings from the audience.

The outreach program was planned in order to strengthen the Bible Correspondence Course club that the Ministry centre is running at Mlodza School. The club was established in October 2011 with over 100 learners enrollment. The Audience Relations staff used to follow up to this club and noted with concern that the school had no games materials including footballs, netballs, nets, goal posts just mentioning very few. Then LHM management thought of providing a single as a gift to school. LHM management said the ministry will provide another ball for girls teams this coming January 2012 when BCC students will be graduating.

Vweza Banda (Sports Teacher) pose with winning team

Part of the match on scotchy sunny bare playground

Drama message

There was loughter throughout

Part of "Wages of Sin is Death" Play (Stella Mphalasa & Edward Kaliati)

with on old patched ball teams cerebrated the matchEducation a right for every child- by Mlodza School Drama

Cost of Living Worsens in Malawi

By Aubrey Bunguzu

The cost of basic items has markedly gone up over the past few months, but salaries of most workers are increasingly failing to keep pace with the cost of living, a social welfare monitoring body has said.
Malawians are digging deeper into their pockets to buy goods whose prices have shot up to the roof following the raft of tax measures introduced in the 2011/12 zero deficiet budget, the 10 percent devaluation of the Kwacha in August and now the over 26 percent hike in fuel pump price.
In its Basic Needs Basket (BNB) for October, the Centre for Social Concern (CFSC) says the price of maize (stapple food) has also gone up by 11.7 percent in the country’s four cities of Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba.
The average cost of Maize in Chikwawa stood at K2,040 (US $12) in October compared with K 1,600 during the comparable period last year, representing a 22 percent increase.
“The fact that the stapple food is recording alarming price increase is indcative of hard times ahead. It also presupposes that low and medium income can expect largest fall in disposable incomes in the months to come and would better prepare for a squeeze in attempts to meet basic needs, the like of which many people might have never witnessed before.” says the religious grouping.
The CFSC also appealed the stakeholders and concern citizens that in these turbulent times it is important to remember that people are the source, centre, and purpose of all economic and social life and that the purpose of economic production is to serve people in their basic needs.
Meanwhile this author agrees with CFSC as bus fares have raisen almost doubled, there are no little supply of fuel, electricity and even water to households.

If you wake up early in the morning you you will notice women hovering up and down looking to fetch at joints where they have heard. Yesterday at 9 night my wife Efi had to leave home for water kiosk at a nearby neighbor to get the commodity up until 10 night.
LHM Malawi would like our partners in the Lord’s service to pray for this issue.

Malawi Education Project Empowers the School in Computer Skills

LHM staff enjoys facilitation

Class teachers assisting children

Hendrina (green) with Eliza, Haswel, Mike

By Aubrey Bunguzu

The computer training started last month, October with support from Gibraltar School of USA. Over 100 children and 2 class teachers are targetted. 2 female teachers have been trained in word and also internet suffing and communication. Yesterday on 22nd November 4 children of grade 4 class started off thier training especially wording. Children were excited that they wrote down short biographies to share with whoever is on line. They give you this:
my name is hendilina thole I am 8 years old. My father’s name is mr thole my mother’s is chippililo
we are 5 in my family our first born is chikondi and am the second born ,the third born is susan

my name is mike nkhoma iam 9 years old. My fathe’s name is mr nkhoma , mymother’s name is Victoria. We are 7 in my family, I have two sisters and two brothers, I am the second born.

My name is haswell dayimon iam 8 years old . my father’s name is mr dayimon,my mother’s name is mrs dayimon . we are 6 in my family , I have three brothers, I am the last born.

this is the first group of our leaners in this program. We will finish training the whole for so long since we do not have adequate computer sets. Only one lap top that Gibraltar School donated last month is used. Even the School Principal Mr. Victor Kwacheramwina including other 95 teachers do not know working with computer. This program if supported can reach more needy people. It is anticipated that through the program children and teachers will be able to communicate experiences of faith, development and social life through internet.