THE VISION – THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IN ACTION.
“I am going to visit the villagers” I heard the Lord whisper to me about two months ago. An excitement came over me and like Mary of old, I pondered and treasured it in my heart.
Since the water filters have been provided and are being used, there has not been one case of diarrhea or cholera in the homes of the 10 families. Praise the Lord! As a result their general health and in particular, that of the children, has vastly improved.
Since that time we have experienced a change, an awareness in them that God is doing a great thing for them. During individual family visits, many of them expressed a real tangible sense of the Love that God. They now feel compelled to share that love with their neighbors.
“He touched me… ohhh He touched Me, and ohhh the Joy that floods my soul. Something happened and now I know…. He touched me and made me whole!”
These are not just empty words, they are literally reaching out to neighbors to see how they can help them in any way, in spite of their own meager means. One simple thing they are doing this is by using their filters to bless their neighbors, providing them also with clean water. They have grasped the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
This Kingdom is real. Jesus came to establish and propagate it here on earth. Just like yeast permeating dough, it comes to ordinary people and villages in a way that is transformational, visible and genuine.
I believe the Lord’s measure of true success (for them or for each of us) is the measure to which the Kingdom of God has come in our lives, our hearts and our behavior…. How much evidence there is of changed actions, Kingdom faith, Kingdom values, Kingdom vision… not for a day in a month, but eternally.
Winford and Andy are gifts from God to me; they love first, then act. Their “Fragrance” of God’s love lingers in the village, long after they have left!
DELIVERABLES COMPLETED SO FAR:
Last month the Lord blessed me by putting the words of a song in my Spirit: “For the Lord is marching on, and His army is ever strong and His Glory will be seen throughout the land”. It is still ringing in my ears, ever louder. He is busy changing the lives of the desperate in Malawi in ever expanding circles. His vision is becoming a reality, step by step, just as He said:
Clean Water project
1. Their Hygiene has radically improved. They now have clean water void of harmful bacteria that caused sickness and death in their homes, as well as better hygiene practices. Personal cleanliness training and provisions have been fully embraced and faithfully practiced.
Have you noticed how that God’s invitation and blessing is closely related to Water? It suddenly dawned on me and now makes absolute sense with me that He therefore started with Water to impact the village.
“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. - Rev 22:1
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Every one that thirstsh, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. – Is 55:1”
Discipleship – Home fellowship group (Group formed – training continues)
2. They are fed with Living Bread from heaven; God is revealing Himself and illuminating the Scriptures, providing truth that sets free and breaking every chain and bondage of satan over them in the Mighty Name of Jesus.
At the last session we introduced them to the Kingdom of God and explained the centrality of the Kingdom from Genesis through Revelation, the rebellion of satan and man, and the vital necessity of the whole Gospel of the Kingdom.
They were captivated throughout the teaching session and we were astounded at the questions they asked Andy at the conclusion. Some questions asked by these dear folks were absolutely astonishing (I wonder if many churchgoers have asked any of these questions?):
1. Were the children of Adam and Eve born inside or outside the garden of Eden?
2. Why did God only accept the sacrifice of Abel and not that if Cain?
3. How can we know that the kingdom of God has come in our families and / or village?
4. What is the outlook of those who belong to the Kingdom of God?
God is most certainly on the move and is already and quickening their hearts and spirits with revelation knowledge. They are deeply engaged in the study and hungry to hear and understand more.
Emergency Basic Food
3. Nutritious food was provided to the desperate to help carry them through the lean months until food has become more readily available.
IN PROGRESS:
Crop improvement
4. Dignity is being restored to families to grow their own crops effectively.
Farm land, seed, fertilizer and herbicides are provided for planting winter crops. Training in proper effective farming methods will commence early June and rice crops will be planted to be harvested in December; an opportunity many only dreamt about.
The Kingdom way is to replace darkness with light, lack with abundance, poverty with sufficiency, despair with Hope and a future!! Jesus always positively impacted every situation He encountered!
It is extremely heartwarming and rewarding to see how motivated and excited the families are to get into the fields to plow, sow and nurture this new “found” treasure. “It is not about “handouts” but Kingdom transformation”. We trust our God for an abundant harvest for each one of them. A Gift from Heaven!
This month God did an absolute Miracle for Andy. His complete rice crop was washed away by severe flooding they experienced just after he planted it. He was so despondent that he did not even return to re-plant the crops but simply left it in the Lord’s hands. A week ago he went back for the first time since then and was absolutely blown away by God’s care. The Lord fully restored and gave him an unexpected abundant crop he never could dream of. This is a picture of what he saw! (there is an actual video if you are interested!)
He was busy serving God – Seeking first the Kingdom of God, and God provided all his needs according to His Riches in Glory by Christ Jesus… Hallelujah!! Our God Reigns!!!
FINAL MILESTONES FOR PHASE 1:
Livestock
5. Next steps will be to enable ownership of livestock for milk, eggs, and breeding; creating a chance to thrive.
During July, as the crops are growing, we will assist the families to build chicken houses so that we can deliver the chicks early in August. Much preparation and training is required to ensure that the chicks remain healthy and alive to fully develop thereby enhance the possibilities of the families to earn extra income.
Goats are planned to be delivered in September after allowing time to build pens during August.
Basic Ablution facilities.
6. And finally, to build safe, hygienic, eco-friendly toilets that will stop polluting the underground water tables and break the cycle of many diseases.
The final stage of the current Phase of the project will be the construction of self-composting toilets. The families will be “hands on” during the building phase to instill ownership and provide basic building skills and training.
One of our chief aims is to restore dignity to the families so that they might have a sense of achievement when they look at all that has been accomplished and how their lives have radically changed over the course of this year. More importantly, it will make them suitable living Witnesses of what the Lord has done for them, which cannot be refuted!
