[Virginia’s note: These are excerpts from the letter that Pastor Headson Makazinga sent me in October. It arrived a few days ago. Please pray that the box of 500 Chichewa language tracts which I sent in September will arrive intact. I have had trouble shipping packages into Malawi before, and would hate for them to go to waste if they don’t get there.]

Dear precious and beloved sister and brother,

        With rich love I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN. Thank you so much for your letter and some articles of magazines I received recently with much appreciation. It has been blessing to hear from you. Today I am encouraged with the good news you sent to me. And also let me thank you for the check. It has come in the needy time of annual convention and pastors conference. It is a great help in the way of buying Bibles and also food. This year we are in the big problem of hungry. It is my first time since I was born I didn’t see this kind of hungry. It is worse than all the years past. We are in the tough time, everyone had been affected – Malawi as the whole. We are running up and fro looking for food and it is too expensive. Because of this reason, many orphans are in trouble… Of course, it is very hard to find food for them because of the expenses. Some people had already died and still people are dying. It is our duty to pray to God that orphans and widows should survive. We are in need of aid of food and it is our daily prayer. I would like to ask you and the good wishers to join hands with us and pray for the suffering people.

        I thank God for the annual and pastors conference. It was so good and the hand of the Lord was with us. We received new babies in Christ and we baptized 63 men and women. And many were receiving their healing miracle and some wondrous has been happening on this occasion. And the work of God is always growing up in both countries, Malawi and Mozambique. The hungry of Bibles is still going on and it is a great need in every area. Christians are failing to buy Bibles because of too expensive. In Malawi we have a hard time because our money is not up, so it is always in the high amount. This month of October we are in the hotness time up to February. Yes, I have orphans. They are close with me, and we are trying to assist them with some food. Many of them are in the home villages because I can not afford to help them because I am also poor. I am doing this because God has given me a compassion heart. I feel war in my heart if I see a widow or orphans who is suffering….

        Thank you again for thinking to send some of the tracts. It is good and we are looking forward for them. I hope it will be a great help to some of our churches. By now we have plenty of churches planted in so many areas.

        On August 6th, I was in Uganda and Kenya for preaching the gospel. I was invited with my fellow Malawian who is working in Nairobi. I thank God because of his anointing. I was in these two countries for three weeks and four days. God led me with his powerful hand. The glory of God was shown to the ungodly people. I have seen many people receiving our Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

        Wish you all the best while we are waiting Christmas time. Regards from my wife Regina to you, your husband and children. Yours in the love of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ… Headson Makazinga

~~~

There is much more that he said, but this is all I am able to include right now. Shortly after his letter arrived, my daughter Mary sent me a New York Times web link for an article about the famine in Malawi. Apparently, even Hurricane Katrina has affected Malawi. Japan could not get its shipments of corn from the USA when the port of New Orleans was closed, so they bought it from South Africa instead. This, in turn, made the price of corn in Africa skyrocket. Here is the web link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/international/africa/02malawi.html?emc=eta1

 Dear friends, my heart is burdened for the poor of Africa, especially the widows and orphans, and for those who do not know Jesus. As I mentioned earlier, it is very easy to hear about something and go our way without doing something.

        Let us be spurred on by James 1:22 & 27 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says… Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

        Or by James 2:15-17 -- “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

        If you would like to send a letter of encouragement or a cashier’s check to Pastor Headson Makazinga, his address is P.O. Box 187, Nsanje, Malawi, Africa.

        This past summer, World Magazine published an excellent series on missions in Africa, highlighting the unique role of individuals and churches, rather than large mission boards. Here are the links to several of the articles, though I may be missing a few. These would make great current events discussion points for your family!

        The Other Venue http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10818

        One Church, One Orphanage http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10846

        Extreme Games http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10868

        Go East, Young Man http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10888

        Livingstone’s Prayer http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10894

        From the Ground Up http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10873