News on Literature Work
I have a meeting tomorrow at 10 am to initiate a number of very important translation projects, and later with the printer to discuss printing matters. There is a lot of translation and publication work in the pipeline.
Please pray for wisdom and guidance in these matters.
SOWINGÂ the seed by the daylight fair,
Sowing the seed by the noonday glare…
Hot day in the Lower Shire area meeting some new contracts and supplying others with Gospel literature.
Hi from sun-kissed Malawi. (I know – must be because it’s nearly Valentine Day!)
I arrived safely (if tired on Wednesday) and was relieved when my luggage eventually turned up after having been told it wouldn’t be coming on that flight, and having already completed the ubiquitous Property Irregularity Report!
I am expecting some materials from the printer early next week – we have ordered a restock of 50,000 Gospel Tracts and 10,000 Exercise Books overprinted with some Bible verses and a short Gospel message. I have borrowed this idea from the brethren in Sri Lanka, and although this is a trial run I have little doubt that they will prove very popular with students in the very under-resourced schools here.
Also in the pipeline for next week are some meeting in relation to planned translation and printing projects. We have some fairly ambitious plans, and will value your prayers for wisdom and guidance.a
Today Harold and I made the 2-hour trip to Chiringa, near the Mozambique border, to deliver the last remaining Gospel Calendars. It was evident that much of the maize crop is very stressed due to inadequate rainfall, and sadly threatened rain came to nothing again today. Please pray about this as further delay could prove catastrophic for many.
Please also pray for Brother Harold. He has been suffering severe back pain since a bad twisting injury last August, and it is seriously inhibiting his activities, both in the Gospel and the little business he depends upon for his living. I am planning to get him to see a physiotherapist on Monday in the hope that he will be able to get some relief.
Thanks for your prayerful interest in the work here.
Stephen.
Nkhata Bay is a notoriously godless place – a haven for drug users and immorality.
We had the privilege of preaching the Gospel there this afternoon, and they Lord have help to Goodson and Stephen both, each preaching a solemn and searching message.
We were beset with several drunks and druggies, one of whom set himself
down at the base of our speaker stand, calling out as if a penitent for the duration of our meeting. I felt grieved – like I think the apostle Paul must have felt add the demon-possessed girl cried out at Philippi, as some of those who were listening to the message were amused and distracted by his antics.
Nevertheless, quite a few hundred people heard the message, and we distributed a few hundred calendars in the 30 minutes or so we were there.
Earlier we had preached at Dwangwa, where we also have out several hundreds of calendars and sold some Bibles.
Tonight we are sleeping in Mzuzu, from where we will proceed further north tomorrow, Lord willing. It’s been a long (5 am start) day, so were glad of a comfortable, if very basic guesthouse in a quiet location, even if there is no power.
And the temp is only 19C!
We thank the Lord for the past 3 days of Bible teaching at Nsanama.
For many of the 20-something attendees much of the teaching of the Epistle to the Galatians was
 new and somewhat difficult to grasp, however we felt that the Lord gave real help during a number of sessions, and that some were definitely challenged by the Word of God. Sadly, the response of others seemed to evidence ulterior motives, but we have come to expect that in such gatherings and were certainly not surprised.
There was definite evidence of the damnable “Prosperity” heresy among some, especially on the first day, one of the attendees claiming to be an Apostle himself and clearly attempting to influence the thinking of the rest. This, too was not unexpected, if somewhat disappointing.
Please continue to remember this time of teaching in your prayers, that the Lord will be pleased to bless all who attended.
Sadly, although I was able to collect a further 18,000 calendars this afternoon, we are still waiting for over 70,000. We have some local distribution calls to make, but with a long road trip planned for early next week, time seems to be running out! Please pray that the printer will finally make good on all his previous promises and that we will receive the remaining calendars in good time.
Having been faithfully promised on Friday that I’d be able to collect a “large number” of calendars on Monday morning, I have just been told that there are none available for collection just now, but that “maybe” I can collect 5,000 (out of a total 100,000) this afternoon.
I next called the other printer who is producing some Gospel Tracts for me. On Thursday, he too promised that I’d be able to collect them in a couple of days, but this morning he tells me that he “unfortunately had a series of breakdowns with his machine” and the job is not done. “Maybe Wednesday morning!”
I’d also left spare parts with a mechanic on Thursday who is rebuilding the engine on my old Land Rover Discovery. He assured me that the job would be done in three days, so I called him this morning to see if the car was ready. There was a funeral and a wedding last week – so he hasn’t yet started!
Is it any wonder I’m already grey! Stephen (Marshall) is starting to understand why I just chuckled a few weeks ago when he asked for a day-by-day itinerary for our trip!
Please continue to pray.
So, we arrived at the Printer’s in Blantyre at 11.30am, as instructed, to find that only 5,000 of our calendars were ready for collection! We’d been faithfully promised that we would be able to take delivery of at least 10,000, a quantity at the lower end of what would make the 520Km round trip to Nsanje district worthwhile.
Although we had good supplies of other Gospel tracts to distribute, it was evident that it would not be profitable to make the trip and not fulfil the demand of many of the contacts we hoped to meet, so we regrettably had to postpone the trip.
All of which means we haven’t really been able to make a start on the large distribution task ahead. I’m promised “a larger quantity” of calendars by Monday, but as we’ve only received 5% of an order placed a month ago, I’m not exactly sure what to expect.
We appreciate all who are praying about this situation, and are confident that the details are all in the Lord’s hands. Please continue to pray that, if it is the Lord’s will, the matter will be resolved in time to enable us to make a prompt start at the completion of next week’s Bible-teaching conference, Tues-Thurs (D.V.)
I called to see the printer today.
He had about 8,000 or so printed but not yet cut or folded. That’s progress.
On his assurance that the calendars already printed would be ready for collection first thing tomorrow morning we made plans to set off for the Lower Shire area, as they should be sufficient for the demand in there.
Just to be sure, I called again late this afternoon to check on progress. Guess what? They are still not folded, but will be ready “by 10 or 11.30 tomorrow”. My concern is that 11.30 will become 4.30 and….
Please keep the matter before the Throne of Grace. We know it’s all in the Lord’s hands.
S.
Excerpt from email from printer just received:
“My sincere apologies. Your calendars is scheduled to print tonight. The entire country has been in power cuts for the last 7 days. We are only getting power for 4-6 hrs a day which has effected our entire print schedules.”
We are hoping to distribute 100,000 calendars over the next three weeks so please pray earnestly that they will be produced tonight add promised.
God willing, I set off for Malawi this Tuesday for a time of Bible Teaching and literature distribution.
A 3-day conference has been arranged at the little assembly at Nsanama (Zomba district) and many people invited. Mostly, these people will not be familiar with “assembly” truths, and many may not even be truly saved, so a good deal of time will be spent on teaching the gospel, as we make our way through some of the key lessons of the Letter to the Galatians.
I am looking forward to the company of Stephen Marshall (Falkirk) on this trip, and it will be good to have his fellowship, not to mention help with driving.
Please pray that the calendars week be ready for distribution. I ordered 100,000 several weeks ago, but as of Wednesday past the printer had not started the job. As I’ve Bern saying, if things wrong in Malawi, they inevitably do!
More details to follow.
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