Our last weeks in Malawi were full of farewells as our normal work pattern seemed to take us to so many places we first visited, and to so many people we first met, on our very first trip to Malawi in 2013. And it was made very special as everyone realising this was the last time we would meet before our departure for the UK.
The last few months have been hectic so time for posting has been close to zero. We therefore have a few posts to catch up on. This imaginary story is based on the real facts of life for many Malawians and was inspired by a chance meeting with this old woman during the November planting season. Imagine you are this widowed grandmother (agogo).
It does not seem that long ago that we were talking about being on the “back straight” of the running track of our time here in Malawi. We felt fully acclimatised and able to power along in our partnership with our Malawian brothers and sisters. Continue reading
As we count down the remaining weeks in Malawi, we find ourselves asking more and more “What will happen to this when we leave?” It has always been our goal to try and avoid dependency, so that things can carry on as we bow out. Continue reading
Ever since we first visited Malawi, Myles has been captivated by the challenge of how to develop a truly contextual, scalable and sustainable way to equip and release ZEC’s grass-roots preachers to better expose the original meaning of Scripture, and better communicate that meaning to today’s Malawians within their rural oral culture. Continue reading
On our recent trip to the north of Malawi it struck us again that, when all is said and done, it’s all about people! Continue reading
The last 2 weeks of our home visit were, like the first 2 weeks, a blend of time spent with family, with old friends, days off to do things on our own, and visiting churches to report on the work we have been carrying out. Myles continued to preach from Isaiah 6:1-8, and to remind people that to “Go” in the Lord’s work is a sate of mind, not a state of geography –being ready and willing to witness to Christ wherever we are, and not necessarily travelling 4000 miles. It was great to meet so many people answering that call just where they were. Continue reading
Two weeks today (20th March) we will be heading back to Blantyre, Malawi, after over four weeks in the UK. But it has taken until today for us to reach the most northerly point of our trip and – passing along the western shore of Loch Lomond – reach Myles’ dad’s home in Crieff.
What was your drive to church like last Sunday, 29 Jan? Myles had a wonderful drive deep into a rural area of Malawi, with the General Secretary of ZEC (Pastor Mtima) and the Regional Superintendent (Pastor Muhiye). Continue reading
Our involvement with Scripture Union started way back in 1979 when a teenage Myles went to SU Scotland’s Scoughall Camp as a nervous new ‘tent leader’. Continue reading
Members of Kubabalika ZEC receiving there ‘seed corn’ goats
A few weeks ago I (Myles) headed off for a ‘day trip’ with Rose Chirwa (ZM Project Officer) and a couple of others, to the Lower Shire for a review of the projects that ZEC operates in partnership with ZM to create income for church members and the local church. Continue reading
“There has never been a Synod like it!” was the comment to Myles from quite a few ZEC leaders as over 250 delegates began to leave the Mitsidi headquarters of Zambezi Evangelical Church to head home last Saturday afternoon after “Synod 2016”. Continue reading
The hymn “Facing a task unfinished” – recently revitalised by Keith and Kristyn Getty – has always been a favourite of ours, with its emotive call that as disciples:
We bear the torch that flaming
Fell from the hands of those
Who gave their lives proclaiming
That Jesus died and rose
After 5 weeks of egg and chips for breakfast (standard breakfast in Malawian motels!) it was good to be back to muesli and fruit juice yesterday morning! We returned to our home in Blantyre on Monday evening after 5 weeks of living out of a suitcase and moving from one motel to another. The biggest shock has been the weather. Our last stop was Dwangwa, by the lake-shore, where we enjoyed temperatures in the high 20s, with the accompanying mosquito bites. But we have returned to Blantyre’s cold season – 17 degrees which seems very chilly now we are fully acclimatised to Malawi weather. So we have put on a few extra layers of clothing– but we are glad to escape the mosquitoes. Continue reading
We’ve been trendy and “off-grid” for a few days, but now (Wed) we have finally reached Karonga, and in a guest house that not only has electricity – but air-conditioning as well – a first for us!! This is our most northerly base for this trip, though one of our planned day-trips will be to visit the church at Chitipa, which is almost at the Tanzanian/Zambian border. We will then be able to say we have been at the most southerly and the most northerly points in Malawi during our stay. Continue reading
Today is exactly 2 weeks since we left Blantyre for our mission trip to the Northern region of Malawi. We have already travelled almost 1500km, and have completed training in the first 2 locations, Mzimba and Mzuzu. On the days when we have not been training, we have visited some of the more remote churches and prayer houses, experiencing some very bumpy roads, and enjoying a very different landscape from the one we have got used to in the South. Continue reading
We know quite a few of you were interested in the pig rearing project in Mulanje that we posted a few weeks ago. There luxurious pigsty was built with a zm grant to create a revenue stream for Mulanje ZEC supported by a committed group of leaders and members in the local church. Continue reading
It is about a year since our shipment, containing some of our musical instruments, arrived in Blantyre. But only recently has Ruth got round to making protective covers for them – and very attractive ones at that, we think you will agree – to keep them safe as they get bundled in and out of the car several times a week, and bounced around in the boot over bumpy roads. Continue reading
Last week Myles and Rose Chirwa (zm‘s Projects Officer) drove to Mulanje ZEC for the big day when three piglets arrived from the market to live in a ‘pig palace’, Mulanje ZEC style. This was the final phase in a substantial project by the local church – supported by the ZEC Synod Office and zm – to create an all-important revenue generating business to help the local church support its ministry of word and deed in this important district administrative centre (see previous report here). Continue reading
The MacBean rule of thumb is: Never let Myles in a bookshop or Ruth in a music shop unless you have a day to spare! Continue reading
After more than a year in Malawi we certainly feel we have settled in and become far more productive as life and social norms in Malawi increasingly feel ‘normal’. However, every now and then something breaks in to shake our complacency and remind us that the underlying cultural ‘world-view’ of many Malawians is very different from ours. Continue reading
Ruth – doing music training with Echoes of Grace while also training Echoes of Grace to be trainers – appears on the new Echoes of Grace website. In turn the site was developed by Myles and Eric, who is being trained by Myles to be the Echoes of Grace digital media director. It’s all go! 🙂
It is no doubt that we can describe the unique touch of Echoes of Grace Malawi as altogether impact compacted. Surely the activities of the group has left the local church even more yearning to have them more.
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It was certainly ‘gey dreich’ last Sunday as we travelled with the General Secretary (Pastor Mtima) and his wife out of Blantyre to worship with Luchenza ZEC. Continue reading
Last Saturday morning, Ruth watched as 20 Bible college students from EBCoM completed the practical task in their children’s ministry training. Each student had to teach a Bible lesson and memory verse, while the trainers listened and evaluated, and then gave feed-back. It made Ruth more acutely aware of the challenges faced by children’s workers here in Malawi, compared with those living in the UK. Continue reading
A Happy New Year to all our family, friends and partners around the world. “Lang may yer lum reek”! [See translation here] Continue reading
It may surprise you to know that we are already thinking ahead to when we return to the UK – one third of our time in Malawi already having gone – wondering how things we are involved with will carry on when we are gone. That’s why our focus has been on training trainers. Ruth was very encouraged a few months ago when the young people of Echoes of Grace suggested that they would like to run the weekend music seminar that Ruth has developed as one of their own ministries, and were keen for Ruth to train them in this. Continue reading
The last few weeks has seen a transformation in Malawi as the first rains of the new season turn the trees and grass green. Families are now digging over every scrap of their land (regardless of the size and location they are called ‘gardens’ here in Malawi) and planting the maize on which their livelihood depends. Continue reading
Myles spends most of his time in his office bashing away on a PC but every now and then he is allowed out for good behaviour 🙂
A few weeks ago an invitation to lead the bible reflections at the retreat of a Malawi based mission team gave Myles the excuse for a sunny midweek escape deep into the Satamwa tea and coffee estate near Thyolo. Continue reading
ZEC Pastors in conference
Back in mid October Myles had an encouraging time supporting the ZEC Pastors Conference that was held at the Mitsidi headquarters of Zambezi Evangelical Church. Continue reading
Many of you will have noticed from our Facebook posts and blogs here at steppingoutwithgod.com that ZM in Malawi had a team of UK visitors with us over the last couple of weeks. In this, their first guest post, they explain how they came to observe, encourage, pray and consider.
Continue reading
The visit by our friends from our home churches of Great Blakenham Baptist Church and Mickfield Evangelical Church meant we had an excuse to take them ‘on safari’ to Majete. The first time we were there was in May with Mhairi and, after our friends’ long hard week serving and sharing with the church in Malawi, we thought they deserved a day as ‘tourists’ and we were praying that the wildlife would turn our for them as it had for us in May. Continue reading
On Saturday 31st October, Ruth joined CFCM in equipping 5 more men and women with the skills and resources to train Sunday School teachers in their area and their church; launching a strategy to multiply the effectiveness of CFCM in reaching children in Malawi with the Gospel. Continue reading
Myles and Ruth on the line between MW and MZ
Back in the depths of the rainy season Pastor Dambo of Doviko ZEC valiantly struggled across miles of muddy track on the back of a motorbike taxi to meet us at Ntonda to participate in Myles’ dissertation research. It only felt right that we promise to visit his church when the roads were (relatively) better. So fresh back from our UK ‘holiday’ on Sunday 11th Oct we travelled to Doviko ZEC with the General Secretary and his wife. Continue reading
It was back in 1981 that the UK Conservative politician Norman Tebbit famously encouraged unemployed Britons to cycle to find employment. Over thirty years later and a bicycle is arguably still the most important ‘tool of the trade – after a bible – for a pastor or church planter in rural Malawi.
From its foundation in 1892 Zambesi Mission (then Zambesi Industrial Mission) has had an objective of helping the Malawi Church be self-sufficient through income generating schemes. The most successful projects seem to be those that build on traditional skills like keeping goats, as in Thambani ZEC. Continue reading
It was great to be back into our church visits so soon after our return to Malawi when on Sunday 27th September we had the opportunity to accompany Pastor Mulamba of Mulanje ZEC back to his Mpala Prayer House which sits several kilometers along a dust road south of Mulanje trading centre and near the Mozambique border by the Ruo River. Continue reading
Church Development Partners
During our short trip back to the UK we were delighted to be asked to speak on several occasions on our work with Zambesi Mission in Malawi. It was a great opportunity for us to look back and take stock of our first nine months in our adopted home of Malawi, and to think of what the future holds. We certainly concluded that our UK visit marked the ‘end of the beginning’ of our time in Malawi and that we looked forward to being able to contribute all the more strongly to serving God’s kingdom in Malawi on our return. Continue reading
We thought we should say ‘hello’ as we have been so silent on steppingoutwithgod.com during our 4 week trip around the UK, and have been quite busy as we settled back in to Malawi life again over the last week. Indeed, we have already completed a ministry trip back to Mpala ZEC Prayer House (more to follow in a later post). We are pleased to say that, after a trip across dry, dusty and bumpy roads to be followed with lovely fellowship under the trees, we are now feel settled in again. Continue reading
Myles loved the warm, peaceful, dusty atmosphere of Nchalo. Continue reading
Living Waters Church, Muloza
Our latest ZM Pastors Bookset Conference was 27-31 July in Muloza (see the approx location on Google Maps here) in Mulanje district. After the event in Mchinji the team came together again like a well oiled machine, and we were pleased to be joined by the local ZEC pastor, Synoden Mulamba. Continue reading
It is now “mid-winter” here in Malawi – and we are wishing we had brought more of our winter clothes from England. When we first moved into our house we were amused to see a fan heater in one of the cupboards – wondering why it was there – this is Africa after all. The windows that did not quite close properly have never been a problem – until June hit. Over the last 6 weeks, here in Blantyre at an altitude of 3400 feet, there have been many cool overcast days, and windy days, and the nights are noticably colder. The fan heater has been used several times, the windows have had to be fixed, and Ruth has been shopping for jumpers and body-warmers! Continue reading
Myles really enjoys the opportunity to get out to preach in different parts of the country and last Sunday (14 June) he had the chance to travel to Chisinkha ZEC, south-west of the tarred road to Thyolo. (See it on Google Earth here.) Continue reading
It was a pleasure to go along to the English service at our “home church” at Limbe ZEC this morning, and sing a few songs from the 21st century! While our daughter, Mhairi, was staying with us, we used her singing skills to hold a couple of sessions at Limbe to teach some new English songs, an alternative to the rather dated songs, like “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Will Your Anchor Hold” which are the staple of the English service most weeks! We formed a band using talented musicians we have got to know, and taught 12 new songs, by people like Stuart Townend, and Matt Redman. Continue reading
A look at Ruth’s typical Tuesday (hint about title!) gives a good picture of the activities she is involved in the rest of the week here in Blantyre. Continue reading
Some weeks ago – two days after our trek down to Muona ZEC in the far south of Malawi – we were off to Mwazule ZEC tucked away around the back of the Mulanje mountain range on a dirt track. With so many rivers running off that range, they had been heavily impacted by the rains. Continue reading
Last Tuesday we set off on our most recent aid trip, this time to an area on the east side of the Shire River where the road had just been declared open by the roads authority. It turned out that “open” was a loose term! It ended up a gruelling, kidney jolting, 3 hr/60 km drive from where we left the tarmac at Kanjedza on the M1 to our destination at the little settlement of Muona, and its Zambesi Evangelical Church. Continue reading
Just as in 19th century Britain, it is the bicycle that brings freedom and transport to the masses in rural Malawi. And none of your fancy 18 gear mountain bikes here, it is good old-fashioned solid designs from days of old – like this “Raja” from India that has a heritage running back to the Raj. Continue reading
Last Saturday saw Ruth take part in her first teacher training session with the Children for Christ Ministries (CfCM) team. The training took place at Ndirandi ZEC in Blantyre but in line with the CfCM philosophy it was open to Sunday School teachers from any denomination. Continue reading
We are about ten weeks into our time here in Malawi and there is still no sign of our TEP (Temporary Employment Permit) being granted. Please pray that this comes through soon as it gives us the official confirmation of our long-term stay here. We are confident God has called us to be here for the long-term, and are increasingly clear about how he specifically wants us to serve, and are beginning to ‘motor’. So we have decided to go ahead with a couple of long-term decisions regardless of the TEP.
ZM and J-Life teams ready to travel to Chirombo ZEC, near Phalombe.
“Whilst the media’s attention has turned away from Malawi, the reality for many thousands of Malawians remains extremely challenging and precarious.”
Stepping Out With God 