| Children’s Homes: Our two Children’s Homes are full. There is one bed left in the girls’ home that is reserved for the little sister of two of our girls. Our dream is to see the children healed of all that has hurt them, and set free to worship God with all their lives. The day to day is full of cuts and bruises, ringworm, dirty clothes, discipline, and laughter. Currently, the next boys’ and girls’ homes are under construction. They will be finished in October or November, and then we can fill them with lost and abandoned children. We are searching for house parents for both houses. This is a very tough job, requiring a very strong heart, and long term commitment. We are so happy with Hedson and Fanny Nsitu, and Rose Kennedy, our present house parents. They are so wonderful, and have learned so much about showing the Father’s love to these children. Pray for us as we seek righteous and committed house parents and teachers for our children. | |
| Hunger: Parts of Malawi are still in famine like conditions. The media speaks of the great harvest in Malawi this past season but that was in the central and northern parts of the country. Yes, there is enough food to feed every Malawian, but the truth is, it is not getting down to the people around us here in the south who have had little to no harvest this year. We are still feeding 3,000 families a month. Thankfully, we have already received 3 – 40’ containers from ‘Feed the Hungry’ and ‘Feed My Starving Children’ in the USA. There is one more container on the way from ‘Feed the Children’ USA. These all came after our call for help last year during the famine – it just took time to process so arrived a year late. But, it’s not really late as it is bringing great relief to the 3000 families who are still desperate for food today. |
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As well, we have literally given tons of food to ‘Good News Children’s Home’ located in Sorgin just a few kilometers north of us where 105 orphans live. They have been desperate for food as they have limited support. We also took a truck load of food down to the government hospital in Nsanje (south of us) where we donated to the pediatric and maternity wards. The District Commissioner (highest ranking civil servant in our area) witnessed and applauded Iris Africa for such a wonderful act. People suffer greatly in the hospitals because there is such a lack of supplies. Patients are not given food and guardians often do not have any money. The food we donated was a huge relief. |
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The World Food Program is continuing a program in Bangula where they feed school children porridge in the morning, but that’s the extent of their work in the area since the famine officially ended in May. We are the only ones feeding the widows, elderly, crippled and blind here in Bangula. There are still so many suffering.
The worst time for hunger is still before us. November through February are the most difficult months as food is scarce. Right now we are trying to find as much maize as we can to prepare for this critical time. Please continue to help the most vulnerable here in Malawi by contributing to the Malawi Famine Relief fund. Bush Conferences: We are currently in the season of conferences with our church members and other local villagers throughout the country. In July we hosted 5,000 people for five days and were grateful for the ministry of Heidi & Rolland Baker, Charles Stock and others who spoke God’s Word and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit to those gathered who were desperate for Jesus. |
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| We saw many miracles including hundreds receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, eyes and ears opened, people delivered from demons, and sickness healed. Mo prayed for a women with a debilitated hand likely caused by a stroke and witnessed the Lord restore her hand. Amazed at her restored hand, she beamed the biggest smile across her face. Last weekend we ministered among around 1,000 people in the northern part of the country in a village called Chilumba. Next month we will be hosting a conference in the rural countryside just outside Lilongwe and looking forward to Guy Chevreau from Canada who will be our visiting preacher. |
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Planting Maize: We have been planting maize fields in the free land around our buildings for two purposes. First, we want to demonstrate some alternative planting methods, secondly, we want to keep down the dust during this very dry season. In the future we would like to develop land specifically for a farm, to grow food for the Centre, and for others around us. |
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Mission Base Protection: The brick wall around the property is in place but we need to have a metal gate made. Why bother with a wall and a gate? We are a target because we live in a region so desperate and hungry. It is obvious that we have resources, as we pass out many on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, as we feed 3000 families every month. The wall also keeps out cows and goats, that destroy crops, and, in theory, snakes. I say, in theory, because we have had many in the past few months, as we have been destroying termite mounds where they live. We have had several black mambas and puff adders, both of which are very dangerous. This is a matter for prayer. |
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New Construction Projects: What’s next in the short term? When the children’s homes are finished, we will be building a dormitory for female pastors and leaders. We are so grateful for funding for this much needed facility. Until it is ready, our female pastors stay in a rented house in the nearby village. This means that night time study is difficult as they have no power, and they are somewhat removed from the Bible school site and activity. As our churches are composed of mostly women, it is so important that we develop these leaders.
Feeding Facility: With the Bible school continuing with a full compliment of pastors we are very aware of the need for a permanent kitchen/dining room facility. Our present kitchen is a temporary shelter which doubles as a storage room. It is not easy to prepare food well in such conditions. With 55 pastors, 24 children, 20 workers plus construction teams and community children’s programs, we need to think carefully about how to minimize sickness, and maximize efficiency. This structure will also include a storage room for food, so that we do not have to use classroom space for short term storage. At the moment pastors eat outside, which is fine during the dry season, but rainy season is another matter. We hope to begin construction in November of this year. |
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Children’s School: As well as the female dormitory and kitchen, we are looking forward to building a school for our Iris children. This school will first of all serve our own children, but then will grow to serve the wider community. Education is really limited here, with over 100 children in every class, and teachers who are not very committed to the children. We have our older children in the local public school at the moment but we long to see them have greater opportunities to learn and grow. Again, as we build, we will need to staff the school. We will be looking for Malawian teachers to come, and also Westerners to come and train and support our Malawian staff. We are so thankful for Australian friends who have taken on the school as their project. Of course there are always small projects to fill any quiet moments, between the big projects. We just recently built a guard house at the gate where visitors are welcomed before they are directed to one of us, or one of our Malawian leaders. We need to put roofs over our six containers which are used for storage. Roofs would provide some protection from the sun, and the rain during rainy season. Do you know anyone who would like to come and do some of these carpentry projects around the site? |
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Future Building Projects: In the longer term, we will need to add to the children’s school additional classes for the higher grades. We would like to build staff housing for some of our senior leaders at the Bible School. We need to have some senior national leadership onsite to assist in the day to day operation of the mission base. We may eventually build another two children’s homes onsite before we branch out into the villages, our long term dream. In order to build homes in the villages, we must have mature and responsible leaders in place to parent these homes. This takes time and training. Dreaming again, we would love to have a medical clinic on site (with nurses and doctors, and a lab) to serve our pastors and children, as well as the local community. Missionary Housing: We rejoice in the completion of the house for longer term missionaries. Next in that department, we will need to build short term housing for visiting ministry teams. We have many people interested in coming, but we are not yet ready to host teams. The drive to the airport is a six hour round trip. Once here, visitors need accommodation where they can relax, and be free to minister. So, we need to have a missionary who works in hospitality, as well as a building for visitors. God will provide in his perfect time. Thank You: We extend to you our thanks for the many ways in which you love us and the work of Iris Ministries among some of the poorest in the world. With much love, David & Joanna Morrison (Patrick, Daniel & Kalina). |
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