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News from APF Visit to Malawi and Tanzania, Sep-Oct 2003

 God is Good!

In parts of East Africa there is an unofficial sort of liturgy which simply goes like this:

Leader:  God is good
Cong: All the time
Leader: All the time
Cong: God is good!

Although it can become a little trite, the truth of this is something we can easily forget.  In our recent travels, visiting and encouraging pastors and their wives in Malawi and Tanzania we have experienced this truth in many different ways. Travel plans, which were not exactly what we expected, turned out to be better than our plans. Contacts, even on the plane going out, proved to be God’s provision for the future.  Hospitality from a variety of sources was brilliant.  Even ill-health led us into contact with significant people we did not know about. The ill health was not pleasant but God was good in the way it was dealt with.  It could have been in a much worse place and much worse time when we were miles from anywhere. God was in control and He is good. He never promised us freedom from troubles, but always His presence with us in the middle of them.

 Work with the CCAP (Church of Central African Presbyterian) Church in Malawi.

This is the largest Protestant church in Malawi, known as the CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) it is also one of the oldest. The three Synods in the country function reasonably independently but have fair relationships with one another.
The Free Presbyterian Church from Scotland and the Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland have had a great influence in the Northern region.
Our seminar for pastors and wives of the Livingstonia Synod (in the North), in August, started on a difficult footing as the local organiser had gone off to the States the day before we arrived and ‘handing over notes’ left a little to be desired. Once we got going, however, we had a good time of fellowship and sharing. Servant leadership seemed to be a lesson much needed by some pastors, especially in connection with their families!  Two funerals, one of the deputy session clerk who simply dropped dead with a heart attack and the other of the re burial of the remains of the first Angoni convert to Christianity, took some of our time, but it was a good course.  It was a pity that the Northern Region Anglicans did not respond to the invitations. A new University , based at Livingstonia was opened recently.The key mission influence in the Central Region was the Dutch Reformed Church.We did not have any courses with Nkhoma Synod (Central Region) ministers, we did have a very profitable evening with the General Secretary of the Synod, who is very keen to get involved in the commentary translation project.  He is also planning for APF to conduct a seminar for his pastors next time we visit Malawi.
Blantyre Synod in the South has been mainly influenced by the Church of Scotland Presbyterian.
On this trip we only managed to give greetings to folk at the ‘cathedral’ church of St Michael and All Angels in Blantyre.  We have had courses for Blantyre synod pastors on previous visits

 Work with the Anglican Church in Malawi

The Bishop of Northern Malawi was on Likoma Island during our visit, but we did have a chat with some of the Diocesan staff in his absence.

In the Diocese of Lake Malawi, Central region, we had a very open sharing with the Bishop Peter Nyanja.  We have known him for over 30 years and appreciate his ministry and openness. His major concerns are AIDS, poverty and famine. He shared with us his concern for a pastor’s wife in hospital with malaria and so was thrilled when we left him enough money for mosquito nets for the families of all his clergy.

Although it was after dark, there was a power cut, and he and his wife had only just got back from a long safari, the Bishop of the new Diocese of Upper Shire gave us a warm welcome when we called at his home in Chilema.  Bishop Bernard is also Archbishop for Central Africa and so is involved in the complex problems of Zimbabwe.  He is also greatly troubled by the debates within the Anglican communion over homosexuality. We do need to pray for all the Primates as they have such a great responsibility in this matter. Bishop Bernard was also thrilled to receive money for mosquito nets for all his clergy families.

Before the division of the Diocese last year, Bishop James Tengatenga had been based at Chilema.  Now he has moved to Blantyre to set up a new headquarters for the Diocese of Southern Malawi.  We found him and his wife, Josie, in good spirits and encouraged by the growth in numbers of congregations and Christians, especially in the urban centres. The day after we were with him he was travelling to a rural area for confirmations and to give the pastor a bicycle donated through APF!  His major concern was that money left with him at the old Diocesan HQ  for a retirement project had been unaccounted for whilst he had been overseas.  This raised a number of important issues for discussion. He would also like us to run a course for his pastors next time we visit Malawi.

 Work with the Zambesi Evangelical Church in Malawi

This is one of the oldest churches in the country. It was started by one, Joseph Booth, who made an incredible impact on the Christian scene in what was then Nyasaland. This church concentrated originally in parts of the central Region and the South but now has churches all over the country. Pastors are trained at the Evangelical College of Malawi, which used to be known as Likabula Bible Institute in Blantyre and at a lower level at Zancom, also in Blantyre.
During our second week in Malawi we had a seminar for some 80 pastors and wives, mainly from the Central region, at Chongoni Lay Training Centre.
This is a beautiful, isolated setting for a conference and proved very good for us all.  There was a good spirit of worship and learning, even if speed of getting to sessions was not their strong point.  The main problem with isolated centres is transport.  I wonder what the record is for the number of people in a pick up? I am glad it was the dry season

 Work with the New Life Christian Church.

On the other hand, New Life Christian Church is a very new church with a lot of enthusiasm, but no background and very little training.  Three years ago we ran a couple of courses with pastors and wives at Chapanangwa and Nsanje for this church. Since then they have built a new centre at Ngabu, with help from St Bartholomew’s, Binley. It is hoped that this will become a centre for training, but a few more buildings, such as dormitories and toilets are still needed.
The level of basic education amongst these pastors and their wives is quite low, but their enthusiasm to learn and serve is contagious.  A number of the pastors had come across from Mozambique where they seem to be meeting a real need.  The leader of this church, Lloyd Chizenga needs a lot of encouragement and support, but is doing a grand job under difficult conditions.  We are hoping he will get his pastors linked in with something like Theologiacl Education by Extension (TEE) which will help give some of the basic training they need.

 Work with Baptist Churches in Malawi

Contacts with Baptist churches in Malawi were all on an informal basis as we met with old friends who are leading laymen in their Baptist Associations, particularly on the Lakeshore and to the North.  There was a lot of enthusiasm for a joint course between 3 adjacent Associations on our next visit. This would be for pastors and evangelists who get very little help in these rural areas.

 Scriture Union in Malawi

On a personal level, it was good for Jane and Ralph to be able to renew friendships and fellowship with many folk involved in Scripture Union in Malawi. (We worked for them for 15 years in the days of its infancy.)  To be a speaker at the Annual general Meetings was a thrill and challenge as together we sought the Lord’s will for the future.  These have been challenging days for SU in Malawi.  As the new General Secretary, Rodrick Banda, takes over the reigns we would do well to support him in prayer.  SU has a key role in stimulating and motivating people to regular Bible reading and to a Biblical theology.  We hope to work together with them in commentary translation and distribution of Safari books and pictures.
We were extremely grateful that SU made a vehicle available to us throughout our three weeks in Malawi, giving us the independence to visit many places and people.
Again, on a personal level we have undertaken to raise support for a project based on the SU house at Chirimba.  If any folk are interested, please feel free to contact us for details.

 Church and Politics in Malawi

Please pray for the relationship between Church and State in the coming months as elections approach in May 2004.. Tensions between some church leaders and politicians could be creative or explosive!

 Travel in Tanzania

In contrast to the beautifully compact country of Malawi, where you can drive almost anywhere within a few days, Tanzania is colossal.  The communication network is correspondingly poor and so travel is not easy.  We had to fly from East to West as the roads would have taken too long and the railway was considered too unreliable to keep to timetables

 Kibondo

Having flown from East to West we could have been forgiven for thinking we were almost there.  We had not allowed for the 260km journey each way from Kigoma, the air terminal, to Kibondo, the site of our course. (Only 5km was tarmac!)
Kibondo is a centre from which there has been a lot of outreach and evangelism in recent months. Assistant Bishop Sadok, who is based here, was also keen to emphasise it was the leading congregation in stewardship this year!  Two days of the course here were lost due to Ralph’s illness in Dar es Salaam, but the time spent here was very worthwhile. The church here is well contextualised and the pastors entered into the learning experience with zest and rhythm.
Whilst here we were able to see some of the bicycles given recently by APF to evangelists and pastors moving out into new congregations. We were also able to see the foundations of a house which will be roofed by funds sent through APF recently.  The tin sheets are already there waiting for the walls. The enthusiasm for commentaries and Safari books outstripped our ability to meet it. This was partly because we could not carry much on the plane.
Practical problems included a 4-wheel drive ploughing through a wall next to where we were having breakfast and a bishop who tried to get 20 hours work into the 10 hours before we were due to catch a train. As it turned out we caught the train with time to spare.

 Tabora

The overnight train to Tabora was only 2 hours late, which suited us fine as we knew we would have to wait for 2 hours at least to be met, due to the early hour arrival in Tabora.  Bishop Francis, himself came to meet us and to take us to the Diocesan guest house. We were in Tabora for just over a week and conducted two training courses. The first course was an interdenominational course for pastors living within reach of Tabora town.  Bishop Francis acts as chairman for this interdenominational group which can be over 90 strong. In the end there were some 25 pastors and, on occasions 15 wives, to share in fellowship and learning. A few of these pastors had been at the course three years ago, but were keen for more.  The material used in these courses is applicable to all denominations, even some of those with ‘way out’ names. Being non-residential had its problems as pastors still had local calls on their time and so attendance was not consistent.
The second course was residential and was for Anglican clergy from all over the Diocese. What this means can be seen from the fact that the Diocese is something like 300 miles long by 240 miles wide. It was a privilege to be asked to preach at the Ordination service for a deacon who will move into a new area where there are no churches.  Being residential meant that everyone got to know one another well and we made some good friends.  At the end of the course, as we gave pastors and wives their certificates for attending, we were able to give each family three mosquito nets.  The appreciation was very touching.

 Literature

Whilst we were in Tabora, Michael Nchimbi, Editor from the Central Tanganyika Press in Dodoma to discuss the production of Swahili literature suitable for pastors in rural areas.  Together with Bishop Francis we had a very useful time and we hope we can put together a programme for establishing what pastors really need, training writers to produce them, producing the books and then getting them into the hands of those who need them.  APF will only be one of the participants in this scheme as we are trying to encourage other groups to get involved.  If you have suggestions of others who might be interested, please let us know.

 Vernacular Literature

Why do we put so much emphasis on making commentaries and other books available to pastors in their own languages? The following article, used courtesy of The Seed Company in Wycliffe’s Words of Life  Issue 3 2003, will explain a little more how some others see the situation.

English is the language of education, the wider world, employment and opportunity, so children have to learn it in order to get on.
But the mother tongue expresses our identity and enables us to communicate the whole range of human thought and feelings. And we do this in a way that can be trusted, because it is heart to heart communication. A message delivered in our own language grabs our attention.  When spiritual truth is presented in another language it’s easier to to ignore, however important it may be. There is no compelling reason to take it seriously, there may be no ring of truth or conviction.
Moreover, in traditional African society the supposed power of words affects the way people receive a new truth, whether or not they understand the words.
While many Christians came to know God through their second language, many are still in the dark.

Communicating the gospel in the ‘wrong’ language is a reliable recipe for superficial, formal spirituality. It doesn’t normally make people want to change.  A message in a foreign language can be safely ignored, but it’s hard to ignore a message in the language that expresses your identity.
This is part of our motivation.  The last New Testament commentary in Swahili, on Hebrews, is nearing completion.  Three are nearly ready for printing.  Romans has just been printed.  Please pray for the distribution of these through Tanzania and Kenya.

 News from Kenya

Of the countries in East Africa, Kenya has fared better than most economically, but has suffered considerably from corruption. The new government is fighting hard against this but has a long way to go.  Churches have played a big part in the new situation and need our support as they continue to work for Justice and righteousness.  This report of a march in Nairobi gives something of a flavour of what is going on.

Christians Dedicate Country to God On Path to Progress
African Church Information Service   NEWS
August 4, 2003   Posted to the web August 4, 2003
By Herman Kasili Nairobi

Approximately 20,000 Christians from various denominations came together here last Thursday, for a national worship to dedicate Kenya to God, as the country marks its 40th year of self-governance.
The occasion was marked by prayers of repentance of ills such as tribal clashes (1991-1992), corruption, torture, and terrorism, and seeking God's guidance in war against afflictions like HIV/AIDS, poverty and insecurity, among others.
A highlight of the occasion was the dedication of Kenya's draft constitution to God. A Member of Parliament, Onesmus Kihara Mwangi, noted that there were some clauses in the constitution that were ungodly, and asked the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission to dedicate the preamble of the document to God.
Kihara, who was speaking on behalf of parliamentarians, said that sections of the draft document that seemed to sanction abortion and homosexuality, should be deleted because they were ungodly.

 Praying for the Anglican Communion

As this newsletter reaches most people, Primates from all over the world will be meeting to discuss vital issues relating to the future of this large communion of Christians.
Whatever our particular denominational position, we need to be much in prayer for these discussions and for the way in which various churches, groups and individuals react to them.
During our recent trip to Malawi and Tanzania, we were continually being asked questions about the church’s attitude to homosexuality and related issues. It is concerning pastors even in rural areas as they hear rumours about what is happening. The Gospel came to them from the West and they hold the Church in the West in high regard.  They are disturbed by what they hear. Our main message was that they need to be praying for the Church in the West as it goes through this crisis and especially for those at the heart of this discussions.The outcome of these discussions will affect people in every branch of Christ’s Church throughout the world.

 Continue to pray for :-

Uganda

Child abduction, pillage and rape by the so-called Lord’s Resistance Army has continued in Teso district, where APF has worked with many pastors in Baptist and Pentecostal churches.  Many church buildings have been overrun by Displaced peoples and food is desperately short. Please pray for these pastors as they seek to show God’s love in a practical way to all in need.  Pray for the International community to take notice of this horrendous situation.  Let us know if you want to help in any way.

DR Congo

Give thanks for increased peace in parts of Congo, in spite of efforts by trouble-mongers to stir up strife. Two of the rebel leaders have been sworn in as Vice-Presidents and details of power sharing are being worked out. Pray for pastors, themselves traumatised by the war, as they seek to lead their congregations back to a sense of ‘normality’.

Burundi

FDD and FNL rebels still refuse to agree to peace and many still live in fear of their lives. Continue to pray for all involved in discussions inside and out of Burundi.  Give thanks for pastors still proclaiming God’s truth in these difficult situations.

Rwanda

Give thanks for relatively peaceful Presidential and Parliamentary elections recently. Pray that however the results may be perceived, everyone will pull together for the development of the country rather than following personal or ethnic demands. Pray that church leaders will set the standards for this.

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