I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
“It’s Not All Good, But God Is.” Pt.2
Jerry’s second trip blog from Malawi
Charles and his grandson standing in the classroom he created in the middle of his Model Farm.
I was so excited to visit Malawi. I haven’t been there since 2021, so I was eager to see the work Charles and his team have been doing with my own eyes.
Malawi has also been affected by the drought. It declared a state of disaster as the drought hit 23 of its 28 districts. The Independent wrote, “Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said he had been on a tour of his country to discover the extent of its drought crisis, and a preliminary assessment by the government found about 44% of Malawi’s corn crop had failed or been affected, and 2 million households were directly impacted. He said the country of 20 million people needed around 600,000 metric tons of food aid and called on the international community for help.”
People are desperate for food. Last month, at the end of one of our FGW video meetings, Charles said he was headed to his farm to sleep in the field. He told us that all the FGW farmers are sleeping in their fields to protect their harvest from thieves.
One GLG member protecting his field before he harvested.
Charles and his team have trained 2,400 families in Farming God’s Way in 3 districts. This year, the FGW farmers have stood out in the drought. Though their yields have been affected, many have achieved food security for the year.
Take Jacqualin, for example. She is a widow with three children. Her husband died in 2016, leaving her with a little over half an acre to farm. She used to get 3-4 75kg bags of maize. Her family would eat one meal a day or sometimes every other day. She had no money for her children’s school fees. Life was a constant struggle.
Jacqualin joined a God’s Love Group four years ago and started Farming God’s Way. Her GLG works together on each other’s farms to make the work easier. This is one way they love and serve each other practically. This year, during the drought, she harvested 16 bags! Other local farmers harvested nothing. Last year, with normal rain, she got 22 bags.
Jacqualin said, “I love Farming God’s Way! And being in a GLG is a great encouragement. I could not have done this work on my own.” Her family now eats three meals a day. She sells some excess maize to pay bills, buy fertilizer, and send her children to school.
Jacqualin is ecstatic over this year’s harvest amid a drought.
My favorite thing about our time in Malawi was Jai’s questioning of individual members of GLGs. He wanted to find out what they were learning from the Bible. What interested me was that every group was learning a different scripture. The leadership entrusted the groups and group leaders to The Holy Spirit so that He could give each group what they needed for the week. And as Jai questioned them more, they clearly understood the context and how the scripture applied to their lives. This is so much more than farming. These are lives being transformed in Christian community and experiencing the benefits of Kingdom living.
But it’s not all good news here. Many of these families now have their dignity restored, enough to eat, and the opportunity to give their children an education, but they are still drinking contaminated water that keeps them sick.
I had the opportunity to find out what it is like to fetch water at a village named Amos. A young girl, Susan, led us on a hike down rough terrain to their water source. To get to the small spring, we had to walk the equivalent of 1.5 times around a track, descending 284 feet with empty buckets. Susan filled the 5-gallon bucket, put it on her head, and we hiked the same distance back up the 284-foot incline. I was able to make it back to the top without stopping, but I was drenched with sweat. Susan does this up to five times a day, sometimes with two buckets on her head. The saddest part is all that work for water that still makes them sick.
Every community we visited sang praises to God. They were so grateful for FGW and GLGs. But every community also desperately needed safe water. To date, you have helped provide 55 boreholes in Malawi alone; that is incredible. However, in a country of 20 million people, 1/3 does not have access to safe drinking water. There is so much more work to do. Let us continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Malawi.
The final leg of our journey took us to Uganda, where I encountered the wreckage left behind by ungodly men, and the restoration God used Heaven’s Family’s partners and investors like you to bring.
Grace and Peace,
Susan carrying two buckets of water on her head. She makes it look easy;)
