Malawi – Speak True Life

**First Missions Trip Abroad – Malawi, Africa – October 2018**

In 2018, I was ecstatic to experience the sights, sounds, culture, language, and the mission field of Malawi, Africa. With the exception my pastor, many of the other five members from my church had never been on a mission trip, and some had never been out of the continental USA. It was both a dream come true and an awakening to how rich I was in many areas taken for granted.

The impact of 2018 is a mission memorial and why I seek your support for the **Wonderfully Made** campaign.

The “Wonderfully Made” campaign is focused on strengthening and extending the special needs ministry of the Passion Center for Children in Malawi, Africa. The Bible tells us that we are all ‘fearfully and wonderfully’ made and that everyone is precious in God’s sight. However, too often, those with special needs don’t feel that way. Instead, they experience neglect, are shunned, and sometimes thought to be cursed because in countries like Malawi, information is lacking, resources are scarce, and intervention is absent. The Passion Center’s Champions Club and Champs Mobile ministries are focused on changing that in a growing number of villages in Malawi and we invite you to join us in making that possible!

In 2016, the Champions Club began as a first-of-its-kind ministry in Malawi operating as a fixed site ministry for special needs children!

Right away we saw parents, grandparents, and siblings walk hours to bring their special needs loved ones to the Champions Club for help. We were amazed to see the impact this ministry was having. Quickly it became apparent that a mobile component was needed. Now the Champs Mobile ministry drives out to dozens of villages to care for the special needs children and their families who would otherwise not be able to make the long journey to the club.

The Champions Club and the Champs Mobile ministries give these kids a special place to feel safe, protected, and loved. Our staff shows them they are precious, not forgotten, nor cursed, but that they are “wonderfully made” and precious in the sight of God. They let them know that there is real hope in Jesus Christ and alongside their parents/guardians, we help them become all they can be in Christ. We do that by focusing on 4 key areas: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical (PT & OT). What a joy it is to see special needs children and their families start experiencing hope and support that they lacked before!

Join us in supporting the Wonderfully Made campaign from now to through June 12, 2021.

THE MAIN GOALS ARE:

1 EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES & STAFFING

This includes items such as wheelchairs, specialized stretching and strengthening equipment, crutches, swings, education toys, Bibles, and additional staff members that will help us to better serve the kids in the Champs ministry.

2 NEW CHAMPS CLUB SITE

We are excited about opening our second Champions Club at Jali Community Church. With the large number of special needs kids in this area and a growing Passion Center site at Jali Community Church, this fully equipped and staffed second location would be a huge blessing to the community.

3 NEW SPONSORSHIPS

We currently have 60 Champs awaiting sponsorship. Our hope and prayer is to find sponsors for all of these children. The monthly support of $25 will allow the child to receive the one-on-one attention they need, and provide training and instruction to the champs and their families so they won’t feel neglected, shunned, or cursed. That’s the blessing of the Champions ministries!

I am asking for your help in reaching my personal fundraising goal of $500 (10% of the overall goal) to raise funds for The Passion Center for Children’s campaign for Malawian ‘special needs children.’ Just $5 would get me started in the right direction. In exchange for your donation, I will highlight your business, church, faith-based non-profit or a faith-based event right here on my blog and name you as a donor.

WE THANK YOU in advance for your support and your prayers. The link to give your gift is below. We encourage your to look around the sight for additional ways you, your church, or your organization can support the Passion Center.

http://sponsorship.passioncenterforchildren.org/campaigns/donate-to-malawi-wonderfully-made

God continues to be gracious and merciful unto me. I live a comfortable life and try to keep it that way. My life revolves around church, work, home, family, and the occasional movies and dinner with friends. I have enough to live on, although there is always room for better stewardship of my resources.

It’s a comfortable life! Unfortunately, getting comfortable has its drawbacks. I recently heard of a person who believed they had learned all they needed to learn from the scriptures and felt all they needed to do at their stage of the Christian walk was maintain what they’ve learned. Of course, at first, some might agree that sounds good. But, with careful consideration, you realize it’s only justifiable if you’re talking about material things.

Speaking truth to myself is a necessary reality^{[noun, 2.]} because I understand that I am opposed by an uncouth roaring lion looking to wreck my life. I cannot allow myself to get so comfortable in my spiritual life that I leave myself open to becoming a casualty in this spiritual war. Every time I read the bible there are new truths being revealed that I hadn’t grasped before. Comfortability brings about a spiritual laziness that lures one into believing they are giving God their best when, according to the scriptures, even our best is as filthy rags.

The fear of spiritual complacency is one reason I’m using the 52 Weeks of Pursuit bible study by Mark Trotter for this year’s reading through the bible. Every year I look to go deeper into the word to get a better understanding to help me more rightly divide the Word. There is power in the confidence of knowing what you are talking about.

I know fear is not of God, but a healthy reverence for him is a reminder that he is a holy God; there is no other (no matter how many new theories arise — the earth is flat; worship of the created things, I alone am master of my destiny, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera). The thought of missing an opportunity to go ye therefore and teach all nations leaves me with an unpleasant feeling in the pit of my stomach.

If I were willing to remain in this current, comfortable spiritual state, I have no doubt it would render me ineffective for the kingdom of God in many ways. I don’t want to be lured into forgetting that I will stand before God one day to give an account of what I did with his gifts! This is one of the reasons I jumped at the opportunity to take my first Mission’s Trip abroad.

Witnessing the increasing sense of entitlement our society (young and old) exhibits is another thing that spurs me toward mission mindedness. I find it both frightening but biblically anticipated, since we are so full of ourselves that we’ve relegated God to the backseat instead of letting him lead. We are the modern reality and future of Revelation 3:14-22. Pride is the attribute^{[noun, 2.]} that gets us in trouble with God and man, and personally, I don’t need that kind of trouble in my life!

This leads me to the inspiration behind today’s post. When the door was opened in October 2017 for my pastor, Ray Stewart, to embark on an overseas mission trip to Malawi, Africa, I was both excited and scared for him. I prayed earnestly for his safety, Mark Trotter and all who those traveling and working together on this mission trip. Working through the ministry of The Passion Center for Children / Passion Center for Pastors, my pastor proclaimed the gospel in the villages and helped to equip local pastors in their study of Scripture to help them “rightly divide the Word of Truth” and, to stand against Islam/witchcraft.

MALAWI, AFRICA — A place I had never heard of before, and most likely, you either. My pastor shared some of the highlights from his trip with the congregation. We learned of Malawi’s richness, and they are underdeveloped. The statistics were saddening: only 9% of the entire country has electricity and running water; only 20% of children attend secondary school; and, the infant mortality rate is high due to HIV and AIDS. [Read the article on Pastor Ray’s trip by clicking here.]

I was gracefully convicted of my own wasteful and careless spending habits. Becoming a $40 a month donor to the Passion Center for Children was a spiritual no-brainer. Not surprisingly, I haven’t missed a dime of it! In fact, I was blessed instead. As I mentioned in my first post of this year, the excitement and pleasure of meeting and talking with Pastors Mark Trotter and Malawi Pastor Pilira Chibwana was a blessing.

It’s confession time. Since making the decision to join the October mission team this year in Malawi, I have been attacked with fear. My consolation, however, is implementing a lesson I learned to push past the fear. I wrestle control of my heart and mind out of the grip of my flesh (our enemy), and reposition myself back under the control of the Holy Spirit. I never forget to expect spiritual attacks the moment my heart service to the Lord increases.

I’m encouraged to enjoy the comfortable interludes in my spiritual walk with God. But, I don’t want to stay there 20, 30 years. God desires fruit, and my knowledge is increasing on how to be a more profitable sower. I want to bear more fruit. Being mission-minded is another part of the process that will help me do that so I don’t become stagnate in my Christian walk. I am honored for the door God has opened for me to participate as part of the Mission Team. Malawi is a spirit-led open invitation to travel outside my box!

Let the preparations begin!

Any Support You Can Give Helps Send Our 7-Person Mission Team to Malawi, Africa.

Donations are acceptable in two forms:

Grace & Truth Baptist Church, c/o 4000 SW Kamryn Drive, Lee’s Summit, MO 64082

Give as a Guest on our church app on our website:

https://pushpay.com/g/gtckcmissouri?src=hpp

(Give as a guest: select Missions (not General Fund) – Forward a copy

of your receipt to graceandtruthadmin@icloud.com so that we can

acknowledge you on our website and Facebook page)

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Tag: Malawi

Mission Minded Memorial: Wonderfully Made Campaign

MISSION MINDED: Traveling Outside My Box

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!