SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST
MISSION OF MALAWI
PO BOX 60150 BT. 6 BLANTYRE MALAWI AFRICA
TEL. 265-9-741-007/ or 265-8-751140 (mobile)
Missionary / Evangelist: Peter A. Halliman
Email: panagioite04@gmail.com
Date: 16/06/2009
Dear Pastor, Church, and Supporters;
Php 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
¶ I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you,
always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now.
I would like to take a few moments of your time to bring you up to date relative to the work here in Malawi Africa.
For nearly four years my residing here at Makunguwa Farm which is located twenty-two miles one way from town, it takes no less then thirty-five minutes one way to make the drive therefore a turn around trip is a bit more then a hour. With fuel at over five dollars a gallon the trips into town have to be salvaged from every angle, meaning, I usually make the most of the day doing business, banking, shopping etc… however the problem is no one here in Africa gets in a hurry, no one cares about much of anything, and furthermore no one cares about you (whom ever you may be).
What takes an hour to do in a developed country can and does take hours sometimes all day here in Africa. Therefore when I make a “to do list” for the day, its no more then one or two things which even that sometimes becomes too much. A city of crowding one million people where one can drive through the main part of town after hours in fifteen minutes but hasn’t improved the infrastructure since 1960. The road system cannot handle the traffic, nor are there sufficient car parks which, one can drive around for thirty minutes looking for a place to park.
I want to take a moment to reflect on a simple aspect of our lives which most of us find ourselves involved in these days. The communication level in developed countries is a quest which we here in Africa dream about. Some years ago the internet arrived here in Malawi, because of the problem with theft and the frequency of it; it wasn’t feasible for a company to supply underground cable or overhead for that matter. The copper wires were dug up in the night, sections at a time and cut out to be carted away and sold in the local markets. Therefore two different firms brought in wireless, within the past three years. This was remarkable breakthrough; at least I was excited about it for I didn’t have to deal with broken wires, stolen, or otherwise. It’s not until I depart Malawi and arrive in a developed country that I realize just how far back we really are here in Malawi Africa.
To give you a small idea of how long it takes for me to do my email and the system that I usually have to follow. The speed on a good day is 6-8 kb a second this is on wireless and many days the signal cuts out; so one has to re-connect, etc… I spent three hours the other day trying to send four emails. If one doesn’t have the patience and goes home then the trip into town was simply wasted.
Just the simple things in life sometimes become a major issue and a real challenge, I said all that to say this, I made a decision after speaking with the owner of Skyband (the internet service provider) which I use, whom is a good friend of mine and has been since 1997 when we were in Blantyre City Neightbourhood Watch together. His firm is looking to expand their outreach of service into the tea and coffee estates nearby the farm where I reside. I started fabricating a communications tower a couple years ago but due to funds as well as time and energy diverted to other jobs the fabrication was never finished. In due time I decided that I should finish the job. The main road block has been funding as even the second-hand material that most people and companies will not use is very dear however it is found and sold in the local markets here. The blueprints for the tower that would enable me to have wireless internet 24/7 meant that I would need to fabricate a tower no less then one hundred fifty feet tall, various reasons being, topography, line of sight, and range; these reasons all affect the design of a communications tower. To purchase a tower of this size (already fabricated) or to have one assembled in place would cost upwards of about ten thousand US dollars. By me purchasing (second-hand material) and fabricating it myself with the help of my workers I have been able to keep the cost around three thousand dollars. The cost of wireless (hotspot) accessibility runs (one hundred dollars a month) now, who knows what it will be in six months or a year. Therefore, the expense of the tower gets me not only the tower but the wireless service free monthly once they have installed a dish to the tower, the service provider will pick up other customers and I will get the service that I want and need, (free)!
This whole operation may be questionable in the minds of some, however, let me invite you to come live here with me for a few weeks and after you have spent considerable time in trying to communicate with your family, and or church then you will begin to understand the desire for a better way of communication.
Recently I had someone make suggestions to me relative to how I could better manage the time table in communications.
Allow me to say, most folks in developed countries have the convenience of (real-time, full-time Electric) 24/7 except in some emergencies, however here in Malawi Africa the power fails frequently. Most businesses of any size will and do have their own gen-sets that are on standby. I did have a gen-set that served a short while here on the farm in the beginning when I moved here as I didn’t have any electric (and didn’t for 3 years), however there was a fault which developed in the gen-set and the mechanical shop which I took it to, they have had it for three years without any success of repair. I bought it in the US for 3500.00 shipped it here to Malawi converted it to the electric system here (230/50cycle) and salvaged five months of usage, (that is the price one pays for second-hand).
With electric now in the house and some form of updated living I am now in a position to raise this mast and have Skyband install the communications dish so I can also enjoy a “home based” internet service. This will also affect and change so many things in my life that words cannot explain. Just like the electric changed my life forever here in Malawi Africa, so to will the communications.
The days of taking a letter to the P.O. are all but over, I am not sure who does this anymore, that is, if they have a computer and some internet service. There is no reason why God’s people cannot or should not lock into the communication highway which is available.
I want to take a moment and reflect on the work, for the past three weeks I have performed four funeral services. With a country of pushing thirteen million and HIV percentage has been listed as one out of three positive. I don’t know how this is proved or disproved but be it as it may the longevity of people here seldom reach into their sixties and or seventies. Most men will never live past their fifties and most women will never reach sixty. Many die here whilst they are in the prime of life, and many children even babies seem to have an untimely death. However we know that our times are appointed by God and in the day of death no man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit, but it returneth unto Him who gave it.
The funeral ceremony will take all day, and there are many functions which will take place. There isn’t a parlor to go into or relax whilst waiting for the ceremony, there isn't any embalming to preserve the body, there are no machines to dig the grave; it’s all real and personal, from the shoveling of the soil, to the smell of death, unto the preaching of the Gospel. The preaching is outside near the house of the one whom passed away, many folks from around the village come to attend. Some out of respect, some because of relations, but many because of customary laws. It gives me a chance to preach the Gospel to many who never go to church, I always try to preach some words of comfort to the family, but no funeral service is complete (at least the way I see it) without the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end of the preaching then different men will carry the coffin to the grave site where everyone will also follow along and be seated around the newly dug grave. A short message is delivered again and then the body is buried. After the burial everyone departs going their separate ways.
I will take a moment to reflect on the Bible school of this year; As usual we conduct our Bible school classes each year beginning the first of May and go through September, regardless of what [some] have said or even choose to believe. My mission work is not operated by what others think or choose to believe but what God allows me to do with both the resources as well as the strength. This year I have not as yet brought the pastors into the school or started classes, reason being I am alone! From the time that my Father came from Nigeria in 1998 to 2008 the LORD was pleased to send someone my way to assist in the Bible School classes. This would free me up to manage the administration of the school, run the other business of the mission, do the shopping both for my house as well as the school etc… I have in past reports explained in great detail what it takes to run a school here looking after the pastors, the transportation effort, shopping in the markets daily etc… I will not take the time to be redundant if someone (whoever you may be) did not read those reports or didn’t understand the first time; I would suggest that you go back and re-read them to get a fuller understanding of what this entails.
I have said before in numerous reports, I can only do what I can do, I am a man at the end of the day, and the demands of (this work) are very physical as well as mental. I have in the past sacrificed myself physically to be the driver, the mechanic, the organizer, the shopper, the teacher, the counselor, the time keeper, etc…. I can go on but what’s the point? No one will fully understand this statement unless they have spent some time here.
I have spent considerable time with the local churches, and pastors re-building the work, I have not come off the wall, for the work which I do is a [great work], and I cannot come down to you! Therefore, I need some to carry the mortar, some to mix, I need some to help with the foundation, and I need some builders (masons) (brick layers). In all the Word of God, I don’t find one man that is trying to do it all; if we read about the prophets, well, God gave them extraordinary gifts and powers which we today do not possess. I don’t have the power to raise the dead, or heal the sick; I cannot command the rains to come or stop, (Pray) yes, I can and do so. I said all that to say this, NO I (cannot) anymore try to do it all, I live among a Nation of people who have little, and what they do have is sufficient unto them to live day by day. If I operate the Bible school, I have to make the budget, make all provisions possible and make sure they are carried out. The teaching of the classes are only a small part of the whole picture, for those who have come here to help me teach in the work, perhaps you may have some idea of what it took to operate the school, and perhaps you may help others understand the resources and energy that is needed.
I would like to speak a little while on the possibilities of a work being started in the city of Blantyre. I have mostly concentrated my ministry in the villages or in the “bush” as I call it relative to my time spent in NG. There is another reason that I chose to minister to people in rural area’s, in the villages, in the bush etc… just as Paul said “Ro 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another mans foundation:” Most Missionaries without exception, no matter what part of the world they come from, if they are from a developed country they will settle in a developed area (city, town) here in Africa and will pour in thousands of dollars to purchase a plot, follow the necessary laws to have a building constructed and in a short time will [pastor] that church, so instead of being a missionary or evangelist as they were sent to be, they become the pastor of a local church.
Twice in the thirteen years that I have ministered here in Malawi I have organized two local churches. In less then two years the first one died out, the pastor married two wives and the deacon left town to go back to the village, the rest of the members went each their own way, mainly because they didn’t want to pay the rent for the building. The second church which I organized was here at the farm, still close to town. The members were primarily made up of some in the village nearby the farm, and some were workers who were employed by Joe Padilla. In time, when the split occurred Joe Padilla instructed his workers NOT to attend church here. I advised the church (which was still functioning at the time) that after five weeks of non-attendance they needed to send a representative of the church to make an enquiry to this issue. The church asked me if I would deliver the message as I was in town frequently. I informed the church that it would be best if they were to write letters to the members explaining their concern and that if there was no response by a certain date then they would be removed from the membership. In time, this is exactly what happened. Soon after this, the pastor himself who resides in the village close to the farm wrote a letter to me saying … “I am resigning my post as pastor because I am getting no profit from you as pastor here.” He had been offered a “pay off” from another source so off he went. The church died due to excluded members, a pastor who was looking for monetary gain instead of feeding the sheep.
The city of Blantyre is a very transit city, thousands of people come from the villages in hope of securing a job and before long they for some reason or another depart and go back to the village. This type of transformation is a great vehicle for spreading the “Truth” but on the other hand is difficult to plant a church and keep it stabilized. Therefore, because of all that I have said, I did not come here to construct “Temples” made with hands), I did not come to Africa or any other place for that matter to pacify men, or articulate “Biblical Truth” into physical packages.
This is a (system) that I continue to fight, we “missionaries” are not sent to a field (where ever that field is to be) to change the people of whom we minister among into the “kind of people” that we think they are to be, or like, or people whom we grew up with and know. However, we are to “preach the Truth” and God alone will change people through the preaching of His Word!!!
I am invited to many places to start a work, and in the end I have to pray about it and seek God’s will in the matter, however, there is always the question of “where do I find the time to disciple them” I do not believe in simply going somewhere to preach the Gospel and then baptize those who want to be baptized, organize the church an then walk away. There is the other part of the commission which we also have the duty to carry out, and that is to disciple those whom were baptized, and the church which was planted.
This past week-end I made a trip into Mozambique on the East side of Malawi, I drove the vehicle to the border ( but no border post) so I parked the vehicle and three of us cycled into Mozambique with our bicycles. I met the pastor and we continued to a Mozambique Immigration / Police check where they took my particulars and off we went. We cycled for about twenty kilometers through the bush until we reached the group that had assembled. After some time of conferencing we started the services, I preached on the subject of “How a lost sheep got home”. We were served a lunch and then had another conference. I have been informed that there are several groups that want us to come back and do mission work among them. These folks have little exposure to even what we call normal life here in Africa (what is normal). I ask you to pray with me that God will continue to lead us here in this work.
May the LORD bless each of you, and keep you in the center of His will.
Your fellow servant in the LORD,
A sinner saved by Grace
Missionary Peter Halliman
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