Finishing up 2006, Looking Forward to 2007

Enoch Phiri, AE Malawi Team Leader
February 1, 2007

We are happy to report that Enoch Phiri and the entire Malawi team have seen a successful and effective year 2006, ending with a month full of meetings, ministry, and preparations for what is to come. Praise God! With outcomes like these, it is impossible to not look forward with great anticipation to what this new year will bring.

The team' s various projects continued to grow and impact their surrounding communities. The Fox-Fires were able to reach out to hundreds of Malawian youth and adults through a night worship entitled " Worship Quake 2006: Achieving Your Highest at Your Earliest" and the Fox-Fire Retreat (Dec 29-Jan 2). The high level of support received from those in attendance as well as outside sources was very encouraging. Abel and Dorothy continued to air programs relating to marriage issues through Trans-world Radio and are receiving wonderful feed-back from the listeners. The Kandiani Health Education and Sanitation Project' s construction plans are up and running, funded by the Geneva Global Fund. While meeting with various local authorities and overseeing the building of the maize mill, which is currently completed up to roof level, and seven shallow wells, the team was able to also show the Jesus film to over 140 people, of which 50 gave their lives to the Lord.

This was also a month of joyful graduations. On December 8th, 69 students completed their Adult Literacy course through the Kauma CPA Funded Project, and were awarded their graduation certificates in the presence of various dignitaries, at which point Enoch Phiri was able to share about the ministry of AE. Initial discussions were also held with the village headman about the other outstanding activities of repairing the existing broken-down boreholes, pumps, and construction of the traditional birth attendant' s hut. Work on these will commence soon. Similarly, 10 students graduated from Rachel Lungu' s Tailoring Project, which trains former prostitutes to provide them with an alternate source of income. A government official from the Ministry of Women and Children was very impressed with the ministry and promised to speak to other donors who could fund the project. This program continues to exist trusting month by month for the funding to continue. They praise God for the support they received in December that allowed them to continue to operate for another month.

Enoch Phiri, Stephen Lungu, and Abel Sauti Phiri had the opportunity to speak at various churches and conferences sharing the gospel and creating awareness of the work that AE does. Abel spoke at the Lilongwe Pentecostal Church, while Enoch Phiri spoke at a youth conference on the topic of " My Life, My Future" , and a youth retreat on " Witnessing" . Various other speaking engagements drew hundreds of people from the surrounding communities, many of whom gave their lives to the Lord. Preliminary talks also began about AE' s possible involvement in reconciliation efforts between two churches within the CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian). African Enterprise may, in the future, serve as mediator and lead interdenominational leadership meetings which tackle such topics as " The Mandate of the Church in the World" , an issue upon which the churches have found themselves divided.

As the new year begins, the Malawi team is praising the Lord for opening doors to minister with the gospel to numerous churches, for successful committee elections and preparatory steps for the upcoming Lilongwe Mission (September 16-23, 2007), and for the long overdue settling of the Phiri family into a home in Lilongwe after having moved from Blantyre. Prayer is requested for the Lilongwe Mission Steering Committee, for guidance and wisdom in fund raising ventures which are not currently bearing fruit, for success as the Kandiani project nears its completion, and for a positive evaluation to attract further funding from the Geneva Global Fund.