A Mission to Malawi
May 19, 2008
A little over a month ago, our pastor, Chris Beard, invited Sherman and me to prayerfully consider taking a small part of a 5-10 year partnership with Malawi, East Africa. The Assemblies of God and in particular our local church, First Christian Assembly, www.fcacincinnati.org have been serving the Malawians on their mission to recover and restore their country. This will be Sherman’s second trip to Africa (Kenya) and my first. I have been asked to speak for the Malawi Assemblies of God National Women’s Conference.
The Assemblies of God and The Book of Hope, an international organization mandated to provide God’s word to every child, www.bookofhope.net have been in partnership for several years, engaged in bringing the gospel to the children, youth, women and men of Malawi.
Were it not for the pop star Madonna’s recent court case to adopt a Malawian child, most of us may have never heard of the country, which is one of the poorest in Africa. Here are some of the more significant problems Malawians face:
o Extreme poverty, insufficient nutrition and poor access to medical treatment. Climate change makes obtaining a regular food supply precarious.
o Insufficient school education - high drop out rates and poor attendance as children are forced to work, take care of sick or elderly relatives or their siblings orphaned by AIDS.
o The spread of HIV/AIDS to approximately 30% of the population and the subsequent orphaning of more than one million children. Life expectancy is now 39 years.
o Women and children are exposed to sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect.
o Government economic restrictions and corruption.
o Ungodly cultural practices, pluralism, syncretism and tribal initiation rights of passage promote sexual and hierarchical relationships of slavery, power and abuse.
The Assemblies of God, The Book of Hope and the ministry for which I work, Equipping Ministries International, Inc. www.equippingministries.org, believe that demonstrating practical love, equipping children, women and men with practical and healthy relating skills, and the truth of God’s Word, will begin to establish new godly practices and systems that along with prayer will heal the land. This is the general information about our July mission. I’ll be posting more about the personal journey…. If you’d like to partner with us to raise funds for this mission, please send your check or money order to:First Christian Assembly of God, Attn: Malawi Mission - Sherman & Sadell Bradley, 220 William Howard Taft Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45219 Sadell
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