Year of 2nds
As we begin our journey back to Baltimore we are thankful at what God has done over the past year.
- Birth and health of our new son. Noah was born in October and we returned with the whole family in November. To think that a 1month old could travel over 5000 miles is a miracle. Praise be to God that he and our family have our health. We don't take for granted God's covering.
- Our 2nd Baptism. We had 18 baptisms of church members in December along with a church picnic and volleyball. Just a simple thing like volleyball with people who love God and walk in the Spirit can be such a uniting experience.
- 2nd Marriage of a key leader. Around Christmas we did our 2nd wedding in the church. It was so beautiful and such a help to this couple which is a key part in our men's and women's discipleship.
- Move into our new location. As a church and Bible College we have always struggled to fit everyone in the premises we have rented, often having students looking in from outside while others were seated on mats on the floor. We found a new hall that seats 250 which we now rent for the church and Bible College. Although we finished the year with about 180 students will have some room to grow (which we will in the coming semester).
-2nd Graduation and Trip to Zambia. This is really the climax of our year. We had 50 graduates( 20 Diplomas, and 30 Certificates) with Pr Scibelli as our Graduation and Conference speaker and Pr Adam Speedy also visiting. Then 30 members of our church jumped on a 12 hour bus to Lusaka, Zambia for their annual conference.
- Start of "Grace Moments" national radio program. Across from my parents and the Slivas home there is an office of one of the national radio stations. When a friend visited us last year, he encouraged us to inquire what it would take to be on that station given its scope and convenience. We thought we could never be able to afford it as a church, but we asked in faith. It turned out that it wasn't as much as we thought and after we negotiated the price, God put it on a companies heart to support the whole program for the next year. Now we are on live radio every Tuesday in a prime time slot 7-7:30pm reaching the whole country with the message of Grace receiving texts and questions from different parts of the country.
- Opening of our 2nd church. In the Western part of our city is an area which is very open. Pr Albert had been doing a Bible Study there for the past year and about 20% of our members are from there. This past May, Pr Albert started the church there and already has been getting 20-25 people coming.
Thank You for all your Love, Thoughts, Prayers, and Support. Although Malawi may be one of the poorest countries in Africa, they are Strong in Hunger for the Word of God and for bringing it to the rest of the country.
Pray for Us in Detail this Summer:
- Leaders leading. With us returning to Baltimore and Pr Albert in the New Church, we have Commissioned 4 men to speak the main messages and 8 others to do introductions. These are our future Malawian leaders. They will be leading the church and doing the outreaches. Its an exciting time as we see God raising up great people.
- 2 by 2. Jesus sent them 2 by 2 also Noah called them 2 by 2. We have 5 teams going to the 5 major cities in Malawi: Salima, Kasungu, Mzuzu, Blantyre, and Mchinji. Each team of 2 will go for about 2weeks to 10 days evangelizing and doing Bible studies promoting the radio show and future churches and making contacts which we will visit in the coming year. Bless You,
The Arman Family