Flag Wavers - Building Together in Faith

We have received word that there is a concerted effort underway in Malawi these days to invite the members of the 45 churches in Malawi to contribute to the giving campaign, "Building Together in Faith" for the Maone Church Center. A group of Flag Wavers, as they are called, head out to the various regional areas to encourage the locals as they give an offering on behalf of the project. Reports this week indicate enthusiastic responses. Having been there and watched as people come to the front of the church and give their offering, this is no small thing for these people to give towards this cause. 50 kgs of maize being hauled up to the platform, an offer of a plate of beans is called out or just the line up of people dancing up to give their few Kwacha. So when an offering of 15,000 comes in in cash from a service this is reason to rejoice indeed.

Why not consider being a "Flag Waver" too? Your donations will really help and be a great encouragement. You can give at http://www.bic-church.org/wm/give/partnership/malawi/ and scroll down to the Maone Church Center. Thanks and if you can't make a donation just now - offer up a prayer for the Flag Wavers in Malawi today.

Slab Floor 100 % Complete

It was great to see updated pictures recently from Project Manager Mofart Louis showing the main slab floor now complete, including the baptistry. Lots of work went into levelling the 150 mm of concrete... The platform area is done too. Good work team! The concrete is covered with sand to act as a barrier for helping with the curing process. The rebar and column boxes are being formed as you can see and soon we are hoping bricks will arrive and walls will begin to go up.

A word of thanks for any of you who have donated recently - as you can imagine - lots of funds are still needed. We are praying for generous donations to help finish the Ministry Center. If you have any questions please feel free to be in touch. Til next update, hope you are doing well.

Post Conference Report

First picture is of Bishop Disi and his wife as he addresses the Conference after being elected, second is of the Conference where people don't mind sitting of the new concrete floor, which is covered by a layer of sand to help with curing, third & fourth are scenes of the front section of the ministry center not yet finished.

Greetings from Canada. A few days after Conference Lori and I flew home after our one year term of service concluded in Malawi. It was a great time there and the climax was attending and participating in the annual meeting of the BIC Church of Malawi the first weekend of August. Over 400 people gathered on the campus for the three conference settings: Youth, Women's and the General Conference. Two big tents and one small one were erected to help provide shelter and accommodations. The Conference went very well and one of the highlights was the election of a new Bishop which turned out to be Rev. Ephraim Disi. There was great joy and celebration when his name was announced. Please pray for this time of transition and adjustment as this new leadership framework comes into play.

As to the site and the project a few of the pictures show the progress. The slab floor is nearly done and it provided a great solid base for the big top tent to be set up on for the Conference. Many bags of maize came along with the people to Conference to help support the effort. As more funds become available the floor will be completed and then the building of the walls will occur. People were glad to come to Maone to see the progress. To those who have supported the project so far, on behalf of the BIC Church in Malawi, a big thank you. We look forward to providing more reports of continued success in seeing this building raised up.

Conference Activities begin

Pictures: Top one shows Lori and I with the architect Mr Duncan Ndege, the second one is Seth Miller speaking today at the Youth Conference and the last is from the top of the hill as you approach the property. More of the finished floor area to come.

Yesterday in the rain a big top tent was set up on the new floor to get ready for the 2011 Annual Meeting activities. Today the Women's and Youth Conferences began. The concrete floor is about 80 % complete and is the base upon which the big tent is located. We are so thankful that the workers were able to complete this much - even though they ran out of cement last week since there is a shortage here in Malawi currently. This week there are estimates of over 300 people coming for Conference and so far the sun was out most of today to help make the first day a good start. Temperatures are a bit cool but we are so thankful for the sunshine.

Donations are now utilized and we are awaiting more funds so the building can continue later in August. The photos are of today's Conference action. More later as the weekend progresses.

45 % done and counting - July 25, 2011

Hello friends! Tomorrow the site will be active again and the goal is to finish the main part of the floor by Friday. It is likely that the corner office space and the platform and baptismal area will not be completed by then but at least the main floor area will be available during General Conference for the BIC Church next week. The photos show the newly poured concrete being covered with sand which is watered down regularly to help with the curing process. One challenge we have had this past week is that we ran out of cement and when Mofart Louis (our project manager) went to purchase more - guess what? All sold out! No cement to be found in the Blantyre region - and then Lafarge one of the world's largest cement making companies says they will not have any for sale until sometime in August. So now you can guess what I am going to say, can't you? Exactly - the price just went up for any remaining cement. Mofart found some (made in Pakistan of all places) but at a premium price. Our last shipment was bought at MK 2900 per bag - now it is MK 3500 - the equivalent of $22.87 USD. But we have little choice and are now buying at the new price. With the current fuel and foreign exchange shortages in Malawi - most things are going up in price. The photo above shows Mofart Louis and, if I may add, please be in prayer for his young 9 month old son, Yankho. We are seeking medical attention to further diagnose his condition. He has limited motor skills and movement. Please keep us in mind here when you are praying and if you would like to contribute please see the link on the right hand column of the blog site. Thanks so much - feel free to be in touch if you have specific questions about the project at bjbell07@mac.com.

Concrete slab underway

Monday July 11, 2011 the new mixer was fired up and the first batch of concrete came spilling out. We are very thankful and glad for the new unit which seems to be working quite well. Throughout this week many volunteers have come along to help. Most of the materials are in hand to be used to finish the slab floor. Unfortunately the prices have been going up here in Malawi due to the for-ex and fuel shortages. Cement which used to be under MK 2500 is now selling at MK 2900. Supplies are even getting low. Wire mesh went up and is in short supply. Thankfully we have much of what is needed to get the floor done. Mofart Louis is coordinating the project and does a fine job. As some of the pictures will show, everything is done by hand pretty much. The goal is to get the floor done in time for General Conference August 5-7. Thanks for your interest and support. More later - we appreciate your prayers as well for those working for safety and strength.

The New Mixer Arrives!

Yesterday June 14 we bought our new concrete mixer and now we are getting ready to pour the slab floor. The photo shows the guys who helped unload it and it looks like a good solid unit - made in Italy with a 430 L capacity. Thanks to those who contributed to make this purchase possible. We are looking forward to purchasing a lot of cement since we already have the sand and the stone needed for making the concrete - we just need the cement now. It currently sells for about $17.00 USD for a 50 kg bag. We need about 400 bags to pour the whole floor so if you are interested in "pouring" with us why not log onto the BICWM website and assisting with a few bags of cash (I mean cement.) Thanks for your on going prayer support as we meet this month in Area Council Meetings with all the congregations to work on the kingdom business here in Malawi with the Brethren in Christ and to encourage the Malawian church to give to this project. Recently we received besides a good cash offering of almost $100 USD equivalent, a bag of maize, a bag of cement, a goat, a chicken and some beans. You can donate on line here: http://www.bic-church.org/wm/give/partnership/malawi and scroll down to the Maone Church Center.