Mission Moments: Malawi
‘We are in hard days’
By Gary Fallesen, founding president, Climbing For Christ
Friday, Feb. 21
A happy widow. (Photos by Damson Samson)
The last time Damson delivered food to the widows, he told them, “I have nothing to give you. You need to go and pray so God will open the door for support. Otherwise, it will be hard for me to feed all the hundreds of widows here.” The widow in the photo said she took his words to heart. She and others in her village started praying. “That’s why you are back again with food support,” she told Damson today.
Damson fed 306 people from the villages of Chabuka, Thunga, Nampinga, and Mpoto. So far, 594 people in need have been fed. People from five other villages will be fed on Saturday.
Phillip, right, from Damson’s Praise Foundation, prays over the people after a sharing of God’s Word.
Prayers have been answered for Frank Msomba, who has recovered from an accident on Wednesday as he was riding his motorbike behind the truck carrying the maize from Mozambique. Frank collided with a man carrying pumpkins on a bicycle. Frank was injured and the bicyclist hospitalized. Frank’s condition improved enough that he could participate in today’s maize distribution, and the other man was released from the hospital.
As for the widow who told Damson she and others followed his instructions and prayed: “She was very happy,” Damson said.
Thursday, Feb. 20
Widows receiving food in Malawi. (Photos by Damson Samson)
Damson Samson fed 288 people from four villages on day one of our maize distribution in southern Malawi. But before handing out the food, he offered a Gospel lesson. He told the story, found in John 21, about Jesus asking Peter three times if he loved Him.
“Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep’” (John 21:17).
With that, Damson fed God’s hungry sheep.
Maize distributed to widows in Msema yesterday.
“There was a great joy,” Damson said. “Our widows, they danced to demonstrate (this joy). They could not stop thanking God by singing the song of praise to God who has remembered them in this day.”
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Frank Msomba, above in red, delivers maize purchased in Mozambique to the Malawi border where, below, Damson Samson’s ministry truck waits to transfer the food into Malawi. (Photos by Damson Samson)
“Finally, the maize is here,” Africa coordinator Damson Samson declared this morning. “Tomorrow we are distributing at Msema where we will have five villages, namely Msema, Filitsa, Namata, Nasiyaya, and Chabe (receiving food).”
As reported yesterday, Frank Msomba from Damson’s C4C-supported Praise Foundation ministry purchased maize in Mozambique due to a shortage of this diet-staple in Malawi. He needed to rent a truck there to transport it to the border, where Damson’s ministry truck was waiting to receive the food.
“We thank God for your prayers,” Damson said. We will continue to pray for food to be shared and hunger to end.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Preparing maize for distribution. The dark bag is “buffalo beans.” (Photo by Damson Samson)
There was no doubt about the need. We hear it all the time: “People are hungry.” Or worse.
Climbing For Christ’s biggest supporter saw our E-Newsletter 526 story, “A lesson in compassion” (Jan. 22), about widows in Malawi begging for food. He was filled with compassion and volunteered $10,000 USD to buy food.
Ironically, we had the money to buy the food, but there was no food to be bought.
Damson Samson, our Malawi-based Africa coordinator, went to the market and discovered “there is no maize available here at home.” He sent brother Frank Msomba across the nearby border to Mozambique, “but he has managed (only) to get a few bags.”
What was available cost more than ever: now $60 USD for half of a 50-kilogram bag, an increase of about $35 USD. People in one of the world’s poorest countries cannot afford this expensive staple to their diets.
“We are in hard days,” Damson said. “The situation is so hard to many of our people.”
Frank made big purchases yesterday and was waiting to get transportation to the border (at a cost, of course) where Damson’s ministry truck would bring the food home to hundreds of widows. We are hoping the food will finally be distributed tomorrow.
“Widows, they only sleep on pumpkin leaves as their daily meal,” Damson said. “People are cooking grass. As the situation worsened people went further to cook any kind of (wild) roots. We have lost many lives due to hunger issues.”
This is not uncommon: millions pushed to the edge and forced to resort to desperate measures to survive.
Some went to Mozambique searching for mangoes and never returned. Others are buying something called “buffalo beans,” which Damson said require careful and lengthy (4-to-5 hours) cooking. “If done poorly, they can kill,” he said.
Begging has increased. Our prayers also need to increase. For food to be found, prices to be controlled so people can afford to eat, and for an end to the hunger.
Introduction
Mrs. Chimwaza expresses the pain of hunger and loneliness in southern Malawi. (Photo by Damson Samson)
Damson Samson, our Africa coordinator, spied a widow asking for a handout in Zomba, Malawi on Jan. 18. He approached her and started a conversation, discovering she was from near one of the many villages in southern Malawi where Climbing For Christ has served hundreds of widows for years.
“She told me of losing her husband, who died of HIV in 2010, and how since then life has been hard for her,” Damson said.
With no help available and no one seeming to care in her village, she decided to go to town and find a job. When she could not find work, someone suggested she go to one of the many mosques that have been built in recent years in southern Malawi as Islam continues its spread in Africa.
The mosques feed people if they agree to worship Allah.
Damson said hunger is “one of the situations that force our people to join the Islamic religion here in Malawi and many countries in Africa. The more we face challenges, the more we are tempted to join them seeking help.”
Mrs. Chimwaza, the widow Damson met, told him: “Life has been hard since I came here with this hunger situation. As I am here, I don’t have anywhere to call home. We only sleep in the street. It’s hard but I had no option but to come and live here.”
Damson said this is the plight of many widows. One widow from Msema village, Nduzani Manasi, was buried recently. She died from conditions related to a lack of food, he said.
Maize dries up in the field producing no harvest and resulting in more hunger. (Photo by Duncan Nyozani)
Ministry partner Pastor Duncan Nyozani recently requested prayer, declaring: “Hunger is now at its critical stage. Prices for maize and maize flour have gone so high again. A (50-kilogram) bag of maize is selling around K90,000 each ($52 USD); a bag of maize flour is at K120,000 ($70 USD). This is so challenging for people in rural areas to get such money to buy food.
“Mangoes are out of season. Most of our crops we planted last month were damaged by the dry spell. The best way is to uproot these plants and replant other crops, but most people cannot afford to buy seeds to plant again.”
As a result, Damson said, “Many are dying in the villages of hunger.
“It came to my mind Jesus looking at the multitudes and asking the disciples if they had anything for the people to eat. I believe Jesus has given us the responsibility to make sure these people have something to eat. I feel a debt to these dying widows. We are praying for more to be fed in this challenging time.” 
Helping hands
We can feed those who are hungry – both spiritually and physically. We can help the widows of Malawi – with your help.
To support this effort, send a check or money order to Climbing For Christ, P.O. Box 16290, Rochester, NY 14616. Or CLICK HERE to give online via PayPal. In Canada, make cheques payable to The Great Commission Foundation, and on the memo line add Climbing For Christ CANADA. Mail your support to: The Great Commission Foundation, P.O. Box 14006, Abbotsford, BC V2T 0B4. Or CLICK HERE to give online.
We are blessed to be a blessing.
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