Today was a second day of planned urban ministry. The team spent the entire day working in a second neighborhood next to the one they visited yesterday. It is named Chinsapo 2. There is a Baptist church near this neighborhood, and Curt suggested that we work with members of that church so that believers would have follow-up. The pastor of that church and several members went with the team. They spent the morning, took a break for lunch, and then spent the afternoon meeting people and sharing their testimonies and the Gospel. In all there were 75 decisions to receive Jesus. However, I was not able to work with the team today as I came down with a water-borne illness.
We will be moving tomorrow to our new lodging. Our current host did not take the news well. However, we finally did settle up with him, and later, when I stopped by to give him the money, he invited me in to sit with his family. It is the last of Ramadan and they are Muslim. I tried hard to direct the conversation toward a chance to share the Gospel, but he is quite a talker and I was not able to steer the conversation. It all was quite pleasant, so that our departure has ended on a good note.
Matters for praise: Thank God for the responses we have seen so far. It is a great encouragement to see God working.
Matters for prayer: Please continue to pray for our safety in travel and for prepared hearts as we go to share our faith. Pray specifically that no one else will come down with my illness. I so want the team to have positive experiences on this trip. And God has provided so far.
Thank you, again, for your partnership with us.
Ray Smith
Malawi Team
