My Week in Dzuwa Village
By Fletcher Matandika
May 26, 2006

Since I came home late January this year, I have been working alongside my dad who is pastoring a Presbyterian Church about 80km northwest of Lilongwe - Katayauta Presbyterian Church (KPC) is the name of the church. KPC has 19 prayer houses (satellite preaching points) and my dad travels around preaching in these prayer houses. Since I arrived, I have been helping him with preaching in some of the prayer houses in his congregation. I have been traveling around from one prayer house to another from month to month. In April, I was assigned to preach in a village called Dzuwa. I really enjoyed the village and God put a desire in my heart to go back to Dzuwa and spend one week in this village preaching and visiting the homes of the people in this community and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I made plans with the help of the local elders and deacons of Dzuwa Prayer House and arranged that I would be in their village from May 15th -21st.

So, I spent the whole of last week (from Monday, May 15th to Sunday, May 21st) in Dzuwa village which is about 10km from where my parents are ministering and about 90km North West of Lilongwe (the capital city of Malawi). I had with me a friend from Indiana (Justin). We biked to the village from my parents' house on Monday morning. Three men from the small Presbyterian Church (commonly referred to as Prayer House) in Dzuwa helped us carry our stuff on their bikes. Since we were going to be in Dzuwa village for one week, we had quite a bit of things to bring with us.

We got to Dzuwa at around 1:00 pm. We found a group of men and women gathered at the school where we were going to be staying to welcome us. These were some of the most prominent leaders from Dzuwa (chiefs, church and political leaders). They gave Justin and me a very warm welcome. They were all happy to see us arrive in their village. I think more than anything, most of the people in the village were intrigued by my friend Justin from Indiana because he is white. A lot of people in this village, particularly children have not had much contact with white people or "azungu" in Chichewa. Wherever Justin went, there were lots of stares and/or lots of kids following behind him chanting, "Azungu! Azungu! Azungu!" Justin was a good sport. He responded well to that and had lots of fun playing with the kids the whole time we were in Dzuwa village.

Anyway, we were received well in Dzuwa village and were shown the house where we were going to be staying. After resting a bit, we went back to the school to meet with the people from the community who had come to welcome us. There we were to introduce our program for the week. There were over 100 people who gathered in one of the classrooms at the school. I preached my first sermon of the week from Matthew 5:8. Everything went well. Though I was somewhat overwhelmed and felt quite inadequate when I was delivering the sermon, I was truly blessed and the people seemed to have benefited from it. After listening to a few welcoming remarks from the leaders of the community, we dismissed the crowd that had gathered planning to meet again the next day at 2:00pm. This is how the week began. During the whole week from Monday to Friday, we held worship services at 2:00pm. And from Tuesday to Friday, I preached from Galatians 1-5. The Lord blessed these times and people seemed to be greatly edified, and challenged in their faith. In the mornings, we did quite a number of things. We visited some of the homes in the village. We also held a couple of meetings with the chiefs in the community. We also had Rev. Dr. Larry Brown, a professor at the African Bible College come out to Dzuwa to show the Jesus Film Saturday evening. We had a big crowd from the village - about 500 people who watched the film most of them for the first time in their life. This was the first time anybody had come to show the Jesus Film in their village. The next morning, Dr. Brown preached at the Sunday morning service and my dad led during the service.

Just and I also spent one hour each morning (9-10) to help teach at Dzuwa Full Primary School. Justin and I decided to help teach at the school because they really need some help. They had 9 teachers but now they only have 2 teachers (the headmaster and one other teacher). The rest of the teachers have left Dzuwa because of the various problems that they had been facing there particularly those related to witchcraft and other traditional practices which were threatening their lives and the lives of their families. A couple of teachers already died mysteriously in the village. Although there is not very much proof of this, but the general belief is that these two teachers died as a result of witchcraft. The government has tried to get the teachers back to Dzuwa to no avail. None of them wants to go back there. Indeed the people of Dzuwa are in spiritual darkness. Their lives are controlled by fear because of witchcraft and other traditional beliefs and practices. Polygamy is pretty almost extinct in Malawi but there are still some areas though few where polygamy is prevalent and Dzuwa is one of them. You find some men with 3 or 4 wives and lots of children. This has become a serious problem in the community and has hindered the social, economic and more particularly, this has also hindered the spiritual growth and development as well as the growth of the church.

"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light..."
All that has been happening in Dzuwa has really made the people of Dzuwa everybody's laughing-stock. They have been scorned and ostracized by others villages. Many of them are ashamed to say that they are from Dzuwa village. Everybody including government has almost abandoned them completely and given up hope of any kind of transformation taking place in this community.

But God has not abandoned His people in Dzuwa. The promise of Isaiah 9:2 holds true for the whole world and for the people of Dzuwa as well. Isaiah records this wonderful promise for us in this verse, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them." It's already happening in Dzuwa village. I have seen it for myself. Throughout the whole week that I was in this village, I saw the mighty hand of God at work through the preaching of His Holy Word and through the prayers of His people. The local church in Dzuwa partnered with in the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a testimony to the great grace of God which is able to save and transform even the worst of sinners.

Paul records in 1 Timothy 1:15, "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the worst." The people of Dzuwa particularly those who are Christians are holding on to these promises that God will transform their community and that the light of Christ (the Sun of Righteousness) will shine in the hearts of His people there. Just like the people of Dzuwa, I am also holding on to the hope and belief that God will indeed rescue those who are perishing in this community and that He will call many "...out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9).

"...As the Father has sent Me, even so send I you."
As I prayed over all of this and what God was showing me and impressing on my heart, I decided to meet with the head chief of this area and share with him what God had laid on my heart for his area. From the day that I first got to Dzuwa, I felt that God was saying to me through the words of Jesus to His disciples just after His resurrection in John 20:21, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, even so send I you." I had preached on this passage a month before in the same village and felt that God was speaking to me about Dzuwa village even then. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus said to His disciples, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves." I had been hesitant and afraid to share this with anyone except my family. I wanted to make sure that I am not just listening to my own voice or others voices which were not from God. My family has been praying for me and supporting me as I have sought God's guidance and direction regarding my life in relation to Dzuwa village. But during the week that I was in Dzuwa, I felt like it was time to begin to share with others the vision that God had placed on my heart long ago.

"Our God is able..."
So, I decided to take a bold step and share the vision that God had laid on my heart with the head chief of Dzuwa - the Group Village Headman Dzuwa (GVH Dzuwa). I shared with him the vision that God had placed on my heart to start a ministry to train and equip Malawian Christians to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth as missionaries. I explained to him the various components of this vision, etc. Then I asked him, if he would accept to have a ministry like that started in his village and if so, I went further and asked if he and the village headmen under him would donate some land (about 50 acres) where this ministry would be established. His answer was so amazing. He said to me, "God is the one who created the world. He is also the One who created me. If he wants to do something here, who am I to stop Him? The land for this ministry will be found." He said this with great faith, gratitude and joy because He said; "Now God has remembered us." The next day, we met with the other village headmen who work under him and together GVH Dzuwa and I asked them if they would welcome this ministry. Their response was the same and they all agreed to donate some land for the establishment of this ministry in their community. The next morning GVH Dzuwa came to the house where I was staying and told me that he wanted me to go with him so that he can show me the land that the chiefs had donated. I went with him and the same morning we were able to get a surveyor from the Ministry of Lands to come and survey the land. We spent over 2 hours walking the perimeter of the property (which is a distance of about 9-10km). This was happening on Saturday. And on Monday, the surveyor told me that the size of the land that the chiefs had donated is actually 171 acres. I could not believe this but as I thought about this, the words of Ephesians 3:20 came to my mind. Indeed our God is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine according to His power which is at work within us. To Him be the glory and honor forever and ever!!

"My soul glorifies the Lord..."
Since the day that GVH Dzuwa agreed to donate some land for the establishment of a new ministry in his village, this has been our song. GVH Dzuwa is a man of deep faith and really loves the Lord and seeks to glorify Him in all things. And together the song of Mary recorded in Luke 1:46-55 has been our song. We sing along with Mary:

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all the generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

What would you do if God gave you 171 acres?
This was now the big question in my mind. "I had asked for 50 acres from the chief but the Lord provided 171 acres - all for free!! What I am going to do with this land? Where do I start?" I did not know what to do but to get down on my knees and continue praying for wisdom and guidance. The way God has provided this land is to me one great confirmation that He is about to do something great in this community so that His Name may be glorified. I am now praying that God would grant me great faith to trust Him.

I then decided to go and meet with the Senior Chief who oversees this whole area including GVH Dzuwa and many other big chiefs. I took along with me the whole hierarchy from the bottom to the top. The village system in Malawi is run by chiefs and the hierarchy from top to bottom is like this:

1. Senior Chief (who oversees Traditional Authorities)
2. Traditional Authority
3. Senior Group Village Headman
4. Group Village Headman
5. Village Headman
6. Villagers

So we made a courtesy visit to Senior Chief Khongoni who oversees this area to inform her of this new ministry which is going to start in her area. She was very excited about this and praised the Lord greatly for remembering the people of Dzuwa because she was aware of what has been happening there. In fact the week before Justin and I went to Dzuwa, she visited Dzuwa and expressed her great disappointment and unhappiness to the people of Dzuwa for their bad practices and warned that she would punish them. We were all pleasantly surprised by her kind and warm response. She gave us her blessing to go ahead with the plans for the establishment of this ministry. To my great joy and amazement, she gave a directive to all the chiefs surrounding Dzuwa area to support this ministry and contribute 10,000 bricks each to help us start some construction projects on the property to which they all agreed. There are 39 chiefs surrounding Dzuwa. This means that the community is going to donate 390,000 bricks to help with the initial construction projects for this new ministry which is to me another great confirmation from the Lord that He wants to do something great in this area.

When the land was donated for the establishment of this new ministry, my main concern was regarding how to start and where to start since I currently do not have any money for the establishment of this ministry. But God has done great things! Next week, the chiefs will start making the bricks and they project that by July 10th, they will be finished. In the meantime, we are praying that the Lord will provide some funds to be used to start putting up some buildings on this property so that the ministry can start.

"Joy To The World"
All along you may have been wondering what this new ministry which is starting in Dzuwa village is going to be. I am going to try and explain the vision here briefly. The main purpose of this new ministry as God has put it on my heart will be to "equip the saints (the church) to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ from Malawi to the ends of the earth to the glory and praise of God the Father."

I am not working alone in this. There are 6 students who are graduating from the African Bible College who feel called to be a part of this ministry and are willing to move to Dzuwa village to help start this ministry soon after their graduation which is next week (Saturday, June 3rd). I met with them yesterday for a time of prayer where I also shared the details of this vision that God has given and they were all very excited about it and praised the Lord! We decided to go and visit Dzuwa together as a group on June 8th to start making plans so that they all can move there. "Joy To The World" will be the name of this new ministry. In a nutshell, "Joy To The World" will labor to equip the church to engage herself in missions through various programs and ministries:

1. We plan to build a big chapel in Dzuwa village for worship
2. We plan to start a Christian Secondary School
3. We plan to start a theological training program/school in the community with a special focus and emphasis missions.
4. We plan to build a clinic in this community. There is none at the moment except witchdoctors and the closest clinic is so far away.
5. We also plan to start a Women Development Program to empower women and minister to their spiritual, economic and social needs.
6. We plan to start agriculture development programs (irrigation farming, animal farming, etc).
7. We plan to start an extensive vocational training program where people can learn various skills which would be beneficial to them on the mission field (here in Malawi but also outside Malawi).
8. After a few years, we would like to start a Christian Radio Station in this community to be used as a tool of spreading the Gospel countrywide.
9. We also plan in the future to start a Christian publishing house in Dzuwa village where we can produce sound Christian literature for pastors, lay people as well as children.
10. We also hope in the future to be able to start a Christian Education Development Center where we can train teachers and work with the other schools in the surrounding areas to improve the quality of education and also to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through that.

This is the dream that we all share and believe that God will guide us step by step and bring it into reality in His own time and in His own way. Plans are already under way to get "Joy To The World" officially registered by the Malawi Government and it is my prayer that this process will be completed soon.

"...May the Lord do what is good in His sight."; "…If I perish, I perish."
(1 Chronicles 19:13; Esther 4:16)

In closing, I just want to say that I am really amazed at how God works. Our God indeed is infinite in wisdom and might. He is indeed sovereign over all things and He sustains everything. We all wait with great anticipation to see what God will do. May the Lord do what is good in His sight whatever the cost may be on our part. To God be the glory!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this long letter. Please remember to pray for us and feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested in this letter.

May the Lord bless you richly.

Your friend, brother and fellow-servant in Christ,

Fletcher Matandika
On behalf of the "Joy To The World" Team, Malawi, SE Africa.

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