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Medical Clinic Supplies and Medicine Unpacked, May 2010

May 12, 2010 - As we await approval by the Malawi Ministry of Health, we have been unpacking medical supplies and medicines shipped to Malawi from California. We are eager to open the doors of the medical clinic, so please pray for government approval soon!


A new exam room


Supplies piled up on the front patio, awaiting to be organized inside


The new pharmacy being stocked

The Lighthouse To Start Selling Drinks

April 28, 2010 - The Lighthouse, JTW's Christian library in Kasungu, Malawi, will begin selling cold drinks as a way to increase their income and establish a self-sustainable ministry. In addition to offering members the opportunity to check out Christian books, the Lighthouse offers Internet access, computer training courses, and printing, photocopying and fax services.

God Brings a New Baby Girl into the Lives of Joy to the World Missionaries, February 18, 2010

Ron and Ulemu Chimzimu welcomed a new gift from God on February 18, 2010! Wonder Chimzimu is happy and healthy and a sign of God's abundant blessings!

Joy to the World Awards Toys to Highest Achieving Students, February, 2010

As a way to encourage the students at Dzuwa Primary School to work more diligently in school, Joy to the World awards the top students with toys at the end of the school term.

The photo below shows this term's recipients of the awards, which included dolls, pencils, crayons, sharpeners, erasers and and new T-shirts.

For more photos, click here.

New Equipment Arrives for The Lighthouse, February, 2010

The Lighthouse now has a new photocopier and fax machine! This new equipment will allow us to keep our prices for copies and faxes competitive, so that we can earn more income to cover the costs of running The Lighthouse, our Internet cafe and Christian library.

For more information about The Lighthouse Christian Centre, click here.

US-Malawi Partnership Quilt Raises Funds for the Women Development Fund

In the summer of 2006, a team from a church in Richmond, Virginia visited Malawi. One of their stops included the church pastored by the Rev. Rodger Matandika, father of JTW Founder, Fletcher Matandika. Dottie Thomason and the other women on the mission trip noted a group of Malawian women crocheting flowers on "coverlets," squares of fabric intended to protect the seats of chairs from dust and dirt. Dottie asked the Fletcher's father if they could purchase the coverlets, which she eventually made into this quilt. The other bugs were added by Dottie. A woman purchased the quilt for the newborn child of a woman who had gone to Malawi with her youth group in 2003. Dottie graciously donated the $100 raised to the JTW Women's Development Fund, which lends money to women who want to start small businesses to supplement their families' income. In the future, we hope to provide the women of Malawi with many other opportunities to use their talents to bless others!

Fundraiser in Scotland Benefits Secondary School in Dzuwa Village, June 25, 2009

A cheque for £80.00 is on its way to Joy to the World Ministries, thanks to three fundraising pupils from Oban High School, Scotland, UK. The pupils used their creative and enterprising skills to make and sell colourful coasters in school. The bead coasters - some in the design of the Malawi flag - others in the form of African animals, sold like hot cakes and the money raised will go to support the building of a secondary school in Dzuwa village. This project is being supported by Oban High School and the Christian youth organisation, Hope to Oban. Jayne Powers, School Librarian at the High School, explained why the money raised is particularly welcome. She said, "Oban High School has been supporting JTW since January 2009. With the help of local people and local businesses, we have been able to collect a wonderful number of quality books which will eventually resource the school in Dzuwa. We shipped these books to Malawi in May. Unfortunately, an amount of money that had also been collected for the project was stolen from school and has never been recovered. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Our pupils have been wonderful though, rising to the challenge of helping us to replace this lost money; £80.00 may not seem like a large sum, but it will make a real difference."

Jayne Powers will be travelling to Malawi in July to begin work with JTW.

From One Child to Another, May 22, 2009


Pungaine sitting next to his new wheelchair


Pungaine riding his new wheelchair


Blythe Hepburn with her brother, Rohan

One of the strengths of a smaller mission organization is its ability to match individual donors to individual needs in a way that avoids tedious bureaucratic processes. In our short history, JTW has been grateful for innumerable accounts of individuals in Malawi and in the West utilizing our organization to bless one another. One recent story involving two children—one from Scotland and one from Malawi—was particularly touching.

The Hepburn family, from Inverness, Scotland, has a tradition in which they set personal goals to be completed each year. In 2009, Blythe—age 9—was moved by the work of JTW and wanted to help with schooling in Dzuwa. Our President—Fletcher—put Blythe and her family in contact with Ulemu, one of JTW's steadfast workers on the ground. Ulemu mentioned various needs to the Hepburn's, but Blythe's heart was captured by the story of another child. Pugaine—age 15—was in desperate need of a wheelchair.

With help from her family and fellow church members, little Blythe decided to hold a bake sale to raise money for that wheelchair. The sale was an astonishing success—raising more money than needed for the wheelchair. The wheelchair was subsequently purchased and Pugaine has been given the means to move!

Yet the story does not end there—the extra funds were used to purchase another wheelchair. Kondwani—age 22 and, as the eldest son, his family's hope for a bright future—now also has a wheelchair and is able to resume the studies and work that will allow his family to prosper financially, by God's grace.

Those of us at JTW pray that through these experiences, the love of Christ will be made so manifest as to touch many lives beyond those directly involved. For it was Christ who healed paralytics, not merely to assuage material needs, but to point them toward the greater need of salvation from sin through his atoning sacrifice. "Who sinned that this man was born blind?" Jesus was asked in John 9. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus responded. "But this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." And so it has in Malawi, Scotland, and beyond.

St. Stephen's Academy's Spring Break Trip to Dzuwa

Michael Kane, the Chairman of St. Stephen's Academy in Beaverton, Oregon, traveled to Malawi at the end of March, 2009 to initiate a relationship between St. Stephen's and Dzuwa Primary School. His goal was to bring (or raise funds for) 105 Bibles in Chichewa (the native language in Malawi), one Bible for each student at St. Stephen's. In addition to visiting Dzuwa Primary School, Michael also visited the community center, led devotions, gave seminars on Christianity and Business, and familiarized himself with the needs of the people of Dzuwa to determine how St. Stephen's can be of assistance to the Malawian people in the future. For more information, please click here for a PDF document Michael created to summarize the purpose of and prayer requests for the trip.

New Videos of 2008 Chosen Generation Missions Conference

Overview (7 minutes):

Malawian "Youth Magazine" Television Coverage of Conference (30 minutes):

For more information about the Chosen Generation Missions Conference, click here.

Books Being Collected for School and Bookstore/Internet Café Project

Oban High School (in Scotland - United Kingdom) and Hope To Oban (a Christian youth organisation in Oban) are working in partnership to support JTW Ministries in its work in Dzuwa. We have made an appeal—both within the High School itself and within the wider community of Oban—for good quality books that will be used to resource the secondary school that JTW is committed to building in Dzuwa.

JTW is also currently working to open a Christian mission in the nearby town of Kasungu; this will comprise of a Christian book/coffee shop, together with an Internet café offering high quality ICT services. As such, we are also appealing for quality Christian books - Bibles, prayer books, texts on Christian life, biographies, theological studies etc. The people of Oban have rallied to our call for help; all local churches within Oban and the surrounding areas have joined us and are supporting this valuable initiative. In addition, local businesses are offering practical help with things such as storage and publicity. The books are coming in - praise the Lord!

We are aiming to ship a 20ft container to Malawi at the beginning of May. This will be full of books (for the bookshop and school), together with furniture (for the mission). We now need to raise the funds to enable us to do this. The cost will be in the region of £5000, and we hope and pray that your heart will be moved to help us. Any donation will move us one step closer to turning our plans into reality.

Crucially and in addition to financial contributions, we are also asking our Christian brothers and sisters for support in the form of prayer. We know that this is the most powerful form of support possible. Please commit JTW and the people of Dzuwa and Oban to the Lord and ask him for His continued guidance and blessings. Thank you.

Specific Prayer Requests:

  • Many good quality books will be collected for the book shop and school.
  • These books will be shipped successfully to Kasungu, Malawi.
  • All necessary funds will be raised for the book shop, including funds to ship the books and furniture, purchase computer equipment, and set up and run the shop.
  • All of the people involved in this project will be blessed.
For more information about the Bookstore/Internet Café Project, click here.

Dzuwa Village Now Has Internet Access!

When our missionaries first moved to Dzuwa Village, they realized that an Internet connection would not just be a luxury, but a necessity. There was no easy way to connect with the outside world from the remote village, which is approximately 3 hours' drive north of Lilongwe. Cell phone coverage was not dependable, and they'd need a Hummer to navigate the roads from more modern towns to Dzuwa. On top of this, they would spend much time and money going to and from Lilongwe to send emails. But the world simply needed to know what God was doing in Dzuwa, and we needed a reliable means of communication. Though it seemed like there was no way out. BUT GOD had His own plans.

Continued...

High Desert Church Deep Well Project in Dzuwa:

In November, 2008, the High Desert Church of Victorville, California—in partnership with Joy to the World Ministries—sent a team to build deep wells for the people of Dzuwa and its surrounding villages. In this 15-minute video, find out how the generosity of one church provided life-giving water to thousands of Malawians. (Note that this video was originally produced to be viewed by those who contributed to the "Essentials" project.)



Teen Missions Visit to Dzuwa:

During the month of December, 2008, JTW Malawi (Dzuwa) hosted a team of about 20 young Malawian missionaries-in-training from Teen Missions (Malawi). Teen Missions is a large, worldwide ministry that trains and equips young men and women to serve the Lord in missions in Malawi and around the world.

This team was in Dzuwa for 3 weeks, working alongside JTW and the local church to do evangelism in Dzuwa and the surrounding villages.

Clinic Construction Update, November 21, 2008:

The construction of the clinic is complete! We are now supplying the clinic with medicine, equipment, and furniture. Our hope and prayer is to have the clinic ready to open its doors by January, 2009, but this may be delayed because we must get government approval and obtain all of the supplies, sometimes from overseas. Please pray that the process of getting the clinic approved and registered by the government goes quickly and smoothly. We need the government’s approval and licensing before we can begin to see and treat patients. Please pray that this process will not take any longer than would be absolutely necessary and that the government will be pleased with what is being done in Dzuwa and that they will want to get behind it and support us in our efforts to serve the needs of the people of Dzuwa. Thank you!

For more information about the Dzuwa medical clinic, click a link below:



Two New Wells Completed!

This is what Elliot Khembo, Program Manager for JTW in Malawi, had to say about the completion of these two new wells:

"Here are the pictures of the two wells drilled at Joy campus, clinic site and at the Group Village Headman (GVH) Dzuwa's residence...The Group Village Headman Dzuwa and the other two chiefs in the area are very appreciative of what the Lord has done through Joy to the World (JTW) Ministries. We had people singing praising God for the safe and clean water after suffering for centuries drinking from rivers, streams, shallow wells, etc. The water capacity of the well at the clinic is 0.5litres per second while the other one (at GVH Dzuwa's residence) is 1litre per second. Why can't we say Amen!"

For more information about the wells project, click here.

The following note comes from Maryclaire, who recently visited Dzuwa with seven other women, and helped raise money to build the clinic:

"The 'South African Sisterhood' is a group of eight women. Seven are from Atlanta, Georgia and one is from Boston, Massachusetts. Some of us knew each other well and some did not, but during our journey to Dzuwa Village, Malawi, we became "sisters".

We discovered that the people of Dzuwa are incredible. From the 'Joy to the World' staff and village chiefs to all the men, women and children who live there. The eight of us woke up each morning during our visit to a yard full of these amazing villagers waiting to see us.

The people of Dzuwa were so respectful of us. We had never seen a group of people who had more joy in their hearts or so fully felt all the blessings of God. It showed both on their faces and in their brilliant smiles! But the main thing we realized was that in order for these wonderful people to survive, they desperately needed medical help. So, our 'thank you' to them for hosting us in their village was to raise the funds to build a medical clinic. Our number one priority to ensure the success of the village was to make it possible for each man, woman and child to receive the medical care necessary to prevent death from diseases previously left untreated yet potentially curable.

Now, thanks to God's inspiration and direction, the funds are in the hands of 'Joy to the World' and the medical clinic is under construction.

We 'sisters' thank all the great people of Dzuwa for all that they taught us by living their lives trusting in God's grace, mercy and generosity!

Thanks be to God!"

- The South African Sisterhood

Charles Morris' Haven Today radio broadcasts from Malawi



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