A Visit to Malawi

Our world famous picture book
Our world famous picture book

GRN picture books are used with adults and kids

Dallion organises the study groups

Michael Ropp

Locals using the picture books to tell stories

GRN products are ideal for use in Malawi

by Christine Platt

I have just returned from Malawi, a small nation in Southern Africa. I was encouraged to see groups of children and adults growing and learning as they listen to God's word and see pictures which greatly aid their understanding.

Fishers, Trainers and Senders is a small mission which is equipping the saints for service in several areas of Malawi. We saw dynamic leaders teaching the groups and heard about their comprehensive training program to prepare more leaders and their desire to start groups in new areas.
Read more at: globalrecordings.net/en/2210

We travelled for three days. The country is beautiful and the crops are growing well after good rain. The people are friendly and gracious, they welcomed us warmly. It was clear that people attended the groups regularly. They were familiar with the materials and children were able to recite Bible verses related to the pictures.

The GRN Look, Listen & Live recordings with flipcharts provides valuable teaching material for these groups. It provides a framework for the people to understand the Bible, which is recorded in some languages. The groups number up to 100 people. The first group we visited had recently built a church building. It was in an area where the people are not traditionally Christian. They wanted to declare to their neighbours their new-found allegiance to Christ. Pray for them as they seek to share the Good News they have received with their neighbours.

Our last day was an experience. It poured. The van was sliding all over the road. We eventually parked the van and walked to the church in the mud. As I was skating along in the pouring rain, with a local lady helping me stay upright and carrying our shoes, I did wonder how we were ever going to get back to town.

We had a wonderful time with the people there and the children escorted us back to our van. I felt like the Pied Piper leading a happy band of children who all thought we were very amusing as we struggled to walk in the mud. God looked after us. We didn't even fall over in the mud and our driver did a masterful job of driving us back to the sealed road.

Time and again people testified as to how the pictures helped them understand the stories. They told us how several groups would share one audio player, that often the player would be rotated around the group members so they could listen during the week.

These people are in remote areas. Most have no electricity. Where there is power the supply is unreliable. The people are largely subsistence farmers who have little access to money. In their communities it would cause problems to give someone a personal audio player, it is much better for players to be collectively owned

Praise God for the wonderful things He is doing in Malawi, and for the partnerships which are allowing work such as this to flourish.

Please Pray . . .

  • those hearing about Jesus through this ministry; that they would become disciples and be equipped for ministry,
  • enough players and picture books to equip those who are trained,
  • new recordings scheduled to be made in the second half of 2015, in particular for the translation of the scripts which is in process now,
  • Fishers, Trainers and Senders is a small mission doing exactly what their name suggests. Read more at globalrecordings.net/en/2210

Related information

Global News - Latest news about the ministry and resources of the Global Recordings Network from around the world.

News - What's happening in Australia and the globe.

Malawi - Information about Malawi

Southern Africa News - Read what's happening with GRN Southern Africa.