Text - First Presbyterian Church

M I S S I O N M I N I S T R Y P A G E 4
Good News from Malawi!
The rainy season brought sufficient rain this year, there is no drought, and the harvest should be good. Praise
God! A special thank you to everyone who contributed to the 2012 Advent alternative gift of maize for hunger
relief due to last year’s severe drought in Malawi. Your gifts saved lives! The gifts of maize were given
through Villages in Partnership (VIP). Our VIP contact, Liz Heinzel-Nelson, recently returned from Malawi,
saying people thanked her and told her, “I would not be here today if I did not get the maize from VIP.”
Malawi – “See One, Do One, Teach One”
Did you know that if you scrape a goat’s hooves with a knife, it can keep the goat from becoming lame?
First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA (FPCA) members and friends generously gave Advent alternative
gifts of animals, including goats, to Naming’azi Farm in Malawi. The animals are given to the most vulnerable
people in the villages of Malawi, and the first offspring are given to other families in great need.
Recently, a team of veterinarians from New Jersey traveled to Malawi through Villages in Partnership and visited
Naming’azi Farm. The veterinarians asked a group of local farmers if their goats were lame. Most of the
farmers raised their hands. Using the theory: “See One, Do One, Teach One,” the veterinarians demonstrated a
procedure using a knife to care for the goats’ hooves to help prevent the goats from becoming lame. (“See
One”.) Next, the local farmers performed the procedure. (“Do One.”) Finally, the farmers went back to their
villages to show the method to another person. (“Teach One.”)
Now, thanks to the veterinary team making a 5-year commitment to Malawi, extra care will be given to the
animals, including those given in Christian love by FPCA.
First Presbyterian Church, Malawi and Honduras
In just the last year and a half, members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown (FPCA) have
given numerous gifts of chickens, goats, fish, wells and trees to help our brothers and sisters in Malawi.
Thanks to you, gifts were also given to buy bricks for schools and maize to feed the desperately hungry, plus
more than 50 Malawian children now have loving sponsors!
In response to God’s call to Malawi, and our congregation’s amazing support, FPCA’s International/
National (I/N) Mission Team plans to continue our relationship with Malawi. Due to the high cost of traveling
there, FPCA does not plan to have a mission trip to Malawi at this time. Since we can receive updates
through Villages in Partnership (VIP), a New Jersey based organization who is actively involved in Malawi,
the I/N team has decided we can best support our Malawi brothers and sisters through prayers, gifts and correspondence.
Seeking to provide the congregation with an affordable overseas mission opportunity, the I/N team is planning
a Living Water International mission trip to Honduras in 2014. Why Honduras? Pastor Tony Sundermeier has
seen first-hand the need in Honduras and will be traveling with a medical mission team to this Central American
country this year. The I/N team believes we are being called to meet our Honduran brothers and sisters
where they live…to walk alongside them…to dig a well together.
Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Malawi even as we seek to meet those who live in
Honduras.
Water:
“At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related
disease. Unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene cause nearly 90 percent of all diseases
in the world, and claim the lives of 5,000 children under the age of five every day.” Living Water International
First Presbyterian Church will be working side-by-side with Living Water International in Honduras during
2014 to build a well and provide safe, clean water for our brothers and sisters. Watch for details about how you
can be a part of this mission, whether you travel to Honduras, or become part of the “home team!” Meanwhile,
please pray for all those who don’t have access to this most precious resource- clean water.