On 9th August we left Scotland for Malawi, travelling via Brussels and Nairobi. The following day we arrived in Malawi, reaching Blantyre in the afternoon and taking up residence in the new Mission House at Chirimba which is about five miles outside the city. Apart from visits to Ngabu in the south and to Ntaja in the west, the Mission House was to be our home for the next five weeks.
The first weekend was spent at Kudya Lodge, Liwondi, situated on the bank of the Shire River. From here it was just an hour’s drive to Ntaja. Sabbath two services were held in the Ntaja area and another one on Monday morning. These services were well attended. Churches of a temporary construction had been erected in all three places which afforded protection from the heat of the sun. Had it rained, it is doubtful if these sheds could have given much shelter from the heavy tropical showers to those parts.
On the second weekend we travelled south to the Lower Shire valley. Here it was intense, though not as hot as it would be in the month of June before the rains would come. On Sabbath, services were held in Ngabu which were well attended. On Sabbath evening a violent storm broke out which cut off the electricity in the Resthouse where we were staying. The storm cooled the temperature considerably, making the journey to Blantyre on the Monday much more pleasant. During each of the other three weekends, I was able to travel by car from Blantyre to places within an hour’s drive from the Mission house. The congregation grew from fifty or sixty to over a hundred people.
I held classes in the Mission House for men from Mozambique, who were visiting Malawi and wanted me to go to Mozambique. Those who attended the classes appeared to appreciate the opportunity of learning more about the doctrines of God’s Word and the practices of the Free Presbyterian Church. We trust that they will carry something of what they learned with them to their own areas. Although some of the Mozambique refugees have returned to their own country, they have not been able yet to plant and harvest crops to keep themselves alive, and so are dependent on help from outside. Consideration should be given to their difficult situation and an effort made to provide help for them until they are able to build houses for themselves and plant maize to meet their needs. Small congregations have been formed in six places in Mozambique where people meet to read the Word of God and where the catechism is taught.
The door is at present open in Malawi and in Mozambique for the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The paramount need is for labourers to labour in that part of the Lord’s vineyard. We cannot over-emphasise that need. As congregations decline in Scotland, due to a Christ rejecting generation, the way is open for the gospel to be carried to a people who are willing to assemble to hear that same gospel. What our response as a Church will be to this great need for labourers has yet to be seen. So far it is only occasional visits from Church Deputies that have taken place. The need is for missionaries of the Cross who would devote their lives to the service of Christ in those lands. Such a provision might appear to human judgment an impossibility but there is nothing too hard for the Lord. The Lord is able to direct His servants to any part of His vineyard, and there to use them mightily in His service.
On 14th September we left Malawi and travelled to Kenya via Lusaka in Zambia. We spent one night in Nairobi before proceeding to the Mission which is situated over two hundred miles to the west. We did not know what might meet us there as difficulties had arisen recently. As I was to spend only two weekends at the Mission, I held services the first weekend at Sengera where the Clinic and other buildings have been erected. As the school classrooms were too small for the congregation, the services were held in the open under the shade of trees, over one hundred people attending. Some of these people had walked for two hours to attend the service and had to walk another two hours or more to reach their homes again. Services in their own areas had been suspended due to lack of suitable men to hold them.
The second weekend of my visit, I travelled to Mokoma to hold services there, while Rev. J. Goldby held two services at Sengera and one at Ogembo. Mokoma is too far from Sengera for the people to walk there. One of the school classrooms was well filled with people for the two services, which were held with only a short interval between them. In all the congregations many young people attend the services. This is a hopeful sign and we trust that the Word may be blessed to them, as well as to the older people.
I held a service at Ogembo on the Monday after the first weekend and during that week visited the schools at Mokoma and Sengera. Along with Rev. John Goldby, I visited the schools at Riamangata and Maiga later in the week. Before leaving for Nairobi on the second Wednesday, Rev. Goldby and I held a meeting with the School Council at Sengera, which they had requested, in order to acquaint us with the needs of the school and ask us about the Mission’s plans for the school. During my time at Sengera I had ample opportunity of meeting people from the different parts of the Mission and also hearing the views of the Staff, Mr Nyarango, a former Government minister, who has taken an interest in the Mission, also called several times at the Mission while I was there to discuss different aspects of the Mission’s work.
It was a privilege to meet the people on the Mission and to have an opportunity of assessing the situation there. Dr Tallach had already done this for the period he spent abroad. I hope that my visit may have helped in some measure to calm the unsettled situation which had developed in recent times. Rev. John Goldby’s arrival should be of great help in bringing about a more stable situation. I would acknowledge the Lord’s goodness during the period spent abroad, and would crave the prayers of the Lord’s people for the preservation and firm establishment of our Mission in that part of Kenya. A door has been opened up but there are many adversaries. It is the Lord alone who can maintain His Cause there.