Meet the Pundi Family
Since we introduced the oldest family on campus last month, it is only fitting we introduce the youngest family this month. Matthias is 28 and his wife, Charity, is 24. They have a 1-year-old son, Chance. Matthias was baptized at age 15, and Charity was also baptized at age 15. They were both born and raised in Mpherembe which is a village in northern Malawi near Mzuzu. Before coming to school Matthias was a reed farmer.
Matthias met Charity in 2020 at the local market. He is one of the few students we have who graduated high school. Charity finished her sophomore year. After graduating, he was not sure what to do. He wanted to continue his education but was not sure how he would be able to afford more education. In the spring of 2022, he received an application to our school from a friend who had attended a meeting. Matthias immediately applied.
Even at a young age, Matthias was very active in his local church. He preached, led songs, and was also the church secretary. Here at school, he has maintained his desire to participate and grow in knowledge. Following graduation, Matthias and his family will return to the village and continue to farm and work in the church. If an opportunity arises, he will further his Bible education.
I am excited to see what life holds for the Pundi family. Matthias has the gift of critical thinking. He will ask 70 percent of the questions in class and a fair number of them will require me to postpone the answer until I can do further research. He is a thinker. Both he and Charity are consistently towards the top of the class. Please take time this month to pray for the Pundi family.
Sad News from the Bible Society of Malawi
One of the works the school is involved in is purchasing Bibles and selling them for 10% of the original cost or giving them away if the interested individual can say all the books of the Bible from memory. Not only do we have this program here in Lilongwe, but we also work with the Bear Valley School in Ekwendeni. Recently, Mbano, the director in the Ekwendeni school, went to purchase more Bibles from the Bible store. He was told they were no longer printing the “old” Tumbuka version as it was outdated, and they could not make any money with it. They were now printing the “new” version. At a glance this would not seem to be a problem. However, the “new” version includes all the apocryphal books. Mbano decided to purchase Chichewa Bibles which have 66 books. It is very sad our Tumbuka brothers and sisters will not be able to learn from God’s word in their their mother tongue. It is funny to mention that while Mbano was in the store working through a solution, five other customers came in requesting the same “old” version. Let’s pray the Bible Society of Malawi changes their mind about the Tumbuka translation.
Great News of Multiplicity
One of our students has returned a week early to make up a course he missed due to chicken pox. Upon greeting him and his family, I learned of the great success he had while in the village. He was given the opportunity to teach Bible class for two weeks. They asked him to teach on the Lord’s Supper which is one of the most disputed parts of worship in Malawi. Many congregations have divided over the Lord’s Supper. George carefully taught what he had learned from 1 Corinthians and the gospels. He made sure to only teach the text and not tradition or opinions. George also included the entire context of the relevant passages and not just a few verses here and there. I am excited to write that the congregation immediately corrected their worship service that Sunday. It was through George’s careful presentation of God’s words, and only God’s words, that the congregation was taught.
My dear brother and sisters, this is what Bear Valley International is all about! Teaching others to teach others to teach others. Multiplicity of efforts at its best. I am so thankful Bear Valley has provided a great way to spread the pure word of God to changes lives. Please make time to lift up those at Bear Valley to our Lord and Savior. Have no doubt that your financial assistance is making a difference in Malawi!
In Him,
Dale Kastner