Good News - May 2026
- Elizabeth's Library
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
ELI enjoys sharing the Good News newsletter, reporting the good things that are happening in Malawi and Zambia. The name of our newsletter for this month seems especially appropriate, for the good news we are sharing in this edition. Good news that tells about children learning to think and imagine. Good news that the gospel is being shared in communities hungering for the Bible and the many needs being met through the generosity of some of you!
As cold water is to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country.
Proverbs 25:25
Susu Library Playground
The children attending the Early Education Program love attending their classes and then going outside to play. Mr. Kenneth knew a playground would be a welcome addition to the Susu Library campus. He wanted to use local materials to inspire people’s imagination and creativity, while giving an example for other schools to follow. Using local labor to build a fence around the area, Kenneth then set up a pole with a tire hoop for the netball game. A wooden seesaw and a few tires strategically placed for an obstacle course completed the structures. With a few soccer balls supplied from an earlier donation, the children can now play outdoor games for their physical activities.
Mr. Kenneth hopes that the playground (the first in the area) will draw more village children to the campus and hopefully spark their interest in attending the Early Education classes. Thanks to an ELI donor, the playground fence will be painted a bright and cheerful color, and a welcoming sign will be posted. Pictures of happy children playing soon to follow.
One Child, One Banana Tree Project
The One Child, One Banana Tree Project is an initiative of Susu Community Library that encourages every child to plant, water, and care for a banana tree. This initiative is a wonderful way to engage children in science and agriculture through hands on experiences. Through regular monitoring, reading activities, and practical agricultural lessons, children will learn responsibility, environmental stewardship, entrepreneurship, and the value of hard work. The project supports the library's vision of investing in people and their communities by promoting education and creating future livelihood opportunities. Children will also enjoy the fruits of their labor when the bananas are ready for harvest; bringing forth the concepts found in Ecclesiastes 3:1- To everything there is a season, a time and purpose under heaven.
Susu Early Education Program
The joy of learning is on every face.
The May edition of Good News told the story of the Jesus film outreach to Dima Village. It was well attended and at the conclusion of the film, many viewers asked the EL Malawi team for Bibles. The team was happy to give to all who requested, but wanted to learn more about the different individuals asking for a Bible. Because of the late hour, the team decided to make a follow up visit to Dima Village and meet some of the Bible recipients. It was so encouraging to know these friends now have the tools and opportunities to share the gospel in very remote villages with people eager to hear the Good News. You will be blessed as you read just a few stories from the follow-up visit.
The Jesus Film Outreach Program
Mr. Jacob reports:
Following the Jesus Film Outreach Program, our team conducted a community follow-up to assess how the Bibles distributed during the event are being used. What we discovered was very encouraging. The Bibles have circulated far beyond individual readers and are actively being used as tools for community literacy and spiritual growth, particularly among children who cannot read.
We visited three individuals and a family who are reading the Bible aloud to groups of children regularly. We met a widow named Jane, who reads the Bible to her two children every day. Her children are now able to follow along with the stories from the Children's Bible, which they find easy to understand.
Often young Steve (age 8) joins story time and now he reads to Vanessa (age 6) and Grace (age 7). A child evangelist in the making, for sure.
Women Becoming Community Bible Readers
After visiting Dima village, we went to Mphonde Village to appreciate further how the Word of God is being shared. It was discovered that most families do not own a personal Bible and they are praying for local language Bibles and Children’s Bibles.
We met a woman named Ruth carrying a very torn-out Bible. Every Sunday morning, you’ll see her coming to church with her Bible tucked under her arm and carefully wrapped in a faded plastic bag. It’s not torn because she’s careless, but torn because it’s loved. It’s the only Bible in the surrounding area, and when Mama Ruth isn’t reading it, someone else is.
A neighbor borrows it for prayer. A youth uses it for Sunday school. The pastor even leans on it to prepare his sermon because he doesn't own a Bible. Hand after hand, the Word has been passed around as it is the bread of life. To keep it safe from rain, dust, and damp, Mama Ruth keeps it in a plastic bag. She folds it gently, and she wipes her hands before she touches it. She prays over it before she opens it because she’s afraid that one day the last page will fall out and the Word will go quiet for many.
Because of lost pages, some passages she needs are gone. It limits her and everyone else, who depends on this Bible to read, to teach, to share. Mama Ruth isn’t asking for food. She isn’t asking for clothes. She’s asking for one thing, a complete Bible.
Her zeal for the Word is what drives her. If she didn’t value God’s Word above everything else, she would have asked for something else. But she believes that if people can hear the whole Word, then lives will change. The church will grow. Children will learn. Hope will have a voice again. Amen!
This report is a testimony to the power of your prayers and generous support. The Jesus film outreach shares the gospel with hundreds of people and puts Bibles in the hands of community members. This is a strategic way to share the message of hope with their neighbors, families, and especially the children.
We are deeply grateful for your partnership in this work and look forward to expanding this outreach so that more families may receive the Scriptures and experience the same transformation we have witnessed in this community.
Thank you for making this impact possible. Your gift is planting seeds of faith that will grow for generations.
Friends, as you see the results from what Jacob reported after showing the Jesus film to communities, and as you read the requests for native language Bibles, please consider a generous gift to fund the Jesus film to be shown in other communities, and for additional Bibles to be purchased. There is a real spiritual hunger that can be met, as well as the physical hunger that can be met by the Basic Needs program, which supplies food staples such as maize, oil, eggs, matches and a water bucket. Thank you for your compassion for those who are struggling through this season of hunger.
ELI asks that in addition to these special needs, you would prayerfully consider a generous one time gift or become a regular monthly supporter.
Thank you for partnering with ELI to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
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