A year ago last July, an ELI team travelled to Africa to celebrate our tenth anniversary with our national partners and officially dedicate the new Susu Community Library in Zambia. It was a joyful celebration as pastors, teachers and government representatives joined with the Susu community to give praise and thanks to God for this amazing blessing.
The team "walked the land" of the Susu farm and marveled at the flourishing banana, orange and lemon trees, and also saw the potential for the mango grove and large scale maize fields. The playful antics of the healthy baby goats entertained everyone.
The team visited many of the schools served by the mobile library program and heard testimonies from teachers and students about the impact of books and educational resources being available to them. Visiting Mr. Benson's farm and hearing his vision for the farm library touched all our hearts.
Then the team flew to Malawi to meet Jacob and his outstanding team; and to see all the ELI projects for the very first time. We interacted with all the children visiting the small storefront library in Lilongwe. The children love the opportunities to read great books, complete puzzles and learn new games.
We participated in the mobile library outreach to three villages and were warmly welcomed by everyone including the village chiefs.
The women's literacy class proudly demonstrated their new skills in reading, writing, math, and shared their hopes to start small business ventures.
We met Dorothy at the remarkable School for the Deaf in Lilongwe and accompanied her to her home in the village where we met her mother and neighbors. Everyone praised God for the miracle of Dorothy's opportunity for education and a totally different future.
Despite significant challenges, the programs and projects in both Zambia and Malawi have expanded and their progress has been shared in Good News. New opportunities and objectives have been identified and we have exciting news to share with you.
ELI Mission Team 2024
In just a few days, an ELI team of committed Christians will depart for Africa. Each individual has a heart to serve the Lord by sharing their unique skills and knowledge with the ELI national staffs and the communities they serve.
As the mobile library programs expanded into more communities and schools, pastors and teachers consistently asked for children's Bibles and Christian education programs to introduce into their schools and communities. There are hundreds of children who have never heard the Gospel or do not have a Bible to read and grow in their faith.
Thanks to generous ELI supporters, 100 children's Bibles will soon arrive in both Zambia and Malawi. The Grandmother's Heart initiative is a strategic means to share these treasured resources with the village children. We will continue to grow this program, but we are incredibly excited to announce that Bob W. and Chasya P. will be introducing Child Evangelism Training to 60 pastors serving in rural communities and teachers from schools served by the mobile library program. Bob is a retired lawyer with a passion to share the Gospel with children. He has been teaching in Children's Ministry for many years as well as leading Good News clubs. Chasya is a multi talented athlete and has been praying since the age of nine for an opportunity to work with children in Africa. She has been diligently completing CEF training and will be Bob's main assistant. They are so excited at the opportunity to reach children with the Gospel, and Chasya has planned some great games and sports for the children.
Katie is a very gifted grade school teacher at a local Christian school and was instrumental in organizing the school sponsored theme based Boxes of Blessings now on the way to Africa. Katie will be holding a workshop on teaching basic literacy skills and how to use the classroom manipulatives now available in ELI libraries. Manipulatives are unavailable for most African teachers working in the rural schools, so the teachers are very excited about learning how to effectively use these tools. Katie also specializes in teaching students with learning disabilities, so we can't wait for her to meet Dorothy and visit Dorothy's school. We know her expertise will help us formulate a plan for this precious girl's continued education.
Erica is a Psychotherapist and currently works at a local university. In addition to her heart for young people, she mentors and counsels women facing very diverse challenges in their lives. Erica will be leading the women's ministry outreach to bless the graduates of the literacy classes in both Zambia and Malawi. These women trusted in the Lord as they faced unbelievable challenges to accomplish their goal of learning to read and write, and we want to acknowledge their hard work. Several rural pastor's wives will be joining the group, as there are many women in their congregations that face similar circumstances and need encouragement.
The team will have the opportunity to visit all the ELI programs and meet the visionary Mr. Benson, the compassionate Grandmothers Elizabeth and Alefa, the remarkable Dorothy and her family, the women's literacy programs and "walk the land" at Susu Farm. In Malawi, they'll meet the village chiefs when we walk the land to view potential sites for a village library and a farm.
Larry and I are thrilled to lead this team and introduce them to Mr. Kenneth in Zambia, Mr. Jacob in Malawi and their hard working teams. Their stories have touched the hearts of the ELI team and there will be great joy in working together in the next few weeks.Â
We covet your prayers for all the details of this trip - travel mercies, safety for everyone and good health. And, we pray that we are a blessing to everyone, and all that we do and say brings honor and glory to our Lord and Savior.
Thank you for praying for us and sharing this adventure.
Larry and Lana Lynn
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
and to sing praises to Your Name, O most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night.
Psalm 92:1-2
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