Dear Bretheren, March 2009
I pray that you all be found doing the will of God, through the grace which was given to you by Our Lord
Jesus Christ. We owe so much to God, that our responsibility to Him, appears to be so insufficient for
the great work he has wrought in us. God has shown great mercy through His children to this far away
servant of God. My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Malawi is that they might be saved. They have
zeal for God, but not according to the knowledge, being ignorant of God’s righteousness.
Although we had mechanical repairs to perform on the Toyota truck we were able to travel and visit the
Churches in Luchensa and Chiradzulu townships outside the Blantyre area. We preached and taught
on the unity of believers, the love of the brethren, and the responsibility of parents to teach the Bible to
their children. We held a small Bible conference in Liwonde, where several pastors taught through
Biblical stories relating to our Lord Jesus Christ. We had twelve pastors attend from the Salema and
Balaka areas in Liwonde, several hours drive from Blantyre. Brother Sahidi taught on the Great
Commission and the Gospel. My message to these pastors was that they walk worthy of the vocation
with which they were called. The Lord gave some evangelist, pastors and teachers, and Christ gave
the measure of that gift and we need to exercise it according to that knowledge. We pray constantly that
God will open our understanding and helps to guide them into a greater knowledge of God through the
study of His wonderful Word and turn away from the vanity of their minds.
We have rented a new house; it is larger and accommodates most of our personal belongings. Thank
you to all who helped us acquire this new dwelling. It has taken a great amount of physical work and
personal funds to repair, renovate, and upgrade the house to be useful in providing proper shelter and
lifestyle with work being done to the security, electrical, plumbing, and painting. We are in the process
of completing the yard and dog kennels and we hope that they may be completed by the end of April
this year. My wife has done a great job with the inside of the house.
We had to keep the old house in M’galazi road as we did not give the six months called in our rental
agreement for vacating the residence. It is cheaper to keep it for the remainder of the six month than to
break the rental agreement. The old house is only a ten minute walk from the new house and three
minute drive with vehicle. Brother Saihidi also felt that a place away from our personal home would be
more suitable when we bring the pastors from different villages. The facilities have been constructed
over the last few years to accommodate Bible school and conferences. The Bible studies at the old
house have dwindled down to a few followers (how often the people go away when there is no
personal gain). We have two young boys in school will soon be returning for a school break. They are
being taught and trained as translators. Owen says he might be being called by God to be a preacher.
This would be a great blessing since indigenous people are better translators and teachers and serve
as ambassadors for Christ and the mission work here.
The Toyota Landcruiser we purchased was a used vehicle. We knew it would require maintenance
and repairs. The valve seals needed to be replaced. This work pointed to other parts that needed
preventive maintenance to avoid double cost of mechanical expenses down the line. We replaced the
gaskets, camshaft bearings, piston rings, connecting rod bearings, fuel injectors and glow plugs. We
still need to calibrate the diesel pump and timing but had to stop due to shortage of funds.
During the time we were repairing the Landcruiser, we used the Isuzu truck for traveling. During our
trip to Liwonde Bible conference, we were struck from behind by another vehicle in Zomba. After
making our report to the local authorities we were asked to tow the other vehicle to the police station.
Unfortunately the oil seals in our truck in the rear axle started leaking and some of the electric wires
short circuited due to the accident, more future mechanical work for us.
Wonderful news is that our visa has been renewed and we look forward to a more permanent status to
travel in Malawi. The lord continues to bless us, and the trials have not removed our desire to serve
Him.
Financial Notes
Monthly Income for March (with $1,500 additional being sent this month) was $3,500.00.
Expenses for the month (including Rent, household supplies, moving expenses and the repairs to the
vehicles) totaled $9,155.00.
Faithful in Christ
Bro Joe Padilla
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