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| Pastor Silvey's Second Missionary Journey Our Pastor went to Malawi, Africa from September 4 - September 29, 2008. We praise God for a great and successful trip! You can follow his journal below. |
Africa Mission Trip Part I - As is the case with each of these two mission trips (the last one
being in 2006), the hardest part was leaving. It is very difficult to explain to your little children
who are crying and asking why Daddy must go away and travel around the world to go work with
the missionary. And you can only tell your wife so many times how much you are going to love
and miss her and how thankful you are that she so understands this work that she is willing to
maintain the home and all the children on your absence.
It is also important to recognize and thank the church that has so graciously, happily and
generously supported the work and has sacrificed to bring me over here. Friendship truly is a
Missionary Baptist Church.
The flight from San Francisco to Dulles airport was pretty straightforward. Although it was an
overnight flight, I decided to stay awake and try to start adjusting to the time in Malawi, expecting
to sleep on the longer trans-Atlantic flight. The 3.5-hour layover in Dulles starting at 3:30 in the
morning seemed to drag on forever. I was stuck in a position of missing everyone at home and
not able to get closer to Africa and it was torture.
My next leg was on Ethiopian Air. I had never flown using them, so I was unsure what it would
be like. The waiting areas continued to fill with what appeared to be a predominantly Muslim
population and it started to make me start wondering what to expect. It also filled up with a lot of
people and I was wondering how we were all going to fit and how cramped would the seating
arrangements be. Needless to say, I was glad when a very big 757 pulled up. We boarded
nearly an hour late, but with early 16 hours of flight time ahead of us, no one was concerned
because we knew they could make up the time in the air. The plane was huge inside and very
well spaced out. One thing that was very nice was that everyone on the crew and most of the
passengers were Africans. The reason this was a plus is because the people are generally
much more respectful and polite than those I experienced on the other airlines. In addition to
that, the remainder of the passengers were people involved in help-groups (medical, etc.) and
missionaries.
I met one couple on the plane who heard me talk about what I was doing and they were very
interested. They were staying in Ethiopia for a week and thought that their long-term plans
would be to become permanent missionaries. I found out they were form Salem Oregon (small
world). I took their picture and gave them a church card, letting them know they may see
themselves on our website.
I sat next to an Ethiopian native who is currently living in Ohio. She was 26 years old, and I
could not remember her name. She said most people incorrectly called her “Fire” and that was
good enough for me.
I fell asleep on the plane for just about an hour when “Fire” woke me up. They were serving a
meal, and I knew I needed to adjust my schedule so I ate.
I could not believe the plane could stay in flight for 16 hours straight and I was correct. The
plane stopped and refueled in Rome, Italy at 1a.m. (4 p.m. CA time). I had been up for 34
hours straight with only the one-hour nap, so after our one hour stop, I was sure I would get
some sleep, or at least I thought. “Fire” had not been home for nearly 2 years and could not
wait to get back home, so she was excited. Since I knew I would be the same way in about 34
days, I asked for coffee and stayed up and chatted with her. The caffeine really started to kick
in about the time that she fell asleep and watched the monitor slowly tick away the miles to
arrival in Ethiopia.
I was told that the plane I was on would take me to Lilongwe by the folks in Washington. That
was not true. Unfortunately, they told me that after I had let everyone else debark. Now I was
rushing. Fortunately, they ground crew were very good about getting me to the next flight in
time. My only concern was that I did not see my luggage get loaded and I prayed for mercy.
The good new was that I could finally sleep, so I got about a 2-hour nap before the meal was
served. As we began to land, all you could see was the dead grass and brown dirt I had come
to appreciate in Malawi. This was in contrast the lush greenness of Ethiopia.
The airport was smaller than the one in Blantyre, surprisingly, since it was the capital of Malawi.
I got off the plane and could not spot anyone I knew. I was quick to fill out my entrance paper
and get in line with immigration. Hallelujah, both bags arrived safely! It took only a couple
minutes and I was first in line with the guards who would check my bags. I greeted him first,
handed him my passport and hoisted my bag on the counter and told him I would be there until
the 26th. He unzipped my bag and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen. He asked what it was for
and I told him it was for headaches and muscle aches. He could not get it opened, so I
introduced him to a childproof cap. Apparently the embarrassment was enough and he said I
could go through. What I thought would be a 45-minute ordeal took only 10 minutes. I went to
the front of the airport and waited about 10 minutes for Joe to arrive.
The travel back was good because we had not seen each other in so long. We spent the time
filling each other in on what was happening at home and in Malawi and getting all caught up. He
shared the basic plans of what was happening over the next couple of days. The ride home
took about 6 hours and it was about 6:30 at night. We pulled in got out and I met Gabby face
to face for the first time. She is very pretty and very sweet and very opinionated. We shared
some small talk and a little snack and then she took off for home. I spent some more time with
Joe and then took a shower and settled in for bed at about 10:00 at night. In total, I had been
up 54 hours with a one-hour and a two-hour nap. Surprisingly, I was so excited about it all that I
was not that exhausted. However, as soon as I slipped under the mosquito net and on to the
bed, I had a quick prayer of gratitude for a safe trip and for allowing me to be here and fell right
to sleep, as tomorrow would be Sunday services at the house.
I got to meet Bro. Sahiri Phiri for the first time. He is very kind man and very knowledgeable of
the scriptures. We talked for about 20 minutes while waiting for the services to start. Then, we
started singing and sung about 15 minutes just a few of us while awaiting others to arrive. In
total, we had about 20 people arrive. Br. Padilla had not told the locals I was coming, as he
wanted to keep the first service smaller in size. Bro. Phiri did a great job of preaching on the
topic why we needed to be saved.
Bro Saidi Phiri preaching.
Following Bro Phiria, Bro. Joe preached on the Power of the Gospel. He did a great job as well.
I then preached on salvation and service. So, the messages all tied into each other very well.
We did some more singing and then dismissed.
Bro Padilla preaching
We spent the afternoon speaking with Bro. Phiri and planning the conference that would start in
a few days. We decided to start it on Thursday and have it go through to Monday. They were
planning on preaching on the Doctrines of Grace. I asked how knowledgeable were these
pastors and if that was not too much meat when milk was really needed. They both thought
about it and agreed that this may be too much for them, many of whom we would be meeting for
the first time. So I suggested we focused more on the depravity of many, salvation, the Gospel
and carrying out mission work. We then went to Sis. Gertrude’s house and had a wonderful
meal of Shrimp, pork ribs and salad.
All day Monday, we ran around Blantyre getting the money cashed and purchasing supplies for
the conference. The first two days were absolutely beautiful weather days with no humidity,
about 85 degrees and a breeze. We ended the day at Ndirande, the worst pat of town, buying
cardboard for the walls off the pastor’s quarters for when they stayed for the conference. Joe
had to stay with the truck so I went into the ghetto flea market to negotiate the purchase of the
material. The deal was done and the two boys I brought picked up stacks and started out. I
found myself standing there alone and not wanting to be there. So, I picked up a stack and
started heading out. Well, the white man carrying a heave load on his head was quite a sight
for everyone. I heard the stir all around me as a sea of people surrounded the whole city. I
heard a group of 10 women giggling with each other and knew it was at my expense. I looked
over at them, smiled, and flexed my muscle on my arm and received a roar of laughter and now
even more people staring at me, including Joe in disbelief of the whole scene. I walked the
remaining 40 yards to the truck to unload my stack while still hearing the women laughing. I
turned and blew them all a kiss, which made laugh and yell and applaud. The crazy missionary
Joe’s dogs both had puppies. The first one had them on Saturday night and she had 11
puppies. The other had 6 but one did not live long. All in all, it was a good breed. I will enjoy
watching them grow over the next few weeks and thought of Ashley trying to save a little kitten
from her cat’s litter and I also thought of how much Sarah would just love being around all these
little puppies.
being in 2006), the hardest part was leaving. It is very difficult to explain to your little children
who are crying and asking why Daddy must go away and travel around the world to go work with
the missionary. And you can only tell your wife so many times how much you are going to love
and miss her and how thankful you are that she so understands this work that she is willing to
maintain the home and all the children on your absence.
It is also important to recognize and thank the church that has so graciously, happily and
generously supported the work and has sacrificed to bring me over here. Friendship truly is a
Missionary Baptist Church.
The flight from San Francisco to Dulles airport was pretty straightforward. Although it was an
overnight flight, I decided to stay awake and try to start adjusting to the time in Malawi, expecting
to sleep on the longer trans-Atlantic flight. The 3.5-hour layover in Dulles starting at 3:30 in the
morning seemed to drag on forever. I was stuck in a position of missing everyone at home and
not able to get closer to Africa and it was torture.
My next leg was on Ethiopian Air. I had never flown using them, so I was unsure what it would
be like. The waiting areas continued to fill with what appeared to be a predominantly Muslim
population and it started to make me start wondering what to expect. It also filled up with a lot of
people and I was wondering how we were all going to fit and how cramped would the seating
arrangements be. Needless to say, I was glad when a very big 757 pulled up. We boarded
nearly an hour late, but with early 16 hours of flight time ahead of us, no one was concerned
because we knew they could make up the time in the air. The plane was huge inside and very
well spaced out. One thing that was very nice was that everyone on the crew and most of the
passengers were Africans. The reason this was a plus is because the people are generally
much more respectful and polite than those I experienced on the other airlines. In addition to
that, the remainder of the passengers were people involved in help-groups (medical, etc.) and
missionaries.
I met one couple on the plane who heard me talk about what I was doing and they were very
interested. They were staying in Ethiopia for a week and thought that their long-term plans
would be to become permanent missionaries. I found out they were form Salem Oregon (small
world). I took their picture and gave them a church card, letting them know they may see
themselves on our website.
I sat next to an Ethiopian native who is currently living in Ohio. She was 26 years old, and I
could not remember her name. She said most people incorrectly called her “Fire” and that was
good enough for me.
I fell asleep on the plane for just about an hour when “Fire” woke me up. They were serving a
meal, and I knew I needed to adjust my schedule so I ate.
I could not believe the plane could stay in flight for 16 hours straight and I was correct. The
plane stopped and refueled in Rome, Italy at 1a.m. (4 p.m. CA time). I had been up for 34
hours straight with only the one-hour nap, so after our one hour stop, I was sure I would get
some sleep, or at least I thought. “Fire” had not been home for nearly 2 years and could not
wait to get back home, so she was excited. Since I knew I would be the same way in about 34
days, I asked for coffee and stayed up and chatted with her. The caffeine really started to kick
in about the time that she fell asleep and watched the monitor slowly tick away the miles to
arrival in Ethiopia.
I was told that the plane I was on would take me to Lilongwe by the folks in Washington. That
was not true. Unfortunately, they told me that after I had let everyone else debark. Now I was
rushing. Fortunately, they ground crew were very good about getting me to the next flight in
time. My only concern was that I did not see my luggage get loaded and I prayed for mercy.
The good new was that I could finally sleep, so I got about a 2-hour nap before the meal was
served. As we began to land, all you could see was the dead grass and brown dirt I had come
to appreciate in Malawi. This was in contrast the lush greenness of Ethiopia.
The airport was smaller than the one in Blantyre, surprisingly, since it was the capital of Malawi.
I got off the plane and could not spot anyone I knew. I was quick to fill out my entrance paper
and get in line with immigration. Hallelujah, both bags arrived safely! It took only a couple
minutes and I was first in line with the guards who would check my bags. I greeted him first,
handed him my passport and hoisted my bag on the counter and told him I would be there until
the 26th. He unzipped my bag and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen. He asked what it was for
and I told him it was for headaches and muscle aches. He could not get it opened, so I
introduced him to a childproof cap. Apparently the embarrassment was enough and he said I
could go through. What I thought would be a 45-minute ordeal took only 10 minutes. I went to
the front of the airport and waited about 10 minutes for Joe to arrive.
The travel back was good because we had not seen each other in so long. We spent the time
filling each other in on what was happening at home and in Malawi and getting all caught up. He
shared the basic plans of what was happening over the next couple of days. The ride home
took about 6 hours and it was about 6:30 at night. We pulled in got out and I met Gabby face
to face for the first time. She is very pretty and very sweet and very opinionated. We shared
some small talk and a little snack and then she took off for home. I spent some more time with
Joe and then took a shower and settled in for bed at about 10:00 at night. In total, I had been
up 54 hours with a one-hour and a two-hour nap. Surprisingly, I was so excited about it all that I
was not that exhausted. However, as soon as I slipped under the mosquito net and on to the
bed, I had a quick prayer of gratitude for a safe trip and for allowing me to be here and fell right
to sleep, as tomorrow would be Sunday services at the house.
I got to meet Bro. Sahiri Phiri for the first time. He is very kind man and very knowledgeable of
the scriptures. We talked for about 20 minutes while waiting for the services to start. Then, we
started singing and sung about 15 minutes just a few of us while awaiting others to arrive. In
total, we had about 20 people arrive. Br. Padilla had not told the locals I was coming, as he
wanted to keep the first service smaller in size. Bro. Phiri did a great job of preaching on the
topic why we needed to be saved.
Bro Saidi Phiri preaching.
Following Bro Phiria, Bro. Joe preached on the Power of the Gospel. He did a great job as well.
I then preached on salvation and service. So, the messages all tied into each other very well.
We did some more singing and then dismissed.
Bro Padilla preaching
We spent the afternoon speaking with Bro. Phiri and planning the conference that would start in
a few days. We decided to start it on Thursday and have it go through to Monday. They were
planning on preaching on the Doctrines of Grace. I asked how knowledgeable were these
pastors and if that was not too much meat when milk was really needed. They both thought
about it and agreed that this may be too much for them, many of whom we would be meeting for
the first time. So I suggested we focused more on the depravity of many, salvation, the Gospel
and carrying out mission work. We then went to Sis. Gertrude’s house and had a wonderful
meal of Shrimp, pork ribs and salad.
All day Monday, we ran around Blantyre getting the money cashed and purchasing supplies for
the conference. The first two days were absolutely beautiful weather days with no humidity,
about 85 degrees and a breeze. We ended the day at Ndirande, the worst pat of town, buying
cardboard for the walls off the pastor’s quarters for when they stayed for the conference. Joe
had to stay with the truck so I went into the ghetto flea market to negotiate the purchase of the
material. The deal was done and the two boys I brought picked up stacks and started out. I
found myself standing there alone and not wanting to be there. So, I picked up a stack and
started heading out. Well, the white man carrying a heave load on his head was quite a sight
for everyone. I heard the stir all around me as a sea of people surrounded the whole city. I
heard a group of 10 women giggling with each other and knew it was at my expense. I looked
over at them, smiled, and flexed my muscle on my arm and received a roar of laughter and now
even more people staring at me, including Joe in disbelief of the whole scene. I walked the
remaining 40 yards to the truck to unload my stack while still hearing the women laughing. I
turned and blew them all a kiss, which made laugh and yell and applaud. The crazy missionary
Joe’s dogs both had puppies. The first one had them on Saturday night and she had 11
puppies. The other had 6 but one did not live long. All in all, it was a good breed. I will enjoy
watching them grow over the next few weeks and thought of Ashley trying to save a little kitten
from her cat’s litter and I also thought of how much Sarah would just love being around all these
little puppies.
Africa Mission Trip Part II – The Conference at Ndirande
On Wednesday, Pastor Sahidi Phiri, Pastor Sokonyera and his son and Pastor Lazural Phiri arrived to
Joe’s house. We discussed the sermons that should be preached and when they should be preached.
Both Sahidi and Joe agreed that the first two messages that should be preached were on the topics of
“The Responsibilities of a Pastor” and “The Women’s role in the church.” These were decided because
pastors often neglect their duties and just want to take the role of church leader rather than church
helper. Also, there is a strong movement for letting women preach and be pastors and the men are
standing by and doing no real work for the Lord. Some of these men were even talking about it so that
needed to be addressed. This would take up the entire day. The next day we would start to cover the
main topic of the conference which would be on Evangelism with the key thought of “Take the Gospel
back to your village and preach it.”
It was believed that the attendance might be smaller than originally thought. At first we thought there
would be 30. Then it grew to 40 people. Now, we were hearing it may only be 10-15. Bro Joe was
concerned about this, but I assured him that God would bring whom he wanted, and that we would work
with whoever would show up.
I worked all day on the compound helping with the dogs and finishing the temporary housing for the
pastors. We bought large pieces of cardboard for the walls and bought a bunch of bottle caps to drive
the nails through when we attached the cardboard to the housing frame. When Joe arrived in the
afternoon, he was pleasantly surprised at how much had been accomplished and how hard all the boys
were working. I believe that I was working hard, so that motivated them to do it as well. We had the
grounds all cleaned up, and the buildings were all done by late afternoon. That gave us time to go and
get the final food and firewood in preparation of the conference. It was the hottest day so far, and I
could feel that the heat was sapping my energy. By the time we were done working, I felt I had worked
all day, even thought it was only about 4-5 hours.
In town, we looked at guitars in a shop. The men, here, believed the only way to get my guitar back
from Peter Halliman was to send the police to retrieve it. I told them that this is contrary to scriptures
and I would not be doing that. Perhaps some day, there will be reconciliation between us, but for now,
that was not going to be the case. So, I decided to leave it there so that others, such as Bro. Weigold,
could use when he was here. The Lord blessed and we found a nice used guitar. They wanted $150
for it and it needed new strings. I was able to talk them down to $110 and throw in new strings. It has a
very good sound. I told the salesmen we were using it for the Lord and started playing and singing
Dzina La Yesu – The boy started singing along with me right in the store! It was pretty cool.
We came back to the farm ate dinner and settled in for the evening. I told Joe, Gabby and the
houseboy that I would be fasting and praying throughout the conference. They all looked at me in
surprise and said that it was not a good idea. I explained to them the purpose for fasting and then
showed them my waistline and assured them that my body would not suffer.
Conference – Day 1
When we got up the next day, we found out that nearly 20 more people had arrived and that there were
more to pick up at the minibus station. We went and picked up another 10 men. So, we were now up
above 30. By the time we got back, more had arrived. When it was all said and done, we had about 40
pastors and 10 deacons and church members for 50! Praise the Lord, got brought His people!
As previously discussed, Bro. Sahidi covered the first two topics on the roles of a pastor and the role of
Women in the church. With each session, we would always stop to let the visitors ask all the questions
they had and then answer them using the Bible. For the rest of the afternoon, we talked about the
separation of the two works and our inabilities to no longer work with Bro. Halliman and their sending
church. Interestingly, when we discussed the visit by Pastor Mike Prater, we told them that he had
stated his purpose for the visit. He stated that he came to discover if there was any sin in Bro. Halliman’
s life and that he could not find any. When I shared that, all the men laughed. One of the pastors that
was retrieved from Mozambique and went back to the farm for the conference stood up. He said that
when Pastor Prater got up to speak for the first time, that he told the brethren that his purpose for
coming to Africa was to get Bro. Padilla deported. At first, I wondered if it was really spoken out of Bro.
Prater’s mouth or if it was just mistranslated to suit Bro. Halliman’s purpose. Later, I discovered that this
pastor was able to speak some English as well, so I decided to just leave it in the Lord’s hand. It is
obvious the Lord protected Bro. Padilla as he is still here.
There were many questions by the many pastors that lasted for more than 1 hour. I did not need to
recite the sin in Bro. Halliman’s life as they all confirmed over and over what I already knew about his life
when no one from America is around. We will just leave it right there.
We broke for dinner and then met for services from 7:00-8:30. We did a lot of singing and then I
preached on “There is Much Work to be Done,” and stressed how that each of us have to do and that
each of us must do our part. This was setting the stage for the beginning of the lessons on Evangelism.
Conference – Day 2
For the morning and early afternoon, Bro. Padilla taught the first part of the Evangelism messages. He
spoke on the need of man for salvation by teaching on the “Fall of Man.” In the first session he showed
them the whole process as recorded in the scriptures through Genesis 2 -4. He then showed how the
next two generations progressed even farther. He showed how that Eve believed the change of the
commandment that Satan offered her and Adam’s willingness to sin. He then showed how that Cain
argued with God to try and justify his murder of Able. Finally, he showed how his son did not even care
about God, took multiple wives and became a man of war and destruction. I had never heard it
presented that way before and it was very good. We broke for lunch, and in the second session, Bro.
Padilla made personal applications to the brethren using real life examples from their own lives based
on his experiences working with them. He hit it right on the target as was seen by the reaction of the
brethren. He showed me that he truly has begun to understand the life in Africa and the village and the
need for these pastors to recognize their own sin and repent of it if they are truly to have an
Evangelistic ministry and a strong local church.
Bro Sahidi took the final session in the afternoon/evening. He taught on “The Way of Salvation” and
“The freeness of salvation.” He used the New Hampshire Articles of Faith and adapted them to what the
brethren could understand. He is a very good teacher and communicates with the brethren very well.
He uses a lot of scriptures and shows that he is very knowledgeable on what the scriptures say
concerning doctrine. He is a valuable asset to the work and when he was done, he asked me if I wanted
to add anything - J (of course I always do). I added a few things to each of his lessons and taught more
on the doctrines that was not covered by the article or to provide a more practical application to the
children of God in Africa. We had another question session with all present about the day’s lessons for
about 30 minutes.
There were several issues that came up (as they always do), so when we broke for dinner, we were
done for the evening. We met with Bro. Sahidi and poke for nearly two hours and explained to him how
that the way the missionary was going to be used among the pastors was going to change from what
they were used to, but that it would be more effective and more cost effective. We asked him to pray
that the Lord would lead to have more churches support the work so that we could do more.
Note: It has been very windy throughout the conference. Praise the Lord that we added bottle caps to
the nails, like washers, when we hung up the cardboard. They did the trick and we didn’t lose any
cardboard to the strong winds. Also, it was supposed to be very warm this time of year, but it is actually
very cold. Plus, with me not eating for two days now, my metabolism has slowed down significantly and
it makes me colder. The good news is that with the conference and the praying, my spiritual metabolism
is running fast and I am spiritually on fire.
Conference – Day 3
This third day would be all mine, and it would be a very long day, but a very profitable day for all of us. I
had three training sessions prepared and was raring to go.
In the first session, I taught specifically on the training and attitude needed to have successful
evangelistic efforts. My key verse was II Timothy 4:5 – But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do
the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Also used verse 2 – Preach the word; be
instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. My five
main points were: 1) Know the scriptures (Learn everything you can about the Bible and use it in your
life to become more familiar with it); 2) Believe in the scriptures and the promises of God so that your
ministry is full of Confidence, Faith and Assurance. This will lead to Excitement about your ministry
even when things get tough; 3) Convince those you speak to that they need salvation; 4) Be ready to
share the word; 5) Live it in your life as a living example of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
In the second session, I explained what our Evangelistic message should be – The Gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I took my lesson from I Corinthians 15:1-10 and broke down each part of the gospel (the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures) and explained how each part
was important to bring about salvation for His people. I gave a lot of pictures from the Old and New
Testament and shared a lot of verses of scriptures to explain each point. For many of these visiting
pastors, it was the first time they had heard the gospel explained in such a detailed and simple
explanation.
That was the most exciting part. I explained just how powerful the gospel was, in and of itself (Romans 1:
16) and it was not in the preacher. In fact, God called preaching foolishness because He could save
anyone he wanted without our help, but chose to use us. I also explained that God did not hold us
accountable for the number of conversions that occurred in our ministry; rather, on the faithfulness of
each of us to preach the message. The brethren were getting very excited. In fact, one young man
who came to visit professed salvation and that Christ had saved his soul! HALLELUJAH! If nothing else
happens on this trip, that moment made it all worthwhile. Little did I know that more good things were
coming.
In the final session of the afternoon, I talked about the Great Commission, given to the church by our
Lord Jesus Christ during His personal ministry. I used Matthew 16: 15-18; 28: 18-20 and Acts 1:8. The
point of this lesson was to show that our ministry is one of going, not of staying. God has given us the
evangelistic message of the gospel and we are to go and share it with the whole world. This is why a
man in America would quit his job, sell his house and move all of his possessions to Blantyre, Africa and
give the rest of his life to the ministry of the gospel. I showed them how the Commission was given
because Jesus Christ had all the authority. He then commissioned His church to do 4 things: 1. Go (into
all the world), 2. Preach (The Gospel), 3. Baptize (those who confess Christ as their Savior), 4. Teach
(disciple the young believers in the word of God).
I also said that there are some things that God did not put into the Great Commission, such as establish
churches, and showed the Biblical model of how He, calls out and establishes His churches as He sees
fit. I used the examples of how John the Baptist preached the coming of Jesus Christ and baptized
those that confessed Christ as their Savior and had repented of their sins. From those many that he
baptized, Jesus called out His 1 to establish His church. I also showed them how that they all stayed in
Jerusalem contrary to the Great Commission and that God sent along Saul of Tarsus to scatter them
throughout the world to get His gospel spread. This lesson lasted for more than an hour because there
was much to cover concerning Biblical authority, succession and perpetuity.
Following the lesson, then men, stoop, and shouted and clapped and sang and came and shook my
hand and rejoiced. Revival was falling on these people and we were rejoicing with them. There was a
great weight being lifted from them that I did not even know all about it. We spent the next hour and a
half answering questions and explaining again about the proper way for a church to do evangelistic
works. I also had to explain the proper role of a missionary in doing mission work.
Then, the bomb was dropped on me. I was told how it had been done in the past. I was told that every
pastor that had been ordained as Landmark Baptist were all ordained by the authority of the mission,
and that was written on their ordination document, rather than by the authority of the local church! I
could not believe that. Secondly, most of the pastors have not been permitted to perform a baptism.
They were instructed by the missionary that all baptisms would be performed by the missionary so that
HE could control it! The only pastors that had performed baptisms were those who no longer followed
the missionary and operated as an independent church. The last thing I was told that shocked me was
that none of these churches had observed the Lord’s Supper (some for more than 10 years)!!! When I
asked why, they explained that they were told by the missionary that they could not because they did
not have the proper equipment like the individual cups nor the proper elements. I asked them if they
were capable of making unleavened bread (without yeast). They said yes, but then asked how to make
it. I explained I had not made it before, but that it was flour and water and you just bake it without
yeast. I asked them if they could get red grape wine. They said yes. I then told them that they could
and should observe it as a church and explained how.
The underlying problem was a missionary that tried to control every aspect of the local church like an
administrator. When I showed them how the head of the church is Jesus Christ, that they are the under-
shepherd, and that the authority is in the local NT church, the shouting and singing started up all over
again.
Although I was exhausted from a long day of teaching and lack of food for the third day, they asked if I
would meet after dinner and preach for them. So, I preached from Acts 8 on Philip and the Ethiopian
Eunuch and showed them how Evangelism, the Gospel and the Great Commission all come in to play in
this historical accounting of Philip’s ministry under the authority of the Jerusalem church as a deacon of
the church. The fervor of the Spirit was upon us even stronger than the windy gusts across the
Ndirande Valley. There was great joy on their faces and a great sense of peace. Hallelujah, what a day
this had been!!!!
Conference - Day 4
We had made it to Sunday, the final day of the conference. Everyone was handed out a pen and a
notepad on the first day of the conference. Now, there books were full of lessons and preaching and
answered questions and they were ready to go back to their village and share what they have learned.
We gave every one in attendance a chance to come up and share some scriptures and share whatever
they wanted. Pastor after pastor and then Deacon after Deacon came up and share some aspect of
what they had learned over the past three days. One by one they came up and thanked us for the
conference, for giving them a simple and straightforward series of lessons on how to be Evangelists and
carry the Gospel to where God had placed them. Some even shared that the message of Jesus Christ
would not be well received by the people in their villages, but that would not deter them from carrying
out the Great Commission as God had commanded them. Many wanted to explain how that they now
understand local church authority and what it means to be responsible for how their church operated.
I shared with them that with this new understanding also places a larger burden on them to make sure
that they are doing as the Bible commanded them as they would all have to give an accounting to God
for how they conduct themselves as pastors and churches. I also explained how that Bro, Padilla was
not their director, but rather a co-laborer with them. He had his own labor that God had called him to,
and that was not to run the local churches, but rather to reach out to those that God sends him to in
order to take the gospel where it has not gone before.
I must admit that this was one of the best, if not the best, conferences I had been a part of. The Spirit
was flowing and filling and we were all rejoicing. I got two songs on video that were more interactive with
the people in the congregation. I plan to take these back to the folks in my church. What a fantastic
first week in Africa!!!
Thank you to the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Sacramento for sending me over to work with
these people. There are many, many other churches who want us to come and teach them as well. We
are asking those that attended this conference to go and be with them and teach them what they have
learned.
Next week, we will be preparing the vehicles for our visit to the mission point and the potential spot for
the seminary and orphanage. We will also be baptizing Bro. Joe’s fiancé and conducting the marriage
ceremony.
The time is flying by, and the only time it seems to be such a long time already, is when I talk to my wife
and children back home and hear about how the Lord is using Bro. Joey to fill in for me at the church.
May the Lord richly bless you all! Woe am I, if I preach not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Chris Silvey
On Wednesday, Pastor Sahidi Phiri, Pastor Sokonyera and his son and Pastor Lazural Phiri arrived to
Joe’s house. We discussed the sermons that should be preached and when they should be preached.
Both Sahidi and Joe agreed that the first two messages that should be preached were on the topics of
“The Responsibilities of a Pastor” and “The Women’s role in the church.” These were decided because
pastors often neglect their duties and just want to take the role of church leader rather than church
helper. Also, there is a strong movement for letting women preach and be pastors and the men are
standing by and doing no real work for the Lord. Some of these men were even talking about it so that
needed to be addressed. This would take up the entire day. The next day we would start to cover the
main topic of the conference which would be on Evangelism with the key thought of “Take the Gospel
back to your village and preach it.”
It was believed that the attendance might be smaller than originally thought. At first we thought there
would be 30. Then it grew to 40 people. Now, we were hearing it may only be 10-15. Bro Joe was
concerned about this, but I assured him that God would bring whom he wanted, and that we would work
with whoever would show up.
I worked all day on the compound helping with the dogs and finishing the temporary housing for the
pastors. We bought large pieces of cardboard for the walls and bought a bunch of bottle caps to drive
the nails through when we attached the cardboard to the housing frame. When Joe arrived in the
afternoon, he was pleasantly surprised at how much had been accomplished and how hard all the boys
were working. I believe that I was working hard, so that motivated them to do it as well. We had the
grounds all cleaned up, and the buildings were all done by late afternoon. That gave us time to go and
get the final food and firewood in preparation of the conference. It was the hottest day so far, and I
could feel that the heat was sapping my energy. By the time we were done working, I felt I had worked
all day, even thought it was only about 4-5 hours.
In town, we looked at guitars in a shop. The men, here, believed the only way to get my guitar back
from Peter Halliman was to send the police to retrieve it. I told them that this is contrary to scriptures
and I would not be doing that. Perhaps some day, there will be reconciliation between us, but for now,
that was not going to be the case. So, I decided to leave it there so that others, such as Bro. Weigold,
could use when he was here. The Lord blessed and we found a nice used guitar. They wanted $150
for it and it needed new strings. I was able to talk them down to $110 and throw in new strings. It has a
very good sound. I told the salesmen we were using it for the Lord and started playing and singing
Dzina La Yesu – The boy started singing along with me right in the store! It was pretty cool.
We came back to the farm ate dinner and settled in for the evening. I told Joe, Gabby and the
houseboy that I would be fasting and praying throughout the conference. They all looked at me in
surprise and said that it was not a good idea. I explained to them the purpose for fasting and then
showed them my waistline and assured them that my body would not suffer.
Conference – Day 1
When we got up the next day, we found out that nearly 20 more people had arrived and that there were
more to pick up at the minibus station. We went and picked up another 10 men. So, we were now up
above 30. By the time we got back, more had arrived. When it was all said and done, we had about 40
pastors and 10 deacons and church members for 50! Praise the Lord, got brought His people!
As previously discussed, Bro. Sahidi covered the first two topics on the roles of a pastor and the role of
Women in the church. With each session, we would always stop to let the visitors ask all the questions
they had and then answer them using the Bible. For the rest of the afternoon, we talked about the
separation of the two works and our inabilities to no longer work with Bro. Halliman and their sending
church. Interestingly, when we discussed the visit by Pastor Mike Prater, we told them that he had
stated his purpose for the visit. He stated that he came to discover if there was any sin in Bro. Halliman’
s life and that he could not find any. When I shared that, all the men laughed. One of the pastors that
was retrieved from Mozambique and went back to the farm for the conference stood up. He said that
when Pastor Prater got up to speak for the first time, that he told the brethren that his purpose for
coming to Africa was to get Bro. Padilla deported. At first, I wondered if it was really spoken out of Bro.
Prater’s mouth or if it was just mistranslated to suit Bro. Halliman’s purpose. Later, I discovered that this
pastor was able to speak some English as well, so I decided to just leave it in the Lord’s hand. It is
obvious the Lord protected Bro. Padilla as he is still here.
There were many questions by the many pastors that lasted for more than 1 hour. I did not need to
recite the sin in Bro. Halliman’s life as they all confirmed over and over what I already knew about his life
when no one from America is around. We will just leave it right there.
We broke for dinner and then met for services from 7:00-8:30. We did a lot of singing and then I
preached on “There is Much Work to be Done,” and stressed how that each of us have to do and that
each of us must do our part. This was setting the stage for the beginning of the lessons on Evangelism.
Conference – Day 2
For the morning and early afternoon, Bro. Padilla taught the first part of the Evangelism messages. He
spoke on the need of man for salvation by teaching on the “Fall of Man.” In the first session he showed
them the whole process as recorded in the scriptures through Genesis 2 -4. He then showed how the
next two generations progressed even farther. He showed how that Eve believed the change of the
commandment that Satan offered her and Adam’s willingness to sin. He then showed how that Cain
argued with God to try and justify his murder of Able. Finally, he showed how his son did not even care
about God, took multiple wives and became a man of war and destruction. I had never heard it
presented that way before and it was very good. We broke for lunch, and in the second session, Bro.
Padilla made personal applications to the brethren using real life examples from their own lives based
on his experiences working with them. He hit it right on the target as was seen by the reaction of the
brethren. He showed me that he truly has begun to understand the life in Africa and the village and the
need for these pastors to recognize their own sin and repent of it if they are truly to have an
Evangelistic ministry and a strong local church.
Bro Sahidi took the final session in the afternoon/evening. He taught on “The Way of Salvation” and
“The freeness of salvation.” He used the New Hampshire Articles of Faith and adapted them to what the
brethren could understand. He is a very good teacher and communicates with the brethren very well.
He uses a lot of scriptures and shows that he is very knowledgeable on what the scriptures say
concerning doctrine. He is a valuable asset to the work and when he was done, he asked me if I wanted
to add anything - J (of course I always do). I added a few things to each of his lessons and taught more
on the doctrines that was not covered by the article or to provide a more practical application to the
children of God in Africa. We had another question session with all present about the day’s lessons for
about 30 minutes.
There were several issues that came up (as they always do), so when we broke for dinner, we were
done for the evening. We met with Bro. Sahidi and poke for nearly two hours and explained to him how
that the way the missionary was going to be used among the pastors was going to change from what
they were used to, but that it would be more effective and more cost effective. We asked him to pray
that the Lord would lead to have more churches support the work so that we could do more.
Note: It has been very windy throughout the conference. Praise the Lord that we added bottle caps to
the nails, like washers, when we hung up the cardboard. They did the trick and we didn’t lose any
cardboard to the strong winds. Also, it was supposed to be very warm this time of year, but it is actually
very cold. Plus, with me not eating for two days now, my metabolism has slowed down significantly and
it makes me colder. The good news is that with the conference and the praying, my spiritual metabolism
is running fast and I am spiritually on fire.
Conference – Day 3
This third day would be all mine, and it would be a very long day, but a very profitable day for all of us. I
had three training sessions prepared and was raring to go.
In the first session, I taught specifically on the training and attitude needed to have successful
evangelistic efforts. My key verse was II Timothy 4:5 – But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do
the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Also used verse 2 – Preach the word; be
instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. My five
main points were: 1) Know the scriptures (Learn everything you can about the Bible and use it in your
life to become more familiar with it); 2) Believe in the scriptures and the promises of God so that your
ministry is full of Confidence, Faith and Assurance. This will lead to Excitement about your ministry
even when things get tough; 3) Convince those you speak to that they need salvation; 4) Be ready to
share the word; 5) Live it in your life as a living example of a disciple of Jesus Christ.
In the second session, I explained what our Evangelistic message should be – The Gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I took my lesson from I Corinthians 15:1-10 and broke down each part of the gospel (the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures) and explained how each part
was important to bring about salvation for His people. I gave a lot of pictures from the Old and New
Testament and shared a lot of verses of scriptures to explain each point. For many of these visiting
pastors, it was the first time they had heard the gospel explained in such a detailed and simple
explanation.
That was the most exciting part. I explained just how powerful the gospel was, in and of itself (Romans 1:
16) and it was not in the preacher. In fact, God called preaching foolishness because He could save
anyone he wanted without our help, but chose to use us. I also explained that God did not hold us
accountable for the number of conversions that occurred in our ministry; rather, on the faithfulness of
each of us to preach the message. The brethren were getting very excited. In fact, one young man
who came to visit professed salvation and that Christ had saved his soul! HALLELUJAH! If nothing else
happens on this trip, that moment made it all worthwhile. Little did I know that more good things were
coming.
In the final session of the afternoon, I talked about the Great Commission, given to the church by our
Lord Jesus Christ during His personal ministry. I used Matthew 16: 15-18; 28: 18-20 and Acts 1:8. The
point of this lesson was to show that our ministry is one of going, not of staying. God has given us the
evangelistic message of the gospel and we are to go and share it with the whole world. This is why a
man in America would quit his job, sell his house and move all of his possessions to Blantyre, Africa and
give the rest of his life to the ministry of the gospel. I showed them how the Commission was given
because Jesus Christ had all the authority. He then commissioned His church to do 4 things: 1. Go (into
all the world), 2. Preach (The Gospel), 3. Baptize (those who confess Christ as their Savior), 4. Teach
(disciple the young believers in the word of God).
I also said that there are some things that God did not put into the Great Commission, such as establish
churches, and showed the Biblical model of how He, calls out and establishes His churches as He sees
fit. I used the examples of how John the Baptist preached the coming of Jesus Christ and baptized
those that confessed Christ as their Savior and had repented of their sins. From those many that he
baptized, Jesus called out His 1 to establish His church. I also showed them how that they all stayed in
Jerusalem contrary to the Great Commission and that God sent along Saul of Tarsus to scatter them
throughout the world to get His gospel spread. This lesson lasted for more than an hour because there
was much to cover concerning Biblical authority, succession and perpetuity.
Following the lesson, then men, stoop, and shouted and clapped and sang and came and shook my
hand and rejoiced. Revival was falling on these people and we were rejoicing with them. There was a
great weight being lifted from them that I did not even know all about it. We spent the next hour and a
half answering questions and explaining again about the proper way for a church to do evangelistic
works. I also had to explain the proper role of a missionary in doing mission work.
Then, the bomb was dropped on me. I was told how it had been done in the past. I was told that every
pastor that had been ordained as Landmark Baptist were all ordained by the authority of the mission,
and that was written on their ordination document, rather than by the authority of the local church! I
could not believe that. Secondly, most of the pastors have not been permitted to perform a baptism.
They were instructed by the missionary that all baptisms would be performed by the missionary so that
HE could control it! The only pastors that had performed baptisms were those who no longer followed
the missionary and operated as an independent church. The last thing I was told that shocked me was
that none of these churches had observed the Lord’s Supper (some for more than 10 years)!!! When I
asked why, they explained that they were told by the missionary that they could not because they did
not have the proper equipment like the individual cups nor the proper elements. I asked them if they
were capable of making unleavened bread (without yeast). They said yes, but then asked how to make
it. I explained I had not made it before, but that it was flour and water and you just bake it without
yeast. I asked them if they could get red grape wine. They said yes. I then told them that they could
and should observe it as a church and explained how.
The underlying problem was a missionary that tried to control every aspect of the local church like an
administrator. When I showed them how the head of the church is Jesus Christ, that they are the under-
shepherd, and that the authority is in the local NT church, the shouting and singing started up all over
again.
Although I was exhausted from a long day of teaching and lack of food for the third day, they asked if I
would meet after dinner and preach for them. So, I preached from Acts 8 on Philip and the Ethiopian
Eunuch and showed them how Evangelism, the Gospel and the Great Commission all come in to play in
this historical accounting of Philip’s ministry under the authority of the Jerusalem church as a deacon of
the church. The fervor of the Spirit was upon us even stronger than the windy gusts across the
Ndirande Valley. There was great joy on their faces and a great sense of peace. Hallelujah, what a day
this had been!!!!
Conference - Day 4
We had made it to Sunday, the final day of the conference. Everyone was handed out a pen and a
notepad on the first day of the conference. Now, there books were full of lessons and preaching and
answered questions and they were ready to go back to their village and share what they have learned.
We gave every one in attendance a chance to come up and share some scriptures and share whatever
they wanted. Pastor after pastor and then Deacon after Deacon came up and share some aspect of
what they had learned over the past three days. One by one they came up and thanked us for the
conference, for giving them a simple and straightforward series of lessons on how to be Evangelists and
carry the Gospel to where God had placed them. Some even shared that the message of Jesus Christ
would not be well received by the people in their villages, but that would not deter them from carrying
out the Great Commission as God had commanded them. Many wanted to explain how that they now
understand local church authority and what it means to be responsible for how their church operated.
I shared with them that with this new understanding also places a larger burden on them to make sure
that they are doing as the Bible commanded them as they would all have to give an accounting to God
for how they conduct themselves as pastors and churches. I also explained how that Bro, Padilla was
not their director, but rather a co-laborer with them. He had his own labor that God had called him to,
and that was not to run the local churches, but rather to reach out to those that God sends him to in
order to take the gospel where it has not gone before.
I must admit that this was one of the best, if not the best, conferences I had been a part of. The Spirit
was flowing and filling and we were all rejoicing. I got two songs on video that were more interactive with
the people in the congregation. I plan to take these back to the folks in my church. What a fantastic
first week in Africa!!!
Thank you to the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church of Sacramento for sending me over to work with
these people. There are many, many other churches who want us to come and teach them as well. We
are asking those that attended this conference to go and be with them and teach them what they have
learned.
Next week, we will be preparing the vehicles for our visit to the mission point and the potential spot for
the seminary and orphanage. We will also be baptizing Bro. Joe’s fiancé and conducting the marriage
ceremony.
The time is flying by, and the only time it seems to be such a long time already, is when I talk to my wife
and children back home and hear about how the Lord is using Bro. Joey to fill in for me at the church.
May the Lord richly bless you all! Woe am I, if I preach not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Chris Silvey
