When news about tropical cyclones that badly hit southern part of Malawi reached Brother Joseph, he asked me to find out the extent to which our brothers and sisters were affected. When he got the report, he was moved with compassion and immediately wired some funds to cater for immediate supplies for displaced friends.
As soon as the funds reached our account the next morning, we went to work; buying supplies which included; sadza flour, clothes, cooking pots and plates. Most of our friends are still staying in camps as their houses were washed away and some submerged in waters.
The shopping and packing logistics took our VGR Malawi Office a full week. With everything well packed in boxes, we were set to go and deliver the supplies to our needy friends.
We set out on a Friday morning with two trucks full of supplies. The weather didn’t seem to promise a nice journey for us as it started raining since early hours of the morning. We were unsure how we would cross the rivers with our trucks as most of the roads and bridges were washed away.
Realizing the need our brothers had for the supplies, we didn’t fear any Goliath that would dare to stand in our way; we had faith that we were riding on the prayers of the saints and had confidence that the mission would be accomplished smoothly. Most of the areas remain inaccessible by road transport; government is making use of helicopters to do its food distribution exercise.
After driving for almost two hours and crossing small rivers, we got to one of the big rivers. The river was swollen and waters run swiftly. Two old women were caught in between the river; they sat on big rocks, hoping that the waters would maintain the same levels and that they would not be swept away. We patiently waited for about three hours for the waters to subside. Thanks for our media department for letting the saints around the world know every step of our trip.
Praise the Lord, we finally made it through after the waters had subsided, we continued driving through waters and crossing rivers. We also distributed some tracts to people that we found along the way. Our first stop to distribute supplies to our brothers and sisters was at one of the small camps.
It was very difficult for us to go to the camps for our exercise, as our supplies were just meant for the believers. We had to do it secretly, away from the camps, to avoid commotions. It was a blessing to be part of the distribution exercise, the believers came forward wearing sad faces, and looked dejected by the predicaments that had begotten them. After telling them that the saints around the world were praying for them, and upon seeing the supplies, their hearts were rejuvenated.
By the time we got to the main camp, it was already late, and we couldn’t continue with the distribution. We decided to sleep, and resume the distribution in the following morning.
Come morning, we started the distribution by 6:00am, Malawian time. The believers were anxious to receive their packages. Everything went on smoothly. Later, after completing the distribution exercise, I decided to go and visit the area that was submerged by the waters. It was a 4 hours walk after crossing the new river that was created by the flooded waters.
After that adventure, we started off for home. As soon as we started off the rains also started pouring and I knew we would be in another hiccup. After driving for about an hour we stopped at the river, it was badly swollen. We waited for about an hour for the waters to subside. Praise the Lord the water subsided and we were able to continue with our trip. We drove for another hour, and stopped at a place where two rivers run in parallel and they were all swollen. It was just impossible and dangerous to cross. We couldn’t do otherwise but spend the night there. We packed our trucks and slept right in the cars. Mosquitoes had a good feast on our blood, but praise God we were covered by God’s blood and we are all fine.
We resumed our trip early in the morning, and the Lord was so merciful, we drove without any obstacle, and we safely arrived home.
Currently, some victims are moving out of the camps and are building own temporary houses. UNICEF is also providing the victims with tarps for temporary shelters. This is reducing congestion in the camps.
Thank you for your prayers, the Lord God was on our side everything went on smoothly and the believers were very thankful to Brother Joseph and all the believers around the world.
Thank you.
Brother Saidi