I am writing this letter to update you on what God has been doing in my life. If you didn’t know, in January of my senior year at Messiah College, I had the privilege of going on a short-term missions trip to Burkina Faso (sub-Saharan Africa) for three and a half weeks. Before that trip, I had never really put any thought into becoming a missionary. However, during that trip, God really grabbed hold of my heart and gave me a passion for missions. Then fast-forwarding to this past summer, I was able to go on a trip to Guatemala with a group from the Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church. That trip reaffirmed the passion that I have for missions. It almost felt natural for me to be there, and I have had multiple people comment on how comfortable I looked surrounded by unfamiliar territory. Just prior to that trip to Guatemala, I learned of an opportunity to go and serve in Malawi. During and following the time in Guatemala and after a lot of time spent in prayer and devotion, it became clear that a time in Malawi was to be the next step for me. I can also recount several instances where God’s hand can be seen in and around my life to lead up to this decision.
As I said, I’ll be going to Malawi, which is a small country in south eastern Africa about the same size as Pennsylvania. I will be classified as a Short-term Global Missionary in Malawi with Brethren In Christ World Missions (BICWM). The majority of the time I will be in and around Blantyre, which is “Malawi's centre of finance and commerce and its largest city, by population, with an estimated 732,518 inhabitants as of 2008. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe.” (Wikipedia) I’m planning on being in Malawi for about 10 months: leaving in the beginning of February and returning mid-December of 2010. Below are the primary goals for my time in Malawi:
· I will be assisting Steve Ginder and Jonathan Lloyd (missionaries with BICWM in Malawi). Steve will be the General Contractor for the construction of the church building at the BIC church center in Blantyre, which will serve as the BIC Malawi headquarters. My main role will be to help with on-site supervision, since Steve will also be juggling responsibilities teaching at the Bible College (EBCOM), etc.
· Helping to finalize a new building at Evangelical Bible College of Malawi (where BIC pastors are trained).
· Assisting with repairs at the BIC church headquarters in Malawi.
· Making repairs at the BIC owned house in Mpalume village.
· I will potentially be a liaison between BIC in North America and Malawi to help facilitate sending individuals to Malawi for about 2 week periods to come and help out throughout the year.
· I will have opportunities to visit numerous village churches to learn about some of the challenges our brothers and sisters are facing around the world.
· In everything that I will be doing, the main goal is not to build buildings, but to build relationships. This means to work right alongside of them, from making and laying brick to building walls. In time, I hope to build solid relationships with the people where we can trust each other and share with each other; with the purpose in mind to further expand the kingdom of God.
As you can see, there are a number of goals while I am in Malawi. However, I definitely cannot do this alone. First and foremost I need to receive my strength from the Lord. I can’t do anything worthwhile without Him. What I also need are prayer supporters. I would love to get 100 prayer partners (as of right now I have 45) who will commit to pray for me once a week. These prayer supporters will also be a part of this time of service to people halfway across the world. In addition to prayer support, I also need financial support. As of right now, the necessary funding is estimated to be around $17,500 (as of right now I have $9500). If you would like to support me in prayer, please respond with an email to me (jones.tim.r@gmail.com) stating that you will commit to keeping me in your prayers. If you feel led to financially support me, please send your tax-deductible donation to Brethren in Christ World Missions, PO Box 390, Grantham, PA 17027 with “Tim Jones Support” in the memo line.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and may God bless you abundantly.
-Tim Jones
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