Category: ZM News

zm recently said farewell to two friends of the mission who were faithful servants of Christ: Pastor Mercy Mkwezalamba and Heber Martin both died in May. 

Mercy Mkwezalamba

Pastor Mercy Mkwezalamba had been ministering at BCA Zambezi Evangelical Church in Blantyre.  She had led the wives’ course at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi for many years before stepping down in 2020. 

Mercy had been a pastor’s wife herself until her husband died about 20 years ago: so she had a very real insight into the needs of these ladies.  When we interviewed her in 2014, she said: “four women received Christ during these classes – not only this year, but always.  Some also don’t know how to read or write, but leave not only being able to read and write, but also to prepare a sermon and speak in front of the whole college. After their training their spiritual life is not the same.  They are well prepared to serve God.  We also encourage them to love their ministry”.  But she also shared, “to be honest, teaching women is not easy!”  We asked her how she managed to achieve such transformation in these women.  Mercy said “I think my secret is that I depend on God”.

zm’s former mission workers Abraham and Ruth Folayan sent this tribute to Mercy Mkwezalamba:

We first met Mercy and her husband James in 1995 when we came to Malawi. They were deeply involved as leaders in the Youth Work (FoY) of ZEC. Later in 2000, Mercy came as a student to the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi (formerly LBI) for the 3 Year English Certificate Course. Just before she finished the Course, we received the terrible news of the death of James her husband in a Motor Accident while on an official duty in his place of work. We had to inform Mercy in the College and we thank God for the gracious way she received the news. In the strength of the Lord, she was able to continue her Studies and completed this in 2003. After Graduation, she joined the staff of the College teaching on the Students Wives Program. She was later appointed as Coordinator of the Program until she left in 2020. She devoted herself fully to this Ministry, building personal relationships with the Wives and their children. To the glory of God, many of the Wives became Born again Christians – a great help to the future ministries of their husbands. We thank God for the life that Mercy lived, a life of total dedication to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Goodbye Mercy, until we meet again at the feet of Jesus – to part no more.

SIM mission worker Ruth Guinness also sent us this personal tribute to Mercy:

I got to know Mercy as one of the first students I taught at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi. As staff, during her final year as a student, we were wondering who could replace the coordinator of the wives’ programme who was retiring. We realised that Mercy would be a great fit. So she joined the staff after her graduation in 2003. A few short months later her husband died in a tragic accident. Mercy continued courageously and as she coordinated the wives’ and nursery programmes she got to know all the students. She counselled the wives, and through her many became Christians and are now able to serve alongside their husbands. Mercy became like a mother to the college students and is remembered with great fondness by many. She was a valuable and faithful member of the staff team for many years. She lived up to her name, showing mercy to those in need and showing them God’s love. Whilst already busy at home and at college, Mercy never stopped learning. She completed her diploma on the extension course at the college, and went on to do a degree through distance learning. She also served faithfully in the church, and was ordained as a pastor.

We praise and thank God for Mercy Mkwezalamba’s life and her ministry.  Let’s pray for her family, her church and her friends as they grieve her loss.

Heber Martin

Heber and his late wife Elsie had been heavily involved in the mission for over 40 years before he retired in 2006.  Heber had been both a trustee and a member of the Executive Committee.

When Heber Martin stepped down from the mission’s Executive Committee, the trustees recorded their grateful appreciation to him for his faithful service. They recorded how, over the years, he had served as a trustee, as treasurer and as a member of the UK Executive Committee. During the last three years prior to his retirement in 2006, he also served with distinction as the Chairman of the Executive Committee. The committee spoke of the immense debt of gratitude they felt towards Heber who “had kept things going in difficult times and had led wisely”.

The Martin family’s charity the Farthing Trust helped many children in Malawi to receive education, and continues today under the auspices of Heber and Elsie’s children and wider family.  We give thanks to God for Heber’s life of service and dedication to the Lord’s work.

Our former Chair of Trustees and Executive Committee Trevor Matthews shares his memories of Heber:

Growing up in London with my father Bert Matthews who was involved with zm, I remember various trips to the church at Littleport and to the Martin family home to pass on, or receive, missionaries who were on deputation tours. The best thing for us children was when they included Elsie’s home cooking. East Anglia was itself an area from which a number of missionaries had joined zm during the middle of the last century.  In the early 1990s, Heber and my father steered the UK part of zm through a difficult period before wisely appointing Colin Cresswell to work for the mission. My family fondly remembers Heber visiting Canning Town at least once a year, sometimes twice, with an articulated lorry loaded with 30 tons of potatoes and carrots. The young people loved unloading the bags which were collected by Christian charities from across London. This went on for at least 25 years. At my father’s funeral in 2001, Heber spoke about the need for us to be “good and faithful servants”. Now it is my turn to say “Well done” Heber Martin, you have been called into the presence of the Master you loved and served so faithfully. 

Please pray that the Lord would grant Heber and Mercy’s families comfort and peace as they grieve.

We are delighted to welcome Mike McCabe as our new Mission Director.  Mike started working for zm at the beginning of April and will have an extended handover period with our outgoing Mission Director Mike Beresford who retires in August.  They will be in Malawi and northern Mozambique together throughout most of April. 

In this video Mike introduces himself and says a little more about his background and what motivated him to join zm.

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We give thanks to God for Mike McCabe’s appointment.  Please pray that the Lord will guide, equip and use him as he settles into his new role.  Please also pray for a smooth and effective handover between the incoming and outgoing Mikes in the period up until August. 

The mission has lost some good friends over the past couple of months. Former Chair of the Zambezi Evangelical Church (ZEC) Pastor Winston Chidzambuyo sadly died in November. Then, on Boxing Day, Gladys Simons, zm’s last missionary from Australia, died after being frail for some time.  On the same day, zm’s former Honorary Representative Tom Jardine also died after a lengthy illness. We give thanks to God for the lives of these brothers and sister in Christ. We have shared a little bit more about their lives and their faith, and their connection with the mission below.

Pastor Winston Chidzambuyo

Winston Chidzambuyo was a gentle and gracious ZEC pastor and church leader. He was committed to theological education and served as Principal of the Likhubula Bible Institute (LBI) which later became the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi.  He played a crucial leadership role as acting Chair for ZEC, stabilising it during a turbulent period.  He had a broader concern about the most vulnerable in society and was Chair of Trustees for Torch Trust for the Blind in Malawi. 

One of his former colleagues at LBI expressed his sadness following Pastor Chidzambuyo’s death, saying “he was a valued colleague who joined us having been pastor at Ndirande ZEC. He later took over as Principal, following on a couple of years after Pastor Charlie Bonongwe in 1986”.

We remember Pastor Chidzambuyo with warmth and thankfulness and pray for his family as they grieve.

Gladys Simons

Gladys Simons (nee Ravenscroft) was born in Como, a suburb of Perth in Western Australia in 1932. She attended South Como Baptist Church as a child and, as she grew older, felt the call to mission on her life. With a desire to do God’s will, she went to Perth Bible Institute in 1951. This was followed by two years of midwifery training. Not long afterwards she was asked by zm’s Australian missionary Bill Britza to consider coming out to Malawi. She agreed after reading John 15: 16…

“You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit”

(John 15: 16)

Andrew Walker, Gladys Simons’s grandson spoke about Gladys at her thanksgiving service:

“And so started 22 years of mission work in Nyasaland, later called Malawi. Initially she lived without running water, electricity, or transport and she was lonely, but she had a great love of the work and the people around her. She became fluent in the Chichewa language and loved going to the villages. They were happy days.”

“In 1960 John Simons went out as a missionary with zambesi mission and a few years later he started courting Gladys.  Mr Harris from Como made Gladys’s engagement and wedding rings and sent them to her.  They were married in 1962 in the little church on the Mitsidi mission station. Later Jennifer, Gillian and Stephen came along.  Throughout the years, time was spent at different stations upcountry where one had to be prepared to do almost anything and everything.  The unexpected was always happening and they were caught up in the lives of the African community around.  It was always so good to have other missionaries come and visit as the main form of communication was by mail.  Later John installed a two-way radio between stations so that there could be communication every day. Most of the stations’ activities centered around the hospitals, dispensary work, the primary schools and church work.  The teaching in the Likhubula Bible School was central to their work.  Later the church work became independent of the mission so that the Malawian people could be responsible for the Zambezi Evangelical Church and in 1978 the Simons returned to Australia permanently”.

We remember John and Gladys Simons’ children Jennifer, Gillian and Stephen in our prayers and pray that the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort would comfort them as they mourn Gladys’s loss.

Tom Jardine

Tom Jardine was a faithful brother in the Lord who connected excellently with believers in Malawi as well as in the local churches he visited along the south coast.  Tom was Cumbrian born and bred, but after over a decade working in insurance sales he joined London City Mission.  During these years he felt a growing call into pastoral ministry and then served as an ordained minister in the Church of England for over 20 years. 

His connection with the mission arose when he was invited to take a sabbatical.  He had met zm’s former mission worker Abraham Folayan in the UK, who inspired him to spend three months in Malawi.  His experiences moved him profoundly.

He wrote in 2005: “I will never forget visiting a pastors house at Mwanza. There were eight children in that home and Anna was 15. Anna wasn’t at school because secondary education has to be paid for and the pastor could not afford it. She lives in a house where there is no electricity, no running water, no bathroom, no TV, no radio, no books, no magazines and no newspaper. What future does a girl like that have?”

On retirement Tom applied to serve as a volunteer for zm and served faithfully for over five years.  His patient and gracious ministry was very much appreciated, both in zm and in the churches that he visited. 

Tom’s recollections of his visits to different markets sum up his character: “Sochi Market was my favourite. The people are so friendly and such fun to be with. It was interesting to note how soon one began to share in their humour and leg pulling. It was my first experience of having my hand held by a Malawian man, a sign of friendship. A special time was that of sitting under a tree in the middle of a market, talking to a group of men. Malawians love to talk and seem to be natural orators. They have no inhibitions when it comes to talking about God or faith. The man who did most of the talking as we sat under the tree said he didn’t go to church, but that he should and would do so next morning. I replied by saying “you are just pulling my leg, you are telling me a lie!” He with the rest of the crowd cheered and clapped so it was all good fun.”

We give thanks for Tom’s life and remember his wife Ann and their children and their wider families in our prayers. 

We do not grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope

Although our hearts are filled with sadness and a sense of loss after the death of our brothers and sister in Christ, as Paul says in his first letter to the Thessalonians we do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. He continues: “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him”.  Let us give thanks to God for the lives of Winston Chidzambuyo, Gladys Simons and Tom Jardine. We look forward to the day when the dead are raised with Christ and we will meet the Lord together.

Zione Salamba from Tsabola Zambezi Evangelical Church is so thankful to receive her Bible in Chichewa.  She can now read God’s Word whenever she wants.  She can become rooted in the faith and guard against false teaching. 

ZEC has many churches in rural parts of Malawi like Tsabola.  These are places where there are poor roads, few buses and typically no electricity.  Most people face extreme poverty.  In a typical rural church with 100 or 150 members, usually no more than five to ten believers have their own Bible.  The ZEC churches across the border in Chichewa-speaking parts of northern Mozambique can be even worse. 

There are two big issues: access and cost.  There are no shops in rural areas and transport to the nearest town or city is often unaffordable.  A Bible costs just over £10, a huge amount for most people.  zm’s subsidised Bible scheme aims to address these challenges.  The mission buys the Bibles from the Bible Society of Malawi and delivers them to the recipients.  They pay about £1.50 towards the cost.  Unfortunately we never have enough funds to meet the enormous demand.  But little by little we share what we are given with those who would like a Bible. 

Would you like to help others like Zione to get access to God’s word? You can now give by text to provide a Bible in Chichewa for a believer in Malawi or northern Mozambique. Just text 10BIBLE to 70450 and we will receive your donation. You will also be given the opportunity to provide contact details if you wish us to claim Gift Aid.

Alternatively, if you prefer, you can make a donation via our website.

Thank you to everyone who has given so generously so that more people in Malawi and northern Mozambique can read God’s Word.   

A young man called Tim Lawrence got in touch with the mission last year.  Tim has been studying Marine and Natural History Photography at Falmouth University. He worships at Slapton and Wappenham Evangelical Church in the Midlands and also at Falmouth Evangelical Church during his time at university. He was keen to come to Malawi last summer and wondered whether we could accommodate him.  Not long afterwards Tim spent a month working alongside our partners in Malawi.  One of the highlights of his visit was travelling on the MV Ilala to Likoma Island with the CFCM team.  CFCM wrote in their prayer letter: “Thank God for the company and enthusiasm of UK student, Tim Lawrence, who patiently bore with the delays, and participated in all the activities, taking many photographs and leading morning devotions on Chizumulu.  Pray that he will have been blessed with a greater understanding of life in Malawi and the importance of CFCM’s ministry”.

Tim also took hundreds of wonderful photos during his time in Malawi which have been incredibly useful for the mission’s work.  His pictures really bring the work of zm’s partners to life in a remarkable way.

Tim was back in Malawi again in March.  He was staying in Blantyre during Cyclone Freddy and witnessed some of its horrors. 

This time he was planning to gather footage for a video about Children for Christ Ministry (CFCM) that he would submit as part of his university degree.  During his stay he worked with CFCM to make this wonderful film about their ministry. We are delighted to be able to share “For the Land of Milk and Honey” below. 

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We give thanks to God for Tim’s gifts and the way that he has shared them so generously with the mission and our partners.  Thank you Tim!  We pray that the Lord would guide and direct Tim in the coming months, as he discerns what he should do next in life. 

We are sad to announce that our good friend and brother in Christ Ralph Gunn died peacefully on Monday 24^th April.  We are very thankful for the years in which he served the Lord through zambesi mission as an Honorary Representative.  Ralph’s connection with zm came about through a series of God-ordained ‘co-incidences’.  In the latter part of his career Ralph became Assistant Principal at Bell College (now the University of the West of Scotland).  He was given responsibility for the college’s Malawi Millennium Project and travelled to Malawi on a number of occasions.  During one of these visits he met Rev Bill Wilson who was then zm’s Field Director.  Ralph and Bill both grew up in the same part of Scotland.  Bill invited Ralph to stay with him and his wife Myra in Blantyre.  After a minibus accident Ralph had an extraordinary experience.  Although miraculously no one had been badly hurt, Ralph and the other occupants of the minibus were badly shaken and a crowd had gathered.  A young Malawian girl came and clasped Ralph’s hand and said “God is good” – before disappearing into the crowd.  This encounter stayed with Ralph and he felt that the Lord was calling him in some way to serve his brothers and sisters in Christ in Malawi.

After retirement Ralph applied to become an Honorary Representative for zm, a role that he started in 2008.  He served in this voluntary capacity until the end of 2019.  In addition to his visits to speak at churches, he also represented the mission at conferences: the Keswick Convention, Keswick in Buckie and Keswick in Motherwell.  Ralph was a treasured member of our staff team.  He took his role very seriously and was committed to it.  He rarely missed our staff meetings in York and went out of his way to help others in their role.  Travelling with Ralph would always be a pleasure.  Mission Director Mike Beresford recalled travelling to Stonehaven to meet Ralph Gunn and Simon Chikwana.  “It was a real treat to be picked up by Ralph in his rather nice Jaguar.  From then on we travelled to Scottish churches in luxury”. 

Ralph’s times in Malawi hold many precious memories for us and our team in Malawi.  Ralph’s culinary skills were put to the test when making a large bowl of porridge using the microwave in the guest house.  A cry came from the kitchen “Oh Mike, the porridge has exploded!”  Ralph was always prepared for an adventure.  Twice he had barely set foot in Malawi before he was whisked away – on one occasion it was down to the Lower Shire (the very hottest part of Malawi) to look at a defunct windpump and be entertained by a crowd of villagers and orphans from an organisation that we were considering partnering with.  Another time, we went straight off to the very under-developed north east Mozambique.  We wanted to visit a certain church called Chindiwo ZEC.  Ralph was driving.  We reached a ‘bridge’ consisting of two very slippery and rotten looking tree trunks.  Ralph concluded bluntly, “I’m not driving over that”, pointing at the tree trunks.  The leaders from ZEC Mozambique responded: “the church is very far, unless we drive over we are not going to be able to visit it”.  Ralph was not going to be swayed.  He was wisely not keen on the idea of a vehicle getting stuck in a ravine in such a remote location.  Then an elderly man came down the hill pushing his bicycle.  A conversation ensued in Chichewa.  The elderly man convinced everyone that the church was “pafupi” or not very far.  So off we set in the drizzle, with the man rushing on ahead of us to alert the church.  The church was not much in man’s eyes, but it was such a delight to join them.  We rejoiced at the old man’s faithfulness and his enthusiasm to welcome visitors. 

Later on that trip Ralph’s driving skills were again put to good effect.  Driving to Duya ZEC along a road designed for a motorbike, Ralph kept up a Stig-like pace along the rutted road.  The vehicle had extra passengers inside, so Mission Director Mike Beresford had volunteered to climb into the luggage compartment (a normal travel option for Malawians or Mozambicans).  After we arrived at the church thoroughly shaken up, Ralph said “Sorry Mike, I was just trying to keep up with the motorbike!”.  Ralph did like to drive fast when he was able to. 

We were very thankful that Ralph was able to represent the mission at an award ceremony hosted by the Scotland Malawi Partnership, during which HRH The Princess Royal presented zm with an award following Cyclone Idai in 2019.

Ralph retired when his health started to deteriorate.  Our opportunity to say thank you to him in person for his nearly 12 years’ service to the mission was thwarted by COVID – our leaving presentation to him took place via Zoom.  We have missed Ralph’s dedication to the mission’s work and his prayerful commitment to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Malawi and northern Mozambique.  We continued to pray for Ralph when his health grew worse and were very sad to hear about his death.  But we were honoured to join his family and friends to give thanks for his life on Friday 5^th May.  In his usual way, Ralph had organised the order of service.  His son Alan gave a tribute to Ralph’s life and his friend George Finnie spoke movingly from Scripture.  Ralph’s other son David read a moving poem entitled Heaven that David himself had written some years previously.  A very generous retiring collection was made towards the work of zambesi mission. 

We give thanks to God for Ralph’s life.  We pray for his wife Jean and for their sons Alan and David and their wider family.  Farewell Ralph.  We know to be with Christ is better by far, but nonetheless we grieve your loss and we will miss you.  But we do not grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.  For “we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him” (1 Thessalonians 4: 14).