"We are so grateful to Iris Ministries Canada and all the generous donations that make the ministry of the bible school in Zimpeto possible. There are so many pastors in Mozambique who have never had the privilege of receiving any formal training; they just know a few scriptures and use them repeatedly. These pastors are amazed at those who have come to our bible school and have then returned to their villages with much knowledge and biblical insight, gained through the training and equipping that we are able to offer.

Iris Mieze...and the Mieze Model

Background

"The clear blue skies with intense sunshine return once again over Bangula as the rainy season draws to a close. The rains have not been much to brag about this year, at least here in the southern district of Malawi. In fact, the lack of rain has caused great concern among thousands of families who have had their crops destroyed by the drought during December and January. Some fortunate enough to have found more seed, have persisted, planting again, yet have very little to show.

When our children’s work in the Pemba area was just beginning 4-5 years ago, it was common to see poor village children evidencing signs of chronic malnutrition, including bloated bellies and an orangish tinge to their hair. Children were also often listless and showed little alertness in their faces.

MIEZE:

•    The Children’s Village has been operating since December, 2007. All the original children are still with us and we have added three more in recent months... in each case due to the death of the last remaining family member.
•    The past school year was very successful for all resident kids. When the new school year begins in January, all but the two youngest resident kids will be in school—34 in total.

“Our Iris Malawi base is growing and changing. The walls are going up on four new children’s homes. This will mean big changes for everyone, including our new children and house parents.  We will double our number in terms of beds, food, uniforms, schooling, clothes…everything!  Other new buildings include a home for Timothy Makwalo, our Bible school director, and a home for Daryl and Rebecca Martin, who have come to host our visitors.

"The last four months have been very exciting. We have initiated a new bible school recruiting program which will help us identify and bring in new students, and have started discipleship training programs in local churches. We believe that this will better prepare and provide for the students who come to study at our bible school. We believe that many more believers will be equipped and blessed because of this program, and that churches will be strengthened.

Mieze

The two major new developments in the Mieze project since our last report are the construction of the new church and community centre building and the wonderful children’s evangelistic program called the Bandeira club.

With the generous support of Canadian friends of Iris through your gifts to IMC, we are continuing to feed 180 resident children and 750 village children every day at the Pemba Base. At the Mieze centre, we feed 250 children every day...and on Saturdays, we feed an additional 450-500 village kids who attend the evangelistic Bandeira Club. This program has made a huge and positive difference to the on-going health and well-being of well over a thousand needy children in the Pemba area.

Hello from Malawi!