David & Joanna Morrison
An introduction to The Morrisons
David and Joanna Morrison joined Iris Ministries Canada in September 2003 when they moved their young family to Bangula, Malawi. Moving to Africa was a lifelong dream for Joanna and serving with Iris came as a result of David’s visit to Iris bases in Mozambique in 2002. During a visit to the garbage dump, God enlarged David's heart for the poor and specifically for the fatherless children of these lands.
The Morrison's have raised their own children in Malawi and built seven Iris homes on the base in Bangula. The Morrison’s desire is to serve the poor, to train and develop Malawian pastors and leaders, and to provide homes for the orphaned and abandoned children. The Malawi base also has a visitor centre to house short-term mission groups. There are now over 450 churches in Malawi, with as many pastors who have been to the Bible School which opened in September 2003, with approximately 100 pastors attending Bible school each year. The Bible school is now staffed by an entirely Malawian team. The pastors live at the school for three months and return for a second and third semester in the years following. There are also women’s and youth classes that run for a month at a time. Many of these pastors also care for orphans in their own homes and so the Bible school includes teaching on parenting and finance.
There are now seven children’s homes on the Iris base in Bangula. Each home has capacity for twelve children and Malawian house parents, some of whom have children of their own. Many Iris children have now graduated and live in the community. Some are married and there are currently twenty-five Iris grandchildren. Though the intake of children has slowed down as medical care has improved, there are still many children in need who are sent to us through Social Welfare. Children living on base and many from the community attend the Iris Primary School, one of the best schools in the region. High school students either walk to the local school or board at a distance. We also have students in college and university who return to the base only for holidays.
Alongside the ministry which happens on the Iris base, there are many community-based activities each week including women’s meetings, youth activities, prison ministry, feeding programs, support groups for children with cerebral palsy, and bi-monthly outreaches. It has been awesome to see the work of Iris Malawi continue under national leadership.
In 2024, Joanna and David returned to Canada to take on the leadership of Iris Ministries Canada. While they continue to visit Iris Malawi regularly, they are now based in Cayuga, Ontario.
