Saints who actually believe biblical doctrine often feel very alone in Africa. Pastor Mala in Blantyre, Malawi shares a heartwarming story of how some like-minded saints found each other with God’s help.
“Ndirande is a township in Blantyre, Malawi, and is one of the biggest townships in Southern Africa. It is a 10-minutes drive from where we are. ‘Ndirande’ means “to snatch” or “to take by force.” If you have something stolen from you, be it a car, computer, or phone, be assured that you will find it the next day being sold in the streets of Ndirande. Just like many townships in Africa, Ndirande is known for drugs, prostitution, gangs, and every kind of crime under the sun.
“Ndirande is a township in Blantyre, Malawi, and is one of the biggest townships in Southern Africa. It is a 10-minutes drive from where we are. ‘Ndirande’ means “to snatch” or “to take by force.” If you have something stolen from you, be it a car, computer, or phone, be assured that you will find it the next day being sold in the streets of Ndirande. Just like many townships in Africa, Ndirande is known for drugs, prostitution, gangs, and every kind of crime under the sun.
Yet in this vast township, in a small dark room, we joined a group of young men and women, in their 20’s and 30’s, who are meeting and reading through the New Testament every day. In addition to reading Scripture together, they are working through tons of soft copies (PDF’s) of the writings of John Owen, A.W Pink, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards. They are also busy listening to Paul Washer, Scott Brown, John Piper, RC Sproul, John MacArthur, and even a few of my sermons. Where did this group of young people come from?
One of the young men got converted last year and someone gave him a bunch of sermons by all kinds of preachers. The majority were prosperity preachers, but within the folder, by God’s providence, there was one Paul Washer audio sermon. As he listened to all the junk, this one sermon grabbed his attention. He went into town and googled “Paul Washer” and the rest is history! He discovered the world of reformed theology and introduced it to his friends who had been converted alongside him.
On the HeartCry website, they discovered our church and my newsletters. As they googled my name, they also discovered some of my audio sermons and clips on the NCFIC website. One of them sent a Facebook friend request, and when I responded he immediately asked for directions to the church. Two of these men visited our church the next Sunday. One of them made a phone call to his friends after the service, saying, “I have found them!”
As we listened to their story, 1 Kings 19:18 came to my mind:
“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
1 Kings 19:18
Christ is building his church with or without us. Without wasting time, we went the next day to Ndirande, and in a dark room lit by candles we found a group of about 20 young men and women. We went there with fear and trembling. God has been doing something there for about a year and we were afraid to touch it, as it is His doing! We were so excited to see God’s faithfulness as He brought us together at last. They asked me to share a message spontaneously to encourage them. I am now meeting each one of them and getting to know them better.”