Through a Glass Darkly

It's Mother's Day today in Malawi.

This email from Mum arrived today...

SETTING THE LADIES UP IN BUSINESS

I worked at getting support to set some ladies up in business. They did well for a few months, but with the continued devaluation of our money**, and the fresh vegetables no longer available ( it's dry season--no rain--between May and November), there were not enough sales. Without any income the ladies had to use their capital to feed their children and pay the rent. Thus, some of my ladies' businesses ended in September.

Two ladies are still in business. One lady, "Jane" (a single mom), has taken sewing lessons. She made a few children's dresses and sold them, so she was able to pay her instructor some money. This teacher helped her find a second-hand sewing machine, so she has put a down payment on it.

Another young single mom, "Sarah" is doing, as they say here, "a bit OK." She goes to markets where bales of clothes come in from different countries, and picks out the best children's clothes and shoes, bringing them to a rented stall in her local market. Most days, she does well. To buy nice clothes for children is very expensive in the local stores, so most women go to the outdoor markets in search of clothes for their children. I told "Sarah" to only buy things that look like new, so she will attract the better-off clientele to buy from her.

"Do not buy junk," I advised her. "The others around you are selling piles of dirty clothes that are not good."

Now she has women with good jobs and the more well-off ladies ordering from her. She writes lists and searches for the best, in the children's sizes the women want.

The other ladies whose businesses went belly-up came with sad faces to talk to me on Saturday morning. I was very impressed with their bookkeeping. We taught them how to do this, and they had every cent accounted for. At first they were afraid to tell me the worst. But now things were bad and they needed money to feed their children, so I gave them some. No strings attached: we cannot starve the little ones. They wanted to bow and kneel in the dust at my feet.

I said, " STAND UP. Now go and buy food for your children, and soap to bathe with and soap to wash your clothes. We will begin again."

One lovely woman had once been a prostitute but came to Jesus. For the past six years she has been on her own; struggling at odds-and-ends jobs, like carrying pails of water to construction crews who use it to mix with cement. Her husband died from AIDS and left her pregnant, with four other kids to care for. God has been good to her, as she has no signs of that dreaded disease, and her baby was born healthy.

The sales of vegetables and dried beans has dwindled (because of unavailability of product), so we need to find other businesses for the women to do. As of now we are looking at having some of them sell dried fish that comes from Lake Malawi. There are different kinds of dried fish (some are smaller than sardines), and because they are cheap, they sell well in local markets.

Someone said that it is better to give someone a fishing rod and teach them how to fish, rather than just giving them money - so this is what I am trying to do.

These ladies of our church are poor, but they are great, and they need your prayers.

Please, feel free to write me.

Also, if you can pray and maybe even give some funds for the many needs here in Malawi, the Lord will bless you.

God's richest blessings on each one who reads this letter.

Missionary - Phyllis Labrentz

P.O. Box 491

Blantyre, Malawi

FOMF (FRIENDS OF MALAWI FELLOWSHIP)

Our Canadian nonprofit organization is registered with the Canadian government, so you will be receipted.

Our Canadian contact person is

Ruth Martz - Phone - (780) 434 9084

email: rmartz@shaw.ca