Thanks for all your prayers during the past 2-and-a-bit weeks – I arrived safely back in N.Ireland on Monday morning.
Although shorter than other trips, I was delighted to be able to oversee the distribution of all of the 100,000 Exploring God’s Word magazines we had printed, although, as mentioned in a previous post, these fell very far short of the current demand for the literature.
When it became clear, around the middle of my trip, that we needed more material I asked the printer to produce a further 75,000 copies. By the end of last week it was becoming evident that this too would not be enough, so I asked for a further 25,000 and I now expect that in the end we will need more than that again.
This is a real thrill – the circulation of the first two editions of the magazine was 50,000 each, which means that with this, the fourth edition, the circulation has more than quadrupled. What’s really special is that we are increasingly meeting and supplying genuinely faithful believers with a burden for Gospel outreach in their own localities. Most still know little, if anything, about the truth of the assembly, but it is exciting to see their Gospel zeal, and to prayerfully consider where these contacts may lead the work in the future.
The logistics of moving such large and increasing volumes are challenging. We are very pleased with the result of our decision to print more materials locally, for although the quality is not quite as good as material printed in the UK, the lead time is only a fraction of what it would otherwise be, meaning that literature stocks can be kept replenished much more easily. It has been a real blessing that both Harold and Goodson have, in the goodness of the Lord, much greater mobility than before and are therefore able to keep many aspects of the work going forward to some extent in my absence. To that end, please pray that Goodson’s little motorcycle, and Harold’s (slightly ancient) car will continue to give reliable service.
My next planned visit to Malawi will be in August, DV, when we are once again looking forward to the help of a team of volunteers for intensive open-air work and Seed Sower distribution. Pray for help in the planning and production of Gospel material for this effort.