life Stories Belonging Newsletter of the Ong family serving in Malawi, Africa a duiker named BAMBI MEEKNESS and MAJESTY

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Lucas Sullivan
5 years ago
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O what a mystery, Meekness and majesty. Bow down and worship For this is your God, This is your God. Graham Kendrick May this Christmas fill us anew with the wonder of the Incarnation.

May we respond to our King in worship. a duiker named BAMBI One of the perks of living in Malawi is being able to experience different African wildlife.

They are gentle creatures found in dense wooded areas. Rural Malawians eat duikers for bushmeat and tell us that they tastes as good as goat!

released back into the wild in the future to join other duikers. We have even signed up to adopt Bambi by contributing $20 towards her care at the wildlife centre.

1 of Stories Belonging Newsletter of the Ong family serving in Malawi, Africa Issue 49, Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec 2018 Family photo with Bambi the duiker just before we took her into the wildlife centre life MEEKNESS and MAJESTY Meekness and majesty, Manhood and Deity, In perfect harmony, The Man who is God. Lord of eternity Dwells in humanity, Kneels in humility And washes our feet. O what a mystery, Meekness and majesty. Bow down and worship For this is your God, This is your God. Graham Kendrick May this Christmas fill us anew with the wonder of the Incarnation. May your hearts make room for Jesus who being in the very nature God made himself nothing by becoming a servant, taking on our humanity, and humbling himself to die for us (Phil 2:6-8). May we respond to our King in worship. a duiker named BAMBI One of the perks of living in Malawi is being able to experience different African wildlife. On our recent trip up to the capital of Malawi, we came across a tied up baby duiker (pronounced die-kah). A duiker is a type of small antelope that is native to Africa. They are gentle creatures found in dense wooded areas. Rural Malawians eat duikers for bushmeat and tell us that they tastes as good as goat! We managed to rescue the duiker (which we named Bambi) and care for it for two days, feeding it milk from a bottle, before taking it to the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre so it can receive good care and be released back into the wild in the future to join other duikers. We have even signed up to adopt Bambi by contributing $20 towards her care at the wildlife centre. She had a respiratory infection and needed antibiotics right away. We are so happy that Bambi is being well looked after by the vets at the LWC. It was a great learning experience for the Onglets in caring for God s creatures. Outside the wildlife centre with our Certificate of Adoption SIM Australia PO Box 42 Penshurst (02) SIM Malawi PO Box 136 Blantyre, Malawi malawi.sim.org *AEC - Africa Evangelical Church, SIM Malawi s partner church with whom we work.

YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP It is not easy for youth in Malawi to find work after finishing school, that is if they are lucky enough to finish school in the first place.

as well as to teach them new skills,. We ve been learning about how we can be good stewards of the resources God has given us - time, money, people, creation.

way. Jo and Eneles have been working with the girls, with Jo teaching the skills component as part of Tiyamike, and Eneles leading the girls in Bible study.

2 YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP It is not easy for youth in Malawi to find work after finishing school, that is if they are lucky enough to finish school in the first place. To give the youth purpose and to empower them by giving them income generating opportunities, we have been meeting with the youth from our Chichewa church every Wednesday to study the Bible together as well as to teach them new skills,. We ve been learning about how we can be good stewards of the resources God has given us - time, money, people, creation. Pete and his co-workers Jonathan and MacDonald have been working with the boys, teaching them to make compost, eco-bricks, repurposed glass bottle tumblers, and to grow vegetables in a sustainable way. Jo and Eneles have been working with the girls, with Jo teaching the skills component as part of Tiyamike, and Eneles leading the girls in Bible study. The girls have learnt how to make repurposed bottle cap beeswax lipbalms, crochet discarded plastics into bags, and bake cupcakes. ministry Boys group studying the Word of God Girls group learning to make repurposed bottle top beeswax lipbalms HAppy 4th birthday Tiyamike! It is hard to believe that it has been four years since that very first sewing class began in our garage! We continue to be amazed at what God is doing through this women s empowerment ministry as it continues to grow, expand, and touch lives. We have now trained over forty women and girls with another twenty currently learning with us. We can also celebrate the fact that Tiyamike is now an official SIM project with its own project number which would make it easier for donors to give. Please continue to pray for that God will continue to provide what we need each week. To donate to the TIYAMIKE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT project: SIM Project number:

kanyali NURSERY SCHOOL UPDATE After much prayerful discussion with SIM, it has been decided that it would be better to purchase land specifically for the nursery school.

It is exciting to see that things for the nursery school is really starting to pick up speed.

3 kanyali NURSERY SCHOOL UPDATE After much prayerful discussion with SIM, it has been decided that it would be better to purchase land specifically for the nursery school. With the funds generously donated to the nursery school by our supporters, we were able to purchase a piece of land from the chief. It is exciting to see that things for the nursery school is really starting to pick up speed. The school has now been registered with the social welfare office and markers placed on the boundaries of the land to mark it as sold. We have partnered with a group called Friends Ministry whose vision is to make Christ known in the nursery school local area where only 20% call Jesus their saviour. Pete is on the board of FM and has been working closely with the director of FM Chris and his wife Ivy. The daily operations of the school will managed by Chris and his team. While we were visiting the area recently, we were also able to meet the two people chosen to be trained to be teachers for the school. Building of the school will commence as soon as rainy season is over (around March). Our aim is to officially open the school in September at the start of the new school year. Please pray for the building of the nursery school that God may be glorified and that many will come to know Jesus through the nursery school. Future nursery school leaders and teachers Left to right: Chris, Chimwemwe, Agnes, and Ivy Kanyali Nursery School land with some of the kids who will be attending the school

onglets Teaghan playing the flute at the school carols night Giving gifts to some of our friends TEAGHAN says... School has been very fun and also very busy!

There are many opportunities for me to play my flute too!! I'm now in the junior band and the senior band. I'll be playing the flute in school musical (Hamilton) in March.

We think that people here aren't as fortunate as us to have so many privileges. We also think it's important to bless others this time of year.

These past few months have seen one young family leave after 10 years in Malawi and another arrive to begin their new journey. It was sad to farewell the Bontenbal family.

4 onglets Teaghan playing the flute at the school carols night Giving gifts to some of our friends TEAGHAN says... School has been very fun and also very busy! I have started high school, Caycay is now in year 3 in top school with Lucas who has started year 5. High school is so fun. I like moving to different classes and meeting new people is also very cool. There are many opportunities for me to play my flute too!! I'm now in the junior band and the senior band. I'll be playing the flute in school musical (Hamilton) in March. My friends and I have started up a band and we've played a few times in concerts. This Christmas, part of our Christmas present is to buy presents for some of our poorer friends. We think that people here aren't as fortunate as us to have so many privileges. We also think it's important to bless others this time of year. So this year we are blessing many people instead of just treating ourselves. mission family HELLOS and goodbyes Missionary life is full of goodbyes but also hellos. These past few months have seen one young family leave after 10 years in Malawi and another arrive to begin their new journey. It was sad to farewell the Bontenbal family. The SIM siblings had a special sleepover to spend time with Sarah and Eva before they left. Please pray for the Bontenbals as they readjust to life in Holland. We are excited by the arrival of the Brink family-of-6 who will be serving in the capital city of Lilongwe. Lucas loves hanging out with the Brink boys Silas (8) and and Toby (6) whenever we re in Lilongwe and the girls enjoying playing with the Brink girls aged 2 and 4. Please remember the Brinks in your prayers as they continue to settle into life in Malawi and commit time to language learning. SIM siblings sleepover The Brink family

5 praise GIVE THANKS for a good refrehsing week away to spend time together as a family. PRAISE GOD for all that He is doing through the work of Tiyamike Sewing and the Tiyamike team. THANK GOD for the progress with Kanyali Nursery School. GIVE THANKS that Teaghan is loving high school. PRAISE GOD for new mission family the Brinks. GIVE THANKS for the gift of Jesus! This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1John 5:14 Pete I am thankful to have gone through Jeremiah this year in my Quiet Times. Pray that I will be faithful like Jeremiah when life and ministry gets hard and that I will be cultivating a God-shaped life that is fully dependent on Him rather than on my own strength. Pray that I would know God s priorities for me for next year. Jo Please pray for a time of emotional refreshment over the Christmas break. It has been a hard couple of months as the reality of the daily struggles of our Tiyamike learners hit me. I so desperately want to make it better for them. Pray for wisdom that I would know how to do that through the Tiyamike ministry. prayer Teaghan Pray for me as I practise my songs to play on the flute for the school musical. I have about 20 songs to learn! Lucas Please pray for my best friends at school that they would come to know Jesus. Caycay Please pray that I can learn to dive well. I don t like diving and I ve been asking to join the swim squad. COMING up in 2019 JANUARY 8 Tiyamike reopens 9 Jo s birthday FEBRUARY 8 Our 16th wedding anniversary 23 Teaghan s 12th birthday MARCH 23 Pete s birthday 25 Lucas 10th birthday CONNECT WITH US support@ongsinmalawi.com Facebook: Ongs in Malawi Website: WhatsApp: (Pete) Postal Address: PO Box 136 Blantyre, Malawi AFRICA

Trusting that God knows what He s doing!

Malawi Amoto Flames of Fire Trusting that God knows what He s doing! December 2014 saw a big change in the leadership of SIM Malawi. As we reported in the last issue, Hans-Jörg Richter stood down as the