Malawi (MNN) — According to recent statistics, the nation of Malawi ranks as the fourth-poorest country in the world. Combine this with the Yao tribe there, where less than one percent of the population is Christian, and Malawi is in great need of the hope of Christ.
That's why
Teen Missions International is focusing on this part of the world.
Matt and Heni Wylie with Teen Missions are the only westerns from their organization ministering in Malawi. Their team is mostly comprised of native Malawians sharing the love of Christ with their fellow countrymen.
The Wylies and their team have three different components to their ministry. First, they hold boot camps and Bible schools for Malawian teenagers interested in short term missions. The Bible schools and camps are completely free to the students.
At the Bible schools, “They attend for two years to learn about mission work and the Bible and obtain practical skills, and then they complete a third year of internship,” said Matt Wylie.
The second part of their ministry is helping AIDS orphans. A pair of missionaries go into a remote village care for the children’s basic medical, educational, and other daily needs.
This ministry is very important because around 190 children per day are orphaned in Malawi. Of the populace of 12 million, around half is under 14-years-old.
Finally, the third part of the Wylie's ministry is the Motorcycle Sunday School Mission. With this, part of the team takes Sunday School to a location that has no established church. They hold daily activities, such as literacy and Bible classes, and other fun programs–mostly for kids, though adults can participate as well.
“For the most part, wherever we go in Malawi, there are great open doors and receptivity to the Gospel,” Matt Wylie said.
However, this is not the case with the Yao tribe, which is why Teen Missions is currently concentrating much of their efforts on this people group. Matt Wylie said they have slightly neglected sharing the Gospel with them because they are not as receptive as the other tribes. “It’s been a little bit difficult because they’re not as receptive as some of the other tribes,” Matt Wylie said.
A Sunday School outreach to the Yao tribe has been established, and an audio Bible in the Yao language was released last year, said Wylie. When the Sunday School ministry began, nearly 200 attended, but by the end, only 15 remained, Despite declining attendance, the Wylies and Teen Missions observed that people have been led to the Lord and have been blessed through this outreach.
The next goal is to start a Bible school managed and operated by the Yao. There are also plans to open an orphan care rescue unit. “We feel the Lord has opened a door for us to be able to do this. A key Scripture for us in this has been 1 Corinthians 16:9,” Matt Wylie said. “We have had some open doors where the Lord really provided in ways we did not expect and led us in one way when we were tending to lean another way.”
Matt and Heni Wylie both said the work they do in Malawi would be impossible without God and His provision of help through the Malawians, who carry the load of much of the work.
Please pray for the Wylies and their team as they seek to reach the Yao tribe. Also, if you would like to support Teen Missions’ ministry in Malawi or anywhere else, click here for more information.
