Story number 5 for 19 Jun 2002

(Malawi)–And, Malawi’s crisis continues. Lack of food, a rise in disease and spiritual isolation are taking their toll on the population. SIM’s Ed Barnes is working in the South Central part of the country. He describes the challenges they face. “We have several requests out; one of them has been out for seven years now–that is for a youth and children’s worker that would be working with the Yao tribe, of which only probably less than one-percent are Christian-they’re a very difficult group of people to reach.” Barnes says their work is even more important now than ever. According to their reports, the Islamic movement is especially targeting Malawi as a base for outreach into other countries. “We need some help with church planters. [It’s] a lot of responsibility– often you in find yourself spread out so thin, it’s difficult to be effective in any one area. It’d be great to have some help, so we could zero in on specific needs.”