Hi, we have had a very good few days. Fri was a holiday here, however a man came to repair the water pump at the nursery, by the end of the day there was no water coming at all! He came back Sat and fixed. We had a day visiting friends on Sat, 1 works in a bible college, a fantastic place and vision. We ran out of time and had to drive back in the dark, this was a challenge! Les spoke in church today, the people responded to the word brought. We have seen some first fruits, 6 people have given their lives to the Lord over the last few weeks because of the work at the nursery. Praise God. Blessings, L K

Hi, last 2 days been good, despite a flat car battery, all sorted now. Got new toys 4 nursery, try them out on Mon as holiday in Malawi tomorrow. Bought 50 sacks of maize today at market, this is 4 the nursery 4 a year. getting more on Mon also. Its good staying in village, just preparing veg 4 tea. Been teaching children skittles this afternoon, great fun! Many blessings, L K

As Les & Cathie continue to serve in Malawi this week we have also got some "Alternative Gifts" on to the website. If you buy one of these gifts the Malawi team will send you a certificate that you can give to a loved one, while your money is spent as you have designated on something to help the very people people in Blantyre.

Go to www.grassroots.org.uk/malawigifts to see a list of available gifts and to buy them using your credit card.

Hi,

We had a very good trip out to Malawi. We arrived in Blantyre last night.

Just to let you know we are ok. the internet signal here is non-existant for some reason. time has run out for us. lots to do tomorrow; our last day in the village.

there is now a shortage of coca cola as well as diesel! God bless.

Today, Sunday, we have been to church in the village. We arrived later than expected as we spent a while getting diesel. In the end we saw a teacher from the primary school we go to and he got fuel in containers and put in our vehicle, this seems to be an acceptable way! We praise God that we now have enough fuel to last. Please keep praying about the situation as goods may get held up in the country.
 
The 3 hour service was good, Les spoke on love and forgiveness and working together as a body. We have had some positive feedback, so we praise God for that.
 
Yesterday we took time out to visit the Nayala National Park. This was a fantastic drive down into the Shire valley, it was very hot. The park was small but saw a few different animals. It was interesting seeing the sugar cane growing area.
 
The alteration to the stove have started, Malcolm has his plans ready for tomorrow. We are also going to the primary school. Kathie and Annabel are doing an hour teaching tomorrow with the nursery staff, please pray for them.
 
We are praying for the guys in Tanzania as well.  
Many blessings,
Malawi crew

We are into the Malawi way of life again now, it is so good. They have a saying here, ‘you can never be late in Malawi’ it is very true!

All of the forex money changers have been closed down by the government. This means that we have to change our money in the bank, the result of this is a lower rate for us. The procedure in the bank is to go to the foreign currency window, the cashier there will then send you to another window, then she will individually check each note. If the note has a tear on it they sometimes give them back to you. Today was so amusing, as halfway through my transaction the lady moved everything off her desk and produced a duster and polished her desk.

Please pray for the fuel situation here, there seems to be a shortage of diesel. We tried 3 filling stations yesterday before filling up in the 4th one. No one seems to be able to explain why.

We have discovered that the stove at the nursery, which was built in May 2008, is only being used when we are here. Today we have been able to discuss with the cooks the reason for this. We feel that we have made progress because they opened up and told us the problems. This is something that they would not normally do in case they offend us. Some adjustments have to be made and Malcolm and the village chief, who is also the builder, plan to start this tomorrow. This trip we have also been blessed with 2 interpreters, Humphrey for the men and Abigail for the ladies.

Today domestic cooking stoves have been bought and delivered, these are from alternative gift money. (we'll have new Malawi alternative gifts when we get back and you'll be able to buy them with a credit card off this site)
We have visited the new bridge that has been built in the village. This means children can now cross the river safely on their way to school in the rainy season. They have made an excellent job of this. Kathie and Annabel have spent time discussing various Christians issues with the ladies, hopefully stronger relationships with them will come as this continues.

Many blessings,

The Malawi Crew

Hi everyone, we have arrived in Blantyre safely tonight. Interesting time in Addis. Malcolm had his wallet stolen. He had the experience of a few hours at a police station! Big hope now is for a good nights sleep so we can start fresh tomorrow.. please do pray for the trip as it continues... Les

Kathie & Les Craske and a team are off to Malawi on 1 Nov 2009. We'll put a blog from their trip here...

Here's some initial information about who is going and what they hope to achieve:

Kathie & Les Craske and a crowd of Christians organise this Grassroots project into a very poor part of Malawi. This is the latest news:

Grassroots in Malawi is working alongside The Revival Pentecostal Church in Samuti Village, southern Malawi, 25km south of Blantyre.

Malawi is known as the ‘warm heart of Africa’ and has an estimated population of 12.5 million. The average life expectancy has fallen to 37 years old, and it is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. It is also a very beautiful country and the local people are very warm and friendly.

A nursery school for 81 pre school children is the main project in Malawi. The children come from the poorest families in Samuti and 2 neighbouring villages. The teachers at the nursery give a basic start to the child’s education. The aim is to help them learn through play and simple games, as well as the more traditional methods of teaching. Lunch is also provided for the children. As well as the teachers, this project employs 8 further staff, these include cooks, night watchmen, an agricultural worker, textile worker, manager and a teachers assistant, who also looks after babies in the crèche to allow their carers to go to school or work. We praise God for the support that has enabled this project to grow, one teacher expressed his thanks to God as he could know afford a bed to sleep on instead of a mat!