MIEZE:

•    The Children’s Village has been operating since December, 2007. All the original children are still with us and we have added three more in recent months... in each case due to the death of the last remaining family member.
•    The past school year was very successful for all resident kids. When the new school year begins in January, all but the two youngest resident kids will be in school—34 in total.

When our children’s work in the Pemba area was just beginning 4-5 years ago, it was common to see poor village children evidencing signs of chronic malnutrition, including bloated bellies and an orangish tinge to their hair. Children were also often listless and showed little alertness in their faces.

“Our Iris Malawi base is growing and changing. The walls are going up on four new children’s homes. This will mean big changes for everyone, including our new children and house parents.  We will double our number in terms of beds, food, uniforms, schooling, clothes…everything!  Other new buildings include a home for Timothy Makwalo, our Bible school director, and a home for Daryl and Rebecca Martin, who have come to host our visitors.

"The last four months have been very exciting. We have initiated a new bible school recruiting program which will help us identify and bring in new students, and have started discipleship training programs in local churches. We believe that this will better prepare and provide for the students who come to study at our bible school. We believe that many more believers will be equipped and blessed because of this program, and that churches will be strengthened.

Mieze

The two major new developments in the Mieze project since our last report are the construction of the new church and community centre building and the wonderful children’s evangelistic program called the Bandeira club.

With the generous support of Canadian friends of Iris through your gifts to IMC, we are continuing to feed 180 resident children and 750 village children every day at the Pemba Base. At the Mieze centre, we feed 250 children every day...and on Saturdays, we feed an additional 450-500 village kids who attend the evangelistic Bandeira Club. This program has made a huge and positive difference to the on-going health and well-being of well over a thousand needy children in the Pemba area.

Hello from Malawi!

There has been much activity and excitement surrounding the bible school since our last update. One of the highlights has been hosting the first ever "International Leaders School of Ministry", put together by a team from the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship in Canada. Leaders from the UK and South Africa took part as well. The students from the bible school, pastors from all over southern Mozambique, and even provincial leaders from the central provinces were in attendance. It was an absolutely amazing time for them.

"Iris Malawi has grown significantly in the last year. We have completed
our two primary school buildings, and a kitchen / dining room facility
that will serve both the bible school and the primary school, as well as
the many staff. With 50 children on site, 50 student pastors, and
many workers, there is a constant buzz of activity. A dormitory for
visitors is well under construction, as well as a house for Timothy and his family (one of our national leaders who is directing the bible school).

By the end of October we finalized approximately 300 home visits for 2008
and had a preliminary list of 23 probable younger children and youth who
could return home to their families.  In the first week of November we
met personally with each of these kids/youth and talked to them about
moving back with their families. We answered any questions and concerns
they had. Some of course were reluctant to return, but after some
encouragement from the team, all left agreeing that this was the best