SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST

MISSION OF MALAWI

PO BOX 60150 BT. 6 BLANTYRE MALAWI AFRICA

TEL. 265-9-741-007/ or 265-8-751140 (mobile)

Missionary / Evangelist:  Peter A. Halliman

Email: phalliman@africa-online.net

 

14/04/2009

 

Dear Saints of God,

 

I write to you in Jesus’ Name the only Name given under heaven whereby men may be saved.  Our LORD and Saviour the God of Heaven and earth; according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?

 

I would like to divide this report into different sections, (a) the spiritual side of the work itself; (b) the physical work and activity around the mission station; and (c) economics of the country.

 

I.                  The Spiritual side of the work:

1.              I have written many reports over the years, regarding my stand on simply teaching “the truth” without any tangible assets attached.  This “type” of ministry has its price, as far as the “religious world” is concerned.  However, my ministry and conviction is not based upon “world religion” or other denominations and what they do or don’t do, rather its based upon the “pure, Holy Word of God” unadulterated in preaching the Truth.  From the year of 2005 to 2008 the work underwent a tremendous purging.  In the early years of the work, the pastors who made a commitment to surrender to the Truth as we know it to be had embraced the Truth and continued to stay in fellowship with me and our mission work.  However, as in all fellowships, there are those “few” who will bemoan, bellyache, and murmur about “whatever” the children of Israel did in Moses day, just read the book of Numbers a few time and one will get the point.  Since the beginning of time men have simply repeated history, and every time God raises up a man to lead a people there are those who will also raise up themselves to challenge the “authority” and “leadership” of that man whom God has [placed] in that position.  (Nu 16:2) And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
(Nu 16:3) And they gathered themselves together [against Moses] and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

(Nu 16:5) And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.  

As the story continues, Korah represents many men of today that [presuppose] that because they have [placed] or given a close position to the man whom is in “authority” in time they rise up and want to challenge as Korah did.  The sad end of the story is that these Korahs of then and now to often times are to cowardly to stand alone, therefore, they persuade other men to join their enterprise with empty promises that they are not in a position to fulfill.  In the end God still rules in the hearts of men, and God is still in control.  Moses still led the children of Israel, and Korah and his followers…. (Nu 16:30) But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
(Nu 16:31) And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
(Nu 16:32) And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
(Nu 16:33) They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.

 

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God, even many of God’s people have forgotten that it is God who judgeth; even Paul said of himself that no man judgeth me and even he said he would not judge himself but God(Ro 14:13) Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
(1Co 4:3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
(1Co 4:5) Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

 

It’s always been amazing to me how “learned, scholarly men” can twist the Scriptures to fit their own agenda.  I wonder how many of our “learned, scholarly, and pious men” would handle Paul.  Be that as it may, God will ultimately judge us all for the deeds done in this life, whether good or evil.

Many of these pastors who had joined themselves to our fellowship and were [taught in the Bible school]; contrary to the lies that have been told that somehow I never operated a Bible School, it is a moot point to continue to defend lies and I will not waste the time that God has given me to do His work.  The Truth will defend itself and the work will stand as a testament to what I have done or not done in this great work. 

After years of standing my ground and not giving in to the wishes and whims of men for material demands they (local pastors) began to form their own conspiracy to somehow have me removed from this country.  There were different approaches, assassinations on my character, lies, rumors, half truths, fabricated stories etc… letters were written and forwarded to my former pastor Elder Rick Perdue.  When this failed they tried to destroy the work from within, when this didn’t work they waited and waited until Satan provided the vehicle and instrument for confusion, division, challenging of authority, etc… as I have stated in recent reports.  Now after the purging has taken place and we are moving on in our work, the LORD has opened new doors and some more sheep have been found.  The work is slowly recovering and through it all has grown stronger. 

 

I have spent the most part of a year working on damage control, encouraging the few churches and pastors whom are still working with us and in fellowship.  I have spent more time in counseling with pastors and churches in the past twelve months then I have in all my ministry of twenty-five years of mission work.  It is now that we are starting to receive feed back from several of those pastors who [chose] to sell the Truth for a [package] that was promised and never delivered.  They are now seeking ways to come back into our fellowship.  The problem with this is, none of the local pastors want them back, and I certainly don’t want the baggage.   Its one thing to move away from the fellowship once enjoined with churches of like order and faith, and it’s another thing to sell out the [Truth] for a material package and when you find yourself bankrupt try to find a way back into the fellowship.

I have stated in the past and will do so again; it doesn’t matter if it’s in the USA, or Africa, England, or Papua New Guinea, Truth is Truth and heresy is heresy no matter who preaches or tells it.  Having said that, I will say this, there is no Scripture or preacher who will convince me that Christ gave a command to [ His Church ] that one of their duties were that they [had] to fellowship with other churches of like order and faith.  This is a habit, and custom that our kind has seemly done since we can all remember.  This is good and healthy for brethren as the Psalmist said, “How pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together”… there are many Scriptures that allude to the truth of our fellowshipping together; however this is not a commandment!!  All the fellowships, all the associations, all the unions cannot mandate for a “Landmark Baptist Church” to fellowship with others in order to be considered a “True Church”.  I said all that to say this, as I have stated in the past in my reports that once a church is organized here in Africa or elsewhere, it is just as much a church as any of our Baptist churches in America or elsewhere.  I am not sure why folks always seem to refer to “America” as to where the “True churches” are located, there are also other places in the world where “True Baptist Churches have been planted and are alive and well”. 

These churches of which I speak of here in Africa will answer to God, not me as to whether or not they continue to stand for the Truth as we know it to be.  Many times I would be asked by folks whilst I was visiting in the USA “how many churches do you have in Africa” my answer… NONE! They are not mine; they have no allegiance to me but to their LORD!  I am not responsible for them standing or falling away, but themselves.  Therefore, new mission points will be discovered and opened.  God will rise up new men, fresh blood and in time, (God’s time) He will raise up His own men to preach the Gospel, to baptize, and to teach.  We believe that it is God who calls His men that He has commissioned His church to send His men with “authority” and for His H.S. to lead, direct, empower those men to do His work until He comes again. Amen!  That is what we believe so unless we give “lip service” as in (Mt. 15:8) then we need to be doers of the Word an not hearers only as James said.

 

Since I returned from my trip in taking Elder George Hurst back to the US, I have been teaching the lessons here at the mission station every morning from Monday to Friday.  This exercise came out of a request from several of the workers whom I have employed full time.  They wanted to know if my teaching was only for pastors in a “Bible School” and if they couldn’t be counted worthy to be taught.  How do you say no to those whom cry for the Truth to be taught?  I teach an hour each morning before our duties for the day and because of the work load with no more workers then I have, I still needed to be as productive as possible, and therefore I told the workers that we would all make a sacrifice and start the class at six am and go to seven. Then our work day would commence at seven and end at the normal time of five pm.  We have completed the book of Nehemiah, and Easter, and now we are in the book of Ezra.  It’s a lot of work, the nights are short and the days are long but in the end it’s only God who knows what will become of the seeds of Truth which have been exposed, planted and watered.

Out of a request from one of the local churches (Mulanje LMBC) I have started classes at the church which is about fifty road miles from the mission station, teaching on the family.  Customs run deep with Tribal people and habits don’t change easily.  The country of Malawi is primarily divided between those from the Central to the Southern most tip of Malawi following after the (Maternal) side of the family, and those from the Central going to the Northern most tip of Malawi following after the (Paternal) side.  I said all that to say this, not only is it anti-biblical for the husband, the man, who is supposed to be the head of his house, and family to follow the maternal side, but it produces a multitude of problems which are not easily resolved.  Most of the strong leadership in this part of the Malawi comes from a (female) domination;   When trying to teach the men to be men, and for them to take up the lead, and to set an example to their boys this is a great message but to expect them to just fall in and change, well, that is another story, and I expect it will not be in my life time.  Seems like more and more Nations are turning to this trend as well, where are the men, where are those who will make a stand, and put their house’s in order, where are the men who will lead, where are those men who fear neither man, persecution, or abandonment by those who think the level was set too high.  Oh for the men like Moses, and Joshua, men like Caleb, where are the men like Daniel who [purposed] in his heart that he would not defile himself with the kings meat and wine?  Where are the men like Peter the apostle whom said…? “Lord, we have left [all] that we might follow thee”… Where are the men like Paul who in the face of even death was neither deterred nor surrendered?  Oh to God that we had men like that today that would be willing to give it all that somehow God would use them to [win] some to Christ.

I want to be able to some day stand before my LORD and hear him say “…Mt 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

 

I know that I have many faults and many things may be said about me, but one thing no one may ever accuse me of and that is “selling out” or walking away from the post.

 

Physical side of the work:

 

This is election year here in Malawi and as I am finishing this report, tomorrow is the actual election.  I do not plan to leave the farm or go into town as security becomes a real concern at election time here in Africa.  The government has employed the police (armed) along with military soldiers around the city; they are patrolling in armoured vehicles as well as foot patrols.  This will continue until after the votes have been counted and through the week-end.  There have been physical attacks upon both the opposition candidate for presidency as well as the current president himself, their vehicles were stoned and riots broke out during the campaign.  I really don’t get excited about who gets in office and who doesn’t, its not that I don’t care as I do care, however we as God’s people should be able to out smart, out think, and out do the unsaved.  We should do all that we can do as though it all depended on us, yet knowing an believing that it all depends on God.  I know that its within the providence of God as to who God will set in place and give them that position, no matter what man may do or think or try to undo. 

King Cyrus, who rose to be king of the world (all the world at that time) 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia, he in all his power, and authority, in all his glory as a King, monarch, even he acknowledged that it was God who gave him this position and glory.  He gave God the honour and glory, and even challenged God’s people (the Nation of Israel) who among them would help him build a house of worship for the LORD.

Nations rise and fall with time, men are moved into position and out; Governments come and go but God Jehovah never changes, through His providence and Will, these events were set in place according to His plan from before the creation of the world.  I said all that to say this, I am far too busy in the LORD’S vineyard to be concerned about the arguments and bellyaching of people as to who was voted in as president or not, who should have won, and who actually did win.  God’s people have always been instructed to pray for leaders as they are set in place by God Himself.

 

For the past two years I have not farmed any maize for the following reasons:

1.              In 2005-06 season (Dec. to Mar.) there were five hundred sac’s (50 kg) that was produced.  This maize provided food for Bible Conferences as well as the Bible School for two years, as well as workers on the farm and some maize for my animals that I keep for meat.

2.              Since the work suffered a major division, we don’t have any longer a large group of pastors and churches who are still in fellowship with us therefore the need for such quantity of maize is no longer needed.  What we need, we simply purchase at the time we need it.

3.              Further to this I had produced a cost effective report on the profit and expense of the maize production regarding the work, the cost of production and resale to assist the budget.  However with no positive response towards the machinery needed to produce this quantity it just isn’t feasible to hire field workers.

 

For the past two years I have kept the farming on a low keyed scale, I have hired some field workers to assist in the planting and cultivation of sweet-potatoes, cassava (tapioca) and pigeon peas which are all indigenous foods.  I no longer have any maize on the farm, and will cross that bridge when I come to it.  The other foods can and are eaten by the Natives as well as me for these foods are also grown in NG.  There is enough to substantiate our diets and budgets and if that is all, well that is enough for now.

 

The security on the farm, (mission station) continues to remain a problem simply because I don’t have any real fencing around the farm.  Simple hardware in the US becomes a costly project here and the expense must justify itself in order to spend the funds for it.  I spent three months with the men during the rainy season cutting bamboo which grows on the farm.  We would load the truck, bring the load to the sheds and start preparing it for fencing.  First splitting it then selecting the strong from the weak and finally starting the weaving.  Since I learned this in NG growing up I taught the workers who are employed here how to do the weaving and for six weeks we all worked together weaving bamboo fencing.  This has all been set in place and spreads over a distance of five hundred meters.  It provides a legal barrier and plus it didn’t cost me anything except the labour of the men. 

During the rainy season there were three large mahogany trees which were blew over, and as valuable as the timber is I did not want to just let the trees waste away or be stolen by local poachers.  Therefore, I worked with the men and we cut the trees up in twelve, to twenty-four feet sections so we could pull with the truck and later have sawn into boards for usage.  The branches provide firewood for the workers and so nothing gets wasted.  I needed a heavy-duty chain in order to work with the truck in winching the trees up the steep slopes where the truck could not reach.  This chain I fabricated myself and so far has proven worthy of all the time and energy that went into the making of it.  If one had to purchase that chain here, it would cost somewhere close to eight hundred dollars, but I have less then a hundred dollars in material.  The heating method I used in the tempering of the steel was simple charcoal.  The LORD impressed upon me to take welding in Voc-Tech and no one including myself ever dreamed how that talent would be used for His work.

Over the years I have been able to repair vehicles, fabricate tools, construct lifting equipment, trailers, security doors, etc… in order to serve our lives and meet the needs of this work.  I do not do it for man, or to boast on saving a penny, however I do it for His honour and Glory.  I try to be a good steward over that which He has placed in my care.  We don’t just go out and buy what we need in the shops, but rather we make, fabricate them out of raw materials.  Jesus was a carpenter, and Paul was tent maker, where does that leave us today?

I will have another report forthcoming but until that time may our God and LORD see fit to shine upon your lives and bless the work of your hands for Him.

By His Grace,

Missionary Peter A. Halliman

 

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