Great Progress Made on Repair of Perimeter Wall

BUILD

Our July Mission Team made progress in resolving a long-standing problem – we need an efficient cook stove that will reduce the amount of fuel we use and improve the health of the mothers who cook over an open fire. After we first told you about this need in our 2017 end of the year newsletter, a rocket stove was donated and the team took it to Malawi and installed it in the cookhouse to rave reviews.

Everyone was fascinated by this new device!  As we demonstrated it to the mothers, they were shocked by how much faster it cooked; they just needed a few sticks of wood to bring a large pot of water to boil. Rocket stoves contain the fire and concentrate the heat on the cook pot. By preventing heat from dissipating a rocket stove reduces the amount of wood we need by over 40%.  Wood is one of our biggest monthly expenses, so these savings will be huge.

Rocket stoves can also be vented more effectively than an open fire, sending almost all the smoke outdoors. The cook house no longer fills up with black smoke and is a much healthier place to prepare and serve meals to the kids. Praise the Lord!

We accomplished a lot in our short time, which was very encouraging. As we cooked a few meals together and took them through their training the mothers saw how simple it was to use. We will need to spend some more time cooking together before they are ready to use it appropriately and ensure that it will last for many years to come.   

BUILDING THE WALL

Now when it rains the rushing water collects in a small pond then flows harmlessly through to the other side.

Drainage ditches divert it safely away from the base. The foundation was built so strong that the Malawian builders called it “elephant rock”!

PLASTERING

To further preserve the walls from wash out by rain and weather, the team plastered large sections with mortar.  The bricks in Malawi are made by hand and fired by wood fires in less than ideal conditions. Because of that, many of the bricks erode quickly in the weather.  To protect our investment and keep the wall from weakening, we “parged” nearly all of the exposed brick of the existing wall (several hundred feet).

This was a very important contribution to keeping the kids safe and protecting the property.

Painting

Our July Team put a fresh coat of paint on the front of our church and it looks brand new again! We also installed some additional solar lights, including one that now illuminates our front gate.