International Board Visits
This year’s international meeting felt like a first of its kind to us as International Board members but also to everyone in management positions in Malawi. You may recall, we implemented a new organizational structure in September 2024, so this was the first in-person board meeting since then. A lot has changed, a lot has improved, and a lot has been accomplished. This year the department heads were allowed to present their goals for 2026 to the international board members. It was incredible – the quality of information we received from them as well as the back-and-forth conversation that allowed both parties to grow in understanding! We had three days formally set aside for meetings. These days were busy and full but so meaningful. There are seven departments: Welfare, Finance, Education, Secondary and Tertiary, Evangelism, Monitoring and Development, and Operations. This year we met with each department for an hour on Wednesday and Thursday mornings to discuss their goals for 2026, brainstorm through some of their struggles and acknowledge their accomplishments. It was truly a first of its kind in Malawi – felt by us as international board as well as each department.
On Wednesday afternoon we were able to visit the Mbulumbuzi Child Care Centre to review some of the content we heard about that morning from the Welfare, Education and Evangelism departments. One of the most significant topics that came up was improving the level of English at the centres. Ideally our centres are an English only area, but this is super challenging as most of our beneficiaries come to school knowing only their tribal language, so they need to learn both Chichewa and English. Often teachers and staff resort to speaking Chichewa to get their point across to all students. This may be practical, but it is not beneficial in the long term for the students. It will be interesting to see how this changes with some focus and emphasis being placed on it. For example, we asked the foster home mother to please change her “schedule” to use English words like “mopping, cooking, studying, etc.”
On Thursday afternoon we visited Aida Chilemba Technical Training School. Here 45 students from Timotheos are enrolled to receive 2 years of technical training in a variety of vocations like brick laying, welding and fabrication, tailoring, etc. The tailoring students were in the middle of their exams and the brick laying students had just finished their projects. Abel, a student highlighted in our newsletter earlier this year, spoke on behalf of the students and Cornelis spoke to the students on behalf of the board. It was very special to be able to connect with the students, hopefully providing them with some motivation and encouragement.
On Friday morning we started with week closing at the Timotheos head office, where Rev. Falamenga led in a meditation for the group. Following this the International Board held its official board meeting where future scenarios of high school education were presented on and the budget was approved. Both of these topics are weighty as the decisions made impact many. Malawi is considering changing its curriculum from eight grades in primary and four in secondary to six and six. This means that we will need to adapt to accommodate two extra grades in secondary. Where? How? When? Many questions and few answers; at this point, a matter for prayer and further research. Then came discussions on the budget. Inflation in the country has risen almost 60% and the banks are holding off on devaluing the Malawian Kwacha even though the black market is trading at double the bank rate. This means that items we are purchasing are based more on the black-market rate (real life value) but we are only receiving half that at the banks. This is challenging. Needless to say, this significantly impacts our budget. Thankfully we are able to maintain our programs at their current rates due to bountiful collections in 2025, but we know that the management in Malawi is concerned about the future. Yet, it would be wrong to not acknowledge that the Lord has provided in the past, and we hope and pray He may remember us in 2026 as well.
Throughout these three days each home board was also able to have one-to-one meetings with their respective expats in the field. These conversations allow us the opportunities to ask our fieldworkers about their struggles and highlights, financial and spiritual support, family situations, work load and more. We ask you all to remember our fieldworkers in your prayers as their labour is often difficult.
We ended our three days with a farewell dinner for all board members and field workers. This dinner is hard to explain to people who have not been present but thanks to Cornelis’ thought-provoking questions to all present it always turns out to be a memorable evening. This year we were asked, “Who would be your identity figure that you would like to emulate, or which deceased person would you like to have an opportunity to speak to?” Cornelis, as much as we think we don’t appreciate these questions, we thank you for your ability to open us up to meaningful, connecting conversations.