October 26, 1998
First a big THANKS to all who have participated in the shipment of
this container to Malawi.
We are definitely shipping the long-awaited container to Malawi November 2nd. We're in the last stages of collections and purchase of food. Also, we have been able to establish Internet contact with Mr. Chonde's son Mark who lives in Blantyre, Malawi.
At one point we were offered two containers, but the deal on the other one fell through.
We have received some very fine donations in goods and cash in the last month. We're within $1000 of goal.
Bay City Milling of Minneapolis and UCG elder Lonnie Gjesvold has donated a palette, which is about a ton of flour. We have purchased four palettes of rice, half ton of cooking oil, 50 crates of macaroni. Morton Salt of St. Paul, Minnesota gave us two tons of iodized salt for the price of the packaging. There is a critical shortage of salt in Malawi. We are also shipping $44,000 worth of medicine that we purchased for less than one tenth that amount. Our contact for the meds will even ship it directly and it won't have to take the container ride.
In addition to this, the Tucson United Church of God congregation with Dale and Todd Booth have assembled a Pentium computer. From Dallas, Texas Willis and Brenda Hogg have donated a copy machine, computer. Linda Benton of the Terre Haute congregation has donated a printer and 386 computer. Tom Karestes UCG member from Eau Claire, Wisconsin has donated two desks and other office supplies. It's been wonderful to see this all come together. This along with the nearly ton of blankets that Dyanne Dick of Seattle organized is about to take a long float to our UCG members, the Chonde's
Bob Fahey, Chicago UCG pastor visited Africa for the Feast of Tabernacles and saw the Chonde's where they met in Harare, Zimbabwe. He brought back with him a letter from the Chonde's that I'd like to excerpt from below:
Malakia (PVT) Clinic
P.O. Box 30705
Lilongwe, MalawiOctober 8, 1998
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Kubik
Thanks a lot for your letter which I receive from Mr. Bob Fahey at the Feast of Tabernacles in Harare. Time is flying--another year has passed since we had Mr. and Mrs. Burk McNair last Feast. It as very exciting to have a minister in the middle of the Feast! Before Mr. Fahey arrived, we only had three men. It was Mr. Mukarati and me. My son Mark was song-leading. Mr. Mukarati and I were opening and closing in prayer. We had been watching and listening to tapes.
It was a pleasure to receive Mr. Fahey and Mr. Banda, a local church elder from Zambia. Then there was 17 of us all together. It was still one of the best Feasts ever. It was a blessing to have Mr. Fahey here. His teaching gave us light and encouragement.
We received the news of the shipment of the container to Malawi very excitedly.
The furniture will help my office look smart! Also the computer and typewriter will make our job easier. These are fantastic blessings we never expected in our life. We thank God who made it possible for us to meet you at the Feast in Mutare.
We will have no problem with the flour and have place to put all the things that are sent.
I will let you know as soon as the FAX machine is fixed. It has been delayed because we we were busy preparing for the Feast. Mark, one of my sons who is at University can be contacted on Internet.
I hope that you and Beverly had a wonderful Feast of Tabernacles.
We are still getting letters from America, Europe and Canada encouraging us after the loss of our daughter Jane. Thank you for your untiring effort to keep people informed about our demise. God bless you. Alice and the children send love to Beverly and you.
Lots of love from
Gladstone and Alice Chonde
So, that's where we're at. Thanks to all who have been so helpful. Thanks to all who have pledged to help. We have received about $1500 in help. Again, we're within $1000 of our goal.
Thanks in advance for your help. The support that we've received has been marvelous. We just need a little more to finish the project in its last phase. We will be giving updates on this as we approach the November ship date.
Shipping will be from St. Paul
540 Properties
540 North Fairview
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
Suite 09
For more about the Malakia Clinic, click here.
Victor Kubik