The last two years have been very challenging for mission organizations such as ELLS International. With ongoing restrictions due to COVID-19, our team has not been able to travel to Africa since 2019. We hoped that things would turn out differently in 2022, but the Omicron variant has already led us to postpone our January trip to Malawi. However, we praise God that a door has been opened for us to travel to Kenya instead!
As of this writing, our plan is to be in Kenya from Jan. 12-27th. We will host a series of one-day conferences in various regions around the country where ELLS International has previously held ministered. Our plan is to not only reconnect with the pastors we have trained but lay the groundwork for launching new cohorts in 2023. The cohorts will be comprised of 25-50 pastors who will go through a 3-year training program focusing on biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), biblical theology, and preaching (homiletics). Our hope is that those who complete the course will be equipped to train others and assist our team in teaching future cohorts.
However, we have not forgotten about our friends in Malawi! We plan on returning to Malawi this coming May, and conducting two conferences for approximately 400 pastors. We anticipate that these conferences will be springboards for launching similar cohorts in Malawi for 2023.
In all of this, we continue to entrust ourselves to our faithful God for His leading and direction. As the old adage goes, we don’t know what the future holds but we do know who holds the future. I pray that these same truths will give you and your family hope during these uncertain times. May we all continue to seek first His kingdom, and trust that as we do, He will “add all these other things” to us! (Matt. 6:33).