Mission updates and prayer requests from One Africa Team
Thank you, Dad.1
I don’t always say some of these things so I thought I’d share them now.
Dad, I don’t know if you know it or not but you are the one who influenced me the most to go into the ministry. You’re the one who impacted my life more than you probably know and far more than I could ever repay.
Far more.
Continue reading “Following In Your Footsteps”
Who doesn’t love to be home? Well, especially when you have a wonderful family such as my parents and older sister. I was born in Malawi, Africa, though I spent the first 10 years of my life in the small town of Chipata in Zambia. My father, Pastor John Holtz, worked as a missionary pastor there until he received a call to move to Malawi in 2008. I spent the rest of my school years there all the way until I graduated secondary school at age 18. Since then, I have been attending Wisconsin Lutheran College as a nursing student, currently in my third year. I have been extremely blessed to have been able to go back home to Malawi during the longer breaks to see my family and old friends.
Continue reading “Back Home to Africa”
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)
There is a Chewa proverb, “Walira mvula, walira matope” (he who cries for rain, cries for mud). In a place where no rain falls from May to October, the beginning of the rainy season means new life and a fresh crop of food. Malawian farmers view rain as one of God’s greatest blessings; however, the rainy season presents a significant challenge for city planners trying to manage the flow of water through heavily populated urban areas.
Continue reading “Walira Mvula, Walira Matope”