Pictured here is the final Sunday of Pastor Raul Granillo’s trip at the Area 25 Church of the Nazarene in Lilongwe, Malawi. Granillo was invited to share the message for the worship service. Almost all services in Malawi are done in both English and in Chichewan. English is the official language but many of the people only speak Chichewan. The man to his right is Pastor Chrispine Mwantey. He is the associate pastor at the church and served as the Chichewan interpreter. Courtesy photoLA VISTA CHURCH News:
Three members of the La Vista Church of the Nazarene traveled Feb. 8-20 to Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa. The group included Pastor Raul Granillo, his wife Trina, and church member Martha Sorensen.
Granillo explained that they went as part of a work and witness group from the Church of the Nazarene New Mexico District.
Fourteen people from various Nazarene Churches in New Mexico participated in the trip.
“The Roswell First Church of the Nazarene’s children’s department kicked off a fundraiser to purchase a well for a village near Lilongwe,” Granillo said. Prior to this, families walked as far as 15 km each day to collect drinking water. During our first Sunday there, we had a worship service in the village and dedicated the well.”
During the week, the group renovated a hostel for local pastors at the Nazarene Theological College of Central Africa in Lilongwe, he said. This was a huge blessing for the pastors as their living conditions were well below any acceptable American standards. The group raised money and provided the labor necessary for the renovations.”
”I was very humbled through this experience. The Malawi people live a life that most of us Americans would consider to be difficult; as it is. Yet they have a certain contentment with life that most of us miss today,” Granillo said. ”Their zeal for God, worship, and community is something we should all strive for.”
