Reaching Out to Muslims with the Right Arm of the Gospel

Medical missionaries use the health message to reach the people in the Machinga district of Malawi.

About 18 miles northeast of Zomba City, southern Malawi, sits a 15-acre parcel of land managed by Seventh-day Adventists with a vision. Surrounded by flourishing gardens and bordered by a perennial stream, the plot is an ideal one for agriculture. However, the harvest being reaped extends far beyond its cultivated fields.

The Machinga district is predominantly Muslim, with very little Adventist presence. Walls of prejudice exist against the Adventist faith. With the desire to reach out to others through the health message, Seventh-day Adventists in Malawi saw a need, and founded NEWSTART Institute in 2014. A health food shop and mobile restaurant were established in the community to encourage healthy eating choices, but the ministry leaders had more in mind.

On a promising plot of land in the country, the walls and roof of a sanitarium took shape. God sent committed young professionals to this center of influence, who would seek to meet the community’s medical and spiritual needs. As they labored, they quickly realized that some of the poor could not afford to pay for care. The institute resolved that no patient should ever be turned away because of money, and made plans to ultimately become self-sufficient through agriculture and other endeavors.

Aside from offering health education seminars and cooking classes to the surrounding communities, NEWSTART Institute’s goal is to combine evangelism with its medical missionary work. Patients are assisted on their path to recovery from preventable conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure. While treating patients for sickness, infection and disease, ministering Seventh-day Adventists share the Three Angels’ Messages to the community.

An evangelistic crusade in October of 2017 yielded 19 baptisms in this spiritually needy area. These precious new converts now walk over 2 miles each Sabbath morning, to worship at an Adventist church. NEWSTART Institute would like to build a local church for the believers, and a school to educate the next generation
for healthy, productive lives. The community has a high level of dropouts, as the closest primary school to the area is 3 miles away. Even first graders must walk the distance.

NEWSTART Institute’s leaders believe that their work has only begun. Upcoming construction phases on the property include the addition of five buildings in
order to house medical missionary staff and patients. One house is nearly completed, and two more foundations have been raised. The institute team would like to build a medical clinic with laboratory and radiology departments to meet their growing needs. They have plans to add treatment rooms to the sanitarium, and to secure a permanent building for their mobile health restaurant in town. The team would also like to see a vocational school built to train Bible workers in various trades, such as carpentry and tailoring. Thus, God’s workers can support themselves and live self-sufficiently as they do His bidding.

Our time is short. “The world must be warned of the soon coming of the Lord. We have but a little time in which to work.” Christian Service, 92.

Location: Malawi

Author: Dr. Lughano Kalongolera is the president of NEWSTART Institute in Southern Malawi. He is training Medical Missionaries to minister to the physical,
mental and spiritual needs of the people.

How You Can Help

Pray for the work of the medical missionaries working among the Muslim people.

Donate. Funds are needed to build facilities, train Bible workers and purchase medical equipment. If you would like to help out in this soul winning project, mark your donations “NEWSTART Malawi,” and send to:
Mission Projects International
PO Box 506
Republic, WA 99166-0506

For electronic options, visit: www.missionspro.org/donate