13 December 2011

	Kondwani Kanyimbiri

With a name that means ‘Be Happy’ in Chichewa, it is not surprising that Kondwani Kanyimbiri often has a great smile on his face. Kondwani is one of those invaluable and rare ‘bridges’ who enjoys the challenge of spanning the gap between missionaries from one culture and people of his own culture. Such bridges provide priceless insights and foster understanding between differing cultures.

"Bridges" help correct our faltering language and translate for us so that we can communicate in ways that are accepted and understood. Bridges work with us as we try to apply biblical teaching in another culture. Bridges bring us great joy and many smiles along the way as we experience genuine gospel partnership.

As we have worked together in ministry, we also observe that Kondwani plays an equally vital role as a bridge between the culture of Malawi and the culture of the Kingdom of God. We first got to know Kondwani because of his passion to reach children with the gospel, which led him to get involved in SIM’s Sunday School teacher trainings.

In this context he was able to be a bridge between those in his own culture—which places children at the bottom of the social hierarchy, resulting in limited children’s work in the church—and a biblically-informed culture which puts a high value on every person, including children, and gives adults the responsibility to teach them about God from an early age.

Seeing his passion and potential for ministry, SIM sponsored Kondwani in a three-year diploma course at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi. In 2007, he was employed as the full time AIDS Prevention Worker.

	Peer educators trained in Malawian churches

Kondwani now finds that he is also a bridge that brings God’s compassion into a hurting world where the current 12 percent HIV infection rate translates into 1 in 8 adults (aged 15-49) being infected. During the last four years he has worked with more than 100 peer educators in churches throughout rural Malawi to equip them to reach their communities with the challenge of living for God and, in so doing, prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. During the trainings, many peer educators have had their own faith awakened and have dramatically changed their personal behaviours which has then had a powerful witness in their communities.

Once trained, the peer educators run ten-week, rurally-based courses and AIDS awareness events using drama, debate, songs and sport. It has been a delight to see theese volunteers grow in capacity and confidence as they experience God changing lives through their ministries. As time goes on, Kondwani finds himself mentoring some of those peer educators in order that they too might become increasingly effective human bridges between cultures, between people, and between God and those suffering with AIDS.

Pray

It is not easy being a bridge, the site for potential conflict as two worldviews meet and collide. Please pray that our bridges would stand firm in God’s strength. Pray for wisdom to bring the biblical teaching of abstinence and faithfulness to bear in a culture where sex remains part of many cultural traditions, polygamy is still practiced, and having multiple concurrent sexual partners is not uncommon even amongst the married. Pray for Kondwani and all the peer educators to have the courage to be counter-cultural.

	Peer educators being trained by Kondwani

We ask that you join us in bridge building—strengthening our current bridges and building new ones. In this way we bring God’s compassion and a biblically-informed culture to Malawi such that the suffering of HIV can be prevented.

SIM's Prevention of HIV & AIDS program in Malawi supports skilled and godly men such as Kondwani, who are making a huge difference in local communities. If you would like to sponsor this work, please contact your nearest SIM office or give online to project 96654. Thank you and God bless!