For the children of Chitakale Primary School, 11th December was a day to remember. They came to school as usual, but from 10am onwards, CFCM had something special in store for them.
For most children in rural Malawi, Christmas is not a time for gifts and feasting. The rainy season has started, so their families will be focused on planting in the hope of growing enough maize to see them through the next year. This year the urgency is more acute than ever – prices are high, and many families cannot afford a single bag of maize – the staple food. Hunger is already at the door, and there is much concern for the months ahead.
CFCM’s Christmas Party helped to give the children of Chitakale a cause to celebrate. The activities started with games outside – football, tug-of-war, catch, skipping – using equipment recently received in a shipment from CFCM-UK.
Then the children went indoors for singing and Bible teaching. They heard A Day to Remember, a missionary story that illustrates the everlasting impact of the First Christmas. The story follows Chathuri, a young girl from Sri Lanka, as she discovers the true meaning of Christmas after experiencing the devastating tsunami of 2004. Through this true story, the children learnt how they can trust God’s promises, even during hard times. It was an important message for the children of Chitakale at this very time.
All the children learnt the Scripture verse 1 John 4:14 “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.” 20 children decided they wanted His Son to be their personal Saviour and committed their life to Christ.
Gifts of exercise books and pens were given to all the children, and there were clothes for the children from the neediest families, clothes that were donated by CFCM supporters in the UK. For the majority of the children, these are probably the only gifts they will receive this Christmas. Then every child had a wonderful Christmas dinner of chicken and rice. This was one night they would not go to bed hungry, and they were extremely thankful. Parents, too, gave the team a very emotional thank you for providing their children with a day to remember. CFCM had made Christmas special for their children in ways that they could not.
Very many thanks to all supporters of Children for Christ Ministry – the financial support as well as the practical support that comes via CFCM-UK made this event possible – and indeed the whole CFCM programme for 2024. It is impossible to estimate the number of children whose lives have been transformed spiritually and physically through the work of CFCM this year. We praise God for his blessing on the ministry and trust him for the future.
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