Malawi Update Vol. 10

Dear Family and Friends,

Here we are at the end of another year. We have just celebrated our fourth Christmas in Malawi and we are thankful for so many things. Recently we shared some prayer requests with you. We wanted to update you on those things and give a few more.

1. There has been much media coverage of the death of Mandela, but there are a lot of real South Africans for whom the maintenance of peace of that country is a need. We are also much more aware of conflict in other parts of Africa: South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Nigeria, etc. The Gospel IS exploding on the African continent, but there are still so many obstacles and barriers! Pray for the Church and Her work here.

2 and 3. Laurie Johnstone’s brother Gareth and Ashley Henderson both received kidney transplants (Gareth also received a pancreas, which we didn’t know before). Give great praise that they are both doing well, though there is still a road to recovery. Also pray for Gareth as his parents are there with him, but medical costs are still a major concern.

4. Please continue to pray for the families and the community on the death of the three Young Life workers we mentioned.

5. Brian’s STA interview went well in spite of technical difficulties. Please continue to pray for us as he looks for a job that will use his gifts and support our family.

6. Our school Christmas program went well. One never knows what seeds are planted. Pray for God to continue to work.

On another note… As the year is drawing to a close, we would like to make you aware of some year-end giving opportunities. We have begun to look for one-way tickets to come back to the States. This will begin at just over $5,000.00 before taxes and extra baggage are added. We have also registered for Mission Training International’s October session of Debriefing and Renewal. We have been strongly encouraged by many missionaries both currently on and off the field that this needs to be a priority for us when we get back. There are age appropriate sessions for the each member of the family that will help us to not only process our time abroad but also help facilitate our “re-entry” to our home culture. This week long session will be about $3000.00 total for the five of us. The total payment is due two weeks before the session begins. (You can find out more about it here: http://www.mti.org/programs/DAR). Lastly, it will take about $400-$500 for me to renew and or reapply for my teaching certificate.

Scharlie and I thank you and give praise and thanks to God for the amazing care He as taken of us over these 3 ½ years!

May the Lord bless you and keep you in the New Year!

Grace and Peace,

Brian, Scharlie, Gwen, Samuel and Nathan

Donations to the African Bible Colleges are tax-deductible and can be made online here:

https://africanbiblecolleges.net/EFT/?m=Brian_Carlisle

Or via mail here:

African Bible Colleges

P. O. Box 103

Clinton, MS 39060

Please put Carlisles in memo of check

A Busy Semester

Dear Family and Friends,

It is hard to believe that the end of the calendar year is upon us! We greatly enjoyed our time home this past Summer and came back and hit the ground running. We hope you enjoy the pictures and brief captions below. The pictures are pretty much in chronological order. 

The day after we got back to Malawi, the Biedebachs had made a "bicycle course" in the field next to our house. To Brian, it looked much like a primitive BMX track :) Samuel made his dad proud by showing his skills as he raced around the track.

First day of school: Samuel 6 Grade 1; Gwen 8 Grade 2

Good friends are hard to lose! We worked with Scott and Kristy Borders for two years. Above they are holding Ginny who was born a few weeks before Nathan. Below are our kids with theirs: Darius, Constance, and Ginny.

What a joy it is has been to look forward to each September or October when we get to see Dr. K and have a meal with him!

We planted this tree two years ago, it's getting bigger, just like our littlest boy.

Grandma C, I am ready to be packed into your suitcase to go home :)

Reading Day is one of the two Big days of the year at the Academy. This year Scharlie was Mrs. Teaberry from Mr. Putter and Tabby. Brian was Mr. Putter. Samuel was Mudge from Henry and Mudge. Nathan joined the fun and was Henry. Gwen bounced along throughout the day as Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh.

Brothers having fun in the sand pile beneath the kitchen window. 

International Day is the other Big day at the Academy. The night before, Scharlie sewed a chitenje map of Malawi on the back of Nathan's USA shirt since he is sort of an American-Malawian :)

This maybe one of Samuel's greatest engineering triumphs yet.

These two can have fun anywhere!

With a big sister like Gwen, life is always filled with laughter.

The Thanksgiving pies with pecans and love all the way from McConnells, SC.

(Caption Contest: Whoever comes up with the best caption for the picutre, Brian will buy any one drink from Starbuck's the next time he is with you.)

Gwen has progressed very well in her swimming this year. Her first chance to swim competitively came in the Interhouse Swim Gala. This is Gwen in a relay race. Gwen got a first, second and fourth in her races! Way to go!

I taught with Jean Mpata my first year here, and she taught both Gwen and Samuel in Kindergarten. She is an incredibly godly lady, from whom I have learned much, about the LORD, about, prayer, about trust, and about Malawi. Brian and I were invited to participate in the celebration of her 25th Wedding Anniversary. Her husband, Stephen, also a mentor to many, has taught a number classes at African Bible College.

We were asked to speak as a couple who has had some sort of spiritual influence on them, standing in place of her parents as another couple did for Mr. Mpata. We were honored. Yes there was dancing involved, yes we tried, yes, there was much laughter both at and with us. But, as it was also a fund raiser for Child Evangelism Fellowship, and as we figure laughing people give more money, it was worth it.

Scharlie lost her dear Grandma Frame (shown here with Gwen this past Summer). Grandma went home to be with Jesus for Christmas, their common birthday. 

Mmm--Enjoying popsicles on a very hot, rainy season afternoon--Malawian Christmas Eve 2013.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a.... bouncy Chinese reindeer :)

Nathan was not happy to find switches and coal in his stocking.
(This reminds me of another dreadful, but hilarious Christmas picture from 2004. Momma, please tell me you have that somewhere!)

Half way through opening presents: Gwen and Dad are putting together a new doll bed while Samuel is working on a new Lego creation.

Our annual Christmas breakfast was a lot of fun! It was bigger this year, about 15 total, but many hands helped out. We had three french toast casseroles and lots of other breakfast goodies.

May God richly bless you in the coming year, may He make all of us ever more faithful to Him!

 Love,

 the Carlisles!

Scharlie's Grandmother Died This Morning

Dear Family and Friends,

We have just received word that Scharlie's grandmother, Elizabeth Frame, has died of a heart attack this morning. She was taken to the hospital for chest pains in an ambulance from her home. We do not know any further details.

Please pray for comfort for Scharlie's grandfather David Frame and for his children Sandra, Marsha, Dave, Stan and Conan. Please pray for Scharlie and her sisters and the rest of her family and our Church and the community as they grieve this loss as well.

Grandma Frame's birthday is on Christmas and as Gwen said, now she gets to see Jesus and share his birthday this year!


Grace and Peace,

Brian and Scharlie

RE: Matters for Praise and Prayer

We thank you for being faithful to pray! Here are some areas that we would request prayer for:

1.     The nation of South Africa on the death of her senior Statesman, Nelson Mandela. Please pray for peace and stability in this important and powerful country in this region of the world.

2.     Laurie Johnstone is one of the teachers at the Academy. We have become good friends with her family. Her brother, Gareth, lives in the States, I think Texas. He has been in need of a kidney transplant for some time. He has just been notified of a match. Pray that he is strong enough to have the procedure. Pray for their family. His parents are flying from Malawi to be there with him. Also pray that this would be an opportunity for him to come to faith in Christ through the witness of his family and the recognition of God’s goodness with this match.

3.     Ashley Henderson is a little girl from our church, Olivet, in South Carolina. She is Samuel’s age and has had many health complications. She too is in need of a kidney transplant and has been scheduled to receive one on Thursday, 12 December. Give praise for this and pray that the surgery is a success and for continued grace, strength and peace to be given to Ashley and her family as they walk through this time.

4.    There was an awful car accident this week involving two Young Life Leaders and a missionary from, we think, Oklahoma, who had been working with them. They had been attending a Young Life conference in Zimbabwe and were returning to Malawi. (For those unfamiliar with Young Life, it is a Christian outreach ministry to teens. It is very active in America too). The two men were regional directors for both Lilongwe and Blantyre. The regional director form Lilongwe, Wanongwa Sanga, (sp) we knew and I had interviewed his wife, Mphatso, for a teaching position at the Academy. Both of these men were young had been married for about 18 months or so. The American woman has been in the country for a some time. This has been devastating to this community. Pray for Christ to minister to the young widows and to the friends and family of all three. Also, pray for this ministry as it is a terrible blow.

5.    This seems small compared with the above requests. I have a Skype call on Monday with the recruiter that I will be working with from the Southern Teachers Agency. Pray that I represent myself well and give a good sense of where I would be a “good fit” to my recruiter as he seeks to match me with potential school positions.

6.   Our school Christmas Show is this coming Thursday. There will probably be between 600-700 people in attendance. The gospel is always presented and many people in attendance are not believers. Pray for hearts to be softened.

Grace and Peace,

Brian, Scharlie, Gwen, Samuel and Nathan

Praise! Nathan and Staff are better.

Dear All,

Many thanks for all your prayers. By the end of a very eventful week, all staff members were back at school and Nathan was well.

Grace and Peace,

The Carlisles

Please Pray for Good Health During Malaria Season

Dear Family and Friends,

Malaria season is upon us. We have already had Malaria in a few staff and students at the Academy and there is a bad virus that has been making the rounds. It is this virus and not Malaria that has hit us. Nathan has been sick since Friday with fever and diarrhea. He started an antibiotic Sunday, but it seems that maybe this is a viral bug. Please pray for him and for the general health of all at the Mission and its ministries during this time.

Thank you for praying!


Grace and Peace,

The Carlisles

Pray for Safe Delivery (Update!!)

UPDATE!!

Naomi Joy Floreen was born around 6:30 PM Malawi time.

Please join with the Floreens in giving thanks!



Dear Family and Friends,

Rachel Floreen, the wife of the assistant pastor at our church here, is in labor with their second child. (The Floreens are the ones that looked after me in June when Scharlie and the kids had to travel on to the States.) Matt and Rachel dropped off their three year old daughter to stay with us yesterday afternoon. (Abigail will be with us at night and some other friends during the day.) Please pray for a safe and healthy delivery of the Floreen's baby and for a good recovery for Rachel.


Grace and Peace,

Brian and Scharlie

Please Pray for Dr. and Mrs. Chinchen's Daughter UPDATE

UPDATE RECEIVED 20 OCTOBER, 2013
(This was sent out by Mrs. Laura Chinchen)

 Its nice to receive good news.  Annabelle is on the road to recovery and we are so thankful.  There are two emails below – one from Paul  and one from Ashley.  Annabelle should be released Monday.  She will have an IV and the hosptial will send a nurse to check on her once a day to change the IV and check on her for 5-7 days. …  At this time she will attempt to finish the semester at Biola.  We are thankful for Annabelle’s progress (she should make a full recovery), thankful for all our friends, family and churches prayers and thankful for good friends willing to help.  Praise the Lord for he is faithful!

On Monday this week, Dr. Paul Chinchen flew to LA to be with his second daughter Annabelle. Annabelle is a Junior at BIOLA University. She is at the UCLA hospital with bacterial meningitis. She is currently taking 4 antibiotics and her situation has been called "severe" by the doctors there.

Please pray for Annabelle and the rest of her family. Mrs. Chinchen is here with the three younger children.

Academy Teacher has Bad Concussion UPDATE

Dear Friends and Family,

This evening after working out with another Academy teacher, Christine Givens fell and hit her head. I am unclear of exactly what happened. After falling, she began complaining of headaches and eventually vomited. A doctor was consulted and he advised that Dr. Chinchen have her taken immediately to the diagnostic side of the ABC Clinic for a a cat scan.

Please pray for Christine. I will update when I have more information.

Please give thanks! Christine's scan did not show anything to be concerned by!

Thank you for praying!

Prayer Updates

My sister in-law, Rachel, delivered a healthy little boy at 7:03 CST on Thursday, 12 September! Ezra Matthew Carlisle weighed 7 lbs and 11 oz and was 20" long. I was post some pictures later. As of Monday night Malawi time, mother and baby are well. Please pray for my brother and his family as the adjust to the rhythms of having a newborn again.

Continue to pray for Kinglsey Kaponda and his family on the death of his sister last week.

I received an text on Saturday that one of the fathers in the school, I taught the daughter last year in 6th Grade, was shot two times as he was trying to enter the gate to his house. He was shot in the shoulder and chin on Friday night and was taken to South Africa.  He has stabilized and is doing better. Mrs. Mphwiyo went to SA with her husband while Pauline, 7th, and Paul, 4th, are staying with friends here in Lilongwe. Give thanks that the father's life was spared and that he was able to be taken to SA to receive care. I will update on his condition as I have information. I saw the children first thing this morning and their spirits seemed quite bright, given the circumstances.

Thank you for praying.

Please Pray

I apologise for the long silence! We will try to remedy that soon.

Please pray for my brother's family: Rachel may be having or already has had the baby by the time I post this.

Pray for our friend Kingsley Kaponda. Kingsley's older brother was killed just over a year ago and his just older sister just died after a long bout with TB.

We hope to post some pictures and get an update out soon.

Grace and Peace,

The Malawi Carlisles

Arrived Safely Back to Lilongwe

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers! We arrived back at the ABC Campus about 2 PM. There were friendly faces to meet us at the airport and bring us back to House #8. The kids all travelled very well. Gwen and Samuel have barely been inside, there are out playing with friends and Nathan just fell asleep. The trip was long and we are tired, please pray for us there.


Grace and Peace,

Brian, Scharlie, Gwen, Samuel and Nathan

Contact Information

Here are the phone numbers that we can be reached at while Stateside.

Brian: (803) 412-5527

Scharlie (803) 379-1865

Back Safely with Family

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for praying for me and my family. I am still taking antibiotics twice a day for another week. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to be picked up by Scharlie, Gwen and Samuel at the airport in Charlotte.

Please continue to pray for regaining of strength for me but also for recovery--spiritual, physical, emotional, mental--for our whole family. The last year was difficult in many ways and we are in need of being renewed at each level.

I look forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks. I believe that we are going to get some cell phone numbers soon and I will post those here when that happens. We can be reached at (803) 628-5815 and via email of course.

What a blessing it is to be a part of the Body of Christ!


Grace and Peace,

Brian, Scharlie, Gwen, Samuel and Nathan

Coming Home

Dear Family and Friends,

I apologize for not being in better contact these last few months. I would first of all like to say thank you for all of the incredible generosity that is allowing us to fly home for seven weeks tomorrow! It would not have been possible with out your help. We do not take it for granted! We are so looking forward to our time with many of you.

Please for us. Travel is never easy. Brian came down with Typhoid fever, or something similar to it on Monday night. He has received two antibiotics via IV and is given two weeks more to take with him. The Dr. advised that he wait for another flight next week if he could, however, there are none available. We were going to let Scharlie and the kids go and I would join later. There was not even one ticket available. So the Dr said that he would not prevent me from flying as scheduled, but it would be quite unpleasant for me.

Also, I have been no help to Scharlie and she has had to take me to and from the hospital and stay with me there. (She is sure to be cannonized soon!) Pray for her and she finishes packing. She also has one school related task to finish up in the States and Brian has a few small ones and one BIG one.

Pray that our packing and last minute stuff goes well this afternoon and evening. Pray for Brian and Nathan as they fly tomorrow with the rest of us.


Grace and Peace,

The Carlisles

Gospel Emphasis Week

Today was the first day of Gospel Emphasis Week at the Academy. We have Gospel Emphasis Week the week before we break for Easter. The goal of GEW is to present the Gospel in a fresh, creative and personal way to each of our students. We do this first and foremost by praying for God to prepare and soften and open the hearts of the students at our school. We know that we cannot draw them to Christ on our own, His Spirit does that, but we can be part of the means He uses to bring them to Himself. Our theme this year is "Trusting God." Walter Malskis teaches at the college and works at the TV station. He is the one leading and speaking in the Chapel times for the Pre-K through 5th Grade and the 6th through 11th Grade times. (The pictures below were taken this morning during the Pre-K through 5th Chapel.) Please pray Walter as he has a very wide range to communicate his messages to! We will have three separate sessions and then on Thursday instead of meeting first thing in the morning, we will have a school-wide Chapel at 11:15 that the families are invited to and then there will be a picnic afterwards. 

Pray For:

• Teachers as they prepare and lead the students in different activities and lessons throughout the week
• Students to have hearts that are ready to hear or are ready to grow more deeply
• Walter Malskis as he speaks to the students each day
• Family members will come and hear the Good News on Thursday and have the chance to respond
• That God would be honored and glorified as His Word is faithfully taught and communicated

Gwen's 8th Birthday

Gwen's 8th Birthday was Thursday, 07 February. (Wyatt and Stacy we hope you had nice birthdays as well :)) On Thursday night Gwen invited Allison, Aly and Pam over for pizza and small apple pies. That day at school she took Rice Krispie treats to share with her class. (Some of them had never experienced the goodness of Rice Krispie treats!)

Saturday we took the five Carlisles plus Sarah Kyser and Contsance Borders to Augusto's for pizza and then the little girls came back and played dress-up. Their parents and other siblings arrived later and joined us for marshmallow animals and cupcakes and ice cream. It was a very nice day.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Malawi Update Vol. 9

Answers

Dear Pray-ers,

We--Scharlie and I as well as our whole staff--are thankful for your prayers. The two teachers that have come in to fill the 1st and 4th Grade positions have had a good almost two weeks back. 

We have covered the Bible classes internally plus one instructor from the College. ( I will be teaching the7th Grade Bible class.)

We also had a good interview  for the French I and II position and should have one or two more people to interview!! This is really amazing to me! (After the last post I was told on that Monday morning that our HS French teacher was serving her two weeks' notice.)

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. You are such a blessing to us. We could not and would not even want to be here without your prayers! (James 5:16-18) God is at work in and through the prayers of His people. 

Grace and Peace,

Brian and Scharlie 

Needing Prayer and Encouragement

Dear Family, Friends and Supporters,

Please pray for us! We are as tired, frustrated and discouraged as at any other point in our time here. Since Dec 19, Brian has been dealing with personnel issues that have led to the need for two teachers to go home: one First Grade and one Fourth Grade! We begin school tomorrow and need to explain to staff, students and parents what has happened and why these teachers are no longer here. Please pray for us. We are not in any way ready for an incredibly busy second half of the school year to start tomorrow at 6:45 AM. Also, please pray for the teachers stepping in to fill these gaps and for the ones needed to fill their gaps.

We have been trying to get our newsletter finished and should get out soon. Thanks for being patient with us and thank you for praying!

Grace and Peace,

Brian