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Held in God’s hands

Esnart lost both her parents at 13 and was devastated. After they died, she would constantly reflect on how she’d been unruly and not loved them properly. Thankfully, Esnart was taken in by a family who looked after her physical needs, but more importantly, told her about Jesus. They prayed for her and, after some time, she seriously committed her life to the Lord!

God has held on to Esnart. Today, at 38, Esnart is a matron at the AE Malawi Women’s Tailoring Project in Lilopngwe. At this vocational training centre, which she learned tailoring skills as a younger woman, she now trains others. Here’s how it happened.

In 2004/05, Esnart was a student in the AE tailoring course, enrolled there by her foster family. Because of her spirit of commitment, her teaching strengths and her counselling abilities, she was asked to join the AE staff as a matron.

Today, her job includes stocking provisions for each course, cooking meals for students, organising schedules and caring for the spiritual welfare of the women throughout their tailoring training.

At the beginning of each course she encourages those who are not yet Christians to receive Christ as their Saviour. Esnart becomes their mentor, mother-figure and friend.

“I do this at the beginning, so that we all walk together in the Lord. We study the Bible, learning from God’s word for spiritual growth. When a woman has a problem I help her through counselling and praying with her. If the issue is too big for me, I consult our AE Missions Director at AE to assist further.”

She loves her work, but it is not without challenges. Whenever a student gets sick, Esnart is the one who takes care of her.

“Sometimes there are disobedient women. Often women come from vulnerable backgrounds and arrive with very little, so we share, even down to small things like a tablet of soap!”

Though all the women are Malawian, they come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and it is Esnart’s task to unite them to be one family. She says,

“What matters most, is to teach them to be strong, to persevere and to be united, despite their cultural differences.”

African Enterprise has taught Esnart many things.

“AE has sharpened me. I have learnt patience, and grown spiritually. I have become better equipped to care and serve using Jesus as a model. While I serve these women through catering, prayer and teaching of God’s word, my spiritual life has grown also. Praise the Lord for the wisdom and grace He has given me.”

*Image from Malawi project, not Esnart.

The Makings of a Modern Woman – Malawi

In her mid-thirties, Martha Njovulema was on her way to becoming a modern woman: she had tried her hand at teaching, baking, and small-business running, was a working mother keen to help her husband provided financially for their four children, and was on the look out for further training.

But she was not happy.

“After the death of my mother and father, I got into strange habits,” said Martha. “I was fond of fighting, lying and stealing, using these as ‘powers’ to get what I needed in life.”

Though she went to church, Martha admitted, “I was not in good relationship with God.”

But then Martha heard about African Enterprise Malawi’s vocational centre.

“I joined it with the aim of learning some skills to become more self- supportive and raise my standard of my living,” she said.

However, by the time she left, she gained something far more valuable: having heard the Gospel through the teaching and staff at African Enterprise, Martha, for the first time, truly received Christ as her Saviour.

Last month, July 2017, Martha was among 22 women who graduated from AE Malawi’s 2017 program – and she couldn’t stop smiling.

“I have learnt to mix with people of all different backgrounds at this course,” she said, “and I hope to be a reliable female tailor in my community.”

But her life had changed in far deeper ways, thanks to AE:

“I have heard the Good News of salvation,” said Martha, “and my life is saved through Jesus Christ, who I received to be Lord and Saviour of my life.”