Malawi

Pastor Moffat Phiri, a native of Malawi, has been planting churches in northern Malawi for 20 years. Rosemary Gibbons, originally from Missouri, went to Africa in 1998 to help in leadership training for the church leaders in Malawi. The Lord reminded her of her call to missions early in her life and after selling her consulting business, she gave away most of her possessions to go to Malawi. There, she met Moffat and they married. In 2001, Moffat and Rosemary started Victory Christian Temple in their home in Mzuzu, Malawi with 12 members. It has grown to more than 500 members and they are currently constructing a new building that Brooklyn Tabernacle has helped fund. In 2002, they founded an orphan care center in a surrounding village, caring for 12 orphans whose parents died of AIDS. Their ministry also provides meals for 100 people, including AIDS orphans and poor senior citizens.

Malawi is ranked among the poorest countries in the world. Its economy is ranked 227 out of 231. Its life expectancy is ranked 222 out of 223 (next to last) in life expectancy: 37 years. Malawi has suffered extreme drought and severe famine in the past few years. In 2005/2006, 4.6 million of Malawi's 12 million citizens needed emergency food aid. The AIDS pandemic in Malawi has led to an infection rate of 15% of all adults and left 900,000 children without one or both parents. 60% of the population makes less than a dollar a day. Half of all children are stunted in their growth.