Call Renewed

A letter from Tyler Holm serving in Malawi

January 2015

Hello from Malawi!

We are grateful for the opportunity to help meet the needs of our sisters and brothers in Christ in Malawi and for the challenges of our positions here.  We have exciting news that we have renewed our call to Presbyterian World Mission as mission co-workers alongside our amazing partners the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Synod of Livingstonia and will be based in Mzuzu until 2019.

Our jobs will remain the same here in Malawi for the most part. I will continue to teach theology at the University of Livingstonia, one of the synod’s institutions.  The Faculty of Theology on the Ekwendeni campus is training future pastors for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP).  Tyler’s skills in teaching theology are built on an unwavering passion to follow Christ’s call.

Holm Family 2014

In addition, less than 1 percent of the population has access to a university education, one of the lowest rates in the world. There are several vibrant churches in Malawi, but there is a great need of many congregations for a trained minister.  In 2003 a survey reported there was just one ordained minister for every 7,000 catechized members for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. The CCAP was formed in the late 1940s and has been supported by many mission workers over the years.

Rochelle will continue to manage the Mzuzu University Water and Sanitation Centres, which are committed to sustainability of clean water and improved sanitation in northern Malawi and beyond.

We had been volunteering on a short-term basis through mission trips in northern Malawi since 2007, which led us to be called to serve more permanently and make Malawi our home in 2012.

There are many ways to partner with us in the New Year:

• Prayer support.  This might include prayers as part of worship services, or by small groups, youth groups, mission committee members, or individuals. 
  We know we will be faced with difficult situations, from the daily struggle to understand the local language up to unexplained sicknesses.  Through it all, with your help, we will be sustained by the knowledge that hundreds of Presbyterians around the country are holding us and our ministry in prayer.
• Engage with the mission ministry so that you learn what to pray for.  This might include reading the letters from us and printing excerpts in the church newsletter, displaying photos on a bulletin board, or listing us in the church bulletin. 
  We would love to connect with you and get your church newsletter, even though we might not know the individuals named.  It will be a connection to life back in the U.S. and it will help keep us be connected with you.  We love to get mail!  Letters and care packages (especially chocolate!) tend to arrive when God knows that we need them most.
• Financial support.  This might include a regular line in the church budget, a suggested offering per member, or a collection on a particular day. 
  We are thankful for those partners who have come alongside us as awesome supporters.  Would you consider partnering in 2015 with us in this ministry? If you are interested in helping with our needed financial support, tax-deductible contributions can be made to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.  In the memo line on the check, or with a note included, write: Presbyterian World Mission—Rochelle and Tyler Holm (Account D507572 from churches or E074868 from individuals and non-church organizations).
  

  Tyler Holm during a lecture recently at the Faculty of Theology

• In addition to our needed financial support, consider contributing to scholarships at the Faculty of Theology.
  The Faculty of Theology at the University of Livingstonia is seeking to train local individuals to answer the need for trained leaders in churches through Malawi.  Full scholarships for an academic year are USD $5,000. This covers all tuition, fees and living expenses, as all students stay on campus.  Please send your contribution to the above address, and write in the memo line, University of Livingstonia scholarships (Account E052124). Also, if you would like updates on the students the scholarships support please let us know and we would be happy to provide individual updates to you on their progress.

Thank you for partnering with us to serve the people of Malawi, and we are grateful for you.  We treasure your great love and encouragement, and we are thankful that God has permitted us to reach this point and continue in 2015 in the world of theological education, water, and sanitation in Malawi. With the addition of baby Mphatso, now more than ever we feel called to service in Malawi. In the New Year we pray that God gives you energy and stamina in your journey and being a blessing to others; you surely are that to us.

Tyler Holm

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 156