how it began...

---

It was late in 2019 when we saw the photo on Facebook... a church roof with tattered, sun-faded, Samaritan's Purse cartons hanging from the rafters to keep out the rain. It caught our attention because we're Operation Christmas Child volunteers and we pack shoeboxes every year that we put into these cartons and then they are shipped to children all over the world with the message of the Gospel. Long story short... God ended up putting a roof on that church. What followed was nothing short of a miracle. 

In three short years God has enlarged the church, provided hundreds of baptisms; a community well; two homes, food, clothing, and education for over forty orphans; and land for agriculture along with a barn, goats, pigs, chickens, and cows. Pastor Banda's church continues to grow and many are being baptized. God is on the move in Kasungu and it’s a blessing to see Him work through His people.

Last year was a tough year for Pastor Banda and the orphanage, but God has been faithful. The growing season failed to produce due to extremely heavy rain fall. The economic situation is ten times worse in Malawi due to lack of food, very expensive fuel and fuel shortages, and sickness. Pastor Banda has shared with us that there are people that go without food for days in his community but he and his church do their best to help in Jesus name. 

We serve an amazing God who continues to help His people through your generous efforts.  For just $1.25 a day/$40 a month you can help provide the basic needs of a child. Please pray about sponsoring a child in Kasungu, Malawi in Jesus' name!

Pastor Justin Zika-Banda is pastor of the Christ's Love Church in Kasungu, Malawi. He also serves as a full time volunteer with Samaritan's Purse for Operation Christmas Child Malawi as a discipleship coordinator, organizing The Greatest Journey classes for OCC shoebox recipients in his area.

In 2009, Pastor Justin and his family left their home village in Northern Malawi after being called to Kasungu, Malawi. Pastor Justin spent the first years in Kasungu, preaching in two different thatched roof churches that were both blown down and finally ended up preaching under the shade of a Naphini tree. It was there, on that piece of ground, that Christ's Love Church was born.

In 2014 he and his wife, Chrissy, along with a few poor members of the church, began making payments on the quarter acre plot of land where the Naphini tree stood. The total price of the land was 165,000 Kwacha (approx. $225.00 US). It took the small group a little over 2 years to pay for the land. 

In 2015 they had ten members in their little church when God spoke to Pastor Justin and told him to begin making bricks to build a "big church." He and his wife, Chrissy, began making bricks for the new church, and soon all but one member of his congregation had deserted them, thinking they were crazy for building such a big church. During the first week of brick making, he and Chrissy alone, made 250 bricks. The second week they made 300. Soon they were joined by 3 other men, and the 5 of them together, ended up making a total of 30,000 bricks, all by hand. The bricks then had to be burned with fire to make them strong, which took another 2 years. In 2019 the walls finally went up, and soon a roof and electric were provided by donors in the US. As of 2023 the church is growing and thriving with 8 branches and over 500 in attendance.