It is July and that, for SIM Malawi missionaries, can mean only one thing – the annual Spiritual Life Conference. Here we look at our new location and what our speakers will be bringing July means one thing for SIM Malawi missionaries, Spiritual Life Conference (SLC) and the annual pilgrimage to Kamuzu Academy. Well that has been the case for a few years, but SLC2017 has a new look and a new venue: Blue Waters Hotel near Salima. SLC2017, which will run from 24th-29th July, will still be the usual mix of Bible teaching, prayer, catching up, relaxing and fun, but this time with Lake Malawi as the backdrop! The Conference is being put together by a small team, Pete and Jo Ong, Helen Fazakerley and Carolyn Moore, who have been working for several months to pull things together. The Bible teaching this year will be led by two speakers Pastor John Thomas is the Senior Pastor of King of Kings Baptist Church – formerly Fish Hoek Baptist Church – in Cape Town. He is the founder of a Church-based HIV and AIDS organisation called ‘Living Hope’, which was originally started to meet the HIV and AIDS needs within its greater community. John will be speaking on ‘The God who cares’, looking broadly at the character of God and the Biblical basis for compassionate care for the poor, needy and the vulnerable.
Mark Conard and his wife, Stacey, were church-planting missionaries in rural western Zambia for six years during which they came to realise the need for pastoral care in the missionary community. In the years following, Mark served as a military chaplain in both Iraq and Afghanistan, after which they joined SIM. Mark and Stacey worked with the SIM South Sudan team while living in Nairobi, Kenya. Today, Mark is a Chaplain with the SIM Health Ministries Team and promotes spiritual vitality within SIM. Mark will be leading an afternoon session on the member-care aspect of taking care of ourselves against compassion fatigue as we seek to show compassionate care to others. In addition to the programme for the adults, the ‘Young SIM-ers’ will be catered for with their own programme of teaching and fun, no doubt making use of the resort’s swimming pool and the Lake! “We are excited by the new location, and we think it will be a good place for people to come and learn more from God, catch up with friends and just chill for a few days,” said Pete Ong. “Having SLC on the banks of Lake Malawi will open up new possibilities but fellowshipping together around God’s Word and prayer will still be at the centre of what happens.”
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