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Malawi Facts
Population: 19,054,000
Capital: Lilongwe
Official Religion: None
Language: Chichewa, Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitmunga, Nyanja, Lomwe, Yawo, Tumbuka, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Lambya, and English
Capital: Lilongwe
Official Religion: None
Language: Chichewa, Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitmunga, Nyanja, Lomwe, Yawo, Tumbuka, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Lambya, and English
The Moller's story
"... by God's commission we have become servants of the church to declare the Word of God in all its fullness."
- Colossians 1:25
We are a family of six who have been ministering to the Yawo people over the past 25 years. Our children, Hannah 18, Michael 16, Mary 12, and Keren 10 have all been raised and schooled here in rural Malawi.
The Yawo are a predominantly Muslim tribe living in the mountains east of lake Malawi. Traditionally subsistence farmers and traders their trade brought them into contact with Arab slave traders along the African east coast, whose religion and trade the Yawo adopted. Notorious throughout the region during the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries for capturing and selling people of neighboring tribes, they were severely marginalized after the abolition of the slave trade. The persecuted tribes adopted Christianity and the Yawo clung to their Islam. Being a Yawo and being a Muslim are considered synonymous. But things are changing and over the past two decades we have seen the footprint of evangelical Christianity grow among the Yawo.
Over the years we have been involved in several ministries but our main focus over these past seven years has been a bible translation into the Yawo language that is natural, clear, and accurate. Although there is still a road to travel with regards to the translation, we rejoice in many books that are now coming to completion.
We have also built a primary school in a very remote area and run this in conjunction with the Malawi government. [ In which First McKinney was very involved in its construction, as well as the renovation of a smaller school.]
In conjunction with the translation project, we also run adult literacy classes in rural villages. This program offers a lot of inspiration to folk who never had the opportunity to attend school and prepares a way for people to engage with the scriptures in their own mother tongue.
We are a holistic biblical ministry to glorify God. Ministering to the Yawo people in a culturally sensitive, non-confrontational manner with the aim of saturating their villages with the Word of God and equipping believers to become an indigenous self-propagating community.
The Yawo are a predominantly Muslim tribe living in the mountains east of lake Malawi. Traditionally subsistence farmers and traders their trade brought them into contact with Arab slave traders along the African east coast, whose religion and trade the Yawo adopted. Notorious throughout the region during the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries for capturing and selling people of neighboring tribes, they were severely marginalized after the abolition of the slave trade. The persecuted tribes adopted Christianity and the Yawo clung to their Islam. Being a Yawo and being a Muslim are considered synonymous. But things are changing and over the past two decades we have seen the footprint of evangelical Christianity grow among the Yawo.
Over the years we have been involved in several ministries but our main focus over these past seven years has been a bible translation into the Yawo language that is natural, clear, and accurate. Although there is still a road to travel with regards to the translation, we rejoice in many books that are now coming to completion.
We have also built a primary school in a very remote area and run this in conjunction with the Malawi government. [ In which First McKinney was very involved in its construction, as well as the renovation of a smaller school.]
In conjunction with the translation project, we also run adult literacy classes in rural villages. This program offers a lot of inspiration to folk who never had the opportunity to attend school and prepares a way for people to engage with the scriptures in their own mother tongue.
We are a holistic biblical ministry to glorify God. Ministering to the Yawo people in a culturally sensitive, non-confrontational manner with the aim of saturating their villages with the Word of God and equipping believers to become an indigenous self-propagating community.
About Malawi
Malawi is a poor, mostly agricultural country rich in beautiful scenery from the spectacular mountain highlands to the expansive lakes that span its long eastern border with Tanzania and Mozambique. While Malawi has no official religion over 75% of the population claim some affiliation to Christianity.