The Torch

May 2018

Produced and published by Torch Trustthe Christian organisation with

a worldwide vision for people with sightloss

Large print 25pt

Torch House, Torch Way,Market Harborough, LeicsLE16 9HL, UKt: +44 (0)1858 438260e: info@torchtrust.org – w:torchtrust.org

The Torch Trust for the Blind a charityregistered in England and Walesno. 1095904. A company limited byguarantee no. 4616526

T T is available on audio CD, inbraille, email and large print and can bedownloaded from the Torch website asan HTML file.

Note: all extracts and articles appearingin T T are used with permissionand do not necessarily reflect the viewsof Torch Trust.

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Contents

Of first importance ...................... 4

Mr Mdaiwa’s mercy...................... 9

Holy habits.................................. 16

Hearts Aflame ............................. 19

Caleb – man of God ...................... 25

Where did it come from? .............. 30

Blessings in Malawi ..................... 32

Hope ........................................... 33

Get going for the gospel!.............. 36

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Of first importance

[Dr Gordon Temple, Torch’s outgoingCEO, introduces this issue with somereflections on his 47 years’ connectionwith Torch, and thoughts on what hesees as the two most significant valuesthe organisation holds dear]

Moving towards the close of one of hisletters, the apostle Paul brings to hisreaders something of vital importance:

‘Now, brothers and sisters,I want to remind you of thegospel I preached to you,which you received and onwhich you have taken yourstand. By this gospel you aresaved, if you hold firmly to theword I preached to you.Otherwise, you have believedin vain. For what I receivedI passed on to you as of first

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importance: that Christ diedfor our sins according to theScriptures,that he was buried,that he was raised on the thirdday according to theScriptures . . . ’

1 Corinthians 15:1–4

You’ll notice that what Paul thinks ismost important is not one thing butthree. I want to echo Paul. There isnothing more important than these: thedeath, burial and resurrection of Jesus.They are the events of first importancein all of history.

This Easter I stepped down from theleadership of Torch Trust after 16challenging but fulfilling years as chiefexecutive. It’s time to pass theleadership of our vital ministry intofresh and younger hands.

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After interviews and prayerfulconsideration, the trustees haveappointed Julia Hyde as Acting ChiefExecutive Officer to lead this ministryinto the future that God has for it. I praythat she knows the same strengtheningand encouragement that I have found inserving God through Torch. I ask that asyou have supported me with yourprayers, you now support her.

I find myself thinking, as Paul musthave done, ‘What should I pass on tothose who continue?’ My years oflearning and experience should not belost. And, of all the things feel I shouldpass on, everything that I feel must notbe forgotten, what is of firstimportance?

Some years ago, with the help of ourfriend Rev Roy Searle, we set out tocapture in words the values thatcharacterise Torch. Values don’t definethe activities of Torch but rather set out

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the we approach what we do. Theyreflect the way God has led us andshape the way we do things now.

In thinking about the future of Torch, itis these values I most wish toemphasise. Activities, projects andprogrammes come and go. But theongoing values Torch holds remain:Christ-centred, People-focussed, Open,and Creative. And for me, it’s the firsttwo of these that are of primeimportance.

Torch is Christ-centred. The Torch Trustis a Christian organisation, called intoexistence by his word to Torch’sco-founder Stella Heath. It means thatwe recognise that Jesus is Lord. This isnot just something we declare with ourlips, but we accept him as King over allwe seek to do, aiming always to do it inhis way.

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Torch is People-focussed. God calledTorch into existence to serve peopleimpacted by sight loss to whateverdegree, to enable them to discoverChristian faith and live fulfillingChristian lives. The way we do this isrelational. Our focus is not theprogramme or the project, but theperson. Our desire is that people withsight loss find true identity inrelationship with Christ, and find theirsecurity and belonging in relationship toothers in a Jesus-centred community.

When Jesus was asked which is the mostimportant commandment, he repliedwith two which, he observed, togethersum up all the other commandments:‘Love the Lord your God’ and ‘Love yourneighbour as yourself.’

This challenge comes to us all: to liveChrist-centred lives as an expression ofour love for our Lord and to show love

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with words and deeds among the peoplehe has called us to serve.

In closing, I should add that Julia Hydehas asked that I continue to edit thismagazine, at least for the next couple ofeditions. So until next time, God blessyou all!

Mr Mdaiwa’s mercy

Now for something a little different.Amisadai Monger, aged just 13, has livedmost of her life in Tanzania, where herfamily served as missionaries in theMwanza region. This is her winningentry in a short story competition. It’sset in the modern-day village ofKayenze on Lake Victoria and is basedon the parable of the unmerciful servantfound in Matthew 18:23–35.

The red sun was emerging from thedepths of Lake Victoria. Fishermen

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tugged at their nets full of dagaa (smallfish). Mr Mdaiwa stood at the shorelistening contentedly to the friendlyhustle and bustle of the nearby market.‘Bei nzuri! (Good price!)’ merchantscried as they lured buyers to their stallsof mangoes and pineapples.

‘Mdaiwa!’

A shrill voice cut through the gentlelapping of the water of Lake Victoriaand the squawks of Malibu storks.Mdaiwa turned around, annoyed. Hegroaned inwardly, it was none otherthan his obnoxious neighbour, Tatizo.

‘What do you want?’ scowled Mdaiwa.He looked into Tatizo’s sneering face.

‘The Mwenyekiti (village chairman), MrSamehe, wants to see you. He wants themoney you owe him.’

Mdaiwa’s face dropped. He had beendreading this day. He owed Mr Samehe

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a very large sum of money which hehadn’t managed to repay . . . yet. Hewould find a way. But for the moment,he would have to face the Mwenyekiti’swrath. Mdaiwa set off towards thevillage office, trudging slowly, trying toignore Tatizo’s taunting jeers.

Mr Samehe was sitting at the singlewooden table in the shadows of thesmall office. ‘Mr Mdaiwa, I loanedyou 100,000 shillings for your new boat.You promised the money back after onemonth.’ He clapped his hands sharplytogether. ‘It has been five months andstill you have not laid down the money.Where is it, Mdaiwa?’

Mr Samehe frowned at Mdaiwa frombehind his desk, crinkles forming on hisforehead.

Mdaiwa wiped the sweat from his brow.He didn’t have the money. He had used

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it for a relative’s wedding and did nothave enough to buy a new boat.

‘Please, Mr Samehe, I will repay it! Giveme more time, I beg of you! Just onemore month,’ Mdaiwa beseeched.

‘Ehhhheee,’ Mr Samehe exclaimedcrossly. ‘You must give it now.’

Mdaiwa knew he could not repay thatmoney. And how would he get themoney if he didn’t have a boat to catchfish? If he could not fish, how would heand his wife and seven children live?No, he would have to sell everythingand his older children would have to goto the city to beg for money. He pleadedfor forgiveness and mercy.

Me Samehe looked at him withcompassion. ‘Sawa (okay), Mr Mdaiwa,I will have mercy on you. I shall cancelyour debt altogether!’

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‘Asante, Bwana! (Thank you, sir!) I amforever grateful!’

Mdaiwa shook Mr Samehe’s hand andquickly made his way back down the dirttrack to his house. As he walkedthrough the fields of brown-tippedmaize, he came across Mama Rehemacarrying her buckets of water back fromthe lake. She was a widow, one ofMdaiwa’s neighbours, and owedhim 10,000 shillings which she hadborrowed for medicine for her sick child.

Mdaiwa stopped her in the path.‘Rehema, where is my money? Youshould have repaid it ages ago. Nipepesa! (Give me money!)’

‘Please Mdaiwa, my child has been sosick. She has malaria again and I stillneed the money for more dawa(medicine). I’ll give it to you once mychild is better. I promise!’ she implored.

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‘That’s no excuse. Your child is not sosick. See, she still cooks ugali (maizedish) and sweeps the dust off yourfloors! Give me the money! If you don’tI will take your goats and throw you outof your house.’

Rehema begged his forgiveness, but MrMdaiwa refused to listen. In the end shewept and ran off in the direction of herhouse.

Tatizo had seen and heard the wholeencounter. He soon passed by otherneighbours and told them how Mdaiwa,despite being forgiven his debt, wasrefusing to forgive the debt of widowRehema. The neighbours took the newsback to Mr Samehe, the Mwenyekiti.

Later that day, as the sun began to sinkinto the glistening lake, Mr Samehe andsome of the other village leaders stoodat the doorway of Mdawai’s tiny houseoverlooking the lake. Mdawai could tell

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by the fierce look on the Mwenyekiti’sface that he was not just coming toshare his ugali.

‘Mdaiwa, I had mercy on you just thismorning by cancelling your debtcompletely. Why then do you not havemercy on your fellows? Why did youthreaten poor Rehema with taking hergoats and throwing her out of herhouse? She owed you only 10,000shillings, whereas you owedme 100,000 shillings. Surely you arethe one to be punished. You must sellall your belongings, including your oldboat and house, to repay your debt.Your children will have to beg on thestreets of Mwanza, and you . . . youshall be put in the village jail. Let thisbe a lesson to you.’

‘Then Peter came to Jesus andasked, ‘Lord, how many timesshall I forgive my brother or

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sister who sins against me?Up to seven times?’

Jesus answered, “I tell you,not seven times, butseventy-seven times.”’

Matthew 18:21–22

Holy habits

[Hopefully, mercy and generosity toothers become habits of life as we getto know Jesus more. In this next piece,James Catford, former chief executive ofthe Bible Society of England and Waleschallenges us about what he calls holyhabits]

Brushing my teeth is a daily ritual –a habit formed decades ago withoccasional resistance and a healthy doseof parental supervision.

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Now I’d need to work hard to not cleanmy teeth in the morning. I’d need tosay, ‘Don’t head for the bathroom, don’treach for the toothpaste, don’t squeezeit onto the toothbrush.’

In the same way, it’s perfectly possibleto wake up each morning praying.

Habits take no more than three monthsto form. What is agonising at first canbecome second nature. It would beharder not to do them.

It was Dallas Willard, the Americanphilosopher who writes on Christianspiritual formation, who told me aboutwaking up praying. For Dallas it wasn’tabout running through the day tellingGod what he wanted done . . . rather,Dallas would pray through his dayreleasing each part to the divineintervention of the Holy Spirit. Thisgives us the opportunity to relinquishcontrol and press more fully into God.

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‘I can’t make this work’ is my mostcommon prayer in the morning, as I turnthe day over to God and watch how hewalks with me through it.

Holy habits, as Richard Forster callsthem in his widely acclaimed book onspiritual disciplines called Celebrationof Discipline, are a wonderful grace forus. They are not law but practices thatChristians down the ages have oftenfound transformative.

Getting into work early can give usa few minutes’ peace with a cup ofcoffee. A sacred moment. Simplyplacing our hands around a mug in anattitude of prayer can be a silent act ofrelinquishment, of supplication, and oflistening.

English writer and theologian G KChesterton (1874–1936) said, ‘You saygrace before eating a meal. I say grace

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before reading the morning paper oropening the door to a friend.’

Taking his idea further, we can let thephone ring one more time as we inviteGod into our conversation. Or we canvolunteer to make coffee, or do themundane job at work, and practice thehabit of pausing as we do so toreconnect with God.

However busy we are and whatever ourpractice or personality, everyone canfind sacred pauses like this. We foldGod into our lives or, more accurately,we fold our little kingdoms into God’sfar greater kingdom.

Hearts Aflame

Stella Heath, who co-founded TorchTrust and edited this magazine for manyyears, wrote many articles and books. Amanuscript left unfinished at her death

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in 2009 has now been completed by hercompanion of many years, Eileen Cole.The theme – opening up the OldTestament to today’s readers – is a vitalone. In this edited extract from HA, Stella Heath looks at keylessons in the life of Abraham.

1. Abraham was chosen byGod

God chose a faithful man, Abraham, tobecome the father of a special nation inwhich the Messiah, the delivererpromised to Eve, would eventually beborn. The Messiah would defeat thedevil, the enemy of all good. (SeeNehemiah 9:7,8.)

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2. Abraham was called byGod

Abraham lived in Ur of the Chaldees(Babylon), a well-developed city, whichhad a high standard of living.I remember years ago visitinga museum which had just receivedartefacts from the city of Ur. I wasallowed to hold a beautiful turquoisevase which had been dated as belongingto the time of Abraham. The vase wasexquisite, gracefully shaped, and heavy.

The city of Ur was full of such beauty,but it was also full of idolatrousworship. In the centre of the city was anenormous structure called a ziggurat,where the moon and many other godswere worshipped, with practices whichinvolved murder and hideous crimesagainst humanity.

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Abraham lived with his family in theheart of this city. One day God called,‘’Leave this affluent, idolatrous place,and get out!’

What a challenge! How could he leavehis home and all his friends? Abraham’sfather, Terah, had many servants andrelied on his son to help him organisethe household. Abraham must have hadsome knowledge of God at that time,but could he trust God enough to obeyhim?

Yes, he could! He moved out of Ur, andtravelled to the city of Haran, where hestayed with his ageing father. After theold man’s death, God renewed his call toAbraham (Genesis 12:1–3.)

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3. Abraham believed Godand obeyed the call

It’s no wonder that Abraham was calledthe Father of the Faithful, for, againstall odds, he believed God. Romans 4:3quotes an Old Testament statement(Genesis 15:6): ‘Abraham believed God,and God accepted Abraham’s faith, andthat faith made him right with God’(NCV).

The call of Abraham is mentioned inHebrews 11:8,9, where the writeremphasises Abraham’s great faith:‘Abraham had faith and obeyed God. Hewas told to go the land that God hadsaid would be his, and he left fora country he had never seen. BecauseAbraham had faith, he lived asa stranger in the promised land’ (CEV).

When he began to establish his homelife in the new land, Abraham was aware

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of the need for sacrifice for sin. He builtaltars at many of his campsites, whichshows that he placed the worship of theone true God high on his family’sagenda. Abraham talked with God, wasled by God and obeyed God.

Our link with Abraham

Abraham is a great example to us today,as his faith in God was so strong. Thosewho trust in Jesus as their Saviour arecalled into a relationship with him too.We are told in Galatians 3:26–29: ‘Youare all children of God through faith inChrist Jesus . . . You belong to Christ, soyou are Abraham’s descendants. Youwill inherit all of God’s promises,because of the promise God made toAbraham’ (NCV).

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Pause for thought

Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith is itimpossible to please God. Abraham wasoutstanding because of his faith, andthe more he walked with God the morehis faith grew. That is the same today.As we get to know God, we are stronger,and more able to believe him.

Caleb – man of God

[In our next article we turn from onegiant of the Old Testament to another:Caleb. This edited study has beenwritten by regular contributor MichaelStafford, a missionary in Africa beforespending many years serving with TorchTrust. It comes from his book G’S P, published by TorchTrust and available in various formats.]

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Caleb was a pattern of what a man ofGod should be: consistent in youth,middle age and old age.

He was ardent in youth

We first encounter Caleb as a youngman in Numbers 13 where Moses hadsent 12 men to spy out the land ofCanaan and report back to him. Theaccount of this story is a sad one: thespies discovered a wonderful, fruitfulland which would make a great homefor God’s people but there wereintimidating enemies who were sostrong and fearsome that 10 of the spiesfelt they could never be overcome.Caleb alone spoke out, claiming that,with God’s enabling, they could defeatthe enemy and occupy the land.However, the people would not listen.

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They were like a crowd of frightenedsheep and even tried to stone Caleb.

There have been many ‘lone voices’through the years, both in Christianityand politics. Christian examples wouldbe William Carey, the father of themissionary movement who was opposedin his missionary plans by his ownchurch, and William Wilberforce wholobbied . . . for many years to end slavetrading.

The Lord said to Moses: ‘ . . . becausemy servant Caleb has a different spiritand follows me wholeheartedly, I willbring him to the land he went to, andhis descendants will inherit it’(Numbers 14:22–24).

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He was steadfast inmiddle age

The enthusiasm of youth often wanes inlater life, but this did not happen withCaleb, who endured the next 40 years ofwandering and suffering with theIsraelites, yet clung to the promises ofGod.

The hardest thing in the Christian life isnot the challenges and the excitingthings, but the daily slog and apparentlack of God at work even though wepray. Unless, like Caleb, we cling toGod’s promises, we will go downhill inour Christian life . . . Caleb kept in mindthe future possession of the land Godwas giving them. He was a man withvision, and we also need to keep in viewthe glorious future which God haspromised us.

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He was undaunted in oldage

The next significant mention of Caleb isfound in the book of Joshua, when hewas 85 years old!

After the Israelites had entered theland, Joshua apportioned different areasamong the tribes, and within thoseareas individual people were givenpieces of land. Thus we find Caleb inchapter 14 petitioning Joshua for land inHebron:

‘ . . . I am still as strong today as theday Moses sent me out; I’m justa vigorous to go out to battle now asI was then . . . You yourself heard . . .that the Anakites were there and theircities were large and fortified, but, theLord helping me, I will drive them outjust as he said.’

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Caleb did not have Hebron handed tohim on a plate! He had to fight for it. Itwas the very place where the giantswere – and it was a mountain! Hesucceeded in possessing this placebecause he ‘wholly followed the Lord’.There were no half-measures orcompromises

. . . Caleb’s faith was not confined toa particular era of his life. He wasconsistent right through to old age . . . .Do you trust God like that? Do youdepend utterly on him? He is able tosave; he is able to keep.

Where did it come from?

Janet Stafford, Michael’s wife andTorch’s International Leader, has beenvisiting blind and partially sightedpeople in Malawi for over 25 years,distributing aid, speaking at churches

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and conferences, and holding basicclinics. She has a wealth of stories ofanswered prayer and miracles. Here’sone of them:

Bonde, a partially sighted man, was ableto support his family by making dressesand other items with the sewingmachine we had given him. He wasdiagnosed with HIV/AIDS and had manysores on his body and especially hisback, but there was no chemist nearbyto buy and medical items. Bonde wasdue to come to have his dressingschanged, and while I was waiting forhim I decided to open a few of the boxesof goods that had come in the containerfrom the UK.

Out of over 200 boxes that still neededopening, I chose a box of shoes. Well,I couldn’t believe my eyes, as there,attached inside the lid of the box, wasa packet of large plasters! I was soexcited, for many reasons. The fact of

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opening that particular box out ofabout 200 was surely the Lord’s leading.How did plasters get into a box thatcontained shoes? God had heard myheart’s desire. What joy and delight!This was such an encouragement toBonde as it made him realise how muchGod really cared for him, especially inthe days that were so difficult for him.

As his body got weaker he was unable tocome for his dressings to be changed, soI went to him. Then one day I receiveda message: Bonde had slipped away tobe with Jesus. He was now out of hispain and suffering.

Blessings in Malawi

Next I bring you a greeting from one ofTorch’s blind trustees, MacdonaldTembo. Macdonald wrote to me rejoicingafter the Easter season prayer gathering

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at Konsere, attended by almost 500people with sight loss. He said:

“The messages delivered during theprayer gathering centred much onsalvation. Many speakers encouragedthe assembly that we should not lookdown upon ourselves . . . being blinddoes not deny us to enter heaven. Wetoo are God’s children . . . the only thingis to have faith in Jesus and believe inour hearts that he is our Saviour and theSon of God.”

Hope

[Now come some thoughts on hope –a gift from God which we all need. Thisshort piece has been written by PaulaKing, who works in Torch House inEngland as one of the Client Servicesteam.]

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Are you someone who hopes formaterialistic or emotional fulfilment?Do you hope your football team winsthat important match? Do you put yourhope in outcomes such as meeting theperson of your dreams, or beingwealthy, to make your dreams cometrue?

Be honest! It’s very easy to get caughtup in the trappings of everyday life andits expectations.

What about spiritual hope? Surely thatis something so much deeper and morefulfilling than anything you canimagine? How do you feel about puttingall your hopes in God, in his plan for youas you go through life’s journey? That iswhat we are called to do as Christians.So, why don’t we? Do we lack trust inGod’s plan for us? Knowing thatspiritual hope is so much richer andmore immeasurable than anything we

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can imagine, surely it should bea natural thing to do.

Psalm 25:5 says, ‘Guide me in your truthand teach me, for you are God mySaviour, and my hope is in you all daylong.’ In Psalm 33:20 we read, ‘We waitin hope for the Lord; He is our help andshield.’ There are many other versesabout hope in the Bible. The word ‘hope’appears 180 times in the NIV (English)Bible. You may recall being told that ifa phrase or word is repeated, then it isbecause God is telling us something isimportant and we need to listen to it.

Perhaps the message about spiritualhope is something you need to hear andattend to today. Are you withoutspiritual hope? Are you too entangled inthe daily mire that you cannot see anyhope? I encourage you to lift your eyesto the Lord, as he meets you where youare, taking you by the hand.

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Get going for the gospel!

[We all long to see the Gospel transformour own communities around the world.But how do we do that effectively?Here, in this final short article, churchleader Yemi Adedeji and Gavin Calver,Director of Mission for the EvangelicalAlliance in the UK, give us somechallenges around these compellingwords of Jesus from Matthew 28]

Then Jesus came to them andsaid, ‘All authority in heavenand on earth has been given tome. Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations,baptising them in the name ofthe Father and of the Son andof the Holy Spirit, and teachingthem to obey everythingI have commanded you. Andsurely I am with you always, tothe very end of the age.’

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First, get going! In the GreatCommission in Matthew 28, the Greekwhich we translate ‘therefore go’ isa mixture of tenses. It’s past, presentand future. Jesus is saying, ‘Whereveryou have been, wherever you are, andwherever you are going, makedisciples.’ But you need to ‘go’! It wasas Jesus’s followers fell down in totaladoration of him, lost in wonder, loverand praise, they were inspired to go onmission. So the first part intransforming lives is to get going.

And, says Yemi, it is this passion for thegospel which inspires us to transform:‘In working together, we have to feelthat faith is contagious and share in theministry together, from whateverbackground we are from.’

Second . . . we are called not to makedecisions, but to make disciples. Analtogether tougher task! The GreatCommission is always directed

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outwards, to the unreached. Jesus meta downtrodden woman from anunreached Samaritan tribe, whoprobably worshipped another god. Hereached out to her in a conversation thatengaged her world, but was also quickto direct the conversation onto herknowing the person of Christ and thetransformation that comes by followinghim. Says Gavin: ‘Every location isa sharing opportunity – the market, theschool playground and our workplaces;locations where we live Jesus, showJesus and help others to walk like Jesus.’

When this seems hard we mustremember that nothing shall ever rob usof Jesus’s presence. He adds, ‘Matthewgives us the assurance that this baby tobe born would be Immanuel (‘God withus’ Matthew 1:23), and closes with theassurance that he is still with us, untilthe end of time.

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