Meet the Mwale Family
Khembo was born in Malawi in a little village called Kasiya. At seven, his parents moved to Zimbabwe which at that time was called Rhodesia. Khembo returned to Malawi with his mother when he was fifteen. He found Malawi very strange, and it was difficult for him to make a living. Due to the hard life, Khembo was not able to go beyond an eighth grade education. Through instruction from his mother, he learned to grow the food they needed to survive. Before coming to school, Khembo farmed 35 acres to provide for his family. At one point, he tried a small business but was not able to keep it working.
Khembo met his first wife in his twenties, and they had five children. In 1996, she died leaving Khembo with the children and hard burden of care and food. In 2000, he married Falesi to whom he is still married. They have six children together. Of the eleven children, eight have married, and the youngest three are still at home in primary school.
After the death of his first wife, Khembo was baptized in 1997. Khembo believes he has a great responsibility to work for the Lord. He is very thankful to be here at the school and learning as much as he can. At age 64, Khembo is the oldest student. As would be expected, Khembo struggled when the classes began. It had been almost 50 years since he had been in school. However, through hard work and a determined mind, Khembo has been able to do very well.
Falesi has been a tremendous asset to the student body. In addition to caring for her own children, she is the campus “grandma”. If the other mothers need to leave campus for food, she is more than willing to watch their children with the same nurturing heart she has for her own. When a little child gets upset for one reason or another, she is more than willing to hold and wipe the tears away.
A Dedicated Group
At this point in the program, we are over half way through the classes. Even though the schedule is very rigorous and the classes are getting harder, all the students are keeping their noses to the grindstone. The students will have a longer break at the end of July, and then they will return for the last 16 classes. Please pray for these families to continue to stay focused and finish strong.
Dale Kastner