(1984 to Present)
A child's heart is
what draws us closer to God. God's heart is what draws us
closer to the child in each of us. It is that very same
heart, the heart of a child, that drew me into missions over
twenty years ago. I was a pastor with no missionary
experience whatsoever, and no one to mentor me into it.
Fortunately for me, God had His own plan and would mentor me
Himself. He provided not only the opportunity, but the
very avenue through which I would discover a life-long calling
and passion. It is the face of a child, like the one here,
that causes one to search deep within the fabric of one's soul
that brings the biblical imperative to preach the gospel to all
nations into focus. Without someone to take the gospel to
this child, there is no way that she will be saved! I was
constrained to find a way to fulfill the great commission.
 In 1983, I
received a letter from Malawi, East Central Africa, from a
pastor who was requesting that I come. I accepted that
invitation with excitement, yet caution. I had no point of
reference for the experiences that awaited me. It was the
beginning of the missions program for the R.L.F. In 1984,
I put together our first team consisting of church members.
On our arrival in Malawi, it was evident that I was cut out for
this work. It was challenging, exciting, difficult, but,
yet, exhilarating. We stayed in the home of the pastor
where the smells of the country challenged our own expectations
of what life should be. We were humbled. We
witnessed people who had so little, but put us to shame when it
came to expressing gratitude to God. They would leap
really high with shouts of acclamation to God's greatness.
As they were leaping, I couldn't help but notice the holes in
their shoes, old and dirty shirts, ties, and raggedy trousers.
Man, I had never worshipped God like this. I have so much!
I thought that I worshipped God pretty well. Maybe I did.
Yea, but not like this. It awakened me to a new
appreciation for God and His people. I learned on that
first trip that many of God's people live in squalor around the
world. But the promises of God
 are no less true to them as
they are for us. And though they don't have all the
material things that we have, we saw happy children, loving
families, and generous people who beyond our imagination would
give their last chicken to feed and entertain us in their villages. Sometimes God sends us to people who we think
are less fortunate than ourselves to teach us the reality of our
own misfortune. We have an uncanny ability to use things
to blind us to it. So much of what we value daily in the
USA is not valuable at all, when you see it for what it is.
What is truly valuable are relationships, and family, our
children, the souls of the saved and lost.
 On
my second missionary trip in 1986, I learned this lesson most
poignantly when I almost died of malaria. I thought of
nothing but people. People that I wanted to say I love you
to. I thought of people to whom I needed to say I was
sorry, I was wrong. I wanted to say how I appreciated the
patience shown me and thank you for the contributions made to my
life. Now I pray that I won't have to suffer such
experiences to appreciate what is valuable. The caution
that accompanied me on the first trip was
Pastor Percy & Pastor Morgan
not unwarranted.
I discovered that the people under
the pastor's care were being
used and maltreated.
Two years later, this fact would lead
to the establishment of the R.L.F.
Malawi.
The Lord used it for good, indeed!
 The work of missions
is about lives. Twenty-two years after founding the R.L.F.,
we are now looking to move into our own facilities. We
have grown to a place where this has become a necessity.
Over the years, we have used a large percentage of revenue to
invest in lives. We don't regret it! We believe that
as we have ministered to the poor, and continue to do so, that
God will liberally minister a return to us. Our work in
East Central Africa has endured for twenty years now. It
has been among the most rewarding experiences of our lives.
It has not been easy! But, of course, most things in life
that are worthwhile are not easy. My beloved wife,
Deborah, and I have committed our lives to reaching the world
for Jesus Christ. She travels with me and exhibits a great
love for the African people. I must admit, I would be much
less of a man and missionary if not for her continued
encouragement and participation in the work.
Charles & Deborah Morgan
 Our national
coordinator, Pastor Glenn Mitawa, sends his greetings and
deepest appreciation for the help that they have received over
the years. It is a great testimony to God that the work
continues. Pastor Glenn is a faithful shepherd who has
traveled many miles by walking, by bus, bicycle, and by car when
available. He visits the villages and teaches and exhorts
the pastors who oversee them. He is an extraordinary man
of God who has proven to be a gift to the kingdom of God and to
us.
Pastor Morgan & Pastor Mitawa
 We are sending a
team this coming July 27th, 2005. Pastor John Danford of
New Song Christian Fellowship in North Carolina will lead this
team. Pastor John has been with us from the beginning and
was raised up in the R.L.F. He and Denise Danford spent
two years in Malawi as our first foreign missionaries. He
and I have traveled together many times and many miles over the
years, not only in Africa, but Europe as well. He remains
among my closest confidants and advisors. Denise
coordinates all of our missions activities, and her heart is
still on fire. Would you pray with us that God will
protect and give great wisdom to our team members as they head
out to reassess the work. We are always seeking to become
more effective and efficient.
Mrs. M. Jackson & John Danford
Years ago, I
had a vision to build a missions base in Cape Town, South
Africa. I took a team there in 2003 to participate in a
city-wide evangelistic crusade sponsored by Multi Ministries,
which is headquartered there. One hundred and fifty-five
ministers from fifty-five countries descended on the city. Pastor Mark Tallman was a member of our team. God
connected Pastor Mark with Pastor Percy Umbele of Ocean View
Christian Center where he had an immediate sense that God would
link our two churches together. God had already given
Pastor Mark a vision of this congregation. Amazing!
Today, Ocean View Christian Church is our sister Church.
Pastor Mark has worked diligently to amass finances to build him
a decent home to live in. The plan is on its way to
fulfillment. Mark and his wife, Victoria, will be in Cape
Town for
Mark & Victoria Tallman several months this year encouraging and
assisting
Pastor Percy. They will teach doctrinal truths along with
helps such as marriage conferences, tutelage in sound business
practices and principles, and successful management of
interpersonal and ministry relationships. We are planning
to fly Pastor Percy to Malawi to help out with the ministry and
to build and strengthen the relationship between these two
African churches. This coincides with my vision of
eventually bringing ministers from all over Africa to study and
to be trained systematically in Cape Town. The church is
growing in Africa, but the pastors are poorly taught and
prepared for ministry. The saying is that Africa is a mile
wide and a centimeter deep. This saying speaks of the
ill-preparedness of ministry leaders and their inability to
bring the people to maturity.
We invite your
support as we endeavor to change the world
one person at a time.
Pastor Charles
P. Morgan
"Muli Bwanji" or
"How are you?" is the customary greeting from this country
known as the Warm Heart of Africa. And truly, we, who
have traversed the land, can agree that the people are warm and
friendly.
 Malawi is a small, land-locked country located in East
Central Africa. Its surrounding countries include
Tanzania to the north, Zambia to the west, and Mozambique
bordering on the southwest and southeast. The official
language of Malawi is English (originally a British
territory colonized in 1883), but the national language is
Chichewa. Population is approximately 12 million, with
about 87 to 90% living in rural areas (literacy rate is
about 40%). Needless to say, Malawi's economy is based
primarily on agriculture. Some of its main crops
include maize (corn), tobacco, tea, sugarcane, cotton, etc.
The climate is tropical with three basic seasons: dry
season (August to October), rainy season (November to
April), and cool season (May to July) with ample sunshine
throughout the year.
 Malawi's capital city, Lilongwe, is the location of our
beloved church. Lilongwe's downtown area is
called "City Center," and is quite modern with banks,
hotels, government offices, and commercial businesses.
There is even a large supermarket known as the Hyperstore
(NOT quite Ralph's or Vons). Along with the modern
remains, independent merchants sell from open air
markets and offer a variety of goods including fruits,
vegetables, household and gardening equipment, and
handmade
arts and crafts.
The outlying
areas, away from City Center, are both rural and
residential. Our long-term missionary base is located
in a neighborhood called Area 25. This is where our
senior pastor, Glynn Mittawa, and many of our congregants
live and where our brothers and sisters hold Bible study and
church services. As you drive from downtown to Area
25, passing huge open fields of maize, just off the main
road are different numbered residential areas. For
example, Area 3 is reserved for more affluent residents,
consisting of local businessmen, professionals, US and other
foreign government workers, and missionaries. Other
areas, like Area 25, are a mix of both middle class to
poorer Malawian citizens, and further still, are many
outlying towns and remote villages that have no modern
conveniences nearby. The government discourages
foreigners from living in these areas amongst their less
affluent citizens, and this is probably one of the reasons
our long-term team was asked to leave the country after
living almost two years amongst the people in Area 25.
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