Missionary profile – Milonde Michael

By Mercy Kambura

Malawian Missionary

I was a very religious boy, always attending the local community church. Teenage hit me like a punch in the throat, and my life took a sharp turn onto Crime Avenue. I became widely known as the community thief and the chief disturber of public peace. But just like the dying thief on the cross, Jesus saved me in the nick of time. I now serve as a missionary in Malawi. I served with Operation Mobilization (OM) for a few years and am now with Youth with a Mission (YWAM).

My criminal activities were funded and supported by a friend. He taught me how to get money and how to take whatever I wanted to sell, starting with eggs from my mother’s chicken coop. I surpassed his training, became better than the teacher, and made my name as a thug.

One time, my cousin went to a certain fellowship and started sharing stories with me about the things happening in that fellowship. He invited me to attend the fellowship, but I was busy being a criminal.

Later, I decided to attend one session. It was a prayer session up on a mountain. After that meeting, God started speaking to me through dreams. I could feel that my life was meaningless without God. But I was also a proud and stubborn young man.

I attended the fellowship thrice, and I could feel God pulling me. I was a criminal who loved walking around with a Bible. One day, I started hearing voices in my head. I thought I was going crazy; I walked all the way to the same mountain where the fellowships used to be held.

“Do you believe in the Bible?” The voice asked. “I do,” I replied to myself. “Then why don’t you follow what you’re reading in the Bible? Can I help you change? All I need is for you to stop what you’re doing and start walking another life.” The voices continued.

I was on the mountain for about two hours. I gave my life to Christ there on the mountain, confessing my sins and professing Christ. God directed me to Jeremiah 1:9-10, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

I started feeling normal, so I went back home. Love for the Bible developed deeply in my heart, and I was reading, enjoying, and understanding it more.

Two days later, I started telling others what I discovered in the Bible. I had the desire to share with people.

I came across the scripture, Matthew 28:18—20. “Go and make disciples of all nations” stuck with me.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go,” I muttered to myself.

I went out to the streets, meeting people and sharing the scriptures with them. I was sharing the verses from Jeremiah and Matthew. I went door to door, talking to people about His word and how we’re asked to go into the world.

An OM missionary from Zambia came to our community. He shared what he was doing and told me that what I was doing was missions! He inspired me and trained me about missions and how to share the heart of Christ with the people.

I joined OM and served with them in Malawi, reaching out to Muslims with the love of God. Later, YWAM came to Malawi, and I joined them after leaving OM. After training with YWAM, I joined them as a local missionary, focusing on reaching Muslims and refugees.

The African Church is fishing from buckets—we’re busy getting the fish from other churches’ buckets. We should not celebrate people moving churches to our church. It’s time to go to the river and the sea and fish men.

#Pray:

For God to keep me strong.
For me to walk in obedience.
For the provision of resources and finances.
For my new role in Dzalekha, Malawi. I’m a new missionary in a new field.