Please Keep Us In Your Thoughts and Prayers

It is 3am in the morning on 1st October 2009; in a few hours time The Lighthouse will be open for business. It has been quite a journey and what has been accomplished here is quite remarkable. Two months ago, this business unit was a shabby, dirty, unloved shell of a place – but no longer. It has been transformed into something very special. It hasn’t been easy and there have been many, many challenges along the way; we’ve had our fair share of setbacks and there have been frustrating and demoralising days galore. Our limited finances have hindered our efforts still further and we have had to curtail some of our plans – for the time being at least. Yet despite all of this, here we are! Finally, we are on the verge of opening and it’s a glorious feeling! The Lighthouse is a wonderful example of what can be achieved through team work; each member of the JTW team has brought their own individual skills and talents to the project. In addition, there has been an array of workers on site and their gifts (painting, carpentry, electrical, building, IT etc) have breathed new life into this place. Believe me when I say that we have all slogged to get the business to this point - are we excited? You bet we are. I wish I could adequately explain to you just how unique The Lighthouse will be in Kasungu. Make no mistake, we have to make money; the business has to be financially viable. Equally important is the knowledge that the more money we make, the more we can accomplish. These are basic realities. But HOW we make that money is at the heart of both our Business Plan and our Mission Statement and this is where The Lighthouse will come into its own. Our standards – in terms of our business environment/facilities, our services and our level of customer care – will be very high. The Lighthouse derives its name from our desire to bear witness to the light of Christ; our aim is and has always been to create a place where the light of God’s love shines out to people. Yet I have come to understand that its name is appropriate for quite another reason - we want to dazzle Kasungu with what we are offering - we want to set an example for others to follow. If this sounds arrogant in any way then I apologise. It truly isn’t meant to. I’m just so inordinately proud of The Lighthouse and of the work that has taken place over the last two months. I have the privilege and the responsibility of being Project Manager and I know how much I have to thank other people for. It isn’t just my JTW colleagues, or the various people who have worked at the business. It is the many, many people back in the UK and the US who have been supporting us and who have been sending us their good wishes – it is the many, many people who have been keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. In other words, it is you! Thank you.

When we open our doors at 8am, we know that we will be opening a new chapter in the life of JTW and in the charitable work it undertakes in Malawi; as we enter the final hours of preparatory work, we need you today more than ever. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. Jayne