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Welcome to the
Branch Office of
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES of Malawi
We sincerely hope that your visit to Bethel has been a rewarding one. No doubt it has helped you to become better acquainted with the work that Jehovah’s Witnesses are doing to aid people in their quest for a better future through God’s Kingdom. May your visit to us be an encouragement to you in your efforts to learn about our loving Creator and to live by his righteous standards.
Welcome It is a pleasure to welcome you to the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi. We hope your visit will be a pleasant one. Our complex of buildings is called Bethel, meaning “House of God.” This Biblical name is fitting, because the men and women who live and serve here and at the remote translation office in Mzuzu are ordained ministers. They are dedicated to Jehovah God and devote themselves full-time to supporting the work of Kingdom preaching.
Visiting Hours: Visitors are welcome to take a guided tour of our facilities. The regular visiting hours are: Monday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m We request that larger groups please inform us in advance of their planned visit. ˘ 2001, 2004, 2012 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. fo-E Mw J.G.
In over 235 lands, more than seven million Witnesses of Jehovah are carrying out the commission that Jesus gave his followers—to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) To organize this work, there are over 90 branch offices worldwide-all serving under the direction of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The branch here in Lilongwe supports the ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi and also helps to supply the Witnesses in other countries of Africa with Bibles and Bible literature.
The Bethel Family Bible Instruction Although those serving at this Bethel come from about 10 nations, they can truly be called a family because of their unity in serving their heavenly Father, Jehovah. As a family, they serve together, enjoy meals together, and study the Bible together. In addition, Bethel family members personally share in preaching God’s Kingdom and making disciples. They attend various nearby congregations where many of them serve as elders and ministerial servants. Each workday morning, the Bethel family comes together to consider a Bible text using the booklet Examining the Scriptures Daily. A chairman presides over this 15-minute discussion, and members of the family are assigned to comment on the text. Following the discussion, the family is led in prayer, and breakfast is served. On Monday evenings the entire Bethel family gathers in the Kingdom Hall to study the Bible with the help of The Watchtower. At times, there are special programmes after
The Bethel Home the Watchtower Study. These Bible discussions each workday morning and on Monday evenings are an important part of Bethel life. New members of the Bethel family attend the Bethel Entrants’ School and are expected to read the entire Bible during their first year. Members of the family also make time for personal Bible study. They have access to the Bethel library, which contains the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as many other reference works.
A number of necessary services are performed at Bethel. For example, some volunteers serve in the kitchen, preparing three wholesome meals for the family each day. These meals are served in our comfortable dining room. Other volunteers serve in cleaning maintenance, security, housekeeping, laundry, and landscaping. These services contribute to the family’s high standard of cleanliness —a distinguishing mark of Bethel homes around the world.
Offices The two-storey Office/Services building accommodates various offices that supervise the Kingdom-preaching work in Malawi. Translation offices are located in the adjacent two-storey building.
Kingdom Hall Construction Department This department coordinates the building of Kingdom Halls in Malawi. When still in the planning stage of their projects, congregations constructing new facilities are helped to meet local building codes and various government requirements. The Kingdom Hall Construction Department also ensures that safety standards are adhered to and that high quality work is done. It trains volunteers and organizes them into teams so that congregations with construction projects can be given the best assistance possible.
Service Department Brothers in this department handle correspondence from travelling overseers, elders, pioneers, and others. In addition, the Service Department keeps records of congregation territories and compiles reports of field service activity. This department schedules various theocratic schools, conventions, and assemblies. It also helps arrange for the construction and remodeling of Kingdom Halls.
Hospital Information Desk This department maintains a database of medical articles on alternatives to blood transfusions and makes pertinent information available to medical and legal professionals. Additionally, Hospital Information Services provides training for Hospital Liaison Committees. In turn, these committees provide doctors with the latest research on nonblood medical management and help Jehovah’s Witnesses to find doctors who are willing to treat patients without the use of blood. (Acts 15: 29) There are now over 1,400 such doctors in Malawi.
Bible School for Single Brothers
Translation Department
Worldwide, single elders and ministerial servants from more than 90 countries have been enrolled. Upon completion of the eight-week course, graduates are assigned to serve where there is a need, either in their own country or abroad. The curriculum features an in-depth study of the Bible. Students learn how Jehovah’s people are organized to do God’s will and how they can personally use the Bible more effectively in their field ministry, at congregation meetings, and at assemblies. The Bible School for Single Brothers affords elders and ministerial servants an opportunity to become equipped to widen out in their ministry, with great benefit to themselves and others in the worldwide field.
The English text of our publications is received from headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. The text is translated into Chichewa, Citonga (Malawi), Chiyao, and Malawi Sign language, or MSL. In Mzuzu, a remote translation office cares for translation into Tumbuka. When finished, it is checked for conformity to the English source text. Then the text is proofread to ensure that it adheres to the standards of spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Computer Department This department maintains the computer systems that are used at Bethel, including those that update congregation records in the Service Department, process literature requests, handle purchasing orders, and keep schedules for the Bethel Home. The Computer Department also maintains the systems for e-mail, work processing, and file storage. Other systems cared for in-
clude those involving the Multilanguage Electronic Publishing System (MEPS), the Watchtower Library, and the Web site www.jw.org, from which audio recordings of the Bible, of our magazines, and of Bible dramas can be downloaded.
Recording Studio
Maintenance Department
Bible publications are translated and videotaped for those who use Malawi Sign Language, in an effort to reach the more than 70,000 deaf individuals with the Good News of Gods Kingdom.
Well-equipped workshops support our Bethel operations. These keep our equipment in good repair and handle much of the maintenance of our facilities.
This department prepares audio recordings of the Bible, and Bible-based publications, convention dramas, and sound tracks for videos in four different languages.
Sign Language Studios
Shipping Department Each month literature ordered by the more than 1,300 congregations arrives from South Africa, and then is shipped throughout Malawi by our own trucks to some 416 delivery points in this country. Altogether, the trucks cover more than 150,000 kilometres a year.
Helping Those With Special Needs Jehovah’s Witnesses have produced Braille publications as well as audio and video recordings of the Bible and Bible literature to help the blind and the deaf to comprehend Bible truths and thus equip them to improve their lot in life. Jehovah’s Witnesses have assisted hundreds of thousands of people to read and write in many countries, including many thousands here in Malawi, by means of literacy classes.
Mzuzu Regional Translation Office In the north of the country, the remote translation office in Mzuzu which cares for translation into Chitumbuka, functions like a small Bethel with its own dining room and kitchen. This facility is tied in by telephone each workday morning with the Bethel family in Lilongwe to consider a Bible text using the booklet Examining the Scriptures Daily. On some mornings the programme originates from Mzuzu.
