Three Months in Malta

QE2 at Valletta, Malta

We recently spent three months in Malta to consolidate the preaching work being done on the island. We decided to set up a free video film loan service, which included delivery and collection, using Bible-based videos. Over the years we had collected many videos produced by Christadelphian and other organisations. In addition, three films in Maltese had been produced by Charles Falzon, a Maltese now living in Australia.

We began the work by billing in Sliema and very soon the telephone was ringing with people wanting to see the videos. The list of contacts grew rapidly and we found ourselves delivering and collecting videos every day except Sunday. Planning the circulation of the films became a major task. It was quite a juggling act to make sure that a fresh one was available when one was returned.

We were invited into a number of homes and were able to have some most interesting conversations about the Bible. Most Maltese can speak English, although we found that it was difficult to hold a detailed conversation in English and misunderstandings sometimes arose.

An elderly man called Emmanuel and his wife became good friends with us. He was always looking up Bible passages and copying them into an exercise book as proofs of Bible teachings. He had purchased a Maltese Bible and was astounded to discover that the tenets of the established Church which had published his Bible contradicted so much of what it taught. Emmanuel was baptised into Christ on 5 February 1999.

The apostle Paul's stay in Malta, 60-61 AD (Acts of the Apostles 28:1-11) . . . we learned that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold . . . Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery; and Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They presented many gifts to us; and when we sailed, they put on board whatever we needed. After three months we set sail in a ship which had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the Twin Brothers as figurehead.

Philip and Sheila Sykes
from The Bible Missionary, no. 152, April 1999

Information about Malta