Update on Georgia

Thank you for praying for our family puppy. She is still hurting, but should be fine. The vet said that she bruised her siatic nerve, which caused temporary paralysis in her back leg. Nothing was broken and she's on the mend now.

An interesting thing did happen coming out of the vet visit though. Our vet is a Christian believer who also attends the church we attend. We were able to have coffee and talk for a few hours while I was there. One of the things we talked about was starting a bible study with some of the other men in the area. So, pray for that. It would be a great way to get to know some of our neighbors and encourage one another through the word.

Georgia

Small crisis this evening. Out three month old puppy, Georgia, was hit by a car - our car. She was chasing the car as Kerri was returning from bible study and got a little to close. It seems like she is somewhat ok. We think her back right leg was run over, because she can't put any weight on it. But we think she is well enough to wait for a morning visit to the vet. So, pray for Georgia and the kids that adore her!

FfF

This past weekend, we hosted Zambia's representatives for Foundations for Farming (Ben and Catherine Frampton from the UK). For those of you who don't know, Foundations for Farming is a Christian ministry that was founded in Zimbabwe, Africa. It seeks to empower the "least of these" in Africa with the ability to provide for important physical needs while also addressing the greatest Spiritual need of knowing and following Christ.

FfF is very excited (and vice-versa) about the potential for a partnership in our work here in Chikankata. So, it was nice having Ben and Cat for a visit to share strategies and dream big together. If you would be interested in learning more about Foundations for Farming, you can visit their website at: http://www.foundationsforfarming.org.

Bees

(Movet and Luke filling the sprayer with Bee Poison)

One of the things that we want to start here on the property is a small katemba (grocery store). The purpose is to provide, not only a job for the person(s) running the store, but to use the profits to provide more jobs for some of our neighbors here on the farm. We're very fortunate in the fact that the previous owner of this property outfitted a shipping container with shelves and even a back room that can be locked. They placed it on the back edge of the property and already used this container as a store in the past. So, we thought we would do the same.

But in order to get the store up and running, we had to deal with one minor issue: BEES! Apparently, underneath the floor of this container was a great place for bees to build a hive, a massive hive. So, this past weekend, Movet, Tyson & Luke got the sprayer and some poison and "went to town" spraying. I would have assisted, but it appears as if I might be alergic to bee stings. So, I kept to a safe distance.

Anyways, the container was sprayed and we think the bees that weren't killed won't return because of the poison that is still present. So, hopefully, very soon, we'll open the store!

Discipleship Through Composting?

One of the programs that we feel is going to be a big part of discipleship here in Chikankata is Foundations for Farming. It's built on 4 very basic but life changing principles: Doing things (1) on-time, (2) to a high standard, (3) with no wastage and (4) with Joy!

The third principle, no wastage, simply means being good stewards of the things that God has already given us. In this instance, materials for composting. This past Tuesday, Luke, myself, and three of our workers constructed our first of many compost heaps. It was made up from things you would naturally find in the wilderness (green plant material, brown plant material, sticks and other larger debris, & manure).

It took us nearly 3 hours to construct, but this one pile of compost can fertilize nearly 2 acres of land for an entire planting season. Pretty amazing huh?

And think about the implications for discipleship this compost heap provides. God calls us to be good stewards with everything He has given us, including dead plant material and animal poop ; )

What if we can get the Tonga people to realize just how much God has given them already and how that can be stewarded to provide so much more! Imagine a subsistence farmer who cannot afford fertilizer being able to produce his own from materials already present on his land. How would that change his view of God and his love for us?

God calls us to be faithful with everything He has blessed us with, no matter how little or how much. I can't wait to see the day when many of our friends here start looking, with joy, at what God has already put in their hands to provide for themselves, their families and their communities!

Jerusalem, Judea, ...

(Renee Reeve, Gracyn, Macie & Emma Whitfield on the Reeve's quad)

I think because it has been so long in the making that Luke and I are itching to get out into the surrounding communities and do some ministry. But before reaching to the utter most parts of Chikankata, we really feel like God might have us focus on Jerusalem (the Reeve's farm and their workers) first!

We've been doing a few things to build relationships amongst this community, but within the next week or so, we are planning our first outreach. We will be showing the Jesus film at our home one evening. We're hoping that this event will help us begin to learn who our neighbors are here at the farm as well as to introduce many of them to the gospel of Jesus.

In addition to this, we have also identified 8 young men who we plan on starting a more focused discipleship group. These young men have worked for us part time on occassion and are the same boys who have been playing soccer with Caleb and Thomas.

Please pray for us as we begin to reach out to our immediate community. Pray for this outreach event. Pray for wisdom as we develop relationships with these young men.

Our New Church Home

This past Sunday marked our fourth Sunday at Mazabuka Community Church. For those of you who don't know, this church is our sponsoring church for employment here in Zambia. Pastor Shawn Kelly has been a missionary here in Mazabuka/Chikankata for roughly 16 years and planted this church at a local polo club.

It's been a blessing having a place to plug into for spiritual feeding and development and it's been a great place to meet new friends. It's a little bit intimidating, because I haven't preached very often, but Luke and I have been asked to help out occasionally in preaching and Kerri and Elise will probably get involved with the worship.

It's a very neat little church in that there are people who attend from many different backgrounds. This past Sunday, there was an indian couple, many of the white Zambian farmers as well as some Tonga speaking Zambians. Kind of gives us a sneak peak of what it will be like when people from every tribe, tongue and nation will be gathered before Jesus in worship.

This coming Wednesday, Shawn and a few of the members are coming for tea at our home to visit with us and the Whitfields. Please pray that we will make lasting relationships in this community of believers. Pray that we could be an encouragement to them and vice-versa.