Field Trip

One of the advantages of being surrounded by a bunch of farmers who grow food and livestock is that our kids have a plethora of choices for field trips.  A couple of weeks ago, Kerri and the kids were able to visit one such farm, Simonga.

Mike and Sue Arnold were kind enough to host them for the afternoon and show them the inner-workings of their chicken egg, dairy and hay farm.  And the kids loved it.  All of them got a turn milking a cow, watching how eggs were processed and packaged and then topped the afternoon off by jumping on huge stacks of hay.

Really thankful for some of the opportunities that the African bush offers!

National Cooperation

Recently, Luke and I went to Lusaka for a meeting.  It was a meeting with Ben and Cat Frampton the Foundations for Farming representatives in Zambia.  The purpose of the meeting was to bring together some of the ministries that are using Foundations for Farming as a way of teaching and discipleship.  The hope is to be able to work together to have a greater impact across the nation of Zambia.

As we met, we talked about a yearly gathering where ideas, struggles and victories could be shared and we talked about having regional training centers where those interested in Foundations for Faming could come for more in-depth training.  It looks like our little-ole ministry here in Chikankata could be one of those training facilities for ministries working in Southern Zambia to come for training.

Exciting Stuff!

Lwindi Ceremony

(Click HERE to view a short video of the Event)

A few weeks ago, we were invited by Chieftainess Mwenda to the Lwindi Ceremony.  This is the Tonga ceremony for Thanksgiving.  They have it before the planting and harvesting season every year.

The event was much bigger that I even expected.  They had sponsors show up with banners and stands selling drinks and food.  And they had special guests from government arrive, including the DC for Chikankata (basically like a mayor).  He shared a few minutes as well as the Chieftainess.

We were able to watch some tribal dancing and listen to local music..  We also got to meet some new faces around where we live and minister.

I’m so thankful that the Chieftainess thought of inviting us as we experienced a new part of the culture that, before, we were unaware of.

Vet Visit?

So, our car has been in the shop now for 7+ weeks, but life still goes on without it.  One such task that had to be accomplished in the car's absence was getting our chocolate lab pup "Boomer" to the vet for his 2nd line of vaccines.  What does a boy do when he can't throw his dog in the back of the car to take him to the vet?

You guessed it.  He puts him in a backpack, ties it tight enough to keep him in, but loose enough not to strangle him and rides his motorbike.  Boomer didn't appreciate the ride as much as his owner.  When I got back home, he wouldn't come to me for a few minutes.  I think he was afraid that I'd put him back in the bag and back on the motorcycle.

Meet Peter

Peter is a new friend of ours.  I first met Peter through the farm owner, my friend Campbell.  Campbell is doing something quite unusual for a commercial farmer here.  He's planting 60 acres of maize by hand.  That's right, no machinery!  And Peter is the guy that will be supervising all of the workers performing this large task.

In addition to being a supervisor, Peter pastors a small congregation at a church located on the farm.  He has pastored this church for many, many years.  And it's refreshing to see his zeal for this church and for the gospel.  That's why I'm writing this post.  We have decided to partner with Peter in two specific projects over the next 2 months.

Later this month, his church will be coordinating a Jesus Film outreach at the church for the local Tongas.  We will be assisting them in training the leadership team that will do this outreach as well as setting up the equipment for the film.  We're excited to see how God will use this film through this local church to reach this community.

We're also excited about the opportunity that we have through Peter to do a demonstration plot and discipleship program this planting season using Foundations for Farming.  Peter will be planting a demonstration plot on the border of the farm and working with a few locals to plant their own plot.  Peter is super excited about the project, as are we.  We'll definitely have to post another update as things progress!

Called For Such A Time

My wife was recently invited, along with 4 other lovely ladies, to share her life experiences in faith on a new blog. Check it out if you get a chance!

Here's a link to her first post (Called to Believe):  http://calledforsuchatime.com/called-to-believe/!