Reaching a Nation through Schools?

A really neat opportunity has basically landed in our laps, but one that we think could have significant reach when it comes to the gospel going forth in Zambia.  A local school, Terranova Basic School, has asked us to assist them in creating an agricultural program with it's foundation rooted in the truths of Scripture.

This past Thursday, was the 2nd meeting that we have had with teachers and students from the school who are part of a committee who will be assisting us in implementing this program.  Currently, the school has a plot of land on site with access to water.  We hope to work with them to clear this land within the next few weeks and begin a weekly discipleship program teaching kids from grade 2 to 12 about honoring God through farming.

The beauty of this program is that it is rooted in Scripture and teaches kids to look at what God is doing in nature and learn from His ways.  Then apply these ways in their farming as well as their personal everyday lives.

Here's a simple lesson that will be taught during our time there, but one which I hope gives you insight into the potential of opening the eyes and ears of these children to their creator through farming:

In this program, we teach that weeding is a "year-round" process.  Many Africans only weed just before planting and sparcely during the growth stages of the plant.  Because of this, the weeds have a chance to grow and produce seeds which will, in turn, create more problems for the farmer.  Had the weeds been uprooted early when they were small, they would not have had the opportunity to reproduce and consistent weeding will eventually reduce the population of weeds in the land.  The same can be said about sin.  When we live with sin and let it grow, it has the propensity to reproduce and cause more problems.  If we deal with sin as soon as it is identified, (when the plant is small), it has less of an impact on our lives and fellowship with God.

Isn't that exciting!!!  Kids learning about farming, but more importantly learning about a loving relationship that they can have with their Creator each and every day.  Pray for us as we develop this program over the next few months.  We hope it will be a model for additional schools to use here for the glory of God!

Your Kids Learn Spanish,

Ours learn Tonga!  Today was the first day of language learning for the kids.  They will be meeting once a week to learn a bit from our friend Cynthia.  Today, they learned their Tonga names.

Caleb is Cipengo (Meaning gift)
Gracyn is Mutinta (Meaning a girl born between two boys)
Thomas is Coolwe (Meaning lucky)

They also learned greetings, yes and no, finished, I'm not fine and thank you.  This is a combined group with the Whitfield children.  So, there was a lot of giggling at the different pronunciations.  But, all in all, they had a really fun time learning.

Lights Out

(Solar Lighting and Movie Watching on Computer)

Power is at a premium these days in Zambia and generators are selling like hot cakes.  Apparently, there are two separate issues with our utility company.  One is that they are repairing/replacing various transformers for our area.  In the States, this would be rather seamless as they would probably have backups waiting in the wings, but here in good-ole Zambia, it just gets switched off.  Then on top of that, one of the turbines at the river plant is leaking so badly that they had to take it offline.

What does that mean for the Roberts you might ask?  14 hours without power in one day with many more like it scheduled in the near future.  As you can see from the picture, the solar lights we purchased and installed when we got here are now our new best friends.  Tomorrow, we'll work on getting the generators (which just arrived on the shipping container) hooked up to our main power supply so we can power a few other small appliances.

Anyways, fun stuff here in Chikankata!

We Come to Serve

(Mwenda Rural Development Trust Board Members)

We recently had the privilege of hosting several of the Board members from Chieftainess Mwenda's rural development trust.  They oversee a group of about 130 Zambians who are working together to bring more development to the Chikankata chiefdom.  The chairperson is Daniel Kalichi, the chieftainess' husband.  He is the one in the tan jacket standing between Luke and myself.

The purpose of this meeting was to develop relationships and share with them some of the programs that we would like to see implemented amongst many of the villages that they are already living in.  It turned out to be such a sweet time.  We were able to take them over to our demonstration plot, composting station and greenhouse and share with them God's plan for improving the physical and spiritual lives of the people of Chikankata.

After a late lunch, the board gathered for this picture and then headed back to their homes.  They left here full of food, while we were full of hope for how this relationship might grow and how we can work together to glorify Christ in this rural African district of Zambia!

Helicopter Party

Sorry for the slow updates.  There has been 2 major issues with the power company and we have been without electricity every night for the past week.  Being that evenings are when we update the website, there haven't been many posts.

Thank you to those of you who prayed for Gracyn.  This past Monday, we traveled to Lusaka to get x-rays of her foot.  Diagnosis: no broken bones, just some deep bruising.  So, she should make a full recovery!!!  We are extremely thankful for this report.

Why the picture of the helicopter?  This afternoon, Maddie and Ellie went to a birthday party at our friends and neighbors the Reeves.  Their son Owen turned 3.  One of the guests decided to arrive in style and the father flew him in on a helicopter.  Pretty cool huh?  Can't say that I've ever been to a party where one of the guests arrived in one of these : )

Celebration with a Hiccup

Today, in celebration of Dailes's 40th birthday, we decided to take a day trip to Livingstone. Dailes has lived her entire life in Zambia, but has never seen Victoria falls.

The trip went pretty well up until this afternoon when we were just finishing a drive your own safari. Gracyn had a slight accident and got her foot run over by the car. We think she might have a broken bone on the top of her foot near her pinky toe, but it could have been a lot worse. So, we are very thankful.

We'll head to the vet in the morning for X-rays and then maybe to Lusaka if there is a break and anything needs to be done. Please pray for our baby girl.

Why Send Missionaries

Our director recently posted this article on  global missions.  Thought it was very insightful on the need for sending missionaries.

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I have been asked, “With so many non-Christians in America why send missionaries to other countries?”

You can sum the answer up in one word: access.

While there are many unbelievers in the US there are innumerable churches, Christian ministries, magazines, television and radio programs, even entire stations, plus thousands of pastors and, of course, other Christians to reach U.S. unbelievers.  Over 1 out of every 4 full time Christian worker in the world lives and serves in the United States.

On the other hand, in many nations there is no, or very limited, access to the gospel – not on television, not on radio, no churches, no Christian publications, absolutely no way to discover who Jesus is.  It is estimated that in some areas of the world there is only one Christian worker (a pastor, lay leader, missionary, etc) for every 1 million people.

One missionary, upon entering a village, began talking to a woman about Jesus.  She directed him to a shop that could fix his sewing machine thinking perhaps that is what a “Jesus” is and that his was broken.

It is sadly true that there is an abundance of non-believers in the United States but there is also an abundance of believers who can easily make Christ’s name known.  There are an endless number of opportunities for a seeker to discover who Jesus is and the message of salvation.  We must ask ourselves: Should one group have multiple chances to reject the gospel when there are millions who have never even heard it for the first time?

Finally, Jesus commands us to go – to Jerusalem (or own city), Judea (the surrounding area), Samaria (our neighbors – even if they aren’t very friendly toward us) and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  It is not a “pick one” option.  He said we were responsible for local and global, Jerusalem and the ends of the earth.  Obedience demands we send missionaries.  Are you ready to go?


Matthew 28:18-19
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, …

Jesus Film (Take Two)

Well, we made it back (at least the girls did).  Friday night, as Luke and I headed back from our trip to Mkushi, the girls headed out with a local church to show the Jesus Film.  They were going back to the same location we went to during the team from the UK's visit, because the last attempt at a showing didn't quite work out.  But this time was a little better.

I guess because the last time failed and those who attended then knew we were coming back, the attendance was quite high.  If you offered this type of format for a movie in the States, probably only a handful would come, but here in the rural areas of Zambia, they turn out in droves.  There were probably close to 300 who showed up to hear about the life of Jesus.

I can't tell you how awesome it is seeing these Zambians hearing   The girls did a great job.  Everything went without a hitch and many people had the oppurtunity to hear about Jesus in their own language.  I just wish Luke and I could have been there to experience it too!

Container-oma

The long awaited container has arrived.  During the first week of February, we shipped a 40ft container full of ministry items to Zambia, hoping they would arrive before ministry really got up and running.  Well, it finally arrived and only took 3 months in doing so.

It was quite an ordeal trying to figure out how to get the container off of a big truck, but in the end, we hired a side-shifter truck to do the dirty work for us.  For those of you who don't know, a side-shifter is an 18 wheeler equipped with hydrolic arms which pick the container from the truck and place it on the ground.

Our workers enjoyed helping with unloading as they were able to go through and pick out some of the donated clothing for them and their children.  It took a full day, but what was packed in period of several weeks, was emptied and sorted through in about a day.

Thank you to those who helped us in this huge effort.  Specifically, we would like to thank Jamie Castles and many members from Chapin Baptist, Columbia Crossroads Church, Marvin Bozard, Margie Simmons and the volunteers of Christian Ministries International, Campus Crusade for Christ Zambia and our parents.  These were just a few of the key players involved in making this effort a reality.  Thank you, as well, to everyone else who assisted through donations.

We're so exited that it is finally here!!!

If you are receiving this post via email and would like to view the slideshow, please go to:  https://picasaweb.google.com/mzungubwr/ContainerArrives?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Last Minute Trip

This past Thursday, Luke and I were invited to a leadership conference with the our friends from Foundations For Farming.  It was literally a whirlwind of a trip.  We were picked up in Lusaka on a chartered 6-seater prop plane and flown north to a farming district known as Mkushi.  The purpose of the trip for us was just to develop further relationships with some of the key international leaders for FfF, and to that end, it was awesome!  While there, we met a man named Peter.  He is one of a handful of white Zimbabwean farmers who still have a farm.  I hope to share more about him in a future post.  And we also met Gavin Johnson.  He is the cousin to the founder of FfF, Brian Oldrieve, but is most famous for being one of the most famous fullbacks in South African rugby history.  If you've seen the movie Invictus, then you probably heard Nelson Mandella's character mention his name when meeting the 1995 World Cup team!

The trip up was forgettable.  The plane was a nice plan, but very small.  Because of this, it moved quite a bit with the strong winds we were experiencing that day.  Upon landing, the plane actually blew a tire and skidded to a halt.  But everyone was ok.  The visit was a good one as we made several new friends.  One highlight of the trip was a men's breakfast with all of the farmers of the Mkushi district.  Gavin shared his story about playing rugby for S. Africa and how God really got a hold of his life after his playing days.  He was so excited to share about just how much Jesus meant to him.  After breakfast and one more meeting, we said our goodbyes and headed home.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.  And we are so thankful to have met some new friends who share a similar vision for Zambia!

If you are receiving this post via email and would like to view the slideshow of our trip, please go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/mzungubwr/Mkushi?authuser=0&feat=directlink.

Field Day

On Monday, we arranged for a field day for all of the commercial farmers of Mazabuka/Chikankata to come and see the benefits from implementing a zero-till program like Foundations for Farming.  A local farmer (Wizz Bignell) opened up his land for farmers in the community to gather and have a hands-on question and answer with himself and Brian.

There was quite a turnout as you can see from some of the pictures.  While we were in the field, Wizz handled most of the questions, as they were more directed at what specifically he was doing in zero-till farming.  But later in the day, we returned to his home for Brian to give a presentation.

Brian's, as well as our conviction, is that we should honor and glorify God in all we do, including farming.  So, it was great to have someone who this farming community respects, share with them this conviction.  He shared from the heart about the need for Africans to not only be productive and make profit, but to also lookout for the needs of the poor and for the foundation of everything they do be Jesus Christ.

Blessed are the Meek

We had the extreme privelege of hosting Brian and Cath Oldreive the last few days, the founder of Foundations for Farming (previously known as Farming God's Way).  For those of you who don't know, Brian is a pioneer for zero-till (conservation) farming in all of Sub-Saharan Africa.  He is invited to speak all over the world.  In just the last few months, he has spoken with various groups and foreign dignitaries in Australia, India and many other African countries.  So, needless to say, we were extremely honored to have him visit us here in little old Chikankankata.

But, I'm not writing this post to dote on all of his accolades.  I'm writing it to share with you the most impactful part of his visit with us.  Over dinner the other evening, Brian and Cath sat there and shared their story about losing their farm (the 2nd largest commercial farm in Zimbabwe) because of the land reforms instituted by the Zimbabwean government.  Now, let me give you some perspective as to who we were listening to:

Brian and his wife Cath, for many years, ran a 3,500 hectre (approximately 7,000 acre) commercial farm in Zimbabwe, the 2nd largest of its kind.  They, through the Lord's guidance, built this farm from the ground up over may years/decades of hard work.  In addition to this, they used this farm as a training facility for rural subsistence farmers to learn better practices to farming, which improved the lives of many of the poor in their surrounding communities.  Then in 2000, everything changed.  The Zimbabwean government instituted a land reform which would pass control of all white-owned commercial farms in Zimbabwe to the black Zimbabweans.  In the course of about a year, Brian and Cath had lost everything they had worked so hard to achieve.

Now, some of the farmers in the community didn't take to kindly to their farms being siezed.  Many faught it tooth-and-nail and even resorted to violence to keep their farms.  But this was not the Oldreive's reaction.  Cath sat there and shared about how the black Zimbabwean who had taken over the land came and screamed at Brian on different occasions when the farm was first seized, but that Brian never lost his cool and always spoke to him gently.  Then just at planting season began, when the gentleman was planting his first maize crop, Brian went to him and asked him if he needed any help.

As I sat there contemplating just how angry I would be and how I would react, I was blown away by this man's gentleness.  Here he was losing everything.  He still lived on the farm, but couldn't farm the land anymore.  He had to watch as another person destroyed his life work and instead of being hateful and trying to find ways to hurt this guy, he was asking if he could help him.  Then Brian reminded us of the verse from the Sermon on the Mount found in the 5th chapter of Matthew, "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth."  It's one thing to read a scripture and conceptually understand it, but to see it lived out through the life of another in such extreme situations is a whole different story.  Needless to say, we all were blown away and greatly encouraged by the humility shown in the life of a very Godly and well respected couple.  Brian left us with one challenge, which I hope will also be a challenge to you as you walk away from reading this post.  "All of Christ's life and ministry were grounded in humility and meekness.  Shouldn't ours be the same?"

To learn more of his story and what God has taught him over several decades of farming and life, go here: http://www.foundationsforfarming.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Story.pdf.

Zambian Polo Match

It took over 8,000 miles of flying and 35 years of living, but I can now say that I've been to my first polo match.  The commercial farming community here in Zambia usually holds different events which allow for the masses to get together and socialize.  This was one of those such events.

It was very interesting watching the match and seeing many of our new friends participating.  And as you can tell from the pictures, the kids had a great time!  Just one of those things I never thought we would experience as a missionaries serving in a foreign country!

An Unexpected Reunion

On Wednesday, we took the team to visit with Chieftainess Mwenda.  It was a really neat time in which the Chief shared her vision for the people of Chikankata.  It was also a reunion of sorts.

Jeremy Gibson, a retired doctor from the UK, had lived and served in Zambia in 1994.  He worked at the Salvation Army Clinic and can you guess who his head nurse was at the time?  Before being a chief, chieftainess Mwenda worked as a nurse at this same clinic.  Her and the doctor worked very closely together for quite some time.

Upon her coming in the room, Luke asked her if she noticed someone in the room, an old friend.  She looked around and caught eyes with Dr. Gibson in the corner of the room.  He spoke up and said that she might remember him with more hair, to which she started laughing in agreement.  It was great to hear her talk in depth about her life before becoming chief of Chikankata.

Tuesday Night Outreach

Not everything works out as planned.  The first night that the team from Honiton Community Church arrived, we had scheduled a Jesus Film outreach in a village about 45 minutes north of where we live.  The team arrived at 4:00 pm and we set off for the site at around 5:00 pm.

Once we got there, we quickly went into setup mode and got the screen up, along with some solar lights.  Then we connected the generator, amp and speakers and finally the projector.  But therein lied the problem.  We tested all of the electrical a few days before the outreach, but we didn't test the projector on the generator.  As we quickly found out, the generator was not strong enough to push the projector.

Luckily, at least that's what we thought, we had a backup projector that arrived with the team.  The only problem was that it didn't make the journey from our home to the outreach.  So, Luke made the hour and a half round trip back to our homes to get it.  When it arrived, we realized something else, although this new projector would work without the use of the generator, it required some software to be installed on the computer before use.  So, you could probably understand we, as well as the 250+ people in attendance who had walked long distances and waited many hours, were a bit frustrated that we had to cancel the event.

It wasn't all a loss though.  While we were packing up, one of the members of the team shared with those who hadn't left yet that God still wanted to minister to people that night.  So, him along with the rest of the team and 6 translators, broke up into small groups and prayed for several of those in attendance.  We also committed to the crowd that we will be back on Friday, May 25th to show the movie, and this time with equipment that works properly.

On an interesting side note, we learned that when the church arrived that evening for setup, there was a local witchdoctor walking around the site that the movie was to be played.  Our being there is a definite threat to his work in the same community.  So, it leaves one to ponder whether he had something to do with the perceived mishap that evening.

So, although not everything worked out as we had planned, nothing was a surprise to our Creator.  He still accomplished his purposes in the lives of many that evening and His message of Jesus crucified for the sins of the world will be made clear to the Tonga people of this community next Friday!

Our First Team. Yay!!!

Since yesterday we've been hosting our first short-term team, Honiton Community Church from the UK. They came to visit us for three days to dream together about what a partnership would look like here in Chikankata.

Last night we shared the Jesus Film with a village about 45 minutes to our South and today we visited with Chieftainess Mwenda. Tomorrow we'll have a cookout and a time of prayer before they depart. It's been a great visit so far and we look forward to sharing some more of the stories from our time together. Until then...

May 2012 Update

Our May 2012 update is in the mail and on its way to your home.  Here is an advance copy if you want to read it before you get it.  Pretty cool stuff happening this month!  Just click on the picture above to view.

The Narrow Road

Only a few will find it, unless you're talking about village cows. Kerri took this picture the other day as her and Elise were headed to the Palace to do a bible study with the chief. The fun obstacles we face in everyday driving here in Zambia.

Anyways, the girls have begun meeting every other week with the Chieftainess. Mwame, as we all call her (the Tonga word for chief) has a hard time fellowshipping with other believers at church, because of the disruption caused when a she visits. So, she is left many times to try and grow in her faith alone. The girls were invited to meet with her to begin to study God's word together.

Pray for their continued times together. Pray that God would forge a special bond between these three ladies - one that would cross age and culture. Pray for the Chieftainess, that this would be an opportunity to be fed spiritually.

Fertile Soil

Our landlords are successful Zambian soy bean and wheat farmers and this week marks a special time of year for them:  Harvest!!!.  This afternoon, the kids were invited to go swimming and wrestling in the first fruits of the soy bean harvest.

As you can see from the pictures, they had a lot of fun.  Ours, the Reeve's and the Whitfield's children spent a better part of the afternoon jumping, wrestling, and making all kinds of games up amongst the soy beans.

Watching them made me think of the parable of the seed in the book of Matthew.  Jesus is talking about seed and where it fell.  He said that some fell beside the road and the birds came and ate them up.  Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.  But when the sun had risen, they were scorched and because they had no root, they withered away.  Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.  And others fell on the good soil and yeilded a crop, some a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Seeing this crop today, I know that the soil for these soy beans was good soil, because it produced a bountiful crop.  But what about the soil of your heart?  If you live in the west, most likely, you have already been affected by the seed of the gospel.  You have heard about Jesus.  You know that he died for your sins.  You know that to become a Christian means to trust Him with your whole life relinquishing your rights to His will.  

So, how is your soil?  Is your heart a receptive and fertile field for his Word to grow in?  Or you one of the other recipients of His word as described in the book of Matthew?  Something to ponder for today!

Africans Learn Best Through Storytelling

One of the biggest hurdles to training Christian leaders here in Zambia is getting the bible into their heart language, but a lot of times, that isn't enough.  Many, many Tonga speaking Zambians cannot read and write their own language, much less English.  There have been efforts to combat this, (i.e. having people come and teach English as a second language, or teaching Tonga's how to read and write their own language) but if you want to make an immediate and lasting impact, these two options are not viable.

While we were back in the States, we attended a training in Orlando, Fl called Storyrunners.  The premise of the course is to learn 20+ chronological stories which walk individuals from creation, to the Fall of Man, to God's promise for redeption through a savior, to Jesus' birth, ministry, crucifixion, death and ressurection.  The goal is to train individuals to tell these stories to other individuals who will in turn do the same.

So, in theory, if we can translate these stories and then begin to teach them in Tonga, our community's heart language, they will have at least a portion of the bible memorized.  And that is how African's have always learned.  The older generation sit the younger generation down and tell them stories and parables of ages past.  So, why not use their style of learning to help the Tonga's better learn the bible?

So far we've translated 7 of the 22 stories and are continuing to work on the rest of them.  Please pray for those involved in the translation.  Pray that the material would remain as accurate as possible through the translation and that the material would be used to change the lives of many here in Chikankata!

They're Starting to Come

I know this is not what you want to look at when you open an email, but it does have a good story behind it.  Yesterday afternoon, we had a visitor.  Kennedy, who among other things is an electrician on the farm from which we are renting.  He came to us requesting prayers.  He injured his finger while laying irrigation pipe and it was the second of such injuries.  Last week, he injured his foot in a similar way.  And in addition to these injuries, he has been treated poorly by some of the other workers and was actually thinking about leaving the farm.

So, he came to us and asked us to pray for him.  To pray for healing and to pray against attacks on him and his family from the enemy, to pray for his pregnant wife and safety for their baby to come.  After we prayed, Kerri tried to doctor him up with some medicine we had on hand and I talked to him about coming for discipleship, to which he was very interested.  So, now that makes 4 who will begin meeting next Saturday to begin processing our Christian life together.  You can be praying for this group, but that is not the intent of this post.

The intent of this post is to share with you our excitement that the community around us is beginning to see us as a source of encouragement and have begun to come to us more often for prayers.  In addition to this instance, a few weeks ago, one of our workers walked almost 5 kilometers just to have Luke pray with him over his sick child.  And the week after that, one of the farm workers came to Luke requesting prayers for the same.  (As personal testimony, both of these children's fevers left them the same night and they showed no more symptoms.  Isn't God good!!!)

Our desire is for our friends and neighbors to see the hope that is only found in a relationship with Jesus.  We pray that our testimony before them is that of a people who are genuine, compassionate and loving because of God's love being worked out in us.  We're seeing the early fruits of your prayers already.  So, please continue to pray for us to that end!

Good Friends are a Good Thing!

This Tuesday through Thursday, Luke and I attended a leadership conference in Kabwe, Zambia with pastors and church leaders from New Frontiers churches in Zambia.  It turned out to be a really good trip and very productive in terms of meeting new friends and making new contacts with Zambian church planters.  It was also served as a good time of spiritual refreshment as we had ample time to worship and learn from God's word together.

Next month, we have a team visiting from one of their churches in the U.K, Honiton Community Church.  New Frontiers is very active in church planting in Zambia and are very excited about what God is doing here in Chikankata.  In fact, one of their leaders who will be on this team worked with Chieftainess Mwenda at the Salvation Army Clinic years ago when she was a nurse.  Small world, huh?  Or should I say big God!

Above is a video from the conference (a little over 2 minutes in duration).  It has some of the worship, featured speakers, and prayer requests offered up during this time.  Take the time to watch it if you can.

If you are receiving this post via email, you can view the video at:  http://youtu.be/a0-ZSfnUSBA

Three Day Conference

Luke and I are on our way up to Kabwe for a 3 day leadership conference with our friends from New Frontiers churches in the U.K..

New Frontiers has planted and partnered with over 30 new church plants here in Zambia and has a mutual desire to partner with our work in Chikankata. Pray for this time together. Pray for relationships to be further established between us and them. Pray also for the many Zambian pastors and church leaders who will be there in attendance c

Testimonials From Outreach

In Case you missed it, CLICK HERE to watch the short 1-minute video we put together of the Jesus Film Outreach.

After spending the evening showing the Jesus film at the farm next door, I wanted to share a few short stories of things that happened directly related to this event. I'll try to be brief, but I think each one is encouraging to how God is already working here in the lives of those He has called us to minister to.

A Young Man Named Tobert

While we were showing the film, a young man approached me in the back of the crowd. He immediately asked me if I remembered him, to which I replied "yes." Tobert was one of the members of the church that was helping us lead this outreach and he had come to the training session we had the Saturday before. During this training, we had a time of prayer for members of the church. Tobert came forward because he had been suffering from headaches for nearly a year. These headaches had been so bad that they sometimes affected his vision to the point that he couldn't see.

Before we prayed for him, he said that he was experiencing one of those headaches. After we prayed for him, his demeanor still looked downcast, but he said that he felt a difference. Well, when he approached me at the outreach, I saw a completely different Tobert. He tracked me down with a huge grin on his face and told me that from that meeting until the outreach that he had experienced no more headaches! Praise Jesus! And since then, God has really put Tobert on my heart in terms of discipleship. So, starting this Saturday morning, we will be meeting for the first time to process life in Christ together. Pray for this relationship. Pray that he would feel comfortable to be open and honest with me and that I would be an encouragement to his faith as well as he to mine.

An Embattled Marriage

At the end of the evening of the outreach, I was approached by another member of the church. I didn't know at the time, but Luke had prayed with her during the same time of training. She and her husband had been separated for over a year. She desperately wanted reconciliation, but there were really no signs pointing towards that outcome. As Luke prayed for her, he sensed the Spirit telling him to ask her to forgive her husband and to let go of the anger that she had been holding onto against him and she did.

The reason she was approaching me this evening was because she had mistaken me for Luke and wanted to tell me of how God had moved in her relationship the very next day. Her husband, who had been living with another woman for this entire time, came to her and apologized. He told his wife that he had left the other woman and wanted her to consider taking him back into her life and home. Needless to say, this lady was beaming from ear to ear sharing of how God had answered prayer.

Our God is an amazing God who knows exactly what each and every person in this world is going through, including you. Although he may not answer every prayer the same way he answered these two prayers for these two people, He is there listening to those who seek him through His son Jesus in prayer! I just thought these stories would encourage you in your walk with Him and challenge you to look for ways to intentionally pray for those around you who are hurting, struggling or who are even sick.

Nothing's Ever Always Easy

As many of you know, this past Saturday evening, we had an outreach at the farm next door. We were working with two churches who meet there at Terranova Basic School. I would love to say that everything went smoothly but it wouldn't be Africa without a few hiccups.

The night before the outreach, we went searching for the copies of the Jesus Film that we had purchase months before only to find that they were missing. Luckily the pastor we were working with knew someone who had an extra copy. Whew!

Then, we probably made a mistake when early the next day when we all agreed to go to another farm for a family day watching motorcross racing. Because we couldn't leave our spot on the course until the race was over, we didn't leave until 5:30 pm, the time we were supposed to already be at Terranova. Needless to say, we setup in the dark.

And speaking of dark, the power was out until 10 minutes before we showed the film. Usually wouldn't be a problem because of a backup generator, but our worker left from our property with the keys to our storage unit. So, we had no fuel for the generator. But God is faithful. He brought the power back and we were able to get things started, even if a little late.

Aside from these minor issues, the night was great! We had several hundred in attendance and many people were impacted by hearing about the life of Jesus in their own language. After the movie played, we had a time of prayer, which was led by the churches intercessory teams. Several people came forward to pray for a variety of issues from salvation, to spiritual bondage, to ailments, etc.

It was during this time that I was approached by two different people about prayers that God had answered, but instead of making this a super long post, I'll save the stories for the next post.

All in all it was a very successful evening in which Christ was proclaimed. Thank you so much to all of you who prayed for this evening of outreach.

Outreach Training

Saturday afternoon, Luke and I headed over to the farm next to us to do some training for an upcoming outreach event. We were training the leaders of two different churches that meet at this school on the farm on two things. In the first hour, I covered "The Basics of the Gospel" and in the second hour, Luke covered "Who We Are As Christians."

It was a wonderful time of sharing and getting to know some of our friends on the farm next door. It was such an encouragement to see many of the people in these churches excited about sharing the gospel with their friends, family and neighbors in this community through the Jesus Film.

Pray for this event. We will be showing the film the evening of the 31st of March, just after sunset. Pray for those doing outreach during this week leading up to the event. Pray for our gathering on the 31st. Pray for electricity. Pray for a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit during this event and during the time of prayer afterwards. Pray that many people would have their eyes and ears opened to the message of Jesus and respond in faith!

Above is a short 2-minute video with some of the worship, pictures and video clips of our time there. Please excuse me from not appearing in the video as Luke was delayed in his arrival and I had no one to take pics/video while I was sharing.

If you are receiving this post via email, CLICK HERE to watch the video.

Rural Development

Mwenda Rural Development Trust

Friday, we were invited to attend a meeting in Chikankata with the Chieftainess's Rural Development Team. This is a team of over 120 Tonga leaders that are responsible for most of the development in Chikankata and a group that we see as a strategic partner in our ministry here.

It was a good chance to meet some of the board members and individual leaders from the 23 geographic zones that they serve. It was also a chance to listen to them share about the different issues that are plaguing the spiritual and physical development of their people. As they shared, I had an intrepreter translate so I could find out what these major issues were. Here is a sample of the list. It was very interesting to hear that some of their main problems are some of the issues that we felt were central to our ministry here in Chikankata.

• Alcoholism
• Security and Theft
• Deforestation
• hunger, maize supplies and fertilizer shortages
• no bore holes for clean drinking water
• corruption
• bad roads
• Witch Doctors
• Education and lack of trained teachers

It was good to hear straight from the people what they have identified as their main issues to developing community. We hope to soon begin meeting with the individual zone leaders to get an even better idea of how our ministry can serve the people here. So pray for us!

If you are receiving this post via email, CLICK HERE to watch the short 20 second video.

Need a ride?

Most rural Zambians do not have their own transportation and have to walk many many miles in order to get where they are going. So, "hitching" a ride is a pretty normal thing when the opportunity presents itself.

This past week on my way to the main road, I passed three Zambians walking on the drive going out of the farm. So, I decided to stop and give them a ride. I found out that these two men and a lady had been walking since early in the morning and had already covered about 8 miles. You would think that was pretty far, but they still had another 8 to 10 to go in order to get to the bus stop that would take them to Lusaka.

And they weren't just walking empty handed. I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but the woman was carrying a goat! Needless to say they were very thankful to be assisted in their journey and I really enjoyed getting to practice, along the way, some of the Tonga that I've learned in my few months living here in Chikankata.

Getting Creative

In Africa, a lot of times you have to get creative. I've seen it a lot over the years, whether it be catching rats with paint can traps, fixing the hose with a small piece of rubber, etc. you name it and they have a work around.

Well, I saw this at the vet the other day and had to take a picture. In the States, if the vet needs to keep the dog from scratching it's head, it puts a cone around the collar. Here, we don't have that luxury, because dog cones are not available. So, what do you use when you can't find a dog cone? A coffee tin. I'd hate to see what they use on the big dogs!

Wierd Alergies

Kerri has never had any alergic reaction to anything since we met nearly 15 years ago. So, we've been a little caught off guard with some new alergies that she seems to have developed here in the African bush.

Yesterday, it looked like she had been punched in the eye. She made me swear that I wouldn't post a picture of her looking that way, but she did give me permission to take a close-up of her eye to show you the effects of her recent alergic reactions.

Our speculation is that the grasses here, which grow only during the rainy season (now) are causing these alergies. We'll just have to wait for dry season, after the grasses are burned to see if she is still having these reactions. I know you probably don't want to read a post about alergies, but we just want you to get a view of the trivial things we deal with here in Zambia on a daily basis.

Bad News, Bad News, Good News, Outreach

Bad News

Before this weekend, we had two family dogs: Georgia our "guard dog in the making" puppy and Chisomo our sweet old German Shepherd. We asked you to pray for Georgia because she was accidently hit by our car, but we probably should have included Chiso in that prayer request. Saturday morning she got what is called a twisted stomach and rapidly went downhill. Before we got her to the vet, she had quit walking and by the time we got her to the vet, it was too late. So, Saturday was a sad day for the Roberts family, especially the kids, as they had to say farewell to Chisomo.

(Click here to read the full story)

Bad News

Things that you don't have to deal with in the States that we do here... The only refinery in Zambia ceased operations this past Friday. Apparently, the boat delivering the crude oil to the Zambia pipeline is idling in the Indian Ocean waiting on clearance to unload and, because of this, our refinery has run out of crude oil feed stock. We have trips planned to Lusaka in the coming weeks and this has the potential to mess these trips up. So pray for our oil supply.

Good News

In the midst of some bad news, there is some good. God is sovereign and in control of it all. He knows our needs and it pleases Him to provide us with the grace that we need to live and do ministry here in Chikankata!

Outreach
On March 31st, we will be holding our first Jesus Film outreach. The farm next door has a school and church that ministers to the community around us. We will be working with several members of their church to do this outreach. Next Saturday the 24th, Luke and I will be training their leadership team for the event. I'll be teaching on the basics of the Gospel and Luke will be teaching on our identity in Christ. Pray for our training and pray for this outreach!

Croc Tails?

Just something interesting you don't find in the States. Luke and I were in Mazabuka this past week doing some shopping and stopped in one of the local meat markets. In addition to selling the normal (chicken, steak, pork) they also sold other things that you might not find in the States. In particular, she was selling croccodile tails!

Seeing them packaged so nicely, we simply couldn't resist. So, Luke bought one of the bags and I bought the other. Well, last night when the power went off and we had to cook over our gas cooker, what did we decide to fix? You guessed it, Croc Tails. And what did they taste like, you might ask? You probably guessed it again, Chicken! Well, fishy chicken.

Anyways, just thought you would want to know about some of the "other" cuisuines we eat here in Zambia.

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.

How Do You Shop For Your Veggies?

As we returned home from our two-day trip into Lusaka, we made a routine stop. It is the final turn-off before going to Zimbabwe where there are a bunch of street vendors. This is the same turn that I was at when the car broke down about a month ago. So, I know it all to well ; ).

Anyways, I sat there and watched Kerri and Elise buying some tomatoes and avacados and thought to myself: "You know, people in the States probably have no idea how we shop for our veggies here in Zambia." So, I took a quick photo.

In Zambia, there are many small shops like these called Katemba's. At these shops, you can find almost any fruit or vegetable that you're looking for. The ladies who work these shops will sit all day in hopes of finding a few customers to buy their produce so that they can then feed their families in the nearby villages.

Just thought you would want a peek into one of our routine experiences here in Zambia!