Foundations of Farming

Foundations of Farming

A few weeks ago Kimberly, Kamau, and Mr. Banda went to a conference in Harare Zimbabwe to learn about Foundations in Farming, or Farming God's way.  Mr. Banda is in charge of all the gardens and cropping.  They came back enthused and excited about what they had learned and the potential for our Village.  One of the results has been that each day Kimberly works with some of the children.  One or two houses each week have "garden duty."  They are collected twigs and branches, cut grass - both cut when green and cut when dried, and are making piles to be used in a compost project for our next crop.  The children are excited and working hard.  Mark Wenham, our friend, came in November and planted a small demonstration plot in the village using the principles of this approach.  It was a very nice crop of maize.  We even have a big sign that lists the principles:  planting to standards, in a timely way, without waste, and joyfully.  All of this should help us as we move to the place of being able to grow all the food we need to support the Village.

A Celebration and Windshield Wipers

A Celebration and Windshield Wipers

 

On Tuesday we had a luncheon for the Senior Staff to celebrate the retirement of Mr. Phiri.  It was a lovely time.  We held it at the restaurant and the food was delicious.  My mother always gives the menu for special events, so I'll follow her example and have your mouth watering:  roasted potato wedges, rice, a tomato gravy, fried chicken, a meat and gravy dish, cole slaw, and cake.  We have wonderful food at our restaurant!

 

Mr. Phiri brought his wife, Catherine, his youngest son (the last of 12 children – all living – all by one wife!) who is in 5^th grade and 2 grandsons who are both in 7^th grade.  All 3 boys are very handsome. 

 

There was laughter and fun.  Mr. Phiri said that by having this luncheon to honor him, we were saying to him that he had done a good job, and he was very appreciative.

 

Mr. Phiri was our first employee and became the supervisor of the workers.  He had worked for Mr. Nyrienda who had owned the land originally and who was the father of the 3 aunties that we bought the land from.  He was able to tell us where good black soil could be found on the property, where the gravel, and crushed rock could be found – left from when they redid the Great North Road, and where the "beacons" or property markers were.  I once walked with him through grass that was almost 6 feet high, with bush all around and he found his way to a cement marker in the ground at the corners of the property. 

 

We are very grateful for all that he did in the early years of the ministry.

 

On a different topic, the latest fun activity of the boys in the village has been to make "cars" from long grasses.  They drag the long grass behind them and have a piece of it in the front.  The interesting thing about it is that they use this grass and make "windshield wipers" out of the grass that they actually manipulate to go back and forth, just like real wipers. 

 

Then 4-5 will line up side by side and walk along together with their "cars."  I am doing an inadequate job of describing their "toys," but the interesting thing to me is the ingenuity to use what is around them to make something that is fun to play with.  No Nintendos, computers, Wi's, TVs!  And the items change as the seasons change since they are based on what is available.  A month or so ago it was all whistles from the grass in the early rains.  Now it is these cars.

 

We also have a lot of guitars made of scrap wood, a plastic bottle and string they find.  They have great fun strumming and singing and it is fun to watch. 

 

I was so blessed this afternoon to walk around the village as I took pictures.  Some children were swinging on the swing set, some were clearing a small patch of land to expand the garden for their house, some were "driving cars", some "playing guitars," and some were sitting on their verandas reading.  On a day with beautiful weather, there was such a sense of peace and joy.

 

Fresh Milk

Fresh Milk

Our children are now able to drink fresh milk.  Our 6 jersey cows are being milked, 4 calves, and 4 of the jerseys are pregnant.  So every morning they are milked and the children, for the first time on a regular basis, are able to drink milk.  The next step will be to train the older ones so that they can help milk the cows. Thanks to Uncle Dave from MN we have a wonderful set-up and quite beautiful animals. 

New Uniforms

New Uniforms

 

Today we had our Mother/Auntie/Teacher meeting that we have every other week during lunch time.  We were meeting and the children were playing outside.  All of a sudden we heard so many squeals and screams.  As we looked out the window we saw about 6 of the ladies from the sewing factory walking along the veranda holding folded uniforms. 

 

We had ordered them some months ago and had bought the material.  The children kept asking me where the uniforms were.  Their red T-shirts were getting very used.

The hold up was the buttons and we said, don't worry about all the buttons being the same.  We just want the uniforms.

 

The uniforms were passed out by the mothers.  It was so wonderful that they happened to be present when the uniforms arrived.  Then each child tried it on.  The shirts are red, the bottoms are dark navy blue.  The boys have shorts and the girls have skorts (shorts with a front panel that makes it look like a skirt).  They were so excited and proud looking.  Tomorrow we will take a picture of the whole school in their new outfits.

 

In Zambia, uniforms are a mark of a student and indicate that you are getting an education.  It is a source of pride and something that all students desire.  Next year we will probably have to get ties for the boys who pass Grade 7 – a sign of being more senior in your school.

Praying and Giving

Prayers

The children here are very serious and conscientious with their
prayers. We have begun praying at times in a way that is done around
the world in various Christian churches. I first learned about it
from my son who traveled with YWAM. It is praying all together at the
same time, out loud. I watch the looks on their faces and the posture
that they have as they pray and it is inspiring.

Each day we pray for the teachers. Last week Teacher Malowa and his
fiancé were in a serious bus accident. They were riding in one of the
many minibuses that go up and down the great north road. They were
going to Kabwe to meet with a pastor. As the driver went to pass
several big trucks, he didn't realize that a smaller truck in the
front was turning right. (everything is opposite here when it comes to
driving). He tried to stop before he hit it but was unable, although
he did keep the bus from flipping over. The bus was destroyed. The
driver was pretty badly injured. (They took him to Liteta hospital.
It seems he may have had a couple of broken legs. They sent him to
Lusaka to the hospital and since there was no ambulance to take him,
he had to travel in another minibus!) But all the passengers in the
crashed minibus were ok with just some cuts and bumps and bruises. At
school we talked about how the prayers of the children had been
answered for their teacher. Teacher Malowa said he had thought about
how the children prayed for him every day and that he believed that
kept him from serious injury.

We are also now praying for the people of Japan. It is interesting
that last week we had a visit by a group from Japan that is doing
medical and other humanitarian work here in Zambia. A few of those
who came were returning to Japan and probably arrived the day of the
earthquake. They were lovely people and we hope they come and visit
again.

The children will remember about Japan and pray for them for a long
time. After praying for the people of Australia when the flooding was
taking place, they continued to ask me how things were in that
country. What an amazing way to learn earth science, geography, the
forces of nature, and current affairs as we pray for the world.

Giving

Here are some writings of the children as we learned about giving last week.

Group of Joshua, David, and Roman: "If you want to give we must give
love to our friend. If you steal you must take it back where you
found it. That means to give love to God. If Auntie tells you to
give your friend an apple, if you give him or her, you are giving love
to your friend and God."

Group of Prudence, Mary J, Idah: "When your friend provokes you, you
have to forgive him. If you forgive your friend, God will forgive you
too."

Group of Paul, Steven, Shaibu: "When your friend does something bad to
you, you must forgive him or her and give love to them and God will
help you."

Group of Nelson, Adam, Kahilu: "When you give more and God also will
give you more….I learned that we must give to receive. If I don't
given then I won't received….When someone hits you, and when he says
sorry, you must forgive him…If you don't forgive God also won't
forgive you because you haven't forgiven your friend….We must forgive
our friends with all of our heart, because God also forgives us."

The cows have arrived!

The Cows have Arrived!

The cows have arrived! Five cows & four calves braved the traffic
today on the Great North,
and came to our side of the street. Their 2.5 acre night paddock is
fenced, the milking parlor has a roof, the 20' container is in place,
and we are putting a 700 liter tank on the roof to provide them with
water! Thanks Dave Wright, we've only just begun, Praise God.

Keys, Tears, and the Love of Teachers

Keys, Tears, and the Love of Teachers

 

Strange title, right?  I have discovered that when I send several entries on the same day, they end up double posting on this blog.  So I am including several items in this one entry.  The title is to capture your interest and also to help me know where certain stories are located.  (A sign of my computer illiteracy that I have to do it this way.)

 

We have 2 keys for the lock for the door of the office at school.  Then the locks to the various doors of the classrooms are in the office.  Yesterday I left school early for several meetings.  I forgot my keys on the desk.  So when Brenda locked up (she locks the lock on the grill door, then throws the key into the office, then pulls the wooden door shut) she threw the key back into the office.  When we arrived at school we had no key.  I took a broom from the house hoping that I could fish the key out.  Didn't work!  So when the children came to pump water, Exildah said,"I can climb through the grill door at the Community Center.  Maybe I can here."  She tested to see if she could get her head through.  The openings are small on the school grill/security door. She could get her head through but I wasn't sure that the rest of her body would make it since she has grown so much.  The suggestion was that Gift small give it a try.  He lived up to his name.  He got his head through and his body followed.  He handed me my keys off of the desk and we were able to get in!   As Benedict said, we don't want to encourage him too much in that kind of activity – kind of like breaking and entering.  If you saw the opening he went through, you would probably be surprised that he made it!

 

The grade 7 students (3 girls and 3 boys) are doing lots of extra school work to prepare for the grade 7 exams.  Each week they get a schedule of assignments for English, Science, and Social and Development Studies.  Part of the English work this week is to write a Personal Narrative.  Today I was working with Prudence on the editing of what she wrote.  The suggestion in the textbook was to write about a first in your life – first time you rode a bike, first time you went to school, etc.  She choose to write about coming to the Village of Hope. 

 

Her narrative shares that first her mother died.  Then her "stepmother" (aunt) died.  Then she came to the Village.  As we were working on this very special piece, I realized that tears were coming down her cheeks.  I could only hold her close and love her.  What trauma for one so young!  How I wish she would have been able to share more what was going on inside her at that moment that brought the tears.  I asked if she wanted to stop working on the narrative, but she wanted to finish.  I will always remember the first day that she and Paul and Precious (her cousins) came to school.  Rather than being sad, they were beaming as the children were singing songs at morning meeting. 

 

Finally, this has been a special week for the children.  On Monday, during lunch break, I heard the children screaming.  I didn't know if someone was hurt or if there was a snake around like had been the day before.  I went outside to a chorus of children yelling, "Teacher Bosman!, Teacher Bosman!"   Their beloved teacher had come for a visit.  Teacher Bosman moved to Livingstone in October with her husband.  But they were in the area and the children were thrilled to see her.  And Teacher Bosman was thrilled to see the children again.  As with so many people who visit, these children have a special place in her heart.

 

Then today, Teacher Precious who now works at Fringilla had a day off and came to visit.  Again the children ran to give her a big hug.  What a blessing for the children to have these two people ,who have been important in their lives and who come out of love, to see them.

 

 

 

Prayer Answered

Prayer Answered

On Friday night the rain returned.  We have continued getting rain off and on and that should help everyone who is growing maize.  We started a little vegetable garden near the kitchen at the school and it is sprouting well.  Once we have lots of seedlings, Alex and the children will transplant them into the rest of the garden area, since they are now only on one row. 

Yesterday there was great excitement when the children found a mother mouse who had babies.  The mother was dead but the babies were alive.  So several children were holding the babies.  Sunday we heard screaming in the Village.  Afraid that children were hurt we went outside and the excitement was a spitting cobra that the boys killed.

School is going well with wonderful teachers.  A new mother starts today and after being trained, she will be the permanent mother for the house that has not had a mother since Miriam left. 

Our Bible Study at school this term is about Christian Character.  Last week we discussed Forgiveness.  Dick Mumba preached an outstanding sermon on forgiveness at the Sunday service.  He said that forgiveness is turning over the matter to God.  He is the judge, we cancel it in our minds and hearts, and just give it to him.  It spoke to all of us.
May the children learn to give love for the offense and to remember it no more, just as God has done with us.