December 2010

Dear supporters,

We greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is a great privilege to us that you continue your involvement in the ministries of  Covenant College Zambia Trust. With this Column you receive an update on the various facets of the work. You also find our details below if you wish to contact us.

News from the Ministries

• In the last Column, we advertised for a lecturer. We are very thankful to announce that the Lord provided in this position with David and Katie Lachman. David will be a minister in the Free Church of Scotland Continuing, and sent and supported by this church. Ten years ago, another of their ministers, David Fraser, started the work of CC, and we are glad indeed that the church will participate in the mission again by means of David and Katie. They, with baby Elijah, hope to make their way to Zambia in February/March 2011.
• This appointment was even more encouraging as in the meantime Cees and Mirjam Molenaar decided to move on from CC, in search for mission work where their oldest children can attend school and have a social network. The Trust knew this was coming and is thankful that they have time to look for another missionary family.
• The Farm received a serious application for the position of Agricultural Missionary; in the coming months, the Farm hopes to see whether the applicant meets the expectations for the position.
• The Trust also appointed Mr. Andrew Macleod, from the Free Church of Scotland Continuing, to voluntarily help with the work of the Christian Education Ministry for the coming six months.
• Jaap van de Kamp, the teacher volunteer for the Molenaar children, completed his year at CC. The Molenaars are thankful for his contribution to their family and the mission at large.  For January to June 2011, the Molenaars are looking for an English speaking volunteer teacher to help with Joas and Rhoda’s schooling (see appended advert).

Farm Ministry: An Introduction to the new Agricultural Curriculum – Phil Bailey

This year, I introduced a new Agricultural curriculum to the studies undertaken by the student pastors at Covenant College. The curriculum involves 16 hours of farm teaching per year, giving a total of 48 hours over the three-year-cycle of teaching the students receive.

The teaching is based upon ‘Farming God’s Way’ which gives a Biblical application to conservation farming for the rain fed field crops, particularly the main crop of maize. It includes various aspects of ‘Organic Farming’ methods and then expands into the integration between livestock and crop production under the heading of ‘Integrated Small Scale Farming’ (ISSF). This especially looks at ways of reducing the expensive chemical fertilizer inputs by the use of manure harvesting from the animals and the making of compost. This applies to both field crops and the vegetable garden. The plant stova and waste vegetable matter from these is then added as supplement feed to the animals which include cattle, pigs, chickens, goats, rabbits and ducks.

ISSF also covers the benefits of local trees and plants such as Moringa (nutritional), Musangu (nitrogen fixing), Neem (medicinal) and Artemesia (malaria preventative). All the aspects of ISSF are practiced on the Covenant College farm and some of the teaching hours are spent as practical farm walks where we can actually see these methods being worked out in reality.

Under this new curriculum we have an additional subject ‘Good Business Practice’ in which we have lessons on Setting up a Small Business, Saving and Investing, Christian Work Ethics, Water Management and Planet Wise (caring for creation). We learn what the Bible has to say on these matters knowing that ‘All Scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching etc’ 2 Tim 3 v 16.

All the teaching is geared towards becoming self reliant, getting away from the dependancy of ‘hand-outs’ and becoming independent. I Thessalonians 4 vs 11 and 12 which is a key principle of FGW .

Please pray hard for the students to have their minds and attitudes changed by God so that they may willingly endeavour to follow these principles. Also that they may be able to teach the same to their congregations so that their churches may become more self reliant and they themselves may be better supported by the churches that they Pastor.

College: Visits  to Students – Heinrich Zwemstra

At Covenant College we are not only concerned about the academic training of the students, but also the development of their Christian character.  To facilitate this, we have divided the students between the two of us to mentor them.  The mentoring of the students includes visits to the students and their families, and the churches where they serve.  Sometimes it is easy to reach the students, but sometimes one has to leave early since it takes time to reach them (not necessarily because of distance, but because of the condition of the road).

These visits normally take place on a Sunday.  During the worship service we have the opportunity to preach (with an interpreter).  The service also includes a lot of singing, Bible reading, offering and announcements.  After the service we have the opportunity to speak to the congregation about their pastor who is studying at the College and encourage them to pray for the pastor (student) and his family and to support them.

After the service most of the churches have the custom of greeting each other with a handshake.  Then we go to the house of the pastor (student) where a meal is being prepared.  Sometimes the preparation of the meal takes some time, but it is a good opportunity to talk to the student about his life and ministry.  Before greeting the student and his family and starting our journey back to the College, we pray with the family and commit them into God’s care.  On our way back we think of the many challenges that the students face, and we pray again that the Lord will strengthen and encourage them for the work He called them to do.

Christian Education Ministry – Marjanne Hendriksen

What do you see at the picture? A school? Imagine: one crippled teacher and more than forty children. Their school? The community started to build a shelter. But as long as this is not finished the teacher is already teaching his pupils outside. Nowhere a spot of shadow…  And that in this hot season!

It shows something about the commitment of this teacher! He doesn’t get a salary. But – and he is not the only one – he makes such a difference in the lives of many children! The blessing of having a pre-school!

In 2010, something special has happened. Up till this year we had among the twenty schools that CEM is supporting just one pre-school. In conferences we share experiences from the different schools. So information about pre-school education was also shared. The result? Three other schools have opened a nursery this year. After the training for Sunday School Teachers at the College (see below) five of them were involved in opening two new pre-schools. Both schools registered more than one hundred little children! And last but not least; three students from Covenant College were involved by opening a pre-school in their village!

Together with Solomon Lungu I visit all schools. I try to visit the new schools at least every other week.  For me, a former pre-school teacher, it is a great joy to train the new pre-school teachers! To teach them how to tell a Bible story every day; how to lay the foundation for reading, writing, mathematics and other topics. It gives joy to see a teacher playing different games with their children. And it makes you really thankful when you hear them singing Christian songs. To God be the glory!!

Please thank the Lord for the great opportunities that He gives us to reach out to so many children! Thank him  for the received funds and prayers from the supporters. Please pray with us for a Zambian assistant who can join us in the work so that more teachers can be better trained; pray for committed teachers, parents and for all the children. Please also pray that Andrew Macleod will be a blessing to CEM.

Sunday School Teacher Training – Mirjam Molenaar

Covenant College runs a children’s ministry every Saturday afternoon. We teach many children from neighbouring villages the Word of God through a Bible lesson, Bible songs, Bible memorizations and a colouring picture. It is our wish to teach locals also to minister to the children of their communities. Therefore Marjanne and I started a Sunday School Teachers Training program. From June to August we taught about 40 attendees why and how to teach Sunday School for children. After the teaching sessions, we involved them in our children’s program, giving them a chance to practice what they learned. Here are some of the responses we got: “I never realized that the Bible commands us to teach children”, “I have observed in your program that I have to be kind and caring towards children”, “I didn’t know that children are also sinners and need salvation”, “From your training I have learned the importance of teaching God’s Word to children and now we have even started a pre-school in our village”.

We hope and pray that this training may be a blessing for many teachers and children in our area and that God may be glorified!

Women’s Ministry – Mirjam Molenaar

“Madam, these days are the highlight of the year,” says one of the student wives. “Please, tell us when the next meeting is,” asks a student. “This is the time and place where our wives can be among other Christian women and learn how to be godly women in our rural communities.”

It is such a blessing to minister to the wives of our students. More and more we realize how special our conferences are for them in light of their daily life. These women don’t have easy and comfortable lives. Their work as house wives and mothers is heavy – drawing water from the well and carrying it home for washing, cooking and cleaning, chopping firewood, making the cooking fires, working on the fields in the heat of the sun with almost always a baby in the sling on the back, washing clothes by hand, often caring for the sick and dying, walking long distances to reach the shops or clinic etc. Apart from that they face a lot of emotional challenges. Most neighbours are not Christians; they steal, lie, gossip or even cast spells on them. Traditional, un-biblical rituals are every day reality; how do you deal with that in a culture where the village community is one of the strongest units?

 In our last meeting much discussion was spent on the initiation rites. Some women believe that you cannot participate anymore in these practices. Others think that it is an opportunity for Christian women to teach teenage girls the biblical view on marriage. But what about the special dance they have to perform, for example? At a certain point in the discussion the eyes go to us, missionaries, and ask ‘but you, what do you think is right?’ Those things need a lot study of the culture and Bible study. The Bible doesn’t always give direct answers to certain issues.

We always study women from the Bible; Rebecca, Mary, the Proverbs 31 woman…After teaching we split into small groups to discuss questions with regard to the Bible study. The women are also very eager to learn about health. We invite a nurse to teach a specific health issue. Because most women have never been to school  they have many health questions. It is one thing to keep far from traditional (witch) doctors, but only relying on tablets from the clinic is not always necessary. God has given so much in His creation for us to use for healing.

During the craft in the afternoon (often sewing) we continue discussions, have fun together and sing choruses.  The daddies take care of the babies in the afternoon as they do their chores so that mommy has a break. They even cook dinner for the wives - you can imagine how pampered they feel! The women’s ministry is still in need for support. Please consider if you can help us to keep organizing such meetings to train the wives of pastors.

Dear brother and sisters, we are thankful that the Lord has called us to serve Him in these ministries. This work takes a lot of patience, as we aim for changes in the hearts, attitudes, and lives of people. We are encouraged to know that this change is ultimately only effected by the Holy Spirit. What a privilege it is when we observe evidences of change! We pray that your prayers and support enable to continue these ministries.

Warmly, Cees Molenaar