Phil's ZMS Newsletter - April 2008

Covenant College Farm

Work on the farm is building up since the rain stopped six weeks ago. The fresh green growth is rapidly changing to dry brown. As are the crops, the sunflower has already been harvested and we have 21 bags of seed. The maize crops are drying out quickly and soon the cobs will be dry enough to harvest.

In the last five weeks I visited 21 of the students FGW fields. Below is Cosmos, with his wife and their first child (in his arms, a real daddy’s girl) who had followed the method faithfully and had a wonderful crop. We visited his field on a Monday so after the visit he put his bike in the back of the truck and climbed in for the 30km trip back to the college. What was so touching and showed some of the hardships the students, their wives and children have to suffer to enable them to attend the college is that when his daughter saw him getting into the truck she suddenly realised that this was the day that he left home for some days, her face dropped and she burst into tears which flowed down her cheeks!

Another day we went out for 13 hours, driving 250kms on bush roads. It took 3.5 hours to drive back from the furthest student’s home. He travels this rough road on his bike every Monday to the College and back again on Friday taking him 7-8 hours each way. Is that dedication or what! And it’s not just for the volley ball!

Pre-School Teacher!

For many of you that know me this may come as a bit of a surprise!! During April I became a pre-school teacher. Ok, it was only for a couple of hours and it wasn’t in a classroom. Marjanne helps the teachers one morning a week at a Kunika Community School for pre-school children and she asked me to come and teach them the basics of ‘Farming God’s Way’. We loaded them all into the College vehicle and into the back of mine and took them to the FGW field we had sponsored for this school.

The children were all very excited about having a ‘field trip’. First we asked God to bless the land and the work we were about to do. They were all eager to help preparing the holes and putting in the fertiliser. Then they had to wait for the rain, which came with the help of a previously filled watering can! That was God telling us it was time to sow the seed so they each took seed to put in the prepared holes.

It was great fun and I have to say I enjoyed it very much, thanks Marjanne for asking me to do this. Working with the children is such a privilege, their innocence a joy to see. Pray that God will bless them at a young age and that the spiritual seed sown will have been placed in well prepared hearts. That it will grow within them and produce a harvest that can change attitudes and even nations all over the world!

Local Baptism

On Good Friday we had the privilege of joining a local church and witnessing the baptism of six new members. This joyous occasion took place in a nearby reservoir.

Women’s Meeting

The ladies of CC, Miriam, Marjanne and Jacomien invite the wives of the students once a month to Covenant College for a day of practical and spiritual fellowship together. This gives the ladies a bond with the College where their husbands are training to be Pastors.

Trustee’s Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the CCZT Trustees took place on the 11^th and 12^th April. We thank God for their support and encouragement and the progress God has enabled in all the ministries of CC, (College, Farm, Children, Schools and Women’s,) since we met a year ago.

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray for the safe gathering in of the harvest.
• Pray for the children, everywhere!
• Praise God for the progress of all the ministries over the last 12 months.
• Pray that more will give their lives to Jesus as with those recently baptised.

Thank you for your continued support.

Love Phil