ISSUE 7: September 1983

ERIC & ROSALIND TAYLOR, ZIMBABWE PROJECT

Ameva Farm is situated five miles from Chegutu (formerly Hartley), 70 miles from Harare and 400 miles away from Bulawayo where all the trouble is just now. There are 600 acres of farmland suitable for cropping, of which we have managed to farm 75 with the funds available, and with a lot of help from local farmers. This year we planted 30 acers of maise and 15 acres of cotton. In the two years that we have been there, we have experienced the two worse droughts in most people’s memory which has seriously damaged the economy of Zimbabwe. Because of the drought, the maise has only broken even but the cotton has made respectable profit. Cotton is a fairly drought proof crop. Next year we plan to increase the cotton acreage to 60 acres and the maise to 40 acres. Despite the drought years god has blessed us with rain that other farmers wouldn’t have had. We have a friend in Chegutu who does the books for various farmers in this area. One of them went to her office one morning and complained that the only people to get rain in this place were the bible punching Christians down the road. Most farmers in the last couple of years have had a disastrous time but we have fared rather better. Prise God! We also grow tomatoes on a commercial scale. We started with 1/3acre and now have two acres. Next season we plan to have four acres. The tobacco seed beds are used because they are near the houses and already have irrigation pipes. The water comes from the dam which we share with a neighbouring farmer. African market where the gospel is preached regularly by the students at the Bible School. Selling direct to the customers provides us with ready cash and many contacts with the people, some of whom we have been able to get to know very well. We are also breaking down the barriers of hatred and distrust which have prevailed for so long. Other white farmers don’t go near the market. The poultry unit is doing well. The flock has been increased form 1,300 birds to over 4,000 in the past year. We sell the eggs in the market and outside factory gates. The old laying hens are sold off after a year in the same way, going as far away as Kwe-Kwe to get the best prices. The industry has been hit by egg gluts, petrol shortages and thefts but we have triumphed through them all. Our testimony has been that when other chicken farmers have gone bankrupt through lack of feedstuffs, lack of fuel and ridiculously low prices, we have managed to sell every egg at a responsible price. Our vehicles are all diesel, so the petrol shortage didn’t affect us, and we were able to transport our own feedstuffs, lack of fuel and ridiculously low prices, we have managed to sell every egg at a reasonable price. Our vehicles are all diesel, so the petrol shortage didn’t affect us, we were able to transport our own feedstuffs in Peugeot trucks. To supplement our income our income we have been able to sell old laying birds from other farms at a profit. We can make as much as 90p on a bird, this has been shown to have made more profit in two weeks then in a whole year with the maise. We also sell firewood in the local town; we are making steady progress with this enterprise. There are so many plans afoot to transform Ameva into complex which serves the community. A School, a Conference Centre, a Clinic, a Church have all been designed by the resident architect, Ron White. The money for these has been applied for from the World Council of Churches by the Christian Marching Church. The Heifer Organisation have granted a sum of money to set up a piggery and it is planned to join a scheme to obtain cattle on loan to fatten, any offspring being ours. Derek Spriggs will be in charge of this when grazing becomes available. The purchase of the farm is underway, our part of the deal has been recently signed. It has been a long-protracted affair hampered by the fact that the owner is out of the country. Profits have been used to further the business and to finance the building project.

DAVID & SUE LATHAM, ZIMBAWE PROJECT

John and Celia Valentine – Liverpool

David & Sue Latham – Liverpool

Stan Kearsley – Leigh

Ron & Anna White – Litherland

Derek & Ann Spriggs – Lampeter

Eric & Rosalind Taylor – Bracknell

The Zimbabwe project is a massive project involving a 3,000-acre farm, an extensive is such that building programme and Bible School. The scale of commitment is such that we have come to realise that our intentions and desires for the project will not crystallise overnight. In many areas we are constantly being shaped and moulded into the pattern of that which God intends to do. The farm is divided into three main areas with three farmers each in charge of one area. By all accounts it is amazing that we are still surviving, as surrounding farmers with a lot more capital, experience, and equipment, have either ran into thousands of pounds worth of debt or gone completely bankrupt due to two years of severe drought. The Lord has kept us and allowed us to make a small profit. Often, we have prayed for what seemed to be the impossible and the Lord’s grace has been upon us. The hardships and droughts have only served to eliminate our resources so that we can trust totally in Him. Ron White is responsible for the building programme, many have yet to begin. Six homes have been established, a student accommodation block built, a furniture factory finished and one of the four tobacco barns are down. All has solely accomplished, by the grace of God, at an extremely low cost. When building my own house, for example, we asked the Lord to provide us with a toilet’ French windows and a bath, which was beyond our budget. Three days before we were to start any of these jobs, someone phoned me up to ask us if we could use some French windows, a bath and a toilet that remained from their old house which they had just knocked down! The Bible School is composed of three areas, the school itself, “compound churches” and evangelism. There are many wonderful stories and events that one could tell but suffice it to say that some of the things which have happened this year I had formerly only read about in books. The Lord has been mighty to save, we are thankful to be involved in his purposes. We desire to see people prepared for their Lord and we will be concentrating on the development of a network of bible groups within our local township so please pray for that. The ten students themselves belonging to the Bible School, have been mightily blessed and it has been exciting to see them change as the lord has taken over their lives. Many of them are presently on their vacation and involved in areas of work around the country, attached to various churches. May the Lord mightily use them to reach their nation for him. Keep us all in your hearts as we endeavour to present the gospel in Zimbabwe.

ISSUE 6: May 1983

JOHN & CELIA VALENTINE (GRACE, PAUL & NIEL), ZIMBABWE

It’s hard to believe that its now five months since from since I wrote a report on the work from here for the Christmas issue of the Missionary Digest. I remember that we are just about to plant our maize and cotton crop. I do apologise for the long delay, but time seems to have flown and we are now in the middle of harvesting the crop that was planted then. I certainly have good news for you in that, although we have the worst drought for 83 years, the lord sent us the rain at crucial times we have done far better than expected, even making a reasonable profit on this cropping program. Amen, the lord is good. The chicken project is also proving quite stressful, and we now have 4,000 laying chickens which produce over 3,000 eggs per day. In fact, yesterday we had an order cancelled for 10 boxes, which is 3,600 eggs, but outside a factory this morning starting at six o’clock, within two and a half hours we had sold 15 boxes which included half of yesterday’s productions as well. We are replacing our first batch of laying chickens by the end of next month and it’s hard to visualize that it’s nearly 12 months since I showed your first egg produced here, at Cliff Conference. We had a good time in Harare with the tent over Easter. At some meetings we had over 500 people, many of them having to stand around the outside of the tent which didn’t have its sides on. We were much encouraged by the progress of our previous year’s students. One has a church of over 100 and another has about 30, whilst one of the youngest (only 18 year’s old) has started a couple of small meetings in Harare. They have developed already into true spiritual men, and we thank God that we are seeing fruit through their ministry already. It makes everything worthwhile as we see the Word of God reproduced in others. This year we have about 10 students. I am sure God has kept the numbers down because we have had a water problem with the drought being so sever, but they are a good bunch of students, one coming from Kenya. We are enjoying teaching them and already we have seen great improvement in them and the hunger after things of God. Amen. On the building side we have almost completed the splitting up of existing houses into six completely self-contained units, five family ones and one single unit which houses Stan Kearsley. Amen. We have almost completed a dormitory block for 12 students containing three showers, two toilets and two wash basins. We have been blessed with many visitors from England. Derek Harthill, an electrician from the Birmingham Fellowship, came to help us three weeks and completed quite a lot of necessary electrical work. George Flower came from Exeter and was a great help, being a horticulturalist, to make our garden project. Derek Spriggs also came to survey the farm for the establishing of livestock, mainly cows and pigs and he will probably set up a joinery workshop. Next to arrive was Christine Kyriacou from our home fellowship of Liverpool who brought us up-to date with relevant items of news of dear ones. Her two-month visit was very timely and the Lord’s provision to us at time when help was most needed, particularly with the children during the arrival of our third baby. As our secretary she was also able to tackle the mound of letters that had been pling up over months. After being part of the family and forging such a good bond of love and friendship, she found it hard to leave as she said goodbye to us at the end of her visit. We are sure we will see her back amongst us at some future time. Eventually, after travelling across Africa by various forms of transport, John Ashcroft (brother of Cath Ashcroft from Liverpool) arrived. He is going to oxford in September and so is spending four months with us. He will supervise the establishing of a primary school for our compound children who number about 40. Later we will draw up plans for a school which will enable children from the other villages to attend. This school will accommodate about 250 children and will have government approval. My wife Celia gave birth to our third child, a 7lb boy called Neil (a short form for Othniel, lion or force of God), on 13th April 1983. They are both very well and thank God for looking after them since, at the beginning of pregnancy, a miscarriage was threatened which prevented Celia from travelling out with me when I first came. Amen. In our garden we have a small citrus grove as well as other established fruit trees, Mango, Avocado and Guava. One of the fruits which gives me the greatest pleasure is the pomegranate of which there is a whole line. This fruit, then developed, is full of blood-red seeds and so speaks to me of the seed, Jesus being planted in blood and water and in the earth to bring forth a glorious harvest. I trust that, in days to come, we will abound in sending forth from the place men and women prepared to laydown their lives as he did to bring forth a glorious harvest for his kingdom. We ourselves will be returning home early in October, with Ron and Anna White, and look forward to most of you again. We will return to Zimbabwe after three months to continue with what the Lord would have us do there. Truly the harvest is ripe, we want to take every opportunity we can while the country is still open to the Gospel. Thank you all for your love and support.

ISSUE 5: January 1983

JOHN VALENTINE, ZIMBABAWE PROJECT

Its now 5.30am and the sun is just coming up. Today we will begin to plant 15 acres of cotton with the help from out friend, Mr Martin Tracy, a neighbouring Christian farmer. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks since he told us to get the field ready and he would come and help us plant. There was a problem getting an allocation of fertilizer and seed, but the lord overruled. A pinion inside the tractor steering box snapped, the hydraulics wouldn’t work and then one of the lifting bars cracked. The tractor is so old that everything on it seems to need replacing. I thank God, however, that we have a tractor and other essential equipment coming on its way from the UK. We would also like to thank those who God use so wonderfully to make it possible. We have heard that the container carrying these goods has arrived in Durban, South Africa, and we will now be railed up to Harare, Zimbabwe. We are awaiting its arrival with great expectancy, as you can imagine. Ron and Anna White from Lither-Land, with their little girl Katie, and myself arrived here on 10th October. My own wife Celia and my children, Paul and Grace did not travel with us. Celia was advised by her doctor, due to a threatened miscarriage, not travel for a time. Evan in this I can see the Lord’s hand, in that 10 of us have been having to use the one bathroom, and the water situation is rather precarious. If there is a good plumber with time to spare, please contact me! Gina Porter and Ann Burns returned home on 22nd October and after having been here to greet us and help us settle in. It was quite an experience for them as at one time they found themselves preaching at an open-air in the marketplace to about 150 people. They also took many meetings at compound churches, together with women’s meetings, as being invaluable help in the house. The chickens are now giving us about 75 dozen eggs a day which we sell down the local market and our biggest producer in the area has dropped his price 25 cents a dozen below ours. This is causing a little concern. The cotton planting is now finished after 1 ½ days and we have moved on to transplanting 5,000 tomato plants from the nursery beds. Last night some of them which had been re-planted looked forlorn and dead laying in pools of water. This morning it was wonderful to see them raising up and beginning to stand. It spoke to me wonderfully of our resurrection out of death through baptism into new fruitful life in Christ. Amen! The students are still looking after three compound churches, in which the ladies’ meetings are thriving. Each Thursday afternoon Rossalind, Anna and sue have a meeting with them, then they teach something practical like sewing, reading, writing, or cooking. It has been a tremendous blessing to them and last week two women testified to how much they appreciated this help and concern. Ron White and Dave Latham have been very busy leading evangelistic teams down into the market and into several schools, as well as teaching in the Bible School. The opportunities are limitless. We have also been asked to take responsibility for another church which we are considering prayerfully. We will soon be advertising for students for the nest year and would value your prayers that the lord will bring forth the right men. A white Roman Catholic priest came yesterday asking can he send one of his lay workers to the right school. It will cost about £30 for a ten-week term, so if anyone would like to sponsor a student who cannot afford this, please write to David Latham who is acting as registrar. We have also started construction work for students’ accommodation and dividing the existing buildings for family dwellings. Eric and Rossalind Taylor, who have now moved into their own cottage. This is a welcome move as they are expecting their first child in May. Colin Davies from Epson returned home in October after being a great help and blessing here over the past 9 months. We thank you for continued support and prayers in the past nine months. We thank you for your continued support and prayers in these formative days. We believe that God will send men out from here to preach His Gospel throughout Africa. Amen!