Dear Prayer partners and Supporters,

Here we are again glad to give you all an update on all that is happening in our ministries.

Let us start with the farm.

Broiler chickens are doing very well this time around, two batches at a time, the pullets are also looking very promising, come March we start receiving eggs! Goats are being restocked and we have had kids born in the last month. Cows and pigs too are doing just fine! Our gardens are bringing in a nice amount of vegetables. We are thankful for that, because from this week on we have to feed many students! It is unfortunate that we can’t say our maize fields are doing fine. We have experienced quite a period of drought. We need God’s intervention so that we don’t lose all this year’s crop. Please pray with us for enough rain!

There also have been worries about the progress of the work in the CEM schools. The outbreak of cholera in Lusaka made the schools not to open early January in our area as well. We hope soon all schools will be functioning. Please pray for commitment from teachers and trainers so that the gospel can be shared in the lives of many children and they will learn the skills to read the (children’s) Bible themselves as well in future!

On the college side, we are thankful for the start we made in the week of the 12th of February when food, stationary and cleaning materials were bought, bunk beds were made ready, and students started arriving. The first one to arrive was Tepper Kuteeue, a new student from Botswana! So far we have welcomed 39 students this semester. These have come from different places in Zambia, but also from Malawi. We are thankful for the increase in numbers!

On the 15th of February we had a welcome party for all the students and also for Marjanne, who we picked up in Lusaka the day before. Thankful she arrived safely back from her furlough in The Netherlands. The welcome party started with a group of women from staff members and the cook busy in the morning preparing foods, while students were waiting for what was ahead…

Together with all staff and students we enjoyed a big meal. We listened to beautiful singing from some students and laughed a lot when some students gave an humorful act or poem. The meal enjoyed then followed a big surprise, made by the wife of the principal. We all got a piece of a wonderful homemade cake! No doubt everyone felt very welcome!

After the meal we watched a small movie about team work. At the end of the afternoon Samba and Marjanne kept the students busy with some games. It helped us to get to know each other and to bind us together for the coming months.

This letter is a bit long, but we really want to show you how life is at our premises. Hopefully it gives you the feeling you would like to be part of us! You are very welcome to visit us!

Please pray that the coming year will be spiritual fruitfull for all people involved in our ministries!

Pastor Emmanuel Sakala
Principal