Dear CCZT Partners,

As we conclude this year, we would like to give you an update on what has been going on in our different ministries.

College

When we look back in 2020, we see how our plans for the College were not God’s plans. We were very thankful for the number of new students we had, but instead of teaching them two semesters, we had to send them home after only a few weeks of teaching, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The offices have remained open throughout this period enabling us to plan for 2021. We kept ourselves busy with developing material for our students and all kinds of administration issues. Some lecturers were engaged in translation work into the local dialect for the certificate class. We even attended a virtual conference with Mukhanyo and managed to host an alumni seminar at our campus after the lock down restrictions were eased.

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One of the things that continued throughout the year undeterred was our chapel services. The effect of preaching God’s Word can’t be stopped. We can always expect fruit, because of God’s promise that His Word will never return to Him without fruit!

Farm

The Farm has had a busy year. A number of projects were undertaken: fencing grazing areas for our cows, building sheds for the goats and cows and a new chicken house.

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Our greenhouse got damaged when a big tree fell on it but thankful it was repaired again. We have continued with the vegetable gardens and have started a strawberry project. Our hammer mill has been working day and night, depending on the hours Zesco, our electricity company, provided electricity for us.

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We are glad to share with you that we eventually found a new Farm Manager in the name of Yezya Sibale. He took up office in November this year.

CEM

As for CEM, 2020 became such a totally challenging year as we were forced to adapt to new methods of teaching using virtual reality. For instance, at the beginning of this year; we had several invitations to conduct training and conferences throughout Zambia but this was not achieved due to the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to the closure of schools, colleges and churches. Hence, another method was adopted to reach out to our targeted
groups using WhatsApp and Facebook virtual reality. Moreover, today CEM could now reach out to even more people than ever before! Through recorded Bible stories shared through Facebook and WhatsApp, we reach out at the moment, as far as we know, to eight African countries with our movies distributed locally and abroad in Chinyanja and in English respectively. We receive encouraging feedback from people using our CEM study materials and videos.

While Marjanne, our International CEM Coordinator, is in the Netherlands, she is fully involved in going around to various schools and churches to present CEM mission work. As a result, other people and organisations showed interest in our movie project etc. in Arabic and Urdu dialects; of course, with the help of native speakers. We glorify the Lord for His wondrous ways to spread the Good News of Salvation in this simple way, so that children, parents and teachers are reached, even when all over the world restrictions and lock down stories are filling the headlines of the daily news. We know: God is in control! Let us pray for many fruits as a result on this labour in His vineyard!

We are also happy to share with you that in January 2021, Mrs. Martha Chulu Katongo, will start working for CEM as a Local Coordinator while Marjanne will continue as International Coordinator. Martha was trained by CEM over the last couple of years and has shown a lot of passion for reaching out to children with Christian Education approach. As a teacher at her preschool in Lundazi, she involved a number of other schools into the CEM program. She is also the
one behind the movies being distributed in the local Chinyanja dialect. We hope that her labours for CEM will be a blessing in the area around Covenant College. Pray for her husband and daughter as they shift from Lundazi to stay at our premises in Petauke.

Pastor Emmanuel Sakala
Principal