Dear CCZT Partners,

This is now almost two months from the time we opened our first semester at the College for this year and thus, we have much to give you updates on. Our different ministries have had activities despite the onslaught of the Covid.

College

The college opened on the 9th of February with 20 students; 9 in the diploma and 11 in the certificate classes as shared earlier in the monthly prayer letter. Even though we were allowed by the government to open, the Covid situation in the nation is still alarming. So we are adhering to all the stringent health regulations from the ministry of health. The students are staying as much as possible at the campus during this semester.

The dormitory has seen some transformation with new curtains in every room. The kitchen is also
undergoing some rehabilitation with a ceiling board and a new coat of paint.

On the lecturers’ side, we are currently depending on the local lecturers until the Covid situation improves and allows us to begin allowing lecturers from other countries. If the pandemic persists, we shall resort to using virtual lessons with them as an alternative solution.

On the 22nd February, we had a seminar for local lecturers intended to sharpen their lecturing skills. This was ably handled by Rev. Albert Ngoma, a retired head teacher himself. We also had a visit from the Manager and her team from Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO), Petauke Branch.

Our Diploma students were blessed with a gift each of the Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the whole Bible. In addition to this, all the students received a daily reading guide, ‘Daily Words Booklet’ to aid them read the scriptures every day! These were donated to them by one of our local partners.

Farm

We received adequate rains this season so our surroundings are nice and green. The maize and sunflower crops are promising a good harvest too. Our gardens, the other hand, are producing enough vegetables already for feeding the students. We even have had opportunities to sell some tomatoes and vegetables at the market. This is what gives us a bit of income for the College. The strawberry project is on-going and currently, the plants are still in hibernation giving us the time to propagate more from the runners for sale and extending our field outside of the greenhouses. It is never silent at our farm! We have so far 10 cows remaining after we sold three bulls, about 50 goats and 52 pigs in stock. Beside these, we have 1000 birds in our 2 chicken houses intended for feeding the students and also for supplementing our income. Our farm truck has been making many trips to the boma and other places to sell birds and vegetables. Unfortunately, it is currently on breakdown and this is hampering our farm work. The hammer mill and oil expeller are still on recess until the harvest period beginning from May this year.

CEM

In the last newsletter, we shared about the news of Martha Chulu Katongo coming to work for CEM as a local coordinator. We can now confidently report that she has settled down in her newfound work and we are thankful to God for what she has been able to achieve in a short time period.

However, at the moment, she is prohibited from visiting the pre-schools in the province due to the prevailing Covid situation in the country. But sharing the gospel with children using alternative means is never prohibited. That is why she has started a radio program with PASME radio station based in Petauke. Using this avenue, she is able to share Bible stories and literacy activities. She has also developed nice literacy materials that can be included in our CEM literacy courses.

Together with Marjanne, our International CEM Coordinator, Martha has continued sharing Bible story movies in Chinyanja, our local language, using WhatsApp and Facebook.

At the moment Marjanne still works for us from The Netherlands. Due to the covid situation in Zambia and the strict Covid lockdown in her country, plans to return were changed time after time. In between we see God’s goodness in opening many other doors for the project that started last year of making Bible story movies. With the help of native speakers we are now sharing movies in 6 different languages. Different organisations have also shown interest and are in touch with Marjanne. We are thankful her days are filled with mission work and for the possibility to communicate together through videocalls.

We hope this update on our projects gives you an idea about how the Lord enables us to serve in His Kingdom in spite of the prevailing pandemic. We appreciate and still covet your prayers for us and do give God the glory for what is being achieved on the ground here and afar field.

Pastor Emmanuel Sakala

Principal