"A lot of maize [corn] was stolen from my plot," reported Gogo Sixpence, a widowed grandmother who serves on the Life to Life Africa team. LTLA Director in Chinhoyi, Arthur Nhau, also said that corn was stolen from the middle of the LTLA Community Center plot. Those stealing could not be seen taking the corn from the middle of the plots. We anticipate this will also be the report from the LTLA families we serve once the team is able to interact with them after the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted in Zimbabwe.
There are an estimated 4.3 million Zimbabweans in need of food assistance, according to the United Nations. The droughts in the last few years, along with the collapsed economy and now a 5 week national lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19, have intensified the desperation within people who live hand to mouth. Our ministry has provided food assistance to the families we serve, as well as training them in effective farming methods. We have noticed that our families are seeing higher yields in their corn harvest using these sustainable methods, which I am sure has drawn attention from others who are stealing from their plots. Pray with us as we determine how to respond as a ministry to this food crises in Zimbabwe. We want to help people in their time of need, with a long term view that they live sustainable and honest lives. For this to happen we know their hearts need to be redeemed through Christ, which will enable them to respond by following Him in discipleship.
During my last trip to Zimbabwe, eight of us on the LTLA team attended the annual Foundations for Farming (FFF) conference. FFF conferences encourage trainees to help people practically apply the truth of God's word into their daily lives, particularly in growing food to eat. We believe this is a critical ministry approach in a country that is struggling to feed itself. We need your prayers for steadfastness to continue carrying the life transforming message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the midst of droughts, stolen harvests, a collapsed economy and now a virus pandemic.
We also need wisdom from the Lord in how to proceed with ministry activities once the COVID-19 national lockdown is lifted in Zimbabwe. The government may give guidelines, but we want to safely engage with the vulnerable people we serve. They need the incarnation of the Gospel, yet it needs to be done in a way that does not put them and our team at risk. Many are immunocompromised, and the health care system struggles to provide adequate treatment. The typical cold viruses will become active over the next four months in their winter season, so we will need to take extra precautions through August. Most likely these precautions will extend indefinitely until COVID-19 is under control.
We know that God is on the throne and He is accomplishing His purposes. In this we take comfort and courage as we serve Him to advance His kingdom.
Trusting our good Heavenly Father,
Mike Sulc
Life to Life Africa
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| Corn harvested from the LTLA Community Center plot. |
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| Eight LTLA team members attended the Foundations for Farming Conference, March 3-5, 2020 (Shelton, Faith, Itai, Prestege, Marvelous, Mr. Lunga, Arthur and Mike). |
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| Rocket stove and oven prototypes displayed at Foundations for Farming Conference. (Rocket stove technology minimizes the use of firewood for cooking.) |
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| Mr Lunga standing next to the rocket stove oven. He serves the LTLA Critical Care Center by cooking breakfast and lunch with firewood for 30 pre school orphans. He is keen to implement the rocket stove technology in his cooking for the Critical Care Center. |
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| Shelton (front row in red & black Addidas warm up jacket) & Itai (to right of Shelton) listening to composting training during the Foundations for Farming Conference. |
LTLA team members turning over a compost pile at the community center: