Trumpet Call

Foundations for Farming Testimony

2012-02-07T22:32:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 3:11 "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

A former gold panner, Makesure Muchenge, has become one of the best conservation agriculture trainers in Africa. Many Non Governmental Organisations dream of having such stories from their development programmes. However, Makesure wasn’t the product of a programme, but his success was the result of a relationship. Specifically, Makesure was befriended by former Zimbabwean commercial farmer, Boet Pretorious. When the two first met, Makesure was living a destructive lifestyle, spending what little money he had on alcohol, rather than caring for his family or investing in his livelihood. Boet, a Christian dedicated to training the poor in Africa to feed themselves using Foundations for Farming, loved and mentored Makesure and helped him turn his life around.

Since those early days, there has been real transformation in Makesure’s life. He no longer struggles with drunkenness and is producing enough as a farmer to provide for his family's needs as well as others in his community. In fact, Makesure has gone on to win a farming award and been offered some of Zimbabwe's prime land as a prize. However, Makesure turned down this offer of land to continue helping his community. Rarely do you hear of “rags to riches” stories about rural Zimbabwe. It is rarer still to hear of a farmer rejecting a sure way to more riches to stay and help his or her community for no gain.

The key to Makesure's success has been following the Foundations for Farming methodology of minimal tillage and no burning but using mulching, crop rotation and high management instead, Makesure insists however that his successful farming enterprise is more a result of his relationship with Boet, which has changed his heart and attitude to life. Having understood and felt the love and grace of God from a white, former commercial farmer, Makesure says he decided to also become a Christian. Learning to be faithful with what he has been given and loving those around him have also inspired Makesure to be a great farmer who uses his profits to help his community.

Foundations for Farming has seen many lives, besides Makesure's, transformed through its teaching and relationships with farmers.

Trumpet Call: Update.....

2010-10-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

TRUMPET CALL! - Churches Together for Transformation has now been launched across the country and the broad based Church proclaimed the prophetic message on 26 September 2010 to its flock. Training at various sites continues in earnest as various Churches receive training on small scale farming so that they can empower their congregations to feed themselves and to reach out to the poor in their communities. There is a strong focus on rural communities whose
livelihoods were decimated by the economic hardships that we experienced during the periods of extreme hyperinflation.

It is a great joy to see the Church working out this Isaiah 58 message practically! The parable of being faithful with the little is being preached effectively through Foundations for Farming/Farming God's Way.

May we all one day "...be known as the people who rebuilt their walls and cities." (Isaiah 58:12).

By Roy Chimanikire

Trumpet Call: Bulawayo News...

2010-10-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

Word of Life band leading praise songs at White City Stadium

The day was hot but streams of people braved the heat and gathered at White City Stadium to pray for our Nation Zimbabwe. There were probably a total of 3 000 people who attended. Although it was hot, the atmosphere was great. Praise and worship was led by the band from Word of Life Church. They did a fantastic job of singing songs that most people knew. Vibrant song and dance got everyone in the spirit of unity. It was awesome.

The presence of God was felt and the prayer was a great beginning step for the Church to lead the way in shaping Zimbabwe. Kenneth Chirimuta opened in prayer. Mrs Zulu who is part of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference did an incredible job. She read from Genesis 1 and spoke about creation and man in creation v26. We are meant to take our stand in creation and dominate. The speeches went well: Overseer Nhira’s spoke on unity, being relevant as Christians and feeding ourselves as a Nation. The Prayer was led by various church leaders on different aspects pertaining to Zimbabwe on being passionate for God, passionate for each other and passionate about our nation. Mbonisi Malaba was very good as he shared the heart, science and technology of Foundations for Farming.

Everyone ended up on their knees at White City Stadium to pray for Zimbabwe. What a moving moment!

Comments from a few people:
1. Interesting to see Catholics and Pentecostals together.
2. It was brilliant, especially the unity - everyone presenting a unified front and we got a sense of the church on mission and the church taking its place in leading the nation.
3. Seeing about 200 Pastors from different churches on the podium was wonderful.
4. The meeting is but the beginning of Churches working together. The Pastors were very encouraged.

Prayer transforms a nation….

Braving the heat at White City Stadium

By Molly Manhanga

Catching up with Werner Johannes Swart

2010-09-28T02:29:00.001-07:00

Werner Swart

It was excellent catching up with Werner Swart in Kezi, Bulawayo. Werner is based in Dunnottar which is in East Gauteng Province in South Africa. Werner works with Harvest Evangelism and he is the African Director. His job incorporates facilitating transformation processes in Africa and the world and seeks to develop prototypes.

M.M: It’s just great having you in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe at this time. What are your comments about the 26th September 2010?
W.S: Zimbabwe is poised for incredible change and breakthroughs. I had the sense that the nation is united and the leaders that spoke at the prayer day had a key understanding of what it is all about. Everyone was focused on feeding the Nation. This is just a start to the change that God wants to bring in Zimbabwe. It was an incredible event in the history of the Nation and I felt privileged to be there. I will look back at marvel.

M.M: How did you get connected with key people in Zimbabwe?
W.S: I was introduced to Peter Cunningham in Bulawayo by Indonesian businessmen and we met Ken Sharp, a businessman in Harare. It was through these meetings that we had the Trumpet call conference at Wild Geese in Harare with Ed Silvoso and The Marketplace Meeting in Harare with leading government officials and prominent businessmen.

M.M: I have always believed and understood that no matter where I work, it is a place to share the gospel and win the lost. We hear a lot about Church and the Marketplace as though they were two separate things? Does some sort of bridging need to occur?
W.S: Absolutely. The two streams need bridging. In the world it’s all about power and control and then church is for a Sunday but what God does in and through the Church and what God does in and through the Marketplace is the same. Trumpet Call is amazing in that it is already addressing the divide. Pastors are challenged to facilitate change in the marketplace through farming. It’s an amazing prototype. We need the same in other areas like education, business, mining, and the Arts and crafts – in everything we do otherwise we’ll see it as “the secular” and “the church.”

M.M: I agree. But how do you see this happening?
W.S: We all need to make a shift in our thinking. Pastors for example, can make a difference in the marketplace while businessmen can see themselves as anointed and be used by God. There are Biblical examples but the coin just hasn’t dropped: e.g. Joseph tending his father’ sheep. He made a business decisions that expanded the kingdom. The miracle of the fish where Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side. This was a business miracle. The disciples sold the fish.

M.M: The International Prayer day for Zimbabwe was the first step where the Church in Zimbabwe has taken the lead in shaping the Nation. What are your hopes for the future?
W.S: I hope to hear many stories of transformation and to see all sectors of society get infiltrated geographically and sectorally. God directs this process and it will get viral. We start to take the initiative in our own spheres. No one will be able to stop it. The leadership God has placed needs to continue facilitating the course. It can become overwhelming but this is a God-given mandate to particular people/leaders. The way you got here is the way you’ll move forward: e.g. – Moses - he needed to stay on course. Although he appointed people, he still led.

M.M: What do you think is the greatest challenge in National Transformation?
W.S: Leading is the biggest challenge. I agree with John Maxwell when he says that “Everything rises or falls on the leader.”

M.M: It’s been really inspirational chatting to you. Enjoy your time in Kezi and in Zimbabwe and we certainly hope to see more of you.

By Molly Manhanga

Reflections on the Trumpet Call Prayer Day for Zim by Scott Marques

2010-09-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Harare Trumpet Call meeting kicked-off at 12pm on-the-dot and reminded me of the Isaiah 58 verse saying that 'your gloom will be as the noonday sun' and that God will 'satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land'! The moment seemed to carry all of that prophetic sense in a very practical way.

The crowd represented the diversity of race, tribe, colour, denomination and vocation that we had hoped for. The 'Trumpet Call' song rang out exuberantly with the great last verse saying 'He is the Way to healing our nation, He is the Way to Transformation, He is the Way to glory and salvation'....and the verses saying 'Reach out church, reach out' following the verses of Isaiah 58. I can honestly say that it felt like Jesus was praised
and lifted up above all else.

Diverse contributions from leaders of the church demonstrated the extraordinary unity in the Spirit that God has worked-out in our midst. Although the numbers in the crowd, around 10,000 people, did not reflect the traction that one may have expected with the leadership buy-in, there seems to be huge potential to build on the sincere passion and direction of this
gathering.

The welcome by the general secretaries of the umbrella bodies was a special moment and reflected amazing love between denominations: Langton Gatsi prayed powerfully and Angus Buchan brought an exhortation, connecting us to the International Day of Prayer going on around the world. Following these contributions, Dr Goodwill Shana and Scott Marques preached on the heart-message and the practicalities of the church feeding Zimbabwe this year. Brian Oldreive and Father Chiromba prayed into these messages. Pastor Tom Deuschle led an offering exhortation and Dr Shana sent us off as the Foundations for Farming “Gumboot” dancers did a song and worship continued. It was a truly historic and memorable meeting.

I(Scott) received calls and messages for the rest of the afternoon of similar testimonies from around the country. The theme of passionate response to the Trumpet Call message seems to have been evident right across the nation, with wonderful connection at leadership level.

The challenge for us now is to explore how we can effectively take the message of Trumpet Call down through the networks and districts to actually see the millions in the body of Christ coming to hear and respond before November planting time.

We are praying and seeking God for the next steps, with a sense of urgency and moment that God has us in.

Thank-you for all your prayers, your love and support. Please continue to pray for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on Zimbabwe and beyond as it is in heaven.

Foundations for Farming Champs Update....

2010-09-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

The Champions Gathering in September of 2010 was attended by 200 delegates.
Day one proved to be a momentous occasion as the sessions were attended by the church fathers comprising the three main streams in Zimbabwe, namely the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference. This is surely unprecedented in this country and probably worldwide where all the church regardless of doctrinal differences has come togetheras one to endorse and fully support a single initiative. This of course is Trumpet Call! Churches together for Transformation!

Scott Marques and Brian Oldreive shared the vision of Foundations for Farming and Trumpet Call with passion and there was a hearty affirmation from all delegates that the time for rebuilding has come for Zimbabwe!

This Champs proved to be a very spiritual time with more emphasis on the hearts of men rather than technical teachings. Excellent Praise and Worship set the tone for every session and testimonies from far and wide were extremely moving. Two pastors from Uganda went the extra mile and after five gruelling days of bus travel, arrived at Westgate at four in the morning!

Boet Pretorious was outstanding in presenting the Well Watered Garden .
Of real significance was the delegation of farmers from Ficksburg South Africa. These amazing men and women of God had Isaiah 58 planted in their hearts some years back without really knowing why and were overjoyed to find the answer at Champs! They said they can feel the tensions rising in South Africa over theland issue and were wanting answers as to how to react as Christian farmers.

Brian’s exhortation to “share land and teach” struck a powerful chord in their spirits and they went back full of hope with definite plans to emulate Jesus,and with humility and unselfishness, serve their community and country. The station was as usual looking pristine and as Craig always says “The fields at the September Champs are for me far more visually stunning than in March – Seeing fields weed free with thick mulch reveals the heart of Foundations for Farming. And when we see land around Zimbabwe in the same condition this time next year we will know that revival has truly begun!”

"Your Prayers are Needed"...from Brian Oldreive

2010-09-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

ZIMBABWE IS AT A CROSSROADS OF HISTORY

A new era is dawning, and either our hurting nation will be rebuilt on the world’s money and the world’s system of human tradition, or on God’s way through a strong and united church, obeying and applying the Word of God to all of life.

In an unprecedented way, all groupings of the wider Body of Christ are gathering in many centres throughout Zimbabwe on
SUNDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER

WE ARE UNITING AROUND THE LORD’S BLUEPRINT PLAN FOR REBUILDING A NATION IN ISAIAH 58:1-12

This plan begins with a loud trumpet call to turn back to God, and away from the selfishness in the heart that has been the root cause of all problems on earth. This plan is magnificently expressed by God’s people together removing the yoke of poverty and oppression of the poor. The rebuilding of the nation begins with this heart and by faithfully using the land that God has given us.

This cannot happen with one obedient church, or one denomination, (although this may well be the beginning point) but by the incredible critical mass of effectiveness of all of God’s people building together in unity, as happened in the story of Nehemiah.

WE ARE APPEALING TO ALL ZIMBABWEANS AND THOSE IN THE DIASPORA
AS WELL AS THOSE WITH A HEART FOR THE POOR AND FOR THE GLORY OF GOD IN ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD TO JOIN US IN PRAYER THAT THE LORD WILL HAVE MERCY AND LIFT HIS CHASTENING HAND FROM US AND ALLOW THE REBUILDING TO HAPPEN HIS WAY

Please pray that the rebuilding will be done through the humility and unselfishness of Christ Jesus, expressed in His people, so that when the Lord allows us to prosper once again, we will not fall into the pride, selfishness, and materialism of the ways of the world.

GOD’S PEOPLE CAN DISCIPLE A WHOLE NATION!

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR OUR HOLY GOD

“FOR NO-ONE CAN LAY ANY FOUNDATION OTHER THAN THE ONE ALREADY LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST” (1 CORINTHIANS 3:11)

Trumpet Call: Bulawayo Business Breakfast

2010-09-15T06:26:00.000-07:00

30 business people were invited to the breakfast at Holiday Inn in Bulawayo. The turnout was fantastic.

Pastor Kenneth Chirimuta from Victory Fellowship opened the breakfast in a word of prayer.

Tapiwa Chizana,(Partner in Deloitte and Touché and leader of Thembalezizwe Church), spoke about what Trumpet Call is and basically said it is a Call to love God, love each other and to love the poor. It is also a Call for the Nation to feed itself through Foundations for Farming – farming through Biblical principles. Foundations for Farming is LIFE TRANSFORMING. This transformation of hearts will affect the way we live, work, farm and so on.
The Church and leaders are engaging the business community to be involved with Trumpet Call. God is refining the Church and increasing the unity of leaders. Christians in the Marketplace play a key role in the transformation of the Nation as in the case of Joseph found in Genesis. David was anointed by Samuel but it wasn’t until he had a “Goliath moment” that he was really noticed. We have a “Goliath moment”; to see the Kingdom of God expanded in Zimbabwe.

What are we asking from the businessmen?
1. To use their influence, reputation and resources to mobilize the market place and within their local churches for a transformational work of the spirit amongst all people.
There is a media blitz rallying the Church and Nation for September 26th – For such a time as this.
Economic transformation happens when people of God take their rightful place. It’s a divine moment to see God’s glory shine.

Peter Cunningham (Prominent Businessman in Bulawayo) followed on from Tapiwa Chizana saying that Trumpet Call is from Isaiah 58 – “To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?” In essence, Trumpet Call is a Call for the Church to Action. We look at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18 – 20 and it says make disciples, baptize them and them speak/teach them. Kingdom advance is led by practical action before teaching.

In Zimbabwe right now, we have 16% food security but God has prepared this time for us – a specific moment. This is the time we need to act and demonstrate God’s life, love and power in us. Foundations for Farming is a unifying platform for the Nation to feed itself.

Trumpet Call is a Call to lead the Nation to transformation. If 1 million Christians planted 0.5 hectares before or by November 25th and did everything the same, we’ll have enough to feed ourselves as yields will go up. Jesus is actively on the move in this and it’s our prophetic moment in Zimbabwe.

Peter went on to share how the Catholic Church and 300 Bishops are100% behind Trumpet Call and Foundations for Farming; how the full weight of the government is behind this as well. The exciting part is that the Christians are being asked to teach the Nation how to farm and that God receives ALL the glory. God is moving in Zimbabwe. There is dynamism of Jesus moving miraculously in our Nation and Trumpet Call will change the spiritual climate in Zimbabwe. September 26th is the launch for Calling the Nation to “GO FOR IT!”

Marketing Campaign: We have 56 hours of television time on training and teaching, 200 hours on radio over the next 3 months, 500,000 flyers are going out in Shona, English and Ndebele and we’ll have Operation Trumpet Call sites across Zimbabwe and there is a real sense of movement and the Church in Action!

It is a Heart thing as God wants our hearts. If we embrace Kingdom principles, there will be fruitfulness in our lives.

The businessmen responded positively and are eager to play their part.

Summarized By Molly Manhanga

Trumpet Call update by Scott Marques

2010-09-12T23:18:00.000-07:00

‘Trumpet Call! Continues to gather extraordinary momentum as we run into the month of September, with a view to some special times on the 26th of the month. It has been a great joy to see teams visiting key leaders in the church, marketplace and government this week, all receiving such favourable response and encouragement. Progress is being made on securing venues in Harare and ten other cities around the country, as well as sound systems and mobilisation strategy. A small team is with Angus Buchan in South Africa as I write, to connect relationally and prophetically with him for all that God may for us together in Zimbabwe and even further afield through Trumpet Call!. Potential continues to develop for heart-and-soul participation of Christians in the marketplace, as well as many in government and key positions of influence. It is awesome to see how God is working through such diversity of people and diversity of gifting with remarkable unity of purpose.

The Trumpet Call! to the church to turn wholeheartedly to God with renewed passion for Jesus, renewed passion for one another and renewed passion AND ACTION for the nation is ringing out! Faith is rising in the hearts of many for the church to deliver the wisdom of God at the level of the poorest (staple-feeding an entire nation) as a spring-board for further transformational influence into all sectors of society for the rebuilding of the nation and the demonstration of God’s glory far beyond Zimbabwe. I keep praying ‘that they see our good works and praise our Father who is in heaven.’

There is a big day for Trumpet Call! where 56 leaders from across the twenty six denominations under Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) plus 56 leaders from across every diocese of the Catholic Church are gathering at River of Life Westgate for a day of ‘Vision and Activation for Trumpet Call!’. We hope that this will result in the full buy-in of the denominational churches under Zimbabwe Council of Churches to augment the formal engagement of the Catholic Church (Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference) in Trumpet Call! This would make Trumpet Call! a fully church-wide initiative, owned by the Heads of all Christian Denominations. We hope to interview many of the key leaders at this gathering, as well as some key leaders of the evangelical Heads of Denominations, getting their comments on what God is doing in Zimbabwe. We imagine that these interviews will form part of a television and media campaign to call the churches together on September 26th.

God’s grace is amazing. He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3.17)

Thank-you Father for your love and your purpose to bless all the nations of the earth through your Son and through your sons, your people. Lord, have your way in us in this nation so that those who do not know you may be saved and that this nation may shine your glory far beyond our borders.’

By Scott Marques

The Call Is Going Out!

2010-08-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

Many of you have heard the story of how the Lord brought Farming God’s Way into being and how, right at the beginning, He gave us Isaiah 58 to guide us along His straight path. Isaiah 58 begins with a very loud Trumpet Call that announces God’s process that results in those, who are obedient to that call, being named as the “Rebuilders of the Ancient Ruins, on the Age-old Foundations, Repairers of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

A Dramatic Beginning
Well, for us in Africa, that call to the rebuilding process is really beginning to happen in earnest. We believe that the Lord is selecting Zimbabwe as His beginning point because “He chooses what is foolish in the world to confound the wise and what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” The most foolish and weakest nation in the world at the moment seems to be Zimbabwe. When we look at the international news, Zimbabwe is often depicted as the laughing stock of the world. We have recently witnessed the fastest crash in history of any nation’s economy and probably also its agricultural production. In FGW/Foundations for Farming the Lord has given us His foundational platform to address both of these collapses (ruins), because Isaiah 58 shows us that it first requires the right heart and motive of the True Fast, and then that Agriculture is the Entrance Point for the National Rebuild.

A Call Round the World
The Trumpet Call is being blown loudly to the churches in Zimbabwe at the moment and it will reach a crescendo just after this next Champs (7-9 September) on the 26th September, when a Call to Prayer will go round the world to the Zimbabwe Diaspora and all those interested in the Rebuild/Transformation of Zimbabwe and Africa. The Trumpet Call initiative is being co-ordinated through a partnership between the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Foundations for Farming – and includes a team from the United Kingdom that is mobilising international prayer for the 26th September which will give support to the gatherings of hopefully between 300-500 000 in Harare, and large gatherings in the other major cities. Parallel to this there is an inspired initiative to have 55 Foundations for Farming sites prepared and immaculately ready by the 26th as training points strategically placed throughout all the rural areas of the nation. The vision is that the Church will truly be used by God to feed the nation this year!

The appeal is for all the churches in Zimbabwe to forsake their local gatherings and travel on Sunday the 26th to a huge central venue to worship and call out to God for the healing of the nation His Way. Because the rebuild begins with the faithful use of the land, we will be appealing (on TV and every available means) for everybody in the nation to plant at least a symbolic patch of maize On Time, At Standard, Without Wastage and With Joy! This patch can be as little as four plants, preferably in a prominent, easily visible position i.e. in front of each dwelling place, 75cm x 60cm apart, fully mulched, at the Highest Standard possible! We want to honour and lift up Jesus so that He draws a multitude to Himself!

Please Pray for this Momentous and Critical Time
The year 2011 brings the referendum for a new National Constitution followed by the National Parliamentary Elections for Zimbabwe. There has been a strategic lull in the tensions in Zim during the season of the Football World Cup, and we expect the Evil One to have one last diabolical attempt to maintain dominance of the nation. This siege may be the most violent and repressive of all. We pray that this will be a great prompt for the National Church to unite and turn back absolutely wholeheartedly to God and to seek His Face and His Ways. In fact this very turn back to God will be the best way to protect the extremely vulnerable ones from great harm and suffering. Please pray for them and for the clearance of the way for this exceedingly significant gathering to happen. It will need a miracle from the Lord!

This September Champs will Point the Way to the 26th
I appeal to the Champions and Supporters from the other nations not to think that this is just another “Zim thing”. It really is a Continental Quest that is beginning with the ‘Foolishness’ and ‘Weakness’ of the Zimbabwean situation. It is also a Significant Milestone in the Breaking of the Yoke of Poverty, Hunger and Injustice of the Downtrodden in Africa and the Whole World! We believe that the coming incredible contrast seen in the transformation of Zimbabwe from being the laughing stock to being a shining example will so astound the world and especially the nations of Africa, that it will truly be used by the Lord as a discipleship model to many, and perhaps all nations.

Please can we put away any differences and disagreements we may have and come and gather and unite before our Gracious Holy God and seek His face together at this next Champs! There will still be some of our usual teaching and brushing up for the coming season, as well as great fellowship and many brilliant testimonies of the amazing things the Lord is doing through FGW/Foundations for Farming. PLEASE COME and PLEASE PRAY!!!

Longing to see you all again!

Much love
Brian and Cath

The least is the greatest.....by Peter Cunningham

2010-07-28T01:26:00.000-07:00

Peter Cunningham

Peter started the session by reading from Matthew 6:2 “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”

How should we pray then? There are some specific needs that we can ask from God. We have to continue praying and God will answer our prayers.

Mark 1:14 – 15 “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Matthew 4:17 “From the time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Acts 28:30 – 31 “Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.”

The difference between the 4 gospels and the Book of Acts is that Jesus was preaching and said The Kingdom of God is near while in Acts, it says that the Kingdom of God is here.

Matthew 11:11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of woman there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” If Jesus says “I tell you the truth”, He is about to tell you something that you don’t know – something astounding, a revelation.

The least is the greatest and this revelation is very encouraging for the Operation Trumpet Call farmers.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"How can we activate?" by Scott Marques

2010-07-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques challenged the church leaders with “How can we activate?” and poured out his heart with all his usual passion as he sounded the Trumpet Call again. He said, “This is a time when God is going to give us capacity, and he has given us a mandate to be like Him! Jesus’ passion is for those who don’t know Him. Let’s do away with the rubbish that gets in the way. Scott reminded us that we must turn back to God. God is in absolute control, and our diversity reflects His glory and we are to be reckless in our love for each other.” Scott urged us not to be disconnected, but to really unify in the faith, which will lead us into faithfulness.

Scott exhorted us that it is time to roll up our sleeves because God has given us a key in agriculture. With the heart change there is action to be done. We need to be fully ready for the big events in September. He described the wonderful plan to have 55 discipleship modelling and training centres ready throughout the nation, so that a multitude of farmers can come and see how to farm God’s way on the foundations He has laid. This momentum is to lead up to the Global Day of Prayer, and the National Celebration Day. We need to be praying for the rural folk, and it is going to be tough.

We need to act practically ourselves, and God is showing us the “how” bit-by-bit. Scott then reminded everyone of many of the principles and steps of Foundations for Farming in his inimitable fashion. We pray that the passion for God can ignite us in all that we do.

Prophetic background for Zimbabwe by Brian Oldreive

2010-07-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Brian Oldreive

Brian said that National Transformation comes at a very significant time in our nation’s history, where we can see how the Lord has prepared us for our own rebuilding process. We have been through a chastening and refining time for the last twelve years, and the Lord is especially removing the rubble in the hearts of God’s people called by His name.

Other prophetic indicators are:
• Our entrance point to transformation, and our premier social indicator should be the elimination of systemic poverty, is confirmed in the Isaiah 58 blueprint we have been given for the rebuilding model.
• We should concentrate on teaching and demonstrating the kingdom, from which Jesus will build his Church.
• Our Marketplace Ministry entrance point is through Foundations for Farming, which teaches the very poor farmers how to provide food for themselves and a surplus with which to feed the towns and cities. This faithfully and profitably produced surplus will kick-start the development of other aspects of the national economy. This is to be done primarily through the churches, thus confirming collaboration between the Marketplace and Pulpit Ministries.
• The whole upside-down kingdom process must be founded on the humility and unselfishness of Jesus. This would lift up Jesus to the entire city and nation, and will ensure the quality of the rebuild and the longevity of our Christ-likeness as well.
• The efficient implementation of plans and technologies is not a “given” in Africa, and that the Lord has shown us that we must teach and demonstrate faithful stewardship at all levels, as well as a generosity of Spirit, which will lead us to the wholeheartedness that glorifies God in all that we do.
• If we truly turn back to God and sincerely acknowledge Him in all our ways, the Lord will use us to show that He chooses the foolish to confound the wise and the weak to shame the strong. Our transformation from the depths from where the Lord will deliver us to the heights of where He can take us, may well astound the nations around us and even the world, and we will be able to make disciples of nations.
• Nehemiah wept over the ruination of Jerusalem, received a rebuilding plan from the Lord, and then managed to do two significant things: The people unified and all started to build together, and they all focussed on the building process for a season. This unity and focus enabled those huge walls to be built in only 52 days, even under siege, which is a construction-engineering miracle. The time span for the rebuilding of our nation will be determined by the unity and focus of God’s people in Zimbabwe, whether it be 52 weeks, 52 months or 52 years.

"Not MY will Lord, but YOURS"

Nation Builders - For such a time as this......

2010-07-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's important to understand the state of your nation and to see what needs to be built. Esther understood the peril and danger of her nation. We need a vision of where our nation needs to be built up.

Nation builders know their nation through supernaturally insight or factually. When God calls you to the Nation, He puts it in you and it comes out of you naturally. Look at what has brought your nation to the state it is in now and know why she is ill at ease with herself. What is God saying to you about your nation? Listen to Him, understand the times and where we are.

Perennial message: The heart of God is always to bring transformation. See the end from the beginning, know where we are and where we are going. When we know the end from the beginning, we can go through anything. It's important to know the challenge you're up against. People need to be restored. Value human beings and speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak.

God will test you. Be faithful with one and He will entrust you with 1000's. God uses men and women to protect and build nations. For example: Joseph acted to feed the Nation of Egypt. Was he acting spiritually or politically? Esther acted to save the Jewish nation. Was she acting spiritually or politically? The prophets saved the nations. Were they acting spiritually or politically? The two are interwoven - the are one.

There is a difference between influencing a Nation and being a Nation builder. One can influence a Nation for good but Nation builders put systems in place i.e. systemic change that is fundamentally locked for generations. God places Nation builders in positions of power to challenge the Nation. It's time christians take up places in the public sphere. We are the vision holders for our nation. Why is it that so few christians or people walk this way? It is mundane! When standing in the gap, it is boring. The only time there is some form of excitement is when you are being attacked. There is a cost when taking this walk. It is everything to you but there is a cost. How serious are we in this walk? When standing in the gap, we need to stand firm at the beginning and still be standing at the end. We need to know who we are are and that there is a God in heaven.

We have a CALL. God will PREPARE me for it and He will COMMISSION me to do it. Be faithful in small tasks and this is an internal attitude. If we are faithful with the small tasks, God will add to us. It all requires HARD WORK. How hard am I prepared to work? I need to be at the right place at the right time and bring a large dose of hard work. How much am I prepared to pour out? I will labour for4 what I value.

Nations are changed by us standing in the gap, holding the line, making multiple decisions and saying "NO MORE" for my nation.
1. We need to grow in wisdom. This is complex, difficult and multi-facteted.
2. Have courage (Stand firm)
3. Have a vision (Know the beginning from the end)
4. Have a balance between what I see now and what I don't yet see. Labour for it now.

God is looking for a generation to stand in the gap, stand up for something. Great teams build up homes, church and spheres.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

What is "Love Zim?"

2010-07-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

"Love Zim" is supporting Trumpet Call, a partnership between the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Foundations for Farming to equip the Church to feed Zimbabwe.

The Call is ringing out to return to God, unite and help the poor by teaching them to farm in a profitable and sustainable way.

JOIN US FOR TRANSFORMATION IN THE NATION OF ZIMBABWE! Join the worldwide prayer day in support of Trumpet Call on 26 September 2010. The prayer chain links the Church in Zimbabwe with God's church worldwide.

Please don't break the chain!
Please don't be the missing link!

What is Trumpet Call and Operation Trumpet Call?

2010-07-02T00:55:00.000-07:00

God is doing something extraordinary in Zimbabwe. The Nation is in a place where things are shifting and being redefined. God is positioning the Church to be at the Centre Stage with what He is doing in the Nation and this Transformation is being outworked through Trumpet Call and Operation Trumpet Call.

What is Trumpet Call? Trumpet Call is the prophetic Call to the church to unite in transformation, as Isaiah 58:1 declares, “Raise your voice like a trumpet.” It is the partnership between the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Foundations for Farming to call the church to lead the nation in transformation with the first step being to feed the nation of Zimbabwe through wholehearted commitment to God, each other and to the poor.

What is Operation Trumpet Call? Operation Trumpet Call is the physical incarnation of this call through the 55 model sites for Foundations for Farming around Zimbabwe, raising the banner of Trumpet Call and the Trumpet Call vision.

What is "Lovezim?" Read more on that next!

By Molly Manhanga

"Awsome response" with Mbonisi Malaba

2010-07-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

Mbonisi Malaba

Following on from Scott Marques message on "Awsome Love", Mbonisi spoke brilliantly on Awsome Response at the Operation Trumpet Call field day held in Harare. He shared from Matthew 26:6 – 9 and Mark 14:3 – 9 on the woman with the alabaster jar.

Mark 14: 3 – 5 “And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, ‘Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.’ And they scolded her……”

Some were looking at the money that could have been made if the ointment was sold but money is a secondary issue compared to what the woman had seen in Jesus. She was a local prostitute and she came to Jesus, kissed his feet and washed hi
s feet with her hair. That is an awesome response to the King of Kings.

He who has been forgiven little, loves little. The woman sees an awesome God whose perfect love came to rescue sinners like us. She gives an extravagant response – an appropriate response for an awesome God. He who is forgiven much, loves much. The woman loved Jesus so much because she understood how much he loved her.

The Creator of the heaven and earth has loved me with all His heart, mind, soul and strength. When I understand this, it makes me want to love him more. It makes me give an emotional response, an extravagant response.

Mbonisi Malaba

Romans 12:1 – 12. We need to give our ALL to God who gave ALL. We love because He first loved us. Luke 7:48 – 50 “And he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Then those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this, who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

We are saved and forgiven by God and our faith. Faith + nothing is how we come to God. For example; the two criminals hanging on either side of Jesus at Golgotha, one criminal got into heaven by faith alone and Christ alone. We get the righteousness of God and our souls need to soak this in.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Nutrition with Craig Deall

2010-06-26T01:45:00.000-07:00

Craig Deall

Nutrition

Manure, fertilizer, compost and anthill. Apply amount to match target uield. Choose the cup size to match the amount and place in a planting station. Do before 15 November.

Training is the duty of the Christian farmer. Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Let’s be models, not just in farming.

Are we doing Jesus last commandment? Matthew 28:18 – 20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
When we train we benefit as well. By training others, we train ourselves into a greater understanding of God’s principles.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it can be measured back to you.”

Summary:
1. Farming is 12 months of the year
2. Timeliness is important
3. Wholeheartedness is also important
4. Work hard with joy

Two qualities of Christ that break strongholds: be unselfish and humble and be a part of the rebuilding of Africa.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Winter: Foundational Practices with Craig Deall - August

2010-06-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

Craig Deall

August!

Key Foundational Scripture: Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Farming is for 12 months of the year. Let’s use winter wisely:
1. Keep fields weed free
2. Budget farm plan
3. Make compost (July – mid-August)
4. Inputs – use open pollinated seed
5. Off season maintenance
6. Dig holes
7. No burning, ploughing
8. Protect mulch

Tools: prepare and maintain
1. Hoe’s and weeding tools
2. Fertilisers and manure. Cups or teaspoons
3. Measuring stick – 75cm
4. Teren rope with markings every 60cm
5. Seed
6. Pegs – metal or wooden
The small-scale farmer is the BEST farmer on the planet! God has faith in you.

Land Preparation
No ploughing, keep weed free, establish baseline, protect God’s blanket, make rows across the slope – spacings 75cm, hole out planting stations 60cm, hole size: width 15cm and depth 8 – 15cm, place soil down the slope. Complete by end of October.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Winter: Foundational practices with Craig Deall - July

2010-06-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

Craig Deall

JULY
Key Foundational Scripture: Proverbs 3:5 - 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” If Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth then we will never reach our full potential as farmers or teachers unless we build everything we do on Jesus.

Can we as farmers model this obedience? As God’s people, turn back to Him in unity and wholeheartedness. Be a model to the world!

How?
Meditating on God’s word and His ways…. Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Evaluate the resources we have
Be faithful with what we have. Have a vision with where we are going. Be faithful with what we have. Use what God have given to us. Say NO to debt! Don’t fall into this trap. Be faithful with little and God will add to us…..
a) Our talents
b) Motives – Do they bless and honour the Lord
c) Work force?
d) Land – where are you situated? What is the climate like and where is your water source?
e) Crop suitability?

The most important farming practice is PRAYER! Each morning, each new task or season, give thanks and praise daily, asking Him to help us to glorify Him.

There is a saying: “Early to bed, early to rise”. That is the beauty of creation. Let’s make use of our time, of the sunlight and opportunities. When we see the sunrise, we know there is a God.

Compost time is in July: collect dry and woody material, manure, anthill and stack it neatly. Make your compost.

But Don’t Forget…………….. to WEED!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Winter Preparations: June

2010-06-20T22:50:00.001-07:00

Craig Deall

June

Foundational scriptures:

Proverbs 3:5 – 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

This DOES take real faith and TRUST!

Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord"
We need to think and act differently to the way things are done traditionally in the world. The ways we farm by the world’s tradition are: harvest our crops, spend the money then wait……wait for the rains and then start working again. By this time we’ve missed 1/3 of the season. The Lords’ ways are different: harvest on time, to standard, no wastage and with JOY! Market the crops, knock the stalks over, protect your mulch!

Important: This is the time to collect compost (green material) material and by August, it will be brown. Collect mulch, green material and start preparation for the next season.

There are 3 important keys:
1. WEEDS!
2. WEEDS! Farmers might rest but weeds don’t. They are a curse and rob you of moisture.
3. WEEDS! Small weeds are easy to remove. The crop canopy prevents sunlight from getting onto the ground hence preventing weeds from growing. Do your late weed control and have your land prepared.

Foundational Scripture: Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

By the end of June, the farmers fields should have mulch. Craig encouraged the Operation Trumpet Call farmers to be a full on CHAMPIONS. God has faith in us!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"Awsome God" with Mbonisi Malaba

2010-06-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Mbonisi Malaba

It was fantastic listening to Mbonisi Malaba, leader of New Creation Church in Bulawayo, share about the awesomeness of God. He said that God was at work in us, our communities, our Nation and in Africa. The best ways to describe our awesome God was through the song “Indescribable” and see Him in nature.

“Indescribable”

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation’s revealing Your majesty
From the colours of fall to the fragrance of spring,
Ev’ry creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky and You called them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable;
Awestruck, we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God. You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go,
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow?
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light,
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night?
None can fathom.

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky, and You know them by name:
You are amazing, God.
Incomparable, unchangeable,
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same,
You are amazing, God. You are amazing, God.

Bones encouraged the Operation Trumpet Call farmers to listen to creation because it tells us something – behind creation there must be a creator. Only a fool can say there is no creator! If there is a design, there must be a designer. If there is a plan, there must be a planner.

Isaiah 40:12 - 15 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counsellor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?” The Creator holds the universe in the palm of his hands. He is an awesome God!

By Molly Manhanga

Winter:Foundational Farming Practices with Craig deall

2010-06-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Craig Deall

Winter is a time for farming. It’s a busy time. Farming is a serious business and it’s 12 months of the year. We may rest but the weeds don’t rest. Let’s not be half-hearted farmers. We need to be passionate as we are rebuilding the Nation.

Foundations for Farming is a gospel with "boots" – applying the gospel to life. The Foundation is Jesus. He sees the problem and He has given to us the solution. He teaches us how to implement.

Principles:

a) The heart is faithfulness and stewardship. We need to give in order to receive. Luke 6:38. If we are faithful with the little God adds to us. We are here to serve our communities.
b) The Science: Look to nature. No ploughing, no burning. Mulch is important as 96% of the water gets retained in the soil while there is 6% run-off. It takes faith.
c) Management Implementation: To break the yoke of dependency we need to make a profit otherwise the alternative to that is stealing or begging.

Put "boots" on this theory. We must implement the theory to turn a profit. The principles to profit making which apply to all walks of life and business are:
1. ON TIME: Zimbabwe will be built on 2 things: humility and unselfishness. Being late is selfish.
2. AT STANDARD: Do it to the glory of God. Work as unto God and not as unto man.
3. WITHOUT WASTAGE
4. WITH JOY: Work ethic, want to work.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"Awsome Love" pt 2 with Scott Marques

2010-06-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

Not only is this God we serve awesome, but He is love and He is indescribable. Scott shared 4 points on the awesome love of our God…..

1. Prepared Garden: the prepared garden was created for us. Look at the length and breathe of the garden ……the peak of creation is man as we are created in God’s image and likeness. Creation is a love gift from god to us. He has given us stewardship over all. Does God love me? All we have to do is look at creation. Our awesome God has awesome love.
2. Personal relationship: God desires a personal relationship with us. He walks and talks to us. We also need to relate to one another if we are to move together and move forward. We need to have genuine relationships. God is changing us. As we change, we can fulfil personal relationships with each other and with God. God designed marriage to reflect Him and the Church. There is the grey area between love and lust. The seal for marriage is the beauty of sexual intercourse. When sin comes in, it spoils, spreads and separates and causes division between man and God, man and man, and man and creation. E.g. Adam and Eve. Darkness starts to platform the awesome revelation of God. Darkness hovered over the deep and God said, let there be light. With man’s sin, darkness came but God clothed man….it’s the first time we have death but we have shed blood and it’s at the hand of God.
3. Punishment of sin He took for us: God takes our sin and gives us revival – a relationship with him which is more intimate. It is terrible to suffer injustice. 1 John 1 “In the beginning was the word, the word with God and the word was God…” Our creator was scourged 2 fold: by flogging and the crucifixion. Scott then expounded on the suffering Jesus went through and the injustice, yet, he uttered no sound. He went through this pain because He loves us. God is love and He covers our sin with His love. He has taken the punishment of our sin on the cross.
4. Prophetic fulfillment: of what God wants to complete in us. Revelation 21:3

“I will be their God and they will be my people.” God WILL have a people. As John Piper says; God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Recap:
1. Prepared garden
2. Personal relationship
3. Punishment of sin He took for us
4. Prophetic fulfillment

We serve an awesome, awesome God with awesome, awesome love!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Encouragement to the OTC Farmers by Peter Cunningham

2010-06-15T08:29:00.001-07:00

Peter Cunningham

"He who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than He". The writers preach and speak about the Kingdom of heaven being near. Jesus is passionate about the Kingdom.

God is moving in Zimbabwe. Operation Trumpet Call is God platforming His church for his kingdom. God chose farmers for that. Peter encouraged the farmers to let God’s truth settle in their hearts. He gave the examples of Elisha, Samson and Daniel. With God’s power we can do anything.

The Kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing and we need to have Faith. Faith is seeing the unseen. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Forceful men lay hold of it.
Peter stirred the farmers to have courage and be forceful. Be bold as God is handpicking an army of men and women and the farmers need to have confidence and authority in that.

Operation Trumpet Call Phase 2 is from June to August. We need ten great farmers and ten great leaders so that we can be ready in September. We need the anointing to lead and we need to pray, feel and sense what it means for us in our communities.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"Awsome Love" pt 1 with Scott Marques

2010-06-14T04:47:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

Genesis 2:4 – 14
As we contemplate God, man-made idols become insignificant. We can take animate and inanimate objects and worship them e.g. tree huggers. Idolatry is adultery – channeling our passions and resources in the wrong direction. India has sacred cows and the people worship the cows. Here in Zimbabwe, we have totems (Clan names)

We make our own gods but none compare to our God. They all have power but that power needs to be seen in the context we are in. we live in a context where the enemy has power. God doesn’t fight like how elephants fight. “Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.” We need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything will be added to us. As Ed Silvoso said at the Trumpet Call for Transformation Conference, we need to ask God “what prophetic activation do you want me to do?”

Everything is about our relationship with god. Faithfulness is up to us and fruitfulness is up to God. God demands our worship for His glory. Not only is this God awesome, but He is love and He is indescribable.

By Molly Manhanga

Paul's Transformation Journey

2010-06-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Paul experienced 2 setbacks
1. Acts 13 – Pisidian Antioch. What happened? V44 - 50 they drove them out of the city.
2. Acts 17 Thessalonica V10 the result – sent Paul and Silas away by night. The government shut down revival.
Breakthrough came in Corinth in Acts 18. Ephesus Acts 19:20 – 29.

Something happened with the government. Christianity is good for the city.
Why the defeats in Pisidian, Antioch & Thessalonica? It was Pauls public perception which was purely religious. Why the victories in Corinth and Ephesus? Paul joined the Marketplace.

Acts 19:31 “Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater” Why did they defend Paul? Paul was an asset to the city/region. Let the Christians be the champions. How did Paul become an asset? Acts 20:33 – 35 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel………And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Paul was the leading developer in the region:
1. Working hard
2. Helping the needy
3. Giving rather than receiving
4. Emulating Jesus

Acts 2:45 – 47 “….and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them amongst all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
V47 had favour with ALL people. Adding daily to the church because the church was open to business i.e. They began to speak in tongues – praise God Acts 2:4 is the vertical dimension, having favour with the people is the horizontal dimension.

Whatever we do, do all for the glory of God. The local church is the place of scrutiny. Be faithful to the local church.

The tension between the Synagogue & the Marketplace

Paul could never have reached Asia through the synagogue alone. We cannot reach the city alone by planting churches. Work in the marketplace and be in the church. There are 4 keys for transformation:
1. To change the city, the Marketplace must be changed
2. Ministers must be recognized
3. Pulpit pastors must partner with them
4. To channel the spiritual with the resident

Take the gospel to every inch of Zimbabwe and every crevice and, it begins with us.

May transformation come to Zimbabwe and to Africa!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"The Path to Regional Transformation" with Ed Silvoso

2010-06-10T03:03:00.000-07:00

The path to regional transformation is how the early church connected the pulpit to the Marketplace. It’s an apostolic commissioning. Acts 13:2 – 3 “……now separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them……” and Acts 19:10 “….and this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, both Jews and Greeks”. Paul didn’t see transformation until Acts 19. This chapter is important as we see how God hit the marketplace – the heart of Ephesus, the capital of the province of Asia. The trigger is found in Acts 18:2 – 3. Paul partners with Aquila and Priscilla. When you fail, you ask questions. Paul embraced the marketplace and Aquila and Priscilla embraced the pulpit. “Church” in the marketplace V7 - 8. Acts 18:9 – 10. God says: Do not be afraid, go on speaking, I am with you, I have many people in the market place.

For Zimbabwe: Acts 18: 8 “Then Crispus, the ruler of the Synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.” is important. God will bring one Crispus and his household, and a million people will be saved. We need to have a passion for the poor. Christ had compassion on both Zaccheus and blind Bartemeus. One Zaccheus can help many Bartemeus’s. There is an unprecedented move of God in an ungodly setting – the marketplace

Acts 18:11 Who is them? Who did Paul teach the word of God to in the marketplace? Romans 8:19 “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God”, Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”

Paul goes to Ephesus. He took business partners and set up a business in the Marketplace and school. In 2 years all of Asia heard the word of the Lord. Acts 19:10. God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hand of Paul…… Paul used handkerchiefs and aprons. When they touched people, they were healed. These were extraordinary miracles because they were marketplace miracles. NB: “Scatter the anointing on everything we do and send.” Release people into the marketplace to be the head and not the tail.

Read next on Paul’s transformation journey

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"The Marketplace" with Ed Silvoso

2010-06-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Marketplace is a combination of Business, Education and Government. It’s the heart of the city or region. To change a person, you change their heart! To change a city, you change the heart of that city. Is this possible? Is it Biblical?

We can change a Nation by changing the marketplace. The church needs to disciple the Nation. Luke 19:10 “….for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” What was lost? Relationship with God was lost and with each other. Transformation needs to begin in our homes, marriages and so on. When men and women walk in harmony it reflects Christ and His bride.

Our relationship with the marketplace: Colossians 1:19 – 20 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross”, Ephesians 1:7 – 10 “… we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,…….” Changing the Nation is the very heart of the atonement. Luke 19:10 “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The context: The salvation of Zaccheus. Salvation came to Zaccheus and his household in the marketplace. House = home and marketplace.

Luke 19:11 onwards… The parable of the Minas – 110 days wages. Go into the city and do “business”. One place to do business is the Marketplace. We have authority over cities. Why is this significant? The importance is that we have 3 dimensions of Christ’s redemption
1. Personal – He saved us
2. Interpersonal
3. Marketplace
The gates of Hades cannot prevail. Let’s take authority over this. There are 4 ascending levels of the involvement in the Marketplace:

4. Christians trying to survive in the Marketplace
3. Christians who apply Biblical principles in the Marketplace (Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world)
2. Christians who do business in the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit
1. Christians who bring transformation to the marketplace (All about God – who wants Nations)

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Read about the path to Regional Transformation……

"Systemic Poverty" by Ed Silvoso

2010-06-09T03:08:00.000-07:00

National transformation must be tangible with the premier social indicator being elimination of systematic poverty. 1 John 3:8b “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

It’s impossible to eliminate poverty 100% because of factors such as laziness. Africa is so rich and yet so poor! A system needs to be put in place. When sin entered the garden, poverty came and abundance ceased.

Genesis 3:17 -19 “Poverty invaded creation – thorns and thistles”
Luke 4:18 & Isaiah 61 “Good news to the poor” means they will be delivered from the curse of poverty
Acts 4:34 “No needy person amongst them.”
Acts 20:35 “We must take care of the needy” God wants the Church to be giving church not a grabbing church
Galatians 2:10 “Take care of the poor”
Revelation 21 “….Nations with honour and glory….”

There is a thread here. Poverty is the work of the devil. 1 John 3:8b “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” We’ll defeat the devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.

Many people think poverty is monitory but it can be material, intellectual, relational and spiritual. We need a paradigm shift. We need to wear the right glasses. Let the word of God be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Matthew 28:18 – 20 “……..Go and make disciples of all the nations…..”
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 5:28 “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us!”
Acts 19:10 – 11 “And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,….”
Romans 15:20 “And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation.”
Revelations 21:24 – 26 “And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in it’s light, and the Kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it…….”
Revelations 21:27 “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Saturate Zimbabwe with God. We’ll see transformation in this nation and Zimbabwe going for the Nations: Psalm 2:8 “Ask of Me, and I will give You The Nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Trumpet Call for Transformation with Ed Silvoso

2010-06-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

About 200 Church leaders from the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Newfrontiers Zimbabwe gathered at “Wild Geese” in Harare for an extraordinary time with Ed Silvoso, Dr Goodwill Shana, Scott Marques and Brian Oldreive.

Ed Silvoso and his wife Ruth serve 500 leaders through Harvest Evangelism in various continents. He works with teams to transform cities and Nations. He equips market place people and pulpit people and they have prototypes around the world.

Ed started by saying that God is doing something extraordinary in Zimbabwe. Psalm 2:8 Jesus has favour in Africa. Egypt rescued Jesus as a baby i.e. Africa came to the rescue. When Jesus was carrying his cross, it was an African – Simon of Cyrene that helped Jesus. Ed got all the leaders to stand up, raise their hands to God and repeat a prayer after him. We then had to put a hand to our heart and again repeat a prayer. That was really moving especially when sensing the presence of God in our midst.

There are 5 Pivotal Paradigm Shifts required for national transformation:

1. What? Called to disciple Nations not just individuals. Matthew 28:18 – 20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commended you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Do for the Nation what Jesus will do for the Nation. Feed the Nation of Zimbabwe. It’s the crisis that creates the opportunity. The Church should say – what should we do for Zimbabwe so that we will be immersed in the word of God. It’s Gods faith in me that matters. God believes in me, now I need to believe in Him.
2. Why? The Marketplace is the heart of the Nation. It has been redeemed and now it must be reclaimed. Luke 19:10 “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Zimbabwe has been redeemed. It’s a legitimate assumption.
3. How? Every Christian is a minister. Labour is worship. In Hebrew, labour and worship are basically the same. Colossians 3:23 “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men…” The Church in Zimbabwe needs to go to the marketplace. Whatever work we do, let’s do it for the glory of God. The Church is then activated.
4. We are to take the Kingdom of God to where the Kingdom of darkness is. Matthew 16:18 – 19 “ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” God will build His church and the gates of Hades will not prevail. We need to take the Kingdom of God to the marketplace and the Lord will do the building. We need to equip every church member to understand that they are a minister. Our Christian lives are not for a Sunday only but daily and we need to disciple Zimbabwe
5. National transformation must be tangible with the premier social indicator being elimination of ‘systematic poverty’. 1 John 3:8b “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

More on ‘Systematic Poverty’ to follow…….

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Ed Silvoso: The man and his ministry.....

2010-06-08T05:09:00.000-07:00

When I first heard that Ed Silvoso was coming to Zimbabwe for the Trumpet Call for Transformation Conference, I wondered who he was and where he was from. Being as curious as ever, I asked after him and was told he was the author of “Transformation” and that God was using him mightily in the area of seeing cities, churches and so on transformed – with many testimonies. Well, that was it, I needed to hear him for myself and I was truly motivated, inspired, blessed and encouraged to GO out there and do extraordinary things. I could literally see the Kezi community transformed, needless to say, our beautiful nation of Zimbabwe.

There were quite a few touching moments whilst listening to Ed Silvoso introduce himself, his wife Ruth and more importantly, how God is using him in the Nations. To have him in Zimbabwe was awesome.

Jack Hayford: “Ed Silvoso is one of the clearest, most coherent, thoroughly biblical thinkers we have today.”

John Dawson: “This is the real thing: conceptual breakthroughs, dramatic anecdotes and profound insights.”

C. Peter Wagner: “The chief catalytic force for societal transformation is Christians ministering in the marketplace. Ed Silvoso and his network show more clearly than anyone else how we can make this happen.”

Cindy Jacobs: “While many have talked about transformation, Ed Silvoso and his associates have done ground work.”

It’s really about Ordinary People doing Extraordinary Things to make the world a better place.

Zimbabwe: What should the Church do? by Dr Shana

2010-06-06T07:16:00.002-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Conclusion:
1. Perishing paradigms that produce prophetic insights e.g. the year King Uziah died, I saw the Lord.
2. Overwhelming odds that obstruct or orchestrate opportunities to overcome.
3. Unseen, undercurrents that unveil the unorthodox and unleash the underdog
4. Disturbing developments and disconnections….

What should the Church do?
1. Understand the holistic dominion of God to the whole world.
2. Preach and demonstrate a relevant gospel.
3. Develop influence, develop leaders, and develop disciples in every sphere of life. Specs = pillars of society like Daniel, Joseph, Esther and so on.
4. Create community – sector epicenters for transformation
5. See the bigger picture – synergy and diversity = unity. It gets rid of competition in denominations. God commands a blessing where there is unity.
6. Envision and build for generations

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Zimbabwe: A "Kairos" trans-generational shift with Dr Shana

2010-06-06T07:07:00.001-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

The Foundation: Kairos (Prophetic) trans-generational shift

The Ezekiel 37:1 - 14 process is in play:

1. The hand of God on a specific assignment is supernaturally powerful.
2. Find your divine deployment: find your place, the people and purpose.
3. Prophesy – prophetic demand for transformation: Know the will of God, articulate it, and message it. We need to know where we are going. We need to propel, pronounce and position ourselves in the will of God.
4. Get ready for upheaval. We need to uproot things. In the midst of upheaval, God will get things in place. It’s the “commotion of reconstruction”.
5. Power of connection – V7 “bone to bone”: farming, education, business and so on. It’s not the same bone but the same body. We need to see where our synergies link. When the bones came together, God put the skin on top.
6. Ezekiel spoke and the bones shook! V7 Transformation of Zimbabwe is progressing. It’s not going to happen next week or next month and it’s not a big bang. We are going to have to work through the instant process.
7. Ask for help from the four winds V9: We can’t do it by ourselves. We need those from Argentina, California and so on.
8. A mighty army: We must have structure when a new order comes into society – divine order. Those who are strategic and so on.

Read the conclusion of “From Crisis to Transformation” next……

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Zimbabwe: "The Nation within the Nation" with Dr Shana

2010-06-06T07:00:00.001-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Recap: So far we’ve looked at The Foundations, Viable leadership, Idolatry and the Joseph factor. We continue with:

The Foundation: The Nation within the Nations
1. The children of Israel in Egypt – come out and be separate
2. The Jews in Babylon
3. Esther and the great reveal
4. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
5. Jonah – rediscover your identity of who you are
6. The Diaspora (scattered people outside Zimbabwe), World War 11(Hitler) and the rebirth of Israel – God is forcing us to have an identity greater than our own – the identity of God.

The Foundation: A Kairos (prophetic) trans-generational shift
1. The seasons or dispensations of God: Daniel 9:2 “…in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
2. The transformation of a Nations genetic code e.g. Egypt’s transformation. There is a need for fundamental transformation in business, family and so on.
3. Foundations for future generations

Continue to read more on the Kairos (prophetic) trans-generational shift…….

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Zimbabwe: "The Joseph Factor" with Dr Shana

2010-06-06T06:49:00.001-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

The Foundations: The Joseph Factor:
The Joseph factor can be read from Genesis 38. It is a divinely orchestrated transformation in paradigm - We see a paradigm shift of a family of God to a Nation.

1. Prophetic insight in advance of time: Joseph saw way ahead. When we look at Zimbabwe, we need to see where we are going, not where we are now. What will Zimbabwe look like in 10 – 15 years from now?
2. Person in trouble: Joseph was in trouble. A person in trouble will be thrown in the pit. They cannot avoid trouble because they are threatening the way things are.
3. Priorities in testing: What is important? Change the paradigm of doing church and in our personal lives. We are shifting a nation and our priorities will be tested. Don’t be focused on “me, myself and I” – the “unholy trinity”
4. Prophet in training: Joseph went to jail. Nothing else to do but to think seriously. In Zimbabwe, it feels like we are in prison and we need to think seriously of how we got here. In prison we need to make friends quickly. Make the dreams of others come true.
5. Power in team - work: Joseph teamed up with the butler, with Pharaoh and so on. Transformation came from “grassroots” – from the bottom, up. It needs to touch those on the ground. It’s a partnership with ordinary people.
6. Prophetic incubation of trans-generation transformation: It’s something in the “womb of time” that will yield results later on. It will affect other generations.

Let’s affect National Transformation that will affect our grandchildren and those who follow.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Zimbabwe - The origins of the crisis with Dr Shana

2010-06-05T06:48:00.001-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

The Origins of the crisis:
Joshua 6:26 “Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, ‘cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates”,
1 kings 16:34 “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn, and with his firstborn, and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the word of the Lord, which He had spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.”

1. The Foundations: In Zimbabwe, we are trying to build on the wrong foundations. We need to lay the foundations. In Luke 6:46 - 49 we read about the 2 houses; one built on sand and the other built on rock. We don’t see foundations but they are very important. If we don’t get the foundations right it’s not going to work. “It’s not how many chickens we have but rather eagles.”
2. The Foundations: Viable leadership, Godly leadership, Visionary leadership, Courageous leadership, Role modeling leadership, Servant/steward leadership, Empowering leadership, Compassionate leadership:

V = vision
I = Implement
A = Ability
B = Boldness
L = Love
E = Excellence
3. The Foundations: Idolatry = image worship, wealth, education, philosophy, race, might

Read more on Foundation # 4: The Joseph Factor

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Zimbabwe - Crisis to Transformation with Dr Shana

2010-06-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Dr Goodwill Shana did excellently when he addressed about 200 Church leaders from the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Newfrontiers on the topic: “From Crisis to Transformation” at the Trumpet Call for Transformation Conference. He looked at what the crisis is that requires transformation and the origins of the crisis.

What is the crisis that requires transformation?
Crisis of governance = purpose, values, vision

National Crisis
Crisis of leadership = vision and values

Personal & Sectoral Crisis
Crisis of national relations = values

Interpersonal & Community Crisis
Crisis of management = stewardship

Viability and Sustainability Crisis
Crisis of Godly influence (critical one) = role modeling influence

We have an immense number of Christians in our communities but when we look at the societal state of the communities we have to say that something is wrong. Churches are growing and murder is increasing, churches are growing and so are slum areas, churches are growing and so is corruption. It’s a dichotomy of degeneration. Africa has huge numbers of Christians and yet we have the highest HIV infection, highest inflation rate and so on. Something is wrong. We are producing the people but not the result. It is the churches business to be agents of change. The church needs the answers and needs to be the centre for change.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Trumpet Call for Transformation

2010-05-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Molly having a "brief" relaxing moment at Antelope Park

We are all so excited about the upcoming "Trumpet Call for Transformation" conference which is being held in Harare this coming week. We have dynamic speakers like Dr Goodwill Shana, Ed Silvoso, Scott Marques and Brian Oldreive. About 200 church leaders will be gathering on Tuesday and Wednesday to hear what God is saying to us as a Nation and the transformation that is taking place.

Stay tuned to read more. It's going to be great..........

By Molly Manhanga

One on One with Ray Partridge

2010-05-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

Ray Partridge

It was great catching up with Ray at the recent Prayer and Fasting we had at Antelope Park. Unfortunately his wife Jo was unable to attend. This is what Ray said:

M.M: Tell me briefly aout your background?
R.P: I'm a farmers son. I was born in the South West England. My parents loved the Lord and they had major influence in my life while growing up. I'm a qualified accountant and this has opened opportunities for me to be in management positions in organisations. I met my wife Jo in North West London and "that was it"! We married 9 months later. We have 5 children: Andrew who is 25 years, melody who is 23, Matthew who is 21, emily who is 19 and Isaac, our adopted son who is 4 years old.

M.M: Where are you at the moment and what have you been doing ?
R.P: I'm in Cape Town at the moment and I'm part of Khanyisa Church in Guguletu. This church is led by Nigel and Cheryl Measures. I've been there for 4 years. For the last few years I've been involved in business.

M.M: What are you in the process of doing right now?
R.P: Jo and I will be moving to Harare, Zimbabwe to be involved in the Newfrontiers Sphere under Scott Marques. I'll be the Apostolic team Administrator.

M.M: How do you feel about the move?
R.P: I'm excited and feel priviledged because of what God is clearly doing in Zimbabwe. It's also an opportunity to fulfil our calling with what God has put on us! We hope to be in Zimbabwe by the end of July.

M.M: We are so looking forward to having you and your family. What a blessing.

By Molly Manhanga

How culture affects rural communities in Zimbabwe

2010-05-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

Joseph Dhlamini

Everything we are is embedded in culture and tradition. It’s who we are. Every culture has the good and the bad. Africa is the richest continent and yet there is so much poverty. Where we are at is related to our culture and tradition. If you study culture and traditions in Africa, you’ll see that there isn’t much of a systematic way to be productive. That absence is rooted in our culture and it affects our agricultural production and way of life.

The physical and spiritual are embedded in our culture. Most of what we do is out of fear. Some negative aspects on how culture affects agricultural productivity
1. Simply put medicine in the field and expect the crops to grow.
2. Jealousy: if someone does well/better, what have they used?
3. Traditional ploughing of the fields and burning of stova
4. The community can have a 3 days a week where they don’t go into their fields and this can be attributed to:
a) The birthday of the Chief,
b) After the first rains people are not allowed to go into their fields
c) A day attributed to the ancestors – “chisi”,
d) The chief must plough his field first before anyone else is allowed to do so,
e) Before you plant, you need to take your seeds to the Chief for prayer
f) When there is drought, you are not allowed to go into your fields for a maximum of 16 days
g) There is a week of spiritual festivity before you plant

All the above affects time, standards and productivity. Culturally, one attributes production to spiritual influence rather than one’s efforts on the ground.

The positive aspects of culture are the importance of the family unit, respect for elders and the readiness of the people in Africa to be taught. The negatives at this stage seem to outweigh the positives but with God: ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

By Molly Manhanga

Getting to "Grassroots" level with Joseph Dhlamini

2010-05-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Joseph Dhlamini

Joseph Dhlamini is attending “The Base” church in Harare which is affiliated to New Covenant Ministries International. The Base was previously known as Gateway To The Nations. I chatted to Joseph recently in Harare, Zimbabwe about cultural issues in rural communities and on what “grassroots” is all about

M.M: When you did you join the Foundations for Farming team?
J.D: I joined the Foundations for Farming team on a full time basis in 2008 although I was involved with Foundations for Farming way back doing teachings. I am based at Westgate.

M.M: We’ve often heard the term “grassroots” being used. Please can you explain what “grassroots” is?
J.D: Grassroots is a team of Trainer of Trainers who are equipped to take Foundations for Farming principles to the communities. The spiritual aspects that I teach them are on how culture and tradition affect the communities spiritually.

M.M: Interesting. I’d love to hear more. How does the Grassroots Trainer of Trainers (ToT’s) actually impart and impact the communities they go into?
J.D: They model, teach and walk alongside the people in the communities.

M.M: What exactly do you teach the Grassroots Trainer of Trainers?
J.D: Apart from Foundations for Farming principles, I teach basic theology including Life School, Alpha, how to walk alongside communities and how to disciple people.

M.M: How has Operation trumpet call impacted the Mashonaland region of Zimbabwe (Mutare, Harare, Mount Darwin, Kadoma, Chipinge and beyond)?

J.D: From the stories we've heard, many people have turned from traditional farming methods to Foundations for Farming, non-christians are turning to God because of the teachings they are receiving, standards have improved in the fields and people are saying that God has remembered them.

M.M: Excellent. This is so encouraging. Thanks Joseph. I look forward to hearing more on "How Culture affects Communities"

By Molly Manhanga

OTC Farming Cycle for 2010 - 2011

2010-05-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

Brief Update........

The number of Operation Trumpet Call sites has been reduced from 89 sites across Zimbabwe to between 50 and 55 in total. The reason for this reduction is that the Operation Trumpet Call team is grouping areas that are near to each other to form one model centre where feasible. This will enable the farmers to work together for the community they are in.

What it means is that different groups/churches are then able to work together and hopefully increase their impact and influence in their community. The coordinators who were administrating those sites (which have come together to form one) will constitute the team of six people that oversee farming in their combined area. They will still be called Trainer of Trainers (ToTs). One of those team members will be selected by them to become the Lead Trainer of Trainers (ToT) and they will be the Operation Trumpet Call’s point of contact. Each area/site will have one Lead Trainer of Trainers (ToT) and five other Trainer of Trainers (ToTs). The five ToTs will each be training ten people, who are to become trainers in the different parts of the area they represent. Those trainers will each train and monitor ten farmers each. The Lead Trainer of Trainers will NOT have ten people under him/her, but will instead be released from that so he/she may oversee his/her Trainer of Trainers and also spearhead the Model Site.

In essence, whilst the number of sites has been reduced, the number of farmers and trainers are being increased. The ToTs will be trained and train during this cycle whilst streamlining the administrative process for greater efficiency and impact.

Edited by Molly Manhanga

Catching up with Brian Oldreive

2010-05-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

Brian Oldreive

It was excellent catching up with Brian Oldreive in Harare, Zimbabwe this past week and hearing his take on the relevance of Operation Trumpet Call to Zimbabwe at this particular time. This is what he had to say:

Operation Trumpet Call is a call to rebuild the nation of Zimbabwe at this historic time. It’s a call to God’s way and to God’s heart. When God looks down on Africa, it’s the poor that he sees. The poor are casualties of the fall. The root problem in Africa is selfishness and we’ve inherited a selfish nature. The rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer.

Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet……..” V6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen…” The ‘True fast’ is making a plan for the poor. We see the problem; have the answer and the solution. We need to turn to God V12 onwards…..

Operation Trumpet Call is for the poor and initiates the rebuilding plan of the Nation. We are in the process now and it’s massively important for now – calling the churches together.

We need to abandon our own plans and do it God’s way: “Your will be done……” God sees the BIG Picture and knows the beginning from the end. He knows his plan for everyone, every family, every community, every nation and the world. God is embarking on His perfect plan and we need to focus on his plan.

By Molly Manhanga

How to train and mobilize farmers

2010-05-11T02:27:00.000-07:00

Peter Cunningham

The key question is how to train and mobilize 300,000 farmers and this is where it is with a growing sense of excitement that we see Operation Trumpet Call moving from phase 1 to phase 2 which will involve the farm sites that we had in the previous year moving from predominately receiving training and input to giving training and input. We see this being outworked with model communities and farms beings established between now and September which model the vast picture of Jesus’ life amongst us, because of the bigness of His grace and life the smallest of our differences fade to nothing and communities can live in unity, love and service of each other. These two aspects combine to where work becomes worship and we can farm with excellence and joy.

As these model sites are established over the coming 4 months, we see the preparation going into some large national events in September. At this time we hope to call the church to feed the nation and point them towards the sites to get inspiration, training, and a picture of what to do. At this time we hope to put large “raise a banner for Jesus” across the country and put large sign posts along each of the main roads and small roads leading to the Operation Trumpet Call model sites so that in one week the country will become aware that throughout the country there are sites and communities who are ready to teach and show the way.

Operation Trumpet Call phase 2 will therefore involve us as the OTC team working very closely with these sites in inputting trainings, preparing and partnering to get us all ready to act at that stage. The sites will be centers that people can come to and really see, taste and feel what they are needing to go back to their communities to do and model.

By Peter Cunningham

Phase 1 to Phase 2 of OTC by Peter Cunningham

2010-05-10T00:41:00.000-07:00

Peter Cunningham

Operation Trumpet Call is moving from phase 1 to phase 2. We’ll look firstly at history - some general prophetic principals such as Deuteronomy 28 where if we obey God we will be blessed , if we do not obey we will cursed etc. Then there are some specific prophetic moments, the moment that the angel appeared to Gideon and told him that God has chosen you, you might man of Valour. The moment that Moses heard God at the burning bush, the moment that David walked onto the battlefield, heard Goliaths cry and heard that stirring of the Holy Spirit telling him that it was his time and so on. We feel that we are in one of these specific prophetic moments in Zimbabwe where God has prepared the situation and environment for the Church to lead, take a stand and reflect his Glory. We see this happening through a massive church unity leading to transformation in the nation, with a first step or platform being the Unifying Call to led the nation in September 2010 both physically and spiritually . This call will go out to the Nation and Church at large with prayer for up to 300,000 farmers who will farm with Foundations for Farming principles and subsequent increased yields which really could feed the nation of Zimbabwe in 2011 and set the stage for influence and transformation.

The key question is how to train and mobilize 300,000 farmers?

Read on to find out more on how to train and mobilize 300,000 farmers…..

Joseph lived for impact & influence of the nation

2010-05-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

Joseph lived for impact and influence of the nation

Joseph’s love for God and for people made him want to make a difference in Egypt. He used his mouth, heart, hands and feet. If we use our heart and mouth only, it won’t make a physical difference on the earth. We need to love God, love people and be practically relevant in our areas. Whatever joseph touched it multiplied. The land is God’s and we are stewards of it.

We live in Zimbabwe where the church has about 7 million people. If we farm in a way that links up with Gods creation the Church can feed the Nation of Zimbabwe. The crucial period is in preparing the fields in winter. The miracle in Zimbabwe has to happen before crops are grown.

Scott encouraged the farmers to use their energies correctly and not to have a "begging Bowl" mentality. He also encouraged the farmers to be physically and practically relevant like Joseph.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Prophetic word for Zimbabwe by Julian Adams

2010-05-04T03:09:00.001-07:00

Prophetically – Zimbabwe is in a place where things are shifting and being redefined. God is positioning the Church to be at Centre Stage with what He is doing in the Nation.

Julian Adams

Joseph's intimate relationship with others

2010-05-03T04:02:00.001-07:00

Scott Marques

Intimate relationship with others

Joseph loved his father, brothers, his “boss”, his enemies. Every person he came in touch with, he loved them with integrity. He forgave those who intended harm for him e.g. Potiphars wife. Choose to love women, honour them as sisters except your wife who you have a unique relationship with in marriage. Joseph ran from Potiphars house. When he was eventually restored in Potiphars house, he didn’t have bitterness. He had restored relationships with his brothers. He forgave them. What the enemy intended for harm, God turned it around. We need to have violent, radical love for one another. Freely forgive. God’s grace will come if there is hurt.

Scott used the illustration of washing each others feet. Something happens in our hearts. We are called to wash each others feet. We all have imperfections. When our feet are clean, it feels good. When we are kind to each other, we feel good. We are not made to fight with each other or to enjoy war or sin. We are made to enjoy peace and love. Satan tries to pervert us. We need to be like Joseph and be radical in forgiveness. There is joy in the Kingdom of God. We look at each others differences and it’s all wiped away because of God. Be alive in faith and in Jesus ALONE!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Joseph's intimate relationship with God

2010-05-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

Some characteristics gleaned from Joseph:

Intimate relationship with God: There was no compromise in Joseph’s heart. He dreamed dreams and asked God for the interpretation much like Daniel. He doesn’t trust himself but God who is his sufficiency. If we are going to be people who feed ourselves we need to live lives of faith which leads to faithfulness. It’s a life in God who is our “bread of Life” which will lead us to getting “bread on the table”. We need a wholehearted faith in God otherwise we are wasting our time. We need to be violent in our faith. We live in a world where we are fear. In our culture the ancestors are “living” amongst us and we have direct communication between the living and the dead. It’s the world we are living in – the same as with Daniel and Joseph. It’s time for radical change. The witchdoctors don’t produce good but the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Satan is out to kill, steal and destroy. Our areas of non-productivity are not of God and not based on our skin colour or where we were born. God has given us everything we need as seen in 2 Peter 1:3 “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,….”

We need to demonstrate Gods glory if we are in love with him. God is a jealous God and He doesn’t want us to have “small houses” (adulterous relationships, idols) We need to believe in God even if it costs us our lives. Don’t bow to men, politicians, spirits of dead people, ancestors and so on. We need to stand in faith in God alone e.g. Daniel & his friends. Let the people in Matabeleland say God will deliver us and give us hope. Even if He doesn’t, we’ll not worship any other god.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"Joseph Generation" by Scott Marques

2010-04-25T01:27:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

It was so encouraging listening to Scott Marques preach on the “Joseph Generation” to the Operation Trumpet Call farmers. His vibrant, energetic, solid preaching was captivating. This is what he said:

Genesis 40: 20 -23. Scott gave the background of the Joseph story up to the point where the chief cup bearer did not remember Joseph who was still in prison.
a) Joseph was in a position much like us: in prison and with tough circumstances. We living in days where we feel like we are locked up and the situation is tough. We live in a continent that is the wealthiest in terms of natural resources and yet we are in poverty, are sick, in conflict and generally in a mess. It’s a kind of prison we find ourselves in. In prison we don’t have enough food, medication, there is daily fighting. Joseph was in those circumstances.
b) Joseph was in obscurity: Not only was his situation tough but he was forgotten. He was pushed in jail and left there. He got into that position due to a combination of things – both good and bad. For whatever reason we find ourselves in this position in Zimbabwe, God is working out His plan. In reality, the Church has been slow, weak, soft, unheard, unfelt and relegated.
c) Gods hand was on Joseph: We also see that with our circumstances. God’s hand is on us In Joseph’s obscurity, He gave Joseph the mechanism of deliverance which was knowledge/revelation to feed the nation.

Scott Marques preaching

If we think we are small and insignificant, God is on us, he is giving us revelation to feed our Nation. He is using the weak things of this world to confound the wise.

Read more on the Characteristics of Joseph

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Testimonies from across Zimbabwe pt 2

2010-04-25T01:23:00.000-07:00

It was so encouraging when one of the farmers went up to testify and all he wanted to do was to sing to God of the joy that was in his heart. It was just beautiful! He harvested 5 carts of maize.

Kensington: Foundations for Farming really works. My crops matured and I have a bumper harvest of 4 trucks loads. I showed the difference between mulched crops and those without mulch. I want to thank God. If you do as instructed, the crops will not wilt. I have plenty of groundnuts and I used my hands a lot.

Gwanda: I didn’t harvest anything from the field where I didn’t do Foundations for Farming. I’m expecting a harvest in the Foundations for Farming field. I’ve learnt about mulching.

Victoria Falls: I learnt many things about farming. I received my seed bags late and planted where I had prepared my field and put manure. I received the message of Foundations for Farming and I have knowledge. The Lord intervened with my crop and I received a bumper harvest. I have 28 carts of maize.

Bikita: We didn’t have much rains but we managed to mobilize people and teach them Foundations for Farming. Although we mulched our fields, we had lots of sunshine and eventually our crops failed because of lack of rain. There is a definite difference between Foundations for Farming and our traditional methods of farming. We look forward to this next season and we will prepare our land on time.

Binga: We had erratic rains this season and we received our seed late. A lot of us didn’t plant although we had prepared our fields. One old women and two old men risked planting in mid-January. They received a good harvest from their fields. I also received a harvest from my field. We started out with 35 farmers but we now have 80 in total. Foundations for Farming is being received so well and it works. We are looking forward to the next season.

By Molly Manhanga

Testimonies from across Zimbabwe pt 1

2010-04-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

It was wonderful listening to the many testimonies from Operation Trumpet Call farmers from across the nation. This is what some of them had to say:

Mbalabala: I didn’t harvest any maize but I got groundnuts and roundnuts. I am very grateful. Next season will be better.

Nkayi: I had a bumper harvest and I am thankful for the teachings on Foundations for Farming. I harvested 4 carts. My crops were wilting and I put mulch. The rains came and my crops did well.

Tsholotsho: I didn’t know I could harvest so much here in Zimbabwe. We got so much maize in an area where we usually plan millet. I planted a small field of maize but my yields are hih. With Foundations for Farming, my crops were wonderful. We also had lots of rain. Bless the lord.

Masvingo: I planted using the Foundations for Farming method. I compared this method of farming to our traditional method and there is a vast difference. Though the rains weren’t good, I had a bumper harvest in my Foundations for Farming plot.

West Nicholson: There was lots of sunshine and many crops wilted. We tried to farm but our crops wilted. Although I didn’t get yields, I am rich in knowledge.

By Molly Manhanga

God's Lavish Grace: How to live a Grace-filled life pt2

2010-04-19T02:17:00.000-07:00

Terry and Wendy Virgo in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Acts 19:1 - 8 “ And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all. And he went into the synagogues and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the Kingdom of God.”

Terry Virgo having a relaxing moment with Stephen Manhanga, Mbonisi Malaba and Tapiwa Chizana

All of Judea went out to John the Baptist to hear him. They believed, were converted and were filled with the Holy Spirit. When the spirit fell upon people, they were changed and transformed. It was not a gradual growth. After the day of penticost, no one was asked to wait. Why would Jesus tell the disciples to wait? John 7:37 – 39 “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Look to Jesus and not to man.

Gift of Tongues – the spirit and speaking in tongues goes together most often. Speaking in tongues is a strange thing – it’s a language you never learnt. Your mind is unfruitful but your spirit is praying. 1 Corinthians 14:14 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

Gift of tongues, the spirit is free to praise. It’s not confined to the limitations of the human mind. Look at the woman with the oil. The miracle was that the oil didn’t stop coming. Be filled with the spirit, speaking in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

It is a LIFESTYLE!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

God's Lavish Grace: How to live a Grace-filled life pt1

2010-03-31T01:27:00.000-07:00

Terry and Wendy Virgo

Acts 4:4 -9 This is the key to understanding the book of Acts. Peter then goes on to talk about Jesus who was crucified…..

In the gospels we see how the disciples deny Jesus, have bad motives like Judas and so on, and yet, they turned the world upside down. How could fishermen turn the world upside down. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Luke 24:49 “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Don’t start until you are clothed with power from on high. Gideon will be a mighty man of valour and he was transformed by the spirit of God. There are examples of Saul and David. The Bible is full of stories of when the spirit came upon them. We need to be clothed with power from on high, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills us up. It’s transforming. Acts 2:1 “When the day of Penticost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

1. Jesus is born of the spirit and when the spirit came upon him, he started doing his ministry. The Father clothed with power from on high
2. Acts 8:12 – 20 Philip went to Samaria. He preached the gospel, laid hands on the people and the spirit came on the new Christians. People were saved through Philips preaching.
3. Acts 9:17 Conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Ananias went to Saul’s home and told him that he was to receive his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
4. Acts 10 Peter went to Cornelius home. God had spoken to Cornelius. While peter was speaking v44, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word, including the Gentiles.

Read on for pt 2 on “How we can live a grace-filled life”

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"Leadership: Power" by Dr Shana

2010-03-30T01:40:00.001-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Power:
Recap: Genesis 1:26 Image, likeness and dominion. Mark 16:17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;”

Power is there to produce CHANGE. Not for profile or show. We need to understand what power is for!

The level of power in a person depends on 5 things:

1. Information/knowledge: Be an informed people and anointed. Be organized in your thinking and articulate the order of your thoughts. Communication is an important leadership power. Communication is information so that we can follow you when you are there and when you are not there. Leaders are readers. It is information necessary for us to change things. Knowing How To… is the key. The knowing is important. It makes the difference.
2. Inspiration: Power to inspire people. All scripture is inspired, in filled, breathed by God. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” Put a God-energy and ability to make people rise to a God-level of believing and achieving.
3. Instruction: Leaders have the ability to break down how a thing is done. They are not just commanders. Leaders have the power to instruct others and give guidelines.
4. Impartation: Taking what you have, who you are and giving it to others so it’s theirs. We need linear impartation. Impartation of something. Leadership needs to say: “What I have, I give to you.” Pass it on and let it multiply in others.
5. Transform situations and people: Leadership is having the ability to transform situations and people but first themselves. The person I transform first is myself. There must be a change. Transformation means empowering others to change. People can decide to change. We are made in the image of God.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"Leadership: Personality" by Dr Shana

2010-03-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Personality

Find, explain and demonstrate God’s purpose for your life. Develop a personality. Your purpose and personality need to line up otherwise confusion exists. If you know your purpose and yet your personality is chasing after the things of this world, it brings confusion. Who we are matters as much as what we do. “You can teach all you know but you reproduce who you are.” We reproduce who we are. I need to reproduce someone that looks like God.

Personality alone cannot make you a leader. People will follow you because you have a purpose but will stay with you because of your personality. The idea of heaven is to get people to go with you to heaven.

Churches should be family places. People never leave churches but they leave people in the Church. 1 Corinthians 12:24 – 25 “….but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honour to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” What is the personality of the Church? It should have a conducive environment which allows for people to operate in their gifting. The personality of the Church should have the characteristic of the God – it should be healthy! Does it have the character of Christ?

Power follows on to this…..

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Leadership: General indicators on leadership

2010-03-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Genesis 1:26 “ Then God said, “let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Leadership is
1. Purpose
2. Personality
3. Power

The Church can get confused with events. We enjoy the power of God but what is the purpose. The whole idea is to look like God. When we are through with people, they need to look like God. If we don’t know the purpose of a thing, neglect, misuse and abuse are inevitable.

From Genesis 1:26 we see image, likeness and dominion. God works in a three fold aspect. He made the sun, moon and stars. He made us with a body, soul and spirit. There is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 1:11.

Purpose

a) Every leader must be a leader of purpose. Why are you doing what you are doing? God is a purposeful God. He is intentional. We need to be intentional leaders not accidental leaders. We need to look like God, act like God and have dominion like God. If I’m intentional, I have a preset goal, a plan. Africa doesn’t have intentional thinking or purposefulness. 1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Be clear about people and their purpose. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Have a desire for something. Good leaders have intentions and are clear about where they are going. If you have no purpose, you’ll be diswayed and discouraged. Nehemiah had a purpose, Joseph had a purpose and even though he faced many challenges, he wasn’t discouraged. Leadership going nowhere will poison the Church. Purpose gives us a reason for living – not borrowed purpose! Start by serving others to develop the spirit of serving. No one is exempt from service or servanthood.
b) God’s divine intervention e.g. Paul of Tarsus. God helps us find ourselves in our circumstances.
c) Gifting and abilities God has given us. Our purpose will always breed passion. Good leaders give people a purpose for living. Show me a person who is passionate and it produces pursuit – you go after it.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Continue Reading on Personality and Power

"Leadership: The problem" by Dr Shana

2010-03-27T07:33:00.001-07:00

Dr Goodwill Shana

Operation Trumpet Call is a Call for the Church to rise up and be the voice in Zimbabwe, Africa and the world. When things go wrong, we then find our destiny. God has not forsaken Zimbabwe but he is shifting things. At the point of crisis, true leadership emerges.

Paul was a preacher, teacher and an apostle and this defined his mandate. As leaders, let’s be clear where we are going. Africa has had problems for a long time. We have the world’s natural resources here and the fastest church growth and yet there is so much tragedy, wars and division.

There are wrong attitudes to:
1. Colonialism
2. Ethnic division
3. Witchcraft
4. Culture
5. Social anthropological development

Part of the problem of poverty is not just putting money into people’s pockets. We need viable/valuable ideas like Foundations for Farming. If implemented correctly, you’ll get the correct result. We need to change our level of thinking – have a paradigm shift.

Leadership shouldn’t be confused with authority. You can have authority but it doesn’t make you a leader. A leader shouldn’t be after power and it doesn’t mean position or privilege. Therefore, leadership is not about position, power, authority or privilege.

Leadership is having a VISION. It’s about people, being with people, arriving with people. You are defined by those you are leading. If you’re not leading anyone, you’re simply “taking a walk” or you’re just ambitious. Leading is taking people with us on a journey – influencing people to come along with you.

Read on about the “General Indicators on Leadership”

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Things we need to get right with God by Scott Marques

2010-03-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

Wicked ways…..
1. Idolatry: we are prone to trust in other solutions other than God i.e. money or men or both. We cannot serve God and mammon. It’s a spiritual issue. Abide in Christ. This is where fruitfulness comes. Be content. God can supply all our needs according to His riches in Glory. We can be a light in this world. Our hope is in God.
2. Syncretism: This is when we mix African, Western, Eastern etc ways with Biblical ways. God says “I am a jealous God” We need to stand on clear ground and trust Jesus. Blow it like a trumpet. Have a Daniel or Joseph spirit.
3. Legalism: “You foolish Galatians. Who has bewitched you.” We think our behavior can secure a place with God. Our works are like filthy rags in our effort to please Him. The best of our good works are like nothing. True faith is by our actions. It is the grace of God that teaches us to say NO to worldly passions and behavior. We can boldly preach against legalism. When we blow it, there is grace to forgive.

Oppression - Undo the straps of the yoke…(Yokes we can put on each other)
1. Disunity: It grieves the Father. There should be no measure of jealousy. Don’t measure ourselves against each other. God loves unity.
2. A worldly spirit: See in the Church the same things like at a political meeting. In humility, we need to prefer others.
3. Elitist racism: powerful dynamic where we put bounds around each other because of externals. Dangerous potential (e.g. apartheid. One thinks they are better than the other based on the colour of their skin) Be free from racism. God has made us in His image. We need to do things in the Church that make people ask questions.

“Giving bread to the hungry, clothing those that are naked “ and so on
We run the risk of being indifferent to the plight of the poor. We need to throw away our reputation even if people mock us. Let God receive all the glory. Be faithful with what God has given us. God is eager to reward those who are faithful. Real faith shows itself in action and there is fruitfulness.

In Zimbabwe, we need to plant our maize on time. We will reap the rewards and be able to export maize.

Let us show the life of God in the Church.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Let your light shine by Scott Marques

2010-03-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

Scott Marques

Matthew 5:13 – 16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses it’s flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The top of God’s agenda is to remember the poor. The grace of God in us causes us to love and good works. We are not saved by good works. Let your light so shine that others may see. We need to shine. Our works should cause people to ask questions.

Genesis 1:27 – 28. “So God created man in His own image; in the image og God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ God has given to us the mandate and potential to steward everything that He has created.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 – 12. Love God and one another with practical application. V11 – 12 “….that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.”

Isaiah 58:1 – 12
We can identify with Isaiah’s day with political and economic problems. Africa is facing the problem of poverty. God has passion and compassion for the hungry.
2 Peter 1: “God has given to us everything for life and Godliness.” Where is the problem? Where is the breakdown? Some blame others. There is a sense of God but without unity and the body of Christ rallying together.

Isaiah 58:6: “Is this not the fast that I have chosen…
1. To loose the bonds of the wicked – Primarily an issue between God and us
2. To undo the heavy burdens - things we do that yoke or bind others
3. To let the oppressed go free – things that need to go

Follow on to see the Things we need to get right with God………

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

God's Lavish Grace: Serving the Living God

2010-03-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

Terry and Wendy Virgo

What does it look like to serve the Living God?

Mark 16:20 “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.”
When you are doing what God wants you to do, He is with you. There will be expressions of love and the love of Jesus will come flooding through.

John 17. I have glorified God in all I do. I’ve done the work you’ve given me to do. As you serve the body, you find your calling – your skill. You’ll be very good at that and be part of a loving body. They will say it and you’ll speak and laugh within the loving body. God gives gifts. Let’s find out what God has in store for us and do His will. Let’s not say I have wasted my life. Let each of us use the diverse gifts God has given us. Lets say, I have run the race. There is laid a crown for me and I wasn’t disobedient. Each one of us using the diverse gifts God has given to us.

God is for me. His grace has brought us safely home. God is inclined to reward me. He is worthy of our pure devotion.

God's Lavish Grace: Do we do works to impress God?

2010-03-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

Terry and Wendy Virgo

Hebrews 9:11
Death can creep into the life of the Church. It doesn’t happen overnight. We do things that are dead works. We need to repent from dead works. What are dead works?
1. Doing works without faith like our Sunday meetings. What is our faith goal? What is our expectation?
2. Doing works without hope like salvation. Can God do it?
3. Working presumptuously. Move from faith to presumption. Can do it without God.
4. Works that are not from God. Many doors open but is it from God? We end up very busy – busy doing things but is it living?
5. Not motivated by love. If we don’t have love we are like a clanging symbol. Without love, it profits nothing. Paul says to the Thessalonians as Jesus wrote to the Church of Ephesus that you’ve lost your first love. The heart is gone. Unless you come back, I will remove your lamp stand. Where is the love? God said to Saul, “Today your kingdom is removed from you”. I want Jesus. I don’t want dead religion that’s lost its heart. Let the blood of Jesus cleanse our conscience.

Many Christians are driven from guilt. We want to appease our conscience. What will people think? People do things for conscience sake. Romans 4:4 – 5. The blood of Jesus cleanses my conscience. We don’t have to justify ourselves and get into activity mode because of what people will think. We get people doing things they don’t want to do and gradually the church dies.

Titus 22:14
God wants a people that are zealous for good works. Matthew 5:16, John 9:14, Revelation22:12. Jesus wants to reward good works.

Our works will be tested. All of us will give an account to God. We’ll be tested by fire. The quality of our works will be tested. God is testing more than what has gone in. He is testing our hearts. We are not saved through our works. God will judge the quality of our works. There are those who will stand the test and those who will suffer loss. God is not interested in dead works.

1 Corinthians 4:4 – 5 God will bring things to light and disclose our motives. God will disclose things hidden in darkness. We don’t need to get involved in conscience work.
Good works open with a good heart will be rewarded. Lets not get into religious activity.

God's Lavish Grace: Overcoming sin's power

2010-03-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

Terry and Wendy Virgo

Overcoming sin’s power

Introduction
Romans 6:1 – 14
1. In view of the freedom of grace, shall we carry on sinning?
2. By no means!

How do Christians live the holy life?
Paul asks, “Do you not know?” Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
All of us died to sin – notice ALL of us, not some special Christians. Therefore you cannot be a Christian without being crucified with Christ.
Notice “baptized into His death” not “into our death to sin experience.”
a) Not something we are trying to feel
b) Not something that is going to happen
c) Not something that ought to happen
d) Not something we try and experience
This is something that is true of every Christian. Build the Christian life on God’s truth. Believe what God says.

What we need to know?
V6 Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him
V7 He that has died is free from sin

What must we consider?
V11 Consider yourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. We need to think this way. Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our minds need to be renewed and lined up with truth. Line up your thinking with Truth. Consider it. Live in the truth of what God says is true.

The action we must take
V12 Do not let sin reign in your mortal body. Why mortal? Mortal emphasizes that though our souls have been saved our bodies are awaiting salvation – Romans 8:23, Philippians 3. We need to take responsibility for ourselves and for the members of our bodies. We need to make good choices. Sanctification is about making good choices. We need to live wisely as we have been born again. We are new people. Formerly sin was expressed through our bodies. Our old self was very happy with this. Now our old self has died so our mortal body becomes the target of sin.

V13 Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness.

V18 You were slaves of sin but have now become slaves of righteousness. This is a proclamation. “I am a slave of righteousness” He that is born of God doesn’t live in the world of sinning all the time. God has set us free by the Cross. 1 Corinthians 10:13. We will not be tempted beyond that which we are able to handle.

God's Lavish Grace: Reigning in life

2010-03-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

Terry and Wendy Virgo in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Reigning in life:

Romans 5:17 “For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

Introduction:
The promise to ‘reign in life’ is a wonderful promise. It does not stand alone. There are similar promises, namely that we shall be:-
a) More than conquerors through His love
b) Always be led in His triumph
Often we feel that we are failing to fulfil that lifestyle.

1. The sense of failure can lead Christians to embrace a legalistic approach: The Bible says clearly in Romans 6:14 “Sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.” Galatians 5:4 “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” And Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
2. Are Christians under the law? A review of Romans 7:1 – 6. We were made to die to the law. We died to the law through the body of Christ. We are married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. Galatians 3:21 shows that the law is impotent. Jesus is potent. If we abide in Him the spirit will give us life. Jesus is a life imparting husband.
3. The purpose of the law (it tells man this is where the line is) It reveals sin – Romans 3:20 “Through the law comes the knowledge of sin…” (Sin is against God) and Romans 7:7 “…. I would not have known sin apart from the law…”, It provokes sin – V8 sin took opportunity, V9 sin came alive,
4. The free gift of righteousness (He changes us from the inside radically) Christians battle with condemnation. They try to remove condemnation through sanctification but sanctification cannot remove condemnation. God removes condemnation through justification. He gives us the very righteousness of Christ and makes us completely acceptable! It’s not my performance but my position in Christ. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
Romans 5:14 “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” (It’s comparing Adams sin to Jesus righteousness) Adam is a type of Him who is to come. When he sinned, it affected the whole human race. We also see it in Moses, David, Noah’s ark and Joseph.

Stay tuned for Terry Virgo on “Overcoming sin’s power” from Romans 6

OTC Conference in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

2010-03-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Leaders worshipping God at the recent OTC conference

We had been waiting with great expectation for the Operation Trumpet Call Conference which was held in Bulawayo from Monday 22nd March to Wednesday 24th March 2010. The speakers Terry Virgo, Dr Goodwill Shana, and Scott Marques were outstanding. They inspired, motivated and encouraged the church leaders from the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Newfrontiers Zimbabwe. Terry Virgo did a series on “God’s Lavish Grace”, Scott Marques spoke excellently on “Let your light shine” and Dr Shana closed the conference by speaking on “Leadership”. It was an excellent conference and we are so excited with what God is doing through the Church in Zimbabwe.

Read on to find out more about the Operation Trumpet Call Conference……

By Molly Manhanga

Prophetic word for Zimbabwe

2010-03-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

“….They Will Believe….”

Everybody says what good can
Come out of Zimbabwe
I say My Glory, My Glory will come
On the dry bones that laid slain I
Have breathed My life
Into a mighty armour of God, the 1
Bride of Christ
Like a city on a hill, your light so
Shines

And My Glory shall be seen in the
Whole earth
As the waters cover the sea
And the whole world will look to
This nation
And they will believe.

Everybody says what good can
Come out of Zimbabwe
I say My Glory, My Glory will come
I’ve called this nation forth from
The grave
My Kingdom shall be seen here on
Earth
The lame will leap the dumb will
Speak
The dead will live again.
There is dancing in the street, hear
The sound
The celebration is heard all around
It’s getting louder, it’s getting
Stronger all the time.

Zimbabwe and beyond with Adrian Willard

2010-03-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Adrian Willard

It was fascinating listening to Adrian Willard at the recent Foundations for Nations Conference as he spoke about Operation Trumpet Call.

In essence, Operation Trumpet Call is:
1. A Call to God: 2 Chronicles 7:14 – 16 “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.”
2. A Call to Unity: Ephesians 4:1 – 7 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one Lord and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
3. A Call to Help the Poor: Isaiah 58:9 – 10 “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.”

Operation Trumpet Call is a cry out to God to do something in Zimbabwe. The tool we are using is Foundations for Farming through which we hope our nation will be hugely impacted.

The goal of Operation Trumpet Call is to feed by training and equipping every rural family in Zimbabwe in 5 years i.e. 5,000,000 through Foundations for Farming. Operation Trumpet Call could revolutionize Zimbabwe in terms of feeding the Nation.

Zimbabwe is in a unique place and the Church is responding in a practical way. We have land and good weather so it’s extraordinary! If Zimbabwe is able to feed itself, it will be AMAZING!

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

"From The Heart" with Nigel Ring

2010-03-16T04:35:00.000-07:00

Nigel Ring

M.M: What are your thoughts on Foundations for Farming?
N.R: It’s one of the most exciting ministries I’ve ever seen because of its excellence and its desire to be practical in discipling people in the knowledge of Christ. It has the potential to transform communities. It’s AMAZING and it’s led by the most Godly, humble people I’ve ever met.

M.M: I agree with you 100%! What are your impressions of Operation Trumpet Call?
N.R: The vision for OTC is so huge that God has to be in it. It’s the first time I’ve seen anyone feeling that the Church can transform a Nation – but I believe it can!

Nigel Ring praying for Zimbabwe

M.M: What do you feel God is saying to the Nation of Zimbabwe?
N.R: It feels presumptuous to offer an opinion but it does seem that all of man’s endeavours are seen to be inadequate, leaving a vacuum that only the Church can fill.

M.M: Thank you so much Nigel.

By Molly Manhanga

OTC Farmer Groups

2010-03-11T04:07:00.000-08:00

OTC farmer group led by Brilliant Khoza praying at the start of their session

One of the OTC farmer Groups in the Kezi area are led by Brilliant Khoza. He met with about 15 farmers and shared on Faith, Faithfulness and Fruitfulness. It was quite interactive as people discussed how their thoughts on Foundations for Farming.

The objective of the meeting was to:
1. Help the group to see that the world is in the predicament it’s in because of our lack of faithfulness towards God, each other and creation
2. That we are in disbelief, leading to disobedience, which leads to destruction
3. To show that in Jesus we can have faith outworking itself in faithfulness which leads to fruitfulness.
The OTC farmers were really appreciative of the teachings of Foundations for Farming.

It was an excellent meeting!

Compiled By Molly Manhanga

Scott Marques: "On the OTC March Conference"

2010-02-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

Scott Marques

The March “Trumpet Call” Conferences (running consecutively in Bulawayo and then Harare) will also explore the roll out of follow-up gatherings across the nation in the months leading up to September, possibly synergizing with the World Cup and the screening of matches in rural areas. We hope to see this culminating in some large gatherings of churches in different Centres in September for pre-planting prayer and equipping meetings.

We are on a mission to see thousands of leaders equipped, to see millions of people fed.

We believe God’s word that he has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Christ. As such, we believe that the answer to our problems is not essentially a political economic or social solution but rather a restoration in our relationship with God, with one another and with what God has given us stewardship of right now.

The potential renewed faithfulness over contemporary tardiness in the field is the difference between famine and surplus. Zimbabwe is uniquely poised to be a shining example of God’s grace and power across the continent. God is the answer to Africa’s deepest problems.

Change the Heart of Africa to change the Face of Africa.

By Scott Marques

Pray for our nation of Zimbabwe

2010-02-23T02:58:00.000-08:00

Mbonisi Malaba praying

Mbonisi Malaba read from Habakuk 3:17 - 18 which says:

“Though the fig tree may not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines;
though the labour of the olive may fail,
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock may be cut off from
the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls-

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will take joy in the Lord of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my
high hills.”

Scott Marques: "The beginnings of OTC......"

2010-02-23T02:50:00.000-08:00

Scott Marques

The March Trumpet Call Conferences have developed out of a Pastor’s meeting that we had in Harare when terry Virgo was with us for Mega Vision in 2009. With the help of Dr Goodwill Shana, we put together a meeting of around 100 Pastors at Royal Harare Golf Club for a breakfast and a teaching session. Dr Shana and Terry Virgo were a tremendous blessing and inspiration to everybody who attended. We spoke after the meeting and started dreaming of a larger setting to gather for this kind of equipping. This thinking started to dove-tail with the Operation Trumpet Call initiative to equip churches across the Nation in Foundations for Farming.

Dr Shana helped us see the huge potential of gathering church leaders for substantial times of equipping in Word and Spirit with the output channel of mobilizing the Church to put faith into action with Agriculture.

Dr Shana invited Terry Virgo to come back to Zimbabwe for these training times in March and asked Newfrontiers to host and facilitate a conference that draws leaders closer to God, closer to one another and closer to the reality of a church feeding the poor in the 2010/2011 season.

By Scott Marques

Prophetic Message by Tapiwa Chizana pt 2

2010-02-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Tapiwa Chizana

Taps Chizana, leader of Thebalezizwe Church in Umguza, shared a fantastic Prophetic message on “What we can expect when the Church in Zimbabwe is filled with the spirit.” This is what he said:

To recap, Taps said we can expect the following when the Church in Zimbabwe is filled with the spirit
1. The impossible will become the possible:
2. The Church will be empowered for ministry:

3. We will become more like Christ – sanctified (He changes us): Galations 5 tells us the fruit of the spirit (Not the fruit of works or striving) Sometimes when we are in the presence of the Holy Spirit the Spirit softens our hearts, exposes wrong motives and attitudes, delivers us, heals our emotions.

4. We will be a people of prayer: Romans 8:26 “The spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Prayer is a means by which we fellowship and experience the Holy Spirit. Prayer is two way communication – God speaks to us by His spirit.

5. We will be anointed to work with our hands: Exodus 31:1 – 5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.” This means that our work is important to God, our farming is important to God, our businesses are important to God. God doesn’t fill us with the spirit, only to pray for the sick, but also to love our wives, to farm and work diligently with our hands.

Acts 19:2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

Prophetic Message by Tapiwa Chizana pt 1

2010-02-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

Tapiwa Chizana

Taps Chizana, leader of Thebalezizwe Church in Umguza, shared a fantastic Prophetic message on “What we can expect when the Church in Zimbabwe is filled with the spirit.” This is what he said:

When the Church in Zimbabwe is filled with the Spirit, we can expect the following:

1. The impossible will become the possible: When the angel visited Mary concerning the baby she was to have (Jesus), Mary asked…."how can this be?" Luke 1:34 “How will this be Mary asked the angel since I am a virgin? The angel answered, the HolySpirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will over shadow you.” When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, something supernatural happens. What mountains do you have to climb, that look impossible for you??? All things are possible with God. Samson was filled with the Holy Spirit and had supernatural strength.

2. The Church will be empowered for ministry: Luke 4:19 “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” When you preach the gospel, you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit: It is the anointing that gives your message power and effectiveness. You cannot cut a tree with a blunt axe. When you bind up the broken hearted you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit: this includes pastoral ministry and praying for people. When set captives free you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit: this includes setting captives free from sickness and from the lies of the enemy. When you are setting people free from oppression you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit: this includes demonic oppression; when Jesus was questioned about his casting out demons he said in Matthew 12: 28 “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Good compost

2010-02-16T00:47:00.000-08:00

Darryl Edwards

Compost Temperature Cycle.
The temperature cycle of the compost heap will follow a similar trend to that displayed in the graph below. The temperature will continue to rise until the pile is turned, when it temporarily drops. It then slowly begins to rise again. This will continue until all the nitrogen in the pile has been utilized. If your compost does not get hot it generally indicates that there is not enough nitrogen present. Be careful not to add too much Nitrogen, this will prevent the compost from maturing within the 7 to 8 week period as desired. The temperature can continue rising for many more weeks depending on how much nitrogen there is. In this situation it also means that after the 7-8 week period, when the compost should have matured, you would have to continue tending it. The temperature would need to be continually checked and the pile turned when the temperature reached close to 70C. If however the correct ratios are achieved at the start of the process and the compost begins to cool after 5-6 weeks then the conditions are ideal. After the compost has matured it can then be stored in situ for long periods without further turning. The mature compost will also not degrade nor will nutrients leach out of it. It will be in the form of a stable organic fertilizer and inoculum.

Indicators of good compost.

•Smell If it smells bad, it is bad! This is due to the presence of alcohols, Acetic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid and putrescine. All of which are produced in anaerobic conditions.
•Color NOT BLACK
Deep, rich brown indicates humics
Tan, honey color means fulvics
•Texture Crumbs, air passages, aggregates visible
•Fungal Strands Visible thick threads, in compost, not aerial, not fuzz

By Darryl and Hazel Edwards

Compost: temperatures and turning

2010-02-16T00:38:00.000-08:00

Darryl Edwards

The compost will begin to get hot very quickly. Under ideal conditions the temperature can reach 70%C within 48 hours. This is undesirable. If the temperature in the pile reaches 70%C it becomes too hot for the microbes, which are creating the heat, to exist. Carbon also begins to be burnt and this is wasteful. This heat is created by the reproduction of thermophilic bacteria and will only occur if there is adequate water and oxygen.

Heat is however essential to kill all seeds in the compost and all undesirable pathogens. This is achieved in the temperature range from 55%C to 68%C. The temperature needs to be maintained in this range for at least 3 days. All parts of the pile need to be exposed to this heat. This heat however only exists on the inside of the pile (the outer 40cm is much cooler). This is one of the reasons why turning is important. Each time you turn the pile you should attempt to move material from the outside to the inside, and visa verse.

If the temperature of the pile is too high (ie. Approaching 70%C) then the only way to reduce it is to turn the pile. When turning the pile gauge whether the moisture content is still adequate. A lot of moisture is lost as steam and this needs to be replaced. The adding of water can also cause cooling.

The simplest way to determine what the temperature within the pile is, is by using a temperature probe. For rural folk this would be difficult to obtain or purchase, thus some simple method of ascertaining the approximate temperature by touch needs to be devised.

The turning process has thus achieved three things:
1. Exposed new material to the required heat,
2. Aerated the pile with oxygen, essential for the heat process and
3. Allowed for the lost moisture to be replaced.

At this point it is important to note that if the pile is not turned it will become anaerobic. This means that it will run out of oxygen. If this happens the desirable bacteria will die off or go dormant and undesirable anaerobic bacteria will become dominant. If this happens the temperature will drop and often a bad smell will be noticed.

More on the OTC demo plot

2010-02-15T01:00:00.001-08:00

Progress on OTC Demo Plot

The Operation Trumpet Call demo plot at New Creation Church is now divided into 4 sections: maize, cowpeas, white sorghum and groundnuts. This is what it looks like:

Maize Cobs

Ground Nuts

White Sorghum

Maize and cowpeas

The OTC demo plot is looking pretty good.

By Molly Manhanga

Compost: Ingredients & Method

2010-02-14T22:34:00.000-08:00

Darryl Edwards

Ingredients Required.
-High N (legumes, manures)
-Green (anything cut green, even if it has dried. Diversity is good)
-Woody/Dry. (At least 5% should be greater than 3cm in size).

Method.
a. Building the pile.
It may take an extended period for enough material to be gathered to build a pile of the desired size. This is not a problem. The materials should be piled separately until such time as enough of each material has been accumulated.

When the pile is to be constructed it is important that the right ratios are attained. The most simple way to achieve this is to divide the height of the pile into 10 x 20cm layers. Then alternate the materials in the desired proportions (30% equates to 3 separate layers).

b. Activating the Pile.

Once the pile has been built it needs to be mixed. The best way to do this is to begin slicing away at the heap. Mix the different materials thoroughly and wet them at the same time. Now begin to rebuild the 2x2x2 pile next to the original (layered) pile. The objective of this initial turning process is to thoroughly mix the entire pile and to wet it to at least 50% moisture. If some of the mixed, wet material is squeezed in the hand and moisture drips out, it is too wet. If when squeezed and no water drips out, but on opening your hand the material does not hold its shape then it is too dry. Thus if squeezed, no extra moisture drips out and on opening the hand the material holds its form then it is close to the desired 50% moisture content.

The composting process has now begun.

By Darryl and Hazel Edwards

What is Compost?

2010-02-14T05:32:00.001-08:00

Darryl Edwards

What is compost?

It is the Aerobic decomposition by BACTERIA and FUNGI of a mix of organic material.

Composting Methods.

•Thermal compost
•Worm or Vermi-compost (cold composting)
•Static compost

All three of these methods are suitable for the small-scale farmer. There are pros and cons for all:

Thermal composting is the most reliable to guarantee a product that is weed and pathogen free, it also is very fast (7 to 8 weeks).

Worm composting provides excellent product (worm casts, which are higher in plant available nutrients), but requires large numbers of worms and does not eliminate weed seeds.

Static compost is the easiest but most unreliable due to the uncontrolled environment leaving risk of pathogens, seed and it is very slow. (Can take up to a year).

Thus thermal compost is the most suitable method, but it requires diligence and training to achieve the required results.

The minimum size of a thermal compost heap is about 1.5 m cubed. Thus I have developed a 2x2x2m pile, which will ensure the required volume for the required temperatures that must be attained. It is also small enough for a single person to work in a few hours. In a small-scale or garden situation it is also not too difficult to accumulate or gather enough raw material to build a heap of this size. This volume of compost, if made correctly and the right quality attained should easily be able to sustain a hectare of maize.

By Darryl & Hazel Edwards

One on One with Darryl Edwards

2010-02-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

Darryl Edwards

I really enjoyed chatting to Darryl Edwards, one of the main speakers at the OTC meeting and getting to know him better. This is what he said:

M.M: Tell me a bit about your background.
D.E: I was born in Gweru. I grew up in Mwenezi. I went to school in Esigodini at Falcon College. I went to university in Pietermaritzburg and did a degree in Agriculture. I met my wife Hazel at university. She was just a friend then and my “note-taker” as we were in the same class. We got married and have 3 children: Jen who is in grade 6, Lindsey in grade 5 and James who is in grade 2.

M.M: You actually live on a farm. What do you do there?
D.E: We were commercial flower producers but we have since given our farm to the Lord. It is now being used as a training base for Foundations for farming. Our focus is composting but we do other experiments as we are looking at producing worm casts.

M.M: Very interesting! What are your thoughts on Foundations for Farming?
D.E: Foundations for Farming is from God. God has a vision for Zimbabwe and is going to use our country in amazing ways as an example to the rest of the world. It is an incredible privilege to be chosen to present and teach composting which is so important. Composting and the microscopic world is what brought me to the Lord.

Darryl Edwards teaching at OTC on organisms in the soil

M.M: Praise God! Tell me more about your thoughts on composting?
D.E: Composting is an amazing gift from God. It is the answer to small-scale farming. God still has a lot to teach us and to unlock things to us.

M.M: What do you do to relax?
D.E: I spend time with my children, watch movies, play volleyball and badminton.

M.M: Who is you favourite Bible character?
D.E: Elisha because of his determination to get the anointing.

M.M: Thank you so much Darryl. It’s been great getting to know you more and I hope we see more of you this year.

By Molly Manhanga

OTC Report for Harare and Surrounding Areas...

2010-02-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

William Tom and myself (James Davy), went on our monitoring and evaluation trip from Friday 29th January to Friday 5th February. We covered all the areas in our jurisdiction (being Harare and surrounding areas) but did not manage to see every Trainer of Trainers (TOT) because we were a bit strapped for time, we did see most of them though. There are 28 TOT’s in the Harare OTC training area.

The trip on the whole was encouraging, although we could not discount a few discouraging aspects. Most of the TOT’s had made a good effort towards implementing Foundations For Farming into their churches, trainers, farmer groups and communities. Most of the TOT’s stated that they had held trainings in their respective areas and had been doing follow-ups. Some were notable in their hope and perseverance. An example was in Muzarabani where Pastor Mhike was continuing to train his guys even though their rainfall had been very bad and most of the crop had died out. He expressed great confidence in the coming season and was still excited to keep trying.

High Points:
• At least one church has been planted as a result of the teachings of Foundations for Farming through OTC. One of the churches planted in December has already got 70 members. That was a church planted by Pastor Jongwe.
• Some TOT’s have done the farming at a very high standard and have taught this equally well to their trainers. Two good examples are Pastor Chiripanyanga in Mudzi, Mutoko and Pastor Kandulu in Madziva. Ps Chiripanyanga has one notable trainer who had really excellent standards in her crop and she had very good mulching. It was so good that their crops were still alive and growing even though they had not received rain for nearly three months! They also support 360 orphans. Ps Kandulu had gone the extra mile in his plot. He had brilliant standards, he had demarcated and separated the different crops (maize, round nuts, ground nuts and beans). His maize was partially mulched but he was in the processing of adding mulch when we got there. He had also planted a variety of fruit trees and was tending them well. They also appeared to be actively blessing the surrounding community. On top of this they had partially worked on a farm plan.
• Frank Kumire of Bindura had done a very good compost heap.
• Almost all of the TOT’s we visited had good standards in their fields.
• Almost all of the TOT’s had an encouraging attitude toward what they were doing. They appeared to be excited and though some of them had failed they were still keen to continue and learn from their mistakes.

Low Points:
• Most TOT’s visited had a distinct lack of mulch and therefore, in the lower rainfall areas, their crops had either suffered or failed.
• The weeding in most areas was not done very well and could be sorted out with the mulching.
• Some areas were not done at a very high standard and trainers had not caught the vision and thus had not done a good job.
• Some areas had just simply not received the rainfall they needed for the maize, but possibly they learnt the importance of some aspects such as mulching etc Muzarabani had officially been declared a disaster area in terms of crop production.
• Most of the areas had not done compost although a couple of areas had started to collect materials.
• One area (Norton) was odd in that they had received too much rain and their crops had become waterlogged and some was dying as a result. They also had not used mulch.
• Aphids seemed to have been a problem in many areas but appeared to have not had a huge impact on the crop.

Written by James Davy

Gods email to me.........

2010-02-10T22:52:00.000-08:00

Pastor KC (Kenneth Chirimuta)

We’ll be looking at Revelation 2 & 3 – the letters to the 7 churches. We’ll be looking more specifically at the structure of the 7 letters. Jesus is speaking and:
1. He introduces himself
2. There is a commendation (praise)
3. Condemnation (I have this one thing against you…)
4. Council (Advice)
5. Promise
6. He who has an ear, let him hear

These letters/emails/sms’ are from heaven coming to our “inbox”
1. He introduces himself: Revelation 2:1 “ to the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:…..” Jesus is speaking to the church at Ephesus. How would he introduce Himself to you and me considering where my life is today? God assesses the situation of the church. He walks right in the midst of the Churches and doesn’t rely on hearsay, rumour or grapevine messages
2. Commendation: V2 “ I know your works, your labour, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil……” Even if no one pats you on the back, God knows your works, your labours and your patience. You are doing it for the Kingdom and should be strengthened and encouraged. What praise would God give me today?
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first 3. Condemnation: V4 love.” The praise comes first – you have done great in this area but this other area needs improving. The words of a certain song are: “You cannot hide from God, You can cover your sin so that the world can’t see, but you cannot hide from God.” The church in Ephesus started out burning, a “firebrand” but somewhere along the way, it cooled down and lost it’s first love. Am I still on fire for God? Am I zealous for God or am I a fake Christian, lacking quality. Desire to be genuine and real.
4. Council: V5 “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works……” remember and repent. If things are not well in my life, I cannot impact people spiritually
5. Promise: Claim and take God’s promises as ours
6. He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit of God is saying.

Pastor KC

Let us not grow weary in well doing for in due season we shall reao. The God we serve is Yaweh – the covenant keeping God.

“The heart of a King is in the hands of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. His promises will prevail.” God’s promises will be fulfilled in our nation of Zimbabwe.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

OTC Field Visit pt 2

2010-02-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Great crop but no mulch

Mulched field

By Molly Manhanga

OTC Field Visit pt 1

2010-02-07T04:41:00.000-08:00

Weeds amongst the crop

I went early one morning with Mbekezele Moyo and Jen te Velde to visit some of the OTC farmers. Some fields were really encouraging while others need prayer. Some of the problems being faced are not much rainfall, poor soil, too much weeds, poor germination, aphids, baboons and monkeys eating the crop.

Very encouraging crop of Sphike Dube

However, the faith levels of the farmers are still high as they expect to reap a harvest and continue to work diligently in their fields. It was wonderful being welcomed at the various homes and to pray a blessing at each home before we left.

By Molly Manhanga

Progress on OTC Demo Plot pt 2

2010-02-03T00:20:00.001-08:00

Germinated maize

Craig Deall in demo plot

Maize and cow peas in OTC demo plot

Maize looking excellent

By Molly Manhanga

Progress on OTC Demo Plot pt 1

2010-02-02T02:50:00.000-08:00

Cleared OTC plot at New Creation Church

OTC farmers digging holes

Basal fertiliser about to be put in holes

Maize seed about to be planted

By Molly Manhanga

OTC Project Manager: Wessie van der Westhuizen

2010-01-31T23:36:00.000-08:00

“His Story” in Wessie van der Westhuizen

It was brilliant chatting to Wessie – Project Manager of Operation Trumpet Call (OTC) and getting to know his story. I just missed his wife Somien who had left New Creation Church to pick up their children from school. I really look forward to meeting her. This is what Wessie had to say:

"I was busy doing National Service for 2 years when I gave my life to the Lord and subsequent to this felt God call me into full time ministry. I was 19 at the time and then pursued Theological studies in Pretoria for a few years It was during this time that I met my wife Somien, and we got married in 1988. We then went into full time ministry at the Hatfield Christian Church in Pretoria. We were privileged to be involved in this for 17 years, during which we were also leading a course in theological studies for 1st year students and being involved in Pastoral care in one of the city’s congregational areas. In 2006 God lead us to resign from full time eldership at Hatfield Christian Church towards pursuing His call on us for working more directly into the nations. We then joined New Covenant Ministries International (NCMI) and started attending Urban Life Church in Midrand. After a period of about nine months, we were invited unto eldership at that church until we finally moved to Zimbabwe at the end of 2009.

Our involvement in Zimbabwe started in July 2007, when God put it on my heart to do something about the extreme food shortages that were being experienced in the nation. I approached my eldership team and received their blessing to respond to this urge from the Lord. The first person I managed to get in touch with was a man called Dumi Ndlovu, a church leader from a church in Bulawayo. I asked him how we could be of help and he subsequently gave me a list of food items. We then collected food from our local church and made our first trip to Zimbabwe in August 2007. The initial decision was that we would continue doing this for at least 3 months and then settle on what the way forward would be. Soon other churches in South Africa joined in and national funds were made available in order for food to be purchased in bulk. As a church we were then approached and asked whether we could administrate this effort which by now had grown into a mass effort of getting food across the border We were thoroughly blessed when an International Christian Organization that is involved in supporting Christians worldwide called; Barnabas Fund heard about what we were doing and started supporting these efforts through funding the crisis in Zimbabwe for the past 3 years. We did realize thought that this was never going to be long-term solution and was therefore constantly asking God for the way forward

Meeting Scott Marques and Brian Oldreive in January 2008 was for that reason a God-ordained meeting. This enabled me to get involved in Foundations for Farming after attending a Champs Conference. The attempt was then made to turn the normal food runs into training events re FfF. It was during this time that we felt that God was speaking to us about getting involved in the country on a more permanent basis. After speaking to apostolic leaders both in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the release came and subsequent to that, the opportunity arose with Operation Trumpet Call to relocate to Zimbabwe and join the local team in this regard. We feel that God has lead us as a family to come and serve what the wider part of the Body is currently doing. There seems to also be a strong call on many more South Africans and other worldwide Christians to join in with the current focus of rebuilding Zimbabwe."

Wessie speaking to the OTC farmers gathered at New Creation Church

Thank you so much Wessie

By Molly Manhanga

3 keys to effective weed control

2010-01-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

Craig Deall

Three keys to effective WEED control

Firstly, you must hoe weeds when they are SMALL (less than 25mm). By doing this you are not allowing them to seed and reproduce. Hoeing then is an easy task done with Joy as opposed to being an onerous task if you are trying to battle large weeds.

Secondly, ensure your management is good so that you get a good and even crop stand resulting in a quick CROP CANOPY which blocks out the sunlight that is so important to weed growth.

Craig Deall in the OTC demo plot at New Creation Church

Thirdly and most importantly is LATE WEED CONTROL. Hoeing is a 12 month of the year operation. By keeping your lands weed free throughout the year you are preventing moisture loss from the soil, killing any potential weed seeds that might germinate in future, and actually preparing your fields for the next season! Keeping your fields weed free throughout the year will result in a depletion of the weed seed pool and weed control gets easier and easier every season.

You are a NEW CREATION pt 2

2010-01-24T07:24:00.000-08:00

Taps Chizana

Romans 3: 21 – 26
V21 “But now a righteousness from God apart from law has been known to which the law and prophets testify.” This scripture is saying the law and prophets. (The Bible) teaches of a righteousness from God apart from the law.
This is a way to be right with God………without having to keep any religious laws. This was good news to everyone because they realized that they couldn’t keep the law 100%, and they kept failing, so the idea of being right with God without having to keep the law was amazing!

V22 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
• Those who put their faith in Jesus, receive this righteousness from God
• Having Faith in Jesus is “not work”…….. you didn’t do anything……you cannot be proud of it…….. it’s surrendering to Jesus.
V24 “We are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”
• Justified when you believe in Jesus, in God;s books you are just as if you did not sin
• It’s for free…………. You did not pay for it, by hid grace, not by our works
• Through the redemption that came by Christ. Through the blood of Jesus which purchased our salvation. In the old testament when they sinned, they had to find a sacrifice so that god wouldn’t sacrifice them. At the cross, Jesus himself provided a sacrifice for us.
• When you consider this old creation (SEED) when it is in the soil, it relies on its own food storage to survive………..when it becomes a New Crewtion it relies on the sun, air etc.
• When you were an old creation, you relied on yourself, and lived for yourself, dead to sin………..but now that you are a New Creation, you rely on the (air) spirit, the sun (son of God)
In view of such GRACE, how then shall we live as “NEW CREATIONS?”
A maize plant is Very different from the seed. The New Creation is very different from the Old. Unfortunately, we have people who declare they are new creations, but they are not much different from the world.
1. We shall not live our lives trying to earn our salvation through works – we are already New Creations
2. We should live lives in obedience to god, as part of our worship to him. GRACE is not an excuse to sin…..infact, we should want to do good and please him.
3. Our lives should shine for Jesus.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
• Your fields should be the best in the village because you are a New Creation. What has happened in your heart should be seen in how you do your work.
• The way you treat your wife should be different because you are a New Creation.

You are a NEW CREATION pt 1

2010-01-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

Taps Chizana

When a plant grows from a SEED……..IT’S A MIRACLE.
Do they look the same? No
Are they the same colour? No
Do they smell the same? This plant is a NEW CREATION

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
If you are a Christian, you are a new creation. This means you used to be an Old Creation.
When you were an old creation…………
• You were an unbeliever, you did not believe in God
• You were dead in your sins and you followed the ways of this world and the devil.

Ephesians 2:1 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the Kingdom of the air.”
In some villages, they hold ceremonies to try and find out who the witch doctor is???? If that village does not know Jesus, they and the witch doctor are all the same.
When you were an old creation…………
• You were heading for Hell!
• You gratified the desire of your flesh!
• Some people say, they are OK…….NO……You were an enemy of God
• You did not rely on God, but on your own strength

NOW WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU WERE TRANSFORMED FROM BEING AN OLD CREATION TO BECOME A NEW CREATION.
When we look at the seed……it became a plant, and we know God does it, but we may have to read our “O” Level Science books to get exact information……..that would be our text book. In the same way, it’s important for us to understand how you became a New creation….. because you used to be an old creation.

We all have sinned and did not deserve to be God’s children.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”
• If being right with God was dependant on our good works – none of us would be children of God!
• Now in the Old Testament the Israelites had to keep many laws, e.g. in Exodus, Leviticus, as well as the ten commandments so that they could be right with God.
• When they failed, they had to sacrifice animals often, a lamb without a spot/wrinkle for the forgiveness of their sins…….
• They had to keep the law to be righteous before God

Stay tuned for more......

The Five Giants in The Land pt 2

2010-01-21T01:10:00.000-08:00

Craig Deall

Craig Deall shared with the farmers what the 5 giants were:

4. Crop Stand: By following the Foundations for Farming principles of zero tillage, no burning and leaving a good mulch cover, it is easy to get a good crop stand. You must also adhere to the management principles of being On time, doing things to a high Standard, without Wastage and with Joy. The soil that has been protected by mulch and is kept weed free, becomes softer and more friable after every successive year practicing Foundations for farming. It is therefore no problem attaining excellent crop stands. A person with a hoe is by far more accurate than a mechanical planter when sowing your seed!

5. Weeds: Mulch plays a large part in controlling weed because it blocks out the sunlight preventing vigorous weed growth. Ploughing does not in fact help because some weed seeds can survive in the ground for up to 40 years!

The Five Giants in The Land pt 1

2010-01-21T00:58:00.000-08:00

Craig Deall

Craig Deall shared with the farmers what the 5 giants were:

1. Compaction: Tradition tells us that by ploughing we are loosening the soil to prevent compaction and to get better water infiltration. But in fact, the opposite is true! When rain falls on unprotected soil, the sheer weight of the water and it’s velocity on impact with soil actually COMPACTS it and it slumps. If you protect the soil with mulch, this cannot happen. Also, the roots from the previous crop act as scaffolding, holding the soil up preventing compaction and loosening the soil. When the soil structure is damaged by ploughing, the soil is more prone to compaction.

2. Pests: Rotations are key in slaying this giant! With good rotations you will not get a pest build up. Remember that a healthy plant has a waxy protective surface to their leaves, helping to protect the plant from pests. There are many methods of pest control without resorting to harmful chemicals. For example, stalk borer can be controlled by breaking the life cycle of the pest, by knocking the stalks over at ground level at harvest time. Another example is termites that might be seen in your mulch, but they are actually your friends. They much prefer to eat dead material, so they eat your mulch instead of your crop, at the same time benefiting the soil. Ploughing does not prevent pests – rotations do!

3. Disease: Once again, a healthy plant can resist most diseases. Rotations are very important in preventing disease build up. By ploughing you are damaging the soil structure and therefore pests and disease can build up in the soil because the soil is no longer in balance, with anaerobic and aerobic bacteria being killed.

"New Seed For Freedom" with Mbonisi Malaba

2010-01-16T00:29:00.000-08:00

Mbonisi Malaba

What do you see in our fields and communities?
• Just as there are healthy and unhealthy plants, there are healthy and unhealthy Christians and healthy and unhealthy churches, communities, nations. What makes for healthy christians, lives, communities? The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
• How do we get righteous in our hearts? How do we get a free people, free community and so on. The Bible tells us that God exalts the humble and resists the proud. Luke 4:18 – 19 “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to releae the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Mbonisi Malaba sharing God's word

• How do we get free? The Bible says in Galations 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Jesus wants us to be free.

What does the Bible say to us today?
• Romans 7:1 – 6 “Do you not know, brothers – for I am speaking to men who know the law – that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, is she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law wer at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
• Good law + sinful people = death
• When we belong to Jesus we serve from the inside out by the spirit, not by the outside in by the law. Not because the law is our master and we have to but because Christ is our husband and we want to. Not because obedience leads to salvation, but because salvation leads to obedience.

How must we live?
• The way to get our fields right is to get our hearts right.
• “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Proverbs 14:34

Feeding A Nation....much bigger than us!

2010-01-15T02:16:00.000-08:00

Craig Deall

Craig Deall came from Harare and started off by sharing about how touched he was with the testimonies. The farmers are looking to God.

He then did a recap session on the practical aspects. He said:
1. OTC is about a life in Christ, a life of faith – the gospel with boots on.
2. We serve an amazing God who sees the problem, who has given us a solution and teaches us how to implement it.
3. Craig then spoke about the tools required, land preparation, nutrition, planting, top dressing, the five giants, weeds – the curse and post harvest.

READ ON to find out more about THE 5 GIANTS in THE LAND and WEEDS.

By Molly Manhanga

Testimonies from across Zimbabwe

2010-01-15T02:07:00.000-08:00

Mbonisi Malaba praying for rain

1. Nyathi: God is doing wonders. There was rain in the beginning but we don’t have any rain now. The crops are small but because of Foundations for Farming, the crops are growing. It seems to be raining in other areas but not by us but we continue to trust God that it will come.

2. Esigodini: Our area has no rain. We have done good farming – what we have been taught. Although there is a lot of heat, our crops are still green and they are knee high. Our area is dry with a little rain. We are trusting God with our crops. Other people are asking us how we do it.

3. Masvingo urban – Mushandike to Chivi: It rained in November 2009. In December we had scattered rains. Our crops are green and knee high too. We have worked hard and are weeding our fields. We thank God that we have a crop.

4. Mbalabala: God is wonderful. We are doing exactly what we have learnt from here. There is hope with what we have done. Our crops are knee high and are looking wonderful. We are trusting the Lord and doing His work faithfully. As we mulch, we know we will get a little harvest. Those that are not in OTC will get nothing.

5. Gwanda - Beitbridge: We thank God for His love. There is no rain in our area and we received our seed late (8 December) With the little rain that has come, we planted the seed and hoped it would rain again. People are seeing that the rains are not coming. Some want to give up but our HOPE is still there.

6. Silobela: We thank God for what is happening. There are no rains but God is working wonders. All those on OTC are not going backwards. There is hope. Our crops are shoulder high. We thank God that those who trust Him will not be moved.

Mbonisi also encouraged the farmers saying that although we are going through challenges, others are also going through it. We are in this together.

We all then stood up and prayed for rain.

By Molly Manhanga

Feedback from Kezi, Bulawayo

2010-01-15T02:02:00.000-08:00

Stephen Manhanga, leader of Crossroads Community Church read scripture from 11 Kings 6:14 – 23 and emphasized verse 16 & 17 which says “Don’t be afraid, the prophet answered. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, Oh Lord, open his eyes so he may see. Then the Lord opened the servants eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Mkhululi Ncube from Gqalaza testified:
God is doing wonderful things. The rains have not been good in Gqalaza. We received to date 130mm. The people who joined OTC will receive a bountiful harvest. Their hearts are committed to God and we believe the rains will come. We will be turning around in 2010.

Mbekezele Moyo from Mapane testified:
There hasn’t been much rain in our area. The farmers who have joined OTC have hope and we are trusting God to get a harvest with what we have sown.

Brilliant Khoza from Mablauwuni testified:
God is doing great things and miracles are happening at Ebenezer Training Centre. The rains come close to Ebenezer but don’t seem to reach us. We still continue doing things like mulching. We are steadfast and trust God for rains.

Stephen Manhanga giving feedback on Silozwe and Lushumbe
It’s encouraging that even though the crop is knee high and wilting in some places, the people continue to pray and trust God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by name humble themselves and pray, turn from their wicked ways, then sill I hear from heaven and heal their land.”

As a way of encouragement, Stephen shared about Elijah praying and for 3 years it didn’t rain. He prayed again and saw a cloud the size of a man’s fist and told the servant to tell the people that an abundance of rain is coming. Praise God!

Compiled by Molly Manhanga

Blowing The Trumpet into 2010

2010-01-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

We held our first OTC meeting for 2010 and it was excellent.

Stephen Manhanga as MC at OTC

Stephen Manhanga was the MC and he opened up by sharing from the word of God:

Psalm 121:1 – 8 “I lift up my eyes to the hills from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” And

Psalm 122: 1 “I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the Lord.”

We then had an awesome time of worship as everyone raised their voices to exalt the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings – King JESUS. It was beautiful.

By Molly Manhanga

Planting Maize - Practical Demo with Alan Norton

2010-01-15T01:26:00.000-08:00

Alan Norton training the farmers at New Creations Church, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Alan Norton taught the farmers how to top dress their maize plants: with heavy soil, you top dress once but in sandy soils you top dress twice. Top dressing takes place 3 weeks after emergence. You can top dress with urea or ammonium nitrate. If you use urea, it needs to be covered.

Alternate top dressings of chicken soup made from chicken manure is being looked into as well as a natural herb called comfrey.

Alan Norton training the farmers

By Molly Manhanga

Planting Maize - Practical Demo with Brian Oldreive

2010-01-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

Brian Oldreive training the farmers at New Creations Church, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Brian Oldreive taught the farmers how to mark and dig their holes in straight lines with the correct spacings according to the region they are in i.e. region 1 = high rainfall and while region 5 is low rainfall patterns. He demonstrated how to put basal fertilizer in each hole and cover it slightly. Three seeds were put into each planting station and the holes were covered leaving a level surface.

The principles he spoke on were, on time, to standard, without wastage and with joy.

Brian Oldreive doing a practical demonstration.

By Molly Manhanga