OTC Project Manager: Wessie van der Westhuizen

“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

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

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.