MUJILA FALLS AGRICULTURE CENTRE

E-MAIL BULLETIN

MAY/JUNE 2015

Then I heard the Lord’s voice saying, “Whom should I send, and who will go for us?” I said, “I’m here; send me.” Isaiah 6: 9

Dear Friends and Supporting Churches,

During this Pentecost we celebrate the entry of the Holy Spirit into each of us as the “Birthday of the Church”. As we read the headlines of a “dying or declining Church”, it is doubly important that we re-commit ourselves to the Work of the Church in the World. John Wesley often pointed out that it is through our works that we show our Christian Faith. Isaiah demonstrates that “being a Christian” is about action; about taking up the challenges placed before us. About hearing the invitation and about stepping up and saying “Here I am, Lord, send me.”

Over the past 15 years, we have built up Mujila Falls from a wilderness into a land flowing with milk and honey; a center where people can come to learn about animal husbandry, gardening, fruit culture, field crops, tree farming, animal traction, and so much more. Over those years we have been a catalyst for development. We brought in the first engineer to study our river and that has resulted in a hydro-electric dam project that has brought the national grid to NW

Province, catalyzed cell phone towers, road construction, well drilling, grade school and high school construction, and so much more. When we answer God’s Call, “whom shall I send?”, he doesn’t abandon us, but assists us in His Work for perfection of His Creation. Land that once couldn’t support anyone now supports thousands with milk, eggs, yoghurt, poultry, goats, sheep, fruit, vegetables and much more. People without work now have employment and their wages turn over again and again in the local economy with the construction of better homes, purchase of better food, sending children to school, and building new businesses. Where once we couldn’t sell 100 eggs in a week, we are now selling as much as 2000 eggs per day into local villages. We are now producing more than 80 litres of milk per day for people who never had milk before. These products help to keep teachers in our rural schools from running away due to hunger. It keeps nurses working in our clinics. It provides room for our “best and brightest” to find jobs and businesses in our local communities instead of emigrating to the big and over-crowded cities. I rejoice that most of my workers now have cell phones and several have motorcycles. This is what happens when we find ourselves “of one accord” and answering God’s Call to action through projects like Mujila Falls Agriculture Centre. Pentecost lives on through us.

NEW TRACTOR, MOWER AND DISC HARROW

I put off this E-mail Bulletin, for several weeks as I wanted to be able to report the successful delivery of our new John Deere tractor, mower, and disc harrow. Unfortunately, the disc harrow is still on

the way, but we have the tractor and mower and are currently using it to harvest our napier grass. We are then chopping it and making silage that will keep our cows milking through the long dry season.

The tractor is also very helpful in compacting the silage so that it will cure better and last longer without spoilage.

We give special thanks to the single sizeable monetary contribution that made these important purchases possible. You have answered God’s call.

NEW DAIRY STALLS BUILT

We were long overdue to build more stalls for our growing line of milking cows. These stalls will permit us to keep our cows cleaner and more comfortable. They even include automatic drinking cups between each two cows. When we get electricity, we hope to buy automatic milkers. I am also ready to start cheese production to go with the very popular yoghurt we are making from cow’s milk, now.

NEW SIGNAGE WILL HELP TO DIRECT GUESTS AND SHOW THE CROSS AND FLAME

Our main sign post was toppled by termites about two years ago and it is with satisfaction that we were able to get a new post put up in the past couple of months.

We have put up two of these signs at each end of the Tshala Mwengo Memorial Forest. This will be a living memorial to the life of one who heard God’s voice and said, “Here I am Lord. Send me.”

We also wanted to remember my wife, Roxanne, by placing a sign in front of our Mama Roxanne Day Care and Pre-school. We are looking for funds to repaint the school and to add some playground equipment, carpet and children sized chairs.

FUNDS NEEDED FOR LAYER CAGES FOR OUR CHICKENS:Our 1200 pullets are nearing the beginning of their production period at 18 weeks of age. We are wanting to house them in cages for the following reasons. 1. We are having a lot of cannibalism that greatly increases the mortality rate of our chickens. Everything we have tried to prevent this has failed. 2. We also have a lot of egg eating and broken eggs due to hens fighting over nests, etc. The cages will permit the eggs to stay cleaner and have less breakage, greatly increasing numbers of eggs available for sale to people in the area. It will also permit us to house about three times the numbers of hens in the buildings we have and, thus, stop any need to build more costly buildings.

The Cages are quite costly and will have to be brought in from the Copperbelt. Cages for 1200 chickens will cost us about $7,500.00. For individuals and churches looking for a tangible way to help us here at Mujila Falls, please consider this project. Funds need to be raised soon.

PROTEIN DEFICIENCIES STILL EXIST IN AREA:This severely malnourished baby was brought to us in February. We immediately began feedings of goat milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables. We were seeing some improvement for about two months, but then were informed that the baby had died. Word is that both mother and child were HIV Positive. Unfortunately, not all of our efforts to save lives have a happy outcome. We need to pray for those afflicted with fatal diseases and that prevention efforts are more

successful.

ANNUAL PEACE CORPS TRAINING BRINGS PVC’S AND THEIR AFRICAN COUNTERPARTS TO MUJILA FALLS FOR TRAININGS:

In February we had two groups of Peace Corps Volunteers and their village counterparts for two one week trainings. The first was for Lunda Speakers and the second for Kaunde Speakers. Each day the groups were divided into three sub-

groups. Each sub-group rotated among morning chores. Some milked goats, others cows and still others fed and collected eggs from our hen houses. During the day we had seminars on banana production, ox driving, poultry raising, gardening, organic fertilizers and pesticides, Animal health, etc. etc. We taught PCV’s and their counter parts how to butcher pigs, goats and ducks as a part of their meals. Housing and feeding as many as twenty persons for the two weeks was a daunting task that gave jobs to some of our worker’s wives and others from the community. Riding donkeys was a diversion from some of the harder work.

STILL WAITING FOR MORE “WORKERS IN GOD’S VINYARD”“The harvest is great, but the workers are few” is how Jesus put the problem we face in Third World Development. On the first anniversary of my Co-Director, Missionary Tshala Mwengo’s tragic death in a bus accident, we are still waiting for new people to step up and inform the General Board of Global Ministries with the words “I am here, send me”.

We especially need someone gifted in farm management, financial

management and book keeping as the farm has grown very large and needs better financial management. Other areas that are languishing include Tshala’s pine forest and tree nursery, our planned fish ponds, stronger outreach and trainings, banana production and gardening, etc. We are looking for one American Couple who can also help with communication and fundraising for the project. We hope also to be able to attract another African or Third World couple who understand tropical agriculture and outreach to African Culture groups.

If you feel a calling to Mission Work, please contact our General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church for more information.

WE SINCERELY THANK EVERYONE WHO AS BEEN PRAYING AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR PROJECT

Figure 1Betty Tshala and Sons provided the tombstone that was dedicated on the first anniversary of Tshala's Death. About 200 people attended from around Zambia and D.R.Congo

Our project is reaching a crossroads as we move from a pioneering/homesteading level to one where we are one of the largest farms in the district. With the purchase of the new John Deere Tractor, installation of modern milking stalls and the eventual electrification of the project, we are poised for growth and, hopefully, more self-financing through our cows, chickens, bananas, etc. We haven’t built this alone and we want you to know how important all of you are to the future of this project. Some Churches have given us just a few dollars and some individuals have given us thousands of dollars. You are all important to God’s Plan to helping God’s People in Africa live abundantly. Continue to answer the call with “Here I am; send me”.