Farming

This month we have had several setbacks. The rains have continued to be heavier than normal for the month of April. We received a large amount of flooding rains a week ago and because of a new road built on our property the heavy rains flooded our fields with no where to escape to. Our beans, corn, and even the raised beds flooded. The pictures attached are after the waters had gone down a few feet. We spent the next few days trenching and pumping water out. We were relieved to get the water to a much lower level when more heavy rains came and continue to come.

So, what does this mean? There is a good chance our beans are lost. With the water receded our raised beds can be used again. The corn we are not sure about but we are praying it still does well though it may be stunted in growth.

The good news is that last year we stored more than enough corn for the school for three years. We continue to pray that we will have a good harvest.

We have also spent the last week reconstructing our broiler chicken house. We have made it into four rooms so that we can grow out more chickens. The plan is to grow 200, wait a week and do 200 more, wait a week and 200 more, then continue this process so we have chickens to sell every week. This way we can be a constant supplier at a smaller level making it easier for us to sell.

We have also had our first calf of the season born! It is a bull that will be raised for meat.

Evangelism

I am continuing the Sunday morning leadership classes at Kisongo church of Christ. We have discusses why the church needs elders, what a biblical leader looks like, and how we are not looking for a perfect man but a man with a heart for Christ.

Anna has added a new class to her weekly schedule. As we have said, our focus is on building up the church in our area. There is a new daycare, opened by friends, less than five minutes from our house. Every Wednesday morning she is going to teach their 3-5 year olds. She has around 20 children in her class. This is a another way, like the local school on Fridays, for the community to learn about the church.

We are also continuing to invite two Kisongo families to our home every month for dinner. This month we hosted the families of Ahimidiwe and Daudi. We have learned that the Tanzanians love pizza and chips (french fries) and so far no one has went home unhappy. Tanzanians have a tendency to be wary of American food (it is an unknown) but pizza and chips have won everyone over two months in a row. We are enjoying getting to know our brethren here better.

Keep the upcoming campaigns in your prayers. The first guests will begin to arrive in three weeks and we, along with local preachers, will begin setting up Bible studies in our community. We are looking forward to this opportunity to be able to reach our community by such a large number of people.

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