In April of 2007, a group of 8^th grade boys flagged me down as I was riding past on my bicycle. “Madame, we want to learn English.” “Ok,when?” I responded. “As often as you’re willing,” was their reply. And the rest is history.

Well, sorta.

Those boys comprise a part of a group of students we now term, “the original tutoring kids,” as they were the group that inspired Choshen Farm’s education initiative. I ended up meeting with these boys every week for two years. They never stood me up once (which meant I couldn’t stand them up either – a fact that sometimes meant cycling in the rain up to the school and standing at a chalk board for two hours, soaked to the skin). I saw a lot of improvement in their English and math skills, but more importantly, I saw a deepening of our relationship. We talked about life and God, transcribing words to Casting Crowns songs as a listening exercise. They built me a dish rack. They wrote me 12 original songs (click here to listen to my favorite!) as a “going away present” before Jeremy and I left to get married.

These boys are pretty much the most precious thing ever. This is how our obsession with the school kids of Fimpulu all began.

In Zambia…

Only 53% of all students who start primary school in grade 1 complete primary school by finishing grade 9

Only 37% of all students continue on to secondary school (grade 10-12)

Only 67% of all girls age 15-24 are literate

These statistics say more than just how many kids show up to school and learn to read. The United Nations, World Food Programme and other international bodies have done extensive research showing the link between education and a variety of development factors. People who are denied education are more vulnerable to poverty, hunger, violence, abuse and exploitation, trafficking, HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality.

As we looked at our community, we saw the deficiencies of the education system and the poverty, disease and depression that do seem to correlate all too well. Teachers who often do not show up, classrooms with half the number of needed desks, no textbooks for students to use and no evaluation to assure anyone’s success. It blew our minds that students could sit through 9 years worth of classes and still be basically illiterate. Our hearts were moved to start working towards redemption of the system, understanding that this would always be much bigger than anything we could accomplish. Phase one was to begin a preschool. We acquired space in a local grain storage facility and formed a committee to help the community take ownership of the project. The school has seen its ups and downs – a predictable ebb and flow as parents, teachers and community members slowly gain an understanding of the importance of early childhood education apart from “cheap childcare from 8:00-11:00.” We’ve focused a lot in the last few years on goal setting with the preschool committee, hoping that their leadership will strengthen and become a model for other schools.

Phase two of our education initiative involved the building of the Learning Resource Center as a landmark of continued learning for all ages. The project began in 2009 as we took an old cinderblock skeleton and converted it into a useable structure. The community agreed to be responsible for the roof. Oh the roof. 2,000 bundles of grass and a full year later, the LRC was open for business. We threw a village-wide party and invited the Chief. Everyone shared what kind of programs they’d like to see happen in that building. The preschool finally moved out of their dingy, mouse infested grain depot and into a bright, cheery, nicely decorated room with a playground right outside. The well stocked library in the LRC provided young students and teens a chance to browse new books in English as well as take advantage of school text books for self-guided learning. An ambitious tutoring schedule was set in place with tutoring programs several days per week during the school sessions and daily tutoring during the holidays. The LRC also became the home to five different English and literacy classes for adults wanting to improve their communication skills in their country’s official language.

Phase three of the education initiative was to vamp up our student sponsorship program. When our “original tutoring kids” came back to us after their first term of 10^th grade and said that their parents money had run out and they wouldn’t be returning to school, we looked first at the underlying causes. Most of these kids were single or double orphans, or were coming from particularly difficult circumstances.  We knew that their parents before them had had very little education and had done little by way of investing in their children’s education as a result. We firmly believed that the cycle has to stop somewhere – it might as well be with these ones! We set up a system to work with the students to earn a percentage of their financial need and give them the rest according to their academic performance. The first term we assisted five students and have watched that number grow steadily over the last three years. Now with approximately 25 students on our sponsorship list for each term, we are seeing something hopeful for the next generation. Equally important to their time in the classroom is the time spent at Choshen Farm during the 3 holiday months per year. Each student in our program is discipled, mentored and tutored as we seek to help each student reach his or her full potential. Jeremy’s impact on the young men has been particularly moving. A majority of their time together is spent discussing issues of purity and sex. What started as a one time sleepover event transformed into an all-the-time request. The boys didn’t want to stop talking! Or go home! So what else were we to do? We built them a house so they didn’t have to go home!

bunk house for sponsored boys

The discipleship component to the scholarship program is where our heart really lies. We are more interested in who our neighbors are becoming than what they are learning. Teaching preschool and literacy and even advanced calculus are inherently beneficial, its true. But they are so vitally important to our investment in the lives of individuals and in family units scattered across the village. We’ve had so many conversations with mothers who shed tears expressing their gratitude that their child might become something more. We’ve talked to students who acknowledge that they would be bumming around a field somewhere if it weren’t for the investment. We’ve talked to provincial level education officials who admire the work going on in Fimpulu and talk about the fresh inspiration they’ve gained from seeing the progress of so many.

We’ve had to raise significant funds to invest in all three phases of the education initiative in Fimpulu. We are always looking for more partners to sponsor students and contribute to the outreach programs at large. Might one of those partners be you? Let us know if you would specifically like to sponsor a child or donate to the educational programs surrounding Choshen.

There’s so much we could say about education and outreach in Fimpulu. We really do need to give credit here to the host of amazing volunteers we’ve been blessed to have over the past few years who have helped make our programs what they are today. Thank you to all!

Garland Church men getting to know the tutoring guys

Friends from Oregon City Bible Church came and did a lot of work on the LRC

The Garland Youth Team helped put on an awesome camp for school girls in 6th-9th grade

Cornell student John Widjaja taught 8th grade math and advanced adult English

Tricia has worked with a range of students and preschool teachers

Lauren worked with the students during the holiday and taught adult English as well

Michigan Tech student Emily Brown put her engineering skills to work teaching math - including calculus! - to students, as well as running a a science club at Fimpulu Basic School

We’ll leave you with one final picture: John 3:16 written in a student’s handwriting on the LRC chalkboard. Education as evangelism! Praise the Lord!

Dear Friends,

We’ve taken the last few months of this time in the states to share with you a bit more of the heart and substance of Choshen Farm’s ministry in the village of Fimpulu. This month we want to deviate slightly from our programmatic  focus and share about the relational focus of the ministry as a whole.

Since day one, incarnational ministry has been our modus operandi for village life and work. 2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors and that he is making his appeal through us so that the whole world might be reconciled to God. In learning how to be good ambassadors, we have studied the Bible, historic and modern missional efforts, and secular endeavors in cross cultural communication. A consistent observation is that integration, relatability and relevance are essential in accurately communicating the gospel, or any other message. From the Bible we read that Jesus is Emmanuel, Christ with us; the one who was made to understand fully our human condition. (Hebrews 4:15) His life and ministry were saturated with the nitty-gritty of this world – holding babies, letting sick people touch him and crying with his friends. Missionaries like Hudson Taylor and the Ecuador Five have modeled for us the importance of dress, food, language and friendship in reaching a people. David Livingston’s heart is buried only a few hours drive from Fimpulu – so great was his love for the Zambian people that he insisted on leaving his heart with them always.  Even the NGO world including giants of development like World Vision and USAID have produced countless studies identifying the correlation between relevance of a message and effective adoption of that message. In short, communication matters! The medium IS the message. And if our message is Christ, then our medium aught to be totally Christ like – sacrificial, loving, intentional and pure.

For us in Fimpulu, we are given opportunities every day to relate to people and be culturally relevant. 

We dress a certain way and eat certain food.

We work side by side and sit together as peers.

We love on babies, laugh at our similarities and marvel at our differences.

All of these things give us acceptance in the community and credibility to our message. Our years of “becoming Bemba” have opened doors to share with people on a heart level. Certain phrases come to mind:

                          “I cannot lie, you know me too well. I will tell you the truth.”

“We are having a disagreement about what was said in church. Will you help settle the argument?”

“There is no one left on my side other than you.”

“I want to be a better husband. Can we talk?”

“I don’t know what to do next. Please help me.”

Oh the richness of such words! We know that these things do not come easily. We have watched foreigners and even Zambian visitors come to the village to do temporary work. They are almost always met with smiles and nods and blanket agreement. After such visits, little ever changes. However, we have seen much fruit come from consistent labor accompanied by trust and acceptance. We hear phrases like these:

“ My friends ask why I won’t join them at the bar now and I told them I’m different.”

“I don’t even recognize my husband, he’s a different man.”

“Since talking with you two, we have seen that bitterness is wrong. We’ve changed that.”

“If it weren’t for you guys, my friends and I would not be in this place.”

“Since working at the farm, I have learned so many wonderful things.”

“You have helped us so much. Please do not stop!”

On days that we hear things like these, there is much rejoicing in the bush of Zambia!

People know that we are committed to them and that our heart is to see each person encounter Shalom – the total flourishing of every area of life that is touched by Christ. We are so excited that as time goes on, the richness of these relationships gets deeper and deeper. It’s amazing how our marriage to one another changed our role in the community. Suddenly we were no longer two kids, but legitimate adults who were able to speak with actual authority about things pertaining to husbands and wives. The marriage relationship of Christ and the church was a whole new realm of gospel conversation open to us almost overnight. And so hopefully it makes sense to you all that from a personal AND a ministry perspective why we are also so excited to take a daughter back to Fimpulu with us! As parents, we look forward to the conversations we’ll have with moms and dads about Godly principles of parenting. We are anxious to now engage more the truth of God as father and us as his children. Speaking of which, let us seize this opportunity to be proud parents. On March 25^th, 2012 at 10:26 pm, Bronwyn Joy Colvin was born. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

We just got off the phone with some of our favorite people in Zambia. They called us first saying they wanted to sing to the baby so we called them back and listened to a heartwarming rendition of “happy birthday to her…” We asked if they would take care of this baby like their own and we were met with, “Of course! Why would we not?!?!” Its relationships like these that make our return to Zambia so very anticipated. Bronwyn has no idea how much lovin’ she’s about to receive!

Last month we began a series of newsletters designed to paint a more detailed picture of Choshen Farm. In January we talked about the farm and its influence on the community. Today we move on to the right hand of the farm and the recipient of most of the farm’s produce: the Home Based Care program.

It all started Valentines Day 2009. (Exactly what you were expecting, right?) Seeing as we had recently decided that we would be getting married, this was a special day for us. I (Bethany) put on a dress, did my hair and joined Jeremy at the farm for a romantic spaghetti dinner. We were giddy. The clock eventually struck eight and I began the 2k trek back to my own hut up in Center. Half way home, I heard singing and felt delighted in heart that others were as happy as I. That was, until I got closer and recognized where the singing was coming from and what was happening. That was funeral music. Ugh. My heart sank. We (the entire village) had been expecting for Mrs. Chanda to pass away and clearly she had done so that evening. It was well known that Mrs. Chanda had AIDS and after a negative experience with medicine, she decided she’d rather die than put up with the disease’s affect on her body. Nothing but skin and bones, she had lost the will to live and eventually died in her hut after a year of remaining in bed, closed off from the world that had hurt her, judged her and failed to help. The funeral singing went throughout the night, finally quieting down around 4:00 am. I cried myself to sleep.

Jeremy found me in my hut the next morning, puffy eyed and pitiful. We sat across from one another at my table and all I could say was “It shouldn’t be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.” We went to the funeral together and later that afternoon came home and started the conversation again.  Mrs. Chanda’s story was not unique. We had attended dozens of funerals the previous year of people who had died from AIDS, having given up on their medicine and living life scared to death that their neighbors would find out the extent of their suffering. For Jeremy and I, our lives over the course of the previous year and a half had been profoundly changed by one simple reality. We knew too much. We were too familiar with the extent of the hurt, the extent of the darkness, truly, such that it would have been tragically neglectful for us to do nothing.We pulled out a sheet of flip chart paper and began to do what we always do when things need to change: pray, and draw out a concept map. We identified the problem and potential solutions and how the farm might be used to assist. We decided that when we got back from our wedding, this would be Choshen’s new initiative with Bethany heading up the organizational part and Jeremy heading up the farm logistics.

In September of 2009, I had my first meeting with the existing HBC caregivers. I sat in a small office with four men and women who had been through a training by the ministry of health and had taken it upon themselves to go and visit people who they thought had HIV. They shared that they felt compassion for their neighbors but also felt like they had nothing really helpful to offer. Their training was minimal. They felt that “feel better soon,” was such a crass thing to say without offering anything substantial to make that happen.
I asked for permission to work with the group and to offer organizational and material support. The foursome gladly agreed and we began planning together. We established a basic vision to “take Fimpulu HBC forward, creating a program known for compassionate service, capacity building and community formation.” We set goals to link 100 people to HBC services through excellent caregivers; to see 30 people in HBC led support groups; to improve organizational quality of the HBC
group; and to see the expansion of the service spectrum to include activities that would holistically benefit the clients. We kept things simple so that the program would grow at a rate that the caregivers were comfortable with. We started marketing HBC to the community by advertising clinical testing for HIV at the clinic and giving “gift bags” of soy beans to all who tested positive, informing them that support was available and that there were good reasons to become a client of HBC. For existing and new clients, we began distributing eggs and vegetables from the farm twice per month as well as taking people to the hospital for regular medicine collection. We emphasized nutritional support and nutrition counseling as the primary method of drug adherence for those on anti-retroviral medicines (ARVs).

Almost immediately we saw a spike in the demand for HIV counseling and testing as well as access to clinic, hospital and HBC services. We started hearing reports from clients, overjoyed with the results they were seeing. “I gained 5kg in the last month! I feel so much better.” “My family was planning my funeral because the diarrhea wouldn’t stop, and now we’re enjoying life, and back working together on the farm.” “Things are starting to change in the village. It’s not the end of a person’s life to find out that they have HIV.” “You and Jeremy are the mother and father of the suffering people.”

For a year and a half the caregivers have worked hard to strengthen their client base and change the climate in the village towards HIV/AIDS. The program has gone from 4 caregivers working with about 12 clients to having 25 caregivers and over 160 clients. We give out over 3,000 eggs a month and as much fresh produce as the gardens provide. The big achievement of 2011 though was the formation of three different support groups in the Fimpulu area. The process began with a training-of-trainers during which the caregivers went through a four day program to learn and practice facilitation techniques and factual information regarding HIV, nutrition, sanitation, stigma, and holistic wellbeing. The emphasis on holistic wellbeing was particular crucial as the purpose of the support groups is to meet the psycho-social needs of clients through physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. By creating small groups of people with similar struggles and concerns in life, we were creating forums for people to explore not only what is going on with themselves physically, but also mentally and spiritually as well. The vision for 2012 is to grow the support groups in number and depth of impact by providing continued training and conversation space to address matters of the heart. Topics that have been identified by caregivers and clients include life after death, making peace with God, forgiveness of self and others, and the use of traditional healers as an illegitimate source of healing.

caregivers and support group members after one of the three trainings

Being able to have such a far reaching impact on the physical health of people while having intense influence on the spiritual climate through truthful communication is such an answer to prayer. Jeremiah 33:6
 says, “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to [Israel]; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” What is happening in Fimpulu through HBC is a small, but significant foreshadowing of the ultimate Peace that has, and will come to those who have placed their trust in Him.

Thank you to all who have given in support of this prophetic witness.

prepping for food distribution

going over record keeping and logistics with the caregivers

our tiniest client

Dear Choshen Farm Family,

Usually our newsletters are geared towards informing you all about “what we’ve been up to” in Fimpulu that month. Since we are still in the states and doing mostly administrative, fundraising, research and program planning work (woohoo!) we thought we’d take this chance to back up a bit and cast some vision. Over the course of our last few months in America (just four left and then we go hooooooome!) we want to share with you a bit more about the different ministry focuses and how they exist for the grander purpose of impacting rural Zambia for Christ through relational encouragement, community development and building of the local church.

To start with, we want to share more about the farm.  The farm is the hub of everything we do, hence the name of the organization, “Choshen Farm.”  When Jeremy moved into Fimpulu in October of 2006, he found himself in the middle of the bush with a blank slate. And so what else would a farm kid from eastern Washington do? He grabbed a hoe, a machete and a sickle and started clearing ground for a farm. Practical though this course of action may have been, it was also strategic. Fimpulu, like most of rural Zambia is agrarian to the core. Everybody, from the feeblest of old ladies to the spryest of young lads, wakes up each morning, grabs their hoe and tromps down one of many bush paths towards their plot of land. The most relevant thing a pair of foreigners could do in Fimpulu would be to grab our own hoes and follow the trend. And so we do. Since the beginning, the farm has been a means of integration and relational foundation. Despite the white skin, the farm makes us understandable, purposeful… maybe even, dare I say it, normal!

We manage the farm in such a way that also jives with the local understanding of “standard agriculture.” There are no tractors, diesel generators or mechanized irrigation systems for a good reason. Having those would classify as negative differences since our neighbors are not able to follow suit because of financial and other limiting factors. We do, however, introduce positive differences through the farm such as strategic crop rotation, organic fertilizer and simplified mound construction as these are things that are both very doable for our community and extremely profitable. We emphasize more intensive management and slight modification to traditional techniques to show our neighbors how they too can experience higher yields.

The farm has become a model for the community in a variety of ways. People from around our village and from great distances have traveled to the farm just to “take a looksee.” We’ve had a variety of Ministry of Agriculture officials come and view the farm as well. Everyone leaves with two comments: “nothing is wasted” and, “I could totally do this.”

Many locals have also honed in on the generosity of the farm. Choshen farm tends to produce at a much higher level than the average farm (excluding those farms that have adopted some of our simple techniques) and yet we (as farm owners) are obviously not getting rich. It is understood that the farm exists for the good of the community. Most noticeable is the fact that we give away a HUGE percentage of the farm’s produce to help families in need. (More on this when we delve into HBC.) Likewise, people acknowledge the farm’s effort to provide a meaningful source of income for those who are struggling financially. In addition to the regular workers at the farm (who have become like family to us), we regularly take on what are known as “piece workers” or day laborers, plugging them into the regular farm operations and thereby giving them a chance to earn some money to get over the hump, avert a crisis or meet a crucial goal. Many of our piece workers are looking for money to put children through school – the noblest of endeavors as far as we are concerned. Choshen Farm has gained a reputation as a place where, if you are a hardworking mom or dad who wants to put your children’s needs before your own, you can come and find the assistance you need to do right by your family. We love rewarding initiative, especially when put forth by fathers, as it gives us a chance to affirm Biblical truths of parenting and responsibility.

Despite the huge success that the farm has had in terms of being an integrative tool, a model of excellence in sustainable agriculture and an agent of grace to the poor and the needy, the thing that still matters most to us, with respect to the farm’s existence, is its fertile ground of relationship and discipleship. Most piece workers who come out looking for temporary assistance end up becoming a permanent fixture in our lives as we walk with them not only through their current crisis but through the daily stuff of life that also ensues. More truth has been spoken as people come looking for quick solutions and find themselves leaving with profound encouragement through life-long advocates. The students who spend time at the farm, especially our sponsored students who live with us at the farm for several months out of the year, have become both interns of the farm and studiers of the Word. These young people actually requested that we build them a house so that they could spend more time with us and listen to our teaching. Armed with Bibles and fellowship, these students spend hours with us each day discussing world view and truth and how to live godly lives in a culture that doesn’t agree with any of it. These kids give us so much hope as we send them back to school and then wait to hear about how they are influencing their classmates with the same messages. So encouraging!

bunk house under construction

The regular, adult, long-term workers at the farm are the most consistent population for discipleship. We have walked with many of them through addiction, infidelity, deceit, and other dark nights of the soul. Many a work day has halted in its tracks so that a teaching moment could take place. (Object lessons from farms are the best!) Over the years, each of these men, Jimmy, Boniface, Vincent, Enoch, Zachariah and Bright, have been challenged in their perceptions of reality, looking now to the Bible as their standard for true life instead of the worlds empty claims. Forgiveness, integrity, trustworthiness, kindness, faith and love are all things that these men have studied in depth as they’ve been challenged to live them out in action and in truth.  If ever we have bad day, we remember these men and the transformative power of the gospel.

We spoke to one of the farm guys yesterday, asking for a report on how the crops were doing and he responded, “the crops are just very happy.” And so are we.

There are a lot of wonderful, and even impressive things happening at the farm. The fields are absolutely bountiful, the fish ponds gorgeous (in their own fishy way,) the chickens multiplying left and right and an abundance of bodies milling and tilling and engaging in what they know and do best. But the true glory is in the workings of the Lord of the Harvest as He brings these efforts to fruition in so many lives.

All glory and honor and praise be to Him.

promoting environmental shalom at the local ag show

giving away farm produce at HBC

working side by side

gathering of pieceworkers

"for the beauty of the earth"

Dear Friends,

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! We trust that this holiday season has begun for you with great joy and remembrance of all the Lord has done. For us, we’ve enjoyed the last several weeks visiting with family and catching up with friends. Having a fabulous, traditional, American Thanksgiving meal was pretty fun too. We reminisced about our first Thanksgiving together 5 years ago – we had a turkey substitute of pan seared mushrooms plucked from the bush area behind the farm accompanied by some glazed carrots and potatoes. Yummy, but also probably not what the Pilgrims ate.

Oh October, the month of unholy (really high) temperatures and last minute scrambles before leaving. Most of the month is a blur – probably a result of heat stroke. But there are some definite hi-lights. Bethany spent most of October finishing up support group trainings that began in September. The vision of HBC has always been to form support groups that would be a place of holistic health/healing for people as well as a strategy for HBC’s sustainability. The initiative began with a week-long “training of trainers” in which Bethany trained the 20 HBC caregivers to run the support group trainings themselves. Following the TOT, we set up a workshop schedule for three week-long trainings of support groups representing the distinct regions of the catchment area. The topics ranged from basic information about HIV, to food and nutrition, to stigma to positive living. The first training week was a little rocky as the caregivers worked really hard at improving their facilitation skills. After the first day, which, admittedly, was less than stellar, the caregivers sat down with Bethany for a debrief and one blurted out, “you make this look so easy, but facilitation is really hard!” Bit by bit the caregivers grew in their confidence and abilities to speak to groups and teach smoothly. As they saw their own improvement, they had a lot of reason to be proud of themselves. They also were able to identify certain lessons, like – “if you teach someone to do something that you yourself do not do, everyone will know you are a sham;” and “if you obviously don’t believe what you are saying, or if you contradict yourself at all, your message is shot.” Identifying teaching lessons like these is so important given the number of church leaders who are amongst our caregivers. The trainings were also a valued outreach to the HBC clients as well. There were a few “lightbulb moments” that stand out.

During the unit on stigma the groups were asked to do skits reflecting scenarios where stigma and discrimination are common. Interestingly/sadly in each of the trainings one of the skits involved discrimination in church where people would not want to sit next to or take communion with people with HIV or AIDS. All of the groups talked about preachers who preach from the pulpit that people with AIDS are sinners and are going to hell. It was so fascinating as the conversation continued and defensive proclamations came forth announcing that “we are not sinners!” The tension was really visible on everyone’s faces as it was like they all wanted to believe that they weren’t sinners and that the preacher was lying, but something just wasn’t sitting well. It was at times like these that the caregiver facilitating for the day would look over with that “help me, Bethany!” face and we would begin talking about Romans 3:23. Explaining that ALL have sinned and fallen short and are only justified by Jesus, the faces started to change from ‘defiant but still guilty’ to something more peaceful and accepting. There was a chance to explain in each one of the trainings that the reason why those preachers are wrong is because they are belittling certain people instead of teaching about the problem of sin in EVERY person’s life, including their own. There was a sense of relief in the room each time people were given the freedom to say “that’s right, I am a sinner, but so are you, and we all have access to a solution if we choose Jesus.”

During the lessons on positive living we talked about holistic wellbeing and explained it as the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of a person. More lightbulbs came on as people talked about how living in fear or hiding from other Christians is just as “unhealthy” as not eating enough protein. The issue of witchdoctors being “unhealthy” came up in each of the trainings as well and people were a bit divided on whether something so traditional could actually be bad for you. But each of the groups decided that this was something that deserved more attention and was added to the list of “further trainings” to be addressed down the road. We’re really excited about the prospects. It was so apparent throughout those weeks for trainings that truth communicated in a specific context carries for people so much more weight than truth communicated in a bubble. It’s almost like when people walk through the doors of their church they are somehow teleported into this world of unreality where scriptures are interesting, but irrelevant. But stick people under a tree and talk about life issues that matter to them, and suddenly the Bible’s teaching about sin and salvation, and the spiritual darkness accompanying witchdoctors is suddenly interesting, relevant and applicable to every-day life.

There’s more to say about the support groups, but that would leave out the rest of October. We had some good meetings with local leaders about a project proposal for a local market (you’ll be hearing more about this soon.) We also spent some good time with our board of directors discussing with them their role while we are gone and encouraging them to run the ministry well. And yes, there were a lot of preparations for us leaving as well. We had to bundle everything up into rat-proof tubs and make arrangements with our squadron of 12 year old boys who were chomping at the bit to be picked as our live-in security guards while we’re gone. (We decided these 12 year olds were worth their keep when the night we left they managed to kill an ugly, 4 foot long, black mamba that was making a b-line for our front door. Woohoo, go get ‘em Chabu!)  We asked a ton of people whether it was alright with the village that we were going to be gone for so long and the general response was, “Of course we’ll miss you, but you guys always come back when you say you will. Just hurry up and bring us that baby!” We feel really supported by the whole community in our decision to come home for this time and have actually had the chance to talk to quite a few people in the last week we’ve been home. We also know in our hearts that coming home to get the proper care and support is important in terms of being able to go back and do our jobs even better.

We’re getting regular reports from the field and will be passing news along to everyone periodically, so you can expect to keep hearing from us. So until next time, God bless.

Jeremy and Bethany

Dear Friends,

There is a lot that could be written about this past month, but one particular story has, for us, trumped all. We feel the need to share it with you now. At the beginning of September, one of the men in our village was hit and killed by a taxi van.  The young man was one that we have had a good amount of interaction with and had helped him with a loan for school fees two years ago.  He left behind a wife and two little girls.  It is sad that he died, but what is even more troubling are the events surrounding his death.

Two years ago, Joseph sought us out to ask for help in completing his 12^th grade education.  He had finished up through grade 11 and now just needed a bit of help with grade 12 and the exams to finish.  After discussing his situation with him more, we agreed to help and he started working at the farm with the guys to pay off his debt.  When school started, he headed out and we didn’t hear from or see much of him, since grade 12 students stay at school during the holidays for tutoring.

Near the end of October last year, Joseph’s family came to me asking for help.  He was missing from school and they wanted to use the vehicle to drive around and try to find him.  The family explained that it seemed like he was worried about passing his exams and so had asked a traditional healer (witchdoctor’s are technically illegal in Zambia so they call themselves “healers” instead) for help.  Apparently, he did not fulfill the requirements and had been possessed by an evil spirit.  This spirit drove Joseph into the bush for several days.  When he was found, he was nearly naked and his feet were all cut up and bleeding.  When I came across him, he was sitting on the back of a bicycle with his hands tied to the seat on his way to the clinic.  Boniface was with me and we stopped the bicycle and talked to Joseph, prayed over him, and encouraged him to walk in the light.

Earlier this year, a young woman came to the farm asking for work because her children were hungry and she didn’t even have money for soap.  Upon further inquiry we discovered that she was Joseph’s wife, whom he had never mentioned to us.  We told her that we would like to speak to her husband.  A couple days later Joseph came but still had nothing to say about his wife, he wanted another loan to retake his grade 12 exams since he had not taken them last year.  We said no to the loan and then proceeding to talk to him about being a good husband and father and taking care of his family first and then finishing his grade 12.  I know that to Americans this might seem strange but a grade 12 certificate is more of a bragging right in the village than a job opportunity enhancer.  We said he could come work, but the money needed to go to his family.  He left and never came for work.

That brings us to September 2011.  Joseph went crazy again.  His family found him and stayed with him where he was that night, restraining him the entire time.  Interestingly, three weeks earlier, Joseph had given an elaborate prayer in church, kneeling on the floor with hands raised (which is very uncommon here.)  I had thought during the prayer that something about his voice and how he was praying did not seem right and I was praying for him and everyone else in the room while he prayed on.  On the night that his family found him mad and had to restrain him, he told them, “even though you are holding me like this tonight, tomorrow you won’t and I will be dead before 10:00.”  The next morning the family was walking with him along the road to go seek help from the local “traditional healer.”  As they walked, a taxi bus was coming toward them but on the opposite side of the road.  As it came to them, it swerved (some say to miss a pothole but they were all filled in two months ago) and the father who was holding Joseph stepped back out of the way while Joseph stepped forward in the path of the vehicle, killing him on the spot.  This happened at 9:37am.

Over the next couple of days the funeral traditions took place and he was buried.  The owner of the taxi brought food to the funeral and agreed to come the following week to settle the situation.  In Zambia, it doesn’t matter whether or not it is the driver’s fault, he has to pay.  There have been three specific times while driving from Mansa to Fimpulu that people have tried to deliberately jump in front of the Land Rover and while their families pull them back.  If I were to have hit them, it would have been my fault and I would have paid.  So the following week, the owner of the vehicle comes with more food and sits with the family.  At this point family comes from all over the place.  Second Uncles and Aunts pop up out of the woodwork to get their cut.  Jimmy, Zachariah, and I were working nearby and heard the arguing over the money (after the driver had left) as to who would get what.  Sadly, the wife and children get next to nothing.  The money goes mostly to the parents, grandparents, and uncles who have “invested” in the boy.  In Zambia, parents have a lot of children as an investment for their future.  Children are put through school so that they can get a better job and send their money in their old age.  When Joseph died, the potential for return on that investment was suddenly now gone so the 7.2 million kwacha (about $1,500) got split between his “investors.”  It is believed that the wife is young and will probably remarry and therefore can take care of herself.  They neglect that a “man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife,” and that “a righteous man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.”

This brings us back to our on going struggle to encourage our neighbors that witchdoctors and traditional healers are agents of darkness and that true children of God walk in the light.  So many of our neighbors still see no problem with getting help from both sides.  The main problem being that they really only want God for the sake of the power – not for relationship and not to worship the God of universe in reverence and awe.  Please continue to pray for the people of Fimpulu in the midst of this battle.

On a completely different note, one wonderful piece of news is that we, Jeremy and Bethany, are pregnant!  We are into the second trimester and things are looking good so far.  For the sake of Bethany and our little one, we will be shifting our work to the States until MiniColvin is born and receives his/her first immunization shots.  Most of that time will be spent in Ithaca with a 6 week visit to Spokane from November 17^th to December 24^th.  Your prayers for our family are coveted during this time.  Also, be praying for the leadership that has been growing in Fimpulu as they take on the responsibility for leading the ministry.  They have been doing great but all have expressed sadness in missing us during these months.  We are looking forward to returning to Fimpulu fresh, strong, and with another addition to the Choshen Farm Family.  We would also like to encourage financial supporters to keep giving; the work will not stop in our absence and we will still be in heavy communication with Fimpulu as the work progresses and peoples needs and hearts and ministered to.

Lovingly,

Jeremy, Bethany, and MiniColvin

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Praise the Lord for His loving mercy in giving us His Son, Jesus Christ to save us while we were still sinners, and for the Holy Spirit who directs and guides us for His glory and our good. It is amazing to me that the God of the universe, the Creator of all things, would go to such lengths in order to have a relationship with His created image. Praise the Lord all the earth and especially you who are called His own!!!

Right now we are in the middle of holiday with the school kids. It has been a busy time but a very rich time with the boys and a profitable time with the girls. The boys have been staying in the newly constructed bunkhouse at the farm during the week. From Monday morning to Friday evening they are there eating together, working together, being tutored together, and studying God’s Holy Word together. We have been working through a New Believers Theology course hitting topics like, what is true conversion, communicating with God, and what is sin. We are about half way through and the boys and men (workers at the farm are also going through it) are asking A LOT of good questions and several of them are being convicted by the Holy Spirit to repent. One of our farm workers has a habit of smoking daga (in the States we call it weed). Three days in, he brought a bag of it to our time together, repented, and asked if we could burn it. We immediately went outside with a hot brazier, piled some sticks on top and burned it while we stood up wind and laid hands on him and prayed for him. The main theme of our lessons continues to be that obedience to the Bible doesn’t save us, Christ’s blood on the cross saves us, and we then obey the Bible to show God how much we love Him for saving us. That is were the change comes and these men are eager for the change!

An interesting thing in all this is a lesson the Lord has been teaching me. Last month we wrote about the importance of relationships. I have been slightly discouraged, thinking it has taken me 5 years to get to this point with these men. However, through their own testimonies the men encouraged me, sharing with me that I present this information to them like no one else. The words the preacher says on the CD are powerful but my explanation of the words to them using the things they know help them understand. “Even the preachers in our own churches do not teach us like you.” And then I am encouraged once again that the years of walking beside these men in all of life is what has made it possible to take truth and speak it into their lives in ways they understand. The girls are newer to the program but great diligence is being taken to establish deep, meaningful relationships so that they to may hear and know the truths spoken by God in the Bible. The Lord be praised for His unfathomable wisdom!

Other Fimpulu news is that we have a newly constructed cell tower. Choshen Farm now has cell phone reception at the farm which is a huge blessing. Of course it isn’t always very good but it is there and we are enjoying it. If you want to call or often the better way is to sms/text message us, you can use (26) 097-915-2178 or (26) 097-373-8061. Emails are also great as they come through automatically on the phone.

Please pray for the remaining 2 weeks of holiday with the students, that they would be profitable and fruitful for God’s glory and our good. Also pray for Bethany as she does Support Group Trainings for our chronically ill neighbors and friends.

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Jeremy & Bethany Colvin

Choshen Farm Directors

Dear Friends,

Well, its August already which means we should probably hurry up and tell you about July before it gets too far away! The main highlights involve having “America in Zambia” for the better part of July. John, a Cornellian who actually arrived in June, continued serving with us in a variety of ways. He and Bethany team-taught 8th grade math at Fimpulu Basic School for the second term. The two found many of the same struggles that Bethany encountered last year in teaching the English classes. Illiteracy, absenteeism and a frustratingly apathetic teaching staff continue to be many of the challenges. Math is an interesting subject as it requires less English comprehension than, well, English class. Once the kids realized that their familiar Bemba would not be spoken this term, they started tuning in more to the concepts at hand. There was much un-teaching to be done as we picked up on some really funky math concepts that somehow had worked their way in. Negative three plus four is not seven, negative seven, or seventeen; and one half plus one half is not one fourth, two fourths or zero. With just one week left, the students, we feel, are much more confident and at this point know more algebra than their 9th grade counterparts, many of whom are taking 9th grade over again because (ironically) they failed the math portion of the exam last year. Perhaps the biggest benefit to our teaching at the school, however, is simply our presence and subtle influence towards the headmaster and other teachers at the school. Advocating for the students in ways that the parents cannot (or do not) by arguing points such as “perhaps the students should be in class instead of harvesting the teachers maize” and “shaving a strip of hair off the children’s’ heads because their hair has grown 1/100th of a centimeter too long might be considered child abuse.” Interestingly/sadly, many of the teachers at the school are also prominent church members and preachers. We pray for an ongoing influence in their work and lives such that they might see what sort of kindness, diligence, and sacrifice ought to accompany those who consider themselves Christians. The students are sorely missing “Mr. John” as he has headed back to school. Bethany will finish out the term on her own and hopefully transition next term to a position more of administrative assistance to help the headmaster continue ironing out other education policy issues.

English classes have continued this month, as well, with a fourth class added for basic literacy instruction. John, Pete, Trish and Bethany have all been working with these English learners, which has proved to be extremely beneficial for the ministry. It has not been uncommon to see Bibles flipped open before, during, and after lessons as everything from vocabulary to theology required discussion. The women in the literacy and beginners class have become extremely open with Bethany as a result of the time and investment. We are at the LRC four nights a week with seven different time slots being filled by English classes. It has been great to see the building get so much use and to see so much positive, life-on-life interaction as a result.

The Garland Youth Team arrived on the 7th of July and we wasted no time sending them out into the community. They began their Fimpulu adventure with a one night home-stay to help each of the youth and adults adjust to culture and food and atmospheric differences. The debrief was fun as many of the youth expressed their own version of “Toto, we’re not in Kansas any more.” The bulk of their time in Zambia was spent putting on a youth camp for girls in grades 7, 8, and 9. The camp gained momentum and interest each day as the local girls quickly realized that “back at the farm” was clearly the place to be. Soon we were up to over 70 girls singing and laughing and learning. The purpose of the camp was to equip Fimpulu girls with biblically grounded life-skills while also giving the American girls a chance to explore their own teaching styles and expanding world-views. The lessons covered confidence, goal setting, abstinence and capital “T” truths relating to who God is and who we are in Him. It was a unique opportunity for the Fimpulu youth to listen to and interact with a group of peers from a different country who were themselves confident, goal-oriented, abstinent, and obviously obsessed with Jesus. Likewise, it was a good opportunity for the American youth to be stretched in their public speaking skills, servant attitudes, and cross-cultural adaptation. The American girls did great, as did the lone male youth on the team who was a stalwart supporter of the camp. The three leaders accompanying the youth provided excellent leadership of their teens and were also a great encouragement to us as we juggled camp, regular duties of community life, as well as handling all of those tiny, behind the scenes logistics of hosting a team and making sure that the hoard of Fimpulu youth, cooks, and translators were all happy and engaged. Most of the team has gone back – they left behind (purposefully) Lauren who is between high-school and college and spending the rest of her summer with us here – and we are still listening to camp songs being sung throughout the village (the fruit of the spirit’s not a coconut…knock, knock) and hearing many requests for a boys camp and more girls camps as soon as possible. Its something we’re considering more and more as our work with youth continues to expand.

Having multiple foreigners come and visit for a time has been so interesting to us. Four and a half years in one place means it’s really easy to forget why certain things might be hard if you aren’t used to them. Drowning in a sea of Bemba language, being poked, prodded, and stroked by curious fingers, being laughed at for no apparent reason – these are all things that perhaps once were disturbing/upsetting but at this point, either don’t happen any more or we don’t notice when they do. But there’s a bigger adjustment that has to happen when you become a missionary. For nearly everyone, the challenge of figuring out how to relate to individuals on a person-to-person level is extremely difficult. Its something we’ve been observing routinely over the last several months as we’ve seen three individuals, one couple and one team venture out into Fimpulu life for a season. Striking up a meaningful conversation with someone with whom you have little to nothing in common is a daunting task. It is, in many cases, easier to occupy yourself with a program, presenting ideas and activities to stay “busy” without really having to get too close and awkwardly interact. Anyone can learn to get up early, engage in farm chores, bathe less often and eat nshima with their right hand. But we’ve been really proud of the ones who have embraced the challenge of cross-cultural friendship. It’s not easy. We know that. As for ourselves, we’ve been introspective on this point. People and “relationships first” have always been core values of Jeremy, Bethany and Choshen Farm. Programs and activities for us are only a means to an end – that end being authentic and deep relationships for the purpose of truth communication. Observing the push back from many visitors, we started asking the question, “So how did we get to be this way? Why are we so focused on relationship when others shy away from it?”

We actually figure it mostly has to do with the fact that nobody ever told us different. We came to Fimpulu as novice missionaries who didn’t know any better and weren’t taking our cues from other fancy, program-oriented ministries. We were alone in a tiny village and decided to start making friends out of necessity more than anything else. We quickly learned more and more that integration, investment, and engagement were more important in the long run than anything else. Furthermore, we learned that the best way to engage relationally was to become as Zambian as possible, which necessitated letting go of our American-ness bit by bit. This is a challenge that we consider fun and endeavor to do it better every day. That’s just who we are. That’s just how we function. We appreciate that this is difficult for people who are fresh off of the American plane, and are really blessed by those who have sacrificed time and money and energy to give it a go. And as we’ve said before, seeing the contrast between the newbies and ourselves also gives us many reasons to give thanks for what God has taught us and the change he has performed. We are growing daily, learning more things moment by moment, but are constantly encouraged by the testimony of God’s grace. Please continue to pray for us in this and pray also for those who pass through this place, that Choshen Farm would be fertile ground for growing in grace and learning how to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Peace,

Jeremy & Bethany