Jembo Agriculture Committee meeting and tour, by Cory

 Last week the new agriculture committee met for the first time to start plans to use the Jembo land better and to use more of it to support the mission work. 

Cory is on the committee and is encouraged by the plans and opportunities.

Members are the 3 main university professor/pastors, Jembo's pastor, the district and national superintendant, a neighbor who is a citrus expert with a nursery business license and one person who couldn't attend.

We toured some fields so we all know who is farming the fields, which areas are available this year and what may be possible in future years.

Fenced field next to the hospital where we plan to start the main tree nursery.

The location may also work well for a medicinal plant demonstration garden.

I was happy to see this lush avocado tree with some of the branches loaded with avocados.

I requested all the seeds to plant in the new nursery!

This is one of only 2 avocado trees that I know of on the mission property.

There is a large avocado tree in Pemba but they are not common in this part of Zambia and I think I heard the fruit sells for about 60 cents each (probably supermarket price)

For perspective, cabbage is inexpensive, at least for now, about 4 cents per pound in outdoor markets.

  Some of the fruit are hard to see since they turn dark as they mature

On Saturday I took Kris and Fritz on a hike down the road to see the southern most part of the mission land.

We hiked the road and then returned along a fence row where I saw some new land.

Thankfully we only had to back track a bit as the 'hike' ended up just shy of three hours and we figure close to 5 miles long.

Only Kris brought along a water bottle. 

Some photos from our Saturday morning walk:
This sausage tree flower had at least 8
honey bees in it

Wednesday afternoon we will start teaching the Bible students two hours a week.

This new class will be about agriculture, health, and life lessons. 

We hope to provide the students with information and skills to encourage them and their future congregations.

A healthy, well fed believer is better able to do the Lord's will and reach out to family and neighbors with the Lord's love.

Baseball?

Please be praying for us as we navigate this new experience of teaching a college class in a new culture and having to work with a translator to assure that those with weaker English can follow the information.

In chapel on Friday some of the new first year students were introduced and rules reviewed.

English is the campus language...however it was noted that the Thede's should be speaking Tonga! 

Another prayer request, as our list of words is growing longer it gets harder to both learn and review!