Life Abundantly News (5)
News May 2020
THE VISION – THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM IN ACTION.
“I am going to visit the villagers” I heard the Lord whisper to me about two months ago. An excitement came over me and like Mary of old, I pondered and treasured it in my heart.
Since the water filters have been provided and are being used, there has not been one case of diarrhea or cholera in the homes of the 10 families. Praise the Lord! As a result their general health and in particular, that of the children, has vastly improved.
Since that time we have experienced a change, an awareness in them that God is doing a great thing for them. During individual family visits, many of them expressed a real tangible sense of the Love that God. They now feel compelled to share that love with their neighbors.
“He touched me… ohhh He touched Me, and ohhh the Joy that floods my soul. Something happened and now I know…. He touched me and made me whole!”
These are not just empty words, they are literally reaching out to neighbors to see how they can help them in any way, in spite of their own meager means. One simple thing they are doing this is by using their filters to bless their neighbors, providing them also with clean water. They have grasped the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
This Kingdom is real. Jesus came to establish and propagate it here on earth. Just like yeast permeating dough, it comes to ordinary people and villages in a way that is transformational, visible and genuine.
I believe the Lord’s measure of true success (for them or for each of us) is the measure to which the Kingdom of God has come in our lives, our hearts and our behavior…. How much evidence there is of changed actions, Kingdom faith, Kingdom values, Kingdom vision… not for a day in a month, but eternally.
Winford and Andy are gifts from God to me; they love first, then act. Their “Fragrance” of God’s love lingers in the village, long after they have left!
DELIVERABLES COMPLETED SO FAR:
Last month the Lord blessed me by putting the words of a song in my Spirit: “For the Lord is marching on, and His army is ever strong and His Glory will be seen throughout the land”. It is still ringing in my ears, ever louder. He is busy changing the lives of the desperate in Malawi in ever expanding circles. His vision is becoming a reality, step by step, just as He said:
Clean Water project
1. Their Hygiene has radically improved. They now have clean water void of harmful bacteria that caused sickness and death in their homes, as well as better hygiene practices. Personal cleanliness training and provisions have been fully embraced and faithfully practiced.
Have you noticed how that God’s invitation and blessing is closely related to Water? It suddenly dawned on me and now makes absolute sense with me that He therefore started with Water to impact the village.
“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. - Rev 22:1
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Every one that thirstsh, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. – Is 55:1”
Discipleship – Home fellowship group (Group formed – training continues)
2. They are fed with Living Bread from heaven; God is revealing Himself and illuminating the Scriptures, providing truth that sets free and breaking every chain and bondage of satan over them in the Mighty Name of Jesus.
At the last session we introduced them to the Kingdom of God and explained the centrality of the Kingdom from Genesis through Revelation, the rebellion of satan and man, and the vital necessity of the whole Gospel of the Kingdom.
They were captivated throughout the teaching session and we were astounded at the questions they asked Andy at the conclusion. Some questions asked by these dear folks were absolutely astonishing (I wonder if many churchgoers have asked any of these questions?):
1. Were the children of Adam and Eve born inside or outside the garden of Eden?
2. Why did God only accept the sacrifice of Abel and not that if Cain?
3. How can we know that the kingdom of God has come in our families and / or village?
4. What is the outlook of those who belong to the Kingdom of God?
God is most certainly on the move and is already and quickening their hearts and spirits with revelation knowledge. They are deeply engaged in the study and hungry to hear and understand more.
Emergency Basic Food
3. Nutritious food was provided to the desperate to help carry them through the lean months until food has become more readily available.
IN PROGRESS:
Crop improvement
4. Dignity is being restored to families to grow their own crops effectively.
Farm land, seed, fertilizer and herbicides are provided for planting winter crops. Training in proper effective farming methods will commence early June and rice crops will be planted to be harvested in December; an opportunity many only dreamt about.
The Kingdom way is to replace darkness with light, lack with abundance, poverty with sufficiency, despair with Hope and a future!! Jesus always positively impacted every situation He encountered!
It is extremely heartwarming and rewarding to see how motivated and excited the families are to get into the fields to plow, sow and nurture this new “found” treasure. “It is not about “handouts” but Kingdom transformation”. We trust our God for an abundant harvest for each one of them. A Gift from Heaven!
This month God did an absolute Miracle for Andy. His complete rice crop was washed away by severe flooding they experienced just after he planted it. He was so despondent that he did not even return to re-plant the crops but simply left it in the Lord’s hands. A week ago he went back for the first time since then and was absolutely blown away by God’s care. The Lord fully restored and gave him an unexpected abundant crop he never could dream of. This is a picture of what he saw! (there is an actual video if you are interested!)
He was busy serving God – Seeking first the Kingdom of God, and God provided all his needs according to His Riches in Glory by Christ Jesus… Hallelujah!! Our God Reigns!!!
FINAL MILESTONES FOR PHASE 1:
Livestock
5. Next steps will be to enable ownership of livestock for milk, eggs, and breeding; creating a chance to thrive.
During July, as the crops are growing, we will assist the families to build chicken houses so that we can deliver the chicks early in August. Much preparation and training is required to ensure that the chicks remain healthy and alive to fully develop thereby enhance the possibilities of the families to earn extra income.
Goats are planned to be delivered in September after allowing time to build pens during August.
Basic Ablution facilities.
6. And finally, to build safe, hygienic, eco-friendly toilets that will stop polluting the underground water tables and break the cycle of many diseases.
The final stage of the current Phase of the project will be the construction of self-composting toilets. The families will be “hands on” during the building phase to instill ownership and provide basic building skills and training.
One of our chief aims is to restore dignity to the families so that they might have a sense of achievement when they look at all that has been accomplished and how their lives have radically changed over the course of this year. More importantly, it will make them suitable living Witnesses of what the Lord has done for them, which cannot be refuted!
News July 2020
Kingdom discipleship training:
The Home Fellowship Group established five months ago is continuing strong and flourishing in the Lord. Training continues on unfolding and expanding the Biblical understanding and practical outworking of the Good News of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in our / their lives. The Kingdom coming there!
The Gospel is called the Glorious Gospel; the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The message of that Gospel is far greater than just Jesus’ amazing and Glorious death and resurrection for our sin.
It is about the full unfolding of the incomprehensible Love of God for us all. It is a journey into His Glorious unfathomable Grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God) toward us. It’s about being transformed to be Fruitful doers and not simply knowledge gatherers with theoretical “christianity”. Jesus says: “This (bearing (Kingdom) fruit) is to the Father’s Glory!” (John 15)
It is also about Him substituting the kingdom of darkness with the Kingdom of His Dear Son. Jesus, the King of Kings stripped away all the authority and power of every evil force opposed to His Kingdom. The Gospel is proclaiming that we are living in the freedom and victory of that reality daily, and resisting and opposing the enemy in every way.
It is further, experiencing the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and living by His Life; Living by faith and seeing the Power and supernatural great works of God in action.
It’s about replacing death, hopelessness and destruction with God’s Life and Blessing.
These dear “ordinary’ folks have done just what Jesus said. They have accepted the Kingdom as little children and have now themselves entered into it and seeking it to come in its fullness in their village.
They are excited about the revelation of the Gospel and the purpose and plan of God for their lives. They are excited that God has included them in bringing it about and continue eagerly and faithfully waiting on God, searching the Scriptures and trusting the Holy Spirit to illuminate the way for them.
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LEARNING BETTER FARMING TECHNIQUES
Last month was the start of preparing the fields for planting rice crops. With some financial aid the 10 families have been enabled to rent good farmland that should yield a good harvest; enough to repay the debt and provide much needed income and food that will carry them through the next planting season.
We provided them with the necessary prayer, seed, fertilizer, and herbicides to ensure the best chance for great crops.
ACQUIRE LIVESTOCK
Chickens
We were able this month to provide the families with building materials to start building chicken coups in preparation for delivery of chicks early in August. This will make a considerable change to their wellbeing.
In spite of being tired of the long days in the hot Africa sun preparing the rice fields, and also working very hard to get the coups completed, there is an infectious excitement present in them. They cannot stop giving thanks to God for coming to their aid and choosing them to bless them this much. It overflows to others and is noted because of it being so genuine.
No longer will they be limited to meager cassava meals, but this will soon be supplemented by their own rice, eggs and milk and a chance to earn some well needed extra income.
Winford advising one of the families re: the construction of the hen house:
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PARTNERS WITH THE LORD
It humbles me to realize what an honor and High calling it is when God invites us to partner with Him in this mighty work!
This is the Lord’s Vision and He is truly The Owner, Provider and Source. He has abundantly, supernaturally supplied all our needs to this very day.
I praise Him for everyone that He has drawn to be any part of implementing the Glorious Gospel there, as a testimony of God’s love, power and shalom (Wholeness).
God Bless you! Kajalajata thanks you!
News August 2020
It has been barely eight months since we started with a clear simple a High level Vision from God aimed at transforming villages in a radical and different way to what “typical” missions have done before us. Starting small in order to learn, implement practical processes, and build on for the next phases.
The Lord’s instruction was to see as He sees and address the situation from a “Holistic” view. “Shalom” (be complete) – the customary greeting of our Lord Jesus. It was driven from and centered around, the implementation of the Kingdom of God in practical life transforming ways, by confronting darkness head on, breaking bondages, eradicating disease, poverty, hopelessness, hunger, and lack and replacing it with the tangible evidence of the reign of Jesus as He taught and showed us.
COME AND MEET THE INITIAL FAMILIES CHOSEN BY HIM!
At the Lord’s direction, right at the start of the project I asked Andy and Winford to meet with the Village Elders to select the 10 most needy families in the village. They met with the elders, explained the vision to them from the Lord, and asked them to come back with the list of 10 families.
The elders were deeply touched and fully support the complete vision. They expressed their gratitude for bringing hope and real improvement to the whole village.
This month I wanted to introduce you to these 10 families. To put it into a better perspective please remember that these photos were taken even before we started implementing the vision there. We have seen a joy take hold of them and a brightness coming into their countenance.
I have asked each of them to tell you more about themselves, one at a time, each month, so that you can meet and become more intimately acquainted with each member of your family there. My desire is that God will pour His love into your heart for them so that you will pray for them and for the work there. They send their love to you.
Here are the 10 precious desperate families chosen by the Lord that now weekly exalt and Praise our Glorious God for all He has done there and is progressively enabling us to do. Many (most) of the children are orphans:
BETTER FARMING – THE RICE CROP
The rice seedlings are growing beautifully and just about ready to be transplanted into the now prepared and fertilized fields. Andy and Winford had additional concentrated efforts last and this month taking many, many additional daily trips to meet with the families to work in the fields and also build the chicken coops.
This year Malawi encountered unnaturally bitter freezing weather with cold Arctic fronts moving up through the land accompanied by additional rain. The families’ commitment is something unheard of to me; going out daily in the bitter cold and wet weather working long hours in the soaking rain. God is rewarding their efforts.
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ACQUIRING LIVESTOCK
Chickens
How great was the rejoicing this week when 100 chicks were delivered for the families. Never before have they actually owned chickens. They were amazed to see it really happening, as we promised, before their very eyes.
Under Andy and Winford’s directions each family built their own, sturdy, safe chicken coops in time to receive the chicks. Something quite astounding happened during this building process. Members of the local government “happened’ to be in the village one day and were astounded by what we are doing there.
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They spoke to Andy and Winford and explained that some months back the government (with some outside aid) bought and distributed chickens to some people in the village, but most of them died as they were just dropped off and left. He could not believe the quality of work and the extent of care being provided to ensure that these chickens would be able to thrive and prosper. They showed great interest in the project as a whole. Amazing how God works.
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The chicks were delivered on day one and kept together for one day to settle down and acclimatize to the new surroundings. Day two they were all inoculated against disease. This actually rippled out into the community as chickens often get in contact with neighbors chickens and can get infected with disease. The team inoculated all the neighbors’ chickens as well which brought much gratitude and praise from the unsuspecting neighbors.
GOD’S KINGDOM ALWAYS ONWARD AND UPWARD NEVER BACKWARDS AND DOWNWARDS
This month is going to be pretty hectic for the beneficiaries: transplanting the rice seedlings, tending the fields & the young chickens and building goat pens in preparation to receive their goats early next month.
Here is one of the pens currently being constructed:
Excitement and joy fills my heart by experiencing just how great a thing God has accomplished in 7 short months - God be praised and Honored!!!
PARTNERS WITH THE LORD
It humbles me to realize what an honor and High calling it is when God invites us to partner with Him in this mighty work! Our heartfelt thanks to every one of you that has been involved in brining this to fruition. May God Bless you abundantly.
This is the Lord’s Vision and He is truly The Owner, Provider and Source. He has abundantly, supernaturally supplied all our needs to this very day.
I praise Him for everyone that He has drawn to be a part of implementing the Glorious Gospel there, as a testimony of God’s love, power and shalom (Wholeness).
God Bless you! Kajalajata thanks you!
News September 2020
The Lord spoke to my heart very gently but very firm this month and said to me: “It is not about safe water, nor about emergency food that saved the starving, or about the beautiful rice fields standing rich with promise for abundant crops, or about the chickens, the goats or the toilets, wonderful as that all is………….”. “It is about the transforming Power of My Kingdom replacing bondage, disease and lack into son-ship, Hope and Life! It is to Bring Wholeness! – Beauty for ashes, the oil of Joy for mourning… the garment of Praise for a spirit of heaviness… that they might be trees planted by the Lord for His Glory.
It’s about establishing the Kingdom: “so that you (& they) may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you (& they) may have great endurance and patience,
giving joyful thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you (& them) to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the Kingdom of light.
For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
This is possible because
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
The whole Bible is about one all embracing thing--- the Kingdom of God which is the Good News of the Gospel.
The other things we have done / are doing in Malawi are simply the natural outflow of the Kingdom coming to, and in, the people.
When God finished creating the universe; the Bible says: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
When I look back over every component that He touched this year I see: “That it is very Good”. God transformed everything just like at creation – from chaos, formlessness and a void into order, health, growth and Life”
All I can say from my heart is:
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.!”
THE RICE CROP
An amazing thing is happening. As a “norm” in Malawi the men send the women to work in the fields. In these 10 families God has done a beautiful thing; the men are actually now going out and helping their wives in the fields, which was previously unheard of.
The rice seedlings are growing wonderfully after being transplanted into the fertilized fields. The Lord has blessed them with good rains and the crops are looking very good.
| God is transforming from this: | To This: |
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Chickens
The chickens are growing and doing very well. Most of them should start laying eggs this month and start supplying additional nutrition and even extra for income.
Goats.
We were blessed to be able to provide two goats to each family as planned. The families completed building their goat pens themselves using their own materials. They worked hard and had to be creative during the process. The goats had to all be inspected by the local veterinarian to ensure they were not carrying any infectious diseases.
Great was the surprise upon delivery that many of the goats were pregnant. That means that instead of getting 2 goats, many will be getting additional, maybe two or more, kids. God is certainly full of surprises and pouring out unexpected blessings on these dear families, much more than we in our limited minds could plan for. We Praise Your Holy Name our Great and Precious God!
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Seeing the love and compassion of our God in action, wipes me out! Maybe a couple of chickens or goats doesn’t impress you or touch your heart, but having been there, seeing the lack, desperation and need, and then watching God step in ….. rocks my world !!!!.
Only a year ago, I started really understanding that, that is the Gospel of the Kingdom: It’s the compassion of God in action practically and eternally. This is what I believe Jesus meant when He said: “but I have come so that they might have LIFE (as expressed in and through the expression and implementation of the true Gospel) and have it to the fullest (abundantly)!!!” His Mighty power unleashed to deliver and change and provide a Life worth living; one with meaning and hope and filled with His love and Grace.
Hygienic Toilets.
This month we are excited as we are entering the final phase of this initial pilot project – providing the families with beautiful, sparkling, sanitary. self composting toilets that will improve their health and lifestyles significantly.
If there is ever something that sends shudders up my spine, it’s having to use a dirty toilet at a store or rest stop when traveling. I know you know what I mean. How degrading is it, not even to have one at all, or use some filthy unkempt places that spread disease to the whole environment - A breading place for germs and harmful bacteria.
I know you are probably saying… do you have to talk about this like this???!!!
I don’t know how else to regularly place myself in their shoes so that I don’t slack off and forget … and let God’s empathy awake in me anew so that I will be moved into action to actively share His heart for His people.
This is a great thing that is being done – especially providing dignity. I know it’s on God’s heart because He firmly placed it in His Vision that He shared with me.
My Provider (Yahweh Yireh).
This whole project reflects and implements the Lord’s Vision that He declared beforehand to me - He is The Architect, the Owner, Provider and Source. He has abundantly, supernaturally supplied all our needs to this very day. I praise Him for everyone that He has drawn to be a part of implementing the Glorious Gospel in Malawi, as a testimony of God’s deliverance, love, power and Shalom (Wholeness). This is not the end… but only the beginning for the rest of Malawi! Hallelujah!
On behalf of the Lord I want to thank everyone who has in any way supported this great work. It is greatly appreciated!
- Jan Koekemoer (Life Abundantly Project Founder and Leader)
News November 2020
Where it all started for me
“I love Africa says the Lord”. “Who of you are willing to answer My call to Africa to take My love and the Gospel of the Kingdom to them? – stand to your feet.”
The clear word of prophecy rang out over the hushed congregation of about 8,000 Christians of all denominations during the Come Holy Spirit Conference in SA In 1980. A thousand questions and concerns rushed through my heart but I knew the voice of God to me. “Lord I can’t possibly see how, but I am willing”. The silence and awe of the moment seemed to continue forever but I felt the strong working of His Holy Spirit upon me and felt Him basically lifting me out of my chair to stand with a hand full of others whom the Lord had also touched.
