Selection Camp at Ebenezer

Apprentices having ‘Q & A’ time

The Selection Camp has come and gone and we are expecting 30 new apprentices in 2011. It was a packed weekend of fun, lessons, creativity, morning run, tests, watching a DVD and so on.

As the prospective apprentices arrived at Shalom camp site and registered, they were shown their accommodation, had a light snack before getting into games. Volleyball caught the attention of the apprentices and some of them did pretty well for a first time. When the majority of apprentices arrived early evening, they played other games with the staff. Much laughter was heard as games are a sure winner as ice-breakers.

After supper on the first evening, the volunteers and Ebenezer staff were introduced to the apprentices. Mr Nyamayaro shared on the expectations of Ebenezer. The apprentices were put into teams and they had to come up with team names and a war cry. The teams were Hot Stuff, Hunters, Bulldozers, Macho Ostriches and Mombe cows. The war cries were hilarious and points for originality.

One on One interviews

Saturday morning the apprentices went for an early morning run from Shalom to Ebenezer. The run was led by Adam Landreth Smith – he opted for this as a “new” experience……… All the apprentices managed to make it to Ebenezer and when asked how the run went, some said it was just TOO FAR. Adam commented that he had to encourage and motivate himself by giving himself small targets. He also said he won’t do that again in a hurry. Well done to Adam for finishing the run!

Hunters (Scary!!!!)

The devotional and tour of the fields went really well. It was during the tour of the fields that the prospective apprentices really opened up and asked a lot of questions. They enjoyed the “arty” business session on camp of the egg drop as well as the 30 minute lessons on Business, Spiritual and Agriculture. Their listening skills were put to the test as they sat down in the afternoon for a short test on Business, Spiritual and Agriculture as well as English and Maths. Some did really well while others not.

The one on one interviews were great as it gave the volunteers and staff and real opportunity to get to know the apprentices and a bit about their background. “Faith Like Potatoes” was the DVD shown in the evening.

Apprentrices walking the fields

The selection process this morning went well as 29 out of the 32 prospective apprentices were selected. They are due to join the Ebenezer family on January 4th 2011. We look forward to that.

By Molly Manhanga

Progress on the bridge

A most welcome development in Kezi.....the bridge

What a wonderful site seeing the bridge between Pumula(main house) and Ebenezer being built especially seeing as we have entered into our rainy season. It was quite an adventure having to drive through this river when the rains were in full swing.

By Molly Manhanga

On the ground.......at Ebenezer........

Maize crop at Ebenezer

As the year is drawing to an end, Ebenezer continues to be a hive of activity….
1. We are preparing for our Selection Camp this weekend and we are hoping to chose 75 new apprentices who will begin in January 2011.
2. Solar Panals are going up at Ebenezer thanks to Adam Landreth Smith
3. The bridge linking Ebenezer to Pumula (Rest) is under construction.
4. The roads linking Ebenezer to Crossroads Community Church and out to town have been graded and are a pleasure to drive on. Trucks coming to Ebenezer to pick up produce have easy access.

5. Tomatoes are being harvested and sold.
6. Cabbages are being sold to the local community.
7. The maize is looking great.
8. The 2nd years are preparing for Graduation which is on the 15th December 2010.
9. The countdown to the end of year final exams is on

Adam putting up the solar panals

Busy days ahead of us…..

By Molly Manhanga

Leadership by Pastor Mark Macklin

Pastor Mark Macklin sharing on Leadership with the apprentices

What a fantastic session we had this morning with Pastor Mark Macklin, senior Pastor of Christian Community Church, Hounslow, London. He spoke to the apprentices on Leadership. This is what he said…..

Leadership. What is it? Am I a leader? Is leadership for special people only? Everyone of us is a leader and there are different levels of leaders. You can have leaders in a church, in government, in different departments, at Ebenezer and so on. Leadership starts with me. I have to lead myself and lead myself well. If I can’t lead myself, then it will be hard to lead anything else. The younger we start, the easier it will be to put things in place.

There are 3 things to put in place:
1. The significance of leadership. Everything rises and falls on the leader.
2. There is a shortage of good, biblical leaders. God use me!
3. Be the best that you can be. Don’t copy someone else but be an original, a masterpiece of God. It’s all to easy to look at someone else

We looked at 8 characteristics of leadership. Jesus is our ultimate model of what a leader is but we focused on Nehemiah. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
a) Compassion – Love. Nehemiah was filled with compassion and love. He had a vision to do something about the walls of Jerusalem. Mark encouraged us to build a foundation in our hearts of love and compassion.
b) Prayer. Great leaders are people of prayer. What we do in public, let’s do in private. Let’s develop a prayer life. Nehemiah prayer for many days. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that the plan God has for us are not to harm us but to give us a hope a future. In times of prayer, God will show us these plans. During difficult times as leaders, let’s pray.
c) Cheerful person. In Zimbabwe, it seems like the people are friendly and cheerful. Nehemiah 2:1. Be cheerful, upbeat and encouraging. The gospel is good news and it changes people’s lives. John 10:10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”
d) Concentration or focus. Remain focused on what you are doing. Don’t be distracted but keep focused on the goal. Nehemiah was a focused leader.
e) Incredibly creative. Have a plan. We won’t always have everything we need. We will have a lack or need. God is a creative God – just look at creation or look at each other. Look to God for creativity, wisdom and a plan to move forward. Nehemiah was creative.
f) Courageous. Nehemiah said, “I am going to do what God has called me to do.” Courage is faith. Take a risk. Peter walked on water. He had faith to risk taking a step out of the boat.
g) Clear conscience. Nehemiah was a leader with a clear conscience. He was a man with integrity, honesty and did not do the wrong thing with the hope of covering it up. “Doing right is always right.” God always honours leaders who show integrity and have a clear conscience. God is looking for openness and honesty. Nehemiah didn’t let success take over him.
h) Conviction. God called Him to do something. There are lots of things that will come our way and try and take us away from what God has called me to do. Don’t let people take it away or distract me. Lots of people make a great start and get tired half way. Don’t give up. Let’s be good starters and great finishers. The key to finishing strong is conviction in my heart.

Pastor Mark Macklin

Mark finished off by reading one of my favourite scriptures that I hold close to my heart; Isaiah 41:10 "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Business Presentation by Sikanyiso Matshalaga

Sikanyiso Matshalaga, better known as Skha

Biblically based business…
What is business? Business is a person or group providing a service product for profit. This is very different from no profit organisations. As apprentices come, they’ll be given calculators for business and taught how to run a business.

In business, you have your capital – money – save/invest for your business to continue, your raw materials – put into your business to service your business, tools/repair – set money aside for equipment and tools, salaries – for business owner and workers and the customers – determine price, quality, quantity, market share etc.
In the rural areas people can save money by purchasing livestock. Skha then presented a skit where 3 different “business” proposals were presented and we had to chose the best one.
1. Build an orphanage
2. Want to grow vegetables to supply to the vendors
3. Buy bicycle parts and expand business.
Number 3 was the best business idea.

The business presentation was good and interactive. Some tweaking will take place to make it more suitable and easy to understand for our prospective apprentices.

Skha’s “business” display

By Molly Manhanga

Titus 2 Ladies with Ann Rowsell pt 4

Ann Rowsell

It was great having Ann Rowsell from East Grinstead sharing with the young ladies at Ebenezer on Titus 2 Ladies.

Titus is a letter written by Paul in the New Testament.

Self-Control
Self-control is saying No to things we sometimes want – our desires. It isn’t fashionable these days to say No to things we want. People can have what they want, do what they want, say what they want. The reason we have self-control is to be holy. The enemy will want to rob us of self-control so he’ll bring bad things into our lives. When we live in a mess or being untidy, the enemy is finding a way into our lives. We are not content. We can get upset with our lives or we may have condemnation. This is where we need self-control. These thoughts are not from God. We need to change our mindsets in these areas:
1. How we use our bodies: Good eating, drinking, exercise, keeping away from wrong sexual activities
2. Time: It’s bad to do too little or too much. Write a list and choose the important things first. Get a good routine so that everything gets done.
3. Money: Be thankful for what we have and use it well. Don’t waste it on “silly” things.

Ann having a fun moment at Ebenezer

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Titus 2 Ladies with Ann Rowsell pt 3

Ann Rowsell

It was great having Ann Rowsell from East Grinstead sharing with the young ladies at Ebenezer on Titus 2 Ladies.

Titus is a letter written by Paul in the New Testament.

Young women – Be kind!
We are kind because we show the love of God. Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

Our kindness should always be looking to help others. e.g. Jesus our greatest example – he was friends with people that no one liked, he healed people, he served others, he was easy to talk to and so on. We can do all these things. Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” It’s important to be kind. We can look at Mother Theresa who helped the poor or Jackie Pullinger who helped the drug addicts. Let’s be kind and bring God’s love and light to others.

Read more on Self – Control……..

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Titus 2 Ladies with Ann Rowsell pt 2

Ann Rowsell

It was great having Ann Rowsell from East Grinstead sharing with the young ladies at Ebenezer on Titus 2 Ladies.

Titus is a letter written by Paul in the New Testament.

How do we love our children?
Why do we need to learn to love? How we treat our children might not be love and it might be out of fear and being over-protective.
• We become frightened and want our children to like us, so we become over indulgent. Fear might make us angry mothers because we don’t want to be failure.
• We can be dominating mothers and order our children around and be bossy.
• We also may be lazy mothers and not guide our children.
Real love is selfless, self-giving. We need to ask ourselves what is best for this child and not what do I feel like right now. The Bible says “Behold, children are a gift from the Lord.” Psalm 127:3 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,” C

hildren are a gift. When we are looking after God’s gift, we won’t be perfect and we’ll be exhausted. We just need to be the best mothers we can be and love the children for ourselves and not to prove anything to ourselves.

Ann Rowsell at Ebenezer

In the letters to Timothy, Paul says don’t forget the teachings of your mother Eunice and your grandmother Lois. We know them because they looked after Timothy. Eunice and Lois – God says that they trained Timothy so well that he came to be a church leader. They taught Timothy to be a good man of God. When you raise children, you are serving God by training them to do good things.

Summarised by Molly Manhanga

Titus 2 Ladies with Ann Rowsell

Ann Rowsell

It was great having Ann Rowsell from East Grinstead sharing with the young ladies at Ebenezer on Titus 2 Ladies. Ann is married to Dave Rowsell.

Titus is a letter written by Paul in the New Testament.

How to love our husbands
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love takes effort. It’s very important to tell your spouse that you love them. It’s important to show it to. God showed us His love through Jesus Christ. There is a difference between God’s love and human love. God’s love is not based on how clever we are or how good looking we are. We cannot do anything to make God love us more. Human love can change – but, our pattern should be God’s love.


When we get married, we should look for:
1. Companionship: be a friend to our husbands and share our hopes, dreams, thoughts and feelings. We should manage our house and finances. We should be his helper and make life easier for him. Have fun together. It should be a partnership of husband and wife – partners working out God’s plan for us.
2. Commitment: When a man and wife marry, they separate themselves from their parents to each other.
3. Create a family: Wives support your husband in his role of authority in the home and by fulfilling a caring and mothering role. Be careful not to neglect your husband while caring for your children.
4. Respect in marriage: This is important as it is easy to treat men patronisingly, with tolerance or with hostility. How do we show respect to our husbands?
o Listen to him
o Give way to his opinions
o Let him know his opinions are important
o Don’t make decisions and tell him later
o Ask for his advice
o Talk through things with him
o Don’t put him down
o Make decisions together

You may say your husband is a weak man and you are stronger. Pray for him, respect him and it will help him grow in confidence and self-esteem.

Read more on Titus 2 ladies with Ann Rowsell

Summarised by Molly Manhanga