Dear friends,
Since we last wrote life has been a bit of a blur with returning to the UK, Ed going away for a 2 week Foundations for Farming (FFF) conference in Zimbabwe and shifting between family members whilst awaiting the arrival of baby no.3, for whom we are still waiting.
The FFF conference proved to be a very worthwhile investment of both time and energy and has provided Ed with much food for thought as to how what he has learnt can be applied to our situation back in Bolivia.
We first heard about FFF in 2010. The more we read the more excited we got as we saw similarities with FH and the potential possibilities. FFF at its basic level is about helping the physically poor manage their land in a God honouring way so that they can produce enough food to feed their families, share with their neighbours and have extra to sell.
FFF works through teaching four simple management principles which can be applied to any and every area of life, where everything needs to be done: 1. On time, 2. At Standard, 3. Without Waste and 4. With Joy. With a specific focus on farming, people are then taught some very basic and simple methods of cultivating land that reflects each of these principles and that produces some amazing results.
In the first week of the conference Ed and 250 other participants from around the world learnt about the vision of FFF and how God has been working out this vision throughout various countries in Africa and how lives have been transformed as a result. The second week was reduced to 12 people where the focus was upon intense training to learn how to teach others about FFF.
An interesting aspect of the conference was hearing the testimonies of the white Zimbabweans who had lost their land through land reforms. Through their own individual stories of hardships they each reflected upon how God had used these difficult times to break them down only to then build them up again for greater things to reflect His own glory.
Another part that stood out was in seeing and hearing about how God truly was using the foolish things (in the eyes of man) to shame the wise. Through God’s guidance FFF have created a plan that is allowing the poor to make a profit from the land, something which so called experts and governments have said was impossible.
The conference has provided much to think about and will take Ed some time to process it all, but over time we hope to share more through our blog.
Thank God for:
- Safe travels
- Being able to get registered with the NHS
- Gods provision in every way
Ask God for:
- Encouraging times with family and friends
- A time for rest, relaxation and refocusing
- A good adjustment all round to being a family of 5
Much love
Ed, Sarah, Alana, Isaiah & Bump
