Recently, four participants traveled to Lanza from Dungu by moped for the 4 Pillar training sessions. Dungu is quite far north and takes two days to get to by moped. Seven others, six men and one woman, came from Todro, which takes a day to travel by moped. We’ve known four of these people for a long time, they are Ayinema, Adara, Andati, and Aguavo. One former colleague and three former students of ours when we taught at the secondary agricultural school in Todro 30 years ago. Now they are fathers and grandfathers of large families and work as farmers, Bible translators, teachers or pastors. We had already met with them several times on our previous visits to Todro. It was a great privilege to see these friends again after such a long time and to share updates on our lives since 1994. They were all very interested in the new 4 Pillar farming method since everyone is dependent on agriculture. Just like in Lanza, in Todro and Dungu the agricultural land is also being depleted, the labour is very time-consuming, requiring a lot of energy and manpower and it produces far too little. More and more often, forests and/or savannas have to be cleared for new and fertile terrains. These problems are tackled through the 4 Pillars. Our friends have been applying the 4 Pillar method within their family for over a year. They came to the training session to deepen their knowledge and strengthen their skills in this area.
Friends from Todro: Adara, Ayinema, Aguavo en Andati
We had three intense yet pleasant days. The atmosphere was good, there was laughter but also hard work during the practical exercises in the fields. Especially former colleague Ayinema kept the atmosphere going, lifting everyone’s mood with his heartfelt smile. Every day we began with Bible reading and prayer. On the last day, we tested the theoretical knowledge and the participants had to deliver a practical presentation. We ended with a joint meal, and a photo session before they all hopped on their mopeds and drove off. Most participants are now ready to train others in the 4 Pillars in Todro and Dungu. What a blessing that the 4 Pillars are now being introduced so far north! Adara said: “Even though I have a lot of other work, I would like many other people in Todro to benefit from this new method”. Ayinema: “My wife and I can now manage at least 3 hectares of land together, almost without the help of others. In addition, I now have time to plant fruit trees and other permanent crops. I also spend a lot of time on church work, and we have enough money left over to let our children study in higher education.”
After their departure, there was time to do some work on the 4 Pillar fields. This year we planted a special crop: millet. It is an old crop and is no longer used in our area. It is sown in rows and thanks to the 4 Pillars the yield is very good. In this photo, Moseka works on the harvest. She cuts off the culms and spreads them out on a tarp to dry. After a few days, it is dry enough to stamp out the seeds. This is done with an old-fashioned wooden pestle and mortar. After that, it is walled and stored in bags. Millet is ground into flour and is used to prepare fufu (firm knit) which makes up the main meal of the day. It is also very suitable for porridge, especially for small children. I use it to mix bread dough, so we now eat whole-meal bread made with millet flour. Delicious!
We thank God for:
- The training sessions of the 4 Pillar trainers from Dungu and Todro
- The spread of the 4 Pillars to Dungu in the far North of our province
- Our health
- The regular rains and the good millet harvest
- God’s protection on the trips of recent times to the neighboring province of Ituri and the seminars we were able to do there
- That our friends Wil and Ria got their visas just in time for their visit to us in November
Join us in praying for:
- The visit of Wil and Ria, that it may be a blessing for them and us and for the church of Lanza
- God’s protection on the journeys of the coming time, also together with Wil and Ria
- All newly trained trainers, who can train their families and others in the 4 Pillar method
- Peace and security in eastern Congo
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