A Whopping Family Update

Hi there! I hope everyone’s weeks are going well so far. Before I get started, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you that have subscribed, liked, commented, and even messaged me about starting the blog. What an encouragement you are!! Thank you!

 I must admit that this first “Family Update” post has been daunting me. I kept debating how far back in the timeline to go to make sense of the details I’d like to share, thinking I had to include all.the.things. in this very first update.

Then I realized that that would be impossible, and that I should just keep it simple! So, in that effort, I decided I’ll just start out by answering the basic questions of Who, What, When, Where, and Why about our recent move and change in direction. But I’m going to follow the advice of Simon Sinek and start with Why. Here it goes!

Why?

The short answer is we moved because God told us to. But that’s not as fun as telling you the details. So bear with me!

In April and May of this year, we had been transitioning off of the farm that we had been on since January of 2018. We made arrangements with friends here to move to their farm about 3 hours east, in the Nyanga area, and have our goat and sheep herd move with us. Our plan was to bootstrap the goat herd, expand the acres of chia seeds we grow, and do a few online jobs to make ends meet. We were set to do that before we visited Michigan in April/May, and had even built 1 of the 3 goat sheds out on the friend’s property in Nyanga.

Then, while in Michigan, we were told, “Oh you should meet this couple, they’re going to Zimbabwe to train in an agricultural program and then move to Zambia.”Let’s pause here… If you’ve ever lived overseas, you know exactly what I was thinking in that moment. Uh, thanks but no thanks. I’ve tried this before, meeting people that work where I do. We won’t have anything in common, it’s a waste of time. Just because we live on the same continent, doesn’t mean we have to meet. Do you know everybody that lives in Canada, since you’re in the US? No? Hmm.

It may sound a bit harsh, but I’m just trying to be honest with what I was thinking at the time! Usually the person doing the connecting is more excited about the 2 people meeting than the 2 people themselves are. And that was the case at that time.

Nevertheless, Brierly and I had TWO separate couples say that we should meet this family coming to Zimbabwe, and when those two unrelated recommendations came, we decided it might be worth setting up a coffee. So, we reached out and decided to meet May 4th at Panera Bread. We’d meet this couple and chat about what they’re planning to do in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The night before the meet up, they messaged asking if their boss could tag along, since he happened to be in town. We said of course. (Note: I’m keeping names out of this for the moment since I haven’t had time to chat with the individuals involved and want to respect their privacy).

So, we meet this couple and their boss at Panera Bread, and view a small presentation that the boss has about this Ebenezer model of training rural youth for agriculture, and how he is going to have an Ebenezer built on his farm in Livingstone, Zambia, based on the original one in Matopos. Then after about an hour of conversation, his recommendation was, “Go to Bulawayo, meet my business partner, and see if you catch the vision.”

Simple, right?

So, the week we returned to Zimbabwe in mid-May, without knowing exactly where we were going, and with that simple one-sentence suggestion, we hopped in our truck and drove 7 hours down to Matopos. (Which is an hour further than Bulawayo, I might add!). We got to tour the place, chat with a few of the directors and staff briefly, and enjoyed our 3 day visit. However, the main folks that we were talking with about Ebenezer had a wedding in South Africa to attend, so to carry on the conversation, they asked us to come back for a more in depth meeting. So, we returned to Harare and went back a second time about 2 weeks later, this past June.

We had a very exciting conversation with them about the possibilities of working together. They articulated two main ways that they see their passions and needs lining up with our passions and strengths- either come to Ebenezer for a pre-determined amount of time, like 12-18 months, to learn the model and then go and start an Ebenezer in the Nyanga area (Where we were intending to go with our goat herd), or they were also praying for a farm manager that loves people and loves agriculture to join the Ebenezer team for a more long term fashion.

That second idea shocked us. Ebenezer is 7 hours away from Harare, the only city we’ve known in Zimbabwe, away from extended family, in Matebeleland (as opposed to Mashonaland), with a different language that neither of us know. And long term? What does that even mean? My millennial self that has only stayed in one place as long as it took me to get through college, and has moved 7 times in the last 6 years of marriage… that self doesn’t know that term.

With two very different options on the table, we said we’d pray about it.

That night, we were going through our pro’s and con’s of each opportunity, and thinking what each would look like down the line. Then Brierly had some ideas come to mind of what changes he would experiment with if he were to accept the farm manager position. These were ideas based on one of the main staff members saying that something Ebenezer needs to focus on is building the soil. Another staff member mentioned they need someone to run the diary that is really able to get to know the herd and each cow.

So here was Brierly, his mind running wild, as we were entertaining the idea of making Ebenezer our home long term. Then, he decided to spend some time in prayer. If you ask Brierly, he will tell you that God doesn’t speak to him very often, but he’ll hear something once in a while. This was one of those times. God actually didn’t tell Brierly anything technically, but rather asked him something. He asked Brierly, “How long would it take you to see the results of the ideas you want to implement?”

The answer for us was easy. Not 12 months. Not 18 months. Not 24 months, not even 5 years. A long time.

So when Brierly shared that with me, we both kind of looked at each other in awe. We had our answer. We were going to sink roots. We were moving to Ebenezer indefinitely.

With our decision made, we let the team at Ebenezer know we’d like to come on board. After 28 hours of driving, maybe 10 cups of tea, and 2 great conversations about the future, we were back in Harare and packing up our things, not to head east, but to head south. We chatted with the owner of the farm in Nyanga and he gave us his blessing of moving south and released us from any and all agreements, and even more, was gracious to say the goats and sheep could still go to his place along with the herdsman that has been with the herd since it began. We were so thankful for this arrangement.

So the next question was when could we start? Well, the new apprentices would be arriving July 8 for orientation, and their work would begin on the 15th, so we made it our goal to get our family and our belongings to Ebenezer by the 15th. Essentially that gave us about a month to get the rest of the goat shelters and fence built, get a couple things fixed on the pick-up, move 100% off the first farm, 100% out of the cottage in town we had been staying in temporarily, and move from Harare to Matopos.

During this month of packing and closing chapters, we really sought confirmation from God that we were making the right move. We had been really trying hard for the last 18 months to make finances work, to grow our impact in people’s lives through agriculture, and live out our family’s mission. With the managerial position being long term/indefinitely, and having never made a commitment like that before, we wanted to make sure we were on the right path!

God is so gracious. He is merciful. He hears our cries for confirmation and is gentle with us when we are honest with our weaknesses. So as we prayed, He let us know we were heading in the right direction: Twice at the ladies’ Bible study I attended in Harare, women saw visions of open heavens over me with going to Matopos. Brierly heard God tell him in an evening church service, Make this sacrifice. Go to Matopos. So individually and as a family, we felt confident to move down here and accept this position.

BUT, my mind was weak. When we moved, and had just pulled in to the guest house we would stay at for 2 weeks before one of the houses opened up on Ebenezer, after 7 hours of driving, I again asked God to show us that we were welcome at Ebenezer. What do you know, as we walk in, there in the kitchen, there was some fresh produce from the farm, a tray of eggs, and a hand written note welcoming us to Ebenezer. I had tears in my eyes! I felt like this was exactly the way I needed my prayer to be answered and God was acutely aware of my desire to be reassured. And He didn’t let me down. I was so thankful for the team member that laid out the produce and wrote the note, and for God to use that to communicate with me that we were where we were supposed to be.

So that was on July 14, and almost 2 months have gone by! We have had a great start here at Ebenezer and are getting to know the place, the work, and the community. We are excited to be here.

Now the quick, easy questions of Who, What, When, and Where.

Who?

That’d be our small family, including Brierly, myself, and our daughter Charlotte. We have been married for over 6 years, Brierly was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and myself in west Michigan. We’ve lived in Michigan and Nebraska in the US, as well as Harare and now Matopos, Zimbabwe. Charlotte is 7 months old and loving life, enjoying sitting and using her 2 bottom teeth.

What?

As I mentioned above, we are not yet 2 months in to our work at Ebenezer Agricultural Training Centre, in Matopos, Zimbabwe. Brierly has taken a position as the Dairy Manager, with an ongoing conversation about what else we can be involved with at Ebenezer. Currently, his main responsibilities are growing the Jersey herd in number, increasing milk production, managing pasture and feed, training the apprentices that do a dairy rotation, and integrating his heart of discipleship into those daily tasks with the apprentices. While I don’t have an official position at Ebenezer, I’ve been excited to learn more about the beekeeping that has started here as well as the “Demo Garden,” where we show apprentices the profits and business side of low-input, minimum till horticulture .

A bit more about Ebenezer, for those of you that haven’t heard of it: Ebenezer’s vision and mission (in my words, to summarize) is to be an impact for the nations by walking along youth ages 18-22 for up to 2 years, training them in agriculture, business, and Bible, so that they may be fruitful in their lives, empower their families, and have faith in and a relationship with Jesus Christ. They train in four main agricultural areas: dairy, cropping/horticulture, broilers, and layer hens. There is also a pecan nut tree side in the works! (For Ebenezer’s direct words and cool articles on the program, check out these two links! https://www.thezimbabwean.co/2012/03/ebenezer-a-stone-of-help/

https://www.mybulawayo.com/ebenezer-trust-farming-that-builds-a-nation/ )

Brierly in the dairy office (notice the solar panels outside!)

Charlie checking on the dairy calves

When?

We have been in Zimbabwe for over a year and a half, but have recently made our way to Ebenezer. We feel that God’s direction, as far as we have discerned, is to be here long term. As someone who has moved 8 times in the last 6 years, can I get a “Hooray!” at the idea of sinking some roots down in one spot!?

Where?

Matopos, Zimbabwe is a beautiful place. Come and visit, I’ll say no more!

But really, Matopos is a fantastic area, in southwest Zimbabwe. We are about a one hour drive from the nearest major grocery store, 75 minutes from the border with Botswana, and in the heart of Matebeleland South Province.

Matopos is known for its beautiful rock outcroppings and a high population of leopards in the national park right next to us. (Matopos has the highest density of leopards in the world, as a matter of fact!)

A bird's eye view of the Ebenezer Agricultural Training Centre

The Red Pin shows where Ebenezer is in Zimbabwe

PHEW! I made it through typing this up, and you made it through reading it. Hand claps for everyone. I DON'T intend for each “Family Update” to be in this particular format or length, but I had to get you all caught up, especially since we unintentionally left some of you with quite outdated news the last time we spoke!

I hope my descriptions and the photos can paint at least a Seurat-style, blurry picture of what we have been up to. I have a confession, that I forgot my SD card from my camera when we traveled into town today. So rather than getting the nice pictures I was intentionally taking for this post, you’re getting whatever I captured on my phone. It was either that or wait another week to post, and good Wi-Fi is hard enough to come by that I decided to go with what I have. Perhaps this is giving you a glimpse into every day life in rural Zimbabwe and the connect-ability challenges!

Our temporary housing on Ebenezer

Naughty donkeys that broke out of their fence and came to our house.

That's all for now! Growing in Courage,

Mackenzie