ONE OF THOSE FROM 'DOWN UNDER' decided whilst with us to go under the Waters of Baptism.    Here he is about to be dipped into our baptistery in Testimony House grounds.   Hesketh Muli standing to his left and Mike Potter to the right.   .     The baptistery itself is just across from the School Hall where we always hold our Sunday Services, and so at the conclusion the Service we all moved out and across to the Baptistery.     It was sunny, fortunately, but the water was still rather cool.    It was a Blessing, and a wonderful opportunity to Witness to the Love and Goodness of God.      Timothy, a student from Tyndale School, is being immersed in this photo;   we believe it will ever be a Day to remember, and to serve as a strengthener to establish his Faith.



WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED in having ALL the Team with us.  Students, Staff, and others have each one been so outgoing towards us all, that it was tough to say farewell finally on Thursday morning.     As I shared last week, many have been engaged in making a new and bigger COW HOUSE, and MILKING Station for our cows.  We built the first one in July 2011 using a woodshed, and a little spare ground space near the new Allotment in Testimony House Garden.      EARLIER that same month Tyndale School Team for 2011 had built the Poultry House in Jacaranda as their main project for that year.    It was the year we all felt the Lord urging us to become more self supportive food wise, and we had laid down two plots (one in Testimony and one in Jacaranda) for veg.
Soon after Tyndale left we decided to commence a small dairy as already described.      THEN in mid 2012 Testimony School decided to expand their teaching space and to also build a Pool.;       By then we had FOUR cows and two calves (a heifer and a bull).        Just before Tyndale returned this year we had moved the cows to Jacaranda into a temporary enclosure without any shelter or milking station.     SO a good number of the Team took up the challenge to provide this lack with the result shown in the photo included here.        Regretfully we lost one of the four cows through a sickness.    The rest are flourishing and greatly delighting in their new facilities.        If I can manage to do so I will try to include a few photos just to remind you all of the scope of this agri-development over the last two years.    To preface this let me also give a Time Schedule of this development as it came to be
2011 -  July -  Cultivation of TWO plots of ground for growing vegetables for the Homes.
                       Building of Poultry Houses for 200 broilers and 200 layers
                       Both with the aid of Tyndale School students and staff.

                       Erection of small cowshed and milking bay for ONE cow in Testimony Compound
            Oct -   Purchase of two more cows,   -    Also one calf born.
                       Crops in the Allotments now being harvested.    Layers beginning to lay eggs!!!

2012 - Apr -   Started a Bakery with intention to supply School and Homes.
                       2nd calf (bull) born.     4th Cow purchased.

2013 - July -    Everything still running well.
                        NEW Cow Shed and milking station built by Tyndale School Team.

We had thought to save money in commencing these projects, and by also diminishing manpower here and there.      Definitely money has been saved in provision of our own milk, eggs, chicken meat, bread and vegetables, though regretfully the steadily rising cost of other basic commodities and foodstuffs has more than compensated, so that expenditure is still higher than when we began.   ALSO the cost of the FEEDS for both cows and poultry have increased.     BUT of course it would have been EVEN HIGHER if these innovations had not been made.      We rejoice in the leading of God's Holy Spirit in inspiring us, and in the welcome help and support of Tyndale and also our own children and staff.
However the management is proving quite demanding.    We have had to take back  manpower initially laid off in other quarters, to cope with everything.    TWO in the Bakery, and TWO in the Gardens, PLUS a Cow man and a Poultry man.    Income and Expenditure on all projects together still able to balance out even with a small margin of profit.     Still very worth while in every way.

Here we have a view of some of the cows and offspring!

Also a glimpse of the Jacaranda Allotment with maize growing well and the Poultry House in the top left corner

To the left the new Green-house which  finally yielded a bumper harvest of tomatoes.

To the right  the first batch of Broilers happy and contented though not free range.  We eat a lot and sell some.

To the left are some of our Layers (about 160 eggs per day) now slowing down and ready to be replaced.   We eat most of the eggs and sell the rest.   Very good they are too.    Again these are not free range but they are mainly contented.     As long as they have enough air, food, and food for curiosity they seem more than satisfied.     Sad they never see an egg hatch though!    

===========================

And lastly the Bakeries bread!    They bake about 100 a day to satisfy daily needs for the four Homes AND daily School Break Refreshment for the School.      We hope to soon be able to extend the Bakery and sell to the locality as well.     Super bread.    We bake on CHARCOAL in big charcoal ovens.   But the cost of this fuel is becoming more costly day by day;  we hope to find a suitable ELECTRIC over of suitable size soon.

To manage and supervise all of this takes quite a lot of time and energy.    

We are now looking for someone to come and MANAGE it full time.     This will need someone able to supervise staff, standards, and purchases of Feeds and Baking Supplies.     Please pray we find someone of good Christian Integrity.

LAST WEEK,  I promised some photos of the Swimming Pool dedication.   Here are a few.  It went very well indeed, but we have still had some teething problems with the Engines that drive the pumps.   Seems to be sorted now, and the pool is being used by the School and even others ( THEY have to pay if they are from 'outside' - i.e. the general public.)

About 200 parents attended, seated under the tent, and about a third of the students from Primary and Secondary all seated at the side.

Below, in the second photo you can see a good view of the new Academic Bloc, and some of the 

students taking part in the events standing to the left

outside the dressing rooms.

Mike Potter and I were sitting at the Shallow End - you can see the back of our heads.

We felt it was a good beginning, and it will certainly be a well used facility, and we hope an encouragement to sport in general.    So far the largest Pool in our area, and we hope to see many Schools  come and use it for Competition.    Who knows, one day a World Champion Swimmer might begin from here.   Certainly our lady Coach hopes so, herself a onetime Olympic Team Member.

WELL this must be all for this week.      All is well with us.    We are with God.    We hold His hand, and look to HIM.       God Bless you all.    Rejoice in all you see being accomplished here - you are each one a part of it ALL.

John and Esther & Daryl and Carol