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As a boy, Mandla had to do that on a grocery store's trash pile. He had to be clever and quick to beat the goats to the food.
The holiday season usually means lots of time with family and friends and an abundance of food. What if things were different?
What extreme you would go to to get something to eat?
We feel that food shouldn't be so difficult to get. Families should be able to feed their own children without relying on handouts or a feeding program. Our passion is to provide a way for communities to regain their dignity and feed their own children so we have ventured forth into 2 sizeable projects.
FIRST - In June, we launched the first phase of an Artisan wood shop. We are training Mandla the art of wood working and it has been so exciting watching him realize his gifting in working with wood. No more fighting goats for him!
The shop is producing a variety of high quality products (mvumbi.co.za/shopping) and God has been blessing Acacia Artisans. We are glad to announce that the shop is now self-sustaining! Our goal, though, is to have the wood shop fund the construction of rural wood fired kitchens so the villages can become self-sustaining!
SECOND - We are building a wood fired kitchen in rural eSwatini (Swaziland). Our SA church is sponsoring the kitchen as part of their mission outreach.
Our re-designed wood fired ovens make them much more efficient that will allow longer baking times and use less firewood. In addition to the oven, the kitchen includes an efficient wood fired (rocket) stove to prepare the large portions of food. The construction will be completed in January and then we will be training and doing discipleship classes.
The members of the church where we are building the bakery have been very involved every step of the way. Their excitement and participation is a great indicator that this project will be successful and have a lasting impact in their community. We are praying for this church and the success of the kitchen as their heart is to feed over 150 local children. They plan to sell the bread they bake in the oven to raise money to buy food for the children which they will cook on their new rocket stoves.
Isaac, our builder, gets it. He knows other communities in our area that desperately need an avenue to sustainability that a wood fired kitchen would give to them. Our passion is to be able to provide that, along with life giving discipleship and encouragement.
We feel that the kitchens will be very impactful to these communities so we are now looking for people to come along side us in these projects. The construction, outfitting and support for the first year comes with a price tag of around $1,600. Our goal is to have the wood shop provide the funding for these kitchens as well, but since we are still in the beginning stages, it will be a while to see that come to be.
We hope you have a very blessed holiday season and are able to celebrate the birth of Christ among family and friends!
God bless!
Dave and Beth Phillips
