In some parts of the world, a training day may mean a minor adaptation to the daily schedule and a brief detour to the venue. Training materials can be downloaded or printed with ease. However, in other parts of the world, seemingly inconsequential requirements for training events actually require significant amounts of effort! Effort that comes at the personal cost of our dedicated Harvesters leaders. One such example is the collection and distribution of the training books.
Books On Their Way
Training in the Democratic Republic of Congo had been halted due to the effects of Covid-19. But a few weeks ago, regional Harvesters coordinator, Pastor Decco, was excited to receive news that the long-awaited training books were on their way at last.
20 Large boxes, each filled with 20 books, were being sent to Zambia, a neighbouring nation to the south of the DRC. This may have seemed too far for some, but Pastor Decco was desperate to get his hands on the materials. So, he travelled over 200km to Mufulira, in Zambia, where the boxes were waiting for him. Inside were 200 Phase A and 200 Phase B Harvesters training books in French, the national language of the DRC. Pastor Decco realised that each book represented 200 students who would soon be able to grow and develop further.
Transporting the Books
Fuelled by his passion for discipleship, Pastor Decco creatively stacked the 20 boxes onto two bicycles (130kg per bicycle) and slowly travelled the 25km stretch to the border of the DRC. There he loaded them onto public transport for the 200km journey back to Lubumbashi.
Finally back in his home region, the job was not done. Over the following days he began the process of distributing the books to the 179 hub leaders in and around Lubumbashi. These hub leaders were delighted; they had been waiting a year for the materials whilst in lockdown and under Covid restrictions.
Herbie Venter, Harvesters Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said, “We praise the Lord for feedback from the hub leaders receiving the books that whilst in lockdown and Covid they still carried on and planted churches.” Feedback from 12 of the Hub-Leaders in Lubumbashi is that 60 new churches have been planted!
Training Can Continue
Now, praise the Lord, the student pastors will have access to Harvesters books; and they can start – and continue – their training. Thanks to your generous donations, Harvesters students around the world receive books like these as part of their three-year programme. We thank God for you, our donors, and for dedicated leaders like Pastor Decco who are helping to grow the Kingdom of God here on earth.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4