MARCH NARRATIVE REPORT
March has not been a pleasant month for Zimbabwe due to the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai. This cyclone left a trail of destruction. Over 200 lost their lives. Homes, infrastructure and sources of livelihood were also destroyed. Despite this sad event, the training of students continued at BVBIZ as follows;
1.0 VISIT BY DAVID WALKER
BVBZ was blessed to have David Walker from the 12th -28th of March. David comes from Coalmont Church of Christ in Tennessee, U.S.A. Besides staying with the students, sleeping where they sleep, eating what they eat, walking on foot to and from town, David taught the books of 1 & 2 Corinthians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Students also benefited from clothes that he made available for them. David lectured some time back at the School of Biblical Studies in Jos, Nigeria and was happy to interact with some of his former students who are now teachers at BVBIZ.
2.0 EVANGELISM
Evangelism continued in the month of March. Students have continued to visit various areas within Gweru. The places include places around Nashville, Mkoba 12, Mkoba 4, Ascot and MSU. There are congregations within these areas. This is done every Saturday and then on Sunday, the students will meet with the congregation. Some of the students had an opportunity of moving around with David Walker as they spread the Word around Mambo and Ascot.
3.0 NEW TERM BEGINS
Due to a number of factors, BVBIZ has been forced to forego its April break. Students will start their second year first term on the second of April. This has largely been necessitated by the developments taking place at the permanent site and the field practicum that shall commence from mid-June to late August. More visits need to be made at the site and this will be uninterrupted by classes as students will be away during field program serve for the follow-ups that will be done. The following subjects are going to be taught.
Church History
Wisdom Literature 2
Marriage and Family Development
Greek 1
Church Leadership
Advanced Homiletics
Gospel of John, 1, 2, and 3 John
Christian Spiritual Formation
4.0 ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Cabbages that were planted in December were sold along the month. Though planted on a small area, students were able to benefit from the knowledge they acquired in raising cabbages.. A few cabbages have been left out for the students’ subsistence. Tomatoes have now been planted on the land to replace the sold cabbages.
5.0 DEVELOPMENTS AT BVBIZ
Many things are happening at BVBIZ especially at the site. The following developments took place in March;
· A topographical map showing the school’s boundaries has been made.
· Drilling of a 60metre borehole by Healing Hands International on the 4th of March with a capacity of producing over 10000 litres of water per hour.
· Installation of a solar pump and its related solar system to pump water into a 5000 litre tank through the efforts of Healing Hands International.
· A 9 (nine) meter long hole for a pit latrine (commonly referred to as blair toilet in Zimbabwe has been dug). It has a depth of 3 metres. Construction of its walls to be done later if funds are available.
· A security cabin measuring 3m x 4.5 m made of precast panels has been put up.
· Materials for the construction of the first structures were in the process of being put together when the month ended. The first structures would allow BVBIZ to relocate to this site.
At the end of this report, are pictures showing some of the above
CONCLUSION
At BVIBZ, we are very grateful to God who has enabled us to go this far. In March we were amazed by the pace that things were going especially at the school’s site. This could not be possible without the sponsors who have stood in the gap for BVBIZ (Ezekiel 22.30). Thank you for the funds and encouragements we continually receive.
Mathew Muchingam
Director, BVBI-Z