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“What has been going on in Zambia since the fundraiser this summer?” you might ask.
Well, thank you for asking! The answer is: a lot!! We thank you so much for your giving this past summer for helping save The House of Noah orphan home. I still can’t believe we raised $27,000 together — I honestly did not believe we would raise half that amount. But God continues to blow away my expectations when I truly let Him sit in the drivers seat. So did we save the home with what we raised? What happened?
Well, since we did not raise the full amount to purchase the entire orphan home (needed $35k), I thought it was necessary to discuss a few other options for how to raise the remaining $8k. After praying and seeking the Lord about this for a few weeks, Aaron, his team and I felt like we had some direction.
You see, right before the House of Noah was put up for sale, Aaron and I were working through a few business ideas that would help support the ministry and give locals the opportunity to work. Our plan all along has not been to dump a bunch of money in Zambia and leave. We are committed to work with Aaron and his team to help grow their knowledge in business so that they can grow into business leaders and influencers in Zambia as well as pastors and missionaries.
This strategy benefits everyone. Locals get jobs, pastors are out with the people working in the community, relationships are built. Over time as the businesses become profitable, the profit will go towards supporting their own ministry and now we have something really beautiful! Zambians working, prospering and supporting their own ministry to reach their own people!
This all came to a halt in the beginning of the summer when the House of Noah was put up for sale and we needed to go into emergency mode!
So, what’s the plan? The direction we felt the Lord leading us in was to make a large down-payment on the House of Noah, securing the home and then use some of the funds to start these businesses. This will buy us about a year of time so we can get the businesses going and profitable.
So what are the businesses? Business #1: Peanut butter manufacturing Peanut butter is a hot commodity in Zambia. Back in the Spring, Aaron joined forces with another business owner who is currently distributing most of the peanut butter to the major grocery stores in Zambia. They dreamed about being able to produce their own peanut butter and distributing that instead of other company brands. Today, this is now a reality! We’ve put together a business plan and purchased the machines needed to start a small peanut butter plant! Production has officially started this month!! Click here to see the peanut butter machines in action!
Business #2: Raising chickens for meat During the summer fundraiser, Aaron told me that a few people kept telling him, “If you raise a hundred chickens, I will buy them for my business”. This gave Aaron an idea. Use the land they own to raise chickens! Today, this is now a reality! Earlier this month a mission team visited and helped to build a chicken coop that would house 250 chickens and just this week 250 baby chicks arrived. Check out the video Aaron sent to me below:
How is the Orphan Home Doing? The House of Noah is doing great! We secured the house we fundraised for and there was a big relief. All the children were rejoicing at what God had done for them and are now back in school. We are so excited for Aaron and his team. Not only will these businesses bring work to the community, but they will help sustain the orphan home for years to come! We praise the Lord for what He is doing and to just remember that all this was made possible because of your generous support this summer!
“We thank you God for all You have done and we thank you people for walking with us in this journey of faith. Together we will do more.” — Aaron Mulenga
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