The Mango Tree
Aug 28th, 2007 by Nathanael
Some very close and dear friends of mine are heading to Zambia to meet up with a dear friend and sister who has been serving there with the Peace Corps for the past almost two years. I’ve included the latest prayer request email sent from Jeremiah:
Hello Children of God! Blessings and Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who provides life, hope, and peace beyond understanding.
Hopefully most of you know what the Mango Tree is and why you are getting this, but I bet some of you don’t, so here is a quick summary.
First the players:
The Mango Tree is a Christ-centered, self-help, arts and educational community center being started in the village of Kaombe, Zambia. The Bridge Academy and Community Center (BACC) http://www.thebridgeacademy.org/ in Coatesville,
Now there is a group of twelve from the BACC headed to help finish up the building of the Mango Tree and be there for the opening ceremony. The goal of the trip is mostly about establishing the foundation of relationships needed to have a long-term partnership between Coatesville and Kaombe, between The BACC and The Mango Tree. With long-term commitment in mind, this project started with Katie’s understanding and conversations of the villages needs over her first year there. She has established a board of Christian village Elders to over-see the project so it is not hinged on her presence. She will be there for an additional 6 months after the start to offer operation help and over-sight. In addition, one of the group members - Beth Trevino, will be staying there for an additional 3 months as part of her field-work for her masters in International development at Eastern. She will be working on a sustainable long-term plan for the Mango Tree!
We are very excited to see, even already, how God is using this trip to affect everyone involved at many levels. The village, the twelve who are going, and our friends and family are all already being impacted both internally and practically on the surface. The prayers and prophetic words said over our team have been soul squeezing, personal, and extremely powerful. This trip is going to take our group to new levels, stretch us spiritually, physically, emotionally.We covet your prayers. I pray God quickens us to your hearts as we are over there.
You will receive updated prayer requests before we leave on Saturday. Throughout our time there you will get updated requests as well as praises and blessings reported.
-First one is that we find a drivers and vans to transport us to and from JFK, this Saturday and on our return on Sept. 13!
-Second is that our packing goes well. We are attempting to bring 8-10 50lbs. boxes of books for the library that will begin at the Mango Tree!
I have attached an itinerary for our trip, feel free to pray for our specific activities throughout the day, our food when we eat, our bodies when we rest, our mouths and hearts when we are greeting new friends.
Pray for everything, we beg you.
May God bless you with His grace and His peace,
Jeremiah
Here is Katie’s description of the Mango Tree:
What is the Mango Tree? This project entails my American friends from church, who have graciously and lovingly fund raised thousands of dollars, to come to Zambia , September 2-12, to help my villagers and I renovate a run down building on our village and turn it into a place of light, life, education, and prosperity. The Mango Tree, by September 10, will be a self help arts and education center composed of 4 parts: a small café (which will also sell local artisan crafts), a library, an office, and a classroom space (home to the village pre-school in the morning, and open for club meetings, self-help community classes in the afternoon). It is going to be a dream come true to thousands of villagers- to have a space like this to learn, grow, spend time. A space of their own, when so commonly they are sharing one tiny bedroom, sleeping on the floor every night- and have absolutely nothing to call their own. Many have never even seen books- let alone know what a library is- so to be able to borrow books, and have hundreds to chose from will blow their minds. They also will have the opportunity to learn- people with certain skills in the village can book the classroom area to teach eachother on topics such as fishfarming, animal rearing, organic farming, lotion/soap/craft making, health, to begin. People can also sit with a cup of coffee and a bun, in the café section of the center.
The Mission of The Mango Tree:
“By providing a space of loving encouragement, learning, and growth through arts and education based services, “The Mango Tree” aims to cultivate and recognize each person’s dignity and unique gifts. In turn, we pray this support will activate the potential that lies within each person, creating leaders and mobilizing them with the tools needed to spark change in their communities.”
Here is Katie’s online journal: http://peacecorpskatie.livejournal.com/
yay! thanks for the support nathanael! God is going to do amazing things… thank you for showering us with your prayers!
My pleasure.
Thank you for going and letting me partner with you.
Shalom
[…] They have also partnered with a mutual friend named Katie Forqurean, who started a ministry in Zambia called Mango Tree. And this is the second year that they are sending a team over to continue with that exciting project. You can read about it from a post I wrote last year here. […]