Epistles

from Matty Davis

For the writers' contact details, please contact me at arunkoshy /at/ infosecwriters.com

- Teddy's Story -

I went to see a man I had been exchanging letters with in a local Zambian prison.
Teddy was sent to prison for having cold blooded stabbed someone in the street.
He’s been in prison since he was 18 years old, and will be released in 2006 when’s 38.
He will have spent the main 20 years of his life behind bars.

Teddy became a Christian 9 yrs ago, and is very scared that he will not be able to
adjust to the "real" world when he is released. All he has known is life on the streets
and in prison, but he does so want to serve the Lord.

The Zambian prison conditions are terrible. They’re issued one set of clothes when
they enter prison. These have to last them the whole time they are there. Teddy is
still wearing the same clothes he was issued 18 years ago.

While in the prison I realized that there are several other men like Teddy. So
Leonard & I are looking at ways that we can help train these men with work skills
when they are released from prison.

- Prison Ministry -

It’s amazing how God works. I found out that we can hire groups of prisoners to work
on the farm. For only $1 dollar per man a day we have the opportunity to minister
to these men all day!

Each morning I drive to the prison and pick up 20-50 prisoners. It’s a 100km round
trip twice a day. I am supplied with an armed guard. Even though I only have one
guard I’ve never had any serious trouble.....you don’t argue with a man with a
machine-gun permanently slung over his shoulder.

I’m able to minister to the prisoners physical needs by providing them with
nutritious food and improved working conditions. In prison they are only fed
once a day. It’s only a small bowl of enshima (porridge). Many of the men are
covered in sores because the hygiene is poor.

One day the men got really muddy from digging and asked us, “Can we have some soap?”.
It was then that we learnt that they’re not able to wash properly in prison because
they’re never supplied with soap. We were able to buy soap in bulk, which meant we
were able to give each man a bar of soap, for 5 cents each.

I have assigned the prisoners to work on the onion patch. They are levelling the
area with hoes and shovels. Then we will plant as soon as possible

Something I’ve come to realise is that these are just the same men and boys we
originally began the farm for. These are the guys who’ve come from the street.
The only difference between the prisoners and the men/boys who are still on the
street is that they’ve been caught—when in their desperation they’ve stolen money
or bashed someone up.

Prayer Points

- Ability to communicate with the men who have limited English

- Opportunities to share Jesus with the prisoners & guards

- The provision of a truck to transport the prisoners to & from the farm each
day. Presently we are borrowing a truck & driver but the driver is very unreliable
and is untrustworthy.

To God be the Glory,
Matty

25 May, 2004

Dear friends,

- Shortage of Prisoners -

I pulled up at the prison one morning ready to pick up my allocated prisoners for
the day, only to hear unusually loud complaints and arguing coming from inside.
Going inside, I discovered that tempers were high because there was a shortage of
prisoners. Apparently the President of Zambia had suddenly announced that he wanted
to plant all of his onions today. To do this he needed at a minimum ½ of the prisoners,
which therefore didn’t leave anywhere near enough left to meet the daily orders. Even
though I had prepaid the day before they still refused to allocate any prisoners to me.
I learnt my lesson. Don’t prepay (especially for the days that the President gets sudden
urgings to plant his whole onion patch!)…Cash in hand speaks the loudest.

- The Work Continues -

We’re now up to hiring between 50-60 prisoners a day. Most of them are really hard
workers and they usually get whole large tasks done in one day. The onion patch, for
one, is almost ready for planting. There are only five stumps that need to be dug out.
Also, the other day we dug out and fully completed a 20x30 metre fishpond in just the
one day. There were 30 men digging in the hole and another 20 levelling out the dirt
around the top.

We’re going to be leaving the onion project for the time being to concentrate on
preparing the banana patch and getting the suckers in. John, the man whose been helping
us with this project, has a large banana plantation of his own, and it’ll be from his
farm that we’ll go to gather our first 1,000 suckers which we’re hoping to put in next
week. Once they’re established and growing, they’ll send up their own suckers and in no
time we’ll be able to take those new suckers and plant another whole hectare.

As soon as we’ve finished preparing the banana patch (the prisoners do this with hoes),
it’ll then be a rush to get the other ponds cleared out and installed with pumps, pipes
and sprinklers so that we can irrigate the bananas. We’ve already started on a ditch that
we’ll need for this, but so far it’s only half done.

- Thief -

Because we’re able to hire the same prisoners and officers each day, I’ve really been
able to get to know the men better. They’re the survivors, the ones tough enough to
outlast the inhumane conditions they live in. Any sickly, weak, or HIV positive men
die quickly in prison. Only the guys who are in prison for petty crimes such as
stealing or bashing someone up are the ones hired out as hard-labourers.

Something really interesting is that I don’t know any of their names. They don’t
even know each other’s names. Instead they call each other Thief, and this I gather
must be because that’s what the officers call them. “Hey you, Thief! Get over here.”
is how they address them.

Amongst the 60 odd prisoners we hire, some still have 5 years left to serve,
others as short as a few weeks. One particular man we had a few days ago only had 2
days left. We made a point of finding out whether he had anywhere to go when we was
released. As it goes, his family is willing to take him back. If this wasn’t the case,
Leonard and I had decided, we would have taken him onto the farm so that he would have
had a place to stay and the opportunity to learn a trade.

To God be the Glory,
Matty

1 June' 2004

Dear friends,

- Being One of Them -

I’ve begun to get a good rapport among the prisoners as I work with them, feed them
well, and treat them more as an equal. We provide two meals for them each day.For
lunch we feed them enshima (a kind of thick, bland porridge made from maize) with
dried fish and beans. In prison they only get one meal a day which only consists of
a little enshima, and they really look forward to getting to work on the farm because
of the food we provide for them.

I eat the same food as them, and at first they paid me out heaps. “White man no eat
enshima and beans!” I determinedly moulded a bit of my enshima into a lump, and
putting a hole in it scooped some beans and dried fish into it. Then shoved it into
my mouth. I just about gagged. The enshima is so bland, it’s worse than eating rice.
I’m slowly getting used to eating it, but I can’t imagine how it must be having to
eat it just on its own without any beans or fish as they do in prison.

At first the prisoners were extremely surprised to see me pick up a hoe and begin
working a long side of them. They all stopped work and stared at me wearily; a white
man digging was one thing they didn’t get to witness very often. Now after working
along side of them for several days they accept my company and we can talk together.
The more dirty and tired I get the more they seem to enjoy it. The funniest day had
to be when I got covered in mud and they just couldn’t seem to stop chuckling because
“the white man is dirtier than us.”

- Back at the Prison -

I was walking across the prison compound, ready to pick up my regularly allocated
number of men—when I looked up in surprise to see them being loaded into trucks.
Obviously someone had gotten in earlier than I and hired all the men that I usually did.
I was even more surprised when the men looked up, saw me, and began calling out.

“Mr. Matthew when can we go with you again?”

“We want to go to your farm.”

“Mr. Matthew take us?”

Standing in that prison compound, and hearing their pleas greatly moved me. These strong,
tough men have such a deep emotional yearning to be treated as equal human beings. Not
as cheap labour, and not as creatures without emotions or souls, but simply as men —
men whom God created to be equal with all the others on this earth, yet because of the
results of poverty and prejudices are not.

To God be the Glory,
Matty

6th June' 2004

Prayer request

Hi friends,

Could you please pray about this for me?

What a week! I hit a large rock with the underside of the truck. It ripped holes in
the pump & transmission. It dumped all the oil straight away. It was a borrowed truck.
I have it in at the mechanics being repaired. I don't know yet how much it will cost
- hopefully under $600AUS. Without this ute I am not able to pick up farm supplies
or prisoners.

Please pray that the ute will be fixed quickly and that I can afford to pay for the
damages. Without the ute the work here is hindered immensely. I am also stranded at
Ndola and need to get back to the training farm.

Thanks for your prayers,
Matty

14th June 2004

Thanks for all your encouragement & support this past week.

Good News

- I just received news that the vehicle is now fixed. I don’t know the cost yet.
The vehicle is personally owned by Leonard Mutono, who lives on the farm. He is
a great guy. Out of his lack he shares with me.

- My 2 year work visa has been granted

- Stage 1 of the farm development is complete

- I was able to get out to the farm twice this week

- On Saturday, Leonard, myself, & one other man were able to complete the installation
of sprinklers on the onion patch

- I was able to hire the MMM truck twice this week. It was good to be able to get
the use of this. Although I don’t want to have to do this too often, the farm is
too far away. The hire cost is based on per kilometre and the farm is 50kms out
of town (the two trips cost me a total of $230)

- Farm Plant Nursery -

The seeds that I bought from Australia have all sprouted in the plant nursery.
They are almost ready to transplant out. Most of them are doing fairly well. But
sometimes things can be exasperating! Some of the plants are “sick” and some have
died because the guys didn’t water them while I have been away. A couple of the men
on the farm commented, “The onions aren’t going very good”. They had not been
watering them! So, calmly I had to explain the need to water seedlings daily.

Prayer Points

- Please prayer for our health. There seems to be a lot of sickness around at the
moment. It’s surprising how many people have had malaria lately.

- Prayer for the next step of the farm development. We plan to plant 30x30m ginger
& 30x30m garlic

- Visa card problem. The bank still has not refunded me the missing $300. The
bank suspect inside corruption. So, this is causing heaps of red-tape. I think
I will have to contact Visa Australia and see if they can do anything to help.

- Patience. I am feeling really frustrated with the lack of transport. I always
have to borrow a vehicle. And I can’t always be assured of one being available
when I need it. And I feel bad that I damaged Leonard’s vehicle.

- Patience. Also I wish to see development on the farm happen quicker! I want
everything to be completed yesterday. This is totally unrealistic. But I get
so enthusiastic for the different project opportunities and I want to get
them all happening straight away.

To God be the Glory,
Matty

Dear friends,

I received a message last night telling us that Matty Davis has malaria.

We were able to contact him late last night and briefly speak to him on the phone.

He felt sick on Monday night and thought he was getting the flu. Tuesday morning
a friend saw him and recognized the symptoms of malaria. He was taken straight
to the medical clinic.

While he remains sick he will stay in Ndola at the MMM Base where he has other
missionaries around him and access to the medical clinic. Matty asked that we would
pray for him. His main concern was that he would get well quickly and be able to get
back home (to the farm) to carry on the farm work there.

Matty also asked that we would pray for several other MMM staff that have
contracted maleria in the last few weeks.

Thank-you for your prayer support,
Lydia Davis

1st July, 2004

Dear Friends,

- Malaria Update -

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I'm recovering really well from the Malaria.
It did trigger off a small Glandular Fever relapse, but when I went back to the doctor
the other day my blood test showed up negative. I only have a bit of a cough and
congestion left over. I'm just really glad that Leonard recognised the symptoms so early
and got me into the clinic to get medication for it straight away.

- Farm Theft -

On Thursday Mr. Cereal Watcher (he lives on the farm) came tearing into town to tell me
that the pump on the farm had been stolen. This poses a real dilemma as the pump was the
main source for water supply on the farm. We think it must have been someone in the
community, so we made it known that if the pump wasn't returned by Sunday (often things
turn up when you make an announcement like this) that we'd tell the police. No pump turned
up...and to top it off on Saturday night all the taps on the farm went missing (same person?),
so we paid a visit to the police. They sent out a call to all of the people who had been on
the farm on Thursday to report into the office. Three of the men interviewed told conflicting
stories and the police are holding them in cells while they try to figure out the truth. Also,
a fourth guy is missing and the police are still searching for him.

- Kicked Out of the Country -

As you all know, the Zambian government had told me that I'd been granted my working visa,
but I hadn't heard anything more from them. Anyhow, another MMM missionary who had also just
been granted her working visa had to go claim hers in Lusaka (hours away), and seeing as the
government kept refusing to send her visa to Ndola where she could easily go claim it, we decided
to make the long drive to go claim hers and inquire about mine. We turned up at the office
in Lusaka only to be told that a government official had just been in the day before and had
picked up Esther's visa and was taking it to Ndola! They had made no mention about my visa,
though, so I asked them then if mine was there. They went looking for it and ended up pulling
the whole office apart looking for it only to come back with, "um...we've lost your file. And
because your tourist visa ends on Saturday you have to leave the country." So, apparently because
they no longer have any record of me in the government immigration files, I'll have to go through
the whole process of reapplying for a working visa again.

- Leaving for Botswana -

In the mean time I've got to get out of Zambia, as they won't begin processing my request for
a new visa until I've sent them back proof that I'm out of the country (a photocopy, say, of a
stamp in my passport that says I've left). Leonard (the guy who I work with on the farm) has an
uncle in Botswana (country south of Zambia) who's been kind enough to say I can stay with him
until I can come back. I leave tonight, Thursday, at 10:00 o'clock on the bus for the 2,000 km
trip there (I should arrive around lunchtime tomorrow, Friday). I'm hoping it'll only take a few
days before my working visa is re approved, but knowing the Zambian government it could take longer.
Either way, I know that God doesn't do anything without a purpose. Maybe this is somewhere where He
will open another door for ministry: whether to meet someone or to encourage a fellow Christian.
I have no idea why God wants me in Botswana at this time, but I do know that with God there's always
a reason.

- Godly Character -

For several weeks now Leonard and I have been discussing what it means to have Godly character
and to be Christ-like. My prayers has been that God would develop in me a Godly character and
I've come to see that's it's my responsibility to focus on Him. It doesn't matter about my
circumstances or what's happening around or to me. What is important is that I respond how God
would want me to. That when things go wrong God is trying to teach me or develop my character -
that He has a greater plan than even what I can see.

To God be the Glory,
Matty

24th July' 2004

Dear all,

Hi! This is Lydia, Matt's secretary and sister. I just wanted to let you all know that Matt
is alive! The past week we've been anxiously trying to get news of him, but the phone lines
in Botswana have been down &/or congested. So none of our calls to him could get through. The
internet hasn't been much better. He's had two occasions when he's been able to check his mail,
but it can be nearly impossible sometimes to reply. We did finally get a short e-mail from him
yesterday, which was so nice!

He's doing well and as he writes:

"Well still no word on the visa yet but its kinda going at God's speed.
Well coming to Botswana has been the refresher that I so needed and have met so
many new people. God has really just blessed my time here.

Well I now have my new family here. You would love these guys heaps.
Their name is Mwapa. Their oldest daughter, Esther, will be getting married
on the 7th of August. So I've been busy helping do stuff for the wedding."

Matt is hoping that the new Zambian visa will be approved before the 7th of August. That way
he'll be able to ride back to Zambia with Leonard, who's coming down for his niece's wedding.
Let us continue to pray that the visa is approved quickly and within the next two weeks. Also,
we can give praise that--as Matt puts it: "God has really just blessed my time here."

Lydia

P.S. Also, sorry to those who have been having trouble receiving Matty's Mail lately.
Hotmail was really messing things up, but hopefully there won't be anymore fiascos as
we've moved from the hotmail address to a bigpond one. If you could send any further
mail to Matty to this new address that would be wonderful! He has been able to read his
email occasionally and has been really encouraged by the e-mails you've sent him.

3 August, '04

- Getting Involved -

Dear friends,

I'm going well and have been able to get involved with the church here. It's a great multi-cultural
church that has good solid bible teaching. I've really been blessed by the great fellowship
with good and strong Christians here. On Saturday I was able to share my testimony with the
youth group, and this week I've been helping fix up the sound and lighting in the church.

- In God's Time -

I haven't yet heard anything back from the Zambian immigrations office about my work visa.
I am not allowed to get another tourist visa so I have had to apply for a work visa. But as with
everything it will happen--in God's time. Please continue to pray that it will be accepted.

Keep the farm, also, in your prayers. Because the authorities haven't yet been able to settle
the problem with the theft of the pump, none of the men have been released and so only
Mr. Cereal Watcher and possibly one other man are on the farm. Without the pump there to
help them, they're having to water the onion patch with watering cans, and that alone can take
nearly a whole day.

But more important than the upkeep of the farm is the prisoners and other people in the village.
Please pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of these people we've had contact with.

- Wedding Weekend -
I'm looking forward to this weekend, and being able to catch up with Leonard when he comes
down for Esther's wedding. Esther's fiancée, Derek, is actually from America. It's been great to
get to know him as he's a missionary to youth in Namibia (country West of Botswana). Derek
and Esther are two awesome people, please pray for them as they join their lives together and
continue on in the ministry in Namibia.

To God be the Glory,

Matt

16 August, '04

Dear friends,

- Visa Approved! -

Well, I just got the word that the work visa has been granted! Now we are just waiting for the hardcopy
of the visa to be issued and then I'm off back to Zambia. They say they'll release it Thursday, so hopefully
I'll be back in Zambia at the beginning of next week. Please pray that my file doesn't "disappear" this time!

- Traditional Wedding -
I've got a lot of good stories to tell from here in Botswana. Like the other day I was in the line up for Derek
and Esther's wedding. There were so many traditional dances to learn but it was great. The men Derek
work with in Namibia came down for his wedding and it was awesome to meet them and learn
more about their ministry. They all work in the youth ministry, Youth for Christ (YFC), and except for Derek
they're all nationals. As it goes, they're running a youth camp in December, and I've said I'll go over to
Namibia for a few weeks while it's on and lend a hand.

One of the YFC men -- I'm just got to tell you this -- is a real bushman. You know like the guy from
The God's Must Be Crazy movie? Well, Nicky is literally one of these bushmen.

- Praise Points -

Thank you all for your prayers. I really feel blessed to have had this time in Botswana -- especially for :

God really does know where He's leading us and where he is directing our lives.

Love you all and God bless,
Matt

Subject: Some Things Explained
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2004 16:53:51 +1000

To God's Church,

It has been brought to my attention that there have been some mistruths and exaggerations sent out in my newsletters.
I wish to ask for your forgiveness and to set the record straight before too many more misconceptions are made.

1. The work with the prisoners was initially meant for cheap labour and to get some big jobs done fast. However
the opportunity to minister to them arose as I saw the suffering and responded to their needs by providing them
with soap, food and nursing their wounds.

2. The accident that I had was in Leonard's personal car and not in the truck. This was a mistake that was made
when I told my mum who is the one along with my sister that puts the letters together that are sent out.

3. The estimated cost to fix Leonard's car was sent out as 600+ dollars. When the bill came in it cost only
290 dollars. Two things led to the change of the initial estimation:

a). Leonard decided to have the sumps repaired instead of replacing them.

b). His decision was based on the fact that vehicle parts in Zambia are extremely hard to find, expensive, time
consuming and it also meant that his car would have been sitting for some time waiting for the parts.Therefore
the cost of waiting would have been too great.

4. Some people have raised concerns that there is a misconception with the street boys. When I arrived here I
found that there was one street boy just about to leave as he was finishing his project and partnership. Now at this
time there are no street boys on the farm as we are looking at how to best set the force and vision for the long term
of the farm.

The farm is and has been since I have been here a registered NGO under the government of Zambia with its
own management board for accountability. All board members are Zambians with Leonard Mutono as
co-ordinator. I have personally met the board Members and have attended one quarterly board meeting.

5.Some have said that the farm is just a business to make money for Leonard and that he is using me to just
spend thousands of your dollars to develop it for his own benefit. This farm is and has always been a place to
partner and empower people from the community that are poor and the vulnerable--for them to be able to get
a boost for there lives that they will be able to help fight the poverty that this country is facing. It may be small,
but if it helps just one it has been a success.

If I have not been honest and transparent in all my reports I accept responsibility and I ask your forgiveness. If at
any time some people feel that what I am doing is not legitimate, they should not feel obligated to continue supporting
what I am doing. I strongly believe that I am accountable to all my partners and above all to the Almighty God,
therefore I will answer any question that any one has with the uttermost honesty and humility.

Your servant in Christ,
Matthew Davis

Matty's Mail

1st September, '04

~Back in Zambia~

Dear friends,

Well, I'm back. I caught the bus to Lusaka, Zambia, and to the Immigrations Office where they said I could pick up my
new working visa. Remembering what had happened last time, I kind of held my breath and asked for it. They had it! I
then hopped on the next bus going to Ndola and here I am.

I went out to have a look at the farm. Thanks to the two men who were staying there most of the time whilst I was in
Botswana, half of the onion patch is still alive. Sadly, though, a lot of small things from around the farm have been stolen;
like tools, pots and pans, etc. There's no hope of getting any of it back as it all would have been sold on the black
market by now.

~Future Plans~

Since getting back, Leonard and I have been reassessing things at the farm ready to make plans for the next step. We've
been working on clearly defining the purpose and vision of the farm, as well as establishing long term and short term
goals. My goal when I came over here was to help Leonard build up the farm and make it self sustainable.