Peter has been all I could have asked for as a mentor in World Renew and a guide and champion to the unique and special way we work with our partners and communities across the region. Peter came into the region four years ago, and I know that while he feels he leaves work unfinished, it is quite remarkable to see the progress and direction that the region and our programming have taken. Without Peter we would not be in the great position we are in, one that allows us to make a big impact in the communities we work in and to “punch above our weight” as an organization. While we are so sorry to lose him, at the same time we celebrate and give thanks for him and for the amazing contribution he has made to this region—and indeed the legacy that he leaves in trust to us to continue.

As a testimony to this, I want to share and celebrate with you the progress we are making with our Church and Community strategy (CnC), which was started and championed by Peter and has been adopted by us and some of our partners as our strategy of transformational change in the region. Our CnC strategy revolves around the empowerment and engagement of the church at the local congregational level to address the needs and development priorities in their own communities by means of their own resources, as much as possible. While this can be a slow and at times frustrating process (only because we Muzungus like to do everything as fast as possible), we are now beginning to see the impact this strategy is having on the partner churches we work with and the communities and congregations they work in.

It is so exciting to see our two main partners in Zambia (the Reformed Church in Zambia and the United Church of Zambia) embrace this concept into “the spine of the church” and to use the church structure in both the clergy and laity to implement this program. Both partners have committed to developing this concept and strategy into a module to be taught to their trainee church workers in their theological college, and both are using their social ministries at the congregational level as their point of engagement at the community level. The potential impact is enormous, and, between them, the two churches include over 2 million members across 1,700 congregations.

It is also exciting to see some of these congregational development plans coming back to us with both the needs and the list of changes in their communities clearly identified and the resourcing of these matters planned out. This is especially so when we see the church at large seeking to have great influence on social issues in their communities, especially with regard to challenging problems like substance abuse, youth crime, gender, transactional sex, poverty, and injustice at this base community level. It is so rewarding to see these congregations realize the strength of their collective resources and, more important, their ability to bring about transformational change in these areas by relatively simple acts of compassion and care for the vulnerable and less fortunate. There are some exciting deed ministries in prisons, youth centers, slums, and home-based care emerging in these plans as well, along with infrastructural programs such as wells, latrines, and school classrooms. There is a famous Bemba Proverb that says, “Imiti Ikula Empanga,” meaning, “Today’s bush is tomorrow’s forest.” I think Peter has certainly planted that bush! It is indeed sad that Peter won’t be with us to walk the last and perhaps most rewarding part of this journey, but without this vision that he brought to World Renew and to our region, we would not be seeing the transformational change that is clearly under way. Peter’s legacy is wide and varied, but perhaps this is the one that will bring about the greatest change in the impoverished and vulnerable communities we work in.

We wish Peter and the Timmermans every blessing. The gap he leaves in our team will be hard to fill, and I thank him for all he has done for me and my family over the past three years. We would like to ask that you all pray for the Timmermans as they move into a new phase of their lives, and for a new job and challenge (he loves challenges) for Peter. Please also pray for our team and for the organization as we search for someone to take over in Peter’s place. To finish oD, I will simply say to Peter, “Zikomo Kwambiri” (“Thank you”; Chewa/Nyanja), and, “Uzamyae Hande” (“Blessings on your journey”; Silozi).

Blessings,

Ruairidh Waddell

Program Consultant
World Renew Zambia