Photo Tour of Moreson Farm
In case you don’t remember, this is Gerhard le Roux. Gerhard is showing me around the farm and all the changes there are to see since I’ve been here last. He and his wife, Elmane are the “parents” of ITMI’s project, Moreson Children’s Haven. They have a total of 8 children, some adopted when the state brought them because they had no where else to go, and some biological.
The le Roux family lives on Moreson Farm in community with several other families. The whole farm is a ministry operation. The Farm has room for recovering addicts who want to be free from their addictions. This freedom comes through the teaching of Truth, and they are lead to repentance. They have had success in helping addicts become free from addiction without the use of supplemental chemicals or drugs.
There is also a body of believers that meets on the farm for worship each Sunday. Gerhard is characterized by grace and humility, and as he follows Jesus’ example, the rest of the farm is characterized this way, as well. It is humbling and refreshing to spend time with this family of believers. Where the white truck is in the photo at left, the future pottery work area is hoping to be built.
First, meet the le Roux children. Although I don’t typically spend a ton of time with them while I am there - they are in school and have their own activities - I’ll share a little of what I know about each. The le Roux children are very involved with the farm community. There are many other small children on the farm that the le Roux children help with and keep entertained, and they have lots of freedom and safety on the farm to be in other families’ homes. There is a wonderful community attitude on the farm - even though it is customary to knock when you enter someone’s home, it almost seems unnecessary because there is such unity among the Family of God on the Farm. They all exhibit a refreshing “everyone helps everyone else” mentality, so the children are free to visit the other family’s homes when they like.
This is Elizabeth le Roux. Age-wise, she falls into the middle of the le Roux brood. She has a delightful smile and a sweet spirit.
Jurie le Roux is extremely affectionate. He enjoys crawling into your lap at just the right time, but he is also all boy, and loves living on the farm. I don’t think I can remember seeing Jurie with shoes on the whole time I was at the farm. I told him my feet would have frozen off if I ran around like him. He just smiled and enjoyed the attention.
Duma le Roux. Quiet and thoughtful with a sweet disposition and wonderful smile, he works really hard at his school work. Everyone should get the chance to meet Duma. He is a special young man, who has a beautiful voice that is being developed to sing during the church services on the Farm. Duma was literally a gift from God to Gerhard and Elmane.
This is Loretta le Roux. Lorretta seems to really enjoy studying. Like her brothers and sisters, she has a very sweet spirit. Loretta has some challenges with her eyes, which she needs our prayers for dealing with as she grows.
This is Naomi le Roux. Last time I was there she acted a little needy - not in a bad way, it was in a very sweet way and never in disobedience to her parents - but just seemed to want a lot of affection - which “Uncle Steve” was glad to give. But this time I noticed, she acted so confident and didn’t seem to need or want as much attention. Its beautiful to see her growing in confidence in her position in her family and in Jesus’ family. Naomi likes to help around the house, and she works very hard in school.
Martie le Roux is the oldest le Roux child. She embraces her role as firstborn with gusto, exhibiting many typical firstborn traits. She does well in school, and even helps tutor some of the younger children. She is very gregarious, confident and outgoing.
Talita le Roux, is close to Marta’s age, and is one of the older le Roux children. She is growing into a well-rounded young-lady, happy and well adjusted. She does well in school and is committed to her role as one of the older children.
This is William, the le Roux’s youngest boy. He seems to always have that cute little smile on his face. He also is always watching the older children to see what they are doing and how he is to act. Willie, as he is called, has the blessed benefit of great older brothers and sisters to show him the right way, they way they were raised.
Under the beautiful, blue Malmsbury, South African sky, Moreson Farm is a busy thriving place. Water for the many people and animals living here is provided by this water tank. Its about 5-feet tall. The water is pumped from the well then to elevated water tanks around the farm to supply the farm’s water.
This is Gerhard’s office. From here he runs the farm and prepares trainings and messages. It looks quite a bit larger than it is in this photo because of my wide angle lens.
This is Gerhard and Elmane’s bedroom. Where I am standing to take the picture, the entry of the house is behind me, and this is the only way you can go through the house to get to the back of the house where the sitting room, kitchen and other rooms are. This room is basically an expanded hallway. As the only route between the front of the house to the back of it, allowing extremely limited privacy.
This is where the le Roux kids sleep. They sleep multiple kids to a bed right now. To the left you can see the entrance to a small unfinished bathroom, which is shared by all 10 of them. When I asked Elmane if some how someone wanted to bless them what would be their greatest need and she responded that helping them finish their bathroom would be the biggest help right now.
This is a sitting room at the back of the house, where the family gathers to be together. It used to be their school area, but the classroom has now moved elsewhere which we’ll see later on the tour.
This is the le Roux’s kitchen table. Not everyone can fit at the table, so sometimes the family has to eat in shifts. A couple women live with them and help with cooking to feed the large family.
Last spring, an electrical fire damaged part of their home. Thankfully no one was hurt in the fire and their kitchen and bathroom were preserved. The damaged section has been removed as you can see to the left of this photo.
This is the missing damaged section from another angle. The yellow portion to left is the outside wall of the kitchen, and the brick portion to right is sitting room.
With regard to rebuilding, Gerhard told me that they are trusting the Lord for the necessary funds to pour the slab and the footings Then they could easily build a little “stick and mortar” building or “windy” building (we might call it a lean-to or shack) that would give them some more room to work with until the walls and roof could be rebuilt more permanently.
A friend of theirs who is an engineer recommended that they must have the clay tested to determine the movement characteristics. If the clay in this area is not stabilized , it would considerably increase the cost of a suitable foundation. In the worst case they would have to choose a new spot on the farm to rebuild. Gerhard wants to have clay tests done early in 2011 to determine the direction ahead. Hopefully the tests will have a positive outcome, in which case they would go ahead and build a home on this existing site.
The fire was a disaster…but God is GOOD! Beneath the part of the house that burned, they discovered the farm has a section of raw clay that was pure enough to have some value. The creative farm workers intend to cultivate the clay, using it to create pottery to hand-paint and sell.
One main benefit of the pottery for their ministry farm is that throwing and painting pottery is a very therapeutic activity for some of the people they are helping on the farm.
Gerhard uses the potter’s wheel to “throw” a clay pot. (The term “throw” is the term used to describe the action of using the potter’s wheel to create a pot.) Gerhard has taught himself to be a potter and he oversees this part of the ministry as well. He uses pottery to teach the farm “guests” about God’s process of working on us as illustrated by Jeremiah.
Gerhard’s clay bowl takes shape with the patience and guiding hand of a potter.
Gerhard’s finished clay bowl.
Natasha (in the pink jacket) lives on the farm and serves by helping clean, cook, watch children, or whatever else is needed. God has used the ministry of Moreson Farm to restore her from her previous addictions. God has given her an artistic ability that will soon be used to teach and help others discover this creative therapy as they recover.
Unpainted pottery waits to be painted.
Hand-painted pottery.
More hand-painted pottery.
Gerhard shows me the farm’s old tractor. Behind him, you can see a little of one of their vehicles. The area where that is parked, they hope to turn into an area dedicated to throwing, painting and firing the pottery they someday hope to sell.
The Moreson Farm leaders have started a small Christian school on the farm. The children learn to understand God’s world through a Biblical worldview. They have set aside this tiny room to serve as the “schoolhouse”. To the left, you can see Bob Fulkerson and Elmane le Roux . This winter morning it is quite cold in the room where they gather each morning to quote scripture and share morning devotions. The children are taught by Elmane, and other men and women on the farm..
The school day begins with morning devotions. On this particular day, Gerhard leads it.
This is a classroom in the subdivided tiny wood building, with several work stations.
Lydia, standing in the blue sweater to the left, walks around helping the children as needed. One of the original Moreson team members, she is a dear sweet lady that serves others and she helps run the school. She also just returned from the mission trip to the Northern Cape with Gerhard and other leaders. She the only female counselor that went and she counseled all the women who came forward with needs. Check the ITMI website next month for photos from the exciting Northern Cape Mission trip.
This room is for the younger kids to work and learn. You’ll be surprised at the size of these rooms when you see the out side of this little building. These little ones really seem to enjoy the structure of school and finally being old enough to study like the big kids. What a great education these children receive in this new little school.
Talita raises her hand for help with her work.
The younger kids class proudly show me the pictures they’ve drawn.
Duma le Roux happily works hard in school.
The very old, old tractor is being used to take down a tree on the farm because it was too close to their buildings, they were concerned with winter storms coming around the cape of the Indian ocean that could destroy their buildings.
Preparing to fell a tree that is too close to their buildings and needed to be removed. The winter storms off the cape include strong winds that could knock this tree down, damaging their buildings.
Gerhard (right) is with Uncle George (center), who is a leader of Moreson Mission, and a friend of theirs that likes to hang around the farm and fellowship with them. Their friend runs a farm not far from there and has some experience with this kind of project, so he is using his experience to help them fell the tree.
This is Douglas, a recovered addict who stayed on the farm to serve. He loves it there. To read Douglas’ story, check out January 2011 edition of In Touch Mission International Monthly.
The children even got out of school out to watch the felling of the tree.
The instant the tree goes down, all the kids dive in to climb all over it!
The kids at Moreson Farm on the fallen tree.
This white building is a chapel and adjoining kitchen that ITMI helped build with money donated a few years ago. A community of believers meets each Sunday in this building, and people come to join the Moreson Farm family for worship from miles around. There are several ministry areas within this building that the team still hopes to someday have funds to develop. To take this picture, I stood right where they someday hope to build an area for throwing and painting the pottery.
I spoke at the church service they hold on the farm each Sunday, and Gerhard translated.
This is a prep room set aside to one day make sausages to sell. They have been collecting this equipment for 3 years. Some of it is donated, other pieces they’ve waited until someone goes out of business to get an excellent price. They haven’t yet had enough money to get it staffed and going. But if they do, they would like to use this part of the farm to help raise funds for ministry.
The Moreson folks are completely dedicated to ministry, and they’ll do everything they can with any resource they have to reach more people. They have of manpower, but the one thing in short supply is funding and resources. Even with their limited resources, the folks and Moreson Farm are dedicated to reaching many for Jesus.
Future walk in freezer for the sausages.
God has provided some of the equipment needed to get this operation off the ground, but they need a few more pieces and some funding to get this going.
Hand crank sausage press in a room backs up to the shed where they keep the tractor.
Gerhard demonstrates cranking the press.
This is a band saw-like piece of equipment to cut the content of the sausage up into small pieces.
Another aspect of funding they are trying to get off the ground is raising cattle to sell for meat. Right now they have a few cattle and are working on growing this operation.
This is a group of plastic bag “pots ” with seedlings for fig trees they hope to grow for a crop to sell, raising more funds for more ministry.
This is a portable cow milker, allowing them to have milk for the calves and all the people living on the farm.
Milking a cow with the portable milker.
This is the cattle pen, where they keep most of the cattle.
The climate in Malmsbury, South Africa allows for green grass, even during the winter, which is really beneficial for the peaceful atmosphere of Moreson Farm.
Uncle George is fertilizing some tree-lings he is coaxing to maturity.
Many of the farm’s buildings are basically shacks that are converted to living quarters to accommodate the team members and the “guests” as best they can.
Gerhard looks down the road. The large green half-wall to his left is the water tank.
This is a guest house and place where some of the farm team members stay. It used to be a barn or a garage with open stalls, but they put a face on it and made them into tiny “apartments.”
This sheep was acquired to be the meal for the pastor’s conference that Uncle George and the Moreson team held near the farm for pastors who are part of and ministering to a population of people that is estranged in South Africa.
This population is called the “Coloreds”, and are of mixed ethnicity. (Although a politically incorrect term here in the USA, in South Africa, this population does not interpret any disrespect from this way they are referred to.)
The people on Moreson Farm are living out the truth that the gospel tells us: no one race is better than another because we are all on equal ground, undeserving Jesus’ gift on the cross. They are hoping that by equipping and encouraging pastors that are a part of this estranged community, they can be a blessing to many of its people, and help lead these ignored people into lives of righteousness and blessing.
The dark brown building is the school, and behind the school is the guest house where Bob and I stayed.
The tiny wood school building with Gerhard and Elmane’s home behind it.
Cape Town, South Africa used to be one of the 5 most beautiful cities in the world due to its breathtaking natural beauty. Overlooked by the famous rock formation swooping into the Indian/Pacific Ocean, Cape Town boasted some of the most pristine sights in the world. Cape Town’s natural beauty is still quite breathtaking, but its quality as a city has gone far down hill. Its medical services were first world, even high tech enough that American health care has taken some techniques from it.
It is still beautiful, however its quickly being tarnished by sin and selfish government. Racism, prostitution, child abandonment, drug addictions and HIV/AIDS are just a few of the afflictions crushing South Africa. But just 55 miles north of Cape Town lies a pristine retreat, where sin is overpowered by God’s spirit, and the peace of God reigns supreme called Moreson Farm.
