Mark and Ronel were married in 1996 in South Africa. They met in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, where Ronel was serving in a village among the Basotho mountain people. After marriage they both served there for another nine years.

Mark studied forestry and trained in Discipleship, Frontier Missions and Biblical Community Development. Ronel was a radiographer and trained in Discipleship, Primary Healthcare and Biblical Community Development. They have two children, Sasha (10) and John Mark (8); Ronel is home schooling them both.

After a total of twelve years in Lesotho their church in South Africa, Riverlife Church, released them to go to Malawi, where they believed that God had called them to serve long term. They arrived in March 2007 and helped at an orphanage farm outside Blantyre before moving to Mzuzu, capital of the Northern Province, in May 2008.

The ministry they are involved in is called Foundation for Farming (also called Farming God’s Way) www.foundationsforfarming.com and www.rootsmalawi.bravehost.com. Its aim is to teach and show people that Jesus is the foundation of all things, even how they farm. A biblical way of farming can bring glory to their Creator. Mark is working with different church leaders and community leaders in and around Mzuzu. Mzuzu is a base for reaching out into Mozambique and Tanzania. Mark has trainers working alongside him who are testimonies to God’s compassion and care in their lives. Mostly, after a training session, people are convicted of their sins and turn to God for a personal relationship with their Father and express a desire to be a good steward of what God has given them. In short, Foundations for Farming most importantly gives God the glory, through a changed heart and with a farming method that produces crops and brings sustainable profitability.

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