A Tribute to a Real Champion

20 January 2011

Peter Goosen  Died on 12th January, 2011

Peter was gifted in many ways, and did many things. His largest contribution was to the mining industry, but I want to remember today the wonderful way in which he brought God’s grace to farming in Zimbabwe and to many other nations.

Peter served on the national committee of ‘Farmers for Jesus’ for many years, and I remember his passion for evangelising the workers on the farms in our nation. This also involved sharing the Gospel with the farmers themselves, and Peter had a wonderful way of sharing his testimony with clarity and boldness.

Peter also diligently served ‘Farming God’s Way’, which has been the model that the Lord has given us primarily to feed the hungry and to set them free from captivity to poverty by teaching them to feed themselves in a very sustainable and godly way. In all this Peter and Nan were totally united in their fervour for the vision and in their love for the poor.

Peter and Nan remained faithful to the quest when the Lord asked us to change the name to Foundations for Farming when God showed us that Godly Farming was to be a foundational platform for the rebuilding of our nation. Peter travelled widely in Zimbabwe and also in South Africa putting in many Well Watered Gardens. I remember putting in a model with Peter at Petra High School, which began the process through Jenny Coltart, to her husband David, who then a few years later, as Minister of Education, invited us to take Foundations for Farming into all the schools in Zimbabwe.

Many years ago we asked Angus Buchan to come up and speak at our annual Farmers for Jesus Convocation, and Angus watched us put in a Well Watered Garden on the Bulawayo Race Course in front of the main grandstand. This began a remarkable friendship between Angus and Peter, which resulted in Peter becoming Angus’s faithful armour bearer. Peter often went before Angus into many nations to prepare the way for Angus to follow and preach. Peter would then accompany Angus as a great support for him, and Peter would faithfully share the Farming God’s Way vision with every one he met on these trips. This has resulted in Peter and Nan’s deep friendship with Pastor Jason James, who together with Shane Ivers, have recently asked us to officially launch Foundations for Farming into Australia at the end of March this year. Peter’s friendship with Angus has also contributed towards the huge call we are now receiving to take Foundations for Farming into South Africa.

Apart from Peter’s service to agriculture, he has left a wonderful example of Christian manliness to our younger men. His deep love and commitment to Jesus shone through in his humble dignity, and he seemed to be a man who knew what God wanted him to do. Peter was a very faithful friend to so many of us.

Finally I want to make mention of how magnificently Kim represented her mum and sisters to Pete in the time he was up in Harare. Pete and Nan would have been very proud of her, as they were of the remarkable family they have left behind.