And what does the school chairman do . . . . . ?

Anyone coming to the Amano website and entering by the 'Welcome' page sees the smiling face of Phil Grove and a brief message from him. The signature line simply indicates he is the school chairman and you will find passing mention of him in this blog but almost nowhere else on the web site. If you were visiting Amano you might see him in passing perhaps once in the course of a week but otherwise there would be nothing to indicate who Phil is or how he serves the Lord. With the school very definitely on holiday it seemed a good idea to say something more about Phil, pictured here with Valerie.
Phil's role as school chairman at least partly arises from the fact that he is one of the founders of Amano, along with Michael Pflaum who we will feature on another occasion. Both Phil and Valerie have spent almost all their lives in Zambia and Phil was educated initially at Sakeji School which still has strong links with Amano. In the Lord's good timing they met and it was recently revealed to the school that Phil proposed to Valerie at Victoria Falls. In recounting that time Phil said that if Valerie had refused him someone would have been found at the bottom of the Falls; as the Lord would have it Valerie accepted the proposal and her father suggested that there should be a renaming of the place to 'Valerie Falls!' The Zambian authorities don't seem to have taken that hint yet!
Amano Christian School originally became a possibility because political instability in the region where Sakeji School is sited indicated that it might be necessary to relocate. In the event that did not happen but the Amano project went ahead and resulted in the growing school we have now. Phil and Valerie's interest in education generally and Amano specifically was serious and practical from the very beginning. They personally invested time, energy and money in what they believed was the Lord's purpose in establishing Amano and have never wavered in that commitment.
So why, if that is so, is Phil not a more visible presence at Amano? There is a whole string of good reasons for that. Phil will modestly say he has three areas of main responsibility: the printing press which occupies a building literally on his doorstep, the distribution of aid and his preaching and teaching responsibilities amongst Christians arising from his position as an elder of Bethel Chapel in Chingola. We don't have space to detail fully all Phil and Valerie are doing in the service of their beloved Saviour, but just to expand a little on those areas will give some idea of what occupies Phil. The printing press produces books which are distributed and sold all over Zambia by Christian Copperbelt Publications and other materials are produced for Phil's own publishing work as well. Just the press work alone would be a full-time job for most of us.
The 'distribution of aid' means the receiving of one hundred shipping containers a year at the Grove's home site and the breaking down of those containers into shipments that are taken by truck over a large area of Zambia, supplying hospitals and other mission stations with all kinds of essentials. It would be no exaggeration to say that there are large and important parts of the mission work in Zambia that could not function were it not for Phil and Valerie's work. They would quite rightly want all the glory given to the Lord, but no-one should underestimate the personal work and effort that goes into arranging all this, getting customs clearance and a hundred other things.
Phil's service as an elder is another essential dimension. he regularly teaches and preaches and is greatly appreciated in these roles by many, many people, both Zambians and missionaries.
Valerie supports Phil in all of this but also has her own field of work. She runs a daily clinic, is the senior school nurse, teaches a ladies Bible study and provides music through her skills on the piano at Bethel. Valerie also makes food 'to die for' as the modern saying goes - how else would Phil be sustained?!
You may be exhausted just reading all this, but there is more. Space here doesn't allow us to go through all the various things Phil does in flying regularly to Lusaka - and other places - dealing with Zambian government matters in various aspects, listening to and offering wise counsel to the many people who come to him looking for help, plus chairing the school board and being actively involved in giving advice and help to many people at Amano.
Phil and Valerie's son Steve helps with the containers and mission maintenance but a couple who could serve in this area would be a tremendous blessing to Phil. Someone with printing skills is needed also - could it be you? Phil and Valerie need specific prayer support. We always want our readers to remember Amano as a school but taking a few moments to bring Phil and Valerie Grove before the Lord will bless the school as well!
Phil's abilities combined with Valerie's talents might well have made them a wealthy couple in a secular context. Instead they are willingly giving their lives in the Lord's service. In Brethren circles Phil is quite well known and certainly one could hardly serve the Lord in Zambia without coming across the Groves, but in the wider world they are willingly 'nobodies' as they concentrate their energy on promoting and serving the kingdom of God. There is a tremendous need for others to step forward to take their place and to expand the work in the future. Will you seek the Lord as to what he would have you do?