Happy New Year! Yolanda and I enjoyed our restful few days over Christmas with her father. It was refreshing for us, but of course are back into the swing of things. We were excited to receive Christmas cards in the mail from several of you. They are all displayed on our fridge. Thank you for sending them! You may remember that just before Christmas, we held a special lunch for all the guys who have been doing work on the house and ministry base. You should have seen how wide their eyes were when Yolanda and I served each of them their plates. Each of them grabbed their cell phones and started taking pictures, as it is quite unusual for them to be served by white people. At the end, we presented them with new work suits. When they came back in January, they looked great in their new work outfits, but just after arriving, they changed into their old clothes, so they wouldn't get their new ones dirty :-) These are certainly a wonderful group of workers and we are blessed to know them. Below is a picture of everyone with their desserts.
RECENT ITEMS OF PRAYER
Praise: We have had lots of rain in Chinhoyi and Harare so far this year (rainy season is Nov-Mar).
Request: The rest of the country is experiencing a major drought. Crops are wilting; corn being the most significant as it is the main part of a Zimbabwean's diet as well as for their livestock. It is reported that there are only 4 weeks or so of corn reserves left in the country. People in rural areas are going multiple days without a meal. Please pray for rain and provisions for food.
Praise: We felt like we had a successful interview for renewal of my spousal permit (allowing me [Andrew] to be living here) this week with immigration. Although they didn't directly tell us, all indications were that I should be approved for renewal and now we are just waiting for the phone call.
Praise: Yolanda had a very fruitful women's gathering last week. Instead of holding it at a school, it was held at a home in the high density area (making it much closer for the women). Those who attended consisted of an even lower income bracket than all the previous times. The ladies contributed much more to the discussion and Yolanda was able to take on a facilitator's role (which is her desire), in order to promote ownership by the women. The topic of the afternoon was Christian love and Yolanda came home thrilled with the amount of positive discussion that took place amongst the women. For now the gatherings will continue at Gogo D's home (grandma).
Request: That a more permanent location for the women's gatherings would be established. The previous school was far enough away that transportation was a problem. The home where they met last week has been offered, but we don't want to impose on this family long-term. There is a different school in the high density area that may be a possibility. We want to make sure that a long-term solution is safe, inviting, and practical for all.
Praise: That God kept Yolanda and me safe yesterday in Harare. At one point while driving, we were in the downtown area (in a lower income section) with masses of people walking up, down, across, and through the street among all the cars. Needless to say, the color of our faces stick out even more than normal in this part of the city. We were stopped in traffic, with cars in front of us, the sidewalk to the left, and a median with 3 foot posts to the right. There were 3 guys standing on the median and one of them started staring at us and tossed a plastic bottle cap at our windshield. He kept staring. Then he walked up to my side of the car and tugged on the handle of the door, attempting to open it. While this was happening, Yolanda pulled the mace out of her purse, getting it ready. When he realized the door was locked, he walked around to Yolanda's side. Just before he got to her door (she was anticipating his hand coming through the window), I realized that one of the posts was missing on the median. This allowed me to drive over the median, between the other posts, and into the other lanes, escaping the scene and leaving the guy behind. As he saw that we were driving away, he hit the rear of the car. God was obviously with us, since we were stopped next to a median that instead of having a curb, had an incline, AND we were stopped right by where one post was missing, AND we had our small Toyota Spacio, which allowed us to fit between the other posts, AND the guy ultimately did no damage to the car or to us. But our hearts were certainly beating.
Praise: Usually we are letting you know how little electricity we have been having. However, in the past month, we have had electricity all day, every day; with only 4-5 exceptions, when it has gone off for an hour or less at a time. Literally. We have icicles forming in the back of our refrigerator and have had some drinks freeze! Having lights and fans on and the ability to use appliances anytime have become our new normal. We haven't lit any candles for weeks. We are scared that we are getting too comfortable with it and will be crushed when it goes back to normal. We don't know for sure, but the rumor is that we are importing extra electricity from South Africa. However long it lasts, we are enjoying it while we can :-)
Those are plenty of prayer items for now, but as you can see, we continually see God at work every day. We are very appreciative for all of those who are in prayer for JM2Z and us. That is something we cannot be without. Prayer is essential to this ministry and we are thankful for those who partner with us in that way.
The sewing group that Yolanda led in December is starting up again tomorrow. They will meet weekly on Wednesdays, learning more skills, and will eventually complete the door snake they were all excited to make the last time.
A new crochet group will begin soon. All the women at last week's women's gathering wanted to be a part of it. They will begin at a very basic level, and they are all extremely eager to start.
Praise: We have had lots of rain in Chinhoyi and Harare so far this year (rainy season is Nov-Mar).
Request: The rest of the country is experiencing a major drought. Crops are wilting; corn being the most significant as it is the main part of a Zimbabwean's diet as well as for their livestock. It is reported that there are only 4 weeks or so of corn reserves left in the country. People in rural areas are going multiple days without a meal. Please pray for rain and provisions for food.
Praise: We felt like we had a successful interview for renewal of my spousal permit (allowing me [Andrew] to be living here) this week with immigration. Although they didn't directly tell us, all indications were that I should be approved for renewal and now we are just waiting for the phone call.
Praise: Yolanda had a very fruitful women's gathering last week. Instead of holding it at a school, it was held at a home in the high density area (making it much closer for the women). Those who attended consisted of an even lower income bracket than all the previous times. The ladies contributed much more to the discussion and Yolanda was able to take on a facilitator's role (which is her desire), in order to promote ownership by the women. The topic of the afternoon was Christian love and Yolanda came home thrilled with the amount of positive discussion that took place amongst the women. For now the gatherings will continue at Gogo D's home (grandma).
Request: That a more permanent location for the women's gatherings would be established. The previous school was far enough away that transportation was a problem. The home where they met last week has been offered, but we don't want to impose on this family long-term. There is a different school in the high density area that may be a possibility. We want to make sure that a long-term solution is safe, inviting, and practical for all.
Praise: That God kept Yolanda and me safe yesterday in Harare. At one point while driving, we were in the downtown area (in a lower income section) with masses of people walking up, down, across, and through the street among all the cars. Needless to say, the color of our faces stick out even more than normal in this part of the city. We were stopped in traffic, with cars in front of us, the sidewalk to the left, and a median with 3 foot posts to the right. There were 3 guys standing on the median and one of them started staring at us and tossed a plastic bottle cap at our windshield. He kept staring. Then he walked up to my side of the car and tugged on the handle of the door, attempting to open it. While this was happening, Yolanda pulled the mace out of her purse, getting it ready. When he realized the door was locked, he walked around to Yolanda's side. Just before he got to her door (she was anticipating his hand coming through the window), I realized that one of the posts was missing on the median. This allowed me to drive over the median, between the other posts, and into the other lanes, escaping the scene and leaving the guy behind. As he saw that we were driving away, he hit the rear of the car. God was obviously with us, since we were stopped next to a median that instead of having a curb, had an incline, AND we were stopped right by where one post was missing, AND we had our small Toyota Spacio, which allowed us to fit between the other posts, AND the guy ultimately did no damage to the car or to us. But our hearts were certainly beating.
Praise: Usually we are letting you know how little electricity we have been having. However, in the past month, we have had electricity all day, every day; with only 4-5 exceptions, when it has gone off for an hour or less at a time. Literally. We have icicles forming in the back of our refrigerator and have had some drinks freeze! Having lights and fans on and the ability to use appliances anytime have become our new normal. We haven't lit any candles for weeks. We are scared that we are getting too comfortable with it and will be crushed when it goes back to normal. We don't know for sure, but the rumor is that we are importing extra electricity from South Africa. However long it lasts, we are enjoying it while we can :-)
Those are plenty of prayer items for now, but as you can see, we continually see God at work every day. We are very appreciative for all of those who are in prayer for JM2Z and us. That is something we cannot be without. Prayer is essential to this ministry and we are thankful for those who partner with us in that way.
The sewing group that Yolanda led in December is starting up again tomorrow. They will meet weekly on Wednesdays, learning more skills, and will eventually complete the door snake they were all excited to make the last time.
A new crochet group will begin soon. All the women at last week's women's gathering wanted to be a part of it. They will begin at a very basic level, and they are all extremely eager to start.
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