The Blessing of a Van
Some of the women from the groups, seeing the van for the first time
We are sooo excited to share that we finally have a van! We praise the Lord for this incredible blessing that He has provided through the generosity of others - YOU!
Thank you to the many people who gave towards the van! We had been fundraising for this need for the past 2+ years, since our last furlough visit. Thank you to the first person who gave us a $50 check in person and the last church who gave us $14,000 this year. Every single gift was needed and such an incredible blessing! There were kids who gave through their VBS missions offering, senior groups gave through their monthly senior gatherings, women’s Bible studies, special church gifts, and several individuals. At the end, the van was more than we initially anticipated 2 years ago, but when it came time to purchase, we were only $1,200 short of what we had specifically fundraised. Thankfully, we had enough in our general fund to cover that expense. The price included all the import duties and taxes, the license plates, permits, and temporary insurance. We’ll include our annual insurance in next year’s budget.
To see the whole process of how we finally purchased the van, watch the video below!
Thank you to the many people who gave towards the van! We had been fundraising for this need for the past 2+ years, since our last furlough visit. Thank you to the first person who gave us a $50 check in person and the last church who gave us $14,000 this year. Every single gift was needed and such an incredible blessing! There were kids who gave through their VBS missions offering, senior groups gave through their monthly senior gatherings, women’s Bible studies, special church gifts, and several individuals. At the end, the van was more than we initially anticipated 2 years ago, but when it came time to purchase, we were only $1,200 short of what we had specifically fundraised. Thankfully, we had enough in our general fund to cover that expense. The price included all the import duties and taxes, the license plates, permits, and temporary insurance. We’ll include our annual insurance in next year’s budget.
To see the whole process of how we finally purchased the van, watch the video below!
The Blessing of Things Going Wrong
After recently, when a couple things broke down or batteries went out, Andrew said, “It’s such a blessing that things are going wrong BEFORE we leave.” This may sound like such a strange thing to say. However, what he meant was that if the pressure tank switch at our borehole burnt out while we were gone, it may have taken our groundskeeper a long time to realize and then he wouldn’t have had the necessary funds to call the electrician and plumber to get the new parts and get it all fixed, etc. In addition, we realized an issue with our solar system and it all needed a good cleaning and updating, something our missionary relief worker may not have realized. Certain other essential items needed new batteries, but again our missionary relief worker may have assumed the item is broken or not in use. We can list multiple things just like this. Being here, in country and in person to deal with these issues is indeed a blessing.
Elizabeth (our groundskeeper’s wife) gave birth to a new baby girl last week. She needed to be induced after her due date and had an incredibly difficult pregnancy, so she had been seeing a private doctor at the public hospital. Her delivery costs ended up being $500 - this would have been impossible for Western (her husband) to cover and impossible for us to get the money to them immediately, if we were stateside. Again, a blessing that everything was happening right before we were leaving.
Elizabeth (our groundskeeper’s wife) gave birth to a new baby girl last week. She needed to be induced after her due date and had an incredibly difficult pregnancy, so she had been seeing a private doctor at the public hospital. Her delivery costs ended up being $500 - this would have been impossible for Western (her husband) to cover and impossible for us to get the money to them immediately, if we were stateside. Again, a blessing that everything was happening right before we were leaving.
New baby, Yvette
Little Western (7 years old) is very excited to have a new baby in the family! He is smitten with his new little sister and has already told all his classmates and teacher about her. Angel (4 years old) on the other hand is not impressed. She does not like the fact that she’s no longer the baby of the family and told her parents there’s not enough room for a baby and they should give her away. Mai Innocent, our housekeeper, jokingly told her that if she wasn’t nice to her sister that she’d take her instead. To that Angel responded, “No, you can’t, she’s ours.” So hopefully she’s starting to warm up to the new family member.
The kids were with us while dad was with mom at the hospital during the evening of the labor and delivery. They got to enjoy some pizza and a kid’s movie, which was extra special for them.
The kids were with us while dad was with mom at the hospital during the evening of the labor and delivery. They got to enjoy some pizza and a kid’s movie, which was extra special for them.
Western and Angel, enjoying a fun evening
It was getting later, so we got them into the bath to get cleaned up before bedtime. Andrew told little Western when he was drying off that we need to let the water out of the bathtub once he’s done. He was so confused and asked Andrew how he was going to get all the water out, after all there was no bucket in sight. We hadn’t thought of the fact that he had never been in a bathtub before. So Andrew showed him how you just pull out the plug and drain the water - he was amazed. (In their bathroom, there is a shower, but no tub, so the kids bath in a big plastic tub.)
After story time and prayers, we set them up on makeshift sleeping bags in the living room, as dad would be coming to take them home before the night was over.
After story time and prayers, we set them up on makeshift sleeping bags in the living room, as dad would be coming to take them home before the night was over.
The Blessing of End of Year Reflections
Of course it’s only October - it’s hardly the end of the year. But since we will be leaving at the start of November, we needed to have our regular End of Year Reflections with the Tuesday and Wednesday groups earlier. We usually have a special meal, hand out gifts, and then spend a few hours just visiting and reflecting over the past year. We usually each answer a short list of questions like:
Mai Tamoline who grew up in an animistic cult said that one new thing she had learned was from the conference. She said, “God is a jealous god and He wants all of us. We can only follow Jesus and Jesus alone. We can’t also follow our traditional religion and call ourselves Christian at the same time. Also, being a Christian doesn’t mean being perfect, it just means we are forgiven and that His grace is enough.” For someone having been so involved in animistic religion (ancestral worship) and living in fear of needing to do all the right rituals and traditional requirements, this is a wonderful thing to hear! Ironically, I (Yolanda) have been speaking about these things for years, but for some reason the specific teaching style and information at the conference is what made it click for so many of the women. The conference seemed to bring so much clarity to so many of the women.
Mai Tracy said, the one new thing she learned this year (biblically) was, the importance of repentance and its true meaning. She said, she felt as though before, repentance was just saying sorry and moving on, but that the conference finally opened her eyes to it’s true deep meaning of changing and turning away from sin.
Mai Whisper said she couldn’t pick just one thing she had learned this year, as there were so many. She said, “The more I read the Bible the more I feel I’m changing from the inside out. Because I read my Bible regularly, I’m starting to learn what it says in all the different areas, so when someone asks me a question, instead of just answering them, I always say, “Let’s open the Bible and find out what it says.” Now I use the Bible for all my answers and decision making. Even at church, everyone turns to me. They ask my opinion and ask me where this or that is in the Bible. It’s impossible to name just one thing - I have learned so much. God is teaching me all the time!”
When asked what is the one thing they are grateful for, several of the widows said a similar thing. Several of the widows in the groups said that before this group, life seemed unbearable. All they ever thought of was how to get a husband so their needs can be met (this is a cultural mentality and often the only social way to gain stability and financial provision). They spoke about their loneliness before, and how the group now meets that need in such a beautiful way. They spoke about their struggle with hunger and literal starvation, until the food hampers ensured they not only received necessary nourishment, but could sleep at night knowing their kids were going to bed with full tummies. They also shared about the blessing of the education program and how they know due to the educational needs of their kids being met, that their children will have a brighter future, something they could only dream of before.
Another one of the ladies said, she’s especially grateful for her chicken business, because she was able to send her son to university (trade school) which seemed impossible before. She spoke how it hadn’t been easy through the years, but the chicken business allowed her to ensure that her son finally graduated this year.
There were soooo many more stories like these, but space doesn’t allow to share each and every one, but we do look forward to sharing more of them in person next year!
We did things a little differently than in years past at this final gathering. We did make a special meal, but we hadn’t planned any gifts. We felt it was far too early in the year and that so many gifts had been given to the ladies this year. When our mission team came, they came with very generous gifts, at conference they received gifts, at the kids’ program they received gifts for serving and so forth. We want our relationship to be one of equality not one where one group always receives and another always gives. Of course God is a God of generosity, and it just so happened that I (Yolanda) had purchased far too many packets of soup grain mix during wintertime. For our special meal, I had used some of the grain mix and all the ladies kept asking what it was and how it was prepared and where it could be purchased. I went to the pantry and realized that there were exactly enough bags of soup grain to give each lady one bag as a gift. They were so excited - this time nothing was wrapped or made to look special, but we felt like it was such a God thing that we had exactly the precise number of bags available to give away.
Of course the ladies are also generous and some showed up with the first fruits from their trees - white guavas and early mangoes - delicious and generous!
- “What has God taught you this year?”
- “What is something new you have learned during Bible Study?”
- “What are you most grateful for in this past year?”
- “What area do you need to grow in?”
Mai Tamoline who grew up in an animistic cult said that one new thing she had learned was from the conference. She said, “God is a jealous god and He wants all of us. We can only follow Jesus and Jesus alone. We can’t also follow our traditional religion and call ourselves Christian at the same time. Also, being a Christian doesn’t mean being perfect, it just means we are forgiven and that His grace is enough.” For someone having been so involved in animistic religion (ancestral worship) and living in fear of needing to do all the right rituals and traditional requirements, this is a wonderful thing to hear! Ironically, I (Yolanda) have been speaking about these things for years, but for some reason the specific teaching style and information at the conference is what made it click for so many of the women. The conference seemed to bring so much clarity to so many of the women.
Mai Tracy said, the one new thing she learned this year (biblically) was, the importance of repentance and its true meaning. She said, she felt as though before, repentance was just saying sorry and moving on, but that the conference finally opened her eyes to it’s true deep meaning of changing and turning away from sin.
Mai Whisper said she couldn’t pick just one thing she had learned this year, as there were so many. She said, “The more I read the Bible the more I feel I’m changing from the inside out. Because I read my Bible regularly, I’m starting to learn what it says in all the different areas, so when someone asks me a question, instead of just answering them, I always say, “Let’s open the Bible and find out what it says.” Now I use the Bible for all my answers and decision making. Even at church, everyone turns to me. They ask my opinion and ask me where this or that is in the Bible. It’s impossible to name just one thing - I have learned so much. God is teaching me all the time!”
When asked what is the one thing they are grateful for, several of the widows said a similar thing. Several of the widows in the groups said that before this group, life seemed unbearable. All they ever thought of was how to get a husband so their needs can be met (this is a cultural mentality and often the only social way to gain stability and financial provision). They spoke about their loneliness before, and how the group now meets that need in such a beautiful way. They spoke about their struggle with hunger and literal starvation, until the food hampers ensured they not only received necessary nourishment, but could sleep at night knowing their kids were going to bed with full tummies. They also shared about the blessing of the education program and how they know due to the educational needs of their kids being met, that their children will have a brighter future, something they could only dream of before.
Another one of the ladies said, she’s especially grateful for her chicken business, because she was able to send her son to university (trade school) which seemed impossible before. She spoke how it hadn’t been easy through the years, but the chicken business allowed her to ensure that her son finally graduated this year.
There were soooo many more stories like these, but space doesn’t allow to share each and every one, but we do look forward to sharing more of them in person next year!
We did things a little differently than in years past at this final gathering. We did make a special meal, but we hadn’t planned any gifts. We felt it was far too early in the year and that so many gifts had been given to the ladies this year. When our mission team came, they came with very generous gifts, at conference they received gifts, at the kids’ program they received gifts for serving and so forth. We want our relationship to be one of equality not one where one group always receives and another always gives. Of course God is a God of generosity, and it just so happened that I (Yolanda) had purchased far too many packets of soup grain mix during wintertime. For our special meal, I had used some of the grain mix and all the ladies kept asking what it was and how it was prepared and where it could be purchased. I went to the pantry and realized that there were exactly enough bags of soup grain to give each lady one bag as a gift. They were so excited - this time nothing was wrapped or made to look special, but we felt like it was such a God thing that we had exactly the precise number of bags available to give away.
Of course the ladies are also generous and some showed up with the first fruits from their trees - white guavas and early mangoes - delicious and generous!
Soup grain mix
The Blessing of Upcoming Furlough
We plan to fly stateside on November 6th. We already have some things planned for November. Some time will be spending time with family and Thanksgiving, and other plans are for education and missionary reflection and care like ICOM (International Conference On Missions).
We have already started reaching out to our supporting churches with possible visiting dates (winter/spring). If you have not heard from us yet, please know we haven’t contacted everyone yet, but will be working on that over the next few weeks. We only contact a couple churches at a time and wait for responses to ensure we don’t have to change dates. We contact churches we plan on seeing first and work from there onwards across the country.
If you are not in one of our supporting churches and would like to see us, please do reach out. We will give a tentative list of dates and places most likely later next month (November) and if we’re in your area please let us know if you’d like to get together for coffee or a meal. In addition, if we will not be in your area and you still would like to see us, contact us anyway so we can see what can be done. We love getting together with friends and sharing about JM2Z… in addition, we love being able to just get together with YOU and visit in general and learn all about what’s happening in your life.
Please pray for us as we finish up the many last minute things before we leave. Also pray for traveling mercies as international travel is always so exhausting. Lastly, pray that we receive some travel vacuum bags from South Africa in time. We have many, many crocheted safari animals and other things. Unfortunately, our space is very limited and these stuffies, although light, take up plenty of room. We attempted to put one of the 9 black bags of animals into our suitcase and it filled up. We only have 3 suitcases to use (and we need to pack for all our clothes and essentials for the next several months while on furlough). Pray that the vacuum bags will allow us to bring as many of the crocheted items as possible. The women have worked so hard and are so excited about the possibility of what the income will provide them.
The women also made a trip to Harare this week. Like last year, we provided for their transportation and lunch, in order for them to take advantage of the $1 breast cancer screenings that are being offered at the main hospital throughout October (breast cancer awareness month).
We have already started reaching out to our supporting churches with possible visiting dates (winter/spring). If you have not heard from us yet, please know we haven’t contacted everyone yet, but will be working on that over the next few weeks. We only contact a couple churches at a time and wait for responses to ensure we don’t have to change dates. We contact churches we plan on seeing first and work from there onwards across the country.
If you are not in one of our supporting churches and would like to see us, please do reach out. We will give a tentative list of dates and places most likely later next month (November) and if we’re in your area please let us know if you’d like to get together for coffee or a meal. In addition, if we will not be in your area and you still would like to see us, contact us anyway so we can see what can be done. We love getting together with friends and sharing about JM2Z… in addition, we love being able to just get together with YOU and visit in general and learn all about what’s happening in your life.
Please pray for us as we finish up the many last minute things before we leave. Also pray for traveling mercies as international travel is always so exhausting. Lastly, pray that we receive some travel vacuum bags from South Africa in time. We have many, many crocheted safari animals and other things. Unfortunately, our space is very limited and these stuffies, although light, take up plenty of room. We attempted to put one of the 9 black bags of animals into our suitcase and it filled up. We only have 3 suitcases to use (and we need to pack for all our clothes and essentials for the next several months while on furlough). Pray that the vacuum bags will allow us to bring as many of the crocheted items as possible. The women have worked so hard and are so excited about the possibility of what the income will provide them.
The women also made a trip to Harare this week. Like last year, we provided for their transportation and lunch, in order for them to take advantage of the $1 breast cancer screenings that are being offered at the main hospital throughout October (breast cancer awareness month).
All the crocheted items that need to be packed
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