Intro
We made it back stateside! We’ve been back for a couple weeks now. Already, we have been blessed to see several friends and of course family too. As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, we are reminded of the many things we are so incredibly grateful for and YOU are some of them!
Right before we left Zim, we gave Elizabeth (our groundkeeper’s wife) a break a few different times to rest as we looked after Yvert - pretending we didn’t have bags to pack and last minute things to accomplish ;-)
Right before we left Zim, we gave Elizabeth (our groundkeeper’s wife) a break a few different times to rest as we looked after Yvert - pretending we didn’t have bags to pack and last minute things to accomplish ;-)
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We are very thankful that our vacuum bags arrived in time from SA, so that we could pack majority of the crafts the ladies had made.
Breast Cancer Screenings
We are thankful that we were once again able to send all the Tuesday and Wednesday ladies to the capital city to have their annual breast cancer screenings during breast cancer awareness month. This has become a yearly affair and the women always look forward to their outing to the big city and of course prioritizing their health.
Family Time
As usual, we made a short stay over in the UK to visit with my (Yolanda’s) family. We got to meet a new nephew, whom we’re incredibly grateful for. We are so thankful we could help Yolanda’s brother and sister-in-law for even just a few days with all the baby duties. We also got to visit with Yolanda’s mother.
Once we arrived in the US, we made plans to get back on the road just a few days after our arrival. Unfortunately, Yolanda ended up getting a cold which slowed her down for a few days. Needless to say, we were able to visit the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky, which were on the way to our conference. We are so grateful to Andrew’s parents for treating us to a lovely trip with them. We had been wanting to visit these 2 museums for a few years now and are so grateful we have had the opportunity to do so now
ICOM
Just after leaving the museums, Andrew’s parents dropped us off in Lexington, KY for the International Conference on Missions. We try to attend this every time we are stateside. We spent the first 24 hours attending the pre-conference for Missionaries Only, which involves some missionary-care focused activities.
The next few days, we thoroughly enjoyed attending main sessions and mission-specific workshops that very much act as extended learning for us in our field. We are so thankful that a conference like this exists. We especially enjoyed the corporate worship with thousands of other believers with over 60 different countries represented in attendance! As in other years, it was once again a beautiful time of encouragement and inspiration for us. Hearing the many missionary stories and all that God is doing around the world - we praise You Lord, thank you for inviting us to be a part of your mission!
Of course our absolute favorite part of ICOM is seeing both old and new friends in one location. We shared every meal time with friends - some who we hadn’t seen in 8 years, others we only get to see at this event, and others from supporting churches, previous Bible colleges and seminaries, and even some who Yolanda has known for about 32 years. These times of fellowship are so incredibly sweet and precious to us. We absolutely loved being able to hug, pray with, laugh (and even cry) with, and visit with so many of our friends in Christ. Thank you for taking the time to prioritize us and spend your time with us. We appreciate YOU!
The next few days, we thoroughly enjoyed attending main sessions and mission-specific workshops that very much act as extended learning for us in our field. We are so thankful that a conference like this exists. We especially enjoyed the corporate worship with thousands of other believers with over 60 different countries represented in attendance! As in other years, it was once again a beautiful time of encouragement and inspiration for us. Hearing the many missionary stories and all that God is doing around the world - we praise You Lord, thank you for inviting us to be a part of your mission!
Of course our absolute favorite part of ICOM is seeing both old and new friends in one location. We shared every meal time with friends - some who we hadn’t seen in 8 years, others we only get to see at this event, and others from supporting churches, previous Bible colleges and seminaries, and even some who Yolanda has known for about 32 years. These times of fellowship are so incredibly sweet and precious to us. We absolutely loved being able to hug, pray with, laugh (and even cry) with, and visit with so many of our friends in Christ. Thank you for taking the time to prioritize us and spend your time with us. We appreciate YOU!
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We even got an opportunity to meet with Janeece, our Missionary Relief Worker, who fills in for us in Zimbabwe while we are stateside. We had a several hour meeting time with her, going over everything (or most of the things) that she needs to be aware of when she arrives in January. She is a God-send and we are so thankful for her ministry to us and JM2Z as she fills our shoes on the ground while we are traveling and updating you.
We saw many more people than we took pictures of, it’s often hard to remember to take photos when one is being present.
Continued Work in Zimbabwe
Although we have been away from Zimbabwe for several weeks now, work continues in our absence. Both the Tuesday and Wednesday ladies continue to meet bi-monthly. My (Yolanda) dear friend Emily, who filled in for Bible Studies back in January and February, has agreed to continue with the John study in my absence. In addition, the other 10 Accountability Groups (72 women in total) that started up soon after the Women’s Conference, back in August, continue to meet weekly to read through the Gospels, discuss it and then pray together. We are so thankful for the ladies in the Tuesday and Wednesday groups who continue to lead in this way.
Along with the spiritual wing of JM2Z continuing, so are the many physical elements. The next food hampers were delivered in early November, money for extra lessons for school kids was handed out, and even the beginnings of a new micro-enterprise was started, all in our absence.
In addition, we had some necessary maintenance items that took place at the ministry base. New boards were installed, treated and painted to uphold our water tank that stores water from our well.
In addition, we had some necessary maintenance items that took place at the ministry base. New boards were installed, treated and painted to uphold our water tank that stores water from our well.
Updated Contact Info
We have NEW temporary stateside phone numbers. Please save these in your phones if you wish to contact us. Delete any other stateside numbers you may have for us in your phones. Our WhatsApp and Viber numbers never change and stay the same.
Andrew’s cell number: 331-600-2866
Yolanda’s cell number: 331-600-2986
You can still contact us via the JM2Z FB page as well as our personal FB pages through messenger and our email addresses - none of that has changed.
Andrew’s cell number: 331-600-2866
Yolanda’s cell number: 331-600-2986
You can still contact us via the JM2Z FB page as well as our personal FB pages through messenger and our email addresses - none of that has changed.
Travel Schedule
The below dates for church visits reflect the Sunday service when we will be there. However, we will be visiting/speaking with small groups, mission committees, youth groups, individuals, etc. at each church location in the days before/after our Sunday visit, according to the desires of each church.
January
February
March
April
May
June
Other locations and dates will continue to fill in the blank dates we have available. At present, these dates mainly only reflect our church locations and planned Sundays. If you will be in any of the locations above and would like to see us, please reach out, as we would love to get together over coffee or a meal to visit and catch up. Or if you are near any of the locations and would like to see us, reach out in case we can make a drive in your direction.
January
- 1/5 - Barrington Community Church (Penn Yan/Barrington, NY)
- 1/10-1/21 in Florida
- 1/26 - Westview Christian Church (Campbellsburg, IN)
February
- 2/2 - Albion Evangelical Free Church (Cokato, MN)
- 2/23 - Santa Clara Church (Eugene, OR)
- In-person JM2Z board meeting (our board meetings are usually done via video chat)
March
- 3/2 - Myrtle Point First Christian Church (Myrtle Point, OR) - Faith Promise Weekend
- 3/9 - Christian Church [Warrenton] (Warrenton, OR) - morning service
- 3/9 - Christian Church [Knappa] (Astoria, OR) - evening service
- 3/16 - Lighthouse Christian Church (Warrenton, OR)
- 3/19-3/27 in San Diego, Pine Valley, CA
- 3/30 - Willows Christian Church (Willows, CA)
April
- In Wheaton, IL for Palm Sunday, Easter, Andrew’s birthday
- Visiting Individuals locally
May
- 5/4 - Weiser Christian Church (Weiser, ID)
- Boise, ID - Boise Bible College Spring Conference
- 5/11 - Lander Free Church (Lander, WY)
June
- Traveling to visit individuals TBA locations
- Return to Zimbabwe, end of the month
Other locations and dates will continue to fill in the blank dates we have available. At present, these dates mainly only reflect our church locations and planned Sundays. If you will be in any of the locations above and would like to see us, please reach out, as we would love to get together over coffee or a meal to visit and catch up. Or if you are near any of the locations and would like to see us, reach out in case we can make a drive in your direction.
Car Need
We will also be in need of a vehicle in all the different locations where we will be. We will fly into most of our locations. We will have to get a rental if we are unable to borrow someone’s vehicle. Please reach out if you have a vehicle we can borrow. Thank you in advance to those who may be able to help in this area.
December
For the month of December (coming up), we plan to be in Wheaton. We will be able to enjoy Christmastime with Andrew’s family. In addition, we hope to see some individuals locally. We also have a few dentist appointments and doctor visits. Please be in prayer for some additional medical testing Yolanda will be undergoing during this month. Our prayer is that some medical answers will be provided that will not result in another surgery this year. In addition, Andrew may require extra dentistry work, please pray that with additional evaluating, this will not be necessary.
Giving Tuesday
As we approach Thanksgiving, we also approach Giving Tuesday, which is December 3rd. We will not be planning any big fundraising event for this day, but we do have some specific needs you may like to consider blessing us with. We have created 2 Amazon wish lists. One wish list is very ministry specific for needs in Zimbabwe (that we will take back with us) and the other wish list is a missionary wish list where you can bless both Yolanda and Andrew (one may choose to do this as special missionary Christmas gifts instead). Our hope is to have everything on the JM2Z wishlist bought by Giving Tuesday (the total cost of gifts is $450).
If you wish to bless JM2Z or us personally in this way, just follow the Amazon wish lists below. Purchase through the links to ensure the item is removed from the list (items will be sent directly to Yolanda and Andrew at their Wheaton, IL address).
JM2Z Wish List
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2853I4UX9YLGB?ref_=wl_share
Missionary Wish List
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2UOA8RL9TROYK?ref_=wl_share
If you wish to bless JM2Z or us personally in this way, just follow the Amazon wish lists below. Purchase through the links to ensure the item is removed from the list (items will be sent directly to Yolanda and Andrew at their Wheaton, IL address).
JM2Z Wish List
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2853I4UX9YLGB?ref_=wl_share
Missionary Wish List
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2UOA8RL9TROYK?ref_=wl_share
Happy Thanksgiving!
We wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful and thankful for YOU! We are thankful for the financial support that keeps us on the field. We are thankful for the prayers that sustain us and carry us through more than we even realize. We are thankful for the encouragement through cards, emails, phone messages, and FB posts. We are grateful for the care packages we receive while stateside that bless and encourage us (we have already received one upon our arrival back). We are thankful for the many for you who will host us in your homes over the next several months. We are thankful for those who will lend us your car or drive us to our next destination. We are thankful to the many who give their big end-of-year donations to keep us out of the red each year. We are thankful for those who challenge us to receive the necessary missionary care we need and those who provide for those things. Thank you for every single role YOU play in partnering with us in ministry - we are so grateful for YOU! And we are most thankful to the Lord who makes all of this possible and is continuing to work in the hearts of the women and children we work with in Zimbabwe. Praise the Lord!
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