Indiana
A few weeks ago, we made our second trip to Salem/Campbellsburg, Indiana to visit Westview Christian Church. It was so lovely to reconnect with some familiar faces, and especially lovely to make new connections and build new relationships. We truly appreciate building a partnership with each of our supporting churches. We desire relationship with the individuals that make up the congregations.
This was the first time giving a full JM2Z presentation to this congregation. We cannot stress enough the great appreciation we have for churches who give us the full sermon time to share an update. We know this is a privilege (not the norm) and we know that it’s an honor, and that great trust is put in us when so much time is allotted to us. Thank you! (We are grateful for any time we get during a main service at a church, no matter the length. We feel blessed for the opportunity).
This was the first time giving a full JM2Z presentation to this congregation. We cannot stress enough the great appreciation we have for churches who give us the full sermon time to share an update. We know this is a privilege (not the norm) and we know that it’s an honor, and that great trust is put in us when so much time is allotted to us. Thank you! (We are grateful for any time we get during a main service at a church, no matter the length. We feel blessed for the opportunity).
A sign at the Indiana welcome center
It was also the first time we had fair-trade items for sale from our display table at this church. As expected, everyone adored the crocheted safari animals the ladies made and they were snatched up pretty quick (don’t worry we kept some to bring to YOUR church too *wink, wink*). The below pictures of our display tables are from the next church, since we forgot to take pictures at this one. But they're pretty similar.
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We also enjoyed visiting with Ben and Karen Pennington. Ben and Karen pastored Yolanda’s home church, as she was growing up in Zimbabwe. We were able to go down memory lane, sharing stories of years gone by, and updating each other on friends we have in common that are now living all over the world.
At Ben and Karen's house
It was lovely to have some intentional time with a few elders and their wives over a meal in the Pennington’s home. In addition, we were able to pick up a few new monthly supporters, to fill a few squares on our 100 to 100 Fundraising Campaign. We also received our largest individual gift to date, that we plan to use towards a special project - more details about that when we return to Zimbabwe. It’s worth mentioning that we value every single gift given, whether continual monthly giving, one-time gifts, or special fundraising gifts. Every single dollar makes a difference in allowing us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Zimbabwe, Africa.
Minnesota
We stopped by the kids' section of the airport □ We traveled to Minnesota the following week to visit Albion Evangelical Free Church. We chose to fly rather than drive, as this time of year is unpredictable with the weather. One previous visit, we found ourselves in a blizzard driving back, with at least a dozen cars in the ditch on the side of the highway. We decided then that we would be flying after that if we visited in the middle of winter. Ironically, the weather was uncharacteristically warm for this time of year without much snow on the ground.
We once again stayed with friends in South Haven (who Andrew has known for 30 years) and were blessed to visit in the home of other friends in Cokato. We visited with the mission board, some elders, deacons, and church staff. In addition, Yolanda spoke at a special ladies’ breakfast and Andrew spoke (Q and A) during the men’s Saturday morning Bible study.
We once again stayed with friends in South Haven (who Andrew has known for 30 years) and were blessed to visit in the home of other friends in Cokato. We visited with the mission board, some elders, deacons, and church staff. In addition, Yolanda spoke at a special ladies’ breakfast and Andrew spoke (Q and A) during the men’s Saturday morning Bible study.
With DuWayne and Jeanne
Since the church has supported JM2Z for several years now, it felt like coming home, as it so often does with our supporting churches we have visited many times. We feel so blessed to have this kind of relationship with our supporting churches - one of true partnership and ownership in the ministry of JM2Z.
It was a blessing for the pastor (as he always does) to lift us and the ministry up during a congregational prayer
The 5 year old in the picture below (she had just celebrated her birthday the day before) was very excited to get a zebra! She lit up when we asked her about it. She told us that she named him Grapes, because his nose looks like a grape 🙂 It has been fun in recent weeks when parents from various churches have sent us pictures of their kids playing with their animals that were purchased from us in previous years. We will be sure to report back to the women who made them, how well they are holding up even with so much use.
(Her mom gave us permission to take a picture and post it here)
As is so common for this time of year in Minnesota (the land of 10,000 lakes) we saw the many huts and vehicles parked out on frozen lakes for ice fishing, each time we passed one. We heard a few horror stories of trucks getting swallowed whole by a lake, when the drivers were too eager and didn’t wait for the ice to get thick enough earlier on in the season. The stark difference between the extreme cold in Minnesota and extreme hot weather of Zimbabwe, always tickles our fancy (and the chill is refreshing to Andrew).
For the second time, Wrapped in Love, in Buffalo (a nearby town), blessed us with free clothes shopping. It’s a ministry that is a thrift store of sorts, that blesses children in foster care, immigrant families, and in our case, missionaries, with necessary clothing. We are always humbled by the generosity of many who give to organizations like this so that people like us can benefit from it. Needless to say, we were thankful to both get several lovely items of clothing!
Back in Zimbabwe
Back in Zimbabwe, ministry continues on the field. Janeece is hard at work accomplishing the many things we laid out for her to do and oversee in our absence. She has met with both ladies’ groups for a Bible study on angels, which they have thoroughly enjoyed so far. In addition, they continue their John Bible Study with our Zimbabwean friend, Emily. Janeece’s immediate task upon her return to Zimbabwe was to get all the ladies squared up with school fees and school supplies for all the kids in our Education Sponsorship Program, because the school year just began in January.
We had also met with our contractor friend, before leaving Zimbabwe to discuss adding an extra room to the domestic quarters. It has become very apparent that finding suitable housing for Western and his family has been a struggle. With a new baby in October (child #3), we thought it best to build one extra room to accommodate them accordingly. We like having the peace of mind of having a man on the premises, especially in our absence and of course they like having the access to clean/free water, free electricity and housing, and the extra help with homework for the kids.
We had also met with our contractor friend, before leaving Zimbabwe to discuss adding an extra room to the domestic quarters. It has become very apparent that finding suitable housing for Western and his family has been a struggle. With a new baby in October (child #3), we thought it best to build one extra room to accommodate them accordingly. We like having the peace of mind of having a man on the premises, especially in our absence and of course they like having the access to clean/free water, free electricity and housing, and the extra help with homework for the kids.
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You can see Janeece is keeping up with the young men who are building the addition!
Our Upcoming Schedule
We leave in a few days to head out west. We will be in Oregon for about a month, then on to California for a couple weeks.
If you’re in any of these areas or nearby, we would love to see you!
- 2/23 - Santa Clara Church (Eugene, OR)
- 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)
- 3/18-3/28 in San Diego (Pine Valley, CA)
- 3/30 - Willows Christian Church (Willows, CA)
- April - In Illinois to visit individuals locally or within traveling distance
- 5/3 - JM2Z Board Meeting
- 5/4 - Weiser Christian Church (Weiser, ID) - and Boise for the week
- 5/11 - Lander Free Church (Lander, WY)
- June - Visit other individuals and return to Zimbabwe at the end of the month
If you’re in any of these areas or nearby, we would love to see you!
100 to 100 Fundraising Campaign
We are a bit behind with our Campaign, but are still making steady progress. Our hope is to fill 3 squares before we get to Oregon at the end of the week. Our goal is to have 20 squares filled before heading to the West. See the squares available in the below picture. We continue to do weekly Facebook live updates on the banner and share which squares are filled. If you are reading this and feel compelled to partner with us, JM2Z, monthly (pick a square and that’s the dollar amount you commit to give monthly) then please reach out.
If you pick a square, we will give you a JM2Z ornament for free! Please send us an email if any of you signed up, but did not receive an ornament, and we'll get one to you. [email protected]
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