Van Update
We have been raising money for a 15 passenger van, and our goal has been to raise $25,000. So far, we’ve received donations from individuals and churches, totaling $12,000. Last week, we were blown away when we received news from another one of our supporting churches, letting us know they will be donating $14,000! This will give us an extra $1,000 for licensing and insurance. This was an unexpected surprise for us, but God knew! We are very appreciative of everyone who has given for a van! After watching the women pile into the back of our pickup truck just last Tuesday and Wednesday for the umpteenth times in the last decade, we know they will be so thankful to sit in regular seats when we drive them back and forth each week and other places at different times. We will now also be able to host more visitors, i.e. bigger mission teams (although we still prefer to keep groups relatively small, we will now be able to host more than 3 at a time).
We feel very blessed and are excited to now be able to look at specific vans to purchase! Thank you so much to all who have given and have made this a reality! Your generosity is much appreciated!
We feel very blessed and are excited to now be able to look at specific vans to purchase! Thank you so much to all who have given and have made this a reality! Your generosity is much appreciated!
Last Minute HBF Changes
The Sunday night, the day before Holiday Bible Fun started, Emily, who had taught the ladies while I (Yolanda) was recovering from my surgery, had to cancel last minute on teaching the older kids for HBF week. She had gone away for a couple weeks with her family to SA and had just returned. She was more tired than she realized and requested the possibility of not helping out for the week. This at first caught us off guard and was a little frustrating, as our regular teacher, Mai Whisper, didn’t want to commit to teaching because she was due for labor and delivery any day. I joked with Pamela and Michael (both retired teachers) that I may need to call on them at the last minute to teach for the week. They laughed and agreed, and then I realized that they were literally my only answer on such short notice! I reminded them of the need to be flexible and God stretching us on mission trips and then asked if they would be willing to take over teaching for the week. You may think this was obvious, but understand that the kids are from a different culture than they are used to, language is still a deterrent as some children are not fluent in English, so even though the lesson is taught in English, usually Mai Whisper still takes advantage of some Shona as is needed. In addition, the sun was literally setting on Sunday evening, and it was the night before the event. They had not yet seen their classroom, the space they would be teaching in, the curriculum, or even the schedule for the day. They were meant to be extra helpers in multiple capacities, coming alongside the women who were already teaching crafts or cooking meals, etc. Needless to say, Pamela and Michael were more than willing, albeit a little anxious, to take over and teach the older groups.
The first day, the children were very quiet in their lesson times. They didn’t laugh at jokes, they didn’t interact, and it seemed like Pamela and Michael would have to fight an uphill battle to reach the kids. Needless to say, Tuesday came, and the kids were quickly feeling more comfortable with their foreign, expressive teachers and began to come out of their shells! The rest of the week proved how well suited Pamela and Michael were for the job, as well as how much the children enjoyed their teaching!
The first day, the children were very quiet in their lesson times. They didn’t laugh at jokes, they didn’t interact, and it seemed like Pamela and Michael would have to fight an uphill battle to reach the kids. Needless to say, Tuesday came, and the kids were quickly feeling more comfortable with their foreign, expressive teachers and began to come out of their shells! The rest of the week proved how well suited Pamela and Michael were for the job, as well as how much the children enjoyed their teaching!
HBF Week
It was once again a wonderful week of pouring into kids and sharing the love of Jesus in very tangible ways: feeding them nutritional, well-balanced meals and snacks, allowing kids to be kids while they had fun with games and activities, enjoying puppeteering skits that introduced the lessons each day, boisterous, exuberant worship with dancing actions and praising, crafts that introduced necessary skill sets like cutting with scissors or fine motor skills in weaving yarn through holes, crafts that were not only fun, but also pointed to the daily lesson, lessons that opened Scripture and taught children Psalm 23 in applicable, biblically accurate ways, object lessons and daily memory verses, coloring pages and worksheets to drive the lessons home, and lots of hugs, high fives, “you are special,” “Jesus loves you,” and “the Good Shepherd is always with you.”
What a joy, what an honor, and what a privilege to pour into kids in such intentional, proactive ways that highlight the biblical story and show the love of Jesus!
What a joy, what an honor, and what a privilege to pour into kids in such intentional, proactive ways that highlight the biblical story and show the love of Jesus!
Since HBF, we have met with the ladies to debrief and revisit everything that went well, highlights of the week, and also areas where we can improve and make adjustments for the future. The ladies always come prepared with countless stories from children who attended and the parents and grandparents of the kids.
We know that this time, we had the opportunity to minister to kids from cults, Christian and animistic sects often called “white-robe” churches that meet in open air areas, don’t open Bibles, are led by polygamous “prophets,” anti-education (especially for girls), and clearly not Christian. We also had the opportunity to minister to kids from Seventh-Day Adventist churches and Roman Catholic churches. We ministered to children who were unchurched, as well as children from multiple Christian denominations. In addition, we ministered to 27 children from the local orphanage, all of whom have experienced unbelievable trauma in their lives from sexual, physical, emotional, and mental abuse. These kids have also experienced food insecurity. Some have experienced homelessness and lack or no education (we had 12 year olds who are in second grade from this group). We also once again ministered to children with special needs and even a few from private schools and well-to-do families. We ministered to children who’ve attended since first grade and are now in seventh grade, as well as children who attended for the very first time. For the first time, we even ministered to a few 4 year olds (grandkids of volunteers), who sat in classes and made crafts and even had an older high school kid who had attended for years, volunteer and help with craft time. In addition, we were also able to minister to a handful of kids who had come all the way from the rural area to stay in the “big city” (note, we live in a small town) with one the ladies, all week, to attend HBF for the first time.
We know that HBF is far more reaching than we could ever imagine. These are only some of the children who we know of and whose stories we’ve heard, but there are so many more stories we haven’t heard, so many more children who were impacted and whose families were impacted and we may never even know about… and that’s perfectly ok. The point is the Gospel is being preached, lives are being impacted, and we have the distinct privilege to play a small part in all of it because of YOUR continued generosity to JM2Z.
So, who is ready to come and serve on a mission trip?
We know that this time, we had the opportunity to minister to kids from cults, Christian and animistic sects often called “white-robe” churches that meet in open air areas, don’t open Bibles, are led by polygamous “prophets,” anti-education (especially for girls), and clearly not Christian. We also had the opportunity to minister to kids from Seventh-Day Adventist churches and Roman Catholic churches. We ministered to children who were unchurched, as well as children from multiple Christian denominations. In addition, we ministered to 27 children from the local orphanage, all of whom have experienced unbelievable trauma in their lives from sexual, physical, emotional, and mental abuse. These kids have also experienced food insecurity. Some have experienced homelessness and lack or no education (we had 12 year olds who are in second grade from this group). We also once again ministered to children with special needs and even a few from private schools and well-to-do families. We ministered to children who’ve attended since first grade and are now in seventh grade, as well as children who attended for the very first time. For the first time, we even ministered to a few 4 year olds (grandkids of volunteers), who sat in classes and made crafts and even had an older high school kid who had attended for years, volunteer and help with craft time. In addition, we were also able to minister to a handful of kids who had come all the way from the rural area to stay in the “big city” (note, we live in a small town) with one the ladies, all week, to attend HBF for the first time.
We know that HBF is far more reaching than we could ever imagine. These are only some of the children who we know of and whose stories we’ve heard, but there are so many more stories we haven’t heard, so many more children who were impacted and whose families were impacted and we may never even know about… and that’s perfectly ok. The point is the Gospel is being preached, lives are being impacted, and we have the distinct privilege to play a small part in all of it because of YOUR continued generosity to JM2Z.
So, who is ready to come and serve on a mission trip?
Victoria Falls
At the end of a crazy few weeks, Michael and Pamela treated us to a week in Victoria Falls with them. We became unofficial tour guides for them for the week, as we showed them around and helped book a few fun activities for them to enjoy. They graciously covered our airfare, accommodation, and an overnight camping experience an hour’s drive away in Botswana. Their hearts from the beginning was to bless us as missionaries and to include some missionary care during their mission trip. This was very much appreciated and is often forgotten as a possibility on mission trips - missionary care (which can take different forms).
A section of Victoria Falls
A cup of coffee on the bridge, during the sunrise, with the mist from the falls in the background
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