MK Returns Home for the Summer

One of the blessings of being employed by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is that after a missionary kid returns to the U.S. to begin his adult life (most attend university, but not all) the IMB pays for them to have one return trip “home”. This summer (winter in Zimbabwe), Jason Fort has been home with his parents Gregg and Donna Fort.

“It has been great to be able to relate to Jason as a young adult,” says Donna Fort. “What a privilege to hear first hand how God has been at work in his life and to see the maturity he has attained in various aspects of his life. Communicating with a college man through e-mail is not always informative! But living with someone day in and day out you are able to catch up and hear about experiences that were never mentioned in an e-mail or on facebook.”



One of the things Jason has really enjoyed while at home has been working with Gregg to fix up an old land rover. Not only has he had fun doing it, but he is also learning skills that will come in handy when working with any vehicle.

Jason has also enjoyed having more time to spend studying God’s Word and reading inspirational books.

Shopping has turned out to be another fun activity for Jason as he has purchased a number of items he can’t get in the U.S. to take home with him! That’s a switch. Usually his parents are buying things in the U.S. to bring to Zimbabwe they can’t get!



The Forts have also done a little traveling to see and do some great things in Zimbabwe. A few days on the Zambezi River with our Zimbabwe team was a fun experience even though the river was at flood stage and the fishing was lousy, we still got to see a full lunar eclipse and that was a first for us all.



Jason had several other opportunities to catch up on some hunting and fishing experiences including one with his Dad and Uncle Gordon. Of course all that hunting meant we had a "butcher shop" on our back porch as the guys made biltong (beef jerky), steaks, roasts, and hamburger meat!



Donna and Jason visited team member Ramona Beam in Bulawayo and took her to see Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage which is an unusual place to visit. They take care of “orphaned” antelope, lions and other large cats, monkeys, and baboons and birds – mostly owls and eagles. They even had a few crocodiles! There is an “animal hospital” there as well where hurt or sick wild animals can be brought to heal and then are released back into the wild.

For Jason’s birthday the Forts traveled to Victoria Falls to celebrate. They went to the Boma to eat game meat and see traditional dancers. Jason also wanted to experience “high tea” on the verandah of the famous Victoria Falls Hotel.

Mberengwa Youth Camp August 2011

The Mberengwa Insiza Baptist Association was formed Easter Sunday of this year in the Mberengwa area of Zimbabwe, with eight churches making up the association. In June, another church was planted in the area. August 12-14, 2011 marked the first ever youth camp for the Mberengwa Insiza Baptist Association. There were 54 youth who attended the camp, held at Sharuo Primary School. The youth arrived all during the afternoon on Friday, some walking from as far away as 10-12 kilometers to attend the camp.



After an evening meal, and an initial welcome session and praise service, the youth found places to sleep in the classrooms at the school, girls in one classroom, boys in another. Early the next morning, some of the local ladies provided breakfast for the youth.



A goat had been slaughtered the day before as the youth were arriving, so for breakfast there was an ample supply of sadza, as well as a relish made from cooked cabbage, tomatoes, and onions, and, of course, the goat. Sadza is a staple in the Zimbabwean diet, consisting of mealie meal (similar to corn meal) cooked into a thick paste about the consistency of mashed potatoes. The camp sessions began after breakfast with Bible study times during the morning.



I(Ramona Beam)was privileged to be one of the speakers, and had the opportunity to share the True Love Waits abstinence program for youth with this group. Of those hearing TLW for the first time, 25 youth signed commitment cards to remain sexually pure until marriage. It was so heartening to watch as they came to me all during the afternoon, saying they wanted to sign the cards. Fifty youth had previously signed commitment cards, when TLW was presented during the Easter Conference earlier this year. Some of those youth were also in attendance at the youth camp. Please pray that all of these young people will be strong in the face of the many pressures that life brings here. There is so much temptation for youth to become sexually active, both from peer pressure, and sometimes even from older family members. Pray for protection from these things for these youth.



After lunch, also provided by the local ladies, the afternoon was a time for fun and games during the recreation time. The youth enjoyed games of soccer, netball, and others. For youth in the rural areas of Zimbabwe, times of carefree recreation such as this are rare, so they were enjoyed by all. Supper was served after a time of relaxation and personal time, then everyone gathered together for the evening service, which began around 7:00pm.



The service included an extended time of worship and praise, and oh, how these kids love to sing. And dance! To hear them singing praises to God at the top of their voices, and to see their energetic dancing as part of that praise, was just awesome. I must admit, I even gave it a try myself. They just kept singing; it just went on and on, and it seemed they never got tired. A message was brought by Pastor Willie Green, who is the youth coordinator for the association, and afterwards we went into an extended time of prayer, followed by more worship. Before we knew it, it was almost 11:00pm, and they were still singing!