TRUE LOVE WAITS

Robyn Allison and Jennilee Phillips have begun teaching “True Love Waits” lessons with pastor Vu Lusinga at Coghlan Primary Girls School. They meet every Friday afternoon for an hour with about two hundred 7th graders in the school auditorium.

Robyn explained, “We always tell a Bible story that teaches God’s truth about relating to Him and relating to members of the opposite sex. Then the girls act out skits related to our topic for the day. Then we ask them some questions and give them opportunities to answer and discuss what we have talked about.” Jennilee says, “The most challenging thing about teaching this large group of students is being able to speak loudly and clearly enough to be heard. They understand British English, but our American English and vocabulary is sometimes hard for them to understand.”

“At first I was very intimidated,” says Robyn, “when I saw how many kids we would be teaching and I wondered if we would be able to get them to respond to our questions and interact with us. But it wasn’t a problem, they were very responsive.”

A number of the girls chose to sign the True Love Waits commitment cards.

Pray that these precious young girls who are being exposed to the Truth will embrace it and live their lives in relationship with God and according to His guidelines.

NESHURO ORPHANAGE

Kristen Fowler and Jenna Clendinning are university students from Mississippi who came to Zimbabwe this summer as participants in the One Life Student Ministries. One Life ministry projects are promoted and funded by Baptist Global Response for college students who want to be involved in human needs missions on various levels; praying, giving, and going. at the orphanage at Neshuro in southern Zimbabwe. Living at the orphanage was a different lifestyle than the girls were accustomed to. Jenna laughingly told us that, "One of the challenges was washing our clothes by hand."

They both agreed that the highlight of the summer was getting to know some of the kids who lived at the orphanage.

One of their frustrations was not being able to speak their language, but they felt they were able to overcome the language barrier through playing games and singing songs with them.

Jenna mentioned that, “One Sunday we were able to lead a Bible Study on holiness and leadership. One of the young men in the group encouraged me through some of the insights he shared. I discovered that he was a real prayer warrior with very strong faith.” One day the girls had an opportunity to teach a Bible Lesson at the elementary school. “That was one of my favorite days,” said Kristen. “The kids all sat under a tree as we taught. I never thought I would teach that many kids at one time.”

“We didn’t get to spend as much time with the high school kids as we would have liked to”, said Jenna “because they were busy in school during the week and had sports at the schools on weekends. But we attended the sports functions and watched them with the other high school students. While we watched, students would come one by one to visit with us, talk to us, and ask us questions.” It seemed like we had the most impact in their lives during these informal visits.

BULAWAYO STUDENT MINISTRY

A group of six students from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN, spent 4 weeks in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe this “summer” as participants in One Life Student Ministries. One Life ministry projects are promoted and funded by Baptist Global Response for college students who want to be involved in human needs missions on various levels; praying, giving, and going. Kelli French, Haley Jacobs, Jessica Painter, Shaina Tilley, Seth Williams, and Emmy Winfree divided their ministry time between several orphanages. The Isaiah Home is a Christian operated facility which houses newborn infants up to 4 year olds. This little one named Keith is one of the older orphans (aged 4) who lives there.

The students spent time playing with the orphans, and helping to feed them

They were able to meet the needs of physical touch that an orphan has and even put some down for naps before leaving.

The children over age five from the Isaiah House which do not get adopted locally are filtered into two other homes: Wendell’s or Rehoboth. These are considered “Forever Families”. They live in a house with house parents who will take care of them until they reach the age of 18. The students from Tennessee helped the house parents by assisting with cleanup after meals, played games with the older kids, sang songs with them, and helped them with their homework. Kelli shared that it was encouraging for her to see how much the kids felt as if this was truly their home. They had become a family of brothers and sisters of varying ages. The most difficult place emotionally to visit was the home for girls who had been taken out of abusive situations. Many of the girls, as young as 12 and 13, come to the home pregnant. They are taken care of through their pregnancy and delivery. They are also given Christian counseling to help them deal with the abuse they have experienced. They are assisted in completing their education. The babies are taken care of as well. The girls physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are all looked after. Girls who receive Christ are discipled. The older girls get additional training so they can support themselves and not feel the need to resort to prostitution when they leave the home as young adults. The students from TTU also had several opportunities to help out in the soup kitchen at Bulawayo Baptist Church. Every Tuesday and Thursday a lunch is provided for destitute and homeless folks. There is a time of singing choruses and a devotional is given as a witness to those who come in off the streets. *One Life ministry projects are promoted and funded by Baptist Global Response for college students who want to be involved in human needs missions on various levels; praying, giving, and going.

Boiled Eggs

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…” Hebrews 4:12 This "summer" we have 12 university students in Zimbabwe working with our team. One of these students, Megan Scott, a recent graduate of Samford who will be doing graduate work at UAB this fall in Birmingham is here working with her partner Courtney Dunkerley. (Megan is on the left in the picture below.

Megan and Courtney are volunteering at the Baptist Orphan Care Center in Mberengwa. They are living in a small hut that has been refurbished by Baptist church members in Mberengwa for use by the Care Center.

Megan shared this testimony: There are seasons in my spiritual life where reading the Bible is like boiled eggs. Now I love eggs almost any which way but boiled. I seriously dislike eating them. But, since I’ve been at the Caring Center, somehow or other it was communicated to our caretaker that we like boiled eggs, so we’ve been getting them. Every day. The first day we were served one, I decided that even though I despised them, I would eat it so I wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Also, I figured it would be good for me (protein and all that) – even if I didn’t like the taste, it was still a good call. Then the next day we got another one; and the day after that, and the day after that. It finally got to the point where I couldn’t say anything about not liking boiled eggs. I knew that would raise the question “Well why are you eating them?” or they would thinking I was disposing of them some other way instead of eating them.

So, I just kept eating them. Then, something strange happened. I began to actually look forward to that boiled egg every morning. And just as suddenly, we stopped getting them. Well wouldn’t you know it (and I grudgingly had to admit it to myself), I actually missed that boiled egg. I felt unfulfilled the rest of the day. I never satisfied my hunger, even with the other snacks I was eating. I realized the egg I was eating in the morning was in fact helping me, as much as I held a grudge against them in the beginning. I was gaining something everyday I ate an egg, and I didn’t realize it until it was gone. Like I said, sometimes I view reading the Bible like I did boiled eggs. If I was consistent in reading for a while then got off track, I dreaded going back to the Word. I felt as though God would be angry with me if I didn’t read the Bible every day, and I also believed that I would be seen as less of a Christian by others. This discouraged me even more from cracking it open. I didn’t despise the Word itself, but rather the guilt I felt because I was not burying my nose in the Bible everyday. I never felt like I had enough discipline, enough time in the day…pretty much just fill in the blank for an excuse and I’m sure I’ve used it. My motivation was fear. Recently though, I began to see the Bible in a different light. A.W. Tozer says: “the Bible will never be a living Book to us until we are convinced that God is articulate in His universe... [people] may admit that they should accept the Bible as the Word of God, and they find it impossible to believe that they words there on the page are actually for them.” That has been my attitude far too often. But I know that our God is an articulate God in His universe. I’ve experienced His presence, in the African sunsets that take my breath away, in the ringing laughter of a child He’s created, and even in the air I breathe, day in and day out. I know my God is a living God, so the words He speaks through His word are living also. And that makes me want to love the Bible. It makes me want to soak in its truth and drink in what God wants to say to me. So I started reading. Every day. And wouldn’t you know it, if I miss a day now, I can feel it. Achingly so. Like a hunger that hasn’t been satisfied, I ache. And it makes me want to stop whatever I’m doing to go find my Bible and spread it wide open, eating of it’s truth and rejoicing over the fact that His word is Living, and it is good.

Retreat for Pastor's Wives

In March, Ramona Beam and Donna Fort hosted a Pastor’s Wive’s Retreat at the Serenity Lodge in Antelope Game Park, near Gweru, Zimbabwe. The theme we chose was “Planting Yourself in the Lives of Others.” Esther Burroughs book, A Garden Path to Mentoring, was the inspiration for our group sessions. We shared that no matter how busy one’s life is that the basics of mentoring can be applied through the daily activities of one’s life. (Like in Deuteronomy 6:7.)

In the final share time, one lady said she had not realized before how important it was to take time to teach our children basic life skills when they are young that can be built onto as they mature. She said that as a mother she had failed to show her child how to do certain things that she expected her child to do, and that as a result she was often disappointed with her child’s performance. She realized that she was being unfair and unreasonable to her child. She said she planned to go home and begin to spend time with her child showing her how to do things she was capable of doing the right way.

Ramona Beam was our “chef” for the weekend and we ate very well. One night the women helped her prepare dinner and got a cooking lesson in return!

We learned some things about the way they cook and they learned some things about the way Americans cook. It was a fun cultural exchange.

One afternoon we all piled onto a donkey drawn carriage and went for a game drive.

Other activities included: learning to fold cloth dinner napkins in decorative ways, arranging flowers for the dinner table, bubble baths (a rare experience for women who only have showers in their homes) and manicures done by a recent graduate from cosmetology school.

This first time event was such a success the ladies informed Ramona and I they wanted to do it again “next month”. We told them we would try to do it again “next year.” Pray for the pastor’s wives of Zimbabwe. Pray that God will take the little they have and multiply it like the loaves and fishes so they can meet the needs of their families and those who come to them needing help. Pray for them to be godly examples and mentors not only to their own children, but to the girls and women in their churches as well. Submitted by Donna Fort

New Team Members

The Zimbabwe Evangelism Team is excited to be able to finally introduce to you our three new team members! We have 2 journeymen who will be with us for the next 2 years. They will be living in Bulawayo and working with Ramona Beam. They hope to work with teenagers and young adults teaching them the principles of True Love Waits, discipleship, and building Bible Studies in the dorms of the high schools which will be self-perpetuating after they leave.

Jennilee Phillips is from Hahira, GA and considers her home church to be Crosspointe Church of Valdosta, GA. When asked what her vision for ministry in Zimbabwe was she shared: “Prayer walking (around our neighborhood and the schools in which we work). Along with that, I have a vision to, at some point, surround the places at which we are ministering with prayer. God placed it on my heart to do this at my university in the states in 2010 and again last year in 2011. The day before classes started we (the church members in our city) physically surrounded the campus in prayer. It took about 1,000 for us all to be able to hold hands and do this, but the Lord brought all the people we needed to make it happen!!! It would be really cool to be able to do this maybe at a school, or just wherever the Lord wants us to. Even if it is on a smaller scale, it will still be just as powerful! I am hoping to find several people who will help me learn language and using that as a way to share the gospel as well as to encourage and do discipleship with them. I will be teaching purity (TLW) to the youth, and from that, we hope to begin forming weekly Bible studies. I would also love to have an opportunity to minister to or disciple college age girls, even if just a few!” Jennilee has had previous missions experience. She worked with New Orleans Disaster Relief during her Spring Breaks of 2006, 2007, 2008 & also did summer missions in New Orleans in 2008. In the spring of 2010, she spent a semester as a “Hands-On” missionary in Mafikeng, South Africa- Spring 2010

Robyn Allison is from Fort Worth, Texas and the Harvest Church is her home church. Robyn’s vision for ministry: “That the Gospel would take root in the heart of an Ndebele person who would be a catalyst to spread the Gospel among the rest of the people so that the name of Jesus will be known among the Ndebele. Additionally that God would use me in the ministry of True Love Waits to share God’s truth with the youth of Bulawayo along with deep discipleship in order that true and long lasting change will take place in the hearts and mind of the youth. This should help raise up a new generation of godly men and women and decrease the AIDS infection rate in Zimbabwe. Robyn has also had previous mission experience: She spent one week in San Antonio, TX during the summer of 1998 doing Evangelism & a Backyard Bible Club. In the spring of 2002 she spent a week doing evangelism and service projects in the Belton/Temple area of Texas She has also participated in these other mission opportunities: Oklahoma 2001 (1 week) Construction Casper, Wyoming Summer 2002 (1 week) Evangelism & construction Grand Junction, Colorado Summer 2003 (1 week) Backyard Bible Club Chandler ,Arizona Summer 2004 Evangelism & service projects Bisbee, Arizona Spring 2007 (1 week) VBS & construction Ambato, Ecuador Summer 2007 (1 week) Evangelism Guibert, Haiti Spring Break 2008/2010 (1 week) as well as Summer 2009 (1 wk) and Summer 2008 (5 wks) doing orphan care. Rio Grande Valley, Texas Spring Break 2009 (1 week) Construction & Bible Clubs Lima, Peru Winter 2009 (1 wk) Evangelism & Storying (Telling Bible stories) Atlanta, Georgia Summer 2010 Backyard Bible Clubs & service projects.

Lin Pinter is from Orlando Florida and is a member of First Baptist Church of Orlando. She is a retired nurse who will primarily be ministering to the nurses attending the nursing school at Sanyati and working at the Sanyati Baptist Hospital. “My vision for ministry is to draw hospital staff at Sanyati into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. I also hope to minister to their families as well as the patients at the hospital. It is my desire to instill in the nurses a concern for not only the physical needs of the patients, but their spiritual needs as well.” Lin has spent 12 years in Togo, West Africa where she did evangelism in villages, taught English as a Second Language, and taught missionary kids. She was able to teach nursing in some of the villages and held clinics in four prisons.

Destination Weddings

In Zimbabwe not all ordained ministers are allowed to perform weddings. Only those who have studied and passed an exam are approved by the government to be “marriage officers.” Because Gregg is a marriage officer, he has been called upon over the years to perform many weddings, many in churches or gardens. Several, however stand out as very unique. One wedding he did on a houseboat on Lake Kariba. It was memorable because the wind was still and temperature in the 100’s. As soon as the groom kissed the bride and they were presented as man and wife, the bride’s mother jumped into the small swimming pool on the houseboat to cool off - wedding clothes and all!

Another wedding was memorable because of the unique guests which caused the wedding to begin about 30 minutes late. A young couple who worked together as safari operators wanted to get married in front of a waterhole where elephants came to drink everyday about the same time. The day of the wedding they were late, but as soon as they arrived the wedding began!

Last weekend Gregg was asked to perform a wedding for a Zimbabwe high school classmate of our son Nathan (who is now married and studying at seminary.) The wedding was at Hwange Safari Lodge in a beautiful outdoor setting, also in front of a water hole.

Pray for the couples whose lives Gregg has touched over the years, and that his continued godly counsel for some of them would help produce godly marriages that would produce the godly offspring that God so desires! (Malachi 2:15)