Harare, Zimbabwe

Dear Friends,

We bless and greet you all with joy in the Lord. Among many joys we have received is the first light rain, which we trust is the beginning of a good and blessed rainy season and an answer to one of our prayers for Zimbabwe.

Much of the country is experiencing severe power cuts. No power for 18 hours per day is common, and a regular water supply remains an illusion. But we must remind ourselves we are still better off than millions of people in the world. Praise God for what we do have.

The dressmaking classes are progressing well. The 35 ladies are divided into three groups, one each for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The ten ladies in the Wednesday group, pictured above, are being taught by Lucy how to design and make skirts.

The eleven ladies in the Thursday group are learning how to design and make tops, pictured to the right.

The thirteen ladies in the Tuesday group are designing on newspaper, below, which is a cost saving option.

For the third and final term of the year, Home of Hope assisted 30 of the trainee mothers with basic school fees in the amount of $25 each – the fees are normally $45 per child. The mothers were delighted, so relieved to receive this wonderful help. In addition, another 10 children were given basic schooling assistance.

We also help the trainee mothers with food parcels for the month and a bag of maize meal to take home to their families. We serve them peanut butter sandwiches and tea for breakfast and sadza (cooked cornmeal) with vegetable relish and soybeans for lunch.

Monday afternoons are now the primary time for feeding the nearly 140 folks on the street and helping them with medicines they need. The government reports that 600,000 people are in urgent need of food, so you can imagine the impact the food we provide has on the street people’s lives.

We are showing the Jesus movie a lot and sharing the Good News of Jesus at the same time. We bring in about six street boys at a time for the two hour movie and sharing time. We have given all of them Bibles this year so they can read the Gospel story of Jesus for themselves now.

We also show the movie The Cross and the Switchblade, the true story of preacher David Wilkerson and his ministry of reaching out with the Gospel to the gangs in New York. The Genesis movie and other Christian stories in the Shona language are also shown at various times. Pictured below are some young men who just watched The Cross and the Switchblade.

We are so grateful for the food donations we receive. Louise recently made another generous donation of vegetables, which helps us feed even more hungry people. Two of the street children who usually come for food on Mondays were wearing rags, so we gave them $7 each to buy some clothing. They returned with a shirt, trousers and shoes – amazing for such a relatively small amount of money in an expensive city.

We helped about 30 people with either medicine we have on hand at the Home or a small amount of money to visit the clinic or hospital. There were a few who had been hit by cars, others had been mugged on the street, several with stomach illness or other injuries. Praise God the Home is able to make a difference.

My Personal Story
Craig

When I was born again about 23 years ago, God gave me a vision about a week after that amazing event. The vision lasted only a few moments but was very clear. It was a person dressed in white and riding on a white horse. I had no idea what it meant, but it stayed in my memory as I continued to puzzle about it. About six months later, when I traveled to South Africa, I went into a Christian bookstore and saw on the cover of a book a person dressed in white riding on a white horse. As I glanced through it I realized it was written about the book of Revelation. I read in Chapter 19:14, "And the armies which were in heaven followed him (Jesus) upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." At the time, it was amazing to me. The Lord told me that it was me, riding a white horse. It was confirming my faith that I was forgiven, and I was to be with him forever. Now this year, something else happened. It was not a vision but something about Jesus, who was knocking at my door. As I studied and prayed about this nothing came up. Six months later (September 26) I was urged to open my Bible and read the words, "...wedding and Jesus knocking at my door inviting me to get ready for his wedding."

When I told mom what happened she confirmed that what I was saying was in her daily reading from Charles Spurgeon. He was teaching from Song of Songs, where one of the meanings is about love between Christ and his Bride, his Church. After that happened, mom and I continued with the daily readings. On Friday, October 2 our reading was Revelation 19:7, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready." This verse is from the same chapter of the verse talking about my vision many years ago. He has been teaching me that the most important part of my life is my relationship with him. That I must know and love him above everything else because of his great sacrifice of love for me on the cross. I must repent and turn to him and trust him, he that loves my soul. Our relationship is going to be forever. The more I know, love and abide (by obeying) in Christ, the more I will share his love for others, a pure unselfish love.

Another verse has come as a warning, about the importance of our relationship with Christ: Matthew 7:22-23: "Many will say to me in that day – Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in Thy Name and cast out devils in Thy Name, and in Thy Name do many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them – I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity." My relationship with him is of great importance in my life.

For us (Dave and Ria), this revelation of Craig and Joan is very relevant and amazing. For the last five years in particular we have been studying Revelation, Daniel, and the Feasts of Israel; read the books Four Blood Moons and The Mystery of the Shemitah, all which have truly put our focus on the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't know the date or the hour, but we do know from our studies and by observing what is happening around us in the world that our Lord's coming is nearer than ever, and we need to live our lives in readiness and expectancy like the five wise virgins!

With our love in Christ toward our fellow servants in Christ, with expectant hearts and praising our God that we are blessed to live in these amazing times of his revelations to his people.

Mission Praise 133, "Father I place into your hands, the things that I can't do..."

Joan, Craig, Ria and Dave

Amount needed in 2015

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Home of Hope - October 2015 Update

Harare, Zimbabwe