Life is hard in this broken, sin-stricken world. That is old news, but it was impressed upon me once again on my most recent trip to Zimbabwe. With the confirmation of my brother's cancer diagnosis the day I arrived, and experiencing the challenges of life in Zimbabwe, I was reminded daily that things are not the way God intended them to be on this earth. At this time of thanksgiving, we are grateful for the hope that Jesus Christ will restore all things (Acts 3:21).
Thank you for your prayers for my trip. It was a blessing to allow God to speak to me from his Word in order that I would have his words to share with young and old. I had the opportunity to talk with high school students and the Men of Hope about the heart of God for people. I shared about the great losses, the great searches and the great celebrations found in Luke 15. With the LTLA team, I introduced them to the principles found in The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman. Most of these principles, found in the life and ministry of Jesus, are already being reproduced in their ministry efforts. (The principles are: Selection, Association, Consecration, Impartation, Demonstration, Delegation, Supervision, & Reproduction.)
It was encouraging to look into God's word with college students and with post-high school young adults who are asking tough life questions. Pray with us that these young adults will read the Bible on their own and find the Lord in the midst of an uncertain future. Pray for the men on the LTLA team, who experience a lot of stress from the pressures of providing not only for their own families but for their extended families (this can include siblings, cousins, parents, and in-laws) in an extremely depressed economy. Pray also for Tatenda, LTLA Training Ministry team member, who continues to struggle with back and leg pain as well as with difficulty walking. He collapsed in April and was diagnosed with transverse myelitis in August.
Credit is being given to a Zimbabwean scientist for discovering the Omicron variant to Covid-19. Pray that this variant will not cause great loss of life and that God will grant much grace to the LTLA team if they enter into another lockdown. Lastly, please pray for good rains to begin falling in Chinhoyi. The families we serve, especially the 56 new families under our care, are eager to plant corn in their prepared plots when consistent rains begin.
Thank you for your prayers for my brother, Mark. He continues to point people to Jesus as he battles brain cancer. Here is a short excerpt from one of his Caring Bridge posts: "I am challenged to just trust God in what he is doing in me and my family right now to grow our character to become more who he intends us to become. Is it hard? Does this future concern me? Certainly, but knowing God is in control of this experience for my good, even if I don't yet see the beneficial results, gives me tremendous peace and comfort! I urge you from the bottom of my heart to experience the words of King David in Psalm 34:8, 'Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed (happy, joyful, full) is the man who takes refuge in him!"
In this broken world, let us turn to Jesus to taste and see that the Lord is good.
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Mike with the Chikonohono High School Bible study group. (The LTLA Youth Bible studies have been split into two groups, Chikonohono and Cold Stream groups.) |
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| Loading up the kids in the LTLA truck after youth Bible studies. |
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| Mike sharing with the Men of Hope. |
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LTLA Communtiy & Training Ministry teams sharing in small groups about their experiences in following the principles found in The Master Plan of Evangelism. |
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Tatenda, LTLA Training Ministry team member, was very happy to receive a laptop that will help him complete training assignments. |
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I was able to visit the Chinhoyi landfill where LTLA is ministering to people who are making a living collecting recyclables. |
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