Reflections - LTLA Update - June & July 2025 sent

 

Greetings LTLA Friends, Thank you for your prayers for the LTLA ministry and the groups that served there last month. The first group was comprised of Ed Hett and his three teenage children: Justus, Elise and Abigail. Ed's father and mother in law, Rex & Debbie Rector, oversaw the building of the triplex at the LTLA Community Center back in 2012. Here are their reflections from the experience serving with the LTLA team: "I saw God working through the ministry in many ways, but the most vivid for me was faithfully providing for those who have been abandoned by the world. The depth of love and care that I witnessed between the workers at LTLA was incredible. The sacrifice for one another was inspiring and something that is rarely seen in this world. The community cared for one another and worked very hard to be faithful to one another's needs. This community, that God is moving and directing, is physically becoming Father to the fatherless. The ministries to the orphan, the widow and the alien were clear. With all that, the spreading of the gospel was still being done as well and central to all action. We feel truly blessed to have been able to share the week with the LTLA team, and our lives will never be the same."  Ed Hett "I saw God working through the soft-spoken and quiet, those who I didn't hear talk but their actions spoke volumes."  Justus Hett "I saw God working through LTLA to minister to every age. The key lesson I learned was that no individual is able to do their part of the ministry without the team."  Elise Hett "I saw God helping people through LTLA by providing spiritual and physical care. I learned to appreciate what I have."  Abigail Hett The second group that served was a family affair as my brother in law, Josh Bundt with his wife, Amanda and their three children: Edi, Gabby and Caleb joined my family: Julie, Johanna and Micaela.  Here are reflections from Josh, Amanda, Gabby and Johanna: "I witnessed the body of Christ in action (Rom 12): many different gifts, all serving together, serving one another, all for the glory of His Kingdom. God taught me that his strength is shown in our weakness and not to underestimate how He will use us (our family)."  Josh Bundt "The impact of the LTLA ministry is far reaching to the second and third generations. The ministry cares deeply for the community as shown through the Critical Care Center for pre-school orphans, the weekly youth Bible studies and the outreach to those living at the landfill. It was a blessing to do daily devotions and Bible studies where the love of Christ flows through the cultural and language barriers."  Amanda Bundt "I was amazed by how many people LTLA reaches from every age group. I learned that helping others when you expect nothing in return brings great joy!"  Gabby Bundt "I was so blessed by my brothers and sisters in Christ who work with my Dad. They were so welcoming, kind and encouraging. Diving into God's Word with them was beautiful to see how the blood of Christ unites us. It was an experience that will shape the rest of my life." Johanna Sulc Both groups were a great encouragement as the LTLA team shared words of gratitude and blessing to each group upon their departure. As you can see from the reflections above the feelings were mutual. The photos and video below display the blessings of the experiences. Grateful for the blessed experiences, Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

Abigail on the ladder and Elise painting one of the triplex bedrooms. All three triplex units were plastered and painted for the first time, covering up the bare concrete walls.

Ed watching Justus cut a tile. They did an excellent job instructing Zviko and Tino in the fine art of tiling.

Tino (left) and Zviko were trained in tiling by Ed & Justus. Tino & Zviko showed proficiency in tiling, a skill they can use to earn some extra income.

Zviko (left) and Tino putting the finishing touches on tiling by the sink in one of the triplex units.

Ed helped get one of the drains unclogged. His plumbing skills came in handy and he was able to provide plumbing training to Shelton, LTLA Community Team leader.

Justus (left) joined in this "hood" Bible study, where guys get together for encouragement in their relationship with Christ.

Elise rode in the back of the truck with all the kids being picked up for youth Bible study, including the kids from the landfill.

Abigail with LTLA Critical Care orphans.

The Hett family with the LTLA team by the triplex, built by Uncle Rex, where they helped paint and tile the interior.

Abigail, Justus and Elise with the Chosen Generation (young adult) group. Justus facilitated the discussion.

Micaela, Edi and Johanna also joined the Chosen Generation (young adults) group with Johanna facilitating the discussion.

Johanna teaching "Jesus Loves Me" to the youngest kids at the Children of Hope Bible study.

Josh sharing with Men of Hope.

Amanda sharing with Women of Hope.

Julie and Tinotenda (Shelton's wife) preparing a dinner meal.

The Hett family introduced the fun card game of "spoons."

Tatenda & Zviko enjoyed continuing to play "spoons" with the Bundt & Sulc families.

Gabby holding one of the broiler chickens as Caleb and Edi look on with Brian.

Julie (at the sink) and Marvelous (with the hat) demonstrating washing laundry by hand.

Caleb and Gabby shared a Bible story and taught a game with the youngest group at the LTLA Community Center youth Bible study.

Edi (left) and Micaela spent time hanging out with Daisy, whose father, Arthur, directs LTLA in Zimbabwe.

Josh spoke on the ethical use of artificial intelligence to a group of faculty and staff at Chinhoyi University of Technology. Josh is the Chief Technology Officer at the Military Academy so it was good to have him serve the university in this way.

The Bundt & Sulc families with the LTLA team during a devotional.

Bundt & Sulc families with the LTLA team.

Zimbabwe Bound - LTLA Prayer Bulletin - June 2025

Greetings LTLA Prayer Partners,

Today I am scheduled to arrive in Zimbabwe in preparation to host some families, including my own, who will be serving alongside the LTLA team. On Sunday, Ed Hett will arrive with three teenage children, Justus, Elise and Abigail, to help make improvements to the triplex at the Community Center along with participating in ministry discipleship meetings throughout next week. Ed is the son-in-law to Rex & Debbie Rector who built the triplex in 2012. Rex is now with the Lord, but we know he would be thrilled, along with Debbie, to have family return to serve Life to Life Africa.

On June 26 my wife, Julie, as well as our teenage daughters, Johanna & Micaela, arrive and the following day, Julie's brother's family lands in Zimbabwe. Josh & Amanda Bundt, are bringing Edi, Gabby & Caleb to experience serving the Lord in another country. Our children will engage in ministry with preschool orphans at the LTLA Critical Care Center as well as with the youth LTLA are discipling. Josh, Amanda & Julie will share Christian life lessons with adults in the ministry. Josh, who is career Army and a professor at the US Military Academy will engage in his field of computer science with a professor and graduate students at Chinhoyi University of Technology. Amanda, who is a professional photographer, will train a couple team members to capture good photos and videos of what God is doing through LTLA.

Please hold us up in prayer in the following ways:

• Delay-free travel so the long trip is not prolonged.
• Safety and good health for everyone.
• Peace of mind for the children and parents as they adjust to the new culture and environment.
• Fruitful interactions that share God's love and elicit a deeper faith in Him.
• Productive progress with facility improvements.
• Life-transforming experiences that draw all involved into a closer relationship with Christ.

Thank you for your prayers! I look forward to sharing how God will work.

Trusting & serving our Lord,

Mike Sulc
Life to Life Ministries - Africa Director

Passing It On - LTLA Update - May 2025

Important Donation Notice: When making donations to Life to Life Africa, checks need to be made out to Life to Life Ministries with "Africa" written in the memo line. Our organization is registered as Life to Life Ministries with the IRS and our bank needs checks made out to our registered name. See below our updated giving instructions. Thank you for your attention to this change. Greetings LTLA Friends, As the university semesters come to an end here in the US this month, so do most of the semesters in Zimbabwe. The LTLA teams in Chinhoyi and Mutare have been busy passing on the good news of Jesus and discipling students this semester. Here are reports from Chinhoyi and Mutare: Chinhoyi University of Technology Ministry Zviko Charariza, LTLA college ministry leader in Chinhoyi, shares that he is encouraged by two students in particular who have demonstrated an eagerness to know Christ more deeply this semester. Emmanuel, who hails from Bulawayo (the second largest city in the south of Zimbabwe) and is from the Ndebele tribe, has been discipled by Arthur Nhau, LTLA Director in Zimbabwe. Emmanuel is soft spoken but demonstrates faithfulness, availability and teachableness- a FAT guy. Arthur says he is moving toward being a man of FAITH, as he has the H- heart for God & people, but just needs to add the I- initiative to minister to people. Would you pray for Emmanuel as Arthur maintains contact with him from a distance as he will be away for a one year internship?

Emmanuel (right) with Daniel who visited from Iowa last year.

The other student who has proved to be a FAT person, is Eva. She faithfully has been attending the weekly meetings and inviting others to join. LTLA college ministry co-leader, Marvelous Makumbirofa, hopes to begin meeting with her for discipleship next semester. Would you pray that Eva avails herself for discipleship especially since it will be her final semester?

Eva (left) participating in a game during the weekly fellowship meeting.

Marvelous shared the photo below of the recent ladies fellowship outing. These ladies are all involved in discipling relationships with Marvelous as well as Stella and Prestege, the other LTLA Training Ministry team members. Marvelous highlighted that in this photo, Mitchell invited her fellow first year classmate Precious, to our ministry fellowship and Miriam invited Faith. Fadzai and Rumbidzai have actively been inviting friends to join our ministry fellowship. Aleta is the spiritual "daughter" and "granddaughter" of two former students who were discipled through our ministry.  As you can see God is blessing the ministry with women of FAITH. Would you pray for continued fruitfulness among the women on campus and that God would raise up men of FAITH (Faithful, Available, Initiators, Teachable, Heart for God & people)?

(L to R) Daisy, Mirriam, Mitchell, Faith,Fadzai, Rumbidzai, Marvelous, Stella, Precious and Aleta.

Mutare - Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences Simba Mangore. LTLA Mutare Ministry Director, reports that the Lord has given him twelve students to intentionally disciple at Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences (MSUAS).  They have hosted many students at their home for fellowship gatherings as seen from the photos below.

Fun Mutare student ministry gathering.

Mutare guys gathering.

Simba asks for your prayers as he plans to expand ministry efforts to Mutare Polytechnic, where Tinotenda from Chinhoyi is enrolled. Tinotenda has established relationships with classmates this semester so is ready to begin gathering students for Bible studies. Simba also asks for prayers for the following FAITHful students with whom he plans to meet weekly on the weekends next semester to equip them for ministry at MSUAS.

Lucy. Tino & Panashe will be second year Accounting students next semester at MSUAS.

Faith will be a second year accounting student next semester at MSUAS.

Emmanuel will be a fourth year student studying software engineering at MSUAS.

Simba shared the following verses that he is asking God to fulfill as he serves the Lord in Mutare: Genesis 26:4, Isaiah 43:4, Isaiah 46:4, Exodus 4:12 and Hebrews 11:8. I encourage you to look up these verses which proclaim God's promises. Like Abraham, Simba moved to a new place last year not knowing what to expect. The Lord has blessed him for stepping out in faith. Trusting the Lord's Promises, Mike Sulc Life to Life Ministries, Africa Director 515-520-3607

IMPORTANT: Donation Clarification for Life to Life Africa & Mike Sulc

Dear Donors,

Thank you for your faithful support of Life to Life Africa and of me as I direct this ministry to orphans, widows and the poor as well as to college students in Zimbabwe. The Lord has sustained our ministry efforts through your prayerful support for more than twenty years. Thank you!!

I am writing to inform you that donations made for the work of Life to Life Africa and to Mike Sulc will need to be made out to Life to Life Ministries with "Africa" or "Mike Sulc" written in the memo line to designate the gift accordingly. Our ministry is registered as Life to Life Ministries with the IRS and our bank needs donations made out to the name listed on our account. The bank is stepping up their security measures due to increased fraud in the banking sector. They had allowed donations made out to Life to Life Africa in the past but they can no longer allow that.

You may have recurring payments set up through your bank's Bill Pay system to send donations, so please make sure the donations are being made to Life to Life Ministries with a designation of "Africa" or "Mike Sulc" in the memo line. If you wish to split your donation between the Africa and the Sulc accounts you can include a note specifying the amount to each. Thank you for your attention to this change. I am sorry for the inconvenience it may cause. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Grateful for your faithful, generous, and prayerful partnership!!

Mike Sulc
Life to Life Ministries - Africa Director
515-520-3607

Harvest Time - LTLA Update - April 2025

 

Greetings Friends, As farmers are now planting their crops here in the US, crops are being harvested in Zimbabwe. Thank you for your prayers for rain in Zimbabwe! The Lord provided abundant rain which has produced a bumper harvest. It is a huge blessing after the severe drought last year prevented anything from growing. Below you will find photos of a few family members Life to Life Africa has trained with their bumper corn harvest. It is encouraging to see smiles as they rejoice in the fruit of their labor. We are also seeing a spiritual harvest among children and young people after the Love Zimbabwe Festival and sharing with them the meaning of Easter. (See photos and a video below) Thank you for your prayers for the evangelism efforts during the Love Zimbabwe Festival. Please pray for the critical follow up being done by our team and all the churches involved. Just as it takes the blessing of God for the right conditions along with the hard work of cultivating, planting, weeding and harvesting the crops we grow, we see the same need for God's blessing and our work to see a spiritual harvest in the lives of people. Thankfully our work is empowered by God's Spirit which enables us to see a fruitful harvest in people's lives.  We are also encouraged to see a harvest of generosity among our team and those we serve as they put into practice and share the lessons learned from the Biblical generosity training. During "bring and share" times, people are giving clothing, vegetables, and kitchen utensils among other things to one another. It is very encouraging to see God's heart of generosity taking root in the lives of our team and those we serve. Enjoy below photos and a video of harvest time in Zimbabwe:

Some family members in their corn plots.

Some of the corn harvested at the LTLA Community Center.

The Love Zimbabwe Festival stage in Chinhoyi.

A lot of young people attended the Love Zimbabwe Festival.

Some of the LTLA youth who attended the Love Zimbabwe Festival.

Prestege (LTLA team member), first from the right, performing on stage with one of the musical artists during the Love Zimbabwe Festival.

Prestege (LTLA team member) taught the hand gestures for Matthew 5:14 to the LTLA youth as they recited the verse.

These children prayed to receive Christ the Saturday before Easter after being told what Jesus did for them.

Rejoicing in the Lord's harvest, Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

Generosity - LTLA Update - March 2025

 

Greetings LTLA Friends, As we approach Easter, we celebrate the extraordinarily generous nature of God. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ we are the recipients of God generously extending his mercy and grace to forgive us of our sins. We see God's generous character in creation and throughout the pages of the Bible. Two weeks ago, our team explored in greater detail God's generous nature and were trained with tools to disciple people in the area of generosity. Generous Church, an organization committed to inspiring and empowering believers to live generously so they can impact their communities, provided two facilitators from Kenya to conduct a two day seminar on Biblical generosity with our LTLA team. They were trained in using the Stations of Generosity Bible study, which uses song, hand motions, drama, testimonies, and facilitated discussions to explore God's generous nature with those whom we are discipling. The facilitators were encouraged by the team's preparation and excitement to engage in the training as they had examined this topic prior to the training. As our team is personally impacted by God's generosity, it is our prayer that their example of generosity will have a multiplying effect among those they are discipling. This week, from April 3-6, the Love Zimbabwe Festival will be taking place in Chinhoyi. Three LTLA team members along with some young people from our Chosen Generation group have been participating in preparation activities for this event. Kubamba, a ministry from Kenya that focuses on reaching young people for Christ, has been providing training in using drama, dance, and digital media to share the Gospel. Marvelous and Tatenda, LTLA team members, received drama training and participated in one Gospel drama at a downtown clean up campaign where many responded in receiving Christ. Prestege, another LTLA team member, received dance training and will participate in the festival with the dance team.  These team members are excited to use these skills they have gained in our ministry efforts with youth and young people. They are also excited, together with young people from our Chosen Generation group, to share Christ during the Love Zimbabwe Festival. Would you join us in praying that many, young and old, will respond to the great news of Jesus Christ? And pray for the critically important work of discipleship that will take place with those who respond to follow Christ. So, March was a good training month for the LTLA team. We look forward to how the Lord will continue to minister through them as they use these trainings in their evangelism and discipleship efforts. Below you can see photos and a video from the Biblical generosity training along with photos from the downtown Chinhoyi Cleanup Campaign for the Love Zimbabwe Festival. Grateful for your partnership with us in prayer and financial support! Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

LTLA team members learning the hand motions associated with the Stations of Generosity Bible study.

LTLA team members working in groups during the Stations of Generosity training.

A Generosity diagram shared during the Stations of Generosity training.

LTLA team members acting out the good Samaritan story during the Stations of Generosity training. Other team members are singing, "Love is not love until you help somebody, until you give it away, and you know that love."

Prestege (in the center) participated in the Youth Praise &  Worship Bash during the downtown Chinhoyi Cleanup Campaign for the Love Zimbabwe Festival.

Tatenda (kneeling) participated in the God's Love drama during the downtown Chinhoyi Cleanup Campaign for the Love Zimbabwe Festival.

God Hears - LTLA Update - February 2025

 

Greetings from rainy Zimbabwe, When arriving here last week, Shelton, LTLA Community Ministry team leader, informed me that the crops needed rain. Well, the Lord heard the prayers and has answered bountifully. We have had a lot of rain and we were blessed the other day with the reminder of God's faithfulness as a brilliant rainbow graced the sky over the Life to Life Africa Community Center as seen in the photo below.

Rainbow over the LTLA Community Center.

There was concern in Chinhoyi that the rains would miss this area as it seemed like the southern part of the country was getting all the rain. But God heard their cry and has provided timely rain. When it rains, there are even more power cuts which affects pumping water in the city. That is affecting our operations for the Critical Care Center ministry to preschool orphans.  Twice per week, we are transporting water in containers from our Community Center where we use a generator to pump water from our well when there is no electricity. These challenges are leading us to consider drilling a well at our Critical Care Center as well as installing solar power at our Community Center and our third ministry location where we serve the other side of town. With support from Hopevale Church, that location has a well and we have solar power at our Critical Care Center.

(L to R) Arthur, LTLA Director in Zimbabwe, with Tatenda & Letwin, transferring water from containers on our truck to containers at our Critical Care Center.

The challenges are ever present in Zimbabwe, even in the midst of the blessings.. It causes the LTLA team to be dependent upon the Lord on a daily basis. The LTLA Community Ministry team begins and ends the week in prayer as seen in the photo below. There were two team members absent, Itai due to the death of her daughter-in-law from complications in delivering her first child and the other due to a bad bacterial infection on a finger. Unfortunately, these situations are common in Zimbabwe where medical care is poor. Thankfully the LTLA Clinic doctor caught the bad infection on Otillia's finger.

LTLA Community Ministry team praying yesterday.

You can join us in prayer during the month of March for two items. First is the Love Zimbabwe Festival that will be held in Chinhoyi April 3-6. Many churches in Chinhoyi are collaborating with this evangelistic event. LTLA will provide some discipleship training as churches prepare to follow-up those who respond to the Gospel. Would you pray for lasting fruit from this festival?

Marvelous (left), LTLA Training Ministry team member, helped with translation and participated in this evangelism demonstration at the Love Zimbabwe Festival evangelism & discipleship training.

Secondly, we have learned of an opportunity to share the Gospel with a Mapostori group from Mutare, where LTLA team members Simba & Pamela are ministering. Mapostori is the largest religious group in Zimbabwe. They mix traditional African religion with some Christian teaching, but they typically do not allow their members to read the Bible. It sounds like God's Spirit is moving in this group as an influential member has been impacted by the truth of Christ. Would you pray that the door for sharing the Gospel with this Mapostori group remains open and that the leaders would turn to Christ? If the leaders receive Christ, they will have a big influence upon the members. Thank you for praying with us to our God who hears, Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

Here are some additional photos:

Mr. Chigwida holding the first eggs from his hens with his wife and Shelton, LTLA Community Ministry team leader, along with him. He is retiring from serving with LTLA, so we have helped him establish an egg business to provide him retirement income.

The LTLA ladies continue with their sewing projects on Mondays. Shelton & Tinotenda's young daughter, Kunashe, in the foreground keeps everyone entertained with her jabering.

A full room of kids at the LTLA Critical Care Center.

Patricia busy cooking for the Critical Care children.

I was really encouraged by the interaction among the LTLA Chosen Generation group. These young people have good insights from God's Word.

There is a new batch of broiler chickens. The heat light was off due to a power outage, which is common when it rains. The frequent power outages have caused us to lose some of the chicks. We will try starting them inside a room in our triplex and put buckets with hot coals near their enclosure to keep them warm.

Mr. Lunga washing the feeders and waterers for the broiler chickens in preparation of new batches of chickens. We are planning to do batches of 50 every 2-3 weeks.

Unloading corn meal and cabbages for the LTLA food distribution.

The packed church for the Love Zimbabwe Festival evangelism and discipleship training.