“Even to Your Old Age” 

February 27, 2015 

"There are 5 men who want to receive Christ and they want you to pray with them," Arthur told me when I arrived in Chinhoyi. God is fulfilling his promise in Isaiah 46:4, "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

Misters Simirando, Chafewa, Phiri, Mukuwo, and Tembo publicly acknowledged their trust in Christ as the savior of their souls on February 7 at the Men of Hope meeting. They have been attending this LTLA discipleship meeting for men over the past year, where they were memorizing gospel centered Bible verses. Mr Lunga faithfully carried on these meetings in Arthur's absence and it was good to rejoice with him over the fruit of his labor.

Arthur (l) and Mr. Lunga (r) with Misters: Simirando, Chafewa, Phiri, Mukuwo, & Tembo

Mr. Lunga will continue leading this ministry to men--with the help of Mike Shimkus's mountain bike that came in the container. He uses the bike to visit the men along with carrying his daughter to school on his way to care for our LTLA property. (I kick myself for not getting a photo of him on the bike with his daughter.)

Thank you for praying for Julie and me as we traveled to Chinhoyi. It was good for Julie to experience what God is doing there in order to know how to pray. She was able to share with the team from her relationship with Christ, along with her experience in discipleship and counseling. We are seeing the need for soul discipleship that guides people to experience Christ in mind and heart. 

Mike and Julie spending time with the LTLA team

Would you join us in praying for soul discipleship to happen in Chinhoyi? Please see the specific prayer requests below. Arthur is using the process of Intimacy with Christ, Imitation of Christ and Impact for Christ. Please pray that orphans and widows, young and old, children and adults, young people and elderly, boys and girls, women and men will experience intimacy with Christ in order that they will be able to imitate Christ and make an impact for Christ.  

On Our Way to Zimbabwe with Grateful Hearts 

January 23, 2015 

Dear LTLA Friends,

With your prayers and support we are launching into 2015 with a strong start. Thank you for partnering with us in showing the love of God to vulnerable widows, orphans and poor in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe!

I am excited to share that today I board a plane to Zim with my lovely bride, Julie, at my side. We are excited to minister together for the next week in Chinhoyi. I will remain for an additional two weeks. Julie and the team there are excited to finally meet one another. Please pray for us as we spend time encouraging the team and taking the opportunity to do some counseling with some who are really hurting.

Your prayers will also be appreciated for my time with Arthur, who is now in place leading the work. It will be good to be together in Chinhoyi with him for the first time in two years. I am sure we will feel the void of not having "Uncle" Ron Shimkus with us. He prepared Arthur well for the training he received in Nigeria and we know that he is cheering us on as we trust God to continue the discipling movement among the vulnerable and also college students in Chinhoyi. Please join us in asking the Lord to show us His plans for Life to Life Africa.

Gratefully,
Mike Sulc

Mike, Julie, Johanna, and Micaela Sulc

Caring for Widows and Investing in Orphans 

December 5, 2014

Life to Life Africa continues caring for the vulnerable and impacting future generations in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. As we “look after widows and orphans in their distress” (James 1:27) we are trusting God that our efforts will “bind up,” “free,” “comfort,” “provide,” and “bestow beauty, gladness, and praise” among the old and young who are “poor,” “brokenhearted,” “captives,” “prisoners,” “mourning,” “grieving,” and “despairing.” (Isaiah 61:1-3) Thank you for your interest and concern for these dear ones whom God loves and treasures.

You can see the “gladness” in the face of Naome, the widow pictured here, whom we were able to “provide” training, planting inputs and encouragement this year as she planted a plot of corn to help feed her family. Her family along with 89 other families yielded four months’ worth of corn meal from their plots. The other eight months of the year we were able to distribute food twice a month to the 101 families we serve. There were eleven families whom we fed throughout the year as they were too weak to plant their own corn.

Naome

This widow joined 50-60 widows and ladies from our families two Saturdays per month for spiritual encouragement this year. It is during these gatherings and during individual meetings with Life to Life Africa trained “ambassadors” that heart issues are addressed to help “comfort” them in their trials and “free” them into life that is found in Jesus Christ. Bible Studies and individual discipleship is occurring not only among these widows but also among men, high school and young adult orphans as well as with local college students.

The future of Zimbabwe will be determined on what type of investment is made in the lives of the over 1 million orphans living in this troubled country. Life to Life Africa is seeking to make the love of Christ real in the lives of nearly 200 orphans living in the 101 families we serve. Munashe, with the bright smile in the front in the picture below, is one of the 30 orphans we feed twice a day and provide Christ centered instruction at our pre-school format Critical Care Center.

Munashe, with other orphans at the Critical Care Center

Over thirty high school orphans participate in our weekly Bible Studies and half a dozen young adult orphans are being discipled. We are trusting God to fulfill His promise in Isaiah 60:21-22. May His work through us in the lives of these “least” and “small” ones display His “splendor” and grow his kingdom to “thousands.”

Nhau Family Safely Home in Zimbabwe 

November 24, 2014 

Today, Arthur & Mildred Nhau, with their children, Donnell & Daisy, arrived back in Zimbabwe. Below is a note of thanksgiving from Arthur before he left Nigeria, where they received more training to lead the work in Chinhoyi. Thank you for your prayerful support that has sustained their training and enabled the work of Life to Life Africa to continue.

-Mike Sulc


Greetings, 

We are soon returning to Zimbabwe, and looking back at these past 21 months, we really do see God’s amazing grace and mercies. For we came up looking to acquire more ministry skills but during the training our eyes have really been shifted to also focus on our communion with God and developing Christ-like character. Most of the things we have learnt here have been a continuation of what we have been learning over the years, and are really encouraged by the power of spiritual reproduction. It is our prayer and heart desire that the Lord will use us to raise more laborers who will do far much more than we ever imagined. 

Second Timothy is a very special book to us and are greatly encouraged by Paul’s personal remarks as he reminds Timothy to bring his cloak and his scrolls especially the parchments (2 Timothy 4:13). This attitude of continual learning and saturating oneself in scriptures is what we desire to do, and not to leave this training feeling we have been trained because training is a life time process. 

We would like you to help us thank God for; 
- Allowing us to train in Nigeria, where we learned to do and think ministry. 
- Maintaining peace in our town whilst other surrounding northern towns have experienced unrest from extremists who have killed thousands of people. 
- It’s also going to be an emotional return for us, pray that we will find comfort and encouragement from the Lord. 
- We also pray that the relationships that God has given us here will last long and that we will add value to one another in years to come. 
- We pray that we will mutually encourage one another with the team back in Zimbabwe, and not for them to see us as the “learned”. 

Thank you for the support, resources, encouragement, and most importantly for continuing to pray for us. We are forever grateful. 

Humbled By His Grace, 
Arthur and Mildred

Arthur and Mildred Nhau, and their children, Donnell and Daisy

God is at Work—in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Florida 

October 31, 2014

Thank you for your prayers as I traveled to Africa last month. Here is an overdue update of a fruitful trip which took me to Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Florida. What a blessing to get a glimpse of what God is doing to advance His kingdom in Africa.


ZIMBABWE 

I had the opportunity to encourage our team in their efforts to visibly demonstrate God's kingdom to the Chinhoyi community. Below is a photo of the team distributing food to the 100 families we serve who care for orphans with most families led by widows and grandparents. I gave our team Overflow Thrift Store shirts.

LTLA food distribution

LTLA Team in Overflow ThriftStore shirts

It was also encouraging to see the LTLA Sewing Club. This is another way we are demonstrating God's value of working to provide for one's family in addition to the Foundations for Farming effort. Around a dozen widows gather twice a month to learn from one another how to make things for their families or for sale. Our desire is to have a larger room to put all the donated sewing machines to train more women, young & old, with sewing skills.

Gogo Mildred using one of the sewing machines donated through the 2013 container project

Stella holding a crocheted purse

NIGERIA

I was able to witness the training environment that Arthur and Mildred Nhau have experienced for the past 21 months in Minna, Nigeria. They have thrived in this training, including their son and daughter, as was evident in their smiles. Musa and Regina Yashim, whom Ron & Mary Ann Shimkus trained while in Kenya during the 80's, have invested in their relationship with God, their character and in their ministry skills. Arthur & Mildred are well prepared to lead the work in Chinhoyi and also train future kingdom laborers. We had good times in prayer and preparation for their return to Zimbabwe on November 24.

Arthur, his son Donnell, and Mike (in Nigerian attire)

Mike, Donnell Nhau, Musa Yashim, Arthur & Midlred Nhau holding Daisy, Regina Nhau,
and Jonathan Govero (Zimbabwe Navigator Staff and LTL Zimbabwe Trust board chairman) 

FLORIDA 

It was a pleasure to meet two young ladies and a couple whom God has prompted to serve Him in Africa. Devon and Colleen have a passion for rescuing street boys in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where they served recently in short-term missions. They are asking God to make a way to open a home for street boys there. Matt & Laura have heard God's call to serve in Uganda utilizing his counseling and her nursing training. They will volunteer with Jenga, a Ugandan Christian development outreach, in Mbale. We are praying they can raise the needed funds to serve as Life to Life Africa missionaries next year in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and in Mbale, Uganda. God is raising up laborers for the advancement of His kingdom in Africa!

Training, Thrifting, and Traveling 

September 11, 2014 


TRAINING

Last month in Chinhoyi, the 100 families we serve gathered for a refresher training session on planting a plot of corn. There were other families present as well to learn for the first time how to effectively plant corn. They witnessed the good yield our families experienced this year during harvest, so they wanted to get the training as well!

In the training, we also wanted to cover issues that may have prevented our families from a better harvest. Most harvested 4 months-worth of corn meal and we hope to get them to a 6 month harvest. In the urban setting of our ministry there is not enough available land for a 1 year plot. The families are planting wherever there is open land but more and more land is being claimed. Please pray that the families will find available land upon which to plant their plot of corn.

Mr. Chigwida teaching farming methods

Widow demonstrating fertilizer and lime application

Families gathered for Foundations for Farming training

THRIFTING

I would also like to report that the Overflow Thrift Store that opened in Ames on July 25 has had a successful start. The profit from the store is benefiting mission projects like LTLA that care for vulnerable people. This month LTLA will receive the first monthly contribution from the store. Thank you to all who have donated items, shopped and served at Overflow Thrift Store!

Click for newspaper and TV news stories, showing the positive attention that Overflow has received. And please visit the Overflow Thrift Store website to learn more.

I would like to encourage those of you who live around the Ames area to volunteer at Overflow Thrift Store. That is the biggest need the store has. The store is living up to its name as it is "overflowing" with donations and needs volunteers to process all of it. This is another way for you to support the work of LTLA. Thank you for considering.


TRAVELING

Tomorrow, Sept 12, I leave for a 3 week trip and covet your prayer support in the following ways:

• Sept 12-21: Encouraging the ministry team in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. They have been holding up well without our key leader Arthur Nhau for the past 18 months but are anxious for his return in early November. 
• Sept 22-28: Visiting with Arthur & Mildred Nhau in Nigeria, where they have received excellent ministry training. Jonathan Govero, chairman of the LTLA-Zimbabwe board, will join me. We will pray and establish ministry plans for Arthur's return to Chinhoyi in early November. (We will be far from where Ebola is present in Nigeria, but do pray for our protection.)
• Sept 29-Oct 2: Visiting Life to Life Ministry headquarters in Orlando, FL where will meet with 2 young ladies who desire to minister with LTLA in Zimbabwe by opening a home for street boys in Bulawayo. I will also meet with a couple who are preparing to minister with LTLA in Uganda, ministering spiritually in the context of their work with a British humanitarian agency.

Overflow Thrift Store Opening in Ames, IA

—will support LTLA 

July 11, 2014

I am pleased to announce that on July 25 there will be a new thrift store in Ames! All the profit of Overflow Thrift Store will go toward Christian ministries with sustainable development efforts among orphans, widows, the poor and the vulnerable around the world. Life to Life Africa will be one of the ministries this thrift store helps support!

There are items leftover from last year's container project that are being passed along to Overflow. The proceeds will benefit the work of Life to Life Africa.

The store will accept most items for donations except tube TVs and mattresses. Many volunteers will be needed to help this store operate. Please consider donating items and volunteering your time to help at the Overflow Thrift Store, located at 202 S. Duff Ave across from the Dollar Tree. You can call (515-290-0732) or email the store at overflowthriftstore@gmail.com

You can also email or call the store at the contact information listed below. Thank you for considering donating items and volunteering your time. The donations and efforts will directly help ministries like Life to Life Africa.

Excited to share this opportunity,
Mike Sulc

Below is the Overflow flyer. Share the news with your friends and "like" Overflow on Facebook.

God is at Work in Chinhoyi 

May 19, 2014 

God continues to work in and through those involved with Life to Life Africa.

Marvelous, an orphan whom our team member Anna discipled, started college in another city this past semester and has continued reading her Bible and memorizing verses. She sent me an email last week informing me that she is reading the Bible with a student friend at college. What a blessing to see fruit of our ministry to orphans carrying on for the Lord!

Shelton, one of our key student leaders at Chinhoyi University of Technology, has been active in sharing Christ with fellow students on campus. This past Friday night he sent me a message that Blessing prayed to receive Christ! A month ago another student named Ryan also received Christ and has been involved in the Bible study on campus. We praise God for this spiritual harvest as Shelton and other students along with our ministry team remain faithful in sharing the love of God through Jesus Christ.

Below are video clips of Marvelous and one of Shelton. They shared these brief testimonies during the memorial service in February of how Ron Shimkus impacted them. I know he would be rejoicing with what God is doing in and through Marvelous and Shelton.

We are also grateful for the good harvest that 90 families in our ministry had from their corn plots this year. Most were able to harvest 4 large bags which will last them four months. Our hope was to see a 6 month harvest but are encouraged with the good start. They will learn from this year and we will pray for wisdom and opportunities to increase the harvest for next year. Below are photos of some of the widows with their harvest. We are grateful to the Lord who through your prayers and support make this ministry possible!

Trip to Zimbabwe and Celebration of Ron Shimkus’ Life 

January 28, 2014 

Next week I leave for a 3 week trip to Zim. My father and mother-in-law, Duane & Joan Bundt, will be traveling there as well for a 2 week stay. Mary Ann Shimkus and her daughter, Rebecca Reisinger, will come for a one week visit, Feb 16-23. A celebration of the life and ministry of Ron Shimkus will take place on Feb 19 following the food distribution in the Chinhoyi city hall. Join us in praying for this joyous celebration that will have sadness as we miss him dearly. We covet your prayers for preparation, safety, and God's blessing on this very special visit.


March 6, 2014 

It was quite a contrast to return last Friday to 7 inches of snow and sub-zero temperatures- like going from the oven to the deep freeze. One of the days in Zimbabwe it was close to 90 degrees. I hope warmer temperatures will soon follow for us here in the US.

Thank you for your constant prayers for us last month! The Lord certainly blessed us with a special time in Zim.

Duane & Joan Bundt, my wife's parents, were able to introduce some of our staff members to prayer counseling, which ministered significantly to the deep pain of these widows and orphans. Duane also instructed the team in warfare prayer, equipping them for the inevitable spiritual battle that is raging all around them. Please join us in praying for the ministry team in Chinhoyi to apply the principles they learned and begin experiencing freedom and healing in their lives. The impact could be significant as they lead others to the victory we have in Christ Jesus.

Mary Ann Shimkus and her daughter Rebecca had the opportunity to experience all the facets of the ministry that Ron built in Chinhoyi. From the young orphans in the Critical Care Center to the school age orphans in Bible study, to the post-high school orphans and college students, to the widows and the men involved in the Women & Men of Hope groups, they witnessed the love for God's word that Ron instilled in the people. They also saw the love of God expressed through the care for young orphans in the Critical Care Center, the feeding of families in the food distribution and medical care at the clinic along with the training of families to grow corn.

People in Chinhoyi and in Harare, where Ron & Mary Ann ministered to college students, had the opportunity of sharing testimonies of how they were impacted by Ron. Below you will find the photo of the memorial plaque for Ron Shimkus that was erected at the Life to Life Community Center. We had a special time of prayer there following the Memorial Celebration,

Thank you for the part you have played in praying and giving toward the establishment of this ministry! With God's help may we carry on this work of the Lord for the sake of His glory.

Mary Ann, Rebecca, & Joan with Anna, Tendai, & Marvelous

Inspecting corn plots

Group gathered at Ron's Memorial Plaque

Memorial plaque for Ron Shimkus at LTLA Community Center

The Journey of the 40ft Container 

On November 20, 2013, I posted that the 40-foot container filled with over 43,000 items (food, clothing, sewing machines, mattresses, bed frames, and much more) for those in Chinhoyi was at last on its way to Zimbabwe. Had all gone according to schedule, the container should have arrived by late January/early February of 2014. But heavy rains, logistics, government inspections, incorrect paperwork, and more delayed its arrival until early June.

By God’s grace, everything did finally arrive safely and in good condition, and we are thankful! In order to get a glimpse into one aspect of LTLA’s work, please read below the unfolding saga of the challenges of getting the container to its destination.

-Mike Sulc


January 28, 2014 
Container Arriving in Zimbabwe 

The container is on a train in southern Zimbabwe, making its way to Harare, where it will clear customs and then will be transported to Chinhoyi. The meal packets that were packaged here in Ames will certainly help us at this time. Last Wednesday we could not distribute corn meal to the families because the suppliers did not have enough bags for the 100 families we are serving. Please pray that the container will clear customs without delay and that it will be safely transported and unloaded onto the concrete slab (see photo) waiting for it at the Life to Life Community Center in Chinhoyi.

Concrete slab for container at the LTLA Community Center

February 7, 2014 
Pray for Rain to Stop! 

I am waiting on my flight for Zimbabwe and need to appeal for prayer. It has been raining for 13 days in Chinhoyi and throughout Zimbabwe. Thank you for praying for rain! We now need it to stop for a few days so that the train carrying the container can proceed and so we can unload it at our Community Center. A 4 wheel drive truck got stuck there yesterday, so we will need to make contingency plans for temporarily storing the container elsewhere until the soil dries.

We expected the container to arrive to the capital city, Harare, today but it did not make it due to trains being halted for the rain. Once it arrives there you can pray for smooth processing through customs and then wisdom for a contingency plan if we are not able to proceed to the Community Center in Chinhoyi. We are requesting help from another ministry in Harare where we hope to park the container until we can proceed. Would you pray that they or another ministry will agree to help us?

Gratefully, Mike Sulc


February 24, 2014 
Container Selected for Random Inspection 

I once again ask for your prayer for the container. The rains have slowed so the container can begin to progress but it has been selected for a random inspection in South Africa near the border with Zimbabwe. The container actually never made it into Zimbabwe. God has providentially provided a pastor in Polokwane, South Africa, who can act as our representative during this inspection. He is the brother of Johan Joubert, a good friend of Life to Life Africa who lives in Chinhoyi. Johan prepared the concrete slab for the container at the Life to Life Community Center. The inspection will take place on Thursday, Feb 27. Please pray that the authorities will not create trouble and that the container will be able to progress on its way with all the items and arrive to Chinhoyi next week.


March 6, 2014 
Container Inspection Results 

Continue praying for the safe arrival of the container to Chinhoyi. The South African authorities were satisfied with the inspection that was performed on the container. It appears that our agents mishandled some container paperwork, which raised suspicions on the container contents. We praise God for pastor Henk Joubert who served as our representative and recruited a church member, Hans Van Staden, to assist with a forklift and laborer help. He assured me that all the items they removed for the inspection, approximately 1/3 of the contents, were re-packed in the container as seen in the photos he sent me. The container should be making its way to Zimbabwe next week. Please continue praying.

Unloading the container for inspection in South Africa

Closing container doors after inspection

May 5, 2014 
Continue Praying for Container—Incorrectly Labeled for Johannesburg, South Africa 

I am sorry to report that the container continues to be detained in South Africa. When I last reported, I wrongly assumed that once the inspection was completed in South Africa the authorities (South African Revenue Service- SARS) would release it. Instead they have very slowly tried to determine why the container returned to South Africa after it entered Zimbabwe. We sent our Zimbabwe agent in mid-March to deliver documents that were requested. While at the border, he inquired with the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ) personnel to determine what transpired. He learned that our container, along with two other containers, entered into Zimbabwe on a wrongly labeled rail wagon. It was labeled for Johannesburg, South Africa, so they returned it. Last week the South African freight company finally acknowledged the wagon was wrongly labeled but passed blame to the NRZ that they should not have returned the wagon without inquiring with them first.

We have elevated this issue to the executive levels and have informed the South African desk at the United States State Department. Please continue praying that the container will be released without assessment of a fine on the freight company. If they are fined we ask you to pray that they will pay it as they should and if they don't that the shipping company will take the appropriate measures to force them to pay and to obtain the release of the container.

I am encouraged that Henk Joubert, our pastor friend in Polokwane where our container is detained, has been monitoring the security of the container. He says the container has not moved and is positioned in a way that the doors cannot be opened.

Needless to say, however, this detainment and delay has been discouraging, frustrating and time consuming. I leave for Zimbabwe on May 22 and it is my hope that I do not have to alter my travel plans to deal with the release of our container. Please pray the container's release and movement to Zimbabwe will occur prior to my departure. 

Thank you for your prayerful support!

Mike Sulc


May 14, 2014
Container Update  

Thank you for praying! It looks like the container will be released soon. The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) communicated the amount for the fine and the shipping company will pay it.

Please pray that there are no further delays or unexpected problems in South Africa. We have also requested two documents from SARS which will be needed for Zimbabwe customs, so please pray that they supply those documents in a timely fashion so there are no complications for us in Zimbabwe. I am also hoping that the container will arrive while I am in Zimbabwe between May 23 - June 6.

Grateful for your prayers! Keep them up as we trust the Lord to see that the container is unloaded on the concrete pad that awaits it on our property in Chinhoyi. -Mike Sulc


May 21, 2014 
Container is Moving 

I gladly report that the container is now on Zimbabwe soil making its way to the capital, Harare. It will arrive there middle of next week, so it looks like I will be there when it arrives in Chinhoyi. God is always on time with His ways, so we continue to look to Him for the safe arrival of the container and that the contents will bless the people.


June 5, 2014 
Container Has Arrived! 

Greetings from Zimbabwe, I am delighted to report that the container has arrived and safely placed on the concrete slab at the Life to Life Community Center in Chinhoyi. It was a challenge all the way through the process but the Lord has granted us perseverance to see it through. We give Him all the glory for seeing that the container and all its contents arrived safely. Below are short video clips of its arrival. Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf!

June 23, 2014
Distributing Clothes and Other Container Items  

Thank you for praying for my recent trip to Zimbabwe! God answered our prayers regarding the container as it arrived during my time there.

I witnessed the distribution of mats with sheets and blankets to the families of the orphans in the Critical Care Center. These were transported in the container and were a gift from Gifts for the Nations, a ministry in Kansas. The mats were obtained from a correctional facility and ladies associated with the ministry made sheet covers and blankets for each mat. Below is a video of this distribution.

The LTLA team in Chinhoyi created 110 bags of clothing from the clothing in the container and distributed them last Wednesday to all the families that are involved in this ministry. Please pray that the families will experience the love of God through the blessing of this clothing and many would turn to Christ as the savior of their souls and sustainer of their lives here on earth.

Thank you for helping us show the love of Christ in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe!

LTLA Team making bags of clothes

LTLA Team modeling clothes

Distributing clothes and bedding to orphans and widows

Widows opening bags of clothes

LTLA families carrying bags of clothes after distribution of container items