It has been three months since I have given an update regarding the work of Life to Life Africa. I am very sorry for not keeping you informed of what God is doing through the faithful efforts of the LTLA team in the midst of continued hardships in Zimbabwe. Please forgive me for this silence.
As I reflect on the cause for my silence, I ask for your prayers. Personally, I have been experiencing the plague of busyness, with many good things in my life here in the US. I am also detecting a bit of paralysis in my role with LTLA, from fear of the challenges that confront us in Zimbabwe. How have I slipped into this busyness and fear? The answer, I believe, is a lack of experiencing the empowering guidance and assurance of God's presence in my life. Recently in my morning scripture reading, I have been reminded of how Jesus, in the midst of many demands and discouragements, would seek out time with God the Father. (Examine the context of what Jesus was encountering in these verses: Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35, 6:46; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28; 11:1.) Please pray for me to follow Christ's example of seeking God's presence for guidance and assurance.
In this week's The Economist there are two articles that highlight the worsening situation in Zimbabwe. "A lack of food, water and power is pushing Zimbabwe to the brink," reads the tagline for one of the articles. When I was in Zimbabwe in May, the electricity was off on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Since June, electricity has been off every day, only being turned on overnight between 10pm and 4am. This is the only time water can be pumped, so it must be collected at night for use the next day. One of the articles in The Economist shares the forecast of the UN World Food Program that "By early next year about half of the population in Zimbabwe will need help to get enough food." Although it has been going on for a long time, the crisis in Zimbabwe is real and keeps getting worse.
In the midst of the challenges, in which Zimbabwe is quite literally in the dark, God is still at work. Below are updates from two co-laborers in Christ who ministered with the LTLA team in recent months. They share how the light of the Gospel is shining in the midst of the spiritual darkness.
Shane, Life to Life Ministry staff at the University of Central Florida (UCF), reports the following from the experience that a team of seven from their ministry had in Chinhoyi with the LTLA team in May: "It is a beautiful thing to experience the vision of discipleship spread across many hungry-for-Jesus Christians from all walks of life and ages." He said it was good for the college students on their team to experience multi-generational discipleship. He went on to share about the challenge they faced in freely engaging with students on campus at the Chinhoyi University of Technology. "The increasing political tension in Zimbabwe affected our ability to do evangelism on campus." (The new campus security director was from the ruling party, which is nervous about the strong anti-government sentiment on college campuses. He did not give the UCF team freedom to interact with new students not already associated with LTLA on campus.) As Shane said, "This pushed us to be intentional about opportunities God gave us to share, regardless of how convenient it was. Ryan and Kyle [two UCF students] shared the Gospel with college students who lived down the street from the LTLA ministry house. They also shared the Gospel with a young man walking by the LTLA ministry center. Ryan and I built a relationship with a young cashier at the nearby grocery store and we had the privilege of leading him to Christ! Maura [another UCF student] also had the first opportunity in her life to lead a girl to receiving Christ! The memories are plentiful, where God opened many doors in the hearts of men and women, despite the door for evangelism on campus being closed. We praise the Lord!"
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| Shane with Mackenzie (left, UCF team member) and Otillia (LTLA team member) teaching pre & early primary school children. |
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| Ryan (left) and Kyle (right, both UCF team members) with college students they met down the street from the LTLA ministry house. |
The example set by the UCF team encouraged the LTLA team to increase their boldness in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for mutual encouragement in evangelism and discipleship that took place between the two teams.
Naomi, a dear friend of the ministry from Michigan, traveled to Chinhoyi in late July. She mostly remained on site at our ministry center, due to the uneasiness of the ruling party authorities, who are nervous about anything and anyone unusual. The team was once again blessed by her love and encouraging input into their lives, as well as into the lives of the orphans and widows in the ministry. Naomi reports that the lack of electricity is causing people to spend more time together in the evenings talking around candle light. Just like these candles, the Gospel of Jesus is bringing light into darkness in Zimbabwe!
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| Naomi shared with the High School Bible Study group about the importance of friendships from the example of David and Jonathan in the Bible. In her words, "You need a 'Jonathan' in your life. Don't do life alone." |
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| Naomi loving on widows in Chinhoyi. |
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| Naomi experienced preparing dinner by candle light. |
Holding onto Jesus in a dark world,
Mike Sulc
Life to Life Africa
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