"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother(s), have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people." (Philemon 1:7) This verse appropriately describes what transpired on my recent trip to Zimbabwe with Thomas Gilbert and Shane Thomas. These dear brothers and co-laborers in the Lord richly loved the LTLA team and those to whom they minister.
It was fun to serve with Thomas & Shane, as they bring laughter and joy in their love for people. I was personally challenged by their perseverance while both battled a stomach bug half way through the trip. As usual all three of us were also encouraged in the Lord by our brothers & sisters in Chinhoyi. Thank you for your prayer support that empowered us as well as the LTLA team to encourage and refresh one another's hearts.
As I reported several months ago, earlier this year the LTLA team was divided into two teams, the Community Ministry team and the Training Ministry team. This was done to bring focused effort to training laborers for God's kingdom work in the Training Ministry, as well as renewed and focused leadership to our Community Ministry. I believe lasting fruit will result from taking this step but there is also a danger of drifting apart and not operating in the unity God desires. At the end of our visit we brought the two teams together to be reminded that we are one ministry operating in two teams.
Jesus spoke about laying down his life for one flock (John 10:14-16) and he prayed to the Father that his disciples and the fruit of their ministry would be one, as he and the Father are one (John 17:11 & 20-21). Unity is the reality of God's character, in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul understood this reality as he constantly spoke of our union with God through Christ. In Romans 12:4, he points out that our physical body is made of many parts with different functions but all the parts belong to one another. "In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:5) He appeals to us to "agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10) I believe to accomplish this, we need to heed what Paul urges in Ephesians 4:2, "Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love." Would you pray for oneness, agreement, humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with one another in love so there would be no division and that we be perfectly united in mind and thought? Pray this for Arthur Nhau (LTL Director in Zimbabwe, Training Ministry Director) and his wife Mildred Nhau, as well as Shelton Nhundu & "Gogo" Mildred Musapuri (Community Ministry Team Leaders), along with the Training Ministry team members, Community Ministry team members, Thomas Gilbert (LTL US Director) and Mike Sulc (LTLA Director).
Thank you for praying for Ottilia, Community Ministry team member, who safely gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Clarence & Ottilia have named her Nguvayashe, which in Shona means "God's time."
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| Ottilia with Clarence holding Nguvayashe. |
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| Nguvayashe |
Please continue to pray for Tatenda, Training Ministry team member, who is still not able to walk after collapsing last month. Tests have been done and we are waiting for results to be returned from South Africa. It is concerning that he cannot walk and, unsurprisingly, he is very discouraged.
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Tatenda, sitting on his walker, is using it to get around. He has upper body strength to hop along with the walker. At this point he cannot take steps with his legs. |
Below are photos of Thomas, Shane & me during our recent trip:
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| Thomas Gilbert (back row far left) & Shane Thomas (back row far right) with the Community Ministry Team in their donated overalls. Shane's parents donated overalls as did members of Pleasant Ridge Church in Glidden, IA. |
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| Thomas & Shane helping Shelton with composting. |
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| Thomas (on the left) with Community Ministry team members preparing onions to be fertilized. |
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| Shane in his overalls with budza (hoe) in hand. |
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Mike grinding cooked soy beans to make soy milk during the Life Skills Training session with the Community Ministry Team. |
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| Shane (far left) reading and discussing the Bible with Richard, Brian, More Blessing, Vinny and Shelton. |
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| Thomas (back right) taught these children at the Kids Bible Study at Arthur & Mildred's home. |
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Group photo after the 1-Day Conference for University & Polytechnic
students. Thomas & Shane presented the benefits of life in Christ
and how to live in Christ. |
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| Mike sharing the 3 Circles Gospel Illustration with the Men of Hope. |
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Shane (left) spent a lot of time with Simba, who completed a Fabrication Engineering Degree from Harare Polytechnic last month. Simba is joining the Training Ministry Team for the next two years. |
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| The full LTLA team (Training & Community Ministry teams) with Thomas & Shane. |
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LOVE being spelled out by Simba, Shane, Zviko & Thomas as they stand on the container at the LTLA Community Center with a beautiful Zimbabwe sunset for a background. |