Good Neighbors - LTLA Update - June 2023

 

Greetings again from Africa, I am writing to share an encouraging development that happened for the LTLA Community Ministry this past month. It is encouraging to see the impact that our ministry is having upon our neighbors by the LTLA Community Center. Our prayer is that we continue to impact our neighbors around our ministry sites in Chinhoyi. When the team is working in the LTLA vegetable garden they are typically singing and laughing together. This caught the attention of the gardener at the Environmental Management Agency that is close by as he walked on his way to work. He observed that we are quite successful in our vegetable garden efforts and he had noticed our good composting work that is out in front of our property. He was struggling with his gardening efforts and asked his supervisors if he could approach us for training. When asked, Shelton, LTLA Community Ministry team leader, was more than happy to have the team provide training at their site. The team helped them start their compost pile and will be providing ongoing coaching in their gardening efforts.  Last week I had the opportunity to accompany Shelton to guide the gardener in turning his compost pile and providing the appropriate amount of moisture while turning it. While at their site our team noticed a lot of mulch piled up so they inquired if they would be willing to share some with us. Well, they shared a lot as you will see in the photo below, so we are now well stocked with mulch for our gardening efforts. Mulch is critical in sustainable farming to help preserve moisture in the soil and prevent weed growth. Would you pray with us that relationships with our neighbors will result in people coming to know Christ as they see our good works on behalf of the community? Seeking to be good neighbors, Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

LTLA Community Ministry team demonstrating composting with Environmental Management Agency staff.

Shelton, LTLA Community Ministry team leader, doing a follow up consultation on composting with the Environmental Management Agency staff member.

Pile of mulch provided to LTLA by the Environmental Management Agency.

Cabbages from LTLA garden are being distributed with corn meal & beans to vulnerable families.

Carrots in the LTLA garden.

The carrots are being sold along with broccoli and lettuce to help the ministry. Cauliflower, peas and red onions will soon be harvested for sale as well.

Mike enjoyed using the lettuce, carrots and broccoli for salads on his recent visit.

On the Ground in Africa - LTLA Prayer Bulletin - June 2023

 

Greetings from Africa, Thank you for your prayers for my time with the LTLA team in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. I have been able to spend time with Shelton & Tino and meet their baby daughter, Kunashe. What a joy to rejoice with them in God's gift of her life! She is now home with them and they are busy doing "kangaroo treatment" with her, where they wrap her to their body for skin to skin contact. This treatment allows their body temperature to keep her warm so that the nutrients she is receiving from Tino's milk can be used for her growth and not to just keep her warm especially with the cooler temperatures of their winter..Please pray for Kunashe's continued development and for sustaining grace for her parents as they care for her.

Kunashe was well loved by friends from the US who provided the wrap she is wearing along with the blanket she is laying on and the toys she is beside.

I learned while here that another team member, Stella, became a "gogo" (grandmother) for the first time. She was doubly blessed with twin boys born to her daughter in early June. They were also born premature at 30 weeks and are still at the hospital connected to feeding and breathing tubes. Please pray for their lung development as one in particular is struggling to breath. I have also spent time with Tsungai, who has completed one week of radiotherapy treatment for cancer. She is encouraged in spirit and is just experiencing some dizziness physically. Other ladies on the LTLA team will take turns to be with her in Harare, the capital city where she is receiving treatments, to provide help and encouragement. They are graciously being housed by friends of the ministry in Harare.

Mike with Tsungai.

While here, I have also been able to encourage Arthur, the LTLA director. It has been a challenging past year on many fronts as we feel attacked by the enemy. The ministry teams here have increased their resolve to pray, asking the Lord for His protection and victory. Would you join us in praying for the Lord to strengthen our faith and bolster our courage to continue carrying the great news of Jesus and His Kingdom into Chinhoyi and beyond? I have the opportunity to carry the Gospel of Christ to farmers in northern Malawi with a good friend of the ministry, Tim Mooney. Ron Shimkus discipled Tim as a student at ISU and he went on to serve with The Navigators for two years in Uganda. After that he taught social studies at Ames High School and would take groups of students with him in the summers back to Uganda to help build schools. Tim developed a heart for coffee farmers in Uganda, so we met in Malawi yesterday along with a Ugandan farmer friend of his, Charles, to visit coffee farmers in northern Malawi.  You may remember four years ago that I traveled to Malawi to visit another ISU student, Tyler Marshall, who was serving there with the Peace Corps. On that visit I met Park, a young man in that community, who desires to make an impact for Christ. Park and Shelton, LTLA Community Ministry team leader, received sustainable farming and stewardship training together that year from Foundations for Farming in Malawi. Would you pray for Tim, Charles and I this week as we visit Park to encourage him in his efforts with farmers in Misuku, Malawi? Grateful for your continued prayer support while I travel in Africa! Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

Mike and Tim Mooney

Meeting Kunashe - LTLA Prayer Bulletin - June 2023

 

Greetings LTLA Friends, I am pleased to report that on June 9th Tinotenda, Shelton's wife, gave birth to Kunashe Liz. Tino was having contractions most of the day, so the doctor delivered Kunashe via C-section at 32 weeks. Kunashe weighed 4lbs and was initially assisted with a breathing and feeding tube in intensive care at a private hospital in Chinhoyi. Thankfully, she is now breathing and eating on her own. A year ago this month Shelton & Tino lost their first child at 8 months of pregnancy. Tino has type 1 diabetes, so her pregnancies are at a higher risk. The doctor made the decision to deliver the baby as he felt good about the baby's development. We are grateful to the Lord for guiding the doctor and preserving Kunashe's life. Her name means "there is God." Shelton & Tino have certainly felt God's presence very near to them as they are rejoicing in his gift of Kunashe to them. Join us in praying that she can go home soon. Thank you for the prayer and financial support for Tsungai. She began radiation treatment today. Pray that this treatment will eliminate all cancer cells in her body. I arrive today to Zimbabwe and plan to visit Tsungai in the capital, Harare, where she is undergoing the radiation treatment at a private clinic. She is being housed there by good friends of the ministry that live close to the clinic. Hopefully I can hold Kunashe on this trip if she is released from the hospital. Would you pray that I am able to encourage our team as they continue to persevere in challenging circumstances with the Zim dollar collapsing in value and as they face presidential elections at the end of August? Thank you for holding us up in prayer before our good Heavenly Father who is ever present. Gratefully in Him, Mike Sulc Life to Life Africa

Kunashe was in the incubator with a breathing & feeding tube for the first five days. She remained in the incubator another five days.

Kunashe is now out of the incubator and is continuing to adapt to breast feeding while also taking bottles.