Bacon James Lisa 1997 Zimbabwe

7/23/2019 Bacon James Lisa 1997 Zimbabwe

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P .O . BOX 6 01 8

GWERU

ZIMBABWE

TgI: 54 5185

e'mail:[email protected]

BACONS' REPORT from

GWERU, ZIMBABWE

MARCH

1997

WHEN

I SHUT

UP THE HEAVENS SO

THAT

THERE

IS

NO RAIN

OR COMMAND

THE

LOCUST TO

DEVOUR THE

LAND

OR SEND PESTILENCE AMONG

MY

PEOPLE....

IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY

MY

NAME

HUMBLE

THEMSELVES, AND SEEK MY

FACE,

AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS

THEN I

WILL HEAR FROM

HEA VEN

AND

WILL

FORGIVE THEIR SIN

AND HEAL

THEIR

LAND

2 Chron.

7: 13-14

Yes, Zimbabwe has had her draughts, her invasion of locusts, and her

pestilence; but the people prayed, turned to God and He opened the

heavens

a nd s en t much needed rain So much so that

now,

one

can

hear

the little children sing Rain, rain go away, come back another day We

know that when God blesses. He does it abundantly. The dams are full, the

fields are green. This has been the result of

ALL

Christians in the country

praying together in unity.

Bacons too have

been

at the receiving end of God's blessings. We had the

utmost pleasure of being able to spend Christmaswith our children and

grandchildren inSouth Africa. We met our grandchildren for the first time,

altriough Jim had spent a week with the eldest boy in 1994. We are

still

savouring these happy family times. We are presently organizing our move

to our new house, which was purchased in February. God intervened there

too. We had acquired an apartment from the sale of our house in 1988 when

we left Zimbabwe to study for the ministry. This would have been a place for

retirement. But we fetched a good price from

the

apartment,

when

we

decided that we would live in Gweru where our work is. With the proceeds,

we have been able to buy a small house. Praise the Lord We will now

have our own home, a place to 'hang our hat as the Brits would say At our

age. the prospect of having no home can be daunting. Moreover, we

received a grant from a donor agency which will contribute towards

purchasing a much needed vehicle. We

still

have to buy furniture, kitchen

cupboards and utensils,

drapes

, carpets and the many things necessary to

set

up home. Thank you all of you who have prayed for us and sent us gifts

towards our settling In. We

also

thank God for allowing us to carry on our

work, unhindered, despite bouts of ill-health.


2/8

UPDATE

ON GWERU

CHRISTIAN

CHURCH

Attendance had fluctuated while

the congregants

went

back

to their rural

homes to plough their fields during the rainy seasons. Others had gone on

holiday to either Harare or Bulawayo where their

family

reside. However, we

now average 40 adults and 40 children on any Sunday. We intend to use

an interpreter once a month to translate Jim s sermons. So

far

we have

counted 26 baptisms since we started with the church in July 1995 - 3 since

February1997 .

The Bible studies on

Wednesdays

continue.

The

young adults enjoy being

together on that day with Lisa

still

teaching them.

We

have

started another

Bible study, once a month, in Athlone,

and we are

praying that this will be the start of a cell group to reach the people there.

This monthly get together

will

eventually growto weekly meetings. We are

excited at the

prospect.

A third Bible study, this time in Shona,

has

started and a local pastor from

the neighbouring Church of Christ congregation teaches on Christian Family

Life. This is proving very popular, as our Shona people are so hungry for

the

Word

and

for directions to live a life pleasing to God. With

the

Aids

pandemic, many realize the necessity of teaching their children the way of

God.

The very popular Youth Club, now called

KFC

Kidsfor Christ), continue

to

meet

on Friday afternoons.

Our ladies

are

still meeting on

Tuesday

and

Wednesday

afternoons to sew.

A breakthrough from this Self-Help scheme has resulted in our ladies sewing

26 shorts for young boys

living

in an orphanage in Athlone. Despite their

extreme poverty these

women

have realized that orphans need to be cared

for. A humbling thought. We are now sewing more shorts and blouses to be

6o;d this time for the project to be viable. We need to buy more material for

sewing. Another breakthrough has been that many of these ladies now

participate in a Shona choir inthe bible lessons, and have come forward to

be baptized. Many have brought their friends. This method of evangelism is

proving very successful.

OUR STUDENTS

Our college

student Dinki

Sumaili, whom the Gweru Christian Church

supports is on the Dean s list at Zimbabwe Christian College. Dinki ha s

helped the church during the Christmas holidays, preached twice, and

continues to help as he comes once a month to Gweru. He is like a breath of

fresh air

and

very popular with old

and

young alike. Another young man,

Stuart Woods

intends

to

start

c olle ge in May 97.

The

church will

pay

for his

tuition

fees

while

Whitmers

will provide for

his pocket

money. If anyone


3/8

would like to assist these two

young

men to further

their education, US 150

will

pay

for a year s tuition.

AND FINALLY.

Whitmers

have indicated that they

will

return

to Africa

towards the

end

of

June.

This willmean that Bacons w take up new residence at the beginning

of

June.

ewill con tinue to work with

the church

and make

sure

that

our

new

programmes are

in place.

We

have made a

three

year commitment to

this church, but should

the people

want us to continue working with them,

we

would

be

delighted. This would

mean

that we

w

need

to go on fund raising

and report

to our

present supporters towards

the middle of

June 1998. Our

future is in God s

hands and where

He sends

us

,

there we

w

go.

Please

continue

to

keep

us in your prayers, as we are in

the

forefront of

the

battlefield

and

there

are

many attacks

on

our

work. But

we

know

that

He will

not

send us where His grace cannot keep us

Thank you to those who

sent

us second hand Bibles. They are of great

value

to our new Christ ians.

Yours

in

Christ s Service,

J im and acon

Forwarding

Agent:

Bill

Mayes, 1405 Arroyo

Dr.,

Frankfort,

KY

40601,USA

UKContact: Gill Allardice, c/o Springdale

College,

54

Weoley

Park Rd,

Selly Oak, Birmingham,

B29 6RB,

England.


4/8

RO BOX6018

GWERU

ZIMBABWE

P H O N E : 5 4 3 4 3 8

EMAIL: swkUmer karare.iqfnca. com

A U G U S T 1 9 9 7

IN RETROSPECT We

have

beenin

Gweni, Zimbabwe

two

years now....

Amazing Yearsll

Our

invitation

by the

Gweru Christian Church

was to an E^lish

speaking

congregation^ under tiie

patriachal figure

of

one AIwynKetterer. But the Lord had other

plans

for

us.

We

soon

became

Saba

and Araai

-

father and moflier

- to

the very

poor ttie jobless

and

tJie

very sick, and the

marginalized, on

the

periphery

ofê

small

city ofGweru. Our programmes and outreach

brou^t

hope.

Despite

our

lack

of

knowledge

ofthe Shona language we

were

readily

accepted We visited

these people^

and

prayedwith

them

in

their

homes.

Our

willingness

to

care

for

them

brought

a

difference in their sad

lives.

We transported the

sick to

hospital, paid

for their medicine,

and

travelled long distances

to

officiate at flinerals, and give

pastoral

care

to

the

bereaved.

The result

is that

our

church

ouilding is bursting

at the seams. So

far,

36 people have

been

baptised. The seed

ofttie gospel has been sown, and th e Lord is

working

in many

lives.

He

is using

us

in

this area of

Zimbabwe.

We

have

also

made contact wifli other Christian groups,

both

black and wîte. We

are known in Gweru now and the work is growing.

Ou r

tiiree

year

commitment ends

in

April 1998.

Steve

andLindarWhitmer

have returned, we

are in

our

new

home, and the

congregation would

like to

see

us

continue

towork

with

them. We hope

and

prs^

that

you

will still

be

willing

to

support

us. W e

need

USS750,

minimum

per

month to

continue here. We

are planning

to

visit

the US and the UK next year to raise funds. However, we

have

realized

that

the cost

ofgoing

overseas would

allow us to live a

whole

year

here We ar?

looking for

si^port

until Jun e 2001. B y then

Jim

will be entitled to

his

British Old Age

Pension

and

wewill

find

ourselves

a little more independent financidly. To

ttiose

ofyou who areatpresent

supporting

us

in our ministrv

we

hope that

you

will

contimie.

It could

be that

you may need to adjust

your contribution. To

others we invite you to become co-workers with us in

this

worthwhile mission

for God s gloryandthebuilding of His

Kingdom.

INMEMORIAAf

On June. 28,1997, Jhn s son in law,

Bradley

Moore, aged 35

died.

He

committed

smcide m

Johaanesbm-g^Soutii

Africa.

He took

liis

life

as

a

result

of

heavy

financial

burdens.

We

thank God

tfiat we had been ab le to sp en d time

with him

at C hristm as. Jim is grieving, as

he

loved Brad

as his

own son. The

loss hit

him at a

time

when he

was

suffering from a

vei-y

bad chest infection. Bradley

is am-vived by hia wife Jim s daughter Lisa and two small

childi en

aged

6

yeai s and 14

months.

Please keep Ae family

in

your prayers.

RECENT

NEWS..

We have

now

the

help

ofamissionary from the Churches ofChrist, mAusâlia,

to

help

Lisa

with the

self-help project

She is avery

ressourcefiil

lady.

Also,

two

interns

from

Johnson

Bible CoHege -

Kelley

Whitmer and

her friend Matt Cable,

who

are helpingwift the youth for

the suiter.

are

also

working with

Steve=

W e

have had

the

pleasure

of

having

Rodger

Edrington,

from

visit us.

We

also

met

with Glen aid Paddy

Millar from SJOC.

Itwas so good to meet up wim . Id

Friends . We

have

received many second hand Bibles, thanks to Central Christian Church,

San

Jose.

CA.

We are always grateful for those. .

Jim and

Lisahave suffered

bouts

of

illness. Please

pray for Lisa, as

she

isnow on medication tor

hypertension.


5/8

Our daughter Vanessa is now engaged

to

ayoung Christian fanner Paul

MatihewB.

Tliey intend

to tie the knot in

March

1998.

We alwsQTs think

ofyou

pr^

for

you and thank you for your concern and your

love

for ub.

Youth

in

Christ

^/^tu

/

JIM

AND

LISA

BACON

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6/8

8 B r a d l e y St r ee t

P O

B o x

6018

GWERU.

ZIMBABWE.

NEWS FROM

JI M

AND LISA BACON

UPDATE

ON GWERU CHRISTIAN

CHURCH

NOVEMBER 1 9 9 7

We have entered into the

last

quarter of the year 1997 and we are pleased to

report

that

the church

is alive

and doing well. Despite the transient nature

of th e congregation th e church is full at every worship service. Activities

during

th e summer months have been v a r i e d .

The young people enjoyed the programmes organised by our co ll eg e s tu de nt s.

The under

12 s

- K - Kids

for

Christ had a good time when

the students

entertained

them

with

a ll

sorts

of

games and

lessons

related

with

th e

games.

They

s t i l l

talk about

their

August Holidays with nostalgia.

They

are now

preparing

for the Christmas programme under the

guidance

of Mrs. Irene

Zambuko These young children enjoy

participating

in our

Sunday

Worship

service during

th e specials

time. We

are s t i l l amazed at their

knowledge of

th e

Bible; their prayers are

so si mp le

yet

so moving.

We are sure that

our

Heavenly

Father

looks kindly on them

smiles

and readily answers them.

The teens had a

few

lock-in s and participated

in

many

lively

discussions

about

th e current

problems plaguing

Gweru

These youths showed a depth

of

thinking

which indicated

their

growth and maturity. Every student is now back

at

school

or

a t

college but

those

who remain

in Gweru s t i l l

meet

for prayer

on Saturday

afternoons.

They have a time of pr aise and wor ship followed by a

devotion.

Lisa

intends to organise

a weekend seminar on Dating and

Pre-Marital Sex which subject is very relevant to these young people who

a re

a lw ay s u nd er

t h e th rea t o f th e A id s P an de mi c.

The ladies

of the self-help group enjoyed t he t each in g of

Rosemary Hunt

during

the holidays while Lisa was busy with her

new home

This

Australian

missionary

enthusiastically showed the ladies how to

cook cheap and

nutritious

meals

even on a

wood

f i r e . She also

taught

them how to sew

T-shirts how to knit

and crochet simple clothes

for

babies and toddlers. At present we have some

beautiful

woollen

articles which

need to be sold in order to

make

the

project

viable. Now t h a t Rosemary is

gone

Lisa is back on the saddle. She has

started

Bible lessons before th e sewing starts. She loves t each in g these

women who

are

hungry

for the

Word

for fellowship

and

fo r

learning

new

sk lls

We

are

st i l l

having our Bible studies on Wednesday evenings.

The

group

now

meets in our home We are s tu dy in g t he book of James and the emphasis is on

practical Christianity with deep closeness with our Lord Jesus Christ. The

group consisted of young and mature adults

bu t lately we

have been joined by

younger people 13 16 years old. This group meeting on Wednesdays

is

keen

on serious

study

and i t is

ou r

in tentio n to train them to maturity to

eventually

be p a r t o f

the

leadership of

th e

church.


7/8

Our Sunday Worship service averages 50

adults

and 45 children. But i f a l l

were to

attend

the

service on

the

same day there would be no space in

th e

building.

Consequently we have made application

to

th e City Council to

obtain a

vacant

plot to eventually house a church building. e are

seeking

th e L ord s w i l l

on

t h i s

matter

and

are waiting for Hi s guidance. Since

the

beginning

o f the

June

we

have

ha d

11

baptisirrs and

6

re-dedications .

Two

ladies

have

come

forward l a s t Sunday 26

October

and

will

be

baptised

t hi s

coming V/ednesday afternoon. Although the services were originally in English

we a re now

i ncl udi ng

Shona songs

an d

prayers

th e sermons

are

t r a n s l a t e d

twice

monthly an d

our Shona c o n g r e g a n t s have welcomed t h i s .

Our

college

student Dinki Sumaili

whom

th e church sponsors is s t i l l

doing

well. e

is a

st r a i g h t

A student. Hi s sermon shows a depth o f Christian

maturity

o fte n beyond

h is

y e a rs . e always

look

forward

to

h is vis i ts ,

an d

h is sermons when he comes to Gweru Stuart Woods whom

the

Whitmers sponsor

is also doing well

in his

f irs t year

o f

college.

e

to o ha s

grown

s p i r i t u a l l y .

e

mention

th e activ ities

of

our church each time

we writs

but

to those

who

haye been

o r

a r e

in

f u l l - t i m e m i n i s t r y know that t h e r e i s more to i t than

programmes an d

ac t iv i t i e s .

We r e g u l a r l y v i s i t ou r people in

hospi ta l ,

even

s i t with t h e ir r e l a ti v e s o u ts id e

the

h o s p i t a l

b u ild in g o fte n in th e

very

e a r l y

hours

o f

th e

day o r l a te

a t

n i g h t . African fu ne ra ls a re

so di f feren t

from

th e Western ones an d we find

ourselves

being with th e bereaved

family

for hours

a f t e r

t r a v e l l i n g many miles to

t h e i r

homes

L ife

among the poor

in

Gweru

i s

always fu l l of

misery

an d

gr ief ,

and Jim vi s i t s many homes an d

p ra ys w ith them

o f t e n

h e l p i n g them with food c lo thes ,

bus

fa re ,

s c h o o l

f e e s

o r

hospi ta l f e e s . There i s th e

i nf or ma l c o un se li ng

of a

widow

of an e x p e c ta n t

teenage

mother o f

a young man af f l ic ted with

Aids

o r

o f

an old

fa th e r

who

has j u s t bur i ed h i s son.

We f in d

that p r e s e n t l y

t i s

th e o ld people who bury

t h e i r young because

o f

Aids

related i l l n e s s e s . This

scourge

i s wiping mainly

those a ge d b etw ee n 18 an d 40. I t i s the grandparents who a re c aring for the

orphaned

young

ones.

Soon

when

th ese old

people

pas s

away

th e c hi ld re n

w i l l

h a v e no o n e

to t e ach them th e ir t r a d it io n . Jim

a n d

an d Lisa

h a v e r e a l i s ed

t h a t t h e r e i s a need to replace the

missing

parents an d use this opportunity

to p resent

the

gospel o f

Ch ris t

to th is

orphaned

generation.

There

i s always

so m u c h t o

do

Af r i c a

The mission field is

f u l l of ups

and downs and

disappointments are

many

There a re t ho se c on ve rt s who

fa l l

by the

way-side af ter

accepting C h r i s t and

there

a re

those who come to church only for

the

ma te ria l help they

can

g e t .

Like in

the Cor i nt hi an

church th e re i s

immorality

amongst the people and we

have

to be ^ v i g i l a n t about this kind o f

s in .

There

are

a ls o spi r i tua l

attacfTs of the

devil

which in Africa is very prevalent. e feel that being

on th e f r o n t l ine o f

bat t le

can be very t r y i n g an d

e x h a u stin g . P le a s e

pray

for

us

t h a t

we

ca n withstand

these a t t a c k s and t h a t

od

puts

His s hield

o f

pro tec t ion a r o u n d us.

There

a re many good th in g s

hapenning

in

th e

ci ty o f Gweru

however.

The

p a s t o r s o f a l l denominations who

confess

C h r i s t j o i n tog eth er in u n ity with

a l l e g i a n c e

to

on e Captain C h r i s t t o f i g h t on e common enemy. e have a

p a s t o r s with wives b r e a k f a s t every

month. We

pray fo r th e Church

fo r

uni ty ,

fo r

t h e

c o u n t r y and fo r th e f u r t h er a n ce

of

the

G o s p e l . Bacons

hos t e d

th e

l a s t

pas tors b r e a k f a s t in the i r new home. A ll

t h o s e

p r e s e n t prayed

fo r


8/8

ur home and dedicated i t to the Lord s work.

had

a j o i n t Service l a s t

Sunday 6 October to pray for the r a i n s and for

the

c i t y

of

Gweru and i t s

l e a d e r s . This kind o f s e r v i c e make a l l

the

d i f f e r e n c e

in

every

C h r i s t ia n s

lif

PRAYER REQUEST:

Good

h e a l t h

f o r J i m a n d L i s a

Our f i n a n c i a l

s i t u a t i o n (Gur support has been d r a s t i c a l l y cu t since

September)

Our c o ll eg e s tu d en ts

God s guidance

for the acquis i t ion of

a plot

for

a church building

Thanksgiving

for Bacon s

new

home.

God s p r o t e c t i o n

for

the Gweru

Chris t ian

Church

thank

you

fo r

reading

our newsletter

do no have a

fancy computer,

with

a l l the modern

trimmings.

own jus t a small wordprocessor, b ut what

we w r i t e and

say

i s genuine and from

our h e a r t .

thank

you

for your support

in kind, in

prayer,

in words

of encouragement.

thank

you

for

your

friendship,

your

faith

in

us,

for

your

partnership

in

our m i n i s t r y . May God r i c h l y b le ss you.

Yours

i n C h r i s t

J i r a / a n d L i s a Bacon

LADIES

OF THE

SELF HELP

GROUP

PLEASED WITH THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENT

Documents

Bacon James Lisa 1997 Zimbabwe