PRAY FOR ZIMBABWE

Safely back in Kenya from Uganda. Incredible experience. Now in Nakuru driving north. Todd and I will teach at a marriage conference for two days. One day travel each way. No electricity at the Ingrams. Thieves stole the power lines. Pray for restoration of power to protect food and Becky and Michele and children. Power just went off here. Typing from battery backup. Keep the prayers coming!

Thanks for sharing the journey with me!

It’s Saturday night in Mozambique. We just finished dinner with Pete and Charity and their kids. We started here with 2.5 days of nonstop video shoots, but slowed down a lot this afternoon.

To recap since the last update: We finished out the Zimbabwe leg with a visit to a feeding program and watched 300 kids line up for a hot meal in the middle of a street. Saturday morning Ron spoke to a group of business owners about marketplace ministry, encouraging them to regard their business positions as their pulpit and all the people they contact as their congregation. Ron preached at Renewal Fellowship Church Sunday, emphasizing our identity in Christ. He closed with 1 Tim 2:8 and asked those who had not prayed with holy hands for their president Robert Mugabe to get on their knees and confess and repent. Everyone prayed, nearly all from their knees. It was a very special moment. To close the service, their pastor led the church in a prayer for America’s elections, asking God to put in place a president who is opposed to abortion.

On Monday we got some R&R which included elephant rides, canoeing and a tour of a beautiful wildlife park. The Christian couple that owns the park survived the land purges in 2000 and have some amazing stories to tell about God’s grace during that time.

We flew out Tuesday night to Johannesburg and arrived in Nampula Mozambique Wednesday night. Thursday was spent taping a chicken farming operation run by a gregarious Brit/Zimbabwean who has dedicated his business to God. He is empowering Mozambique farmers by setting them up in poultry operations, raising day-old chicks to fryers. Transformation is coming to this nation! Other taping including an orphanage, a promo video for a new school for New Tribes and a couple of furlough videos for missionaries.

The poverty is everywhere here. Roadsides are clogged with vendors peddling clothing, vegetables, charcoal, firewood, bamboo, alcohol and much more. People walk carrying heavy loads on their heads and children strapped on their backs. Those who can ride bikes, often laden with their merchandise. Many walk or ride miles to get to the city and the market. The video will amaze you.

We are depressed however by the crime here. People barricade themselves in at night behind multiple locks and systems. The Rogers have had so many experiences that demonstrate that you cannot drop your guard for a second. This makes it a real challenge to share the love of Christ when you have to adopt such a security-conscious attitude. Pray for them, please!

The heat is very oppressive here. Ron breaks out in a sweat just by getting up from a chair. Nevertheless the Holy Spirit and your prayers have kept us going supernaturally, giving us the energy we need to capture the vision of those who labor for the Lord here.

Thank you so much for your prayers! We leave for Kenya Tuesday.

We arrived here as scheduled but minus a suitcase with Ron’s clothes. He appears to be taking the quarantine treatment quite well! A quick recap…

When we left Spokane we did not have accommodations arranged in Johannesburg, South Africa. We were to arrive Tuesday 8:40 p.m. and leave at 6:30 the next morning and thought it might be best to just spend the night in the airport. We prayed throughout the trip that God would show us what to do when we got to J’burg.

As Becky returned from filing the claim on Ron’s bag that was still in Paris,  Ron began to turn around. Before he moved, however, a voice behind him said,  “Are you looking for a hotel, sir?” Ron turned to see a young airport employee. (By this time we were the only passengers at the luggage carousel.) We said we weren’t sure what our best plan was. It was now nearly 10 p.m. He said he could get us a good room in a safe part of town, very close to the airport, for a good price. We chose to trust that this was the Lord’s plan for us. Turns out the hotel was a Bed and Breakfast just 10 minutes from the airport in a gated community. The rate, including a ride back to the airport at 4:45 the next morning, was $55. We never would have found a place like that on our own. Thank you Lord!

Day one in Harare was largely rest and recuperation. Day 2 (Thursday) began with a prayer meeting at Dave and Maxine Broom’s church at 6 a.m. Later Becky delivered a wonderful message about healing wounded hearts to a ladies group at the church. Dave took Ron to two mini-orphanages. In one, 23 people are crammed into a  one-bedroom home.  The  menu never changes: mealie meal  (ground corn) and a home-grown vegetable that looks like spinach but is much tougher. The second orphanage is run by a blind pastor largely for blind orphans. The videotape Ron shot will not do justice to the poverty of these living conditions, but hopefully you will see the joy these people have in their hearts for Jesus.

All along the route, people were carrying buckets and containers of water. Municipal water supplies are drying up and people are dipping water from streams, creaks and drainage ditches. In several places the water they get is contaminated with raw sewage. The odor was strongly apparent in many places from the roadside.

The exchange rate for Zimbabwe to US dollars was 1 billion to one this morning and 17 billion to one this afternoon. The hospitals in Harare closed today with no plans to reopen. They have no medicines, not even aspirin.

Please pray for Ron’s camera. His primary camera which he carried with him (not checked baggage) has a severe color correction issue. When he prepped it for Thursday’s shooting, the image had a very strong green tint making the camera unusable. He has a backup camera but it is more awkward to use and has shorter battery life.

Friday morning at 8 (Thursday 10 p.m. in Spokane) Ron and Becky will present the gospel to several hundred students at a primary school. Many teachers are not showing up to teach unless students bring US dollars and/or food from home. Teacher’s wages are way behind due to the inflation rate of 231 million percent. May God’s mercy fall upon this land!

Thanks so much for your prayers!  Internet service here is very cumbersome so we want to report as much as we can when we do get online.

Welcome to the Prayforzimbabwe.com blog!  This is the first of many posts to come with updates regarding the Holy Hands movement and the “Postcards of Love” campaign for President Robert Mugabe.  Check back here periodically for updates and new information regarding what God is doing in ZImbabwe. Thank you for praying on October 18th!