November 2023 Mission Report: Mushunje and Bazeley Bridge

Grace mercy and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

November was extremely hot. The temperatures were 39-40 degrees (102°-104° Farenheit). We received little rainfall this month and no planting took place. The climate has changed totally.

The first week l visited five families. The second week l was preparing a sermon to be preached at Hillview Church of Christ. The third week l preached at a funeral in Bazel of the late young man Takudzwa Howahowa. The fourth week Mr Chimonyo passed on. My nephew was involved in an accident with his bicycle and his eye was damaged . I was invited to preach two consecutive days at Divine and Sunrise pre-schools in Bazel. The last day of the month, together with my wife, we visited the Kwezeya family to comfort them of the loss of an elder sister.

I harvested onions in the garden. The total value is $50. The harvest could be more but the water we used in the river was heavily polluted by the illegal gold miners. Mercury was all over in the river, and the water was full of mud. The fish, animals, and people are effected most. We reported the issue to EMA, a government parastatal that controls the environment, but no proper action or measures were taken. My two pumps were struggling a lot to pump this water to the field. Thank God we have some we gathered.

People who are coming to fetch water at the church site are 35 families. They are benefited quite a lot since water now is a challenge this summer. People are speaking good about the help they are getting from church.

The first week l visited six families including grandma Mapindu, who is now struggling to move due to her old age. I visited her twice per week, on Sunday and the middle week. She stayed 100m close to the church site at one time and she assisted the church with termite Hill soil to mold bricks for the church building. l was not yet present that time. I am helping her with pumpkin leaves as she likes them most. Every Sunday after church service, together with church members, we visited her with some gifts. I visited Mukahanana, Chidzikwe, Chin'ono, Kwezeya and Mandianike in the morning since the sun is exceptionally hot.

I went to town alone on the 12th to preach at Hillview church of Christ where Br Marange preached my former lecture at a Bible College. Hillview is located near Destiny, about a mile away. Br Mazenza once called me to preach at a borehole official opening in Destiny. I preached with a theme The New Testament Church, the subject was Christian Fellowship. The congregation is still small with the average of 30 people. Br Marange lead singing and Br Mushumbi was at the Lord's table. The people in attendance were 45 and the giving was $30. The church members really appreciated the message. During confessing time l was humbled most to see the love they showed.

The third week on the 17th night, l was asked to preach at a funeral of a young man, Takudzwa Howahowa, aged 30. He was involved in a car accident in the middle of the night. He was the only one who died, others were in the hospital. He was a member of the ZAOGA church, and an omnibus driver. His behaviour was immoral. First, he impregnated an innocent dump woman and refused to marry her. Second, he was staying with a woman older than his mother. Third, he was a drug dealer .

I preached to an audience of 200 about Judgement and the people were filled with fear. His burial was a drummer. His drug abuse friends were present and they were uncontrollable. They displayed evil deeds before the eyes of people and were not ashamed of their actions. They never respected the village head even and no prayer was offered. Prostitutes were also present and they lay at the grave and invited men to act in an evil way. People were left with nothing to comment, when death occurred his evil deeds followed him.

On the 22nd, Mr Chimonyo died. He was a former headmaster at Mushunje primary. Br Scott knows him very well. In his last visit to Zimbabwe he had a deep conversation with him about my work and behavior. The results was positive. Mr. Chimonyo suffered with sugar diabetes for 8 years until it was hard to manage it which marked the end of his life. I visited him many times when he was on his bed, praying and comforting him. He was a member of the United Methodist church. He was survived with five children and grandchildren. He was 79 years old.

My nephew, Dennis is in South Africa, the place where most Zimbabweans migrate to search for employment. However we are hated most by the South African because they are lazy. Most funeral we attend here for people who migrated are caused by stabbings or shootings. My nephew was riding a bicycle when an unidentified car struck him and forced him off the road where he hit his head on a wall near the road. His right eye is not working and his head is painful constantly. We are praying for him but his eye can't see. The car hit and ran. Thank God he is alive.

A heavy wind passed at our church site and lifted three iron sheets and the pole broke. We quickly fixed it. We also leveled the ground outside of the gate to create a car park. We want to design the place to look good. I plan to add good fruit trees, both indigenous and exotic trees, to the church property. l am still working on how best to make the place beautiful with trees. 

Photo by mrjn Photography on Unsplash