October 2024 Mission Report from Simbarshe

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

October recorded 40 degrees Celsius. No rain was recorded and finding water to drink is a challenge for many people. Wells are not deep enough to sustain the water table and our borehole at the church site helped many villagers nearby. The first week l received the support for the fourth quarter. Laura completed her grade 7 exams. During the second week l attended funeral at 12 miles East of Mutare. The third week we gathered to witness the wedding of Br and sister Mutava. Fourth week l attended the burial of my cousin. A  neighbour lost a son who was fatally injured in a car accident. The fifth week we visited grandma Chinzvende who was seriously ill.

My sincere gratitude to you brethren for your continued support l received the fourth quarter of the year. May the Almighty God bless you for your love. The church family appreciates it greatly. Lowell my son was attacked by a serious head and toothache I took him to town twice before the tooth was extracted. The pain was very bad. l advised my kids to brush their teeth every day after every meal but in my absence they abstain. Lowell learned a lesson after a tooth on the bottom left side was plucked out. At the moment, he has recovered greatly. 

Laura completed her grade 7 final exams. Results will be out in the beginning of December and next year she will be attending form 1 at a boarding school. We applied to our nearest local schools including St. Davis Bonda High, St Augustin High, Mutare Girls High and Hartzel High school. Her good grades determine the first choice school like St Davis Girls High school if she passed 6 and 7 points.Together with my wife we need to sacrifice and encourage our kids to excel in the academic side. The price of school fees appears to be high, but the serious students will excel when they focus with their school work. 

The second week Br Chimanga, a preacher at Mafuke church of Christ, lost one of his members, sister Mwedzi. On my way there l found a white lady who was robbed and left with nothing including her car, and money and she was dumped at the place l climbed down. Thank God a good man gave her a lift back to town to Vhumba Hotel where she was going. I continued with my journey as we laid our dear sister to rest. Eight preachers attended. Br Gushakusha my senior  bible lecture preached. Br Sedza and Ben lead singing. l also let singing .The work was perfectly done and the impact was great to an audience more than 2000.

On the 13th the church at Bazel held a wedding ceremony when Br and sister Mutava joined hands in marriage. Br Mazenza officiated the marriage procedures. Seventy people attended. My work was uplifted as this was first time to hold a wedding during my work experience. Our plan is to send Bro and sister Mutava for a three year course and fulfill the Mushunje task. 

I received a sad note that my cousin Charity Mutambaneshiri aged 45 died after a short illness. Her mother is a sister to my father. We travelled 10km by public transport together with my wife and mother and we walk another 10km to the place of my aunt. On the day of burial no church was found to do all the work and l was asked to preach to a multitude of 700. The people really appreciated the message including all my relatives. 

As soon as we arrived at our house we received a sad note of Mr. Charamba's son who was involved in a car accident. The young man whose name was Wellington aged 20 years was  on his way back to Chinhoyi University. The car he was travelling with was at full speed when the driver saw a stone in the middle of the road which caused the car to overturn three times. The boy opened the door trying to escape when the car was moving out of danger. He  had a shoulder and head injuries, and he died on the spot. He was the only one who died all others survived. I gave the family some vegetables as our help to the family who lost a son. People who attended were 1200. The young man was very innocent and loyal, a great loss to the family indeed. 

Sister Mandianike, my wife and I  visited grandma Chinzvende aged 95 years who was seriously ill with vomiting and diarrhea. I received a call on the 29th in the morning and we visited her in the afternoon. We worshipped together with her daughter and we put all our efforts to strengthen the family. Grandma recognized my voice again. We prayed and left since we walked 10km to and from but they appreciate greatly with all our efforts even though the sun was hot. So far she has recovered greatly. 

Finally, l want to thank you brethren for your support. Pass my greetings to all the families and the churches at Oregon City Church of Christ.

Yours in Christ,
Simbarshe Gondo