“For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Col 1:13

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Chief Bottle Washer

Jim and Teresa Flora and their three daughters live in Katse, Lesotho. On a recent visit to Lesotho we were able to minster alongside Jim. Teresa and the girls had to stay in Johannesburg due to Teresa recovering from surgery. This trip provided us with numerous opportunities to minister in the mountain villages of the Sotho.
Jim was host, teacher, cook, and chief bottle washer!

In addition to washing the bottles he also led us along the mountain passes and trails to the villages of Makoabateng and Mapoleng where we had the opportunity to meet those who are learning the Word of God.

As we made our way from village to village the road was often blocked by the animals the Basotho raise for their livelihood. Sheep like these are a staple to the economy of the rural Sotho. Isaiah 53:6 says "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." Pray that the Sotho would no longer stray away from God but turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Huts like this are clustered together to form the villages which sit on the side of the mountains. As we looked out over the mountains, villages were seen in every direction, villages where people live who need to hear the gospel.

Pastor Phoka lives in one of these mountain villages and pastors Khoklo-ntso Baptist church. His wife prayed for him for years before he became a believer in Jesus Christ. She prayed with tenacity and commitment. Now he works closely with Jim Flora and together they proclaim the truths of Scripture.

Kantine is growing in his faith and relatioship with Christ by leaps and bounds. Jim believes he will be ready to be the Pastor of the Makoabateng Church by the end of this year. Presently Jim is leading this church. Pray that Kantine will continue to be faithful and continue to mature in his faith.

We were honored to serve for a few days with Jim. He and his family serve in a very tough place. Lesotho is a rugged country with a very challenging climate. While we were there the wind was blowing with the temperature hovering right at freezing. Pray for Jim and Teresa Flora and their three girls as they experience the joys of serving God together.This Basotho boy is loving the attention. Pray for boys like this, who will grow up to be shepherds and while living a lonely and tough life, will choose to follow the Good Shepherd.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Buckets of Blessings!

Talk about giving your life for something...That is what Gregg and Donna Fort have done so that the light of the gospel will shine throughout Zimbabwe. Gregg grew up in Zimbabwe as a missionary kid. After college, seminary, and a few years as a pastor God called he and his wife Donna back to Zimbabwe to plant their life and family among the Shona people in order to share the gospel, disciple, train leaders, and plant churches. They are passionate about their Lord Jesus Christ and the task to which He has called them. They are partnering with the Zimbabwe Baptist Convention to plant churches in the Mberengwa area of Zimbabwe and are seeing hundreds of people decide to follow Jesus. Gregg also leads the Zimbabwe Evangelism Team of IMB missionaries who are involved in a variety of ministries throughout Zimbabwe.
The newest member of the Zimbabwe Evangelism Team is Ramona Beam. She has been working hard for over a year to learn the Ndebele language and culture and is doing great. Please pray for Ramona's daughter in law who had premature twins about 1 month ago. Mom and babies are doing well. Being away from family at crucial times is a real challenge for missionaries. Thanks for praying for Ramona.
During a recent trip to the Mberengwa area of Zimbabwe the day was spent filling a trough, bucket by bucket, with water, training new believers, baptizing those new believers, and worshiping. It took most of the morning to fill the trough which sat at the foot of the bore hole. As the last few buckets of water were poured into the trough, the singing, clapping, and dancing started. As the singing and dancing grew louder and more celebratory, people started lining up at the foot of the trough to be baptized. It took a long time to fill the trough with water but even longer to baptize the more than 70 people who had decided to follow Jesus. It was an amazing picture seeing this trough of water surrounded by people singing as new believers, one by one, stepped into the water to be baptized. The bore hole used to fill this trough is used by multiple villages as their water supply. Pray that the people using this bore hole will hear from those baptized about the spiritual water that will satisfy their spiritual thirst forever.
Throughout the baptism those watching sang praises. This man was full of joy and led out in the singing. Praise God for these new believers who are worshiping the King of kings.
Pray that these new believers will be faithful to share their faith with others resulting in the need for another baptism service.
Join Gregg and Donna Fort in praying for the Shona and Ndebele people of Zimbabwe.
Pray for Donna as she faithfully disciples women, encourages the ladies serving on the Zimbabwe Evangelism Team, and hosts numerous people in her home.
Pray for people gathering all over Zimbabwe in church buildings, in their homes, and under trees to worship the Lord Jesus and learn the Word of God.
Young men like this one watched as others were baptized. He sat under the tree as people shared their testimony and the Bible was taught. Pray that this young man and many more like him will follow Jesus!
This elderly man sang with joy, excitement, and sincerity as people were baptized and then sat under the tree and read the Scripture, answered questions, and listened. Pray that he will be an example for other men.
God is moving in a remarkable way among the people of the Mberengwa area. They are experiencing blessings as numerous as the buckets of water it took to fill the trough. Pray they will recognize they are blessed to be a blessing! Pray they will give their life so that the light of the gospel will shine throughout Zimbabwe.