We are so grateful for your prayers...

I have another prayer request from one of our team members, Olivia! 
Please pray:

- For health and safety before and during the trip for our team

-For my husband who will be single parenting while I am gone to our two children. Pray for endurance, rest, and patience. That God will move in his heart as he supports my faithfulness to go.

-For my children Paxson (5yrs) and Adeline (16months) that they will enjoy the extra special time with daddy and feel mommies presence in small ways. For VBS Paxson will be attending he will take in what God has for him. That they will continue to understand a global perspective at a young age. Also their flexibility as they will be with daddy and family friends for care.

-For continued unity of our team 

-That I will be open and flexible to be used however God sees fit. Pray for the specific moments and interactions that i may not be physically, emotional, or mentally prepared for but that I will rely on solely God to accomplish his mission.

-That God is working in the hearts of those we will encounter in travel, in country, and when we return. 

- That I can show Christ in all that I do in humility sharing HIS grace through my words and actions.

We cannot begin to express our gratitude for our prayer warriors out there.  We couldn't do it without you!

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us." 1 John 5:14

Prayers and PRAISE!!

        God has definitely answered some prayers this week!  It was requested that we bring basketballs over from America so that the students at Mushumbi Pools Primary School had a fun recreational activity in which to participate.  Since that request was made, everything has just started falling into place.  Tom emailed the team today with so much good news!  He knows a Zimbabwean couple who is able to make high quality and sturdy backboards and rims for us.  That is not all!  Tom met with the basketball coach at a nearby Christian high school and he has kindly offered to help in any way that he can, such as offering a demonstration game and do a bit of coaching with the school children.  This basketball coach happens to be the ex coach of the Zimbabwe National Basketball team by the way!
The coach mentioned various sizes of basketballs that we need that are not sold in Zimbabwe.  They would like 4 size 4, 6 size 5, 6 size 6, and possibly 2 size 7 basketballs.  These are all differentiated towards the age groups of children that will be using the basketballs.  It was mentioned in the email that very little children-up to grade 4-use size 4 balls, boys in grade 5 (and girls in grades 6 & 7) use size 5 balls, boys in grades 6 & 7 (and women) use size 6 balls, and men use size 7 balls.  With all of that being said, please pray about the logistics of getting the frames and the backboards to Mushumbi Pools as well as getting the concrete bases on which to bolt the frames in place.  

The distance from Harare (the capital) to Mushumbi Pools is 278 Km, 3 hours and 56 minutes driving time

     Also, each day leading up to the trip, we would like to share a prayer request from each team member.  Prayer is so vital and we couldn't do it without the help of our friends, family, church family, and other supporters!
Shawnee shared a prayer request.  Please pray for her as we prepare for our journey!
"A prayer request I have is simply for my family to be at peace with my absence.  I pray that my husband feels God holding him and guiding him through this entire journey.  I also pray that my girls feel protected, comforted and loved by their extended family members.  May my extended family members also have extra love, patience, and understanding when caring for my two girls, Addison (9) and Caitlin (7).  Praise to mom, dad, step-mom, brother, and sister-in-law, as well as my church family to care for my family while I am gone."

One bible verse to close out this blog post for the night!
"Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.  Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically." Romans 12:10-11

It's the FINAL Countdown!

       It is officially the final countdown!  We have just 15 short days until our trip to Mushumbi Pools, Zimbabwe!  Our trip dates are June 20th-July 3rd and they are approaching quickly!
Our team of five women will be visiting with and assist teaching in the Mushumbi Pools Primary School; consulting with the teachers and headmaster on education specialties and conducting lessons in different teaching techniques and sporting activities.  While there, we will also have the opportunity to speak at Mushumbi Pools Evangelical Church and AWANA program.  However, our primary focus for traveling to Zimbabwe is to just be the hands and feet of the Lord and build relationships with the Mushumbi Pools population.

      As of right now, we have raised a total $6,305.  We are just a little over halfway there!  The headmaster requested that we provide basketballs and basketball pumps so that the students of Mushumbi Pools Primary School could learn one of America's most popular sports.  And guess what?! We received a generous donation of basketballs and basketball pumps!  Thank you to everyone who helped us in that area of need! Please continue to pray for us as we mentally, spiritually, and financially prepare for our trip.

Beautiful voices rising from the African plains

This precious video was posted yesterday by our Hands of Hope brother and ministry partner, Jephat Chifamba.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1vuPO8OBYA&feature=youtu.be

Judy's Update

Sheer joy. This is what we see and feel as we work with these beloved children. We are doing Camp Allelu here for children primarily from local feeding centers, ages 5-15. As we focus on teaching the children that they are loved by God (as most come from very broken homes), we are privileged to be a part of such godly influence alongside Hands of Hope. The Zimbabwe Hands of Hope team is phenomenal at working with the children, and we are thoroughly enjoying our time with all of them.  We appreciate your continued prayer in ministering to the hearts and souls of these young children.

A sweet reunion.

Melvin plays American football with the CA campers.

Teaching the campers 1 John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is..."

Arts & crafts time.

"Lucy" sure looks a lot like Judy!  ;-)

We continue to minister to these sweet children through creative ways. The older girls have been given the wonderful gift of learning the skill of sewing from some wonderful ladies that work at Hands of Hope. Thanks to Westover and their donation of sewing machines, these girls are learning a skill that they can carry with them for a lifetime and provide clothing for themselves and their families. There is so much joy, excitement and accomplishment in the room as we watch them learn.

Along with Camp Allelu, we are also constructing a commercial size chicken coup for approximately 3,500 chickens! The construction crew has been working diligently with several local Zimbabwe men to build this structure and are having excellent progress. In two and a half days we have set 2800 feet of cement bag wall. That's roughly 150 ft an hour. The process involves constant shoveling of dirt, adding cement and water, mixing, filling buckets and wheelbarrows, pouring the dirt/cement mixture into long bags, wrestling the dirt to the end of the bag, setting it, then tamping it to a 5" tall brick the length of a wall. By the end of the day we were setting roof beams. We are transitioning today to preparing the floor and finishing the roof. Please pray for the strength of these men and that the chicken coup will be a blessing to Hands of Hope as they use their chickens to build and support their ministry.

MKs Callah and Iain are there to help too!   :-)  

Still smiling as the sun sets.

Thank you Steve & Anthea for this beautiful shot!

I also want to ask for continued prayer for our wonderful leader, Robert, as we are in the last leg of the trip. Under his leadership we are able to share our team devotional time at night with the Hands of Hope Zimbabwe team and build beautiful relationships.

Judy

Out of sequence, but I had to share this

My apologies in advance to those with OCD tendencies, because this post is out of order.  But, I did just receive it from Judy today, and I had to share it.  (We'll just chalk it up to internet gremlins delaying this update.)

7-20-2015  Thank you Lord!  We have arrived on African soil!  When we departed Greensboro we had originally planned on paying for seven additional checked bags at $100 each.  The Lord blessed us with an airline staff that did not require the additional payments for these bags and they were checked.  Thank you Lord!  This morning we had an uneventful flight from DC to Ethiopia then on to Zambia and then onto Zimbabwe.  We thank you all for your daily prayers and please continue to pray for the renewal of our energy and the spectacular first day at Hands of Hope. - Westover Zim Team 2015

Karanda Hosptial

7-24-15 - From Donya's facebook post:  “We had an amazing time visiting Karanda Hospital yesterday and today. Please continue to pray for this hospital and their ministry.”