SWAPPING Sussex for Zimbabwe

Dave and June Dean fly south this month (Jan 25^th) to begin a two-year African adventure. They will be working with the Thembalezizwe Church in Bulawayo, five hours south of the capital, Harare.   Kings Church is already linked to Thembalezizwe - a team has been out to help build a school there and church leaders, Taps and Flora, have been to Eastbourne.

There’ll be plenty of work to do but Dave and June are relishing the challenge:

“We need to get to know people and build relationships first,” says June. “But it would be good to start something like a Kids Club at the church.”

Dave will assist the church as it helps villagers set up micro-businesses producing items like textiles and furniture.  The church also wants to establish an agricultural training college.

“I want to see sustainable employment opportunities,” says Dave. “We’ll be talking to village chiefs to get their support.”

“We also want to see people’s spiritual and physical needs met and the church grow – as well as supporting Taps,” adds June.

The Deans joined Kings in 1989; Dave has been an elder for more than 12 years. But, since September 2010, they have been leading the team in Seaford so Zimbabwe was not on their radar. But when Graham and Belinda Marsh visited Taps earlier this year both felt separately that Dave and June should go to Thembalezizwe. When Dave and June went for themselves, they felt sure it was what God wanted them to do.

“So many things have fallen into place – big and small,” says Dave. “We know it’s the right move.”