Surprise, surprise

The first surprise is we have an addition to the family. This is Google our kitten. So called because of his googly eyes! He is hopefully going to keep the house and garden free of rats and mice.. He is very entertaining which is just as well as there is no sign of a telly out here!!

The second surprise is that after 43 years I have got Dave onto a marriage course. Praise the Lord!! Tap's leadership team gathered at his house on Saturday and we suddenly found out they were going through a marriage course so there was no escape!

The third surprise is that I'm (June) leading the lifegroup tonight. The whole church is using the Chronological Bible Storytelling programme which has been devised for communities that are not used to reading. I'm hoping to liven things up a bit with some drama, so we may be thrown out before long!

The fourth surprise is that Dave has got involved in a ladies hairdressing salon! He was hopeful of a hair piece but they only do black and it didn't look good! The two ladies running the salon are in our life group and need help in managing the business as they have run into financial difficulties, so we are hopeful that with some business training, and financial support we can turn it around.

Now a prayer request for Martha. The lady in the photograph of children at Hamara school last time. She and her husband were in a very serious accident on Monday. She has a lot of broken bones and spinal injuries for which she is having an op today. Her husband escaped with less serious injuries but is still in hospital.

Well, hopefully thats all of the surprises for now, but will keep you updated.....

Making Progress

Thank you to all our followers. It is so encouraging to know that we are not forgotten! We often think about you all and miss you, although we are definitely beginning to feel part of the church here. Everyone is so friendly.

Last Friday we had a new experience. The Hamara church plant were having an all night prayer meeting. When they say all night they mean it!! We started at 8pm and went through until 4.30am. When I say we, that included children and babies! They were all lined up on the floor with their blankets and slept when they had had enough! What commitment. I'm pleased to say we managed to stay awake (the last hour was tough) and were really encouraged. There were about 150 there and many had travelled from Trenance by minibus and cars. We had 10 in ours.

Last week we also visited the Hamara School. This is a school that the church have taken over and are hoping to extend to include more year groups. At the moment it caters for grade 0 to grade 3, but they are all squashed into one building so they have a building project in progress. The school reminded us of our school days. Very formal and strict. (they use corporal punishment when required). The resources they have are non existent so it is all chalk and talk! The children seem to love it though. Here they are singing a song with actions in assembly.

This is the Grade 0 class (reception to us). They are squashed into this little room but were still full of life and smiles! The lady sitting at the back is Martha who is the main initiator behind getting the school functioning under the oversight of the church. We had a great time at the school and it gave us a good idea of the govenments expectations for these year groups. The elder of the Hamara church is Mike and his wife Smanga is the grade 1 teacher. She is a great character and is trying hard to liven things up!

Today we are trying to finalise our application for residency. They love bits of paper here so it has taken a while to gather it all together but we hope to submit it tomorrow.

The builders return to the church site today to start the plastering. Hooray... We hope the building will be ready to use for the church's 5th anniversary next month. What a celebration that will be!!!

In the Lion's Den

Well here we are two weeks into our adventure. We can hardly believe its only two weeks as it seems much longer! But we are certainly glad to be missing the cold weather at home. We are sending you this photo to show you how Dave is suffering for the gospel but I can assure you that the lion, or was it a bear? came off a lot worse! He isn't called David for nothing. What a hero!! Life for us here is very different. We wake early to the sound of birds, crickets and frogs in the swimming pool and go to bed very early to the sound of generators as the electrity has gone off again and is often off for 7 hours at a time. Candlelit dinners lose their romance after a while but we are very grateful to have a gas cooker so we are able to eat. There's no fear of us fading away! Dave has begun to dig a veggie patch in the garden and is very proud of his 4 courgette plants. The house is very comfortable and we feel very at home now. All it needs is a dog to complete the picture. As you can see, it is in a lovely setting, a real thatched country cottage.

We have been meeting with the church leaders and a guy called Brad who is out here with the BMS as a suveyer has been helping us to plan the next steps in the development of the church site. The first building is almost finished as the plumbing is nearly complete and then the walls need plastering and rendering on the outside. The next step is a caretakers house to make the site more secure.

We have also met with a charity called Family Impact who work to educate men, women, children and young people in how to avoid aids, how to build a strong family life, parenting and health education among other things. So we are thinking of ways we might be able to link with them or make use of their resources. There are many good things going on out here so we are keen not to re-invent the wheel by starting up new projects when others have already prepared the ground.

Last Sunday we went to the city church as it was their tenth anniversary and Taps was asked to share about Thembalezizwe church. We knew a lot more of the songs as they were sung in English and afterwards there was lunch so it was nice to catch up with some people we had met on previous visits.

Next week we are planning to go out into the bush to a place called Kezi to see micro businesses amongst impoverished Zimbabweans. So will let you know how we get on next time. The rains still haven't come so please keep praying. We did have a thunderstorm the other night but it was nowhere near enough.

In closing I must confess that the above injuries were caused by an argument with some barbed wire sited too low over a gate but he's still my hero because he didn't even cry!

Patience is a virtue

Having spent 4 nights with our friends Mark and Heather who wined and dined us above and beyond the call of duty, we have now moved into our rented house. The furniture Mark and Heather were lending us has not yet arrived, so I managed to part Dave from his wallet and went out and bought enough furniture and equipment to make life very comfortable here! But seriously, we have been overwhelmed and so blessed by the generosity of our friends in Kings Church Eastbourne. Today I witnessed another miracle! I have been praying for 43 years for Dave to have the gift of patience and this was the day that he queued for over 2 hours in the blazing 30degree African sun to tax the car at the Post Office and there wasn't one word of complaint!! Halelujah..
Tomorrow we are going to visit an orphanage in Trenance and will visit the building which has now got the windows and doors installed. We will also attend our first life group meeting, so are looking forward to getting to know some of the church members better. Hope to send some pictures next time.

The Zimmers have arrived

Well here at last! An eventful journey in many ways but God was so good! We initially were diverted to Milan so were delayed for 2 hours and thought that we would never get our connection at Addis Ababa but our pilot phoned through to the airport to ask for the plane to wait and miraculously  we were able to run from one to the other before it took off!! On arrival at Harare, again it took just 20 minutes to get a visa, pick up our bags and get past the customs officer with only a cursory glance in one case! This was partly due, I might add, to Dave being over friendly, running his fingers through his hair and fluttering his eyelashes. I just played the 'old person' card and looked tired and pathetic..Taps had arranged for us to be picked up and taken to the coach station and we arrived in plenty of time. So thank you for your prayers.
We then had a 6 hour journey on a luxury coach but, unfortunately, all the luxury bits were broken. By this time we didn't care and dozed for a good bit of the journey, finally arriving in BYO at 8.30. After a great curry with our friends Mark and Heather we rolled into bed and slept.

During the journey we thought alot about Tuesday night at Kings and we want to thank every one of you for the fantastic, generous gift you gave us, the love you showed us in the cards and personal comments and also your prayers. You all mean so much to us and we will miss you immensely.

However.....WE WILL BE BACK!

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.”