Bacon James Lisa 2001 Zimbabwe

7/23/2019 Bacon James Lisa 2001 Zimbabwe

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J BACON

SSION, 06:03 PM 4/13/01 +0200, BACON'S APRIL LETTER

Deli\ered-To:

[email protected]

From: J. BACON MISSION

To: Pickett, Judy . ,

Peter Jackson

,

MSA ,

Morris Brion & Joyce , Mo ,

MKBrooks

,

Michael Jacob ,

Merri tt Harold & Roz

Cc: Peril, Marie France ,

Peril Jacques & Margaret ,

Pennington Jack ,

Peggy

Pennington

,

Paul Reyman ,

Paul

Dwight ULM

,

Paul Dover

,

Paul

& Margaret Pennington

,

papapaul2 ,

Neil James(Skelmersdale.c.c.) ,

N

Burtenshaw

,

Mt

Carmel Church

-

Chamberiain

,

Subject:

BACON'S APRIL LETTHR

Date: Fri,

13

Apr 2001 18:03:56

+0200

X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook

Express 5.00.2314.1300

B CON S PRIL LETTER ^ 0 I

It

has been

a long

time

s ince we

sent

a newsletter, although

we

have

corresponded

with

most

of

our

supporters,

in the

past

few

months. We

thought it appropriate to write as we

enter

the Easter holidays, and as we

celebrate the

Risen Christ to

gi fi

an account for

the

HOPE tha t is in

us.*...(1 Pet 3:15...)

More

than e\r,

we

need that HOPE, as Zimbabwe

is suffering from high

Inflation, a

shortage

of foreign

currency,

and

scarcity

of

many basic

commodities. Tliere are long lines of vehicles a t ga s (filling)

stations;

people

are buying candles, as power cuts

occur

nearly e\ery night. You must

ha\ read about

th e violence and

lawlessness

prevailing in some

parts

of th e

country . Many

people are

leaving for

greener and safer

pastures, while

many

businesses close down. The s itua tion is very severe. Amid all this

tumioil, we know that God is in control. This is

apparent,

as the building

industry is still viable

because

of the

many church

buildings being erected

at present

Jim ha s

been

wori


2/5

J. BACON MISSION, 06:03 PM 4/13/01 +0200, BACON S APRIL LETTER

Nearer home, in our little church on

the edge

of

the

city,

the

demand on our

ownfeeding program has suddenly escalated. With a minimum wage of 1000

(US18),

the

economic climate

has

created extreme hardship with our people.

We

sent

17 AIDSorphans to school last tenri,

fiv

seniors and twelve

juniors. To those who ha\e a parent, we pay school fees only. For

those

who have lost both father and mother, we buy items of school uniform (which

Is compulsory in Zimbabwe),

shoes,

books, providesupplementary groceries;

and for a 16

years

old orphan we pay lodgings. To

the

donors who

are

financially helping many of

these

children we give

thanks.

Know

that

ALL

your donations go to help these children.

We

also sent an underprivileged

girl to college, to leam dressmaking. This was an expensi>e undertaking as

fees doubled in

that

period, and strained the budget.

We

thank God that

she

completed

th e

course

Looking after

these

orphans

poses

many problems, as

we constantly

face

interference fr om

the

orphans

extended

families. Many

an

uncle

ha s taken

th e

food destined to

the

children.

We also

have

to be

careful when handing

money to the children to pay their school

fees

as th e uncles prey on them,

and

they

are

so

defenseless.

As

we

make

mistakes,

we

leam

how to

cope

with

these

situations as they arise.

Please

pray that God grant us wisdom to

work with

these

people.

We are

again looking fora suitable site to build a church in Daylesford.

This is proving urgent

because

of a sudden decision of

the

landlord to

charge rent for

the

bam

we

use as church building. It is not easy though;

the City council

will

not give land,

as there

are already two Christian

church buildings unfinished in th e City.

Dinki Sumaili, Jim s co pas tor, is still doing a good job. He has a number

of bible studies with the youth during the week. Lisa

teaches

the women on

Tuesday afternoons

and

to a mixed group on Wednesday e>nings. She

continues

with

th e

Christian

Business Womens group

on

Thursdays.

We had

one

set back at the church, when a small elit is t group led by the

newly ordained evangelist with

Pentecostal

leanings

broke

away to

spend

more

time

in worship . As Jim and Dinki feel their call is

to

evangelism and

winning

and

nurturing souls it is comforting to note that the empty chairs

ar e

filling fas t. At

th e request

of

some

of

th e older men

In

the church,

Jim preached during

th e

month of March.

The congregation

saw the death

of two of its

senior members.

Mr. Martin,

Dinki s father in

law

died

last

month. Dinki

had baptized

him a month

be fo re h i s dea th .

The wife of a Mos lem

man

who

comes

to

church

regularly also died.

She had

glvsn instmctions to her

husband

for a Christian burial. She died very

peacefully, knowing

th e

Lord,

as

Jim

had

baptized

her some

4

years

ago.

On a persona l note, we wish to report

that

we have had bouts of

health

again. J im s blood pressure kept fluctuating from high to very high.

Before th e

doctor could settle

on

the

right pills, Jim

was prescribed

Printed

fo r

Mission

Services Association


3/5

J. BACON MISSION, 06:03 PM 4/13/01

+0200,

BACON S APRIL LETTER

various medications which had not proved effective an d which had left him

i ling

illall

th e

time. With

th e

general feeling of unrest in

th e

country, an d

Jim s

condition, Lisa is feeling stressed. Howe\r, we both

k n o w t h a t

unless

the Lord

tells

us

o t h er w is e o u r w or k is

in

Z i m b a b w e .

Please

pray for us: for God s protection an d provision, for our safiety,

that

God

grants

us patience, perseverance,

strength

an d

good health; but

most

of

all that we still have lo\e in ou r

heart

for th e

people

of

this

country.

We

thank

you for

your

prayers, your help of

ou r

orphans, your financial

support, an d your fHendship. May God

bless

you.

J im n Lisa

US Agents: OOF,

2627

Redwing Rd 111, Fort Collins, CO 80526 Cheques

made

to James

Bacon

Mission)

UKAgent: Kevin

Yates,

3 Guilfbrd Dr, Wigston, Leicester LE18 1HG

Cheques to J. Bacon)

Australia Contact: Mrs. MF Peril, 1/8

Topaz

CRT, Mulgrave, Vic 3170

Printed

for

Mission Services Association


4/5

J

BACOI^ISSION 09:58 AM 8/17/01 0200

J ^ /0{fi 9

Detivered-To; [email protected]

From: J. BACON MISSION

To: Hilderbrand Gill &Allister

,

, Richard Smith ,

Cc: Ronald E Heine

, nhudgson ,

MSA

.

Mapiwa

,

MAKUWATSINE GRACE

Subject:

J

Date; Fri, 17Aug2001 09:58:13+0200

X-Mailer Microsoft Outlook

Express 5.00.2314.1300

J a c o n Mission

August

Newsletter 2001

As

we

write this letter, a cold

and

icy wind is blowing in Gweru, which

matches

th e

economic climate

of th e

country High inflation,

the lack

of foreign

currency,

cormption,

lawlessness,

violence

and unemployment

ha s seriously

affected e\ryone in Zimbabwe.

Ne\er

ha s

there been

a

greater need

for

our

Lord

Jesus; ne\er

ha s there been

a

greater need to

put on

the

whole

armour of

God,

as the

spiritual

battle

intensifies.

And we know that God is at work when we notice

church

buildings being erected, places of

entertainment

being turned into

meeting places

for Christians, and Christian

programmes

being broadcast on radio and

television

everyday

of the

week.

Our work with

the

orphans continues.

We created

great

excitement

at

the Senga

Junior School, where

eight of

our

orphans attend. On 'Open Day'

when

parents examine their children's work and confer with

their

teachers,

Amai

and Baba Bacon went

along.

Our

presence caused

quite

a stir

and our

kids felt like a

million dollars We were

able

to discuss our orphans' academic performance and act accordingly.

We ha\e had

to

step

up

supplementary

feeding, because of escalating

prices

on basic

commodities. So to

donors

for individual children, we tmst

that you

won't mind

us

utilizing

surplus money

for

an extra

child in

need. All designated funds a re used for

th e

children; none are used for administration purposes.

Last month, we took thirteen of

our

children to the local dentist , for a check up; he

also

kindly did some

extractions.

He

said

he

wanted

to

hear

th e children sing, which

they

dutifully did. The

younger ones

said

some memory \erses, and

I

noticed

a

lump

in

the dentist 's

throat. On th e way

back

home,

one

of the

smaller girls

tugged

at my arm and said Baba (father) I

am

hungry. I l ooked at the crowd of children, and

wondered

how

to sort

out

this

problem as I

knew

I

had

only Z$100 (US$2 approx.). With

t ha t money, they

bought

three cu t

loaves

sold at

the s ide of

the

road,

and

which

they

divided

between them and

happily

devoured, before we reached

our

destination. No complaints No

requests

for anything else They were

just

happy

that

someone

cared

During Dan McArthur's absence I have

again been taking care

of th e planting

and

feeding program at

Silobela, and of th e completion of the school at Makaranga.

Those

of

you who responded

to

our

request

for

second

hand

Bibles might like to know

that

some

of

these

ha\ found their way into

that area ,

and in th e

township

churches of Gweru.

offered a

ranch

a few miles from Daylesford for evangelical

outreach. We had

in mind to

house

some

of

our abandoned women, our orphans, and impro\

on

our self-help schemes and teach them

self-reliance. However th e government In its land refonn program

ha s

appropriated it. We have appealed

against

this, as

th e

ground

is

not arable enough

and there is insufficient water.

The

homestead

would

also

Printed for Mission Services Association


5/5

J. BACON MISSION, 09:58 AM 8/17/01 +0200, J

be used for e\angeiical

outreaches, retreats,

etc. W e ha>e th e vision of establishing a Christian village,

an d build a worship centre and e>entually

de\elop

a Chris tian community. All this h as b ee n put on hold, for

th e present.

W e

continue to

take this vision to th e Lord,

an d

would as k

yo u

to pray that His will

be

done.

e s t nd o n the w o r d s

o f H a ba k ku k :

For th e vision is ye t for th e appointed t ime; it hastens toward th e goal, an d it will not fail. Though it tarries,

wait for it; For it

will

certainly come; it will not delay. (Hab 2:3)

W e have started a number of Bible studies in various

homes

in

t he a r ea

in which

our CD-pastor

Dinky is

involved. Amai Bacon is busy teaching t he Sh on a ladies

an d

th e High School kids a nd B ab a

Bacon

is

back preaching

an d calling.

Our numbers

ar e

again

increasing. W e

havs

ha d several

baptisms,

which

shows a positive response to our combined efforts.

W e a re

still

busy

with The Church

at

large in

th e

city. Lisa

continues

to

teach

an interdenominational

Business

Woman s

Group. Jim

meets

with th e indigenous Church of Christ

Pastors

on a monthly

basis,

an d

last month

preached

at

th e Senga

Church ofChrist.

Also, we

ar e

both

inNX lved

in helping an d working as facilitators in

th e

Craig Hill

Curses

to Blessings

(Ancient Paths

Seminars.

Our letterwould not be

complete

without mentioning The Tapuwa Openyu Orphan Project in which we ar e

both board members. W e have sufficient funds to start implementing th e programme in September.

We

will start working with th e

orphans

from

th e

Mkoba Church of Christ . The project Is s imilar to ou r own In

Daylesfbrd, but on a much larger

scale.

Dan

Theresa

McArthur

ar e

in

th e

U.S. at

th e

moment soliciting

funds for

this

project.

W e a re

planning to be in UK during October. Jim is anxious to be with his mother, who willturn 89 soon,

an d

visit his

eldest

daughter

an d

two grandchildren, who have

just

resettled in Leeds.

We

would like to

s ee a s

many of our faithful supporters

an d

friends, as time

will

allow.

We

will then proceed to Cincinnati,

USA. to

be

with our

so n

John Didi , wife Shannon, an d our four grandchildren. We intend to

be

with

them for

th e months

of November

an d

December, returning to Zimbabwe beginning of January.. Again,

w e

would like to usit with friends and supporters

as

may be ananged.

We

ar e looking forward to

some

time

out a s th e last 12 months have

seen

us under a lot of stress. Jim in particular ha s been dogged with

hypertension.

We

therefore

will

welcome this

blessed

time, when we

can

rest in

the arms

of our family.

Should you wish to

speak

with us whilst we

ar e

in UK

an d

USA,

th e

people to

contact

are; in England -

Kevin

Yates,

Tel: (0116) 221 7967

In US A -

Bacons,

Tel: 513-753-7418

We are grateful for your friendship, your support, your prayers and your partnership in the Kingdom. We

thank God for you.

Yours in Christ,

Ji m

an d Lisa Bacon

Printed for Mission Services Association

Documents

Bacon James Lisa 2001 Zimbabwe