It seems that all we are doing at the moment is marking time until something happens. Either we will be thrown out of our home or the Mugabe dictatorship will be brought down. If we are thrown out, then we will no doubt be force to leave Zimbabwe altogether, which we do not want to do as this is where we were born and lived almost all our lives. It would be almost impossible for us to continue here with no home. Homes to rent are scarce as hen's teeth and the prices are astronomical; inflation is almost 500% and set to reach 800% by the New Year. The US $ is pegged at 800 to 1 to the Zimbabwe, which is about 1/10 of its true value.
We no longer shop in Zimbabwe other than fresh milk and the odd thing we need to buy (if and when you can get it!!!). We mostly go over the border into South Africa, a three hour trip away, to do our shopping. All our fuel we get from there in 44 gal. drums, which we bring on the back of Richard's pick-up. A liter of fuel costs $3,500 here, when it is available, and we are paying $900 in South Africa. Even with the cost of the trip and accommodation, it is still cheaper. Most garages are now owned or taken over by Zanu PF so they charge whatever they want and people still pay it because they have to have fuel. Almost all of our banking is done externally because, if we bring foreign currency account, the Government grabs 50% at 800 to 1; the rest has to go into a foreign currency account, which we can only get to by negotiation and at a rate that reduces our earning power by 90%; so we bank in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Because we hold British passports, we are able to do this. If you hold a Zimbabwe passport, you
have to pay over a million ZW $'s to get into South Africa; we pay $8,000.
We have been offered work, as missionaries, in Australia and Malawi, but we really do not want to leave here. I am not 60 and it is hard to move to another country and culture when you are no longer young. South Africa would, perhaps, be our best option. We both speak the language and I also speak Ndebele which is a dialect of Zulu, one of the major indigenous languages in South Africa. We earnestly ask you all to pray for us, that the Lord will lead and that His will be done in our lives and that we don't allow our prejudices to influence us in any decision we have to make -- to stay in Zimbabwe or to leave - and where to go if we have to leave. Our inclination is to stay put until we are forced out, but we are beginning to feel the pressure with loads of stress and strain that we live with daily. Please pray for us.
We still have a weekly home Bible study which is doing very well and is a source of hope and inspiration to all who attend. I am also preparing a commentary on the book of Matthew for use in the indigenous churches. This commentary will be in the vernacular with the Bible verses on the left hand page and the commentary on each verse directly opposite on the right hand side. In this way the local evangelist can read the scripture and the commentary almost at the same time and does not need expensive and scarce resources to improve his understanding and his ability to teach others. At the end of each chapter will be a sermon outline pertaining to the salient points in that chapter as well. We will be three missionaries working on this commentary and getting it printed. Please pray that it works out well and becomes a useful tool in the hands of the local Christians.
Almost all the white families who lived in or close to Filabusi have left or been chased off their farm. We and another mining family are the only two left here now and they have also started making plans to move into town if they get chased off their property. We have so many problems with theft and poaching on our place. They come and cut our fence and take 500 meters of wire at one time; this they mostly use to put up kraals for their cattle (which have mostly been stolen!!!) I seldom travel to the churches anymore. I am persona non grata at Nswazi where we started and built two churches. The local war lord has it in for me with the support of the Zanu PF party of Mugabe, so it is better for me to stay away. It is dangerous to ignore these warnings as these people do not hesitate to use force or even to kill to get their own ends. Our local member of parliament was shot dead in the Filabusi Police station just a year ago and the man who shot him is now a member of parliament and has never been charged for his crime; we could be living in Dodge City in the 1800's!!!
We still supply Bibles in the vernacular, and the Bible studies and tracts to the churches around where we live. I also get up to Binga when I can. It is a 700-mile round trip and uses up a lot of precious fuel. I am pleased that, despite everything working against the churches in Binga, the Christians are standing firm in the Lord.
I will sign off now and let Debbie write a few words. We send Christmas greetings to each one of you. It is our prayers that you have a blessed and Christ-filled Christmas season. God bless you one and all.
Richard
Christmas has gone and Christmas has come and we Praise The Lord that we are still here and in our home. We are truly blest! We know that it is only by God's grace and the love, prayers, and support from folks like you!
Our families are all well. We have (at last!!) been blest with a granddaughter, Hannah Megan, born 5 weeks ago, to our son, Zane and his wife, Megan. They also have a son, Murray Zane, who is 21/2 years old. They live in Bulawayo which is an hour's drive away, so we get to see them when we go to town. We try and go as little as we have to as the theft and high-jackings are getting worse daily and it is not safe for a woman on her own to be in Bulawayo.
We are very excited that Gayle will be home next week for 3 1/2 weeks. It is hard to believe that she will graduate with a nursing degree in September next year. We are so proud of her. She has done so well and we are proud parents. Her overall mark for last year was an "A"!! Sorry, can't help boasting when your kids do well!! She works hard at the University and also has to work to get enough money to make ends meet. We would like to thank those of you who have helped Gayle with some of her expenses; we know how much she appreciates it. We plan to go over for her graduation next year, Lord willing and providing. We thank all of you who have sent boxes of old clothes, shoes, and sewing goods -- especially the cotton, scissors, and fabric. We send most of it up to Binga where they sew clothes mostly for the children. They still use the machines we bought them, with your generous support. We ask that you please send any old clothes you have. These people are very grateful for anything; they can not afford to buy for themselves. They can't afford to buy food - never mind clothes!!! Boxes seem to get here and even unopened!! As long as you address it to BZCM and put "used clothing" on the box and put no value on and also from a church address, we don't pay import duties. We just had a three-week postal strike, but things seem to be back to "normal" again!
If you have not heard from us by post, we just do not write letters anymore as our postage went up by 400%; but know that we love you and think of you often. If you have email, or we can contact you through email, please let us know and we will contact you this way.
We thank you for your continued support, love, prayers, and faithfulness to us and the work here.
We love you all.
Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year.