Richard & Debbie Lee Newsletter December 2005
Richard & Debbie Lee Newsletter December 2005
We all pray for you during this special Christmas Season and ask the Lord to bless you mightily in the New Year.
This is going to be a quiet Christmas for Debbie & I. Only Gayle will be home for this family time. Last Christmas Gayle could not make it home, but now that she is working and has a permanent job (PTL), she has managed to save some money and, with a surprise tax return, she can come home for Christmas. She will be home for a month, but has to work over New Year. We thank you all for the many prayers and support you gave her during her trying time of finding a job. God is so Good. Our two sons and their families have given up on Zimbabwe and have left for greener pastures. Derek is moving to South Africa to work on a gold mine and Zane is in Zambia, leasing a farm and growing crops.
Christmas for the Christians and the people in the rural villages will be a time of trying to just survive. There is almost no food, the money is worthless, 80% are unemployed, and the few goods in the stores are so expensive as to be quite beyond the reach of the average person.
Orphans and the elderly are in a terrible situation. They are totally at the mercy of charity. Their pensions are worth nothing. If they have no family (which some don't), they are reduced to begging or starvation.
BZCM is trying to support these two groups of people, but our efforts are like a drop in the ocean. We give money to an AIDS orphanage and to a retirement home, but it does not go very far. There are just too many of them. Debbie & I have decided that a better use of our dollar would be to provide food instead of money.
We have wild animals on our property which we try and sell to people (both local and overseas) who want to hunt and have the trophy. They only want the trophies, so we get to keep the meat. They have professional hunters who bring them out to hunt. We grind this meat (by hand!!) and give it to the Orphans and Old Age Home. It goes so much further as mince meat (ground beef or, in this instance, it is ground venison!). Debbie makes hundreds of cupcakes once a month as a treat for them to have with their tea. We are able to import flour, sugar, and marg (shortening) from South Africa as there is none available here. We can't begin to tell you how excited these people get just to have one little cupcake.
For Christmas Debbie is going to bake a couple of Christmas cakes so they can have a small piece each and feel some Christmas cheer. They never have anything like this, so it is such a treat for them. It gives us such great joy to be able to share with these who don't have anything. God has and does provide for us in so many wonderful ways and we know He expects us to share and we thank Him that we can, even if it is only in a small way. Please pray for these groups of people as they are really at the bottom of the pile and virtually abandoned.
We also have about 5 acres of arable land and a very productive well. If we are able to irrigate this piece of land, we will produce a lot of food off a very small piece of ground. We started a pilot scheme of half an acre to see if this would work. This we started about four months ago and have produced thousands of cabbages, which we sell at a very low price (just to cover our costs). Others we give to the Orphanage and Old People's homes. We also have corn in and plan to plant some tomatoes.
We have to have a guard to protect it from the monkeys, baboons, and buck.
Our system of irrigation is very primitive -- almost the same as the Egyptians have been using for 5,000+ years, but it works and, more important, it requires very little equipment. We plow the land with hoes and hand labor, which also provides some employment for the locals. The only thing technologically advanced is a pump which runs by electricity. The pilot scheme showed us some problems which we have now solved and is proving successful, PTL.
We have applied to IDES for some financial support for the inputs for the 5-acre project and for an electric fence to keep the wild animals out. If they are able to support us, we can get this going in the new year. Our climate allows us to grow up to 3 crops a year if we are efficient and work hard, which we intend to do. With the help of IDES and the Lord's blessing, we can produce a lot of food from a small piece of land. Please pray for this project as food production and farming in general in this country is fraught with danger and political interference. May our efforts bring Glory and Honor to God!
We are not planning on neglecting our Spiritual work to become farmers, but we want the two to complement each other. After all, Jesus Himself was a carpenter and He also fed thousands as well as preaching to, and healing thousands. We feel, in our situation, we need to do more than just preach and teach, without neglecting to do those two important things. We ask for your prayers so that we balance the two needs and still do the Lord's will well.
We want to say a special thank you to all of you who sent boxes of used clothing, fabrics, and sewing supplies. We got them without any problem or being opened (what a pleasure!). We took them up to the churches in Binga and wish you could have heard and seen their faces. They were clapping and praising, and thanking God for each one of you for your love and kindness. This was such a gift for them just before Christmas. Most of them walk around in rags and no shoes. We can't write thank your as a letter to the US costs $110,000 for a stamp! So, we say thank you again!! We ask again, If you have anything you want to throw out or get rid of, please box it up and send it for these Christians. They are so grateful for anything. Don't forget to address it to BZCM and from a church address. Also put old clothing, not for resale, no value, or we have to pay punitive duty.
Just to give you some idea of the cost of living here at the moment. In October we bought some fuel, which is now only sold privately. Then it cost us $44,000 a litre. Last month (November) we bought some and it was $95,000 a litre. We heard this week it was now
$110,000!! Some margarine came in to the shops three weeks ago at $70,000 for 1 kg.; this week it is $390,000 for 1 kg.!! Our medical insurance was $1,700,000 a month for September; last month it went to $3,740,000 e month!! A loaf of bread is now $40,000 (where there is flour available). Most of our medication has to be bought in SA as it is not available here. To get over the border into SA was $180,000 one way; it went up last week to $400,000 one way! It is almost impossible to live anymore. We are losing so much on our dollar every month.
But we are still here. This must be where God wants us. We know He will provide for Hi servants and His work. We must trust Him and keep the faith.
We love to hear from folks, so please e-mail or drop us a few lines. We don't always have a working phone.
We are desperate for some rain. Please pray that we will get some very soon. It is so hot and dusty.
We love you all. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. Without you we wouldn't be here.
Please continue to love us, pray for us, and support us. We need you. Without you we cannot go on.
We love you all, God bless,
The Lee’s, Richard and Debbie
Our Board of Directors Don Hart (Chairman) San Jose, California Deanna Kietzke San Jose, California Jeff Bigelow El Dorado Hills, California Larry Stilgebouer Rio Rancho, New Mexico Our Forwarding Agent Temporarily: Donald Hart 5545 Laura Drive San Jose, CA 95124