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Marcia Kay Thomsonp. O. Box
231MasvingoZimbabweAfrica011-263-39-62285
January 1996
Dear Christian Friends,
May 1996 be a blessed year in the Lord's kingdom. This news has
been a long time in coming but as Iproceed you will be able to see
some of the things that slowed down the workatC.A.M.E.LS.
inAugust,September, October and November. It did not seem right to
me to push my newsletter in before manythat had already been
waiting longer than usual. By November 30 the presses were running
and theelectricity was much more consistent. We had a lot of jobs
waiting so the whole team pushed hard tocatch up. As we enter 1996
we still have many projects but have the staff and equipment to get
on withthe work at hand.
Area Women's Meeting ChiredziThis meeting was held at the
Tshovani ChurchBuilding the last weekend in June. Many of thewomen
had participated in the planning. Thewomen of the Tshovani church
did a good job ofhosting the meeting. The attendance was good.The
program included some of the women in thegroup, the missionary
wives in Chiredzi and myself. This meeting marked a start of the
missionary wives attending some of the area groups oncea month. One
of the books that we print, Let theBible Be Your Guide, was chosen
for use in all ofthe groups. This picture shows Nancy Pember-ton
speaking at one of the sessions.
mForwarding Agents:
Charlotte & Wilford LeasureCentral Africa Mission
Route 1, Box 46AWest Union
IL 62477-9715(217) 279-3366
Margaret Feld-SmithWhen Iwas in Chiredzi for Marilyn Richard's
funeral Imet Fiona. She asked me to take a package to hermother who
stays at the Pioneer Lodge in Masvingo. After meeting Margaret I
started taking her toChurch services. She is almost blind and has
trouble with the stairs so we take a wheelchair from the
Lodge for her. Her 80th birthday was July 18and there was a
party at the lodge with Fionaand husband from Chiredzi, her son
from Harareand several people from the community. I tookpictures so
her daughter in South Africa couldsee what was done. Since I am so
far from mymom and the rest of the family I know that pictures are
often the only way one keeps up onwhat is happening. This picture
was taken ofMargaret and Fiona on a Sunday morning atchurch.
November 18 she fell while at the lodgeand broke her leg. December
8 she returnedfrom the hospital in Harare ready to begin
physiotherapy.
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National Church Conference in Chiredzi August 24-27
Classroom turned Into bookstoreBy rearranging the furniture we
set upthe bookstore with the display boardfirst and then had room
to lay out booksso that they could be examined. Weshared the room
with other groups thatbroughtdisplays of their work. Peopleare
beginning to bring money for booksas well as other conference
expences.Sales were double last year's figure.C.A.M.E.LS. printed
the program andthe meal tickets for the conference.
The conference was at Shingal School.The Headmaster of this
school was a student at Mashoko Teacher TrainingSchool when I
worked at Mashoko. Ihelped him with school fees and he hascontinued
to say "thank you". He is alsothe mayor of Chiredzi. Pictured
arestaff, students and graduates of Zimbabwe Christian College at
the Conference, It was so good to see thosewhom I had a hand in
training and hearwhat they are doing for the Lord.
Before the conference we were busy atCAMELS getting things ready
to go. Wetook Lesson Books, stationery and hundreds of Shona Hymn
Books. I made aportable display board showing what wasavailable and
giving prices. GodfreyMakuku and I have manned the bookstoreat the
conference for several years.Marcia Thomson and Godfrey Makukuwith
the display board for theC.A.M.E.L.S. bookstore at the
NationalConference.
A large tent was put up on the sportsfield for the main sessions
and It wasfull to overflowing most of the time.Because I was around
taking picturesduring the conference they asked meto take a picture
of the whole conference. Between sessions on Saturday morning 1
stood on the top ofAltman's truck to get this shot. We evenhad two
Christians from Mozambique.Next year the conference is to be
inMasvlngo. It will be colder thanChiredzi.
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C.A.M.E.L.S. remodelingThe week after the National Church
Conference we had a crew remodeling. Theoffice had 6 foot walls for
many years butthe dust was affecting the computer. It isnow
completely closed. We moved the air-conditioner from the darkroom
into the office. We have a different process now anddo not need
complete darkness for makingplates. Wealso had the attic
ventilatedandsome windows opened that had beenwelded shut. We
opened up some drainsat the back of the property so when we getthe
rains for which we have been prayingthe water will drain
better.
1995 All-Africa Missionary Conferencewas held in Johannesburg
South Africa the first week of September. It was a time of
refreshing messages and meeting new friends as well as enjoying
friendships of many years. Rubel Shelly and SamStone were the guest
speakers (see Christian Standard Ho\fember 5). Alice Fishback
invited me to stayat her house during the meeting. My carwas the
only one from the CAM missionaries in Zimbabwe thatdid not break
down. Istopped according to schedule on the way home to have some
work done on thecar. God has blessed me all year. Each time my four
year old car has refused to run I have been inMasvingo where Icould
get help. Ihad made a trip to Chiredzi and had one day at home
before leavingfor Harare. That is the day my battery died. Ithank
the Lord for His perfect timing.
C.A.M.E.L.S. larger printing press (313) was giving problems.
When Iarrived from South Africa theelectronic board had been sent
to Harare. Then we gotword to take the rest ofthe electronic
equipmentoff and send it in. The press was down for three weeks.
When we reinstalled the pieces it acted just likeit had before
sending the parts away. The offer to buy two reconditioned presses
without electronicboards came just when I did not know what else to
do. They arrived in October. One has a slightlysmaller and the
other a larger printing area than the 313 press. Later we found
that the electronic presswould run part of the time. Now that we
have sorted out some of our electrical problems it runs most ofthe
time. We have offered it for sale to help pay for the reconditioned
presses.
November 10, the anniversary of my arrival in Africa, passed
very quietly. In thirty-two years Ihaveseen many changes. The
number of people, houses, cars, schools and church buildings has
grown.Zimbabwe's average age is about 16years so Ihave lived here
longer than most Zimbabweans.
November 13 many things happened that affect present working
conditions:
It still takes a lot of patience to live in Zimbabwe. Some
things we had to import now havedealerships in the country. In
January 1heard about anAgfa dealer in Harare. Our first order
wasreceived in February, but 6 botttes of fixer ordered in April
did not arrive until November 13.
Because we were out ofthis essential item someone going to
Johannesburg fora week broughtback one bottle of fixerthat I picked
up in Harare on November 13.
ObertTinonetsana worked with CAMELS last year to get practical
experience during histraining. He has completed his course and
started working as a permanent employee November 13.He will be
doing most ofour work at the light table and learning other
jobs.
CAMELS has had electrical problems for several years. The low
voltage has beenexaggeratedby the growth of the panel beaters (auto
body shop) next door. The numbering machine that camein May is
sosensitive that it refuses to run when the current is low. For
several weeks we have hadthe current monitored. November 13 the
electric company dug a trench to connect us to a
differenttransformer. Although our problems were not solved thatday
we had someevidence that theywere working on them.
November 30 we had two men from Harare to help with adjusting
the presses and teaching the staffhow to operate the new equipment.
We also got plates to fit the large press so it could be used.
After thisdate we started making progress toward catching up on
ourwork by running three presses.
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Good News Productions International puts out excellent materials
for use around the world. For many yearsthey have been making video
tapes that Ihope you have been using in your churches. A copy of
the new series,Answering God's Call to PrayerwWh Dave Butts, has
just arrived In Masvlngo. In it he lists biblical prayers
formissionaries. Here they are for your consideration and I hope
that you will use them in your prayers for me:
AcceptanceRomans 15:13 Pray that I may be rescued from the
unbelievers in Judea and that myservice in Jerusalem may be
acceptable to the saints there,
BoldnessEpheslans 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my
mouth, words may be givenme so that I will fearlessly make known
the mystery of the gospel,
ClarityColossians 4:4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I
should.
DeliveranceRomans 15:31 Pray that I may be rescued from the
unbelievers in Judea and that myservice in Jerusalem may be
acceptable to the saints there,
ExtensionColossians 4:2, 3 Devote yourselves to prayer, being
watchful and thankful. And prayfor us. too, that God may open a
door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of
Christ,for which I am in chains.
Frultfulness2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us
that the message of the Lord mayspread rapidly and be honored, just
as it was with you.
In Zimbabwe many people have VCR's but most of them are the
PALformat. Now GNPI has the equipment tomake videos that can play
on their equipment. This opens up a new opportunity to teach many
more people. Upto now the missionaries were about the only ones
that could play the tapes from GNPI.
Thank you for your prayers and I will continue to pray for you
that we as His children will grow stronger in ourfaith and service.
May 1996 be a year of unity in the churches and extending the
Gospel around the world.
Yours in Him,Marcia -
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Marcia Ka\ rhomson
In Zimbabwe011 2(i3-.^9-022S5
Forwarding Agents:Charlotte & Wilford Leasure
Central Africa MissionRoute 1, Box 46A
West Union IL 62477-9715(217) 279-3366
Conference Bookstore SalesDouble Again
The National Church Conference was in Masvingothis year. The
Thursday night meeting in theMucheke Church Building was
overflowing. Friday,Saturday and Sunday morning we filled
theMucheke Hall. C.A.M.E.L.S. Book Store was set upin the Foyer
where everyone passed us to attendthe services. Besides the good
location the Shonatranslation of _Cftr/sf/an Doctrine was hot off
thepress, we had enough Shona Hymnals to meet thedemand and Jack
Pennington's Helps for ChurchLeaders created much interest. The
1995 bookstore in Chiredzi doubled sales from the previous Iyear in
Harare. This is the second year in a rowthat we have doubled
sales.
We see this as a sign that some of the people arematuring. For
many years they expected the missionaries to give them material. We
keep the priceslow but they must learn that they need to providefor
themselves.
Zimbabwe Christian College and Dewure Secondary School both sell
a selection of our books totheir students and people in their area.
Somepreachers order hymnals and sell them to thepeople they
serve.
OiUiIki 19%
Newton Nzvlyo-SalesmanThe National YouthConference atDadaya at
Eastertime was the firsttime Newton soldbooks outside ofCAMELS.
Then hewent with me to anarea meeting atDewure Mission.He and
Godfreyhelped me sell atthe National Conference.
Because the bookscould not be secured we had topack them
backinto my car at night.This he did with asmile.
The computer at CAMELS is 6 years old We
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Prayer Praises & Requests!
Thank you for June & Susan's visit
A work permit for Jill Shaw
Speedy recovery for my mom
Thank you for improving sales at our bookstores
An update for our computer equipment at CAMELS
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