Greetings from a hot summery Cape Town! The New Year is upon us and I am sure that it will become old very quickly. These “New Year’s” don’t seem to have a long shelf-life!
PERSONAL
First, on behalf of the Zimmerman family, I would like to express our appreciation for all those who were so kind during my father’s passing. There were many cards, letters and requests – many people did so much that we cannot possibly list everyone in this Newsletter. Our thanks and appreciation goes to all of you, for your kindness and prayers for the family.
My mother, Jean Zimmerman, is still living on her own in Monroe, WA. She is now without her husband of 63 years but is in good spirits. My niece, Charity Zimmerman, visits her regularly to make sure she has everything she needs. My brother, Dr John Zimmerman, and his family live close by so there is plenty of assistance and help if Mom needs.
We ask for your prayers for her during this time. We have also requested that any donations that are made should go directly to the South African Christian Mission. (The funds will be earmarked to build a storage facility in Cape Town to house all the donated Bibles, commentaries and other Christian literature.
Thank you, one and all.
EVANGELISM
It has been awhile since I have heard from the Jantjies family in Macassar, about 40 minutes drive to the east. Bro David started a church there a number of years ago in a day care center. They have been steadily growing. I was invited to minister there on a Sunday morning in January.
It was really good to see old faces and meet new people who were attending the services. David’s mother, Caroline, is now in a wheelchair but she is still feisty and faithful! A number of new Christians were in attendance, too.
But the biggest news was their plans for a new church building. The project was begun awhile ago and they took me to see it. I was surprised with the good piece of land and how far they’d already progressed – the walls were up and the roof on! They still needed to install plumbing, electrical conduits and windows and doors. There had been vandalism in the past year so they were now vigilant and in a hurry to complete the building. It was so good to see faith in action and hear their enthusiasm. The completed church will serve an expanding community in this vital area.
STORAGE FACILITY
There was a Trustees’ Meeting of “Anatoth”, a small farm which serves as a Christian retreat center. Pat Stephenson from Colorado, lives and operates this facility. Last year, she offered the South African Christian Mission a piece of her land on which to build a permanent storage for all the Bibles, books and Christian materials.
I’d been distributing Bibles and books to her destined for Zimbabwe, Mozambique and other countries beyond the South African borders. Pat thought that we should have a secure place in which to store these valuable materials. In addition, she proposed to the Trustees’ that I should be an active part of the center and this month, the vote was taken and I was appointed.
Building this storage unit will be a tremendous asset to the churches, Christians and communities here. We have the manpower and dedicated people to assist and distribute Bible and books. We are praying to have the unit built before the South African winter in June 2008. Please pray for this effort.
THOMSPON NTOBIE
Danielle van der West was part of the Michigan work team which worked so hard and helped so much at the Bavumeleni Childrens Center over twelve months ago. Danielle published a book of photographs and captions of her stay here and Thompson was featured on a few pages! He was so delighted and he couldn’t stop smiling for a few days! Danielle, thank you for your thoughtfulness!
THANKS
Our personal thanks go to all of you for your prayers and concern. When Dad died on Nov 30th 2007, I could not be there for him nor the funeral afterwards. Yet, your prayers and care brought a lot of peace to my heart and I thank God for His faithful children who helped so much.
Steve and Pat Zimmerman
S.A. Christian Mission, Cape Town
