We left early on the 2nd so as to meet with Frans Prinsloo from the Baptist church in Louis Trichard and Franz van der Merwe from the Zoudpansburger newspaper. At this point we want to thank the Louis Trichard Baptist church, Ds. Johan Marais and his congregation for their welcome donation of a huge amount of much needed foodstuff we were able to load on our return. We know that the Lord our God is a Faithful God and He will bless you folk with many blessings and your baskets will ever be full.
As we arrived in Musina we discovered that the bearing on one of the trailers wheels had collapsed. Even this setback cannot be reported without giving God honour and praise for His Goodness and grace. We see so many trailers along the road that overturn for the very same reason, yet God had His hand over our rig all the way. As we jacked up the trailer to do an inspection of the damage, the wheel just ‘fell off’!! How Great is our God !! Once again our friend Boeta at Hi-Q came to our rescue and together with a friend of his friend Carlo of Musina Engineering, who machined the threads on the axle for us. Thanks you guys. This hick-up resulted in us staying over again in Musina so thanks also to Henry and Elizabeth Cameron who put us up for the night as well as Ds. Kemp of the NG church and our ever helpful friend Eddie, the curator, who provided a safe storage for the rig overnight.
We ran around the country as normal taking young Marx with us and leaving him in Bulawayo to work with Les and Craig Hunt creating a documentary on our work together in Zim. He will stay there until Hannes goes up in a week or two. We visited Herbert Lee in Redcliff, Lynbrook in Kwekwe, Westview in Kadoma, Sunningdale in Chinhoyi, Malvern Trust in Mvurwi, Mazoe Valley Trust in Bindura, dropped all Harare hampers with The Futter family in Harare, did Borradaile in Marondera, Rest Haven in Rusape, the three EHT homes in Mutare, Strickland Lodge, Park Cottages, Murambi Cottages and all the homes in Masvingo.
Our other driver and friend Norman Nimmo and Brannie van Niekerk of Richards Bay undertook the shorter trip including Esigodini, all the Bulawayo homes, nine of them, Huis Vergesig and Boggie Trust in Gweru, M.U.U.S. in Sherugwe, and Zvishavane, leaving the hampers with John and Lynne D’Ewes.
My part of the journey went without any further hick-ups so I am going to include a few letters from the recipients of the hampers in this report, just to encourage you.
# Dear all, Our very sincere thanks to all you wonderful people for the very welcome parcel received on Tuesday 19th May. It’s thanks to you and your kind that keeps us going during these difficult times in Zimbabwe. We ask that God’s blessing be upon you all. Yours sincerely, Al and June Geddie. Mutare
# God said that He would supply all our needs and He sure is doing that in Zim right now as He has Faithful ones like you to do his will for us. God bless you and prosper you all in His work as He is blessing us.
Jan and Maria van Driel.
# What a lovely surprise we got this morning when your truck pulled into the complex this morning. It is heart warming for us to realize that there are people out there that care enough to give of their time and money to shop and to pack all these goodies for us and then to face the long journey and the hassles of the border crossing and then deliver your gifts in person to each of us. We know that there is a long list of persons involved, from the kind donors of money or food, to the ones collecting, sorting, packaging loading and transporting, so to all of you our sincere thanks. We think of and pray for you as we enjoy the treats in the weeks ahead. I am sure that any resident of Park cottages who are unable to write themselves, will wish to be included in this Thankyou message. God bless you and a safe journey home.
Best wishes and love from Bee & Bill Dunn. Mutare
# Thank you so much for your kindness and help. You have made two oldies very happy and grateful. So good to know someone out there still cares. God Bless you, Terry and Oliver Davis. Mutare
# Dear Donors and friends of Zimbabwe Pensioners, We really want to thank you for your wonderful generosity for sending us such a wonderful parcel of goodies. Believe it when we say that it is really appreciated and goes a long way to help us reed ourselves. Times are difficult here now as you no doubt realize so your generosity is appreciated more than you could ever think. My family and I thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. God bless you and many, many thanks. Yours sincerely, Jeff, Maria and Caroline Wright. Kadoma.
#Dear Hannes and Donors, Lynette and I want to thank you for the parcel we received from you. We have no idea who the donors are, so please thank them on our behalf, as you are n o doubt aware that the situation here is one of desperation. The parcel goes beyond, it’s very welcome contents. It is a great moral booster in that in reminds us that we are not a forgotten people and serves to restore our faith in our God as well as in humankind. With our kind regards and thanks, Pieter and Lynette van As. Mvuma
# Dear friends of Zimbabwe, My many grateful thanks to you all for giving me the super food parcel you brought to Chinhoyi last Saturday. What a lovely surprise and such a good choice of groceries, just about everything we needed and will go on enjoying in the coming weeks. We had all our photos taken and a lovely cuddly hug from one of the good ladies (Elbe). Again, please thank all the people involved with the parcel and tell them how much it is appreciated. My sincere thanks to them all. They do such a great job, working so hard, distributing the boxes to ensure each one gets their parcel. “I made a cake today using your flour and it turned out to be really special”. God bless you all for the very special work you are doing. Mrs. V. Ankers. Chinhoyi.
# Dear donor, Thank you for the very special gift parcel received today – your thoughtfulness and generosity is greatly appreciated. Good health and peace be with you always – Yours sincerely, Pamela Kelly. (85 years).
Yes folk, these are just a few of the letters we get each trip. Some are tearfully handed over to us while others are tear stained and smudged. I hope and trust that this little look into the hearts of the people you bless has not only enlightened you but cheered you as you hear their heartbeat in thanks to you, the generous and faithful donor and giver of good gifts. One letter describes how a group of ladies unpick woolen articles that as donated cannot be used, then form a workshop and remake the reclaimed wool into usable garments or blankets for the “elderly” amongst them. Must be the over 90’s I suppose.
Lastly, thank you once again to all our sponsors and donors for every donation in whatever form it may come it is so much appreciated. Thank you to all our special hosts in Zimbabwe, that make sure we have a warm bed to sleep in and a plate of food for us. For these trips they are Craig & Les Hunt of Bulawayo, Attie & Anna Scheepers of Gweru, Clive & Estelle O’Reilly of Kadoma, Philip & Claire Gilbert-Green of Harare, Des & Sally Becker of Mutare and Gerhard Burger of Masvingo. Thank you to our friends, Mike and Marion Futter of Harare, who willingly offered their home to be a “drop-off” point for pensioners in the Harare area. God’s richest blessings go with you.
We trust our next trip will be leaving by the middle of August, as for the month of September, the
ZPSF team are doing a big fundraising run for the fund. With the number of pensioners growing with each trip, we are finding that we have to grow our support base to keep up this worthy cause.
Blessings
Pastor Attie Botha
thebothas2@telkomsa.net