Dear friends, family, prayer partners:Seems I have a new Bible hero these days. I have spent several months pouring over the words in Jeremiah. His life challenges me. And it would take hours to share the many thoughts swirling around in my head. But for now, let’s concentrate on one single thought from Jeremiah 32. JEREMIAH BOUGHT A FIELD!

That in itself is no big deal.

But the why and the circumstances should challenge each one of us.

Jeremiah bought a field in Anathoth – a place which was often a target in his prophecies of doom and gloom for a nation. A place full of sin and of an uncertain future. If Jeremiah believed the prophesies he proclaimed, then why invest in a land headed for destruction?

Because Jeremiah had HOPE. Because Jeremiah believed in the promises of God to restore the land and His people one day! He dared to shout doom and gloom and judgments, and be opposed month after month, year after year. Yet despite all the heartache, the imprisonment, the beatings, the isolation, Jeremiah dared to invest money and a signed deed on a piece of land in a country destined for ruin. You see, God had also promised Jeremiah restoration. And because Jeremiah believed God’s promises for ultimate restoration though he couldn’t see it, even while Jeremiah sat in the midst of a desolate and mucky mess of a generation, he took the ultimate step of faith and personally INVESTED!

I can’t help but draw some similarities to the Village of Hope and the situation in Zimbabwe today. I can’t but admire the commitment it took from Jeremiah to INVEST in the midst of doom and gloom.

Zimbabwe is struggling!

- At present, the future seems uncertain.

- infrastructure is falling apart. The frequent electricity and water cuts are the result of an unsustainable infrastructure. We have been hit hard in the last two months by the disappearance of our phone line. The copper cables have been cut and stolen from outside our home, leaving us without a landline and access to the internet. We have ‘made due’ by hooking on through the Village ‘radio phone’ which hooks on at 14.4 kbps. For this reason we are unable to send pictures, or receive large files, and it has kept us from sending out newsletters and slowed down communications – our apologies!

- Staple foods are hard to find and in short supply, opening up a huge black market for goods.

- Local cults are growing steadily as people look for an answer to their many life challenges. Feeling helpless, one turns to the spiritual for a miracle and an answer. This is a grass roots battle and one which hits close to home, as a local cult has prophesied that many children will die in a local farm plot. Because one of our sponsored children died shortly after, there are now rumours that our children involved at the Village of Hope, are targeted.

- Inflation now sits at over 1,000,000%, causing prices to rise at unbelievable rates. We now grocery shop for up to $20 billion dollars at a time. But the ‘interac’ systems can’t handle more than 999 million at a time. So it can take up to ½ hour to swipe a card for a grocery bill 10-20 times until the entire bill is paid. Being the third person in line, becomes a 1 ½ hour ordeal.

- As the nation looks to the east for help, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other eastern religions are growing.

Zimbabwe has HOPE!

- in the middle of Zimbabwe, we have invested in a field!

- We have been blessed with a generator for back up electricity, boreholes in place of city water, and in the next few weeks, have invested in a satellite internet connection, so business can carry on and we are not isolated. Because you have invested!

- We continue to find staple foods and have not had to cut back on the feeding programs – not even one single day.

- Hope Community Church ministers to a spiritually hungry community and has taken to holding services in the local farm plot where death has been prophesied. Pastor Zowa preaches and lives a life of evangelism, and inspires his leadership to do the same.
– There are 4 new children’s homes under construction, one finished now to rafter level! (picture right)
- The Village of Hope entertained 8 people on a missions team in April, who took a step of faith and came to Zimbabwe despite the international travel warnings. They had over 150 children attend each Vacation Bible School Children’s lives were changed and they wept when this team of Canadians left. and sports camp event and preached salvation!
- We broke ground on a two storey school block for the expansion of Cornelius Hope Academy Primary School and provided 10 more men with jobs because of it! (CHAPS students turning ground, pictured right)
- We named the first school block in honour of a lady who inspired a community in Edmonton, despite a terminal illness the Lorie Lorence Memorial Building.

- Three new big & beautiful signs were erected around the Village, clearly marking out the church, school and offices and giving us a professional look.

- Tashinga is smiling and singing worship songs at the top of his lungs because his life was changed by giving him a home at the Village (pictured left).

- Rudo, Daniel & Danai have, at a young age, shown incredible leadership abilities because they were given a place to be loved and taught that they were important. They have become prefects – student leaders, despite a disadvantaged background. They shine!

- Tinotenda’s swelling of his lymph nodes has all but disappeared, he is no longer coughing at night and has gained enough energy to play outside with the other kids and no longer falls asleep in class, because we found him treatment for his illnesses and nurtured him with food and love and prayer.

We are so thankful to you for your ongoing notes and prayers.

We believe that despite the doom and gloom of international news, that God intends ultimate restoration, and so…. We have invested! You have invested!

There is HOPE!

p.s. – We so much wanted to have you be a part of the VOH Grand Opening in March, and have tried desperately to send out pictures and a complete report since that date. But our internet woes have kept us from being able to report to you fully. We have at last chosen to post pictures and a report from the Grand Opening on our website. You can download the .pdf report by clicking here.