Bethel Baptist Church
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A People You'll Call Family. . . a Place You'll Call Home

Zimbabwe Mission

 
Please view photo's from the Zimbabwe Mission trip under Photo Albums. 
 
 
The Story:

The food at Sanyati Baptist Hospital has run out and people are literally beginning to starve. Dr. Mark Byler ordered 12 tons of corn at a cost of $6,000 plus transportation with no money on hand and no idea of where the money will come from. 10,000 miles away, God burdens the hearts of the people at Bethel Baptist Church to not only meet this need, but give so that seed corn could be purchased for local farmers who currently have no corn to plant. Also, we will be able to start a large garden and buy some cattle to sustain the hospital into the future. The final total was $21,500!  We truly serve an amazing God!

The Request:

We have packed fourteen pieces of luggage. We will be landing in Harare, Zimbabwe between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. (your time) on Monday afternoon. Please pray that we will be able to move through customs without any problems and get these things to the people who desperately need them.

Thanks for partnering with us through prayer and giving!

Vance, Susan, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Sarah, Caleb, and Phillip Pirkle

 

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Monday, November 24th
 
6:15 PM Email from Susan's mom:
 
Dear Friends and Family;
Just recieved email from Susan.  They arrived safely in Harare but nine (out of fourteen) pieces of their luggage did not make it.  Another plane is due in tomorrow.  Please pray that the rest of the luggage will arrive safely then, with all the contents.  Most importantly the money and medical supplies.  Thank you for your prayers, love and care for our family.
 
With Love because of Jesus
Susan's Mom(Cindy)
 
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Tuesday, November 25th, 2:00 PM (8:00 PM Africa time)...
 
ALL suitcases with ALL contents arrived!! Customs went through five of them but did not remove anything. Vance has already opened all luggage and all the $21,500 was still there! PRAISE GOD for HIS GOODNESS, PROVISION, & PROTECTION!!  Tomorrow they will travel from Harare to Sanyati.  They have already purchased seed corn to take to the pastors of the bush churches to give to the people for planting.  They have also found a place to buy mealee, what the people use to make sodsa. This is what they eat for every meal if they have the mealee to make it. Many do not. Vance and Susan said thank you for your partnership in giving and faithful praying, please continue to pray for them as well as the people in Africa as the conditions there are desperate!! Please pray that they will be able to accomplish all that God wants them to do in the five weeks they will be there.  We will post updates when and if we receive them!
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December 1, 2008
 
Dear Friends and Family,
Today we have been in the country for a week and we celebrated with our first 24 hour period with both water and electricity. Up to now, we had both for only an hour and much time was spent without either. Although this does frustrate we spoiled Americans, it seems a little less significant when all those around you are truly suffering. The conditions here are desperate and so much worse than when we left. Although it is difficult to see, we are very thankful for the opportunity to be here at this time.
 Our first week has been extremely busy and very rewarding. Tuesday and Wednesday we were able to source, with much help from Dr. Mark Byler, 1 ton of maize seed, 5 tons of maize, and 14 tons of mealie meal (this is ground maize that they use to make sadza, the staple food) with some of the money donated. We arrived in Sanyati on Wednesday evening with the seed in our vehicles and the maize arrived the next morning. The mealie meal is due to be delivered next week. 
 Then came the fun! We decided to distribute the seed through the 10 local Baptist churches. We spent all day Friday and Saturday distributing 100 kg of seed to each church for them to distribute to their members. Oh the stories, smiles, tears, and GRATITUDE we encountered. One pastor, with tears in his eyes, told how he had planted some of the maize he had been given for food because he couldn’t afford to buy seed. However, it did not germinate and he did not know what he would do. Now they were without food and without hope of any coming. How thankful he was to those of you who so generously gave to help your brothers and sister in the Lord here in Zimbabwe. I could continue on with more stories, but hopefully we will have the opportunity to share with many of you when we return. 
 Thing will continue to be very busy as we still have two churches left to get the seed to, the hospital will distribute more maize to its workers this week, we will try to organize a way to get maize to the teachers of Sanyati Primary and High schools, and trying to decide how to distribute the 14 tons of mealie meal that will arrive next week. 
Things to pray for:
1. PLEASE pray for rain! Some of the seeds that have already been planted will die if they do not receive rain soon..
2. Pray that the outward demonstrations of God’s love and provision will lead to many opportunities to share on a personal level. 
3. Pray for wisdom in knowing how to best distribute the remaining food that we are able to source. 
4. Pray for water, electricity and oxygen at the hospital so Vance will be able to do surgery. 
Thanks for your continued prayer. We have already experienced the answers to many of them with the arrival of all 14 pieces of luggage with all the contents and very little difficulty getting through customs. We are thankful for each of you and your continued support.
 
In His Hands,
Vance, Susan, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Sarah, Caleb, and Phillip
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Saturday, December 6

 

Friday morning a family of seven was brought into the hospital with severe burns. They were storing fuel in their home and it exploded when preparing to cook. The have burns anywhere from 15% to 55% of their bodies. Please pray for this family. It is very difficult to treat these types of wounds especially without water and electricity. The next few days will be critical in their chances of survival. Pray for healing and pray for wisdom for the staff as they treat him. In His hands, The Pirkles
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December 12, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,
 A question to ponder - What could you do with $80,000,000.00? Well, today in Zimbabwe you can buy a loaf of bread. The teachers just received a raise. Now they make $200,000,000.00 which will buy them two loaves of bread for the month. The economic conditions here are beyond trying to explain. However the outcome isn't - everyone is hungry. Even those few who do have jobs can’t afford to feed their families. BUT........
 God has given us the opportunity to be here and help some. We completed the seed distribution to the churches this past Sunday. It was an exciting day for me. Angie Byler and I were able to travel out to Sachuru and visit one of the churches I came to cherish during our time here and take them their seed. As I shared with them how God had worked in the hearts of their fellow Christians in the states to help them, they sat in silence. Amai Dhliwayo, my friend and interpreter, asked them why they were so quiet. They said that they were shocked. They couldn't believe that we had remembered them. As one of the ladies got up to give thanks, she told the story of roasting the seed she had bought to plant because she had no food. Now God had provided her with more. What a joy it was to see these people praise God for His provision. 
 Vance has been busy at the hospital. Electricity and water were on Tuesday and Wednesday and he was able to do five surgeries. He and Mark Byler have also been busy with the burn victims. Sadly, four of the seven have died. They were a mother and her three children. The other three are siblings from a different family who were spending the night. These three boys still need much prayer. These deaths, as well as the death of several other children, have been particularly difficult for Vance. 
 The three girls led the Children's Bible Study last week and did a great job. Rebekah and Sarah led the singing and Elizabeth shared the story of Abraham and Isaac. The boys are enjoying being dirty and playing outside. 
 Next week will be busy with Bible studies, food distribution to churches, a movie night for the hospital staff, and much more. We will also have the opportunity to visit another church and Vance will be preaching. Please continue to lift the people of Zimbabwe up in your prayers. Thank you so much for your prayers. It is only through God's power that we are here and able to share the hope He offers. 
In His hands, Vance, Susan, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Sarah, Caleb, and Phillip

Prayer Request:
1. RAIN!!!!!!! Please pray that God would send rain to water the seeds that have been planted.
2. Continued wisdom and discernment in dealing with the many needs. 
3. Three boys with burns.
4. Continued opportunities for Vance to do surgeries and share with patients at the hospitals.
5. Upcoming Children's and Teens’ Bible studies
6. Vance as he prepares to share with the people of Chengwe Baptist Church.
7. That God would continue to provide Vance with His strength as he faces the many challenging situations.
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December 24, 2008
 
Dear Friends and Family,
     Merry Christmas! Hope this finds you all enjoying the celebration of our Savior's birth. Once again it has been difficult to find the time to sit down and update you on what has been going on. However, I did want to take a minute to try and give a brief summary with the hopes of sharing with many of you when we return.
     On Sunday we were able to travel to Chengwe Baptist Church and worship with the people there. This is one of the churches we had not been to yet. Vance did a great job sharing words of encouragement from God's word. Once again we were greeted with so much gratitude from the people for the seed and mealie meal that they had received. One lady was telling of how she would have to work in someone else's field just to earn one cup of mealie meal, enough to make one meal of porridge for her children. She said, "Things are better now." 
     We had our Girl's Bible Study on Monday afternoon and were excited to have most of the girls here that had attended in the past. It was a good time to study God's word and visit with the girls again. These girls face many challenges that most wouldn't think of but were eager to get together and study scripture. Please pray for these young ladies and their country. 
     Vance continues to be busy at the hospital and has been able to do some surgeries. He did have to send several ladies home yesterday because there were no more surgery packs steralized for him to use. The water has been out for a week so they haven't been able to do more. Please continue to pray for Sanyati Baptist Hospital and the staff there as they work under very difficult circumstances.
          Our time here has gone by so incredibly fast. It has been wonderful, yet heartbreaking to be with our friends here again. Please pray that we would be available for whatever God would have us do even in these last few days here. We will be flying out on Dec. 27th and arriving home on Dec. 28th. Please pray for us and we say goodbye and as we travel. We will try to send a quick update when we arrive home just to let everyone know we have made it safely. Thank you so much for your continued prayer support during this time. 

In His Hands,
Vance, Susan, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Sarah, Caleb, and Phillip

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December 29, 2008

 

Dear Friends and Family,

After a missed flight and a long day in the Washington, DC airport, we finally made it home last night.  Our last few days in Zimbabwe were full.  We were even blessed with a full 24 hours of electricity for Christmas Day.  We were able to make the very non-traditional Christmas dinner of homemade pizza.  Yummy!

We are so grateful for each of you who have supported us through your prayers over the last few weeks.  Although there were struggles and difficulties, God definitely had a plan and purpose for taking us back to Zimbabwe.  We have much to share about our trip so if you don’t really want to know, you probably shouldn’t ask. :)

As we head into 2009, we ask that you would pray with us about where and when God would have us make our next trip.   We also ask that you would pray for God to send the right person to join Oconee Ob/Gyn.   We will keep you updated throughout the year as plans develop.

Wishing you a blessed New Year! 

 

In His hands,

The Pirkles