Update from Caleb!

Wow, I am sorry I haven't been posting, Josh has been doing such a great job with the Christ's Inititive blog that I have slacked! I just received the following up date from Caleb this morning!

Hello Everyone! 

Man, it’s been longer then I thought since I sent the last update, I’ll do my best to get us all back up to date!  
We now have four children living at the home with us: Brian (16years old), Princess (14years old), Merjury (12years old) and Prince (4years old).  With them, Phillip and his family, Godknows and I, there are nine of us living together, so we’ve got a full house!
Brian is an orphan who was living with his Grandparents, he comes from a stable home background but they were unable to provide for him and care for him.  
Princess was living with her Grandparents as well, one of her parents has passed away and the other she has never met.  Again, her guardians were unable to take care of her.
Merjury comes from a home that practices polygamy and not a good home environment, her Father had so many kids that they were unable to care or afford Merjury. 
Prince comes from an abusive home, his body is covered in scars and his arm has been broken before.  When he first arrived he wouldn’t smile and wouldn’t do anything more then sit quietly on the couch, his head tilted to the side and his eyes staring off into the great unknown.  He is a testament to God’s awesomeness and reminds us that God is the God of transformation.  Slowly but surely he has been transformed back into a child.  He talks more then I ever thought possible.  When he first got here he would barely walk from point A to point B but now he is jumping, running, and laughing all over the house.  It’s been a blessing to watch as God works in this young child.  That is just one example of God’s continued love and provision, His faithfulness, power, and intimacy.  
Daily I find myself learning new things about God, life, and myself, it has been a humbling and amazing experience.  
It’s so awesome to watch as all of the kids have turned from all being strangers in a new house to now acting as a family, laughing, playing, and living together as brothers and sisters.  I am blown away by God’s beauty, as He shines through all of this.  To Him be the glory.

We continue to work on the Feed the Hunger Programs, doing an early morning breakfast run now, bringing sandwiches and tea to the Street Kids and continuing the afternoon program.  We continue to seek ways to expand and evolve the programs so that we may be able to help more people and in a more full way.  We are also continuing the Education Empowerment Program, providing children in need with school supplies and helping with school fees.  

None of this would be possible without the support, prayers, and encouragement that we have, and continue to, receive from all of you.  We are all of one body, and it is so awesome to see as everyone works in the way that God’s blessed them.  Your prayers mean so much to me; God has surely been here in a mighty and powerful way.  If you could continue to pray for provision and vision, encouragement and support, and open doors, for all of us involved in Christ's Initiative and F.O.Z to be led by the leading of the Holy Spirit and God's Word, and that we would be where He desires us to be at all times.   
I continue to pray for you all, and although an ocean separates us my heart and Spirit are both with you. 
 

To God be the glory, may He bless you all!  

“From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” – Ephesians 4:16

P.S. Check out the Christ’s Initiative blog @ www.Christsinitative.org for photos and updates!  

I’m ashamed to say it, but I have not tamed a lion as of yet, but, and I don’t mean to brag, I have killed one or two spiders, no big deal.  

Update from Zach!

I am posting an update from Zach, I have no words for what is written, it leaves me heartbroken and speechless, prayers for them is so much appreicated!

Last night we did our first feed the hunger at night
program.  One night when we were in lower Gweru it was late by the
time we were heading back to the city and when we were getting out of
the truck that drove us back we saw piles of blankets on the sidewalks
in the city.  Then when we looked closer it was kids.  Lots of kids.
We asked Phillip about it and he told us they were the street kids.
There are lots of them.  They have no home for some reason or another
and they live in the city off of what they can beg or scrape together.
They hide during the day because of the "get rid of the street
trash" campaign so you only see them at night.  After that night our
hearts went out to those kids so we were thinking of ways to help
them.  We decided that to start, so we can build a relationship with
them, and because of our limited funding we would just go and feed
them once a week.  So last night (tuesday night)  Phillip and I went
into town around 9pm with PB&Js and some water and went around looking
for the kids.  What we found was pretty sad and there were many more
people than we had food for.  When I have more time I will explain
better.
              Late this afternoon the first child we took in arrived.
His name is Prince he is 4 years old.  His Dad died a couple of years
ago and his mom remarried.  The new husband, hates Prince though and
has tried to get rid of him a couple of times.  The father has also
resorted to beating Prince, he went even so far as to break Prince's
arm once.  Prince still has pain because of it.  He has burn marks all
over his body too because of the father.  He is very reserved and on
the way here for the last day he hasn't said much of anything.  But
once he got here, Taffila (Phillip's 2 year old son) kept asking
Prince to play and dance with him and by the end of the night he had
Prince laughing so that's a good start.  Prince is also having stomach
problems, we're not sure why.  They think it might just be because he
isn't used to eating enough so now that he had enough to eat today his
tummy might hurt but we're not sure, so prayer for him would be nice.
              Well that's about all we have to update you on now.

Update from Caleb!

Wow, here I am in Texas giving you all an update from Zimbabwe! Modern technology! Below is an update from Caleb so I will let him tell you in his own words. It's so exciting to think they will be taking in their first child today and how they continue to feed others and help children become educated! Think about it....we all have a part in this if we have donated to Christ's Initiative or to Zach, Caleb, and Josh individually , how very exciting and humbling. Our God is truly an awesome God! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, the work could not be done without your continued support and prayers.

Hello all!

I am sorry for the amount of time it has taken me to send this, I have no good excuse except that our Internet time is limited.  See it’s not a good one!
Today is my forty fifth day in Africa, so let me bring you up to date on what we have done and accomplished during our time here so far.  I hope no one expects me to have tamed a lion, because if that’s the case then you’re in for a disappointing update!

Upon arrival in Zimbabwe we ended up having to wait eleven and a half hours at the airport for our ride to pick us up.  Their car kept breaking down on the way, poor guys had been driving for most of the day, as we packed our bags into the back of the truck, Phillip (the Pastor we’re working with) smiled and said “T.I.A.” This Is Africa.  And so it is, and we’ve experienced many T.I.A moments since arriving, but those stories are for another time.
We have been very busy since getting here, although things are slowing down a bit right now; they’re going to be picking up very soon. 

For the first few weeks we had a lot of paperwork to do, it seemed every office we went to inquiring about land for our shelter, identifying children, etc. etc. etc. sent us to another office.  Offices were contradicting each other, one telling us that we needed to start operations before they’d approve us (so that we could prove our authenticity), then another telling us we couldn’t do anything until all of the paperwork was done.  Eventually we came full circle, sent to the office that Zach and Phillip had begun the entire process with two years ago.  So right now we’re “proving” ourselves by doing small things through F.O.Z (Friends of Zimbabwe, the organization on this end that Zach began).  We’ve started the “Education Empowerment Program”, in which we help provide children in need with the necessary tools to go to school.  Here in Zimbabwe you have to have note books and pencils etc. etc. before being able to go to school, they don’t provide anything for the kids it seems.  Through this program we've also assisted in paying for children to go to school, paying the fees that are required.  We’ve also been changing the dynamic of the “Feed the Hunger” program, evolving it so that we may reach more people more effectively.  

We’ve begun renting a house.  We’ve been preparing the home for the kids, getting bunk beds, some appliances, and making it livable.  We’ve spent a lot of time renovating the yard as well, making it less dangerous, tall grass and untended yards are prime real estate for deadly snakes and other critters, as well as a dumping ground for peoples trash.  It takes a lot longer to do this here; we have to cut the grass with a “slasher”, a sharpened hoe like tool, which you swing back and forth.

We have identified some kids on our own (when I say “we” this includes Zach, Phillip, Josh and myself) and are looking forward to having them move in early this week.  This first child is coming today.  

It’s all a process and sometimes it takes longer then we’d like, but all in God’s timing!  He has truly blessed us; He is good and faithful!  It’s been such a blessing to be here, and also very humbling!  I thank you all for your continued encouragement, support, prayers, and friendship; I am blessed to have such people in my life.

Thank you all and God bless!  

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”
-1 Corinthians 10:24
 

Prayer Request From Zach

Below is a prayer request from Zach in his own words. It sounds like the decisions they need to make must be heartbreaking! Thank you so much for your prayer support.

 Also as it comes time to choose kids to come into the
shelter it is getting overwhelming because every where we look there
are so many kids in need and it's really hard to know who to choose
and if we should say no, to say no to some would be crazy but we don't want to take in more than
we can handle so please pray that God will show us the way and give us
a passion for it.

Josh's latest update

Josh arrived home safely and wrote the below when he got home:

Hello Friends & Family,

I am currently sitting in my apartment in Chicago for I made it home safely and luckily with no major travel hick-ups. The whole trip already seems like a bit of a blur, but I am so grateful for it. I am certainly going to miss Africa and the relationships that I have started there. I have alot to catch up on here in the States, but I can't wait to go through all of the photos. Don't worry I will be showing all of you photos, but I need some time to pick them out and do editing if needed, and figure out how I want to show them to you. I also have to develop about 10 rolls of film. I hope to also describe different stories and experiences along with each photo so that you have a better understanding and visual of what has happened over the last month. I am excited about what has already been done and what will be done in the future. 

Thank you all for your continued support! It means so much to Zach, Caleb, the locals involved with FOZ, and I for we have really felt your prayers. I thank those of you that sent me a few individual emails. I apologize for not being able to reply to them while I was in Zimbabwe. My internet was very spotty and limited. 

We have visited and identified a few orphans. We are currently confirming certain things with them and with people that know them or may have information about them. We also have some furniture, new locks, appliances, and more landscaping tools for the house. The next step is to start housing the orphans and continuing the Education Empowerment Program. 

I hope to write to you again soon and with photos next time. 

Peace & Blessings,

Josh

Here are some pictures of the trip to Victoria Falls. GodKnows and Phillip are also in the pictures with Zach, Caleb and Josh.

Ah, the sweet, sweet sound of Zach and Caleb's voices! I went to the women's fellowship gathering this afternoon. When I left at three p.m., I checked my phone. NOOOOOOOOOOOO was my first thought when I saw that the boys had called at 2:45 p.m.! I tried calling the number back but it wouldn't go through. So I called Dave and he told me to put 011 in front of the number. My phone didn't have a connection so I drove a bit further and I had a signal. So I pulled over to the side of the road and dialed. Zach answered! Yes! He sounded very good. He told me about how awesome and how much they enjoyed Victoria Falls. He said they are hoping to have children in by the end of next week. I can't tell you how nice it was to hear his voice!

I also got to talk with Caleb. He sounded good too. He said they had all lost weight because of less food and they walk everywhere. He said he shaved his beard but is keeping his mustache! As of right now he is thinking of staying until October which is what his ticket is for. He feels comfortable now in Africa, having bonded with many of the people there.

I'm not even sure what else we talked about I just know I feel so content having spoken with them! Thank you Lord!