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3 7^

A Mission Message from Maryiecm Fieener

______
Dear Christian Friends,

23 Juj>^ 1977

Today marks five months in Rhodesia for me. Can it only be that long since I left the snow-bound mid-uest? It seems to me Chidamoyo has been my home for much longer. People yho are noy close friends yere only strangers to me 5 mos. ago. The job that has bGcome fa miliar was then a mystery. The language uhich yas strange to my ears is still mostly incomprehensible to me, but I can understand a fey
yords of Shona.
in

In the last five months I've learned to order meat

kilograms ,
I thank
more

call hamburger "mince"

and to expect substitutes in my grocery orders.

Even more I thank Him for teaching me to

And

God

for all these experiences.

dep end

on His goodness and care.

Part of the vacancy left by the Harrisons and the Ueisenbaughs return to the states yas filled by Elda and Franklin Martin. (M.om and Dad Martin.to some and Grand pa and Grandma to others.) They have moved into the Harrison's home and are doing sev eral of the jobs the Harrisons left open. Mr. Martin is noy our "Jack-cf-all-trades", fixing the plumbing here and doing some carpentry there. Besides "keeping the home
fires burning" and making great homemade ice cream, Mrs. Martin is doing the bookkeep ing that Reba Harrison did before she left. Both Martins are wonderful Christian people, yith a yealth of Christian experience for us to dray from.

My york in the office of the hospital doe s not place me in close personal contact hoyever, patie nts who are at Chidamoyo for an extended time become familiar to us all. One such per son was a young woman named Mary. She came to the hospital in March after trying to deliver her baby in the village. Mary had a crooked spine yhich hindered the deliver y. The baby was "still born", and many of Mary's abdominal organs yere injured during the long, hard, unsuccessful labor. For

yith the patients very often,

months ye watched her become increasingly yeak er and thinner. Special foods were prepared to encourage her appetite, but nothing i nterested her. One female staff member taught her to knit so her mind and hands would be constructively occupied.

Late in May, Dr. Cobb suggested to the hospital chaplain that he visit Mary again and discuss her relationship to Christ. be were all very pleased yhen she decided to make Christ her personal Saviour and to be baptized. There were only.a few of us pre sent yhen Mary was very carefully lowered into the water in the chapel baptistry and raised to neyness of life. On June Mary's thin, weakened body gave up her spirit. But, thank God, she had a much more pleasant experience ahead of her.

During the month of June, our hospital chaplain has been on holiday. Before he left, he arranged for some of us to fill his responsibilities along with the in-patient and out-patient devotions. I have really enjoyed this opportunity to share with the patients and staff, and it has encouraged,me to-dig-deeper into the Word. One morning in out-patient devotions I noticed a woman yith a shining smile. She seemed to commun icate her love through her smile. The next-Sunday evening she stepped forward to tell of her desire to fellowship with the Church ..qf Christ brotherhood. In the several times I have seen her since then, we greet each other and she blesses me with that warm, lov

ing smile. Her love of Christ glows in het face, and'make'S' me very happy to have her as a Christian sister. If we could all demonstrate our Christianity so simply and positively. . . ? As I close, I want to thank you for your prayerful support. LiJe are blessed with
continued peace in our area of the Urungye Tribal Trust Land. Still, the leaders of this country need your prayers as they try to solve the problems they face. And, please, continue to pray for the church leaders at Chidamoyo. You are also in my prayers.
In His Love, Maryleah

Partnet*s in
Balance on Hand 5/9/77

Sei^'ice
4^2452.72
1UU.52 621.39

Heceipts - period ending 6/13/77 Expenses - period ending 6/13/77

MISSION

Misc. expenses Living Link paid Service Link paid

Balance on Hand -

'4221,33 20D.DQ 200.OD

i2575.05

GIVING

^/Yi/11

A Mission Message from Maryieah Fieener -_u^y

Dear Friends in Christ, As I look back over the past six months I can't help but count my blessings. Many of them have been directed through you, God's precious people. Just to have come all the usy to Afrlcat and to have seen parts of the uorld I never expected tS-see ujas, in itself, a blessing* The fact that the negiBssary funds con
tinue to cgme in ,is a great encouragement to me: not simply from

a financial standpoint, but I hope it indicates the prayers in my

behalf.
give each other.

There

is n^o substitute

for the

prayer "support ue can

Thank you for praying.

You are also in my prayers.

In past letters I've tried to inform you of the neuj Bxperiences I have had since coming to Rhodesia. This month is no different, in~that I have had tujo "firsttime" experiences in July.
Early in the month I got to attend..an African . wedding. The groom was a local

young man (his father luorks in the hospitalT; therefore, the uedding uas held at the
Chidamoyo church building.
tend in America.

On the ujhole the ceremony uas much like the ones you at
being the lack of expression on the faces

The only big difference

of the weddijig party. They are not allouied to smile, because they are supposed to be sad at leaving their parents. (Keeping a straight face uias a real struggle for

some of them.) The ^reception, houever, uas nothing like its American counterpart. The gifts to the coupie were presented to a master of ceremonies by each individual giver. Usually there was an explanation of the gift whether it was money or a house hold article. I really enjoyed the reception and counted it an educational exper
ience.

My other "first-time" experience

in July wasn't quite so much

fun as the wed

ding.

I witnessed a typical bush_f^e, close-at-hand.

I have been seeing the smoke

. (well),, housing and engi.ne. The fire stopped ^-the- edges of the mpwed area, just short of "the"' of'derTies' houses and the out-patient buildings. The most" "surprising
aspect of the whole thing was the lack of excitement among the Africans. But I
guess to them bush fires are everyday experiences.

and the only damage to hospital property. was,'^"the IgJ^of one of our bore holes'

of bush fires in the distance for several weeks now, but this one came right to the outer edge of the mission. At 2:00 P.M. I saw it out across the valley, and by k:QO P.M. it was at the hospital's "back door". Thankfully, there were no injuries,

Even without the excitement of weddings

and fires it is seldom dull around the

hospital. ^.,^^asure is kept busy 3 days a week flying to U different clinics and meeting his obligations at Shamrocks Mine. Since he has to be gone so much Dr. Cobb

is especially busy meeting the needs of the in-patients and out-patients her^"^" She" had one very hectic night last week when there were 8 births in 13 hours. But, some
how, the doctors manage to cope. ^ Uhile there have been

In one or two previous letters I have mentioned

several of the village congre

The

gations and the number of new Christians being added to them.

no large groups baptized lately, many of the congregations seem to be maturing.

Christians at Gwazi are working on their meeting

shelter.

The Chidamoyo church has

gained two new members recently, and not long ago some of the people being treated as out-patients decided to make Christ their Lord. Actually, many of the congrega tions need teaching in the Scriptures to edify them. liJe age getting some help in
that line, but I will tell you about that next month.

Thank you, again for your prayers for those of us who labor in this portion of the Lord's vineyard. bJe, also pray for you and the works you are doing.
In Christ,

P.S.: Some prayer requests: Chidamoyo church leaders.

August Central Africa Mission.

Maryieah

(to be held at Chidamoyo)

Possibility of a Sunday School for Chidamoyo children. Rhodesia's leaders as they at
tempt to find a just settlement.

MISSION

GIVING

Partnet*s
in Service

Balance on Hand -

^/Yl/ll

$2,575.85
921.18 65it.57

Receipts - period ending 7/1B/77 Expenses - period ending 7/18/77

Misc. expenses
Living Link paid Service Link paid
Balance on Hand -

$25^+.57
2G0.DD 200,00
7/18/77

A Mission Message from Maryieah Fieener

Dear Christian FriendSj

its passing... mer, but

Rhodesia due to the lfi^_ense heat. As it is a dry heat it is somewhat "easier to take" than the midwest sum

October is nearly over and Ican*t say I'l mourn

26 October 1977

October is called makes us all

"suicide month"

in

still

feel

tired by 2 or 3

o^clock. We have had a couple of very brief rain showers this week. While they hardly dampened the dry earth i t was a relief to know that rain hasn't gone

permanently out of style. Hopefully the rainy season will begin next month.
At this time of the evening (5:^5 p.m.) the mountains outside my of fice window are turning pink - reflecting the sunset. I am still seeing
new faces of Rhodesia's nature. I have, just a week ago, returned from a

trip to Salisbury, where the jacaranda trees were in bloom. Jacarandas are large trees which have a lavender bloom, and many of Salisbury's streets are lined by them. WOW!I I am very glad I got to see that spectacle.
One week from this Sunday (by the time you are reading this) the Sun day School will begin. We have been recruiting teachers, and gathering materials for a month now, and have begun a small-scale advertising cam paign this week. It has been difficult finding the right kind of materials as Sunday School lessons written in Shona are limited. The older children will be taught from Standard materials for a while and the younger ones will be getting a "Chidamoyo made" course of lessons in Shona. There is still much to plan and prepare. Some folks have started Sunday School classes here before, but both students and teachers have lost interest af ter relatively short periods. Please, be in prayer with me that we might
a l l be as enthusiastic about this next June as we are now.

The hospital continues to do more than its "fair share" of business. As usual the biggest percentage of business is babies. In the first 2
weeks of Oct. there was a "run" on C-sections. As a matter of fact one of

the C-sections
scheduled

was done

at 3 a.m.

of the morning

Dr. Cobb

and
a late

were
start.

to leave

for Salisbury.

Because of this we got

Then, not more than

5 or 6

miles from the mission

we were "flagged

dov;n"

by Mr. Timote, one of our ambulance drivers. He had gone to Mudzimu, a township 13 miles from us, to get an expectant mom. However, baby decided to ma'ke its entrance into the world just this side of Zimaiwe Hill. (If

you had ever descended that hill you would know why!) By the time we ar rived the birth was already accomplished. Dr. Cobb just took care of the finalities and sent the mother and child on to the hospital. We went on our way to Salisbury. We are seeing more of Dr. Jim Frasure' around the hospital these days, because of his decision ...not: '""to go tQ the four fly-in clinics for the time
being. Several factors have brought .about this change in schedule., The heat at this time of year causes air currents which make landings and takeoffs on the primitive airstrips more difficult. When the rainy season starts these strips will become muddy and overgrown. A couple of the clinics are in areas which have recently become more "sensitive". It is

possible that the clinics

will be begun again sometime

in the future,

but^

at present the church in these places will be

member those Christians in prayer.
Rhodesia's future is s t i l l uncertain.

"on their own".

Please, re

While we would

like

to think

the work here will go on indefinitely there is no guarantee of that. We do know that the church, Christ's kingdom, is here. And nothing, not even "the gates of hell" can defeat that. Continue to pray for all Rhodesians. God loves them all. In Christ Jesus,
Maryieah

P.S.

Thank you for praying for the leaders.

Keep i t up, as the battle

is

not yet won.

Partnm*s in
MISSION

Set^vice
$3095.^3 721.34 508.33

GIVING

Balance on Hand - 9/12/77 Receipts - period ending 10/18/77

Expenses - period ending 10/18/77 Misc. expenses $108.33

Living Link paid 200.00 Service Link paid 200.00 Balance on Hand - 10/18/77

A Mission Message from Maryieaii Fieener

25 November 1977 Dear Christian Friends,

I do hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving Day. We had a small celebration yesterday evening, but will have the traditional feast tomorrow. The Chidamoyo mission aries and the Salisbury missionaries will meet in Sinola with the folks who live there. That should be quite a
crowd.

In the last few days we*ve had some good "soaking" rains.

This change

in weather has cooled us some and made the nights better for sleeping. Per haps the rainy season is here at last.

I have good news for you concerning the. Sunday School which began Nov.

^and 8 teachers the 3rd Sunday, last Sunday.

We had 71 students and 11 teachers

the first ISunday^^" and 75 students

(I am not sure

of the

exact

statistics the second Sunday, but believe students

numbered more than 71.)

I*m thrilled with how i t is going thus far. Your prayers have playisd a very large part in the creation of this effort. Please, keep i t up. That first Sunday was not typical. Rather we used i t as a time to get acquainted, get organized and generate some enthusiasm. The children were

divided into 4 classes - preschoolers, 1st and 2nd graders, 3rd and 4th graders, and 5th, 6th, and 7^^ graders. It may seem a strange grouping, but
the teachers felt we should try this arrangement first, and, if necessary,

adapt. We have 2 teachers for the 1st class, 4 for the next, 3 for the next and 4 for the oldest. Having a supply of teachers allows them to share the
responsibility, and gives the men the freedom to go elsewhere to preach oc casionally. The children seem enthusiastic and so do the teachers. We have enjoyed our opening time for singing. I have been teaching them American choruses and they have been teaching me Shona ones. Last Sunday the pre school class prepared 2 songs and sang them at the worship service. This coming Sunday we will be honoring those who have come faithfully for one month. There are quite a few.
While the S.S. is preparing church leaders for the future the local church has elected some new officers to oversee the present church. On Nov.

6th, 3 elders and 5 deacons were chosen to fulfil those scriptural roles. i The eie^Ton was*'1TQTr~(gasily performed, but those concerned grew consider
look to the scriptures for their

ably in the process. Thanks to teaching in our Friday night Bible studies and prayers from many of you, the .Chidamoyo Church has chosen men who will

In one week J?arga^1^i)ennls will be leaving for

mifyh.

She has

been in Salisburjp^^ past week making arrangements for her departure so I

>j)lt seems a bit strange to be back in the classroom.

ways a challenge, though, even with only 2 children.

have been teaching the two oldest Frasure children. This has given me an opportunity to preview what i t will be like the months following January.

//here is not like the ones I've experienced in the States.

Also, the classroom

Teaching is al
I hope you

The next time I write to you Christmas will be upon us. have an Inspiring and happy holiday season.
In Christ Jesus,
Maryleah

P.S.

Please, continue

to pray

for the S.S.

and our new church officers.

And add to your prayer list t.h^ a1 np; p^h,irf of this area, ChieJEL^^dawa. He is seriously considering becoming a Christian. Also, continue to~"pray
for our security situation.

Partner^s in
MISSION
Balance on Hand - 10/18/77

Service
$3308.44 727.08
510.00

GIVING

Receipts - period ending 11/16/77 Expenses - period ending 11/16/77

Misc. expenses $110.00 Living Link paid 200.00 Service Link paid 200.00 Balance on Hand - II/16/77

$4035.52