Marcia Kay Thomsonp. O. Box 231MasvingoZimbabweAfrica011-263-39-62285

January 1996

Dear Christian Friends,

May 1996 be a blessed year in the Lord's kingdom. This news has been a long time in coming but as Iproceed you will be able to see some of the things that slowed down the workatC.A.M.E.LS. inAugust,September, October and November. It did not seem right to me to push my newsletter in before manythat had already been waiting longer than usual. By November 30 the presses were running and theelectricity was much more consistent. We had a lot of jobs waiting so the whole team pushed hard tocatch up. As we enter 1996 we still have many projects but have the staff and equipment to get on withthe work at hand.

Area Women's Meeting ChiredziThis meeting was held at the Tshovani ChurchBuilding the last weekend in June. Many of thewomen had participated in the planning. Thewomen of the Tshovani church did a good job ofhosting the meeting. The attendance was good.The program included some of the women in thegroup, the missionary wives in Chiredzi and myself. This meeting marked a start of the missionary wives attending some of the area groups oncea month. One of the books that we print, Let theBible Be Your Guide, was chosen for use in all ofthe groups. This picture shows Nancy Pember-ton speaking at one of the sessions.

mForwarding Agents:

Charlotte & Wilford LeasureCentral Africa Mission

Route 1, Box 46AWest Union

IL 62477-9715(217) 279-3366

Margaret Feld-SmithWhen Iwas in Chiredzi for Marilyn Richard's funeral Imet Fiona. She asked me to take a package to hermother who stays at the Pioneer Lodge in Masvingo. After meeting Margaret I started taking her toChurch services. She is almost blind and has trouble with the stairs so we take a wheelchair from the

Lodge for her. Her 80th birthday was July 18and there was a party at the lodge with Fionaand husband from Chiredzi, her son from Harareand several people from the community. I tookpictures so her daughter in South Africa couldsee what was done. Since I am so far from mymom and the rest of the family I know that pictures are often the only way one keeps up onwhat is happening. This picture was taken ofMargaret and Fiona on a Sunday morning atchurch. November 18 she fell while at the lodgeand broke her leg. December 8 she returnedfrom the hospital in Harare ready to begin physiotherapy.

National Church Conference in Chiredzi August 24-27

Classroom turned Into bookstoreBy rearranging the furniture we set upthe bookstore with the display boardfirst and then had room to lay out booksso that they could be examined. Weshared the room with other groups thatbroughtdisplays of their work. Peopleare beginning to bring money for booksas well as other conference expences.Sales were double last year's figure.C.A.M.E.LS. printed the program andthe meal tickets for the conference.

The conference was at Shingal School.The Headmaster of this school was a student at Mashoko Teacher TrainingSchool when I worked at Mashoko. Ihelped him with school fees and he hascontinued to say "thank you". He is alsothe mayor of Chiredzi. Pictured arestaff, students and graduates of Zimbabwe Christian College at the Conference, It was so good to see thosewhom I had a hand in training and hearwhat they are doing for the Lord.

Before the conference we were busy atCAMELS getting things ready to go. Wetook Lesson Books, stationery and hundreds of Shona Hymn Books. I made aportable display board showing what wasavailable and giving prices. GodfreyMakuku and I have manned the bookstoreat the conference for several years.Marcia Thomson and Godfrey Makukuwith the display board for theC.A.M.E.L.S. bookstore at the NationalConference.

A large tent was put up on the sportsfield for the main sessions and It wasfull to overflowing most of the time.Because I was around taking picturesduring the conference they asked meto take a picture of the whole conference. Between sessions on Saturday morning 1 stood on the top ofAltman's truck to get this shot. We evenhad two Christians from Mozambique.Next year the conference is to be inMasvlngo. It will be colder thanChiredzi.

C.A.M.E.L.S. remodelingThe week after the National Church Conference we had a crew remodeling. Theoffice had 6 foot walls for many years butthe dust was affecting the computer. It isnow completely closed. We moved the air-conditioner from the darkroom into the office. We have a different process now anddo not need complete darkness for makingplates. Wealso had the attic ventilatedandsome windows opened that had beenwelded shut. We opened up some drainsat the back of the property so when we getthe rains for which we have been prayingthe water will drain better.

1995 All-Africa Missionary Conferencewas held in Johannesburg South Africa the first week of September. It was a time of refreshing messages and meeting new friends as well as enjoying friendships of many years. Rubel Shelly and SamStone were the guest speakers (see Christian Standard Ho\fember 5). Alice Fishback invited me to stayat her house during the meeting. My carwas the only one from the CAM missionaries in Zimbabwe thatdid not break down. Istopped according to schedule on the way home to have some work done on thecar. God has blessed me all year. Each time my four year old car has refused to run I have been inMasvingo where Icould get help. Ihad made a trip to Chiredzi and had one day at home before leavingfor Harare. That is the day my battery died. Ithank the Lord for His perfect timing.

C.A.M.E.L.S. larger printing press (313) was giving problems. When Iarrived from South Africa theelectronic board had been sent to Harare. Then we gotword to take the rest ofthe electronic equipmentoff and send it in. The press was down for three weeks. When we reinstalled the pieces it acted just likeit had before sending the parts away. The offer to buy two reconditioned presses without electronicboards came just when I did not know what else to do. They arrived in October. One has a slightlysmaller and the other a larger printing area than the 313 press. Later we found that the electronic presswould run part of the time. Now that we have sorted out some of our electrical problems it runs most ofthe time. We have offered it for sale to help pay for the reconditioned presses.

November 10, the anniversary of my arrival in Africa, passed very quietly. In thirty-two years Ihaveseen many changes. The number of people, houses, cars, schools and church buildings has grown.Zimbabwe's average age is about 16years so Ihave lived here longer than most Zimbabweans.

November 13 many things happened that affect present working conditions:

It still takes a lot of patience to live in Zimbabwe. Some things we had to import now havedealerships in the country. In January 1heard about anAgfa dealer in Harare. Our first order wasreceived in February, but 6 botttes of fixer ordered in April did not arrive until November 13.

Because we were out ofthis essential item someone going to Johannesburg fora week broughtback one bottle of fixerthat I picked up in Harare on November 13.

ObertTinonetsana worked with CAMELS last year to get practical experience during histraining. He has completed his course and started working as a permanent employee November 13.He will be doing most ofour work at the light table and learning other jobs.

CAMELS has had electrical problems for several years. The low voltage has beenexaggeratedby the growth of the panel beaters (auto body shop) next door. The numbering machine that camein May is sosensitive that it refuses to run when the current is low. For several weeks we have hadthe current monitored. November 13 the electric company dug a trench to connect us to a differenttransformer. Although our problems were not solved thatday we had someevidence that theywere working on them.

November 30 we had two men from Harare to help with adjusting the presses and teaching the staffhow to operate the new equipment. We also got plates to fit the large press so it could be used. After thisdate we started making progress toward catching up on ourwork by running three presses.

Good News Productions International puts out excellent materials for use around the world. For many yearsthey have been making video tapes that Ihope you have been using in your churches. A copy of the new series,Answering God's Call to PrayerwWh Dave Butts, has just arrived In Masvlngo. In it he lists biblical prayers formissionaries. Here they are for your consideration and I hope that you will use them in your prayers for me:

AcceptanceRomans 15:13 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that myservice in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

BoldnessEpheslans 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be givenme so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

ClarityColossians 4:4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

DeliveranceRomans 15:31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that myservice in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

ExtensionColossians 4:2, 3 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And prayfor us. too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ,for which I am in chains.

Frultfulness2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord mayspread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.

In Zimbabwe many people have VCR's but most of them are the PALformat. Now GNPI has the equipment tomake videos that can play on their equipment. This opens up a new opportunity to teach many more people. Upto now the missionaries were about the only ones that could play the tapes from GNPI.

Thank you for your prayers and I will continue to pray for you that we as His children will grow stronger in ourfaith and service. May 1996 be a year of unity in the churches and extending the Gospel around the world.

Yours in Him,Marcia -

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Forwarding Agents:Charlotte & Wilford Leasure

Central Africa MissionRoute 1, Box 46A

West Union IL 62477-9715(217) 279-3366

Conference Bookstore SalesDouble Again

The National Church Conference was in Masvingothis year. The Thursday night meeting in theMucheke Church Building was overflowing. Friday,Saturday and Sunday morning we filled theMucheke Hall. C.A.M.E.L.S. Book Store was set upin the Foyer where everyone passed us to attendthe services. Besides the good location the Shonatranslation of _Cftr/sf/an Doctrine was hot off thepress, we had enough Shona Hymnals to meet thedemand and Jack Pennington's Helps for ChurchLeaders created much interest. The 1995 bookstore in Chiredzi doubled sales from the previous Iyear in Harare. This is the second year in a rowthat we have doubled sales.

We see this as a sign that some of the people arematuring. For many years they expected the missionaries to give them material. We keep the priceslow but they must learn that they need to providefor themselves.

Zimbabwe Christian College and Dewure Secondary School both sell a selection of our books totheir students and people in their area. Somepreachers order hymnals and sell them to thepeople they serve.

OiUiIki 19%

Newton Nzvlyo-SalesmanThe National YouthConference atDadaya at Eastertime was the firsttime Newton soldbooks outside ofCAMELS. Then hewent with me to anarea meeting atDewure Mission.He and Godfreyhelped me sell atthe National Conference.

Because the bookscould not be secured we had topack them backinto my car at night.This he did with asmile.

The computer at CAMELS is 6 years old We

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Prayer Praises & Requests!

Thank you for June & Susan's visit

A work permit for Jill Shaw

Speedy recovery for my mom

Thank you for improving sales at our bookstores

An update for our computer equipment at CAMELS

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