Dear All,

Thursday’s Bottom Line:

Scott is in Mutare (“moo-TAR-ay”) now and will begin his first seminar there Friday morning (~1:00 AM Friday MO time). Clearly our enemy is not pleased, as challenges have already arisen. Please join us in praying now for Rose and her family, for Pastor Lovemore and his wife, and for Friday’s Raising Disciple-Makers seminar.

Thursday’s Prayer Requests:

1. Peace, comfort, and great grace for Pastor Rose, Scott’s coordinator in Zimbabwe, who has had a death in her family.
2. God to make a way for Pastor Lovemore and his wife from Mozambique to cross into Zimbabwe and attend this first RDM seminar.
3. The Holy Spirit to make a powerful connection between Scott and the pastors during his Friday/Saturday seminar.
Thursday’s Details:

On Thursday morning Scott traveled four hours from Harare to Mutare, where he was able to meet with his Zimbabwe coordinator, Pastor Rose, and some bishops (church overseers) in that area. Goals for Thursday’s meetings were for the bishops to meet Scott (and be encouraged to come to the seminar and bring the pastors they oversee) and for Scott and Pastor Rose to nail down any final details for Friday’s RDM seminar. Pastor Rose has been very proactive in inviting pastors to this seminar in Mutare and to the one next Tuesday in nearby Dangamvura.

Scott said, “Pastor Rose has had a death in the family tonight [Thursday night] and has had to leave home at 9:30 PM. Please pray for her as we prepare for our first RDM seminar tomorrow morning.” A death in Pastor Rose’s family is tragic, and I don’t know if or how it will impact her participation on Friday. But God knows and he is good.

Scott continued, “My host family for my time in Mutare is Pastor Phillip, his wife Doreen, and their 9 yo son Abraham. They are absolutely awesome and so is their home. I am so excited about these next two sets of seminars in Mutare [and Dangamvura]. Pastor Rose has done an amazing job (or so it appears). The folks in Harare have not done nearly so well (but that’s okay), so they make Rose really shine.”

I assume that most of the pastors signed up for this first seminar live in Zimbabwe, but one of them is coming from neighboring Mozambique (the two countries share a border). He has been a member of Scott’s online Africa Disciple-Makers group in recent months.

Scott wrote, “Prayer request: Pastor Lovemore and his wife from Mozambique traveled 6 hours to attend tomorrow’s seminar only to be turned away at the border because they did not have the right papers and had not had a PCR covid test. Please pray that God will give them favor so they can cross in the morning and attend the seminars.”

I assured Scott we will be praying for these requests. Thank you for joining your faith with ours for all things to go WELL on Friday!

Blessings,
Patty

Dear Praying Friends of TTC,

We have wonderful news for you today: Scott will be traveling to Africa in less than a week’s time!

Zimbabwe (blue) and Tanzania (green)
Scott’s first stop will be the south African country of Zimbabwe where he will hold three 2-day pastors seminars over ten days. His coordinator in Zimbabwe is Pastor Rose.

Pastor Rose leads her own church, runs her husband’s business, and coordinates women’s ministry for a network of over fifty churches
Then Scott will travel on to Tanzania for 22 days where he will hold five 2-day pastors seminars. His coordinator in Tanzania is Pastor Raphael.

Pastor Raphael leads his own church and teaches in a Bible school
Both Rose and Raphael have been part of Scott’s Africa online Disciple-Makers group for more than six months now. They both are busy gathering pastors and making arrangements to prepare for Scott’s coming. This will be his first time to hold pastors seminars in Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

That is exciting news, but it is also a call to arms. A number of things have happened to make it clear that the forces of darkness are already actively opposing God’s plan, so we need your prayers! Although life has gone back to (something somewhat like) normal for many of us in the U.S., our world is still in the grip of a global pandemic, and in developing nations like Zimbabwe and Tanzania, conditions can change dramatically in just a few days.

Pastor Rose’s husband died from COVID last December, and many, many other pastors in Africa have similarly succumbed to the disease. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but we are aware that we have an adversary who prowls around seeking whom he may devour. That’s why we are calling on our prayer warriors to provide “air support” for Scott as he heads into this spiritual battle.

As you pray, please rejoice with us and thank God for…

1. Continuing to open doors for Scott to raise disciple-makers in other nations!
2. His abundant provision of nearly all the funds needed to cover the budget for this trip!

Today’s Prayer Requests:

1. God to give Pastor Rose and Pastor Raphael discernment and favor as they prepare for Scott’s seminars.
2. God to be a shield around Scott and cause any weapon formed against him to be destroyed.
3. Pastors’ marriages to be healed and restored.
4. God to expand the disciple-makers network throughout Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

THANK YOU for standing with us in prayer! As you do, we will be…

Planting Trees,
Scott, Patty and the Whole TTC Team