A letter from Sue and Ted Wright in Zambia
March 30, 2009
I will build you up again, and you, Israel will be rebuilt. (Jeremiah 31:4)
Dear Friends,
Runaway inflation for several years in Zimbabwe have made the local currency meaningless. These are two worthless pieces of paper.
There seems to be a thin veneer of optimism in Zimbabwe: formerly the breadbasket of our region, now it’s the basket case. Foreign currency is seen everywhere. Hopefully, it can help control inflation. Billion- and trillion-dollar Zimbabwe notes are worthless — though some still find their way into Sunday collection plates. People just walk over bills dropped on the ground. Banks ask customers why they are bringing Zim dollars for deposit.
Schools have been ordered to reopen now that teachers are paid in foreign currency. Hospital staffs are gradually returning to work — except for the many professionals who emigrated. The government is trying to entice them back with $100 incentives.
The lines of cars have disappeared from filling stations. Stores are restocking their shelves. Still, four small rolls of toilet paper recently cost over $6. Meat is expensive, too.
Before one can receive any medical treatment it must be fully paid in foreign cash — even if you have insurance. However, things were worse in November and December. Back then, if you got a prescription, you had to immediately visit three different pharmacies and get written quotations, and then submit those with some other paperwork to your bank in order to request the money from your account. It usually took the bank three or four days to act. By then, the price of the drug had usually increased.
They will call on me, and I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble. I will deliever them and honor them. (Psalm 91:35)
Ted teaching principles of teamwork to pastors, elders and evangelists in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean Christians put their trust in the Lord. They know God has kept them throughout this decade of trouble and that only God can deliver them now. Churches are full — in numbers and in spirit. Ted preached at a church that has experienced such renewal that it has 10 vibrant choirs!
During our visit, Sue asked a number of pastors how the cholera epidemic had been affecting their congregations. Several spoke of members getting sick, but none reported any fatalities.
Ted conducted a workshop on teamwork for pastors, elders and evangelists (church planters). Over 30 attended, many having traveled several hours. Their passion for church growth was highly palpable. One day was barely enough.
On the home front
Sue has been blessed to with opportunities to teach in two different venues right at our doorstep. At the request of Justo Mwale, she taught a course on child abuse for 37 students at the college level degree program. She also taught 16 aspiring evangelists in basic counseling theory and practice. Admission requirements may be lower for these evangelists, but no one can top their passion for learning.
This is the third year she has offered the counseling course. She is always pleased to use her experience as a social worker, plus she enjoys just knowing the students.
Our house is clean, our garden is ripening and our health — thank God — is holding up nicely.
In a few weeks, we start a five-week road trip that will over our entire region. During the first half we travel with our PC(USA) supervisor, Doug Welch, to Harare, back to Lusaka, and on to Malawi. After a week in that country he will leave us in Blantyre and we will stay to welcome the members of the Outreach Foundation’s annual Africa trip. This year’s trip brings seven stalwart guests whom we’ll take through rural Mozambique and urban Zimbabwe. Along the way, they will visit young churches, schools, health projects and programs for street kids.
God is at work here. Some days, we wonder, “How will the next challenge be met?” Often we can’t recognize His means or His method, but in hindsight we realize: God did it again!
Thank you for every letter, prayer and contribution. We treasure your partnership.
Faithfully,
Sue and Ted
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 43
