Andrew and Alexander went to Harare on Thurs 1st July and returned home on Sunday evening 4th July. Their purpose was to have leadership meetings (Thurs night to mid Friday afternoon) and to lead a public conference (Friday night and Saturday), and then to preach the Sunday services in Harare Vineyard (Alexander) and in Chegutu Vineyard (Andrew).

A team of 8 from Willow Hill Vineyard (Andrew’s church in Johannesburg) went directly to Chegutu and spent the whole time there to help an orphanage led by Moses and Refinwe. They took loads of supplies in a large trailer. Andre Kriel met with the local town planner regarding plans to build a new orphanage on the land given for that purpose. They got an extension in terms of building on the land –we needed to break ground by end of June, but to raise funds for this in the current climate in Zim for building is difficult. The team painted the lounge and passages, ministered to the leaders at the orphanage, put on a puppet show for the kids and generally had great fun doing ‘good works’!

In recent weeks, World Cups and screaming for Bafana, Greece, Ghana and Spain apart, Psalm 119 has stirred my soul, and tempered my actions:

74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy,
for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your regulations are fair;
you disciplined me because I needed it.
79 Let me be united with all who fear you,
with those who know your laws.
80 May I be blameless in keeping your decrees;
then I will never be ashamed

I have been musing for some months about our purpose for existence as a movement, which, let me remind us all, is the planting of effective, culture-current churches that make disciples that evangelise their communities leading to the planting of effective, culture-current churches…

If you happen to know of any teachers who would be qualified and interested to teach at a UK curriculum (Cambridge) school in Tanzania please put them in contact with us.

The Pan-African Vineyard Leaders’ Conference 2009 took place from September 14th to 18th at CYARA Conference centre at Hekpoort, near Magaliesberg. For the first time in several years we moved the conference there to make access easier and less costly for delegates from the other nations who would attend. We wondered how the move would affect attendance, and also set about asking for sponsorship to help us cover the costs and keep the conference affordable for as many as possible to attend. We needn’t have worried! Pre-conference sign up was the biggest ever, from the highest number of nations (22) ever, and our sponsorship goals were reached to make it very affordable indeed. I want to thank them again, from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all who attended. Materials, transport costs for leaders, registration subsidies, books and even the final night’s dinner were paid for by these wonderful people who are gifts of God to us.