Partners 4 Africa Mission ReportJuly 2012 Brian Mitchell

Let me begin by thanking each of you for your support of my recent mission trip to Zimbabwe. I would not be able to go and participate in all that is being accomplished in this work without the support of congregations like yours. This past July 9th I left Nashville, Tn. to begin what would be a 36 hour trip to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I flew by myself from Nashville to Chicago and then on to London where I met 3 other members of my team. From there we flew to Johannesburg, South Africa and then to Zimbabwe. Again, this trip took 36 hours in total to complete and even though we arrived dead tired we spent the next several hours making plans for the work we would do over the next 12 days before finally getting some sleep (I was up for 2+ days). I truly do love the work in Africa, especially Zimbabwe, because of the amazing people we get to work with and the amazing works we get to work in. One of the exciting new developments in the work in Zimbabwe is the opening of a new housing/teaching facility in the city of Bulawayo (a metropolitan city of about 2 million). The purpose of this facility is not only to provide housing for members of short-term mission works but also to provide a centralized location for focused training/teaching seminars. Over the course of the next 12 days my main teaching partner (Shak Arrington) and I were blessed with the opportunity to spend 4 days (7-8 hours a day) teaching a group of 10-12 young men at the facility. We taught these young men about How to Study the Bible, Spiritual Growth and The Life and Work of a Preacher. These you men were very receptive to the messages and took notes during all of themthey really want to grow in their knowledge and service. It is our hope that through these kinds of teaching seminars that these young men will grow to become preachers and leaders in the church. We also had several ladies classes at the facility that were taught by another member of the team. We really focus on working with the young while in Zimbabwe because the average age in Zimbabwe is 17 and so they are really the future of the church. In addition to these teaching opportunities I had the opportunity to preach and teach at 2 congregations, in 3 villages, in a teen lectureship on the subject of Church Doctrines, at a WBS session with individuals not yet part of the church and in our 3rd annual Preacher Refreshers Course. The amazing thing about the teen lectureship is the fact that it was the teens themselves who actually asked for it. They wanted to learn more about such subjects as Giving, THE Holy Spirit and instruments in the worship. We had about 25 teens present at the seminaron a Saturday no lessand had some wonderful lessons presented on 6 key issues for the church there. The Preacher Refresher course is my favorite teaching opportunity as we get the opportunity to teach about issues of importance to other preachers. We started this work 3 years ago and have had 32, 64 and 58 preachers present in these seminars and we pray that this will continue to grow in the coming years. We also started a WBS seminar this year where we had 9 WBS students and were able to teach them the plan of salvation. We hope that this event will grow in the future as well. In all I was personally blessed to be able to teach the Word of God 23 times in 11 days and as a group the number would be closer to 60 times. Zimbabwe, as a country, has been suffering from a severe drought for the last 3 years. Thus, one of the key aspects of this work of this fulfillment of Pauls words to do good unto all. Over the last

4 years, and through the generosity of many stateside congregations, Partners 4 Africa has been able to send 8 containers of clothes, textbooks and medical supplies to 3 African countries. These supplies have blessed the lives of many people who simply do not have anything. In addition to this work they have now drilled 29 water wells at congregations and in rural villages, started 4 orphan feeding programs and are deliveringas funds allowfood to drought affected villages. I actually had the opportunity to take some food to a village this year where I was the first American they had ever met. In addition to providing a little support each year to some very hard working and deserving preachers, I have been privileged to be able to provide funds for each of these benevolent works. Not only are these works alleviating some individual suffering, they are opening many doors of opportunity for the spreading of the gospel. Again, these works would not be possible without your financial support and prayers so thank you. The following is a summary of the work you helped us be able to accomplish over the course of 12 days this year. Hundreds of orphans and at-risk children fed Food distributed to villagers affected by drought Hard working preachers provided personal support Gospel preached to around 1,000 individuals in various settings (worship, seminars, Bible school, homes and villages) 29 baptized into Christ (4 more good prospects from the WBS seminar and over 300 in Zimbabwe this year), 5 requests for prayers 34 total responses HOPEbrought to Lords people and many others

I thank you again for your support of myself in this work and I hope that you will be able to provide me with assistance again in the future. While I was in Africa I was informed that the Lord had decided to bless our family with a 4th child (due March 1, 2013). With this somewhat unexpected development it is quite likely that I will not travel to Africa in 2013 but will take a break and look to return in 2014. I hope that you will consider helping me again when the Lord allows me to return. Until then, thanks again so much for your support and prayers. Brian Mitchell