Mnene Parish

Start of Second Term

Mnene and Good Shepherd - A History

2001

Iris Moyo (Bishop Moyo’s wife) spoke at our services about AIDS & orphans in Zimbabwe.

Good Shepherd responded with a spontaneous offering of $1500.

2002

Bishop Ambrose Moyo visited Good Shepherd, and paired us with rural Mnene Parish. It is the oldest Lutheran parish in Zimbabwe, begun over 100 years ago by Swedish missionaries.

We received our first photo. 30 orphans received some support with the $2390 we sent.

Mnene Parish has a center with a traditional church, hospital, orphanage, elementary & secondary schools.

There are 11 outlying “congregations”, which are led by deacons & evangelists, and usually gather under a tree for worship.

We provided a computer, printer, and digital camera .

2003

Mnene Parish reported 413 orphans. Good Shepherd funds of $2250 provided for the start of a garden project, a 2 room house, and some support for 50 orphans.

2004

Mnene Parish reported 695 orphans. Five most needy orphan families were chosen for Good Shepherd support. A house was repaired and school uniforms & fees were provided with our $2000.

2005

Good Shepherd sent school kits and clothing on a container shared with the Methodist ZOE Ministries.

We sent $8000 for orphan support.

We received letters & photos.

2006

Mnene Parish reported over 800 orphans. Good Shepherd now provides FULL support for 7 orphan families, 42 orphans. A kitchen hut was built. The Mordecai Trust was established to administer the funds we send. We sent $9000.

Good Shepherd children wrote letters to the orphans.

2007

Annie Mhaka, a bookkeeper for the ELCZ and administrator of The Mordecai Trust funds, visited Good Shepherd in April as part of our 25th Anniversary celebrations. We had a welcome dinner and a farewell choir concert. She touched our hearts with her words, her faith, and her love & care for the orphans.

We sent first aid supplies, clothing, a chalice & paten, banners, and altar candles to Mnene with Annie.

As a response to Annie’s suggestion, Good Shepherd made plans with Mnene for a Parish Technology Center, where orphans and others could learn computer skills.

We received a $17,473 grant from NC Synod ELCA Michael Peeler Fund.

Several orphans from Hutano Village (in Mnene center) were added to those Good Shepherd supports. Two 2-room houses were built, and an artificial leg provided.

We sent $6000.

2008

We sent messages of love, hope, and prayer when we had to postpone our planned visit to Mnene.

Bishop Ambrose Moyo visited Good Shepherd in November, as part of our 25th Anniversary celebrations. His stories of the dire humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe spurred a powerful Good Shepherd response to their Seeds of Hope effort. We wired $15,971 for Seeds, which included $8143 from 25th Anniversary funds.

We provided $13,326 for orphan support.

2009

We sent $7779 for orphan support; and an additional $3436 for Seeds of Hope.

We had to return our Michael Peeler Fund grant because the Technology Center project had to be postponed. We will re-apply in the future when the infrastructure in Zimbabwe improves.

We sent Easter and Christmas messages of love, hope and prayer to Mnene.

“Adopt An Orphan” began in August with Adoption Sunday. Each orphan is matched with a Good Shepherd family who will pray for the child, write letters, send photos, etc. Our first letters were delivered Nov 7.

2010

We sent $12,681 for orphan support.

We wrote Easter and Christmas messages of love, hope, and prayer to Mnene.

April 6-20, Pastor David, Wendy Calderone, Ken Newcomer, and Peggy & Dave Ruopp traveled to Zimbabwe and Mnene Parish to meet our orphans and ministry partners. Good Shepherd sent bright yellow Tshirts, clothing, and mail from our “Adoptive Families”, more clothing, soccer balls, first aid supplies, clergy vestments, a laptop for Bishop Shava, the Good Shepherd Catechesis lesson, and a special bronze statue of the Good Shepherd. We also provided $2000 for the computer classroom / Technology Center as well as $3000 to purchase cornmeal for Svita village, which was suffering repeated and prolonged drought.

“Adopt an Orphan” expanded in October to match each orphan with two Good Shepherd families who will pray daily for the child, write letters, send photos,etc.

We agreed to Mnene Parish’ request to place 13 of our orphans in Boarding School, thereby doubling the annual amount of funding needed each year.

2011

We sent $15,000 for Boarding School students and $15,500 for Day School students.

We received a $2500 grant from the NC Synod Michael Peeler Fund for the computer classroom / Technology Center at Mnene.

We provided a $5000 scholarship from Good Shepherd’s Endowment Fund for our oldest orphan, Reward Gumbo, to attend college.

We wrote Christmas notes of love, hope, and prayer which we sent with 8 boxes of letters and small Christmas gifts from our “Adoptive Families”.

Bishop Ambrose Moyo, who originally connected Good Shepherd with Mnene Parish, visited Dec 11.

Mail to Mnene

In January of 2011 we received some new pictures of our orphans in Mnene. Take a moment to view these photos and see the smiling faces of our orphans as they open and read the letters you sent to them. You will also see several of our orphans holding large bundles of school supplies which were purchased for them through our annual Thrivent/Mnene Outreach Ministry Appeal in the Fall of 2010. The orphans who will be attending boarding school for the first time are shown wearing their new uniforms that were also purchased for them because of your generous donations. Click here to see the photos.

We Have Friends in Africa / Mnene Update

What a wonderful Adoption Sunday we had Aug 30th—a rousing sermon preached by Pastor Chris Chikoore, lively songs by Shepherd’s House Church“clergy quartet”, delicious American and Zimbabwean foods, and all 37 orphans adopted! THANKS, Good Shepherd! For the coming year each orphan has a Good Shepherd family or group who will pray for them and send letters & pictures every month. May God bless these “adoptions” to enlarge our love, deepen our commitment, and develop personal relationships

Pastor Magwizi of Mnene Parish wrote:
“The response of the sponsors (Good Shepherd) was very good especially during the 2007-2008 drought. The children got food at the time when most people in the communities could not afford. Thanks to the Lord.” Pastor Magwizi also reported that 8 orphans have progressed to Form I (secondary school). He proposed that if funds permit, these 8 should be sent to boarding school, as there is no secondary school near their home.

Good Shepherd currently provides complete support for 37 AIDS orphans at Mnene Parish—food, seed, blankets, clothing, toiletries, shelter, school supplies, uniforms, & fees. Annie Mhaka reported that costs are $250/year for school ($500/year for boarding school), and an additional $150/year for other needs. That’s a total of $400/year ($650 for boarding school). Financial support for the orphans is NOT part of the “adoptions”, and is not part of Good Shepherd’s budget. In 2008 we provided $14,335 So far for 2009, we have provided $7779 to The Mordecai Trust for the orphans. Annie & the Mordecai Board work hard to stretch our dollars. Contributions can be made anytime to GLSC, earmarked ”Mnene orphans”. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has granted a 1:4 match (up to $1500) for funds raised between Oct and early Dec. We need to raise $6000 to earn Thrivent’s full $1500 match. Thanks for your generosity and faithfulness!

Bishop Ambrose Moyo Sermon Online

Bishop Ambrose Moyo was the Bishop of ELC Zimbabwe, and is now head of the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA), which includes 11 sub-Saharan countries. He is the one who paired Good Shepherd with Mnene Parish.

Bishop Moyo was our guest speaker on November 9. You can download and listen to his sermon as an mp3 here or you can download a transcript to read here. (thanks to Peggy Ruopp for the transcript)

Mnene Parish Visitor Has Arrived

Annie Mhaka, our guest from Mnene Parish arrived tired but excited on Wednesday, April 18 after a 24 hour trip from Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, the four others scheduled to come with her were unable to come due to visa issues. However, Annie has done an excellent job of representing Mnene. GSLC welcomed her with a potluck dinner on Saturday evening where she presented slides (click on the slide to progress through the presentation) and talked about Mnene Parish. She shared greetings from Mnene at each of the Sunday morning services. A recording from the 11:15 service may be found here.

I Have a Friend in Africa - Mnene Parish

Good Shepherd has been in a growing partnership with Mnene Parish in Mberengwe Zimbabwe in southern Africa. It is the oldest parish in Zim, begun by Swedish Lutheran missionaries 101 years ago. It is a rural parish with a center and 11 outlying “congregations”. Mnene Parish center has a European style church building, elementary & high schools, an orphanage, and a clinic/nursing school. The outlying “congregations” are typically led by deacons & evangelists, and usually gather under a tree for worship. More photos may be found here.

Mnene Parish Update - March 2007

We sent $6000 to The Mordecai Trust for this school term. We wired the funds through The Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa under Bishop Moyo’s care to protect the value against incredible inflation in Zimbabawe.

Bishop Moyo wrote: Again thank you for taking your time to walk with us as we seek ways and means to care for the millions of orphans and others affected as a result of the deadly epidemic. I hope you will have a very fruitful visit with the people from Mnene. I go to Zimbabwe very regularly as I am deeply involved with the churches on the Ecumenical Peace Initiative as a member of the Steering Committee. Taking the funds to Mnene will be done as soon as we receive them. I am also constantly in touch with Bishop Shava and between the two of us we will ensure the maximum out of the funds received.

Best wishes to you all. We look forward to meeting some of you at Mnene next year. I and Iris will make every effort to be in Zimbabwe when you come so that we can welcome you also in our home.

I Have a Friend in Africa - Mnene Parish Guests Arrive

April 18

5 guests will be arriving from Mnene Parish April 18 & will be here until May 4. Volunteers are needed in a variety of areas.

HOSTS & DINNER HOSTS NEEDEDˆWe need a total of 15 families to host a visitor for one week each and dinner hosts are needed ˆContact Angela Metz at angelametz@nc.rr.com.
TRANSPORTATION ˆDrivers needed to get our guests to/from their various activities. Contact Carla Kraehenbuehl at 601-3536.

Important Dates:

Sat., 4/21 - a potluck dinner to meet our friends at 5 pm.
Sat., 4/28- meet at 7 pm at the church to begin plans for members interested in being a part of the 2008 Mnene Parish visit.
Sun., 4/29, at 4:30- a concert and a farewell meal for our visitors.

Go to the Mnene Parish page on our website to read the bios written by our visitors & to view pictures taken at Mnene Parish. Watch for a calendar showing all planned activities.

COME TO OUR NEXT PLANNING MEETING Sunday, February 25th at 6:30 in the library at GSLC. Please contact Peggy Ruopp 795-3975 or email peggyruopp@yahoo.com or Serena Mika, 845-7039 or e-mail her at mmika@yahoo.commmika@yahoo.com

There are sign-up sheets on the Wittenberg Wall and the Mnene Bulletin Board.

Mnene Parish Update - Dec 2006

Mnene Parish has been hard hit by the AIDS pandemic. We are committed to long-term support of the parish’s ministry to more than 600 AIDS orphans . In 2006, our partnership has fully supported 7 families (42 orphans) with food, clothing, shelter, basic needs, and school uniforms, fees, and supplies. Our goal is working toward self-sufficiency for these destitute families. These are children whose parents have died from AIDS, and who may be HIV positive themselves. “We lost one orphan and one caregiver (in2006). We are deciding to assist the kids get tested in order to know their HIV status and monitor their health. Where possible have those infected get the approval of Doctors for ARV’s. this may be an expensive program since these are taken for the whole life.”

Mnene Parish to Visit GSLC

As part of our 25th Anniversary Thank You, Lord celebration, we are planning a mission trip to Mnene in 2008, and hosting 4 visitors from Mnene for two weeks in April 2007. One April visitor will be Rev Kenneth Sibanda, Dean of the area including Mnene Parish, and a director of the Mordecai Trust which administers our funds. Dean Sibanda is “father” to the orphans we support, as he is the one who visits them and distributes the food, clothing, and school supplies we provide. (You can view his photo on the bulletin board next to Pastor Jennifer’s office.) The other three visitors will be a highschool aged orphan, a teacher, and a mother/AIDS volunteer.

Thankfully, our visitors will speak English, although with a British accent. Zimbabwe was once Rhodesia, a British colony which suffered under apartheid as neighboring South Africa did. Altho Zim is made up of different tribes (in Mnene they are Shona), everyone speaks English as well as their tribal tongue. Children read and write in English at school.

Their visit will offer us many opportunities for personal connection, deepening our relationship & commitment. We will host them in our homes, share our congregational activities, welcome and celebrate their presence among us. If you would like to help plan the details of this exciting visit, contact Peggy Ruopp 795-3975 / peggyruopp@yahoo.com, or Serena Mika 845-7039 / smmika@yahoo.com, or sign up on the Wittenburg Wall.

From Dean Sibanda's 2006 report:

The following are the families under the program and the names of the orphans. There are seven families altogether. This is the grouping we have made for easy reference.

Family No. 1 ˆ CHIPA FAMILY
Blessing Chipa Grade 7 Female
Shuvai Chipa Form 2 Female
Tatenda Chipa Grade 4 Female
Happiness Chipa Grade 1 Female

Family No. 2- MNENE VILLAGE
Justice Ngwenya
Sheunesu Ndlovu
Handman Shumba
Robert Mpofu
Aletta Mpofu
Likwa Mpofu
Aleck Mpofu
Chipo Mpofu
Rosemary Mpofu
Sithokozile Mpofu
- They are all doing primary education

Family No. 3 ˆ GUMBO 1 FAMILY
Knowledge Gumbo Form 6 Male
Reward Gumbo Form 3 Male
Tinevimbo Gumbo School leaver Female
Sheunoziva Nkomo Skills
training Male
Stephen Mpofu Grade 4 Male
Sithembile Mpofu Grade 4 Female

Family No. 4 ˆ GUMBO 2 FAMILY (Ivhu Kuvanhu village)
Freedom Gumbo Form 4 Male
Effort Gumbo Grade 3
Male
Shuvai Gumbo Grade 4 Female
Tinomuvinga Gumbo School leaver Male
Tamuka Gumbo School leaver Male
Tofara Gumbo „A‰ level
Male

Family No. 5 ˆ MBUYA MOYO
Tania Mashumba Grade 5
Female
Juliet Moyo Grade 5
Female
Freeman Mashumba Grade 2
Male
Wiseman Mashumba Grade 3
Male
Learnmore Moyo skills training Male
Komborero Mashumba 3 years
Female

Family No. 6 ˆ ZONDO FAMILY
Tsamani Sigono Grade 6
Male
Talent Sigono Form 3
Female
Thokozani Sigono Form 3
Female
Mthokozisi Sigono Grade 3 Male
Foreman Sigono 3 years
Siphathisiwe Sigono Grade 4
Female
Nodious Sigono Grade 1 Male

Family No. 7 ˆ MAI HOVE
Mary Joyce Sibanda Grade 3
Female
Travor Ndlovu Grade 3
Male
Simbarashe Tembo Grade 3 Female

ASSISTANT GIVEN
The following items were given to each family:-
Bathing soap
Tooth paste
Washing soap
Cooking oil
Exercise books
Pens
And other stationery
School fees paid
Uniforms to some orphans

Mbuya Moyo family was assisted to construct a kitchen hut. Mai Hove family and Gumbo 2 family will be assisted to construct a 2 roomed flat. This is because there is need for accommodation in these families.

Mnene village was assisted to boost their Tuck Shop as an income generating project.

You will receive Financial Report from our Book Keeper Annie Mhaka covering all the items that I have mentioned.

We received the boxes that you sent in good order and they were distributed to all the kids.

We also received the letters written by your Sunday School kids and they have been distributed.