19th Annual Zimbabwe Preaching Summit
by: Al Serhal

I arrived in Zimbabwe late on Tuesday, February 7 which allowed me a couple of days to get acclimated and just spend some time with Zebedee (Managing Director of HVCM in Zimbabwe), talking over many of the issues and plans that we have for HVCM going forward.  Zebedee was able to bring me up-to-date on some of the challenges the mission is currently facing as well as some major victories.

I then had the weekend to prepare for my preaching class at Zimbabwe Christian College which was scheduled to start the next Monday morning.  I preached both Sundays that I was in Harare at two different churches. I especially enjoyed the second Sunday when I was able to travel with 3 of my preaching Students out to one of the churches where we worked as a team for the day. The boys translated and prayed with many of the people who came forward during the service.  I really enjoyed traveling with them and just talking and getting to know them and their stories.  During the week I taught from 8:00-1:00 every day for the next 8 days. During that time I was able to present every student with a brand new NIV Study Bible (60 students) and also provide each of my students (2nd & 3rd year students) with a copy of Haddon Robinsons “Biblical Preaching” as our textbook.  

On February 22, two brothers from the Tomoka Christian Church in Ormond Beach, FL arrived.  That night we had a cookout for all of the ZCC students, faculty and staff.  It was a wonderful evening filled with singing, food and fellowship!

We then took the FL guys down to Chiredzi to see the mission work  We went to two mission schools and then spent the evening with the children at the Children’s Village. On Sunday, we went out to one of our rural Churches to worship with the folks there and Greg from Tomoka preached.

On Monday we began the trip back to Harare for the 19th annual Preaching Summit.  About 125 Preachers attended and they all received Bibles and a copy of John Stott’s book, “Basic Christianity”, along with pens and handmade cross necklaces.  Speakers were, Pete Konkle from SC, Dr. David Fiensy from Kentucky Christian University, Dr. Darrel Pruett from FL, Greg Holmgren from Tomoka and myself.  The spirit and attitude of the Summit was wonderful and the food was exceptional this year.

This year at the Summit we had preachers not only from Zimbabwe and Mozambique, but men also traveled 3 days to get there from the country of Malawi.  One evening the men from Malawi asked to speak to me.  We met outside where they pleaded with me to bring some kind of preacher training to Malawi.  They say there are 200 Christian churches in Malawi and less than 100 preachers.  A few of these preachers had some formal training at a small non-instrumental college there in Malawi, but most of them have not had any formal education and they are hungry for teaching and resources for Preaching.  I felt very convicted to try and do something to strengthen the pulpits in Malawi.

On Friday, March 3rd I began the long journey home.  I finally arrived at my little house in Grayson, KY around 3:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, March 4th.  I battled some issues with dehydration for several days due to the long flight home, but am feeling much better now.  It is good to be home with my wife and family and to sleep in my own bed for a while.
                                                                         
​-Al Serhal

While I have enjoyed all of the office work, I am looking forward to meeting our 1,000+ kids, as well as helping with the Christian School games coming up next term. These games are when all the Church of Christ/Mashoko Christian Schools get together for four days out of the second term and compete in various activities. This includes: netball, soccer, volleyball, handball, music, drama, biblical quizzes, and extra for the High Schoolers, debate and chess. Pastor Cephas tells me that our Living Proof kids are the “torch bearers” of this event, because they are the ones leading services and singing, as well as helping to organize. It is so wonderful to see the vision of training up Christian leaders become a reality!
 
Speaking of which, over the course of this year we hope to be writing a curriculum for our Living Proof Bible program. I cannot wait to do this, and to get out into the schools! I run the Children’s program at my Church here in Chiredzi, and helping kids develop a firm Biblical foundation is something I am very passionate about; as well as I just love kids J
 
That’s all from me for now! Needless to say I think you will need to watch this space as our Living Proof Program keeps growing and developing. Please keep praying for us, specifically that:

• We continue to evaluate and perfect this fast growing program
• More sponsors will come on board as we look to bring on additional kids
• Our Living Proof kids continue to grow in “wisdom and in stature” as leaders of their schools and communities
• That the Lord would equip us to disciple and to empower, which will in turn affect change not just schools and communities but ultimately the country of Zimbabwe

Until next time, Chisarai munaJesu (Goodbye, stay well in Jesus)! 

Love,
Steph
steph@hippovalley.com
 

As we head into a new year, it is good to look back and remember the years past.  Check out this old newsletter from Hippo Valley's John C. Pemberton in January of 1970.  Now 45 years ago!!

This year, Hippo Valley Christian Mission will be launching a new initiative known as the Living Proof Campaign.  The inspiration for this comes from none other than our own managing director, Zebedee Togarepi. Think about it, Zebedee IS the product of this great mission! He is the Living Proof of the impact this great mission has had and still has in Zimbabwe. He is what John and Marge Pemberton dreamed of as early as 1956! His role as head of our mission in Zimbabwe is what John Mark and Bob worked so hard to cultivate! Zebedee attended our mission schools as a small boy and his parents were led to Christ through the ministry of John and Marge Pemberton. He was recruited to the ministry by John Pemberton and became the first graduate of Zimbabwe Christian College. He was sponsored by the Pembertons to receive his higher education in the United States, earning his bachelor’s degree from KCU and his MRE from Cincinnati Christian Seminary. Upon his return to Zimbabwe he was brought on board as a full partner in the mission work with John Mark and Bob Pemberton, a move that was almost unheard of at that time.   

Zebedee is Living Proof of HVCM but he is only one of, literally, thousands who have passed through the doors of our schools and gone on to lead productive lives and become leaders in our churches and the community! This is what we hope to focus on as we develop this exciting sponsorship program. The product: Living Proof! Not to be confused with our regular orphan sponsorship program, here is what the new school-children sponsorship program will look like:

• We will be seeking sponsors for the school children probably beginning with 4th-6th graders.
• The $20 sponsorship monies will go directly to the mission for ministry and evangelism efforts within our 27 schools. This may include salaries, expenses for revivals and evangelistic programs within our schools, and school related administrative costs.
• The sponsoring persons or families will be given an actual child, picture, personal information and mailing address and will begin corresponding with the child to encourage him or her to do their best in school, to always attend church, and to be an active participant in Sunday school. We sincerely want our sponsors to partner with HVCM to develop friendships with these precious children, to pray regularly for your child and help lead them to the Savior.
• $5 per month from the $20 sponsor gift will be set aside in an account to be used for the sponsored child when they graduate from high school for further education. We also hope to make additional scholarship opportunities available for sponsored children who desire to attend Zimbabwe Christian College.
• Every sponsored child will be presented with a Bible given to them on behalf of their sponsor.
• Although the children will not be given their sponsor’s personal address (only the mission offices will have that information) they will send personal letters back to their sponsors through the mission office in Zimbabwe.
• Sponsors will not be permitted to send money directly to their child (the children and their families will be informed that money requests are not permitted). However, sponsors will be given the opportunity to purchase pre-selected $10 gifts from a catalog. These gifts will be given to your child at Christmas, wrapped and in your name.

In addition to this exciting opportunity, our own Zebedee Togarepi has been asked to be one of the keynote speakers at the International Convention on Missions, which will probably see around 10,000 people in attendance. What an opportunity to launch this exciting program! 

Our goal is to have five-hundred $20/month child sponsors by the end of the year.  This is a lofty goal, but thankfully we have the King of Kings on our side!  If this is something you are interested in learning more about, please submit a new contact form by clicking here, or by emailing us at hvcm@hippovalley.com.  We would love to have you on board with us during this exciting time.  

Greetings from Hippo Valley Christian Mission!
We hope this summer season finds you well and blessed in our Lord, Jesus Christ. We would  like to take a moment and make you aware of some exciting news here with HVCM.

 We are pleased to announce that Al Serhal has been named the new Executive Director for the Hippo Valley Christian Mission! Al was one ofthe original HVCM board members when it was
first established under John Mark Pemberton and has now returned to work as our stateside director. His great love for this mission has shown over the years and we are thrilled that he will be taking a key role in the future. He has been involved in church planting and building projects with Zebedee since 1995 and worked closely with John Mark on fundraising for the Chiredzi Christian Children’s Home and Village when they were first established. After thirteen trips to Zimbabwe, he truly has a heart for this work and we know that he will be a major asset going forward. 

For the past three years Al has been preaching at the Northside Christian Church in Columbus, GA. Before that he was Campus minister and director of Church relations at Kentucky Christian University. He also served 16 years as the senior minister of the Fairfield Christian Church in Kokomo, IN. He and his wife Patty will be moving to Huntington, WV in September where he will be splitting time as minister of the Westmoreland Church of Christ and HVCM. This move has opened up a great opportunity for us to move the HVCM office into the Westmoreland Church building (About 30 minutes from our original home base of Grayson, KY). Al can be reached through the church/mission office or by email at al@hippovalley.com

Dear Family, Friends and Supporters

I am so happy to report that we have finished another house,‘The Golden Valley House’, and have only one more house to go to complete the vision John Mark had for the Children’s Village 10 years ago.  The last house, ‘The Chapel Hill House’, has the roof completed and we will be starting on the inside electrical work soon.  
 
To see the faces of the children in the Golden Valley House was wonderful.  They were the last 10 children at the Children’s Home about 3 miles from the village. The Home was our first orphanage and opened 12 years ago. It is a dorm setting. The children would often ask when they too would get a house and move to the Village.  Now they are in a brand new house and love being with all the other children.  The 10 children living in the Golden Valley House range in age from preschool to the last year in High School.  

My question was, "What are we going to do with the Home?" The laws are changing in Zimbabwe and dorm rooms are no longer acceptable for housing orphans under the age of 18.  We are required by law to give them houses. The Home in Chiredzi has two large dorm rooms, one for boys and one for girls.  The expense of changing this to houses was more than we can cope with at the moment as we still are completing the Village.  

The leaders in Chiredzi, Zebedee, Alone, and Kufa, came up with a brilliant plan to use the Home. We
are still helping orphans but staying within the laws laid down by the government.  
 
About 5 years ago we opened our Halfway House for our older kids.  We opened with 6 young people 18 years old or older who have completed their High School education but needed a place to stay until their skills training or university education wascomplete.  Since our opening, we have out grown the Halfway House's limited space. After the 10 children moved to "The Golden Valley House", the Home was opened to our Halfway House boys.  They love living there.  They have so much room in the dorms and have a large garden to work in when they are not at school.  They are good young men who want to gain skills so they can make their own living. 

Dear Co-Workers & Friends,

We hope we find all of you well.  We recently celebrated Easter
Holidays and the gathering seems to exceed the former gathering we have had in times past and the preaching was good. 
The speakers were prepared for the occasion.  Food stuffs were adequate to feed the large group of delegates who came.  Our region is composed of more than twenty churches and of those 18 attended the Easter conference.  I am sure we are moving ahead very well. Also most of our preachers attended the conference together with the leadership of their congregations.  One of our new preachers, Stanley Zimuto, stationed at Damarakanaka Clinic and Church fell sick with smallpox.  Alone and I visited him and his wife and found him on the recovery side and we hope this week will bring him full
recovery.

Stanley Zimuto started ministry with us first of January by way of replacing Amos Marimwa, who
transferred to Tokwane Ngundu (Village 8) to replace Alphonse Chinyange who resigned from ministry for the purpose of taking a second wife.  Amos and wife started their ministry on the 10th of March 2013.  It looks like both churches are enjoying good times with their new preachers.

SCHOOLS MINISTRY

The schools’ system presented us with more work during the January to March term because of the
promotions which took place.  Most of our Christian schools both primary and secondary schools received newly promoted substantive deputy head masters.  It is good to have these men and women posted to our schools as we, the church, recommended them for promotions to lead in our schools.  This is the advantage private schools owners have: that of placing heads and deputies in their schools.  This is the way we keep Christian influence in all our schools. It also needs to be said that the provincial office of education is very agreeable to this arrangement. Many Responsible Authorities (R/As) are very appreciative of the good rapport we have with the current Provincial Education Director (P.E.D).  
 
There is a need for hiring an Education Secretary, as I am functioning as an education secretary, the post which requires a lot of movement to the schools and also interacting with all the seven (7) Districts Education Officers which make up Masvingo Provincial Education Directorate.  In order to achieve this, we need an office, salary and allowances, housing and fuel for the secretary to be mobile and visible in the schools. 
Right now I am sure that all of our 27 schools, both primary and secondary, have church activities going on every week let alone the teaching of Bible as a subject recognized by Ministry of Education.