Dear Friends,

We have just departed on that long 16 hour flight to Johannesburg for another term of service and ministry in Zimbabwe. We have been preparing for this chapter for a couple of months now, and are excited to return. We will stay overnight at a guest house and take another hour and a half flight to get to Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe has been going through severe economic and political upheaval and unrest the last month. Inflation had become so severe that most people are not able to afford to pay their monthly expenses. The problem came to a head on January 14^th when a country-wide strike was called. Demonstrations turned violent, and a number of people were killed. Things have quieted down now, but the problems are still very real.

As we have thought and prayed about what our goals for this trip will be, we have agreed that a ministry of encouragement will be our prime focus. We want to encourage the people in providing health care, in teaching at the Richard Morris Eye Hospital and NUST medical school, and in giving of ourselves and what we will take with us to many who are in despair.

We shipped over a crate to Zimbabwe in December last year, and hopefully it will arrive at the same time as us. As part of the shipment, we have sent over a brand new cataract machine donated by Alcon Corporation for the teaching program at the Richard Morris Eye Hospital. This machine will enable us to deliver and teach first rate cataract surgery to the training doctors there. We are so very excited to add this piece of equipment to their hospital, and we know that thousands of needy patients will receive their eyesight as a result.

We will have a young man, Mr. John Illges, accompanying us on our mission. He is a qualified accountant, and he will be helping several Great Commission organizations to streamline their accounting and financial administration. He will provide a valuable service in his field of expertise. He will also join us and work with us in some rural eye camps where we will examine, treat and give glasses to many in the outlying areas of Zimbabwe.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for us as we embark on this next trip. We will send you updates as the time goes by in Zimbabwe, and we look forward to sharing with you the great things that will transpire as we serve the people there.

Blessings,

Steve and Jane Beaty