Friends and Supporters,

Well, we had written a note to tell you of our upcoming mission to Zimbabwe. It was drafted just before we flew out, but accidently left at home. So, here we are in Zimbabwe, having arrived just a few days ago after a long, thankfully uneventful journey to Bulawayo.

Our arrival was met by rain from a tropical storm that hit Mozambique,  displacing 150,000 people and dumping over 5 inches here in almost 18 hours. This happened in a land that receives no more that 15-20 inches of rainfall a year. We saw flooded rivers and streets in the city; things here were almost ground to a halt. The blessing, though, is that all of the catchment dams in the area are now full of water. The abnormal rainfall has made travel difficult outside of the city, but tomorrow we will be driving 3 hours south to support a 3-day surgical eye camp in a very needy part of the country. We have also started seeing patients here in Bulawayo and are teaching doctors at a large training hospital.

Our mission here is to make Christ known to the people through medical care, and we have already had the opportunity of sharing our faith with several people. We are very thankful to let you know we just received word that the container filled with supplies for a local school, orphans, medical textbooks and medical equipment has been cleared and we rejoice in God answering the prayers of many for this wonderful news.

We have also seen the desperate state of this country and the people as the economy continues to slide, and this weighs heavily upon us. Thank you again for your interest and support in the work that we do to bring both physical and spiritual eyesight to the needy in this country.

Blessings,
Steve and Jane Beaty