Dear Northside
I woke up today and had this thought in my mind, “I wish someone in government would say thank you to the nation for enduring the power cuts and everything else.” Just an acknowledgement that things are tough and the Zimbabwe people are toughing it out. Can you imagine if the President went on TV and radio to say this to us?
And then I thought, “Why does it have to be the President?” Yes, that would be nice, but why don’t we encourage one another and thank each other. The Bible says, in everything, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. There it is, with thanksgiving. And so today I want to say thank you to you all. Thank you for coming today to the service. Thank you for serving. Thank you for giving so generously to God’s work here at Northside. Thank you for enduring. Thank you for standing firm. Thank you for encouraging others. Thank you for really trying to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.
I did send out a note of encouragement online this week. I hope it encouraged those of you who received it. If you did not receive it, please connect with us online, so that you do not miss out on our communications. Contact the church office for help if you need some.
I really hope and pray that just being here and being part of the Northside family will encourage you and strengthen you to continue on. May we all continue to look to the unseen and the eternal, at the eternal weight of glory, which will cause all our troubles to become light and momentary and we will be renewed daily.
Today we are half way through the year. We are planning for our church meeting on 28 July and our Annual HARVEST Service on the 4th August. We have a really busy August planned this year again. I hope you will help us continue to be God’s ambassadors, proclaiming the ministry of reconciliation to our community.
One major challenge we are facing is the need to find some land, fairly close to Northside, to accommodate the growing Livingstones Learning Centre. Please pray for us as we search for suitable land. And if you are able to help please speak to Sue Haley, Sam Chimbuya or Shephard Chizwina. This is fairly urgent as we need more space for January 2020, which is now only 6 months away.
One major change that has taken place this week is that Baba Lamech Zulu has stopped being part of the staff team here at Northside. I want to thank him for his faithfulness and how he has strived to please God in all he has been asked to do these past 11 years. Lamech and Rose are still around and they are still fully committed to serving God in and through Northside. Please pray for them as they start a new chapter in their lives, and pray for the staff as we adjust to not having him on staff.
God bless, Pastor Gary
