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March 20, 2001
Greetings dear Friends & Family,
Sarah laughed when God told her she would have a child in her
old age. No, Bobbi is not having a child, but she did laugh at
first when we received a fresh calling on our lives to return
to Africa in "our old age"!
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has called us to be directors
of evangelism and church growth in southern Africa. Our job will
be to connect with our church partners in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi,
Mozambique and the islands of Madagascar and Mauritius to help
provide encouragement, vision, and resources for the equipping
of the church to carry out its mission. We leave for Harare, Zimbabwe,
our new home, on May 1. We will be replacing Bill and Nancy Warlick
who have served the PC(USA) for twenty years in Africa.
They will have six months to teach us all they know about working
with our church partners before they return to the States for
retirement.
What will our work entail? Bill recently shared this story.
He was asked if the PC(USA) would help reach an unreached area
in northern Malawi where polygamy, early marriages, witchcraft,
and drunkenness were very prevalent. The need for the truth of
the gospel was evident. The PC(USA) provided $2,000 to help with
the housing and salary needs of a Malawian evangelist. Six months
later, Bill visited the area to find the bridge washed out and
a road that hadn’t been used in 8-10 years. After walking
four hours, he and his companions arrived at the village. The
next morning they met with the evangelist, local chiefs, and the
villagers. Hearing that the evangelist had established four preaching
points or prayer houses, the whole group was greatly encouraged.
The chiefs were also concerned about schools and churches in the
area. Our additional help enabled the completion of some school
and church buildings and a grinding mill. The villagers have rebuilt
the road and are working on more prayer houses and a church to
meet the needs of all the people who are coming on the new road.
To quote Bill Warlick, "Because the Presbyterian Church in
Malawi had a vision to reach a
neglected area with the Good News of the gospel in both word and
deed, and the American church (PCUSA) partnered with them, an
area has been economically transformed and hope restored."
It is this kind of partnering which causes a new openness to hearing
about and responding to Jesus as Lord and Savior. People of all
ages are coming to faith in Christ because of a new understanding
of God’s love. "Thanks be to God!" Pray with us
that this will be the mark of the way God will work through our
future ministry.
Although this is not a fund-raising letter, we do want to inform
those of you who have asked how you can contribute to our support.
You may contribute in two ways through your local church:
For our salary support (this is for PC(USA) congregations),
fill out the pledge form in the Directed Mission Support book
and follow the directions. Ask for this free book, PDS-68700-01-050,
from Presbyterian Distribution Service at
(800) 524-2612. Our DMS number is D507170.
For project support, contributions may be sent to: Central Receiving
Service, Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289. Write the ECO number
(ECO-404902) on the subject line of the check and put it on your
cover letter, too. Send a copy of the cover letter to the Office
of International Evangelism at 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville,
KY 40202-1396.
Family update: the kids are very excited about our return to
Africa. They can’t wait to visit us! Kristin and her husband,
Steven, are still living and working in New York City. Kristin
is working in the ICU at Albert Einstein’s Weiler Hospital.
Steven is an engineer for the city and going to graduate school.
General Motors has sent Bryan to graduate school at Stanford University.
He is in his second semester and enjoying the challenge.
We look forward to communicating with you from Zimbabwe!
Yours in the name of our Savior Jesus,
Bobbi and Bob Snyder
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