December 2001

Dear Friends and Family,

We wanted to send you a Christmas greeting, give you a bit of news, and tell you that we are really looking forward to receiving your Christmas letters at PO Box 7080, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Three weeks ago we moved into Bill and Nancy’s, our predecessors, flat. We are now officially the directors of the ministry. What an awesome task. But the One who has called us is able to provide in every way. Our time just now has been consumed with cleaning, sorting, painting, and going through seven years of files. The file sorting is endless, but a good way to learn what we
need to know. Oh yes, one more thing has been happily occupying our minds and hearts, Bryan and Kristin and her husband Steven are coming to be with us for Christmas. What a blessing!

Some have asked, "What do you do besides travel and channel funds to worthwhile ministries?" Lovemore Home for Boys and Chinyaradzo Orphanage is where we have most of our "hands on" ministry. We lead a weekly Bible study for the staff at Lovemore and serve on two of their committees. Lovemore is a transitional home for 12 boys of primary and secondary school age. Some are orphaned, but most have just run away from a deplorable home situation. All of them have been homeless, sleeping in parks or just on the sidewalk. By day they do what street people do: beg, steal, sniff glue and occasionally find short-term, menial jobs. The goal of Lovemore Home is to provide an atmosphere of love so as to make possible "a
transformation from being followers of the ways of the street to being followers of the ways of the Lord." You can just imagine how much fun it is to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of these boys.

One day a week Bobbi works at Chinyaradzo Orphanage, which cares for about 85 children from birth to 12 years of age. The children have been placed by the department of Social Welfare as a temporary shelter but few can be placed elsewhere due to the serious problems facing Zimbabwe. It is a country in crisis. It has been destabilized by land appropriation problems, high unemployment, high inflation, HIV/AIDS, and critical food shortages. Communities who would normally care for these children are unable to do so.

As I (Bobbi) walked into the fly infested room full of cribs at the orphanage, I was immediately drawn to a tiny figure curled in a fetal position. She felt like a feather in my hands, unable to stretch her arms or legs, her long slender fingers tightly clenched in a fist. I tried desperately to get her to look at me but her eyes were vacant and her face expressionless. Her name is Tatenda, which means "thank you" in Shona. I wondered what she could be thankful for, as she lay in the crib too weak to even cry. Each week I massage her body
and talk to her about how much God loves her. Over the months, we have developed a special bond and now when I pick her up she recognizes me and smiles.

Please join us in praying for the children of Zimbabwe.

There seems to be so much darkness in the world and yet our African brothers and sisters remind us that there is much hope as God’ light has come into the world and the darkness will never be able to extinguish it. Let us rejoice in His light this Christmas.

With love and prayers,

Bob and Bobbi Snyder

P.S. Check out Lovemore Home’s Web site: www.geocities.com/lovemorehome

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 53