March-April 2025

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: Colossians 4:3

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We concluded our stateside travels in early March, said our farewells, and headed back to Africa. I was blessed (and relieved) to find our church and its various ministries functioning in joy and unity, and carrying on with zeal for the gospel. We have picked up where we left off and the Lord continues to open doors of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ.

Open Doors to Children
It was sweet to watch the children flock to welcome Mrs. Kelly back. The children’s outreaches were on pause in our absence, but they picked right back up and are going strong with more than 300 children coming out each weekend to hear Bible stories, sing songs, and play games. We managed to get back into a government primary school before the school break, as well as a new private school. Mrs. Kelly also conducted a Holiday Bible School in the month of April. Ministering to children continues to be one of the highlights of the ministry here in Zimbabwe. Please pray that we can win these children to the Lord in their youth.

Open Doors to University Students
You may recall that our dearly departed Bro. Myles was a student at Africa University, a United Methodist affiliated school in our city. The lady-chaplain at AU attended Myles’ funeral and heard a lot of clear gospel preaching. It turns out that she liked what she heard. She reached out and requested that I come to the university and provide a Bible study for the students. This was an answer to prayer and a testimony to Bro. Myles’ faithful service to Christ. Between March and April, I had the opportunity to conduct four Bible studies in the chapel on the AU campus addressing the topic, “What is the Gospel?” Africa University prides itself on being a “Pan-African” institution and boasts of an enrollment from many countries across the continent. All of the instruction was in English. I enjoyed tremendous liberty in teaching. The studies were well attended and all of the students that came were given a King James Bible. I concluded the series of lessons by giving Myles’ testimony. This is among the highlights of my time in Zimbabwe. I received good feedback from the students, including students from a variety of different African nations. I have been invited to return in August for a week-long module on making disciples. Please pray with me about this door of utterance.

Open Doors to Prisoners
Bro. Paul ministers every Sunday in the Mutare Remand Prison. There is a second, larger prison in our area called the Farm Prison (inmates labor part time on a working farm). While we were in the states, Bro. Paul gained access to the Farm Prison and has been going each Friday. In early April, he arranged for us to do a tract distribution in the Remand prison on a weekday where I had the opportunity to preach to a good number of attentive inmates. I was also able to join him to the Farm Prison twice in April and preach to many more inmates, most of whom were very attentive. The Seventh Day Adventists seem to have a foothold in the Farm Prison, but the Lord helped us to preach on our rest (sabbath) in Christ apart from the Law . The inmates seemed very receptive. We hope to do a literature distribution in this facility and start a weekly discipleship course in the near future. Please pray that this door would open even wider for a clear gospel utterance.

Open Doors Near and Far
One of our men, Bro. Norman, lives near an eye clinic. He recently approached the clinic administration and requested time to bring a devotion to the waiting patients and staff members each morning as the clinic opens, to which they agreed. He and another brother from our church now preach the gospel to a new set of patients five mornings out of the week.

Missionary Stephen Mustard invited us to help with their Bulawayo Campaign in early April. This was like a mission trip for the nine men that accompanied me for the five-day trip. Our men were anxious about the tribal differences and possible language barrier, both of which turned out to be non-issues. It was a great experience for us and we learned some things that we hope will help us as we minister in our own province.

I had previously mentioned an outreach that our church had undertaken in my absence to the small township of Zimunya. This culminated in a three day crusade at the end of April. The attendance was a bit low, but our church came together and worked hard to make it a success. We held our first Sunday afternoon Bible study in Zimunya immediately following the Crusade. The turn out was better than expected and the reception was excellent. Please pray for this newly opened door of utterance, and for Bro. Jefta and Bro. Givemore as they head it up.

I concluded the month of April by teaching a three-day module on witnessing for Christ for the Burma Valley Bible Baptist Mission. About thirty adults gathered each morning for the instruction. God is doing something special in this rural village.

Open Doors for a Church Property
The next big step for our church is having a property of our own. We are currently inquiring about a place that seems like it would be a good fit. Please pray that we might have good wisdom and the favour of God as we make these initial steps to a greater door of utterance in our city.

In Christ Jesus,
Lee Cadenhead