2009 Spring Newsletter

Winter 2009
A Word from Doc
It is wonderful to be
Jim Blessman, MD
back in South Africa
and settled into our
new African home!
Since my arrival in Africa, God has been speaking that He is
God, and I am not. He is helping me to
be more dependent upon Him for provision and leadership and less dependent
on my own resources. He has given me
many wonderful visions of things to do
with our ministry, yet He reminds me
that these visions are from Him and I am
to work to please Him and not worry so
much about pleasing man.
As is true for many of us, I
have struggled with trying to
please people, but I’m releasing that little by little and
trying to focus more on just
pleasing God.
will be hosted by Lutheran Church of Hope.
The homes are currently being manufactured by Iowa Prison Industries and will be
shipped to South Africa in April. The new
homes will be constructed in a small community near Shikwaru. These homes will
cost around $6,000 for each double unit
plus approximately $12,000 for shipping.
Please pray and see if the Lord would lead
you to financially help us with this expense.
It is a gift that will serve these beautiful children for many years to come.
THE QUICK UPDATE…
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5 Abods to be built in July
3 Successful Vision Care Clinics so far this
year
All Ambassadors are in South Africa now
Missionary Campus is currently being built
A container of food and educational supplies
has been shipped to South Africa
7 more teams to leave for South Africa this
year
International Medical Conference planned
We’re preparing to ship another container
Terry has a new girlfriend
He is God;
I am not.
We have been so busy with ministry
during our first few weeks back, that we
haven’t really had time to miss our family
in the States, but we really do appreciate
them releasing us to be here so we can
focus on the work God has called us to
do.
Our Robert and Lela Thompson Ambassador Campus is beginning to take shape with the walls for the first floor up and an
estimated completion date of May 30. Lisa Shadley and Terry
Richardson are living in our home until their new homes are
complete. We are enjoying the fellowship of our new family.
In July, our first construction team will
arrive to build 5 new Abod homes for
some of our orphan children. The team
Beth’s 2¢s Worth
Yes, We Let Her Talk Once in Awhile too!
As I sit here typing, I am
enjoying a gentle breeze
coming through the
Beth Blessman
open window and door.
It has been very hot the last few days.
Jim and I love our new home at Shikwaru. Lisa Shadley and I came a week
early to settle in before Jim and Terry
arrived. They arrived on Jim’s birthday,
so we planned a big party for Jim and also
Moira, the office manager at Shikwaru, who
shares the same birthday. What a great way
to break in a new home!
We are so grateful for family and friends
and for all that God has blessed us with.
We plan to keep the rooms of our new
home full. Lisa and Terry are staying with
us until the Ambassador Campus is completed. Ann Weltha will be with us until
April. She is Gloria Franz’s niece; Gloria
The Blessman’s
new home
was my travel buddy the first time I came to
South Africa. We also had 3 team members
stay with us after the outreach in Kwa-Zulu
Natal, and we hosted dinners for the medical
students from Des Moines University who are
just finishing up their rotations in the medical
school in Limpopo. God is doing amazing
things here in South Africa and it is an
awesome privilege to serve Him here!
Blessman Ministries Inc. is an organization that works to transform tomorrow for people in Southern Africa. BMI meets people’s needs through vision care, feeding
orphans, and building homes. By first meeting the physical needs, BMI opens the door to share the Gospel of Christ and meet people’s spiritual needs as well.
Ministry Updates...
Medical Exchange
Students
Our first five medical students
from Des Moines University
(DMU) are completing their
four week rotation with us in
the Provincial Hospital in
Polokwane. They spent a
couple of nights with us at
Shikwaru and report having
had excellent clinical experience working here and seeing
lots of medical conditions they
would rarely see in the United
States. They have also enjoyed the diverse cultural
experience of living and
working here.
the highway, unreliable water,
and a leaky roof, it really could
not have gone any better. The
incredible thing was that we
heard no complaints from the
team. Everyone had a great
sense of humor and a great
sense of adventure. They even
want to come back and stay
longer next time!
The ministry part of the outreach went extremely
well. The team just jumped in
and worked hard. We saw 711
patients, gave out 653 pairs of
eyeglasses, and saw students
representing 114 schools. Each
student received the Book of
Hope.
International Medical
Conference
We are busy preparing for a
large medical conference that
we are hosting at the conference center at Shikwaru.
There are many doctors from
the United States coming to
lecture, including Terry Branstad, the current President of
DMU. We are hoping for 50
African physicians and medical
students to attend this
medical conference.
New Game Lodge
Entrance
We have now nearly finished
the new Shikwaru Game
Lodge entrance. It makes
such a nice impression now as
you enter the game farm.
Vision Care Clinics
Our first outreach of 2009
was located in Kwa Zulu
Natal near the Indian Ocean,
Mozambique, and Swaziland,
and it couldn't have gone better. Well, maybe a few things
could have gone better. The
theme of this outreach
seemed to be RAIN and POTHOLES, but other than that, a
flat tire at 120 K per hour on
Caption
Team Members Speak Out
Volunteer
Opportunities
From time to time we have need of
office help to stuff envelopes, etc.
If you can help with this please
contact Becki at the office.
We need sewers to help make
eyeglass cases and cut lens
wipes. Contact Arlayne in the
office if you can assist.
We are collecting good quality
home video series like I Love
Lucy, Gunsmoke, Lassie, etc. for
entertainment at the game farm.
If you have any you’d like to
donate, please bring them to our
office and we’ll see that they
get delivered.
Shikwaru Game Lodge new entrance
Upcoming Trip Dates
VISION CLINICS
Mar. 27-Apr. 8
Apr. 17-29
May 8-20
May 28-June 10
Jul. 31– Aug. 12
Aug. 21– Sept. 2
Sept. 4-16
Steve and Angela Davidson
ABOD
Jul. 3-15
How do I sign up to
go on a trip?
If you are interested in going on a trip
with Blessman Ministries please fill out
our trip application which can be found
on our website, and send it in with a
$500 deposit. If you don’t have internet
access please call our office and we will
be happy to send you an application in
the mail! We hope to see your application soon!
From Our Ambassadors
My experience
in South Africa
so far has been a
series of firsts.
My first time
living outside
the United
Lisa Shadley
States. My first
outreach here. My first
braii. My first time driving on
the left side of the road. My
first time in doing my best at
surrendering my life to Christ.
Our first outreach was very
successful and we were able
to evangelize many students. I
do believe that God looked
upon us with favor and blessing for this trip. My favorite
child for the week was
Shipiwe. He was 21-years-old
and in 11th grade and
Greetings from
South Africa!
We completed
our first eyeglass medical
Terry Richardson
outreach this
past week. The
team traveled to Kosie Bay
region; the community of
Manguzi was our base
camp. Rev. Lournes Vn
Westhuizen was our
host. We were located
just 20k from Mozambique. Community areas
reached by the teams were:
Maguzi and Ngwanase Ward,
Sambane Primary School,
Sambane Ward, Emanyeseni
Ward, Lebombo Ward, and
Kosi Bay Ward. In total,
albino. They sent him to me
without a translator because he
said he could speak English. Remember everything is
relative! I quickly realized that
his English was very limited and
I had to keep trying to figure
out his prescription. But I kept
trying and eventually got his
prescription. I then took him
to get his glasses and went back
to work. After he got his
glasses he came back to me
with a big grin on his face and
thanked me. The kids who
come back after they get their
glasses always stick with
me. The team that we had for
this outreach was great and
everyone was low maintenance. We worked well together and I believed we accomplished much, especially
with our Zulu translators. They were a wonderful
group of Christians who gave
up their time to help us share
the gospel of Christ with these
special children.
One of my observations since I
have been here is that my feet
are always dirty. I only wear flip
flops or sandals because it is so
warm here. It is also very
dusty. Hence I always have
dirty feet no matter how much
I wash them. I was reading one
of my morning devotionals after I had made this dirty foot
observation, and it talked about
Jesus washing the disciples feet
(John 13). So, just like my feet
that are always dirty, I will always be a sinful person in need
of a cleansing savior. But I
keep washing my feet and
over 750 children, as well as
some teachers, were personally
tested and fitted for new
eyeglasses as needed.
Christians, who volunteered
their time and strength for this
outreach. We learned much
about the Zulus while doing
this outreach, i.e. the bride
price, clans and customs,
subsistence
farming of
cattle and
goats, the
family
culture,
etc. The
cost for a
Zulu to
become a
Christian is
to be ostracized by the
rest of the
tribe! We
actually saw
This region is the seat of the
great Zulu nations. Each person received the gift of the
Gospel through the Book of
Hope, hands-on ministry, and
personal counseling. They
received the ministry and the
Word with joy and
gladness . These little ones are
a precious gift from God and
our team members fell in love
with each one. Everyone was
impressed by the unity of our
team and how well we all
worked together.
We had more than a half dozen
Zulu interpreters, local Zulu
Please Consider Supporting Us
Visit our website to see
updates on our ministry and
how you can get involved.
www.blessman
ministries.org
Blessman Ministries, Inc., is a non-profit organization as described
in the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Your contribution
may be deductible for income tax purposes.
Neither Jim nor Beth receive a salary. All donations go to continuing our ministry around the world.
Donations can be mailed to:
Blessman Ministries, Inc.
2557 - 106th St.
Urbandale, IA 50322-3766
Loading shipping container
trying to keep them clean. However, in this world it just doesn't
work that way. So, have you
asked Jesus to wash your feet
lately?
a betrothed Nboniti bride on
our outreach. We were asked
to pray for her family and future
at her request. The wife leaves
all family to be joined to the
groom’s family.
If you would like to discontinue
receiving these mailings, please
call us at (515) 343-5920
or email us at
office@blessmanministries.org
The Blessmans are Missionary
Associates through the Assemblies of God, Caring Connection,
and enjoy working with many
different denominations.
Praise Reports
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For the hard work of the ladies
who sew eyeglass cases throughout
the year.
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For Jim’s safety while out walking
and passing a puff adder only 2 feet
away from him.
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For His financial provisions for the
work of the ministry in South
Africa.
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For the speedy construction work
being done on our missionary
campus.
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For the safety of our team when
the tire blew out on the highway.
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Prayer Requests
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Please pray that God will provide
the $12,000 needed to pay for an
additional shipping container of
food, school items, quilts, 2 Rangers, and eyeglasses to be shipped to
South Africa in the next few
weeks.
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Pray that the Lord will provide the
funding for building and shipping the
Abod homes.
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Pray for God to prepare the hearts
of the people in South Africa for
the message of the Gospel of Christ
and that He will send more
laborers.
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Pray for ...
Now you can fold this newsletter so the
top two boxes can be seen quickly and
easily and place it in your Bible to
remind you to regularly pray for
our ministry.
If you would like to be added to our
prayer chain, please call or email us.
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