As a result of the Zimbabwe campaign not being possible, the Lord has opened new doors. I still needed 3 hours of Field work to graduate with a missions degree, and this became possible through the Estes Spanish ministry. It is very difficult to fit 3 hours of field work during a semester, but we are doing just that. Prof. Glen Henton, the new chair of the missions’ department, is supervising my work. The work is hosted by the Estes church of Christ on 45 S.

Brother Loy Mitchell has recently made a trip to Zimbabwe, and hopefully I will be able to share his report on a later post.

First off, I would like to thank everyone who has supported me either prayerfully or financially during the preparation of this campaign. Due to the political situation in Zimbabwe, the campaign will no longer be possible. At this point the cities are relatively okay, but the villages are not safe. Many beatings and murders have been occurring. Also, the economic situation is rapidly worsening, to the point that there are no supplies to buy, no food. In the occasion that food can be found, it is outrageously expensive. The tickets alone were climbing in price every couple of weeks. We are hoping that next year the conditions will be better. Again, thank you all for your support.

In Christ,

Joel Matheny

I am still lacking much of the funds I will need to go on this trip. I have sent out a whole new wave of letters in hopes that I will come closer to my goal. The tickets have also gone up by a couple hundred dollars since we got the invoice because of the situation in Zimbabwe. If you wish to help financially, you can mail a check to me at:

158 E. Main St. Box 1048
Henderson, TN 38340

If you would prefer not to mail it to me, and would rather mail the check to a congregation, you can mail it to the Henderson church of Christ:

Henderson Church of Christ
240 White Ave.
Henderson, TN 38340

If you do send it to Henderson, make sure you do not forget to make it to Joel Matheny for the Zimbabwe Campaign. That way they can get it to me faster.

We will be visiting several congregations in Zimbabwe, teaching people and encouraging the brethren. Here is a list of the dates and where we will be on those dates.

July 9: we leave the U.S.
July 10: we arrive in London and leave for Africa
July 11: we arrive in Zimbabwe
July 12: Derembwe at 10 a.m. & Sakubva at 6 p.m.
July 13: 7th Ave. in Mutare
July 14: Chipinge 10 a.m. & Nyanyadzi 2 p.m. & 7th Ave. 6 p.m.
July 15: Honde Valley 10 a.m. & Hauna 2 p.m. & 7th Ave. 6 p.m.
July 16-18: Preachers’ Lectureship during the day & 7th Ave. at night
July 19-20: Mozambique (Manica, Massica & Machipanda)
July 21: Chayamiti 10 a.m. & Machongwe 2 p.m.
July 22: Mhemwbe 12 p.m.
July 23: Ian, Brittany & I return to the U.S.
July 24: We arrive in the U.S.

Please pray for us, that the Lord will conduct us safely to all these congregations, and that we might spread the seed of the Gospel and encourage our brothers in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

I personally will be teaching about one class a day, and during our stay in Mozambique on the 19th and 20th, I will be doing some interpreting. 

Welcome to JoelMatheny.com, my brand new blog to document all my missions campaigns