Christmas Blessings

Pour Out Your Heart

Dear Precious Ladies

Welcome to the final month of the year, the month of December!

By God's grace we have made it! Many women and girls like us remained in November. Some had their sun set due to various reasons such as miscarriages, abortions, still births, illness, road accidents, plane crashes, murder, suicide, civil wars, the Ebola virus, terrorist attacks, the list is endless... Yet you and I are still here. Despite what was in our year God has allowed us to still occupy a place on earth. His love, mercy and grace sustained us and we have a reason to praise the Lord. As we start this season of love and giving, the season we celebrate the birth of our saviour we must count our blessings and name them one by one, it will surprise us what the Lord has done for us in this year.

None of us had a perfect year but we have been blessed by having the presence of God no matter what we faced or did not face. Considering that some women had it tougher than us we can stop and give thanks. God has crowned our year with His goodness. Even on the lowest day you had so far this year, the Lord's invisible hand got you when you could have fallen off the edge. Some of you were thrown into dark pits like Joseph and had no clue how you would come out but God reached out and got you out. He sent you help right on time even from unexpected places. Some of you were rejected, betrayed and accused of so many things but you are still here! The Lord himself vindicated you and is still fighting on your behalf! Some of you got amazing opportunities and you grew on every side. Its still the hand of the Lord. There are those of you whose children went astray and brought you pain and sorrow but there is still hope for them because Jehovah has the final say. Some of you faced relationship challenges, separation and divorce. Even though this is sad, you still have your life and there is room for you to still make it in life. 

I want to encourage you all my sisters to embrace and come to terms with the reality that God loves you and treasures you as individuals.You matter to Him and He has great plans for you. He wants you to be made whole and not have a bleeding leaking heart. He is a great healer and comforter of hearts. To those who have no might and are weary He gives strength. For those who are doing well He increases your capacity to do even more. Truthfully reflect on where you are now and allow Him to come and take you to your next level. Examine the contents of your heart and pour out everything at the foot of the cross! You do not want to end the year 2014 on a low note because that is how you will usher in 2015. Let Him soothe you and empower you for 2015. Repent of your wrong doings and choose to walk in the light. Refuse to be inhabited by negative stuff like gossip, insecurity, competition, strife, envy, jealous, inferiority complex, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, greed, sexual sins, critical and fault finding attitudes, and all forms of a victim mentality. Be a vessel of honour because unto us the Saviour was born to set us free! When you empty your heart and pursue Him, He will fill you afresh and crown your December with goodness.

It’s not too late for the Lord to surprise you like He surprised me at the KICC WINNING WOMEN'S CONFERENCE 2014 where I was honoured and given gifts by Pastor Yemisi Ashimolowo. I went there pursuing Jesus and desiring to be refreshed so that I can radiate the love of God even more. The Lord who saw what I was doing in secret rewarded me. I am ending my 2014 on a high note because of Jesus. I have decided that no matter what I face whether positive or negative it does not alter my value in God and I will not be silenced. I am a blessed woman and I am blessed to bless and there will always be a reason for me to praise the Lord. My intentional purpose is to glorify God in whichever avenue I can and to be a blessing everywhere I go and to proclaim that through Jesus there is hope for every woman under the sun to make it in life and to do great things that will bring glory and honour to God. I am here to advance the kingdom of God in and through all the roles I play in life starting with my marriage and family life spreading to everything else I do. My best part is to worship Christ the King and to make Him known!!!

I love you all and I pray that your December is crowned with goodness leading to a great 2015.

Don't forget to share the newsletter with your friends and to visit us on our website (www.hopeforeverwoman.com) and Facebook.

We will be sharing highlights with you. Have a blessed month!

Pastor Fatima Sibanda
Chairperson

Don't Give Up!

Dear Precious Ladies

Wow, November is fast moving! How are you all doing?

We thank God for allowing us to see another month. This year will soon end but God’s love for us will never end. November is an eventful month in my family and church calendar. Last Sunday was our annual International Sunday. This is a service where we celebrate our diversity and unity in Christ as our church community consists of people from different nations of the world. We dress in our national costumes and bring food from our countries of origin. We have various special items, presentations and different expressions of worship in different languages. This a great day for us all and we always look forward to it.

My last born daughter, Realeboga, is part of the dance team. Dance is one of the highlights of International Sunday. Lebo loves dancing and this has been her passion since she was two years old!! She just dances away; dancing is in her blood!! The other day I heard her dad telling her that life is not one big dance and she needed to focus on her schoolwork. She responded that she had already planned to do her homework on the days that she was not involved in dance rehearsals. This was half term holiday but her dad was not having it. So Lebo came to the kitchen in tears telling me that dad had stopped her from practising. I could see where both of them were coming from so as a mum I had to moderate and ask dad nicely to let her practise and I would make sure she did her homework.

The next day Lebo came back from dance and she was limping. She threw herself on my lap and said that she was not dancing anymore because her legs were hurting too much. She complained that the new teacher was making them work too hard and Lebo felt like she was going to lose her legs. I asked if she was ready to throw away her dream because of pain and she said she was not dancing. I then started to rub her with an ointment and she started howling like she was going to die. I asked her if she wanted to let her team down and she said that all she knew was that if the pain continued I should forget about the dance. So I prayed for her and kept on encouraging her not to focus on the pain but on how her dance would be a blessing and her personal contribution to the day. Because of pain and discomfort Lebo was ready to throw away her passion.

With much nursing and encouragement Lebo gathered her confidence and overcame her barrier. More practise helped loosen the tough muscles and she picked up her courage. Come International Sunday she danced so well that no one would have known what it took for her to get there. Their team did so well, and so did all the other teams. Dance is one of the numerous expressions of joy, victory and worship. Pain wanted to rob Lebo of all this. She had become weary and discouraged whilst doing good. Galatians 6:9 says “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Pain had convinced her to let go of that which she loves. She was going to lose her harvest because of pain. She lacked resilience and determination to fight to the end. International Sunday was not going to be the same without the dance. We were going to be robbed because of her pain and discouragement. Everyone who would have been blessed by her gift through attending International Sunday would also have been robbed. In essence, her pain was going to hinder her purpose to bless God and man.

Sisters, do not let pain stop you from living your dreams. Don’t allow your dance to be stolen from you. Let nothing stop your worship. God loves you and has great plans for you. Determine not to end this year in discouragement. You have what it takes and the Lord is with you. Hand over your pain to Him and He will take it. He will give you beauty for ashes. As we go forward with the month of November go on and “dance your dance!!!” We are praying for you and it will get better!!! Like I encouraged Lebo, I am encouraging you not to give up. Keep on pursuing your godly dreams.

Much love and blessings

Pastor Fatima Sibanda

Chairperson

Sowing in tears... Reaping in joy...

Dear Precious Ladies

How are you all? How was September?

We thank God for seeing us through this month. He met our needs and did not close the door of October on us. Many women like us can no longer open their eyes or open their mouths. They are now silent till resurrection day if they died in the Lord. Those who died outside the Lord are in for a massive irreversible devastating shock! I pray that we may all hold on to our faith and share our faith in all our spheres of influence starting with our families.

As I was pondering on what to share with you a scripture was dropped into my heart. It’s quite an unusual scripture. It says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5 NKJV). The Good News Bible puts it this way, “Let those who wept as they sowed their seed gather the harvest with joy.” We took our first-born daughter Ayanda Blessing to university on the 21st of September. This university is almost 3 hours drive from home. The minibus we used was full of her stuff we had bought together. She had possibly everything a new student would need including groceries and toiletries to last her for the next three months. We were all excited to go to her room and start unpacking her things for her. My young sister and I joyfully made her new bed. Some of the family went to her kitchen and unpacked all of her mostly orange kitchen utensils and pots because that’s her favourite colour. Excitement was very high as our daughter reached yet another milestone in her life. Ebenezar, indeed thus far has the Lord brought us. She even carried her radio speakers her dad bought for her for Christmas, so Ayanda literally moved house! When we finished packing we all went to Nandos which is only 8 minutes from her residence. We were still buzzing with excitement. We then went back to the minibus and said our goodbyes.

Her little sister, Realeboga, had already started to be tearful when we were at Nandos. I was encouraging her to be strong, as a mum would do. “It’s good for Aya to be here now so she can grow and study, and she can be coming home anytime,” is what I was telling Lebo. Then we got into the bus to go home and now Aya had to remain. I took one look at her and she burst into tears. I got out of the bus with the speed of lightning and grabbed her. I gave her the biggest hug of her life and assured her that she was going to be fine and told her how we all love her and how God would take care of her. I held on to her until her dad summoned me into the bus (as men do). As I waved her goodbye I felt a shift in my gut as if I had left a piece of me in a strange land. Suddenly I felt like my baby had been left alone and without warning tears gushed uncontrollably out of my eyes. Most of the family in the bus joined in except for my husband. We cried and cried and let the tears wash away all the toxic feelings.



I sowed my daughter to Northampton University and city. I planted her in tears. I planted her in that city so that she can grow and develop herself academically. I gave my precious seed to this city and it was not easy. To let go and completely trust in God was a challenge but there is one thing I know... Everywhere I go Jesus Christ will never fail me. He won’t fail her either. All our investment in her spiritually and practically will now be put to use in that city. The church she attends has gained a committed, anointed member of the worship team. The new friends she will meet are gaining a godly, caring friend. She has already started to be a blessing there as her middle name is Blessing. Her lecturers are gaining a hard working student. As much as Northampton has gained, we too are gaining. The new relationships she is building will now be a part of our lives. Her new church will now be a part of us. She will gain knowledge and grow. I now depend totally on God concerning her life. I sowed in tears and I shall harvest in joy when she qualifies. I have cried a few more times since then but that was in prayer for her. God has blessed me with tears to communicate how I feel and every time I have cried I have received comfort and attention from the Lord. He is good at wiping away tears. One day we will go to that beautiful city where there is no crying but as long as we are here on earth we should not apologise for the gift of tears as long as we are not using them to control and manipulate people or out of self-pity. Tears motivated by love are sweet.

My dear sisters, I do not know what sort of tears you shed in September or even the ones you might shed in October. I am not sure what you had to give away or what you had to sow. I just want you to know that you will reap in joy. You have a Father who cares for you and would love to soothe your heart and to tell you that it’s going to be ok. He is our source of joy and strength. His hand is big enough to touch you and comfort your heart. Just allow Him to wipe away your tears. No one cries forever. Have faith in God and totally depend on Him for He cares for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you!!!!

As we proceed with the month of October peace be with you.

I love and pray for you.

Much love

Pastor Fatima Sibanda
Chairperson

p.s. Do not forget to visit our website at www.hopeforeverywoman.com andFacebook page (and invite your friends to like our page). Please do share your thoughts and testimonies or even prayer requests with us!

Time for Change

Dear Precious Ladies

How are you doing? Once again the Lord has allowed us to cross over into a new month.

 I know two precious people who passed away towards the end of August. I even attended a funeral this past Wednesday. When I woke up today I realised that it is only by God’s grace and permission that I am alive. I welcome you all to the month of September.

September is a month of change for us here in Europe as it brings transition from one season to another. It also marks the beginning of the academic year where all students move up a grade and some start school and university. Change is not easy to handle and it is not always comfortable. Some changes are more painful than others. For those who lost their loved ones, change is tough and painful. It is a journey full of uncertainty. Letting go is not easy.

I was looking at the definitions of the word change and I discovered that it means a process through which something becomes different. It implies experiencing something different to what one is used to. Amongst its synonyms are words like:transformation, movement, shift in position or location, to transfer from one place to another, to go from one phase to another, and transition. Change is part and parcel of life and we have to learn to embrace it and manage it.

I am currently facing big changes involving my two daughters. Ayanda, my first born, is 18. She passed her A Levels and is going to Northampton University. This university is more than 3 hours drive from home. We do not have any family there so you can imagine how many thoughts and emotions I have been dealing with. She is leaving the safety and security of our home, church and family. She is going from one phase to another and this shift requires her to leave everything she knows to an unfamiliar territory. As a mother I have my own hidden fears and prefer to keep her home. However her future and destiny would be aborted if I refuse to let go. I have to prepare to leave her in a strange city. That’s her knew home. Time has come for her to live on her own and go to the next phase of her life.

Realeboga, my second born, is starting secondary school in two days time. She is going to a much bigger school. She will be in year seven, or form one, or first year of high school. That is another change to face as I know of a lot of things that children get introduced to in secondary school. She also will start learning to use the bus as part of growing up. You can also imagine what sort of thoughts have been going through my mind. Again I cannot keep her in primary school even though it was 5 minutes from our house. This would again abort her destiny. So what do I do with these changes? I have to let go and follow the words of Solomon in Proverbs 3:5"Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." I have to hand them over to the Lord completely knowing that I can’t be there for them 24 hours. I have to embrace this change and totally surrender my life and theirs to the Lord. He is the only one who says I will never leave you nor forsake you. He is a present help!!! Therefore I will not fear. My help and their help comes from the Lord,Psalm 121.

My sisters if you are going through any change that involves uncertainty join me to trust in the Lord. Everything will work out right through Him. I encourage you to manage your thoughts. Protect your mind and sieve what goes in and out of your mind. The state of your mind matters a lot during times of change. Discard any thoughts of fear and do not lean on them. Weed out any negative thoughts about your area of change because our God is in control of everything in us and around us. Our children and families belong to Him. Our careers and churches all belong to Him. We belong to Him. As we proceed with the month of September let us take courage because Jehovah Shammah is ever present. He has already gone ahead of us and He will help us manage any change that comes our way. If we have to let go of some things like jobs, people, our fears and concerns, so be it. Our God is with us.

Have a great month!

Much love
Pastor Fatima Sibanda

August

Dear Precious Ladies Wow! We have come to the end of the month of July!!!! We thank God for seeing us through. The year is fast moving on. How have you been? We have been allowed to see the month of August and yet many women like us passed away in July. The fact that we are alive means that our God given assignments on earth are not yet completed. “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). The New Living Translation renders the same verse as, “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things that He planned for us long ago.” My sisters there are things that the Lord planned for us long ago. These are the good deeds that benefit others and are our assignments and mission on earth. We must not depart from earth before we do what God formed us for. I was looking at the meaning of the word August and I was amazed at some of the definitions some of which are: highly regarded, awe inspiring, respected, well thought of, to make ripe, to bring to realisation, magnificent, distinguished, important, prestigious, royal and profoundly honoured. We as God's daughters are highly regarded by our heavenly Father. We are well thought of by Him and He calls us His own (Isaiah 43:1). We are important to Him and this month He will do things that are awe inspiring in us and through us. He will do magnificent works in our midst. He will cause us to be respected where it matters. As we humble ourselves before Him, He will lift us up. There are some things in our lives that were not really ripe or mature. We could see signs like a mango that is still green. Our dreams and desires that have been our prayer projects for a long time. This month of August I believe that some of these will ripen and we will partake of them. God will inspire you like never before as a result you too will inspire others!!! On the second of August it will be the 7th anniversary of the passing away of my mum. As I was thinking about her I saw that she did the good deeds that she was created for and she impacted many lives. She is impacting your life through mine. She never had a computer or an email address but she taught me to pray, to fear God and to love and serve others. She gave me all the foundational principles I needed to start off in life and now I can inspire you the same way she inspired me. Although you never saw her face to face you are benefitting from her “Ephesians 2:10.” Her mission of raising me up has ripened and her “August” is happening. I must also walk in what I was created for and long after I have gone people must benefit from my “August.” My mum was profoundly honoured due to her selfless service to others. As we proceed with this great month I pray that it will be very significant for you and yours. I pray that God will cause you to be honoured as you serve Him. Any time you see the name August on your phone or watch or chequebook let it remind you how important you are to God. It matters that you are still on earth. Do not let whatever July looked like hinder you from moving forward and embracing the fact that you are well thought of and you were created for great things. Grace, peace, wisdom and strength be multiplied to you. A very happy August to you! Much Love Pastor Fatima Sibanda Chairperson

Drawing Near

Dear Precious Ladies How have you been? We have completed almost half of the month of July and let's thank God for His hand that has kept us and is keeping us every day. We have just returned from an awesome retreat. We were honoured by having the Lord visit us tangibly by His Spirit. Each woman who went had a specific encounter with God and our lives will never ever be the same again. As I was preparing for this retreat I was intrigued by some of the definitions of the word retreat: withdraw, pull back, to get away from it all, treat again, a place of refuge, withdrawal for prayer, study and meditation, and take time out from the ordinary. In this busy world we live in, we can be overtaken by our daily duties and by the various hats that we wear. We can easily end up cruising on empty then end up packing up like a tired engine. It is very important for us as women to take time out and pull back from all our “ordinaries” in order to go and be re-filled. We need to go to that secret quiet place and take refuge in the Lord. We took time out from our homes and work places for the purpose of seeking the Lord in prayer, meditation and study of the word. Our theme was ‘Draw Near to God and He Will Draw Near to You’ based on James 4:8. We also read from Hebrews 10:22 where we are instructed to, “Draw near to the Lord with a sincere and true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience…” My sisters we need to continuously draw near to God. Drawing near means following very closely and staying very close. It denotes a very close relationship that is intimate. We do not share our hearts with those far from us. Even when a person passes on the family has to inform those who are close first before the public knows. When we have great news to share we start with those very close to us. Only those closest to us have the privilege of knowing our hearts and we exchange life with them. Even in our wills the best bits are meant for those closest to us. God longs for us His daughters to be close to Him. He wants to be our next of kin. When He fashioned us in our mothers’ wombs we were so close to Him. He touched us and put us together, lovingly knitting us together. We are very precious to Him and He wants us to remain close to Him. Close enough to hear His voice and His heart. God shares His secrets with those close to Him. We must draw near to God because of our love for Him. We must not wait for pain and trials to come before we can run to Him. If these should come they must find us safely tucked under the shadow of His wings.

I am aware that there are many things that try to compete for our attention. Various challenging circumstances try to create a distance between us and Jesus, the lover of our soul, but we must press past them.

Remember the woman with the issue of blood, she had to press past the crowds in order to get close enough to Jesus. That’s how she could touch the hem of His garment and she got her healing. We can press past our challenges in prayer, study, meditation and application of the word. Sometimes we have to retreat even if it’s for a day just to be away with our lover on a special “date”. Learn to pull back and find time alone with the Lord. He will refresh and restore you. This in turn will help you to function better. As we proceed with the month of July let us draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. Love and blessings Pastor Fatima Sibanda Chairperson

Living for His Glory

Dear Precious Ladies

Wow! June is moving pretty fast!

How have the first few days been? I know that the Lord has allowed us to continue to be on earth for a very good reason. That is to worship Him and bring Him honour through all we say and do, be it at home or work or any other place. We have been handpicked by Him for Him!!!

I am back from an amazing time in Israel. Our God is real indeed and His word is true. We visited many key biblical places. It was just like walking through the pages of the Bible. I had been to Israel before but this time was very special in that we visited more significant areas with commonly known places. The valley where David fought the giant philistine Goliath was of great interest. When we went there I remembered how the children of Israel were being harassed by this man who seemed to have already won the victory by his threats and superior armour. But in the name of the Lord and with the help of the Lord David killed him. There I saw how things are not over before God says so. Our circumstances do not have the final say and we should not fear anyone or anything. We should face our giants with confidence in God. The account of David and Goliath is found in 1 Samuel 17 please read it and encourage yourself in the Lord.

The other place that inspired me was Mount Carmel 1 Kings 18 please read the whole chapter. The prophets of Baal seemed to have the upper hand and were swaying people from worshiping the true God to worshipping idols. The people had broken down the altar of God and had constructed altars to sacrifice to Baal. 450 prophets of Baal were present but Elijah was alone. Elijah proposed that they bring their sacrifice to the altar and the God who answered by fire was the true God. Baal’s prophets cried and cried to Baal but nothing happened. In verse 30 Elijah started by repairing the altar of the Lord that had been broken down. He prepared the altar then prayed a very powerful prayer in verse 36 to 40:

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”  Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

Here I learnt that in order for God to do the miraculous in me and through me, the altar of worship that is my heart must be repaired and free from contamination. I also learnt that I must drive out the prophets of Baal from my heart.
PICTURE: MOUNT CARMEL

  Elijah prayed that the lord would answer so that the people would know that He is God and that Elijah was serving Him and the way that God answered was by a great fire that licked up even the water and stones. Baal did not answer his people. As I stood on that mountain I saw that before this great miracle could be performed the altar had to be repaired and stones put. Secondly Elijah prayed and communed with God. Also Elijah's motives of wanting this miracle was pure in order that people who were now double minded and caught between opinions could return to worship the true God. He did not want to perform the miracle so as to become a brand of the day so that people may praise and worship him as the latest man of God in town. His motive was to bring people to worship God. He did not start Elijah Mountain Fire International Ministries. The people fell and worshipped and acknowledged that the Lord is God.

These can represent anything ungodly in me. Anything that competes for my attention and focus hindering my true worship should go. Anything that causes me to doubt or to be double minded must go. It is my responsibility to identify and get rid of these things so that the power and fire of God can flow through me. I stood on that mountain and prayed that I too would learn from Elijah and that I would not entertain any strange worship or idols. I also learnt that when God uses me to do anything it must not be for my personal glory but so that people may know that the Lord He is God.

I pray that you may be encouraged by these two places and that as you read the accounts you too will glean lessons from them. I will share with you about a few more places next week.

God bless you as we proceed with the month of June. Remember the Lord He is God and he will use your life to demonstrate his love and his power to those in your sphere of influence.

Much love

Pastor Fatima Sibanda
Chairperson 

A New Season

Dear Precious Ladies How have you been? We have now finished the first quarter of the year 2014. To God be the glory for all the things He has done for us. I am fully aware of the fact that some of us had a very rough start to the year, whilst some of us might have had a great quarter. I, for one, had a mixture of good times and bad, this includes three loses of very close people. We were also swindled of some funds when we tried to purchase a new vehicle. In January we had a word from the Lord that 2014 is our year of good tidings, but since February it was one bad episode after the other. I believe satan tried so hard to snatch that word from our hearts as a family. It was as if all hell broke loose on us. The good thing is there are also great things that God did for us, starting with keeping us alive as a family. We have now learnt to value life as the greatest gift that God freely gave us especially after losing a young friend to cancer. Although we lost the opportunity to get the car, we have not lacked for transport. All our close relations who passed away knew the Lord. No matter what we faced God gave us the grace to keep on moving forward and serving others instead of parking and camping at that place of disappointment. The Lord was gracious to us indeed. In this part of the world the month of May is considered as the month before summer. I would like to encourage those of us who had a challenging quarter that there is a change in season coming up. As I was praying I sensed that the month of May will be different. I was just waiting upon the Lord to hear what word to encourage you with and here is the scripture I received:

Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT) May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you His favour and give you his peace.

This is a priestly prayer that God asked Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless Israel with. We are now part of this blessing because we are in Christ. So as you proceed with the month of May into the next quarter of the year may the Lord protect you and your loved ones. May He protect your hearts from evil. May He protect you from known and unknown disasters. May He protect your country, city, and community from terror and calamities. May the Lord smile on you causing you to smile by yourself and with others. Where you frowned and cried in the last quarter, may He give you reasons to laugh, dance and celebrate. May the Lord be merciful and compassionate towards you. May He comfort your hearts and strengthen you. May He favour you and restore to you what satan stole from you. The word gracious also means generous. May the generous hand of the Lord go before you and usher a new and better season for you and your loved ones. May you not lack anything. Finally, may the peace of God rule and reign in your hearts, minds, emotions, body, and homes. It is well with us and may the month of May usher in the summer we have been waiting for. It is still our year of GOOD TIDINGS! AMEN. Guess what?! I am going to Israel on the 22nd of May. I will remember you when I go to the wailing wall to pray. You will hear from me when am back. Do pray for us !!! May God bless you and much much love...

Easter Greetings

 My Beloved Sisters in the Lord

As we approach this Easter weekend may we reflect on the reason why Jesus was crucified. His mission was to save us from our sin and to destroy the works of the devil in our lives (1 John 3:8).

In Luke 4:18 Jesus states that He came to set the captives free and to heal the broken-hearted. He also came to restore sight to our spiritual blindness. He came to reconcile us to God and to one another. He made a way for us to relate to God as our Father and to secure us an eternal home in heaven. He came to remove the wall of separation that was between us and God and between us and one another. He came that we may have abundant life and that our lives would be transformed to His nature and character. He came that we may be made whole in every area of our lives.

I pray that we may examine our hearts, and by His grace, get rid of all that which pollutes us, that we may rededicate our lives to daily walking with Him. May our hearts be wholly given to Him. As we have been forgiven let us also take time to forgive those who have hurt us. May the Lord heal our hearts and may we not be blinded by the enemy. Jesus rose again and that's our blessed hope. May the resurrection power of Christ empower us to walk in victory daily. May we be an army of powerful women advancing the Kingdom of God through our faith and good works. Lets share the gospel with those still in darkness and may our lives be lived to honour and glorify our precious Lord and Saviour who gave His life for us.

You are so valuable and precious to God and Jesus came to rewrite the story of your life. Your life counts and you matter to God.

May all that which Easter represents manifest in your lives. Abundant grace and mercy be multiplied to you.

Much much love and Easter blessings.

Your sister in the Lord,
Pastor Fatima
Chairperson

Blessed

Dear Precious Ladies

How have you been in this brand new month that the Lord has given us. We have already spent the first ten days, wow!

Thank you very much to all those who prayed for our conference. We had an amazing time in the presence of the Lord and with one another. A sweet loving atmosphere prevailed throughout the conference. We heard powerful testimonies from various women who have been through tough situations in life and yet with God's help they have made it and are still standing. Testimonies ranged from surviving gross domestic violence, healing and restoration after being abandoned by parents and left to the mercy of an orphanage, choosing to keep on living after being cheated by spouses who left for other women, to doing missionary work among refugees in war ton nations. We also had an opportunity to interview different authors to hear the heart behind their books. We were greatly inspired and impacted by these ladies.

Our theme was BLESSED based on the words spoken by Mary in Luke 1:47-48 “…and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed…”

The visitation of the Lord in Mary's life changed her status from being of a low estate to a blessed estate. We learnt that Mary's natural background and surroundings in Nazareth did not promise her such generational blessings but because she believed the word of the Lord and chose that her life was to be according to the word of the Lord, her life was turned around completely and up to now we are talking about her. We also learnt that Mary was devoted and pure. She was humble and discreet hence knew who to confide matters of her heart with. We also saw how Mary was a woman of worship. She burst into song magnifying the Lord for the future she had not yet seen. She proclaimed what the future generations would call her. Here we learnt the value of how we perceive ourselves to be and what we say about ourselves and others. Mary carried Jesus in her womb and we carry Jesus in our hearts. Our lives must reflect the Saviour we are carrying. The blessing that Mary carried benefitted the world so the blessings we receive from the Lord must benefit our world.

Meanings of the word blessed were discussed these are: set apart, privileged, favoured, selected, sanctified, dedicated, fortunate, satisfied, rewarded, joyful and anointed. This is God's plan for our lives. He wants us to live in the blessed zone. We learnt that the opposite of the word blessed included such words as: cursed, depressed, miserable, doomed, rejected, damned, unsuccessful, condemned, unholy and disapproved. This is not God's plan for us. We examined our lives to see where we needed to change. When Mary said from now on… she was making a statement of change and progressing from one status to another. We prayed as we crossed over from an ordinary life to a blessed life. Women crossed over from bitterness to joy from unforgiveness to forgiveness. From all sorts of complexes to a healthy self-esteem. Women were delivered from years of different types of bondage to freedom in God. It was an amazing conference indeed and truly from now on generations will call us blessed. I thought I should share with you a few insights from the conference.

On a celebratory note magnify the Lord with me.

My third book entitled YOUR PATH IS BECOMING BRIGHTER is out!!!

It will be on Amazon soon. Those of you in the UK can place orders via email and we will process promptly.


Keep moving forward in this month of April for you are Blessed.

Much love

Pastor Fatima Sibanda
Chairperson

Dealing with the Unexpected

Dear Precious Ladies

Grace upon grace to you as we march on with this month of March. We have already completed the first week! Praise the Lord!

How was February? I am sure I will get more than a thousand answers ranging from okay-ish, great, bad, very bad, amazing, wonderful and so goes the list... It does not matter which adjective you used to describe February, the fact remains that it's gone.

My sisters, sometimes life does not turn out how we expect. Often times our faith gets tested and shaken by situations we did not factor in when we penned down how we wanted our month to be. My February turned out to be the opposite of what I expected. In our church the word that God gave us for the year is that it's our year of good tidings. We received this word with faith and joy. January was full of good tidings all round.

We started the month of February in an all-night prayer meeting. Committing all our month to the Lord and praying against any bad news that would spoil our good tidings. We bound all that could be bound and loosed all that could be loosed. Come Valentine's day, the church organised an amazing dinner for couples. From there my husband and I were going on a mini holiday for a week to relax and consolidate our marriage. On the way back, we were planning on going to fetch my mum in law from Eastbourne, another area of the UK where she had visited our nephew.

But on Valentines Day, late night, we received a phone call that my sister in law who had been ill had a stroke that day and one side was paralysed, but there was hope of recovery. I prayed that the Lord would heal her, however, the next day, Saturday the 15^th of February, she passed away!!!I could not believe it. That was not in our plans!!! It was the end of a 56 year old mother of 3. As you can imagine we had to drop everything and go to be with my mum-in-law. When we got to Eastbourne I saw a very moving picture of mother and son crying helplessly. That was my husband and his mum. Gogo threw herself on me wishing she was dead in place of her daughter. I could only join in the weeping. It was very bad.

We had to arrange for her travel back to Africa speedily. My husband then followed her. Up to now he is still in there. Many other setbacks affected us but what shall we then say to these things? God remains good whether in good times or bad. Nothing shall separate us from the Love of God. This is still our year of good tidings in the midst of death and all sorts, we refuse to be moved.

I want to encourage anyone who had a tough month that this is your year of good tidings. Circumstances don’t change our convictions. We are blessed and that cannot be reversed. Let's march on with joy for the Lord our God is with us.

On a much lighter note I would like to invite you all to our annual Celebrating womanhood conference 2014 themed BLESSED based on Luke 1:48 that says '...from now on everyone will call me blessed...' Invite family and friends to attend. Those overseas you can still join us or pray for us. 

Much love and March blessings to you all!

Pastor Fatima Sibanda

Flourish in February 2014

Dear Precious Ladies

Wow the first month of 2014 is gone. How was your month?

Am sure there are several answers to this question but what matters is who is with us in the journey to the next month. January 2014 will never come again, whether good or bad. I want to encourage you not to camp there, but move on.

On the 18^th of January I was privileged to speak at The Flourish Women's conference hosted by Victory Gospel Church in Southampton UK. This was attended by ladies from all walks of life. It was a life changing experience and a great time of fellowship and relationship building. The Lord blessed us indeed. I would like to share with you a few snippets from this conference.

The word flourish means living life well. Some of its synonyms are: to increase and enlarge, to thrive in growth, to multiply, to be prosperous, to develop and expand, to reach a desired level of accomplishment, to be very influential and to be blessed. In the account of creation in Genesis 1:26-28 God created both male and female and blessed them. After blessing them He said 'be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth...' To multiply is to flourish. It is to increase and to enlarge. God's plan and desire for you is to flourish. He desires that you may live life well and accomplish all He has in store for you in this new year that He has given us. Flourishing is not optional!!

Jesus has already paid the price for every woman to excel and be very influential. God wants us to flourish both internally and externally. 3 John 2 states that 'beloved my wish above all is that you may prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers.' The word prosper is the same as flourish. That means the condition of your soul matters if you are to flourish and make a difference. What we harbour in our hearts and minds is a catalyst or hindrance to our flourishing. A healthy soul is a prerequisite to living life well.

Another important factor is the motive and purpose of our flourishing. In Psalm 73 David saw the wicked flourish and they were boasting and proud but in Psalm 92 we see the righteous flourishing in order to show that the Lord is righteous. The end result of our flourishing should be to glorify God and bless mankind. The means of our flourishing should not be corrupt because that will be blown away.

As we proceed into February and beyond, I pray  that we may all flourish in every area of our lives. That we receive the grace to maintain a healthy soul. I am praying for you and am believing God for a better year for us all. Happy February to you all!!

Much love and blessings

Pastor Fatima Sibanda

HFEW CHAIRPERSON