July 19-August 17

Vineyard Churches + Breath of Heaven

Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce that I will be returning to Zambia, Africa in July with a double mission.

Livingstone

When we land in Lusaka on July 21, we will be met by pastor Siseho Minyoi from the Vineyard Church in Lusaka, and the 3 of us will fly to Livingstone in the Southern Province just a few hours later.  In Livingstone we will minister in joint meetings with the 3 Vineyard churches from Livingstone.  On Friday, July 24, we will have the great privilege and opportunity to minister to people from many churches in Livingstone Pastor's Fellowship.  We are praying for a lasting impact from Holy Spirit ministry in this city.

Itezhi-Tezhi

On Saturday, July 25, we will fly back to Lusaka, and immediately rent a 4 wheel drive vehicle ncessary for traveling into the rural areas. We will drive on some pretty rough roads for about 6-7 hours to reach our destination in Itezhi-Tezhi. There we will minister at pastor Herbert Kachoka's church and spend the night.  

Nkeyema

The next morning, July 26, we will begin the approximately 5 hour drive to Nkyema.  When we arrive there we'll minister in the Vineyard churches in that region and spend the night.

mongu

The next morning, July 27, we'll travel all the way to Mongu (where Limulunga is circled on the map), where we'll meet up with Pastor Yuyi, a great man that I have spent time with on my previous trips where I spoke at the national conference and taught in schools of ministry.  It will be great to see Yuyi again.  We'll minister to the Vineyard churches in Mongu on the 27th and 28th.

Ndola

We'll start out early on the morning of July 29th, driving all the way back to Lusaka. The next morning, Paul and I will say goodbye to pastor Siseho and get on a short flight to Ndola where we'll be met by Damas Kamfwa, the national director of the Vineyard churches in Zambia.  We'll be teaching at a Vineyard school of ministry for leaders and pastors July 30 - August 3. On Sunday, August 2nd, we will minister at the Sunday morning service of the Ndola Vineyard church. This will be a big Sunday as we will graduate the 2023 to 2025 students of the school of ministry graduation.  I have met many of these students on previous trips when I have also taught a the schools of ministry in various parts of the country.  On Sunday night we'll have a Holy Spirit Encounter night with extended ministry.

On Monday morning, August 4th, I'll say good bye to Paul as we end this long and rigorous ministry trip.  I know that we will be a combination of physically exhausted and joyfully overwhelmed at all the Lord has accomplished in the previous couple of weeks of ministry.  Paul will return to San Diego, California, and I will stay in Ndola for a day or 2 more where I'll join with the folks from the Ndola Vineyard for some evangelism outreach in the area.  I have made really great friends over the last few years with my trips to Ndola, and I am really looking forward to the great fellowship and ministry partnership with my dear brothers and sisters there.

Part 2: Serving at Breath of Heaven Children's Village

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” - James 1:27

About Breath of Heaven Children's Ministries

(The following description is from the Breath of Heaven website at bofheaven.org.  Please check out their website to learn more about this wonderful ministry )

Breath of Heaven Children’s Ministries is an international humanitarian organization which is committed to bringing hope and a future to orphans and vulnerable children. Our current vision is to build a Children’s Village complex in Lusaka, Zambia, which will provide residential care for up to 168 children in a family-like environment catering to their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. When built out, the complex will consist of 14 individual family homes, a community church, school facilities serving students through grade 12, a Vocational Training Center, and a fully equipped medical clinic. After opening our doors in January, 2010, we now have 10 homes completed with 96 children in residence. In addition, the church, school, and medical clinic are all in operation. These facilities allow us to serve the spiritual, educational, and health needs of the surrounding community as well as the children in our care.

The current population of Zambia is 20 million people. Extreme poverty and the AIDS/HIV crisis continue to take their toll. According to USAID September 23, 2023 report, it is estimated that there are 1.3 million orphans and vulnerable children as well as adolescents who are infected or affected by HIV. As many as 500,000 are double orphans who have lost both parents. There are thousands who have no one to care for them. Most eat only one meal a day and many live in fear of being physically or sexually abused. They have also been abandoned and rejected. They come to us depressed, frightened and feeling unloved. They have lived a life of hopelessness and despair.

We believe every child has a right to a family home where they are loved, secure, protected and free to be a child knowing their tomorrows are full of hope and that dreams can become a reality. This is our commitment, challenge and promise to the orphans of Zambia. These are the children we are called to rescue.

Fundraising

For Part 1 with Paul Dabdoub, Siseho Minyoi, and me ministering in all those churches in Southern and Western provinces and then at the school of ministry in Nodla, the cost is going to be approximately $10,000.  That includes the international flights to Zambia from San Diego for Paul and me, and then for all 3 of us, our domestic flights, rental of the 4x4 vehicle for the road trip, our travel expenses on the road trip, food, and housing in Ndola for the Vineyard School of MInistry.

For Part 2, The  Total Cost for our travel expenses will be approximately $3,150 each for the 7 people joining me at Breath of Heaven

Cost Details:

$2,260 Round Trip Airfare from San Diego to Lusaka, Zambia

$890    -  Housing & Food in Lusaka

$3,150 - Total per person.

An international missions trip like this needs many supporters to help carry the load.  We will be doing some fundraising, donating to the trip from our own funds, and receiving donations from people who feel called to partner with us. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help our team meet expenses, you can donate online by clicking here:  gracevcf.org/donate-zambia or send a check to Grace Vineyard, 102 N. Freeman Street, Oceanside, CA 92054, and write "Zambia Mission" on the memo line.

Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to read this digital support letter.  And thank you for considering partnering with us with your prayers and financial donations.  

Please reach out to me with any questions or comments at ronohst@gracevcf.org or 760-713-6478

with blessings and love,

Ron Ohst