International News at a Glance

Harris Hlazo, a longtime member, submitted this report from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe: "With the departure of Jill Heathcote to settle in New Zealand, only one member remained in Harare—me. On the Sabbath I would watch videotaped sermons. But sometime around June 2005 thieves broke into my flat and stole my VCR. From that time on I depended on audiotapes.

"Not long after this Andrew Ingwe phoned to say he had been reading our literature and was interested in joining us. Then Harare had a congregation of two.

"The following month two more young men, Innocent Mushunje and Patrick Chigodo, phoned and expressed interest in the Church and joined us. In 2006 we were joined by Fanuel Gorondo and his wife, Mathilda.

"All four have had their share of tribulation because of the Sabbath. Innocent ended up being transferred to a department that allows him to have the Sabbath off. Andrew got a promotion at work with a Sabbath string attached. He had to fight his way around that. Mr. and Mrs. Gorondo had to leave their rural home because of persecutions regarding Sabbath observance.

"We have now obtained a DVD player and can listen to messages on MP3s."

The regional pastor, André van Belkum, baptized two members Aug. 8. Besides Harare, there are several other groups that meet in Zimbabwe.