Being back in Africa!

 

It's been 3 weeks now since I've been back in Africa. It's been a time of slowly readjusting to life here and catching up with good friends in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Readjusting to hot weather, slow internet, busy stores, bumpy roads.....but also remembering why I came back to this great continent...it's for the beautiful people that just fill your heart with joy.

This little guy in the picture above is named Talent and he's the son of the gardener named Sam at the house I'm staying at in Zimbabwe right now. He's a joy to be around and everyday he will say to me in the only English he knows "Hi, how are you?!, I'm Talent, I'm fine thank you". He's just cute as can be and he's a constant reminder of the children of Africa I have come back to minister to through KidZ At Heart International. There are children here on this continent that need to know Jesus. There are children's ministry workers and pastors that need equipping and training to reach kids for Christ.

As a MobiliZer for KidZ At Heart International, I will be helping bring teams from the USA to countries throughout Africa to put on week-long KidZ Ministry Equipping Conferences. Here locals in various African countries will get the training they need to effectively do children's ministry in their country. They will learn how to write their own lessons, use the materials they have available to them, and creatively teach Christ to the children. It's such an awesome thing to think about!!! We have teams this upcoming year traveling to Uganda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa.

In January I will be headed to Kampala, Uganda to meet up with our USA team to help with KidZ At Heart training at Pastor Micah and Grace Rwothumio's church, University Community Fellowship. Then I will be staying on after to base myself in Kampala. In June I also have the awesome opportunity to be part of the KidZ At Heart Tanzania team!

Your continued prayers are appreciated as I settle in Africa.

• Please pray for the speedy processing of my Uganda work visa
• Please pray for the KidZ At Heart Uganda team that will be in Kampala January 10-22
• Please pray God leads me to the right accommodation and vehicle as I base myself in Kampala and provides a great support system of church family and fellow missionaries
• Please pray for continued provision in my finances
• And please pray for God to bring the right people to join KidZ At Heart teams coming to Africa. If interested please email me at sroutzahn@kidzatheart.org and check out our website at www.kidzatheart.org

I'm so very thankful for each of you and continue to pray that God blesses your life!

In Christ,
Shannon


To Donate Online:
http://www.worldoutreach.org/donations Select my Name. The system can process USA and International cards. You can also set up automatic Monthly Gifts if you choose the "Monthly" option.

Or Mail Checks to:
World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Hope for Sharon and Gloria

   

Meet Sharon and Gloria, the newest students of Wells of Hope Academy in Kampala, Uganda. These precious sisters have stolen my heart and with your help we have been able to bring hope into their lives. I first heard about the organization Wells of Hope just a few months ago. I connected with Francis Ssuubi, founder of Wells of Hope, through a missionary friend of mine named Teresa Kemp who does prison ministry around the world (check out her ministry at www.breakingchainsint.org).  I was intrigued by what Wells of Hope is doing for children of prisoners in Uganda. Since I will be based in Kampala, Uganda, very soon with KidZ At Heart International, I wanted to see how I could help in the lives of children close by and meet them one day soon.

Sharon and Gloria come from Northern Uganda, west of the Nile River, in a village called Etori in the district of Arua. This is about a 7 hour drive from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Sharon is 6 years old and Gloria is 15 years old. They come from a family of seven children from different mothers but the same father. Their father has been serving in prison for a long time. When their mothers remarried they were abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Gloria had to drop out of school two years ago to look after her youngest sister Connie who was 6 months old at the time. Gloria also looked after her sisters Sharon and Judy. Their grandmother was sick so couldn't help them. Life at home was very difficult for Gloria and her sisters. They would have one meal a day and some days they would have to go without food.

Francis Ssuubi of Wells of Hope learned about Gloria and her sisters and saw the need to help. He spoke with her uncle and grandmother and convinced them of the importance of continued schooling. In African culture most families believe that a 15 year old like Gloria doesn't deserve to go to school. They believe that she should be married off and only do house chores. Francis worked very hard getting Gloria and her sister Sharon to Wells of Hope Academy (their sisters Connie and Judy remain with their grandmother and aunt who will look after them the best they can). Gloria and Sharon were overjoyed when Wells of Hope came to their village to help them. Since being at school, Gloria and Sharon were even able to visit her father in prison. It was a joyous occasion for all involved! I'm told that Gloria wants to be a teacher and can write/speak some English and Sharon wants to be a policewoman and is very active. With your help we were able to transport them from the poverty they faced in their village to Wells of Hope Academy in Kampala. We bought them suitcases, clothes, mattresses, bedsheets, blankets, and books. They are thriving now and I praise God for this!! In addition to Wells of Hope Academy, Wells of Hope also helps over 120 children with school fees, they have an HIV/AIDS Prisoners Support Project, offer counseling to children of prisoners, and they have a children's choir.

Be sure to check out their website at: www.wellsofhope.org


So what's new on my horizon?

In just 2 weeks I leave for Africa to work as the Africa MobiliZer for KidZ At Heart International!! www.kidzatheart.org I will be helping equip children's ministry leaders throughout Africa so they can reach and teach kids just like Gloria and Sharon for Christ :)

Will you help partner into this amazing ministry? I'm still in need of $500 more in monthly support and up to $10,000 in up-front expenses due to the cost of living/vehicle cost in Kampala being higher and traveling more throughout the continent with KidZ At Heart.

To Donate Online:http://www.worldoutreach.org/donations Select my Name. The system can process USA & International cards. You can also set up automatic Monthly Gifts if you choose the "Monthly" option.

Or Mail Checks to:
World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

May God bless your giving and bring you abundant joy knowing you are making a huge difference in the lives of African children!

A New Adventure Awaits!

                          

Dear Friends and Supporters,

In Acts 16:6-10, we are told that the Holy Spirit prevented Paul and Silas “from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.” That night, Paul had a vision of the Macedonian “pleading with him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us!’ So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.”

I, too, believe that the Holy Spirit has redirected my ministry from Zimbabwe to East Africa. And I am writing to tell you about these exciting changes and how you can partner with me to reach the children of Africa.

In September of 2011 before leaving for Africa I was able to attend a children's ministry training called KidZtitute with an organization called KidZ At Heart International. At KidZtitute I was better equipped to do children's ministry not only in the USA but cross-culturally also. I enjoyed this conference so much that in January of this year I joined a KidZ At Heart team in Kampala, Uganda to help lead a KidZ Ministry Equipping Conference. This is an intensive week-long conference where African children's ministry leaders and teachers are equipped to present God's word to children in effective, culturally relevant, age-appropriate ways. It was a wonderful and fruitful trip.

Now, I'm happy to say that KidZ At Heart would like me to be on their team full-time! I very much believe in what KidZ is doing throughout the world and I'm honored to be a part of it. KidZ At Heart International exists to equip people to reach and teach kids for Christ within their own culture. I will be a MobiliZer with KidZ At Heart while being based in Africa, mainly in Kampala, Uganda, and South Africa. A MobiliZer is the point person for successful launch of short-term teams for the purpose of equipping people within their own culture to teach kids for Christ. We have teams for 2013 going to countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, Honduras, Philippines, Latvia, and the list goes on and on. I will also go on many of these short-term trips in Africa to help with training, help coordinate KidZ ministries in East Africa, conduct follow-up with churches throughout Africa as they implement KidZ training elements, coordinate with KAHLA (KidZ At Heart Leadership Academy) leadership team in Uganda, and be with the children as much as possible!

I believe this is an exciting opportunity for all of us in order to reach kids for Christ. The world's 2.2 billion children need to know, love, and follow Jesus. Will you be part of helping the 2.2?


Please pray. This is a major transition and will require many details and decisions about relocating to East Africa. Will you consider praying for me regularly if you are not already doing so?

Please give. I'm currently in need of more monthly support. Will you consider joining my monthly support team or increasing your monthly amount? Or perhaps you would like to give a one-time donation? While I transition back into Africa and into my role with KidZ At Heart, my donation system with World Outreach will stay the same (see details below).

Please go. Please consider joining one of KidZ At Heart’s short-term teams to any of the East African locations I will be MobiliZing. I’d love to have you with me in Africa!

For more information about KidZ At Heart check out our website at www.kidZatheart.org

Be very blessed!
Shannon


To Donate Online:
http://www.worldoutreach.org/donations  Select my Name. The system can process USA & International cards. You can also set up automatic Monthly Gifts if you choose the "Monthly" option.

Or Mail Checks to:
World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Tutoring, Cows, Love, and Much More

I’m now in my 6th month of Global Leadership Academy here in Swaziland, Africa as I prepare for ministry full-time in Zimbabwe. God definitely put this internship along my path in order to do a deep work within me so I can be as prepared as possible for the journey ahead of me. I’m absolutely certain of this. I’ve had the time and solitude needed to examine areas in my walk with the Lord that need to be strengthened. What God has been showing me most of all is his great desire to be loved above all else. To put it simply, God just wants my love over everything else in this world. And He wants my love by showing complete surrender, absolute trust, faith, and obedience. And to be planted firm in these things God has to make us walk through them. It’s the only way He can truly teach us. And that’s what He’s been doing for me. And as painful as it may be sometimes, I’m so eternally grateful to Him because I know I’m being strengthened for what lies ahead. This internship is a blessing; I see God’s hand all over it.

My room in my rondavel at GLA campus has one of the best views. It looks out to surrounding mountains, a beautiful lake, and cattle grazing. One night I couldn’t quite get to sleep because there was a cow that just kept mooing. It just wouldn’t stop. I asked my roommate Goodness if she heard it and why it was being so loud. She laughed and said that the mother cow was mooing because she had lost her calf and was trying desperately to find it. I know absolutely nothing about livestock but living in Africa has me learning all kinds of new things. When the mother cow would moo then you could hear faintly in the distance the calf mooing back. The calf and mother cow did this all night and into the morning. The mother cow was in such distress because she couldn’t locate where the calf was. Later in the morning the mooing stopped and I believe she found her calf. Why I’m telling you all of this is because it got me thinking about God’s love for us. Just like the mother cow, God won’t stop calling us until we are all found. He doesn’t want any of us lost. I was brought to tears as these cows searched for each other. My roommate probably thought I was crazy crying over these cows but I was learning a much deeper lesson in all of it.

The past few months I’ve had the great opportunity to tutor with a 10 year old boy named Bongiswa at the I Am Not Forgotten Home next to GLA. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon a group of us interns go over to help some of the kids with their homework. I’m not quite sure how it happened but a few weeks into it Bongiswa asked me to help him. So we’ve been practicing spelling in English, writing skills, and math. It’s a good thing I’m helping a 10 year old because math was never my best, lol! Several weeks after tutoring Bongiswa I got interested in what his story was. Why was he at the I Am Not Forgotten Home? So I started asking him questions. Bongiswa is very quiet and sweet. But he talks when you ask him things. I asked him how many brothers and sisters he has and he told me 11! I was shocked! He started laughing. That’s a lot of siblings. He said he has 6 brothers and 5 sisters. I then asked him if he had parents and he said that he has a father. I didn’t ask him more about his family because I didn't want to bring up any hurt feelings. But I did speak with Thombie, the house mom, and she said that Bongiswa's dad had 12 children from 12 different women and that Bongiswa's mother passed away and then his father didn't want to take care of him anymore. It always breaks my heart to hear this but I know that Bongiswa has a loving home now with Thombie and the other kids. Some things I learned about Bongiswa: he is super smart, his favorite thing to do is read, he likes playing soccer, and his favorite colors are yellow, green, and white. I know this boy has such a bright future ahead of him. He's very well-mannered and smart. He's been a joy to be around.

I want to also share with you how your support money has been helping while I'm in Swaziland. You are such a blessing to many people both in Swaziland and Zimbabwe!

- With your financial help you are providing me with the preparation I need for full-time ministry in Zimbabwe. Global Leadership Academy is just the place for this.

-We have been able to help some of the young girls at Healing Place Church in Mbabane go to youth camp this summer.

-We have been able to bless the interns considerably by getting them a birthday gift when it's their birthday. This may not seem like a big deal but it definitely is. Most of the interns have never recieved a birthday present in their whole life. It's been a joy seeing them so happy and excited on their special day.

-We have been able to buy some clothing and special gifts for Sibonelo and Bongiswa.

-We have been able to pay school fees for the boy I met in Zimbabwe in December named Talent.

I want to thank you for your continued prayer and financial support. I couldn't do it without you and I'm very thankful!

Until my next post :)

Be Blessed!
Shannon


To Donate Online:
http://www.worldoutreach.org/ Click Donate and Select my Name, USA and International Cards Accepted


Or Mail Checks to:
World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Meet Sibonelo

Meet Sibonelo. This precious little girl has stolen my heart with her affection and her sweet smile. From the first day I went to Children's Cup carepoint Mbekelweni, she hasn't let go of my hand. I carry her in my arms just about every minute, give her piggyback rides, and I look into her beautiful face as she falls asleep in my lap. Sibonelo is 3 years old and her love is contagious. I recently started asking the teachers at the carepoint more about this little girl and her story is one I just had to share.

Sibonelo is part of the "I Am Not Forgotten Home" in Mbekelweni; which is right next door to GLA campus. "I Am Not Forgotten" started in 2008 when a teacher at one of the carepoints named Mage Peggi started taking children home that had nowhere to go. She cared day after day for the orphans in her community and the amount of children she cared for kept growing and growing. The idea for orphanage homes branched out from this because her home started to not be big enough to hold all of them. God moved in the heart of a generous donor in the USA who visited Swaziland and the "I Am Not Forgotten" homes (3 in total so far) were able to be built. The Mbekeweni home was built 1 1/2 years ago and Mage Ntombie is now the caregiver at the home for 9 children ranging in ages from 3-15 years old. Ntombie has an incredible heart and is now a mother to the motherless.

When sitting down with Ntombie to find out about Sibonelo's story I could tell I was about to hear a heart-wrenching story but I had to know. Sibonelo was found as an infant at her step-grandmother's house sitting in the soil filthy and crying. She had nothing to eat so she was eating the dirt to stay alive. Sibonelo is a double orphan. Her parents abandoned her and Ntombie believes at least one of them is deceased. She was left in the care of her step go-go (grandmother) but unfortunately her step go-go didn't care about her. Sibonelo is one of the thousands of children in Swaziland that is HIV positive. Because of this, her relatives discarded her. When Children's Cup found her they took her to the hospital and she was nursed back to life and got her the medicine she needs to survive. Not only did they save her life, but they brought love back into her life. The love of Jesus. Today Sibonelo is full of life, a bundle of joy to be around! She no longer has to look for something to eat. Everyday she can come to Mbekelweni carepoint for rice and beans or porridge. At home she gets to eat eggs and bread for breakfast. I'm told she loves to be carried (I know this firsthand!), she loves sweeping the yard, playing marbles, and playing with toys and dolls.

Sibonelo has brought joy into my life. I'm blessed that I get to love on her each week. She has also really humbled me. There are so many days during the internship that my selfishness takes over; when all I want are the luxuries of the USA (things like going to the movies, going out for sushi, going thru McDonald's drive-thru, you get the jist) and then it hits me and I'm brought to tears. I remember Sibonelo, I remember the children I play with each day and how little they have compared to so many. And I pray to God that He will forgive me of my selfishness, that the joy that these little ones around me have will come into my heart and envelop me, that I can humbly be Jesus' hands and feet everyday. It's a hard thing to die to your flesh but I'm learning so much from the children around me.

I'm blessed and thankful that God has brought me here to Africa. There truly is no other place I'd rather be.

-Shannon


Donation Details

Online: http://www.worldoutreach.org Click Donate and Select my Name, USA and International Cards Accepted

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

Swaziland!! GLA Happiness :)

Sawubona! (Hello in SiSwati),

Greetings from the Kingdom of Swaziland! I've now officially been in Global Leadership Academy (GLA) for 1 month! It's a great feeling and I can say that I'm very blessed. I now have a family of 21 other interns and 10 GLA staff leaders; a mix of Swazis, Congolese, Tanzanians, Zimbabweans, and ME, the one and only American intern. I'm being immersed into African culture and it's preparing me well for my ministry work that lies ahead in Zimbabwe. I can see this very clearly and I'm thankful that God is putting me through this process, as hard as it may be. The days are long and the work is hard but I will gladly do it for the Lord :)

So what is Global Leadership Academy like? It's challenging but REWARDING. For the next 10 months I will be intensely studying the Bible and what it means to be a Godly leader, I will be communicating and living with Africans every day, I will be serving in every and any capacity for the Lord at Healing Place Church Swaziland and at Children's Cup carepoints with the children. I will be part of Kitchen Krew at the campus, working in the garden, helping tutor children at the "I am Not Forgotten House", doing hospital ministry, helping lead Scripture Union and Morning Assembly at a high school near our campus, leading worship at HPC's youth called 412, helping with Kids Power Camps and HPC children's ministry called KFC (not the chicken but Kids for Christ!), and the list goes on and on..... sounds busy huh? Well it certainly is!

I've been blessed with a wonderful roommate named Goodness (see picture above). Goodness is a Swazi and she's around my age. We get along great! I'm having so much fun learning SiSwati phrases and learning SiSwati and Shona songs. I actually got to lead my first Shona song this past Friday night at HPC 412 youth. I loved being able to usher people into God's presence through worship and I was told I sounded like a true African when singing it :) Coming up I will be spending more and more time helping HPC's children's ministry and working with the children at the carepoints. I simply can't wait because as you all know Children's Ministry is my passion and my calling. I'm looking forward to the day I'm in Zimbabwe full-time helping lead Celebration Kids Ministry. I know in my heart that all of this preparation is going to be SO valuable to that ministry.

I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank all of my financial and prayer partners. I simply could not be here without you and I'm forever grateful. Your giving is changing the lives of African children; they are being VALUED, LOVED, and EMPOWERED, and most of all they are learning the love of Jesus.

As I proceed with GLA I'm asking for prayers in the following areas:

-That God would continue to do a work in all of us interns; that God would keep stretching and molding us into the Godly men and women He has called us to be.

-For physical, mental, and spiritual strength as I go through GLA.

-For peace when I'm missing friends and family in both USA and Zimbabwe.

-For my next steps into Zimbabwe full-time.

-And for my ministry financial support. I'm still in need of more monthly supporters.

God Bless!
Shannon


Donation Details:

Online: http://www.worldoutreach.org Click Donate and Select My Name. USA and International Cards Accepted.

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)

KidZ Ministry Equipping Conference Uganda 2012

What a great 2 weeks it's been! I just got back into Zimbabwe from trips to South Africa and Uganda where I partnered with KidZ At Heart International to train children's workers. I was very blessed to spend time with Charlotte Moore of KidZ At Heart and her sweet 4 year old daughter Ruthie in Johannesburg the first week of my trip. We spent some time seeing the sights (Nelson Mandela's house in Soweto and petting lion cubs at a lion park) and then I got to meet with some of the South African KidZ at Heart trainers. It was a precious time for me.

From Johannesburg I traveled to Kampala, Uganda to meet up with the KidZ At Heart team of 5 from the USA, Canada, and Zimbabwe. We were hosted by Micah and Grace Rwothumio of University Community Fellowship Church for 9 days. We spent a whole week putting on training workshops from 9 am-1 pm at the church for the children's workers of Kampala and surrounding areas. What an amazing time it was! I thoroughly enjoyed leading the 60+ attendees in workshops that will make their children's ministry more effective. The people of Uganda were so very grateful and some of the nicest people I have ever met. They have a hunger to learn and to serve. On the last day of the workshops the teachers brought kids from their community and did lessons based on all they had learned that week. How sweet it was seeing them applying all they had learned!

During the conference I met a very special girl named Vicky. You know how there are some people you meet that you just automatically connect with? Well, that's how it was for me and Vicky. I met her on the first day of the training. She was immediately friendly and we built a friendship from the start. Vicky just graduated high-school and leads the children's ministry at her church in Kampala. She has attended KidZ at Heart workshops in the past and is very talented when working with children. It just makes my heart smile to think about her future because I know she is going to do great things for God's kingdom. I'm SO very blessed to have her as a new friend!

Here are a few tidbits that I learned while in Uganda:

• Uganda is very different than Zimbabwe!


• Traffic in Kampala is some of the craziest I've seen.


• They have a deep red dirt all over the country.


• They have the best bananas and they make MANY different dishes with bananas.


• The people are some of the friendliest I've ever met.


• Speed bumps are on a whole other level in Kampala!


• The source of the Nile River is in Uganda (I got to take a boat ride on the Nile!).


• Uganda landscape is rolling hills and lush.


• There is actually a rainforest in Uganda (I got to go to this also).


• They have boda-bodas everywhere, which are motorcycle taxis.

On our last day in Uganda I got to visit one of Watoto's villages and their baby home which was a real treat. This is a home for abandoned babies. Watoto is doing an incredible job helping the children of Uganda.

In just 2 days I leave to go to Swaziland to start the Global Leadership Academy. I have a nervous excitement for what lies ahead!

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

God Bless,

-Shannon

Donation Details:

Online: http://www.worldoutreach.org Click Donate and Select My Name. USA and International Cards Accepted.

Or Mail Checks to: World Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 (Designate for Routzahn, Fund Code #91)