NOTHING IS TOO SMALL FOR GOD.

I love to wake up in the morning and look full into the beautiful sun. I love the way it makes me feel alive and I can feel its energy coursing through my core. The mild breeze that brings all kinds of scents and aromas my way, reminds me of God’s love as I lean into it. The ground beneath me is coolest in the morning, along with the dew that seems to nourish me from the bottom to the top. As the day turns from morning to afternoon, I begin to pray to God to thank him for letting me be alive for another glorious day, even as the heat begins to dehydrate me. But God and his seemingly infinite mercy hears my prayers and brings evening with all its coolness. I listen as my family enjoys their evening tradition of playing in the yard after dinner. Oh, how my God loves me and takes care of me. Everything is important to God. Nothing is too small. As evening turns to night, I bow my head in prayer, and dream of what tomorrow will bring.

By Mrs. Mkwananzi (the editor's wife)


Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

ZIM REPRESENTED AT THE AFRICA CUTURAL FESTIVAL.

Its all smiles. Young ladies and one young man posing for a photo at the Taste of Africa Cultural festival at the Indiana University last week. Most if not all of these young ladies attend Forward in Faith Ministries lead by Pastor Mashushire. Apart form the attire, there were different kinds of dishes from many African countries. I would like to thank deacon J. Choga for this colorful photo. Please click on the picture for a better view.

INDIANA WEATHER

60 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Indiana plant gardens.

50 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in South Bend sunbathe.

40 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Indiana drive with the windows down.

32 above zero:
Distilled water freezes.
The water in Indianapolis gets thicker.

20 above zero:
Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves,wool hats and socks.
People in Indiana throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Indiana have the last cookout before itgets cold.

Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Hoosiers close the windows.

10 below zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Indiana get out their winter coats.

25 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Indiana are selling cookiesdoor to door.

40 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Indiana let the dogs sleep indoors.

100 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Hoosiers get upset because they can't start theMini-Van.

460 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale).
People in Indiana start saying...'Cold 'nuff ferya?'

500 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Indiana public schools will open 2 hours late.

SWAZI PEOPLE ANGERED BY THE KING 'S WIVES.

Nine of King Mswati's wives left last week to go shopping
Hundreds of Swazi women have marched through the streets of the capital to protest about a shopping trip taken by nine of the king's 13 wives.
They chartered a plane last week to go to Europe and the Middle East.
The BBC's Thulani Mthethwa says the protesters handed in a petition to the finance ministry saying the money could have been better spent.
"We can't afford a shopping trip when a quarter of the nation lives on food aid," they chanted.
Swaziland, Africa's last absolute monarchy, is one of the poorest countries in the world and more than 40% of the population is believed to be infected with HIV.
We need to keep that money for ARVs Protest slogan.
The march was organised by Positive Living, a non-governmental organisation for women with Aids.
Our correspondent says there was a cross-section of women on the march from professionals to rural representatives.
"We need to keep that money for ARVs [anti-retrovirals]," was another slogan shouted by the women.
King Mswati III, 40, has been criticised in the past for requesting public money to pay for new palaces, a personal jet and luxury cars.
News of his wives' trip broke in the local press a day after they left, our reporter says.
Earlier this week, senior princes warned the women not to march, saying it defied Swazi tradition.

Originally published by the BBC news.

OUR POSITION ABOUT TALKS.

While it is important that our political party leaders are on the verge of signing a power deal, we are however concerned that the people of Zimbabwe are not consulted. There can be no permanent solutions to the county's problems if the average Zimbabwean people are left out. Zimbabwe does not belong to Mugabe, Tsvangairayi and Mutambara, no. It is us the people who give leaders the mandate to represent us. The magnitude of the problems requires serious dialogue and that is not only limited to the political parties. These are known for serving their own interest at the expense of the masses.

There are human rights violations. The restoration of law and order. The strategic distribution and development of land. The liberalisation of the media airwaves. The revamping of the education system, the economy and tourism. These can only be achieved through people who share common goals and values. Without accountability and inclusion of a diversified spectrum of people that cut and taps on a wide variety of ideas we will end up with more of the same. We need a local leadership with a global outlook. Power corrupts people, talks must not only be centred on power sharing but also on challenges that our nation is facing.

The brave man is not he one who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela.

ZIM NEEDS ALL ITS SKILLED PEOPLE.

By Heidi Holland.
Now that a concerned world has recovered from the euphoric though disconcerting sight of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe shaking hands with his challenger Morgan Tsvangirai, albeit reluctantly - and seeing they have indeed talked to each other - we are perhaps free to focus fresh optimism on what the two might usefully talk about.Although Mugabe is unlikely to be committed to real power sharing (as opposed to the view that he has it all but wouldn't mind sharing a bit with his opposition) a creative, even breathtaking, option is now open to Comrade Bob - namely, a best-person interim government. Not only would it stun the world and help to rescue Mugabe's lost legacy, but a government of all the talents (as the concept was quaintly called in the 19th century) is something Zimbabwe's president understands very well.

When he first swept to power in 1980 on a tsunami of adulation, Mugabe's inaugural administration was a best-person government which included British-born, talented farmer Denis Norman in the agriculture portfolio and canny former Rhodesian finance minister David Smith, a Scot, as head of the new treasury. Mugabe had absolutely all the power in those days but he sincerely wanted the country to prosper under his leadership. So, recognising the need to reassure former white Rhodesians - who possessed most of the country's capital, intellectual and otherwise - and acknowledging the painful fact that he had little relevant talent in his own ranks, Zimbabwe's first black ruler put aside the undoubtedly pressing loyalty issues inherent in liberation politics to act in the best interests of all Zimbabweans.Could this intensely complicated man make a similarly magnanimous decision so late in his much-vilified premiership?

It is an audacious idea, and an uncharacteristically constructive one in the face of the sustained destruction Mugabe has unleashed on Zimbabwe over the past decade. But it is within his power to opt for the greater good rather than continued tyranny. He did it once before when he was expected to wreak havoc, and to great effect for his first five years in office. He knows as well as anyone anywhere that a carefully chosen best-person interim government could get Zimbabwe back on its feet faster than any known alternative.Wartime Britain adopted a coalition cabinet of its most talented individuals in order to manage the damage wrought by years of conflict in the '40s. So did Norway. "We put the best people in an all-party government during and after the war," says May-Elin Stener, Minister Counsellor of the Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria. "That was what we did when we had to rebuild our own countries.

"In Zimbabwe's case, it was in consultation with the British that newly elected Robert Mugabe chose a similarly pragmatic solution to the country's woes following the catastrophic 15-year-long bush war in 1980. Britain's last governor in Rhodesia, Lord Soames, and Mugabe had struck up an unexpected friendship when Zimbabwe's adored black prime minister told the avuncular English aristocrat that there was nobody in his party with the skills to run a government. It was a poignant moment, the governor's widow Lady Soames recalled when I interviewed her in London in 2006. "He was quite frank about having nobody trained in anything except guerrilla warfare," she said.In those days, Mugabe had the good judgment, moral courage and sense of duty to put aside his political preferences in favour of Zimbabwe's best interests. Why? Because Lord Soames respected the new premier and he was therefore able to appeal to Mugabe's better instincts.

Could "Mad Bob" defy the direst of predictions to act against the odds once more? It is at least possible. It might appeal to him as a swan song to what he sees as his life-long "sacrifice and suffering". It is certainly worth a try, especially if it comes as a suggestion from Britain, endorsed by rich western reconstruction packages.A mediated deal on its own, by contrast, may not have the moral credentials to attract the international funds earmarked for Zimbabwe and critical for its economic recovery. Africa will doubtless have resources to commit to the beleaguered country, but not on the same scale.

Back in 1980, Mugabe's aim in appointing a best-person government despite the discord it caused in his own ranks was to retain white skills in the interests of the country's economy. Today, its purpose might be to attract back to Zimbabwe those many exiled citizens who have gained invaluable experience of modern economic endeavour elsewhere. It would be from among Zimbabwe's own people, albeit many supporting the MDC and some entirely devoid of political ambition, that Mugabe and Tsvangirai could select an interim government of all the talents.The boldest and most statesman-like gesture imaginable in the circumstances, such a best-person government would restore confidence to Zimbabweans at home and abroad like no other move ever could. Not without precedent - even the US has from time to time brought in experts to help the national cause - a government of all the talents in Zimbabwe has the potential to save the country in an inclusive and admirable way.

The rationale for such a solution is already apparent in the cautious optimism with which the Mbeki-brokered talks have been greeted at home and abroad. It is true nobody won the March election outright, say the pundits of compromise, noting that the much-vaunted Kenyan solution reflected a widespread desire for peace at any price once violence had threatened to spiral out of control.As we watch the situation unfold, violence in Zimbabwe's rural areas is continuing long after the electoral process has ended - for reasons that are far from clear. Is it now out of control due to the growing dominance of war lords?

Is Mugabe showing who is boss while power-sharing talks are under way? Is he, perhaps, hell-bent on eliminating his opposition? Or is Zanu-PF creating the conditions for the concept of peace at any price to gain momentum? Whatever the reason, the international community dare not turn its back on rural Zimbabweans - who are currently dying from hunger as well as torture - in anticipation of a time when the suffering country may finally be deemed to require peace at any price.

Heidi Holland is the author of the bestselling book, Dinner With Mugabe.
This article was originally published on page 6 of The Pretoria News on August 2 /2008.

OBAMA OPPOSES REPARATIONS APOLOGY ACT.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders.

The man with a serious chance to become the nation's first black president argues that government should instead combat the legacy of slavery by improving schools, health care and the economy for all.
"I have said in the past — and I'll repeat again — that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed," the Illinois Democrat said recently.
Some two dozen members of Congress are co-sponsors of legislation to create a commission that would study reparations — that is, payments and programs to make up for the damage done by slavery.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People supports the legislation, too. Cities around the country, including Obama's home of Chicago, have endorsed the idea, and so has a major union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Obama has worked to be seen as someone who will bring people together, not divide them into various interest groups with checklists of demands. Supporting reparations could undermine that image and make him appear to be pandering to black voters.
"Let's not be naive. Sen. Obama is running for president of the United States, and so he is in a constant battle to save his political life," said Kibibi Tyehimba, co-chair of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. "In light of the demographics of this country, I don't think it's realistic to expect him to do anything other than what he's done."
But this is not a position Obama adopted just for the presidential campaign. He voiced the same concerns about reparations during his successful run for the Senate in 2004.
There's enough flexibility in the term "reparations" that Obama can oppose them and still have plenty of common ground with supporters.
The NAACP says reparations could take the form of government programs to help struggling people of all races. Efforts to improve schools in the inner city could also aid students in the mountains of West Virginia, said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP's Washington bureau.
"The solution could be broad and sweeping," Shelton said.
The National Urban League — a group Obama is to address Saturday — avoids the word "reparations" as too vague and highly charged. But the group advocates government action to close the gaps between white America and black America.
Urban League President Marc Morial said he expects his members to press Obama on how he intends to close those gaps and what action he would take in the first 100 days of his presidency.
"What steps should we take as a nation to alleviate the effects of racial exclusion and racial discrimination?" Morial asked.
The House voted this week to apologize for slavery. The resolution, which was approved on a voice vote, does not mention reparations, but past opponents have argued that an apology would increase pressure for concrete action.
Obama says an apology would be appropriate but not particularly helpful in improving the lives of black Americans. Reparations could also be a distraction, he said.
In a 2004 questionnaire, he told the NAACP, "I fear that reparations would be an excuse for some to say, 'We've paid our debt,' and to avoid the much harder work."
Taking questions Sunday at a conference of minority journalists, Obama said he would be willing to talk to American Indian leaders about an apology for the nation's treatment of their people.
Pressed for his position on apologizing to blacks or offering reparations, Obama said he was more interested in taking action to help people struggling to get by. Because many of them are minorities, he said, that would help the same people who would stand to benefit from reparations.
"If we have a program, for example, of universal health care, that will disproportionately affect people of color, because they're disproportionately uninsured," Obama said. "If we've got an agenda that says every child in America should get — should be able to go to college, regardless of income, that will disproportionately affect people of color, because it's oftentimes our children who can't afford to go to college."
One reparations advocate, Vernellia Randall, a law professor at the University of Dayton, bluntly responded: "I think he's dead wrong."
She said aid to the poor in general won't close the gaps — poor blacks would still trail poor whites, and middle-class blacks would still lag behind middle-class whites. Instead, assistance must be aimed directly at the people facing the after-effects of slavery and Jim Crow laws, she said.
"People say he can't run and get elected if he says those kinds of things," Randall said. "I'm like, well does that mean we're really not ready for a black president?"