THE

PICKETT
LINE

Chidamoyo Christian Hospital

Box 330

Karoi , Rhodesia, Africa

January, 1975
"Miss Judy" Pickett

V
-s

0 r

Dear Christian Friends:

Well, the New Year has been started for some time now, but I still want
to wish you each one a most Blessed New Year.

Spiritually, 197^ was one of the best years I have had in Rhodesia, and
my hopes are high for even a better 1975-

Our Hospital Staff Bible Study has ventured forth on a Bible Correspondence
Course.

This is material prepared and sponsored by Mr. Bruce Ammerman,

while he was in Rhodesia, and now being carried on by Raphael Nyanutora.

It is entitled "The Living Way".

We have finished the first lesson and

test t his week. I am so thankful for the twelve people enrolled in this
study. God is working mightily through this group. Please continue to

pray for them.

The thing which thrills me is that nine of the group are

men or young men. Usually the groups are largely women, but these men
are very enthusiastic. Praise the Lord.
I have had some rich experiences in the past few days. One of these I
would like to relate at this time. Diana is a young woman who is a dear
friend of mine. Before I went home to America on furlough, she had worked

for me in our home for two years. She is now married and was expecting
her fir st child. Last Friday 1 saw her at ante-natal cl inic, and told
her if she needed to come from her home two miles away, in the night, to
send for me.

I was to keep that appointment sooner than I expected.

At

3:00 A. M. on Sunday morning, her husband, who had just arrived home on
Saturday, came to my door saying Diana needed me to come for her. She
would come down the mountain path to meet me at the road, he said. When
we arrived at the road where the path met, she was not there. Her husband
hurried up the path to meet her. For twenty minutes I sat in the dark of
my Landy, when he returned saying she had gone Into hard labor and was
not able to walk. They had sent word that there was an old road on down
the mountain leading up to their village, but didn't know its condition
since the rains. So the husband, young sister and I headed my trusty
Landy out into the bush, the grass completely covering us on all sides.
Final ly the husband got out and walked ahead, directing me through the
trees and rocks. The night was pitch black. We came to a stream whose
banks were straight up and down, but in four-wheel-drive the Landy came
through with flying colors.
Within fifty feet of the village, the hus

band failed to Indicate to me that he was walking through a swampy area

THE PICKETT LINE

Non-Profit Organization

2659 First St.

Napa, California 9^558

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 28

Napa, Calif.

9^558

Mission Services

Box 177

(Kempton

Ind. 460i.9

-2-

knew it the Landy was up to

hubs in slick, slimy, permanent mud,
budge. While we were collect ng rocks and tree limbs, and digging w ith
a hoe and bare hands to free the vehicle, the sister sent word for me to come quickly
to the .hut, where upon arrival it didn't take a second to realize the child was on
Its way.
I rushed back to the Landy, wher^
realized that situation was hopeless.
and then
heard the cry, "Mwana wabudal!"
The child has come out." Returning to
the hut , I found Diana had become the mother of a very tiny baby girl.
Not being
and before I

and couldn't

a nurse, I quickly dispatched the husband oh

oi}i a bicycle to get the hospital ambulance
driver to bring a medical assistant to tend the mother and child. One hour later
they arrived. The necessities were soon taken care of, and we started our proces
sion down the mountain path at 6:00 A. M.,|carrying the precious bundle. The baby

was so small we felt she might need the inipubator. The mother, one hour after giving
birth, walked on ahead. My poor Landy remained behind in her bed of mud.
To bring the story up to date - mother and child are

both fine in the Hospital.

Mr. Harrison in five minutes time freed the Landy by pulling it with the wench
attached to his Land Rover. All this was ccomplished before 9:30 on Sunday morning,

and by 10:00 A. M. the Landy was on her

wa y to church out in the bush again.

The father was so ^grateful that T care^^nc

our first efforts.

to^ome, even though we failed in

Just to show we care is one of the greatest witnesses for the

Lord we can make.

The father, whose privil ege it is to name the child, chose the
And, indeed, we will all have many
remembrances of that night when she was bor n.

name Yeukai (Yeh U Ky), which means remembe

Lovingly in Christ,
MISS JUDY

Forwarding Agents:
Mr. S Mrs. Stanley E. Anderson
1521 Menlo Ave.

Napa, California 9^558

THE
PICKETT
LINE

Chidamoyo Christian Hospita

Box 330

Karoi, Rhodesia, Africa

July, 1975

"Miss Judy" Pickett

Dear Christian Friends

Greetings from Chidamoyo!

Well, July is here and wi^h it jjur cold,Jrx..season. Throughout the bush can
be seen the signs of^i^sh.^f^ir^ MQcK^of the'afea around the mission has been
burned and the ground""is black and the trees are scorched. Just last week on a
day when all the Missionary men were absent, a large bush fire took over the airstrip
and threatened the hangar for N9036 Charley (our mission plane). Miss Dennis and
I battled with the Mission workers to stop the fire before it reached the hangar.
My landy did service as a water wagon but the fire reached the fire break and was
turned back. Then it raced towards the hill below my house where several of our
single girls l ive and we all raced madly to save their houses. Xh_.MLs5i,ojT^workers

^gofked fur iousl y to f^ut out the fire and they were able to keep i t~Tl^~frrt+ie-houses,
al though they lost the Ki tchen hut and~a""tFatched fence garden.
As the nights are very cold the people have fires in their sleeping huts. As a
result of this we have had a .-resh.ji.-burns here at the Hospital. We presently have
two very smal l children in the Hospital with severe"burns over most of their bodies.

Just this morning a man was brought in who had fal len into a fire In an epileptic
seizure, and is very badly burned -^Dr. Gloria Cobb is at this moment in the oper^Ung room attending to his burns. $uch"^re"the XfagedTes of the winter season
here in Rhodesia.

This past week-end was the occasion of the local show, or fair, as we would call
it. This is a highl ight in the lives of the people as there are display booths
of al l kinds, needlecraft, school competitions in bal l games and singing, and
many other activities. I was able to attend on Saturday and was happy to see
our school choir compete. However, they were not able to win a high recognition,
as there were many choirs competing. It is something l ike a fami ly reunion as
one sees so many friends from other

areas.

The African can always come up with

relative from any part of the cq^untry. I qeT~ve.cy amuseJ when a friend will
say, "Miss_Picj^tt. I want yqu to meet my bro^her.
Uf"cburse, it may be a cousin
many times removed, but sti 11 "Tl~'lT'his'T^Vother.
1 think v can take a lesson
from them in family

closeness,

THE PICKETT LINE

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

2659 Fir st St.

Napa, Cal if. 9^558

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 28

NAPA, CALIF.

AUfi. 2

Mission Services'

9^558

1975

Box 177

Kempton, ind. 46049

-2-

In just two short months I will have been back in RhodesjJ^for two y ears. The
time has simply flown by and it seems impossible "that I must start thinking about
coming home to America again. This means thinking about the decision to return to
Rhodesia, and the need for a temporary or permanent replacement for me here at
Chidamoyo. It is a time of emotional upheaval as one feels the ties of home so
deeply, and yet the spiritual ties with the people here in Rhodesia are so strong
and the need is so great. I covet your prayers that God wi l l help me to know
His wil l in this important matter. Meanwhi le, I would like to encourage any who
might be interested in using their talents and knowledge on the Mission field by

serving the Chidamoyo Hospital as secx^M-fY. to contact me. Perhaps you wi l l think',
"But she has a whole year yet before she returns." Time goes quickly and one
must prepare for such

a big step.
I

Meanwhile, I wish to thank each one of you for your continued financial and prayer
ful help. My financial support has held up tremendously at a time when I know
that times are hard for everyone in the States, but praise the Lord, He sees and
takes care of our needs sometimes even before we know of them ourselves.

May God bless each one of you

richly as we continue to work together for Him.

In Christ,

JUDY PICKETT.

Forwarding Agents:
MR. MRS. STANLEY E. ANDERSON

1521 Menlo Avenue

NAPA, CALIFORNIA 9^558

THE
PICKETT
LINE

Chidamoyo Christian Hospital

Box 330

Karoi, Rhodesia, Africa

i

October 1975

"Miss Judy" Pic^tt

Dear Christian Friends:

Many times we "bush" missionaries are asked the question, "Don't you get
bored out there so far from town?" I would answer with a large "NO!"
Contrary to most people's thoughts, there is always some activity going
on. In fact, I find myself searching for a single solitary hour in which to
just catch my breath. There is no time schedule; we are "on call", so to
speak, twenty-four hours a day. Of course, we keep a fairly regular

schedule at the Hospital, but even there, if a need arises at any hour,
one must go.

To emphasize my point, let me tell you about THE D/\Y

DOCTORS

WENT AWAY. The only registered nurse we have at Chidamoyo is Mrs.

Joyce Frasure, the Doctor's wife, and she can only give part of her time
away from three small children. The third week of September started out
very calmly, and so both doctors left on Wednesday for a three-day Medical
Conference in Bulawayo, with a free conscience. Mrs. Frasure and the

orderlies were left in charge. However, the sound of 36 Charley, the

mission plane, had no sooner died away in the distance until the action
started at the Hospital. At Inpatient devotions, it was discovered that the

staff member who was to give them, was not present. Since this young man
is a special friend, and had recently been declared to have a form of T. B.,
I was suspicious. On checking at his house, we found him in a semi-con

scious state, and took him to the Hospital as a patient. Our main Maternity
Assistant informed Mrs. Frasure that she had two ladies in the delivery
ward that were proving to be having difficult deliveries. At 11 A. M. we

admitted a 14-year-old with abdominal pains, and in less than an hour she
had gasped her last breath. I cut short my lunch break to check on our
young staff member, and when I arrived at the Hospital, one of the order

lies sent word for me to bring my Landrover to the outpatient area imme
diately. I drove the 100 yards from the Hospital, to find a very old man
dying at that moment. We transferred his body to the Hospital beside that
of the yoTing girl. Then I was informed that another staff member's little

nephew was critical. I hurried to Ward One to find a 3-year-old boy gasp
ing from measles complicated with pneumonia. This child died soon after

wards. By late afternoon Mrs. Frasure and I both were praying for renewed

THE PICKETT LINE

Non-profit Organization

2659 First St.

Napa, Cal ifornia 9^558

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 28

Napa, Gal i f.

9^558

tr. ?9I75

Mission Services

Box 177 I
KemptonJ Ind. ii.60i|.9

1-2-

strength. To make a long story short, during the three days, we had a
total of six deaths and several critical patients. We seemed to have a
measles'epidemic on our hands, as two more of the deaths were caused by
them. Needless to say, we were overjoyed when the doctors arrived back

n Saturday,

Both doctors rarely leave at the same time, but when they do, the activity
seems to speed up. Would anyone like to spend a nice, peaceful day with

me? Of course, exciting days like these do not happen every day, but
other things take their place.
The work in our churches is making slow headway, but in recent weeks
we have seen several church leaders grow and take on new responsibilities,
For this we are very thankful.

This month marks my second year back in Rhodesia. Time goes so fast,
and one year seems so short.

Once again I want to thank you all for your continued support, both prayer
fully and financially. Please continue to pray for the work here.
In Christian Love,
MISS JUDY PICKETT

Forwarding Agents:

Mr. & Mr s.Stanley E. Anderson

1521 Menlo Ave,

Napa, California 94558

THE

PICKETT
LINE
OEC. 1

Chidamoyo Christian Hospital

Box 330

Karoi, Rhodesia, Africa

November 1975

"Miss Judy" Pickett

Therefore, we are now without a vehicle to send to town

for supplies/ S^he Hospital Ambulance has been put to "K

Dear Christian Friends:

work, along with my Landrover, until a less expensive

36 CHARLEY IS NO MORE!!! It happened on a Wednesday.

vehicle can be secured for Mission use. Praise the Lord

We might say it was just one of those days when every

for my Landrover, which as yet has needed no major

thing went wrong. Dr. Erasure left the Mission at 6:30

repairs after two hard years of service over the bush roads.

a.m. in 36 Charley (the Mission plane) on his weekly

yy It is times like these when we missionaries feel discouraged,

flight to the clinic at Shamrock mine east of Karoi. At

8:30 when I rang in on our radio telephone, the operator

said a Karoi number was calling us. But she was unable
to get the number back. We realized that the number was

Shamrock Mine, but of course we had no other way of con

tacting them. Again at 3:30 the number tried again without
success.

At 5:30 when the doctor failed to come in as

need your prayers so much. Perhaps you say these

are material things and should not be held important. But
it is through these convenience_s, provided by the Lord,

that many spiritual contacts are made. Without transpor

tation, we cannot reach our outlying churches and clinics
for the much needed spiritual encouragement they need.
But the Lord always comes through in a wonderful way to

usual, we were suspicious. When he failed to come by

supply our needs, and we arc confident that He will do so now.

dark we were concerned. At 8:30 he arrived by Landrover with the news that the airplane,was wrecked. As he had
landed downwind on the Shamrock Mine strip, a tail wind

This has been a very busy month at the Hospital. In

had caught him and flipped the plane upside down. It was

checking our statistics for the month, I have found that

a total wreck. But, praise God, the doctor escaped unhurt

we have had o^'er 40 babies born, including two sets of

except for a small scratch on his leg. Needless to say,

twins and four Caesarean sections. Several very seriously

ill patients have been admitted and several operations have

this is a tragedy for the Mission. Without the plane we are

unable to attend our weekly clinics 60 - 70 miles from the

been performed. Three new staff members have been

Mission. What takes 15 minutes by plane takes 3 to 4

added to the Hospital, due to the leaving of others. We

hours by road, and much precious, rationed petrol (gas).

The next day Mr. Harrison and Dr. Erasure returned to

have two new Blue Girls (Nurses Aides) and a new janitor.
These are young people and all Christian, so we are gla<L

Shamrock to take care of the plane. As they were returning

to have them with us.

that evening in Mr. Harrison's Landrover, the fan came

off and went through the radiator of the Landrover. They

were towed with the Landy to Karoi where they picked up
Dr. Erasure's car, which had also been in for repairs.

The Is^ission Lorry has been requiring repairs to the

^mount of 100 Rhodesian dollars a month. So in the best

interest of the Lord's money, it has been deci^.ed to^sell it.

am very pleased with my Staff Bible Study which is just\

now working on the final lesson of a Bible correspondence \

course. Mr. Ammerman, who prepares the correspond- )
ence lessons, tells me that my class has made the highest /
grades of any of those who have taken the course on an /
basis. I am very happy for this and also that

through this class one staff member has repented and

THE PICKETT LINE

Non-Profi t Organization

2659 First St.

Napa, California 9^558

U. S. POSTAGE PAID

Permit No. 28

Napa, Cal if.

9^558

Mission Services
Box 177

Kampton, Ind. U6OI4.9

been baptised, and two others are under conviction.

already been returned a month before. The red tape

Praise the Lord from Whom all blessings flow!

certainly got twisted. Please be patient and under

Church work is going along as usual, with two evange

standing if this happens. But do continue to send the

listic meetings being held in October. At Kahonde Church,|

parcels if possible.

about 45 miles from the Mission, a week-end meeting

Again I would like to encourage you to be on the lookout

was held and some 2C0 people attended the 3-day session.

for a replacement for me. This is an excellent oppor-

The first week-end of October, a Women's meeting was

tunity for a young woman to get a year's experience on

held at Bashungwe Church some ten miles from the Mission,

and the women who attended were enthusiastic and happy

in the Lord, These meetings were entirely planned and*-'^^^

carried out by th.e local leaders, for which we were over- J'
joyed to see their growth and responsibility. So amid
discouragements of one kind, the Lord has given us
victory in Him to compensate for the discouragements.
Just a word to those who send packages to me or the
Mission. I would suggest that if you are sending layettes,

the Mission field. Perhaps there is one who has felt

the call to the Mission field, but would like to try it on
a temporary basis before committing herself. Or if
there is someone wanting to come for a full term, she

could always be used either here or at one of the other

Mission stations if I would return. Here at Chidamoyo
she would have my house to live in, and perhaps the use
of my car while I am away. Monthly personal expenses
would run in the neighborhood of $250, and Service Link.

'

-r-.

ybirln"ClQd"e"b"hly"layirrre s in boxes, and list the value at"-

would be an advantage, but-for- temporary-replacement

$10.00 per box. If you are sending sewing notions, food

not absolutely necessary. It would depend on the person

mixes, personal gifts, used jewelry, etc., it would be

and how much evangelistic activity, such as women's

best to send them in separate boxes direct to me, and

groups, youth groups, etc., she wanted to work with

listed as Used Articles or Personal Gifts, Not for Resale.

while here. If anyone is interested," please feel free to

The personal gifts should also be kept under $10 value.

contact me personally at the above address, and I will be

The layettes should be addressed to. the Hospjital, as we

happy to send you more information.

^have a special import license for them. Customs are

>-

Once againI want to thank each of you for your prayerful,

getting very tight with us because of the sanctions, and I

financial and personal remembrances of myself and the

was unfortunate to have 8 boxes returned to some of you.

work here at Chidamoyo.

I am very sorry about that, but I corresponded with

Customs for 4 months trying to get them released, and

when I finally secured the license, I found the boxes had

In Christian Love,
MISS JUDY PICKETT

F orwarding Agents;
Mr. ic Mrs. Stanley E. Anderson
1521 Menlo Ave.

Napa, California 94558