Last week in Zimbabwe

Warning: This is a very long post.

Enjoy :)

After our first week of activities in Harare, the team took a 540-mile journey to the Victoria falls area of the country, leaving on Monday, March 13. Thankfully, we had a good car and an experienced driver yet the number of police checkpoints (approximately 30) and toll booths made it an arduous journey, especially for our driver. We were stopped at a fourth of these police checkpoints.

Victoria falls is an amazing site and experience, especially from the air, and I don’t think words are enough to describe this seventh wonder of the world. It is a sight to behold. Apart from the falls, there were tours on the Zambezi river and at the Chobe national park in Botswana. We also shared interesting culinary experiences testing our curious taste buds with Impala, Mopane worms, Guinea fowl, Kudu, Warthog, Crocodile tail and whitebait.

The team at the Victoria falls 

On Thursday March 16, we returned to Harare arriving around 9:00 pm. The following day, we joined Tom in purchasing motorbikes (Jialing 125L) for the Methodist Revival Church International (MRCI). These bikes will be given to preachers in remote and difficult to reach areas. The bikes have become important vessels to the dissemination of the gospel in Zimbabwe. Four bikes were purchased; three from Tom (via donations from various sources) and one from Brad, Jessica and Brian.  That evening we joined other church members at a small community (Eastview) 4.5 miles out of Harare for a crusade with Rev. Tom delivering the message. It was a powerful service. The service was held on an open field with 10 mph winds and a 55^oF temperature but that didn’t put a damper on the spirit of the gathered. We were blessed that evening.

At the Crusade at Eastview

On Saturday March 18, Tom and Joseph were scheduled to teach a team of preachers and some church members but had to cancel because the participants were standing in line at the banks for cash. Due to the poor state of the economy and lack of adequate cash in the country, most people have to stand and wait in long lines each day for cash. The maximum amount a person can withdraw per day is $150. Thus, those who fail to go to the bank during the weekend are more likely go hungry until the first day of the new week. Card services (credit and debit) are beginning to replace cash transactions in the cities. Please keep Zimbabweans in your prayers. They need a miracle. We continued the evening worship service (Crusade) at Eastview where we were blessed by a brief rainfall.

Motorbikes for MRCI preachers in remote areas. Tom is posing for the camera on one of the bikes (top right picture). Another photo op of preachers (bottom left picture)

On Sunday March 19, five different congregations came together to worship at Eastview. We had a wonderful time. I joined Brad and Jessica Johnson in teaching the children about the gospel and made salvation bracelets/necklaces. It’s such a blessing to work with Brad and Jessica. They have a wonderful heart for children and the Lord. The bikes were formally donated to the church during this service.

Children's service at Eastview. Some of the kids showing off their completed bracelets

Formal presentation of bikes to MRCI. Bishop Rodgers (in Black suit), head of the church, received the bikes on behalf of the congregation.

Success Stories

The greatest success story in evangelism and missions is having someone give their life to Christ, renouncing sin and choosing to live a life of purity. We were blessed to have been witnesses to the addition of new converts to the Methodist Revival church in Zimbabwe. Yet, I will be remiss by not sharing these other success stories. As Christians, one of our duties is to imitate Christ by showing love to others. The stories below exemplify that duty.

The first story is about a 13-year-old boy who cannot read or write. Tanatswa (his name) was part of the children’s service in Pote-Karoi and had been chosen to read from a piece of paper that explained the concept of the salvation bracelet. His eyes filled with tears when Jessica urged him to read. It was discovered that he couldn’t read because he couldn’t afford education since his parents’ divorce. Brad and Jessica Johnson took his educational cost as part of their mission and had him enrolled in school immediately.  Tanatswa is so eager to learn that he arrives 2 hours before school starts. School begins at 7:00 am. He has been named the school bell ringer because of his punctuality and has according to Jessica, “inspired the teachers with his thirst for knowledge and eagerness to learn”.

Tanatswa (in brown jacket) sitting with the other kids during the service at Pote-Karoi.

The second story is about a 10- year old girl (Priscilla), also in Pote-Karoi, who had severe burns on her left hand and arm as a toddler. The family had bandaged her hand tightly to prevent infection and as the burn healed and new tissue formed, it formed around her left pinky causing a permanent deformation. Due to lack of funds, the girl has been living with this deformity and this has led to a lot of difficulties with school and social life. We learned that a corrective surgery can be performed and were blessed by Dr. Shormeh Yeboah (Family medicine physician, Philadelphia), who chose to bear the cost of the corrective surgery through a generous donation to the Anidasowoha fund.

Priscilla showing her healed arm and deformed hand

The third story is about Sue, a nice lady who helped take care of our needs at the guest house where we stayed in Harare. We had noticed her limping each time she walked and wanted to pray for her before we departed Zimbabwe. Tom asked me to assess her medically. We learned during questioning that she had an accident in January that resulted in an ankle fracture. The ankle was plastered for a few weeks and she was supposed to have been wearing a boot to reduce weight bearing on the ankle and promote healing. Due to lack of funds and inability to take off work (couldn't afford to), she worked with the painful ankle resulting in a large swollen ankle joint. She suffered in silence. Again, thanks to the generous donation by Dr. Shormeh Yeboah, we provided funds for Sue to purchase a boot.

Sue with her boot. I've been informed that she can now walk properly.

In the coming weeks, I will be providing updates on Tanatswa and Priscilla. Please keep them and their caretakers in your prayers. We pray for God’s blessings upon Brad, Jessica and Shormeh for their generosity and dedication to God’s work.

It was a blessing to travel with the team to Zimbabwe and experience what the Lord is doing in this sub-Saharan African country. There are many physical and spiritual challenges but God is in control. We are thankful to everyone whose contribution, prayers and well-wishes made this journey a reality and such a success. Special thanks to Rev. Thomas Wilson for organizing and leading the team. I am sure we were a handful. We are also grateful to our host and his family of preachers and members who received us with open arms and treated us like family.

Mazviita (Thank you, in Shona -traditional Zimbabwean language).