This past month in Zimbabwe has been nothing short of an adventure.
From exploring the crazy, busy, and crowded city of Bulawayo, to spreading the gospel by running “kids clubs” in over 30 local schools, everyday consisted of a new adventure.
Walking into this month, I was fully expecting to “rough it”. I had heard of all the Africa stories from previous racers and I had mentally prepared myself to live in a small hut with a local family, take freezing cold bucket showers, and encounter may different types of animals. SO, when I found out we would be in the second largest city in Zim, staying with our hosts who have electricity, running water, and would be cooking meals for us all month, I was pleasantly surprised.
But don’t you worry, just because the physical surroundings weren’t so rough, doesn’t mean that this wasn’t the most uncomfortable month for me on the race so far.
You see, this month was my first month with a brand new team. Living life with six other people may not seem like much of a challenge, but living in constant community takes constant effort and work to be effective. Though there were many ups and many downs, Team Stay Salty has been such blessing to me. We have grown together, laughed together, and cried together.
Also, this was a month of ALL THE THINGS breaking. First, my phone bit the dust. After cracking the screen getting out of a local transportation “bus”, a few days later the flashing colors and black dots that filled my phone display signified the death of that device. Then a few days later, the headphone jack on my computer stop producing sound. Basically, God is a super jealous God, and he sure does like our full attention to be on Him, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. (future blog on this subject to come soon!)
Halfway through this month, I shut down. All I could feel was overwhelmed. The Lord was sifting me big time and reminding me me of who he created me to be from the start. To most, that might sound like a happy thing, for me it was a long journey of having to shut, lock, and bolt the door of my past, leave it behind for good, and walk boldly into a new season of freedom in my life.
Nevertheless, this month was by far my favorite ministry month. Each day we had the privilege of going into local schools and villages and teach Bible lessons, lead them in songs, and get to know the kids. I loved the pure look of joy in their eyes when we would speak to them and play with them. The crazy thing is, these kids knew the Bible SO well. They easily could trump me in any bible trivia game. I think it’s safe to say that I learned way more from the kids we interacted with this month than they could ever learn from me.
At the end of the month, We had the HUGE privilege to visit Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the world! I was reminded of the amazing beauty of God’s creation and was overwhelmed with awe from the breath taking views we saw. I wish I could describe with words the joy we experienced that day, but I just don’t think there are words…
So tomorrow, we say goodbye to Zimbabwe and make our way to Lesotho. We will be working with two other teams form our squad this month and working with a discipleship program in a small village that have no electricity, no running water, and we will be sleeping in our tents.
I am more than excited to continue to let the Lord build me, shape me, and grow me this coming month!
As usual, I made a recap video of our time spent in Zimbabwe! Enjoy!
