This past month included almost everything I came into the World Race expecting to experience. Great people, “strange” (different) food, little/no Wi-Fi, spotty electricity, dirt, scary bugs, manual labor, adorable children (some who were afraid of the white people), you know…
Adventure! Stretching experiences! Kumbaya around a campfire! (All right, that one didn’t really happen…)
This month began in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. We flew into the city for a couple days of orientation with our host organization Hope Ministries Zimbabwe (HMZ). The plan was to leave on Wednesday to head to Binga, but due to a typical change in plans, that got pushed to Friday- and three of our Squad leadership team would be joining us for a few weeks. Our time in the Bulawayo was spent getting to know our host family, visiting schools, and passing out a Christian newspaper publication in various communities.
We stayed with Pastor and his family in their home! They were so gracious and welcoming!
At the end of our first week, we packed up and headed 6+ hours north to the province of Binga- our team consisted of 8 Americans plus a team of 4 from HMZ. Binga, we were told, is one of the poorest areas in Zim, desperate for resources and development. Our purpose: Help build an orphanage/guest home and bring kingdom wherever we went.
The foundation we helped fill in.
Every day in Binga was a little different but here is a “typical” schedule-
Wake up, personal devotional time, breakfast (usually some combination of bread, scrambled eggs, baked beans, and coffee/tea).
Manual labor. Some of us formed bricks…
I made 2- only 1 was actually successful
…but most of our time was spent moving piles of dirt. The locals would load a truck up with dirt from off-campus, dump it as close to the foundation of the building they could manage, and then we would take over from there.Most days, we formed a chain, passing the buckets across the yard, dumping them, and sending them back. Eventually, we incorporated some wheelbarrows, with mixed success, depending on how soft the ground was due to the rain.
Lunch, cleaning up, and a few-hour break. Lunch was my favorite meal because it was, typically, vegetarian. Usually, we had some combination of rice, pasta, squash, and a yummy (probably not actually vegetarian) soup mixture (that I put on my rice/pasta).
School visits. I loved visiting the surrounding areas! We would sing songs, tell stories of how God has worked in our lives, and share some scripture. The kids were usually rather hesitant to talk with us (you could tell they weren’t used to Americans) but we managed to get some smiles and laughs out of them.
Home visits. We only went on one home visit in Binga- but we loved being able to talk with and pray for a family.
During that conversation, an elderly blind woman approached us and asked for prayer- that was the beginning of an amazing story that will continue over the next few months. My teammates Caleb and Mariah wrote blogs about her if you would like to check them out!
Dinner and dishes. Dinner typically consisted of sadza, “bush greens”, squash, and “meat”. Sometimes I would get an answer when I asked what kind of meat we were eating, sometimes not. I had a mouthful of goat and then found out what I was eating… No staying vegetarian in Africa! All the food we ate (and, sometimes, helped slaughter/prepare) was delicious- God provided and I am thankful!
After dinner, many nights, we had a devotional. Our first night, it took place inside by candlelight/flashlight. Eventually, it was moved outside and, over the course of the month, we read through a good chunk of the book of Acts together. When there was electricity (rare) and no rain (rarer), the community would gather and we would play episodes of the TV show A.D. using a projection screen.
Every Sunday we had the opportunity to fellowship with local churches and share a word with them.
Originally, the plan was for us to stay in Binga for 3 weeks and then head west to Victoria Falls to meet up with the Squad, but that was changed and we headed back to Bulawayo a week early. Once back in the city, we were blessed with time to rest, connect as a team, and shower(!!!). We visited a couple schools and passed out more newspapers.
On the 22nd, we headed to Victoria Falls and met up with the rest of the Squad for a mini-debrief and send-off of our alumni squad leaders.
My time in Zim was one of the most humbling and stretching experiences on the Race, so far. I was personally so blessed by the HMZ team- they poured into me so much more than I could’ve ever poured into them. I wouldn’t trade my time in Zim for anything! What an AMAZING month!
-L
