Well, it’s our last day of ministry in Month 9. Today we head off to meet the squad for a leadership development weekend (LDW) and then off to Swaziland for PVT! Zimbabwe has taken the cake for me as my favorite month. The people, ministry, culture, and friends that I have made will stay with me for the rest of my life. Sometimes it’s hard to try and explain how these people have impacted me, but I’m going to give it a try.
Killarney is a local squatter village that we visited every Friday afternoon. We attended a bible study and tried to wrangle about 50 kids for kid’s ministry. It was one of my favorite parts of ministry this month because it showed how to have pure joy, especially when you have so little. This group of people live in mud huts with scraps of tin for a roof. The kids wore the same clothes every time we saw them. Most of the families lived in such poverty that they didn’t know where there next meal would come from. BUT they had such joy. They worshipped with loud voices and dancing, the kids played and loved us until we had too many in our laps to handle. Besides the dirt caked all over their bodies, you would never guess their living conditions were so harsh. At first, I thought going to Killarney and seeing people live in these situations would break my heart, but it gave me more joy that you could imagine. Yes, they lived in extreme poverty. But they weren’t poor. Yes, they were hungry. But they were being filled up. Yes, they were tired and dirty and had every reason to be angry at the world. But they were filled with joy. One thing that I have learned on the race is often that the people who have little, also have the most.
The Crave is the young adults service that meets every Wednesday. It’s a group of 20-30 adults who are learning how to be active in their faith. They are teaching/learning the true gospel and actually walking it out. It has been a blessing to see a group of young adults, like us making plans to go out and evangelize on the streets of their city. To try and impact the people in their community by showing them the love and grace of Jesus. They are a true example of the church. On our first week there, we were invited to a game night. I was pretty hesitant. I didn’t know these people, it was going to be awkward, and I didn’t really know what to expect. Since then, some of these adults have become my close friends. We have had several game nights, played heads up until we ran out of categories, and ate Indian food with traditional Indian music playing in the background (go look it up, it’ll change your life).
Jeff and Tammy have been our hosts this month. Jeff is the pastor of Bulawayo Baptist Church and they have about a million ministries all coordinated through it. They are involved in children’s homes providing nutritious meals, homes, and opportunities to learn skills for later in life. Tammy runs a program called “An Egg a Day” that has the goal of providing each kid with an egg a day at local schools where kids don’t get the nutrients they need at home. Between discipleship programs, farm maintenance, kid’s programs, and so much more, I don’t know how they do it. They have welcomed us into their home with open arms this month and have given more than we could ask for. They are truly servant hearted.
So today will be a sad day for me. I’m leaving a community that came together in just a few weeks but I know will last a lifetime. Even though we are leaving, I have no doubt I will be back again.
