This past month we were living in Doma, Zimbabwe. The middle of nowhere, with not much to offer, and very few comforts.
After our awfully long travel day, we got a good nights rest. Had a meeting that next morning, and then we were off to spend our first couple nights in the village.
We all broke into groups of two and stayed with three different families. This first time to the village is best described as a learning experience. We were confused as to what was expected of us, and how things worked. We did do some cool things like: carry buckets of water from a pond on our head, ride in a wagon pulled by cattle to the well to get drinking water, swept the yard (yes sweeping dirt is a thing), and having Bible study with a group of strangers.
Sadly, most of the time I was focused on how uncomfortable I was, how things weren’t safe, how much I missed my family, and how I just wanted to be home.
We ended up going to the village a second time, and stayed 3 nights. This time was interesting. We stayed in tents inside the houses, it helped but I still had uneasy feelings towards our safety. This time around everything had a different vibe. You could tell things would be better. We actually got to work alongside the families we stayed with, weeding tobacco.
The last night we were there we had a Bible study with the families and they could invite neighbors and friends. Emily and I shared the gospel starting from creation to Christ’s death and resurrection. We thought it was important to give a brief insight from beginning to end, because it isn’t always clear on what the locals actually believe. Most believe in God but have strong ties to traditional things, like witchcraft. After sharing this we opened it up to questions. And closed with a time of prayer. My teammate Shirletha is basically like one of the best prayer warriors that I know. She spent the time praying for certain people and closing us out filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was moving so strong that even the next morning people were coming for prayer.
Even after this great night, I still had doubts whether I would make it through this month or not. It was a challenge and I spent a lot of time with the Lord. Asking why I felt so broken, and why even though I was serving Him I wasn’t feeling satisfied.
It wasn’t until we were at our neighbors house for Bible study who happened to be white American missionaries. In a room full of other missionaries learning something called the Kairos Circle. It’s basically a way of depicting what the Lord is saying to you.
I realized I was right in the middle of a Kairos Circle. I could choose to go on the miserable way I was feeling, or I could do something about this brokenness. I chose to open my eyes. When I did I saw these people in front of me that I had been choosing to ignore. My host and his wife had been running on empty for a long time. They have been in the process of adopting twins for well over a year. With the stress from this and trying to run a ministry. It was taking a toll on them, and possibly their marriage.
God shut the door for us to be able to go back to the villages. Due to political reasons we were asked to not return. This put a big dent into what our host had planned for us to do. To me this was great news, I felt like I could breathe again. It also gave me the change of heart that I needed. I became interested, I wanted to know what the vision of our host was. I was able to spend time in the kitchen having conversations, long after dinner had ended. I was able to help the wife get caught up on the sheep and goats. Which included me giving 130 vaccines. (Nursing dream came true for a couple days) All of this was bringing lift to our host, bringing them joy, prayer, friendship, deep conversation, and a breathe of fresh air.
This last week in Doma was my favorite part of ministry for the entire month. It wasn’t what we had planned, but it was good.
There is no denying that this past month was hard. At times I even wanted to throw in the towel and give up. But, the Lord had me exactly where He wanted me. Even if I was kicking and screaming at times. He showed me things I needed to learn and work through. And I’m excited to keep pressing into new things everyday.
