ZIMBABWE
A country in southern Africa, Zimbabwe has faced severe economic struggles. In the early 2000’s, the President instituted a land reform. The goal was to give the land to the black Zimbabweans, because the white Zimbabweans owned and farmed most of the land after the colonization of “Rhodesia,” the official name of Zimbabwe before 1980. Many black Zimbabweans were given land for free. Unfortunately, many are still too deep in poverty to effectively farm their land.
REDEEM A NATION MINISTRIES
Reedem A Nation ministries, founded by Dave and Cynthia Fortescue, seeks to rescue the lost for eternity and to teach them to redeem their nation. It is the most remarkable ministry of engaging those in poverty for Christ I have yet seen on the Race. They engage the community through farming and livestock education. This enables families to gradually climb themselves out of poverty and become self-sustaining. Through the long-term relationship built, the Fortescues share Christ and disciple locals in Doma, Zimbabwe.
SHARING CHRIST
My team spent the month of January in Zimbabwe partnering with Redeem a Nation ministries. The ministry is growing and we were there to build relationships with families that had yet to be fully engaged. We lived life with them: doing chores and learning about their culture and lives. We were an anomaly — white people just don’t go live and work with the black people.
This helped us gain trust quickly and give us the privilege of answering their questions about God and spiritual things.
I had a few moments that I call “divine appointments.” The moments you can say, “I know God sent me here to have this conversation.”
At this point on the Race, I had been used to Europe’s spiritual climate: closed off. It was shocking to arrive in a village and be taken face-value as a missionary — someone working for God. It was incredible for locals to approach us and ask for prayer, or ask us questions about the Lord. My first village host had been yearning for a reason to hope, a reason to go to church, an answer for his questions about faith, God’s help, and Jesus. As we talked, he asked for prayer and went inside and got on his knees with his wife. The Lord had sent us at the perfect time.
Big lesson learned:
God wants to meet people where THEY’RE at. Humbly entering into their world opens doors that would be locked via any other avenue. You don’t have to be in Africa to do that.
DOMA LIFE
When we weren’t in the village, we helped the Fortescues. We distributed school uniforms and cleaned at an orphanage, moved pig pens, herded goats, vaccinated sheep, hauled water from the dam and avoided the crocs.
SLEEP, TRAVEL, #AFRICA moments:
– sleeping in thatched roof huts on concrete floors, on buses, overnight trains, the floor of a school, in tents
– living with black families and white families; visiting a family living next door to the President of Zimbabwe and staying with a family off-the-map in the bush
– travel day bus breakdowns (plural), 12 hour border crossings, and squishing 7 people and all of our earthly belongings into a 5-seater SUV
– Note: when it’s 6am and the village host asks you to “sweep the yard” — even though all you see is dirt on dirt — don’t laugh, do it. They’re not joking.
– DON’T EAT THE SOUR PORRIDGE. You will want to vomit.
– dirty dishes? rub them with some dirt.
– when you finally have doors, locking the bathroom door will typically lead to getting the door stuck and knocking it down or climbing out the window
IN SHORT:
Africa is full of adventures, “are you kidding me” moments, and beautiful opportunities to talk about Jesus. Sometimes you feel like you’re on another planet, and just when you get sick of getting rain in your tent or cooking dinner with a headlamp, you get to dance with children or pray with someone who wants to know God and everything becomes worth it.
