I’m sure you’re now wondering by clicking on this post what weird thing I ate in Zimbabwe. I promise I’m going to get there eventually! Zimbabwe has been a wild month for my team and I. It has definitely been a month of firsts for all of us.
We left South Africa around mid-September after a 10-day debrief with the whole squad. After two incredibly long travel days and border crossing, we finally arrived in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. My team and I then stayed in Bulawayo for a little over a week working with our ministry parter, Hope Ministries. We focused a lot on evangelism and going out into the communities around us. It was amazing to finally go out and talk to people about the love of Jesus and be able to pray for them. We were also so fortunate to play soccer as well with some of the locals as another ministry.
After a bit over a week we left our humble abode in the city and went into the bush of Africa. We drove around 6 hours to our new home in Binga. When I say the bush of Africa, I mean we were OUT THERE. There was not much around us except little villages and a ton of cows and goats. Our ministry focus was still evangelism and outreach though. Every day we drove in this rickety van for over an hour on a rocky, dirt road to get to the other villages. It was quite a bumpy ride!
Evangelism was definitely not what I had expected here in Africa. Every day we would travel to these villages. We would get there and be invited into people’s homes. They would give us their only chairs or buckets to sit on. They would offer us everything, even though they had little. I saw people giving in ways I have never seen before. I saw people so desperate for hope and for the Word of God. I saw people praising His name for being able to eat another day. I saw a genuine craving for God.
We can so easily take for granted so much- having a family, eating food, drinking water, a roof over our heads, having a bible to read, money in our pockets, and so much more. I experienced poverty like I hadn’t seen before. And yet these people would still gladly give everything they have to others and to the Lord. It was an incredible act of generosity that I had never experienced before, but one I hope to imitate in my everyday life.
Zimbabwe was a month of just being thankful for what the Lord has given me and all He has done for me. I had an amazing time preaching the Gospel, leading worship, hanging out with my super awesome team, and just praising the Lord.
And now for the part that everyone has been waiting for- what did I eat while in Zimbabwe? Like I said, we were out in the bush of Africa. So most people out here have to kill their own food to eat it, and that’s exactly what we did. I did not participate in the actual killing, but my teammate Ben got to kill his first goat (it was horrible and I cried lol). Then later that night we ate it. I have to say that I don’t think I’ll willingly be eating another goat at any point in my life! Anyways though, on to Zambia for more adventures and weird foods.
**I am still in the process of fundraising. If you would like to donate to my trip feel free to donate through this blog by clicking the “donate” button above. Any amount helps! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far, love you all and God bless 🙂
