Formed from the names of the three Matthee children:
Zenika, Johan, and Dirk;
Zehandi means beloved friend of the God that rules.
Zehandi was life last month. We slept there, ate there, and did ministry there. Zehandi envelopes a plethora of ministry outlets, one being a Bible School.
I had the pleasure of working with one of the students, Chisomo, in building a fence for Emmanuel Garden. One day, on our walk back from church, making the climb up the road he asked me, “to your friends in America, how would you tell them of this place?” His question really made me think. A: because I was talking to a Malawian, so it would be disrespectful to say how I really felt about certain things. B: because as I recounted Zehandi Missions to Chisomo, an image of Gods glory took the place of everything that was “hard” in the month.
Zehandi is a ministry run by a man named Johan, who is so in tune with the Holy Spirit I’m almost positive he can read minds. He does nothing without The Lord telling him to. This man was more interested in the hearts of our squad, our individual growth, and our ministry to each other than he was in building his own ministry. Him and his wife, Marie, gave so much of themselves on a daily basis than we were willing to give back in return, yet we were never scolded (though sometimes chuckled at).
There is a Bible School on the top of the hill. Built in to the foundation of the building, in each room, lies a Bible opened to a specific verse. God is in the building structure. Locals come here to learn about the Bible, how to minister to their community, and how to develop an action plan for projects after they graduate. The students have chosen to come to this school out of obedience to The Father. By making this decision, they are making a huge sacrifice not going to work. Not working means no money, and no money means no food.
Zehandis vision is to be able to provide food for the students by growing vegetables on the property as well as raising chickens for eggs and for meat. They have two gardens on the hill and hope to see a harvest in the coming months. While Z squad was there we helped in the “fruit tree project,” digging 150 holes for avocado and mango trees.
The Lord has been gracious upon Zehandi Missions, and it is so obvious even from the view surrounding the hill. There is a Holy Spirit Orb that encompasses the property. Every night we had a team stay up for all night prayer. I can’t even describe the many visions my squad mates encountered with the Holy Spirit during those intimate nights. A local witch doctor asked some Zehandi members to stop walking by his home because they were blurring his vision. I had a prophecy that the light from the hill would grow to be so bright that the witch doctors vision would be blurred even without people walking by.
Zehandi is a light on a hill…literally and figuratively. When Johan and Marie first looked at the property the place was barren. It had been burned year after year and the ground was black. (The Malawians burn fields to catch the rodents that live in them so they can have food to eat during the dry season.) No green thing grew on the property in a very long time. When we arrived, the hill was beautiful. It was flooded with life. Everything was green and we had know idea that it had ever been any different. On the property line lies “dead mans path,” a place where many murders had occurred in the past due to the seclusion the sand dunes provide. Since the Matthees have owned the property, the path is no longer dead as it once was. The people of the village never in a million years thought this place would ever be able to support life, and now it is full of Gods unfathomable provision.
God is my friend.
I am His beloved.
He rules all things.
While these principals may seem simple enough, Zehandi taught me a deeper meaning of the three. The greatest I believe though, is that He is the ultimate ruler. He can turn ashes into prosperity if we submit everything to Him.
Last month, I became Zehandi. Now it’s your turn. Will you surrender?
