As of January 31st, my squad and I left Asia and are on to the next leg of our Race, Africa!!! Woohoo! We were sad to leave Asia, but it has been a good transition. There have been some things to get used to, such as not crossing the road wherever we want as well as other people speaking English well enough to understand what we are saying all the time. This month, we are in Zimbabwe. It is far more westernized which, if I am honest, has brought on some homesickness for me in the past couple of weeks. It was easy not to think about the States when everything was very different from what we have at home but having little reminders of home all the time makes it hard. They even use the US dollar here!
However, this is a month of ministry that I am loving. I would also say it is the first ministry to which I have lost my heart while being on the Race. Before we came to Africa, I spent some time in prayer over what these next three months in Africa were going to be like for my team and me. I got this feeling that they would be something special and different for me. There was joy and excitement tied up in it. God is going to do great things while we are here and I am going to get to be a part of it. I feel like it is going to contain a lot of growth for me which I am over the moon about!
From the moment we got a tour of our ministry, I knew this feeling of something amazing to be true. I love the outdoors, children, teaching, and learning, which is what our ministry is all about. We are working and living at the Sandra Jones Centre in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Centre is home to roughly 70 abused and battered girls. The youngest is one week old, and the oldest is a 23-year-old mother who just had a baby. There are also about ten boys under the age of 11 that live at the Centre. A well-kept 100-year-old hotel houses the whole ministry. It is a stunning building that has a huge front lawn and a farm that covers a good 5 acres in the back of the hotel. They raise chickens, fish, rabbits, and sheep, and grow a huge garden. The Centre runs the farm so that the girls can learn a trade off which they can one day support themselves when they leave. I have enjoyed talking to the girls about what they do and what they have learned about the farm. It is an amazing escape during the early mornings as the girls are taking care of the animals. I can come out and help the girls do their chores and connect with them in a very different way than during the day.
Our part in the Center’s ministry is to love the women and children here, share Christ with them, and teach them life skills like cooking, crafts, sewing, dance, and more. Because one of our primary roles is to connect and organically share Christ with them, our days are very relaxed yet also long. My typical day starts at 6:30 am to shouts of “Auntie” and huge hugs from the little ones as I walk down the stairs to breakfast. I then read with the children and prep and teach a craft to the older girls before lunch. After everyone has eaten lunch, it is very relaxed. We play with the kids, hang out and do chores, hold babies so the women can take a break, and simply do life with them. Today I folded about 30 paper airplanes to fly around the yard. It is generally whatever they are interested in learning. Nights usually involve hanging out with everyone, doing homework, braiding hair, having good conversations, dancing (because this culture loves to dance), doing nails, and being silly. It has been a lot of fun!
This fun and looseness is part of the reason I enjoy this ministry so much. We can build relationships and simply be with the children and young women throughout the day and get into our own groove. I can love the people here well which opens the door to share God through that love. The stuff we are facing through the day is hard stuff because these girls have been through a lot but it is still good, and I can feel God stretching and growing me. In the weeks we have been here, we have seen growth and the breaking down of walls that the girls have. It is exciting to see the girls bloom and talk to us more openly. It is going to be a good month.
You can support us in ministry this month by showering these girls and us in prayer. There is much healing that needs to occur here. My team and I need to be open to what the Lord is doing so that we can bring some of that healing.
This month has been one for the books so far! It has been good and challenging! Thank you for your continued support through prayer and simply reading along.
Blessings from Africa!!! (Because we are actually in Africa now!)
