The first month in South Africa came to an end a couple weeks ago and we had a long debrief in between our time in Jeffery’s Bay and coming here to our second country.
Debrief was ten days of being together as a squad, talking about what God did this last month, teaching, exercises, rest, one on one conversations with leadership, and being able to talk to other squad mates on what their last month looked like. We stayed at a beautiful hostel in Nelspruit, South Africa for a change of scenery and an oasis before the next leg of our journey.
But once debrief was over we packed up our backpacks and started our 22-hour journey to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. After three and a half hours getting our visas at the border and driving on dirt highways, we made it to the city and said goodbye to our friends to go split off into our ministry sites which are spread across the country.
We were picked up by our sweet host and stayed in the city of Bulawayo for a few days before heading to our ministry site in Chivi. This was a good time to rest up and pick up items that are are unavailable in Chivi before we started our hard work with our ministry partners. After a few days in the city we made the three-hour journey from Bulawayo to the remote growth point in the middle of the desert. Chivi is in the African bush and man is it hot. When I think of the desert this is what I think of. It is very dry and a rural area surrounded by nothing. The closest town is an hour away but other than that there is a small strip of businesses in the growth point that looks something similar to the Wild Wild West.
We finally arrived to our ministry site in Chivi and got settled into the house we will be living in for the next month. We met with the pastor and his wife to hear about what we will be doing. We felt so welcomed by all of the people hosting us and it was a great start for the beautiful things to come.
Chivi is an amazing part of the world and has definitely stolen a piece of my heart. It is a growth point meaning one day it will be a town and then one day it will be a city. There are 1.5 million people living in the Chivi district. There is no electricity or running water. There is no WiFi…praise God! Time to unplug from everything. The country of Zimbabwe is currently in a drought and struggling with a food crisis. The unstable economy makes it a daily challenge to grow, find, and buy food. Things are very expensive because of currency inflation. Chivi does not have an orphanage even with all of the orphans in the district but our pastor and his wife are starting to build the first orphanage in the district. We have been going to the orphanage land almost everyday to do manual labor and praying for provision over the vision of the building and all that it will offer to the children to come.
Three out of us five have preached sermons at church and other events. Chandler preached at a house church the other night about how God uses ordinary people for His kingdom, Ann Marie preached about personal finance to nearly 100 people at a youth conference, and I got to preach about the Road to Emmaus (John 24) at this Sunday service. It has been so encouraging seeing my team step up in boldness to share the good news of Jesus and all that He has been putting on our hearts since being here. And not only through getting up and preaching a sermon, but through so many other things. We have started this week doing door to door ministry where we just meet with the local’s in the district and go house to house praying for them, encouraging them, and sharing how good our God is. The people have been so warm and welcoming to us and having them inviting us into their homes has been such a blessing. It is so beautiful hearing the aches of people’s hearts and how it doesn’t matter what country you are from, we all need God and He is the same God in Zimbabwe as He is in America.
Life is simple here. And I love it. No electricity. No WiFi. No distractions. Just time to spend with the Lord in His presence and time to grow closer with my team. It has been a blessing in the purest way. And I wouldn’t trade what we are partnering with God to do here for anything. The people in the community are the most welcoming humans I have ever met. They radiate with joy and every single person you meet shakes your hand. When we are walking around people greet us with a big smile and wave. I have felt total peace being here which goes to show that we don’t always feel most filled or at total peace in the places we think. As Americans, we have such a different way of thinking what is going to give us the most peace and comfort. It isn’t always found in a full bank account or perfect family dynamic. Sometimes it’s in the middle of a desert with nothing. Sometimes it’s unplugged from all social media and all outside communication. Or in the brightest stars your eyes have ever seen. Sometimes it’s in the simplicities of life. But thank God He meets us everywhere. In both the complex and the simple. He is not limited.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE:
I am currently about $7,000 away from being fully funded! If you are encouraged by what God is doing through my team and I while being out on the field, it would be greatly appreciated for you to donate any amount. Everything helps and I am getting so close to my final goal. God is doing amazing things here and He is going to continue to do amazing things so if you feel at all compelled to donate it is much appreciated! I couldn’t have done this without you guys. And all these stories are happening because of your help. Tax deductible donations can be made through my blog homepage. Thank you all so much!
