What used to just be the title to one of my favorite Bob Marley songs is now one of my favorite places on earth. It is a place that has impacted and changed me in countless ways, through difficulty, joy, pain, and beauty. I want to share some of the amazing stories and photos that this month has produced.
The first part of the month was spent in Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe. It was vibrant, full of life and movement, and it felt like home.
Beauty was around every corner, as close as our back yard. Zimbabwe is a nation of abundance in colorful flowers.
Bulawayo was full of Victorian architecture and wide roads that once saw horse-drawn carriages turn about them.
We lived in the home of our host, Jabulani. He and his family served us and loved us so well, cooking our meals, prayinging with us, and exceeding our every need.
Another pastor, Shephard, was always good for some goofy laughs right before he spoke something incredibly wise and profound.
And pastor David, who would lead us 20 minutes into the wild African bush in order to share the gospel with someone, and then hike back there each day to keep following up with them in discussion and prayer.
At an old folks home, we met men from 82-102 years old. They had so much life, Love, and wisdom to pass on. One man, Daniel, claimed that he that he was blinded by a demon for 7 years. I prayed with him, and he received the gospel with a strong desire to have a relationship with Jesus. His eyes didn’t regain full function, but the demon was cast out by prayer, and his eyes went from seeing all black darkness to seeing light and shape.
Victor was a man who cheered me on while I bungee jumped and wanted to show me his business afterward. I didn’t have any cash to help support his business, but I did have some time to share the gospel with him and two friends. They heard the truth of salvation through following Jesus, and they have me fighting for them in prayer.
Pastor David led us to a village where he had never been before. We noticed a wheelchair sitting outside. “There will be healing.” We met a woman named Elizabeth. She had been following Jesus for many years, but her legs had lost their function long before that. We prayed long and hard for her legs to be healed miraculously. My teammate, Ian, and I helped her up by her arms and allowed her to take her first “steps”. She had never moved in any way other than crawling on her hands with her legs curled up under her. We didn’t see her legs regain their shape and function, but God spoke to her through us. She was to begin trying to stretch her legs each day (which she has never done) and proclaim healing in the name of Jesus. we We’re also able to buy her a pair of work gloves to make her movements more comfortable in the winter months.
We left Elizabeth with a smile on her face, joy in her heart, and a book of the gospel of John that her granddaughter could read to her.
The village ministries took place in our second prt of the month. We lived out in the bush of Binga, Zimbabwe at our hosts ministry complex. We saw natural beauty and spiritual fruit beyond compare.
Life in the villages was so simple yet so difficult. Long walks to draw water, long days to farm and cook food, and a long, long way to get anywhere past your front door. The people of Binga were so rugged and beautiful.
One of my favorite and craziest stories from the race centers around a man named January. He was a 98 year old man who lived very deep in the remote, wild bush. My teammates Madison and Kristine met him during the week and shared the gospel with him. January had formerly been a San Gina or witch doctor. When he heard of the love and sacrifice of Jesus and the truth of salvation, he was moved to tears. He wanted freedom from is chains, healing for his past, and deliverance from his demons. Jesus spoke to January loud and clear and filled him with Holy Spirit and salvation. A few days later, we went to visit january at his request. He wanted us to be there for something special.
A man who heard of Jesus for the first time on a Thursday, had us come back on Sunday as Christ was convicting his heart with Holy Spirit. January wanted us to be there as he burned every last item he had ever used in witchcraft. Tools, instruments, clothes, even money and certificates of His status as a witchdoctor. January wanted “baptism by Holy Spirit and by fire.”
We prayed for January, we cast out the demons of witchcraft in the name of Jesus, and anointed Holy Spirit to fill him and guide him each day. Then, we were an hour late for church, so we told him we needed to leave. January, at 98 years old, started marching off into his mullet field. The pastors asked him where he was going, they didn’t expect him to be able to make the journey with us. He answered in Tonga, “I’m going to church!”
And he did. And his wife did too. That day, we got to leave the 99 sheep to go after the one. Just like Jesus did, we trusted the church to care for itself for a moment so we could go after the one would who needed Christ. Then at church, we saw many people we had met in the villages all week. People who chose salvation of Jesus, people who recieved healing for their eyes, ears, and bodies, people who wanted to be a part of the body of Christ and live out their new faith. It was such an amazing month for our amazing God.
here are some other photos to capture the beauty of our month in Zimbabwe.
