More Car Trouble

When it was finally time to say goodbye to our beloved village of Chihota, we waited...and waited...and waited. Apparently our taxi driver was operating on African time because he showed up over 4 hours late. But, when he finally arrived all was well, and we took off for Harare...and by we I mean 25 people plus luggage in a 15 passenger van. Again, this is Africa, and that's just how they roll around here.

I kid you not, we got about 3 kilometers down the road when we heard a loud "pop!" Yep, our tire burst. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that cruising with 10 extra people didn't help that tire much. So, we got out to assess the damage, and I asked the taxi driver if he had a spare. His response: "No, this has never happened to me before!" I had to laugh.

So we waited as the taxi driver tried to jack up the van.

It took 45 minutes and a handful of people just to get the tire off.

When they finally got the tire off, one of the guys rolled it back to the nearest town.

Out in the middle of nowhere, and with no spare, I was pretty sure that we were looking at a 4 to 5 hour wait. So I just chilled and played guitar on the side of the road. But, to my shock and delight, within just a couple hours, the tire was patched back up and we were back on the road and headed to Harare. African travel is always an adventure!

More Pics From Chihota

This little hut served as "home" for our group while we worked in Chihota.

I always enjoy a chance to rock out on the guitar.

It was really great joining together with Praise in ministry again. He was my first roommate in Africa, and he remains one of my closest African friends.

I thought this tree was really cool...so I took a picture in front of it.

Partnering with the Local Church

One of my greatest joys while being involved in missions is the opportunity to partner with the local church. Now, there are times when I run across a church that has its priorities all mixed up. Maybe the pastor is in the church business for his own self-seeking gain, or maybe the church is so denominationally-focused that it refuses to operate in the kingdom of God. But, despite some of the ugliness in church (and let's be honest, no church has everything right), I still believe in the local church.

While doing ministry in Chihota, Zimbabwe, I was so incredibly encouraged by the church that we partnered with there. Two pastors from Harare have been burdened with an incredible love for the people of Chihota. Both pastors are abandoning a considerably more comfortable life in Harare to move into the community of Chihota. And these pastors aren't about taking a position of power or prestige in the community like so many other pastors I've seen in Africa; they truly want to come alongside of the people of Chihota, serve them, and make disciples (who make more disciples, who make more disciples, etc.). Basically, these pastors "get it," and I left that community feeling confident that the seed that was sown through our short-term ministry in Chihota would be reaped in the long-term as these men continue serving the Lord in Chihota.

Teddy and Me with Pastor Jengwa. He may be short in stature, but he's a spiritual giant!

Hanging with Pastor Vambe before the Sunday service.

With one of the elders from the church.

Our group with the entire church body after the service. Can you believe all of those people squeezed into that tiny church building?!

Please take a moment and pray with me for the church in Chihota. God is moving there, but they have many challenges ahead. The kingdom of God is advancing, but they face much opposition, with witchcraft and animism being very prevalent in that area. Pray that God would break through the strongholds that Satan has had in that area for so long!

Some Sights of Rural Africa

These pictures were all taken in or near Chihota, Zimbabwe. Enjoy.

Teddy G in Zimbabwe

By now, you should all know that my friend, Ted, visited me here in Africa for a couple weeks. Ted and I grew up together in youth group at Nappanee Missionary Church, and, more recently, Ted was very involved in the student ministries at St. Mark Missionary Church, where I served on the student ministries staff. All that to say, I'm pretty sure that most people who are actively following my blog know Ted. For that reason, and because Ted hasn't posted on his blog in nearly two years, I decided to put up some pictures of Teddy in Zimbabwe. Enjoy.

Ted getting to know some of the young people in Chihota.

Teddy gives Chihota a big thumbs up!

Ted and Pastor Jengwa enjoying the hour walk to the nearest school.

Teddy and Praise are all smiles.

"Let the little children come to me..."

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Luke 18:16)

It was such a blessing to be able to work with the children in Chihota. No matter where I go in the world, I'm always amazed at the energy and excitement that little kids have. They are always quick to smile and laugh, and despite the poverty that many kids--like the little Zimbabwean children--face each day, they always seem to have a resilient spirit that finds joy in even the toughest of circumstances. Here are some of the kids that stole my heart in Chihota.

We took this picture with the kiddos right after the Sunday church service. Unfortunately, I bent down to pick up one of the little guys right as the camera flashed!

We rounded up this group of children for VBS every morning.

Teddy and me with some of the precious little children.

A few of the children that we spent time with every day. The two on the left, Precious (pink shirt) and baby Gracious, were the daughters of our host family.

Teddy sure has a way with children!

I'm not much for changing dirty diapers (maybe someday), but I sure like holding the little guys!

Our Sunday School "class."

I learned a lot from these kids, and it was just a blessing to spend time with them each day. May we never forget to pray that God would protect these children and raise up a generation of young people around the world who are passionately in love with Him!

Ministry in Chihota

Here's what our typical ministry schedule looked like while we were in Chihota:

We began each day with devotions, as well as a time of corporate prayer in which we claimed the community for Jesus.

We then rounded up the kids in the community and essentially ran a VBS for them. We played games, learned a memory verse, taught a fun and interactive lesson, and shared dramas with them. Here, Vusi and I are performing a drama for the kids. We did the whole drama in Shona, the native language of Zimbabwe, and the kids laughed so much when they saw me--a big, white, bearded guy--speaking in Shona.

In the afternoons, we did either door-to-door evangelism or open-air evangelism. In the picture above, we are running an open-air evangelism event in front of a bar in a tiny town near Chihota. I can't say that I think this kind of fly-by evangelism is the most effective form of evangelism, but I will say that God showed up and we saw many people come to know Jesus through the power of His Spirit. It also challenged many of the young people on our team to be bold in sharing their faith for the first time, which I think was an invaluable experience for them. Even more encouraging was that we were able to connect many of the new believers with the church in Chihota, where they will be able to continue forward on their journey of discipleship.

In the evenings, thanks to a generator and some makeshift lighting, we were able to have services in the tiny church building. Each night the church was packed, and we saw the Spirit move. Again, many people came to know Christ or received healing at these services.

We continued sharing the love of Jesus through dramas...

...as well as through personal testimonies.

God was at work in the hearts and lives of many people during our time in Chihota, and He certainly blessed our ministry there! It is a humbling feeling to be used by God!

Challenges in Chihota

As I've mentioned before, there were quite a few challenges to overcome in the village of Chihota. We had no running water, so we had to draw up water from a well. This wouldn't have been too bad, except that the well water was greenish-brown and highly contaminated. After about 2 days, we had run out of all the clean water that our group had brought with us. We tried our best to make it work, boiling the water and bleaching some of it, but it was still quite a problem. I got terribly sick for the second time since I've been in Africa, and I'm fairly certain that it was because of the bad water. Zimbabwe has had widespread cases of Cholera recently, and the more sick I got, the more I started to wonder if that's what I had. Given our remote location, I was praying that it was something significantly less serious. Luckily, dozens of trips to the bush and 6 doses of anti-diarrheal later, and I was feeling much better (sorry for the graphic details)!

The lack of electricity meant cooking all of our food over an open fire.

Ted and Auntie Kathy did a great job cooking some of our meals. However, our menu for the weeks was very limited, and if I don't ever see another plate of soya mince and beans again, I'll be more than okay with that!

Nights were a little less than comfortable, as we slept on the concrete floor of a thatched roof hut. It got a little chilly, too, so Kudzanai and Collins (above) snuggled up together!

Staying in Chihota for just a few days was enough for me to realize how blessed I am with so many comforts that I take for granted. Can you imagine living without clean water? Turning on a tap and immediately receiving fresh water is not a luxury that most of the world enjoys. Sleeping on a nice, soft bed is not a necessity--it is a luxury. What things have you taken for granted recently? Don't forget to thank God for the blessings He's given you, and don't forget that He's blessed you so that you can bless others!

Team Chihota

After 3 days of ministry training in Harare, we split the Zimbabwean trainees up into three teams, each of which would spend the rest of the week in a rural community, partnering with a local church there and doing practical ministry. My team was sent into the rural community of Chihota. And when I say rural, I mean RURAL! We were literally sent out into the middle of nowhere, to a tiny village with no electricity, no running water, no clean water, and no toilets (not even a hole in the ground!). It was an experience!

Team Chihota, packed into a 15 passenger van and excited about the week of ministry ahead!

Our team after a church service in Chihota.

The African Sunset

I am convinced that there is nothing more beautiful than the African sunset. It's nearly impossible to capture in a picture, but I've tried anyway. Here are some shots of the sun setting over the rural village of Chihota, Zimbabwe.