Stilt Parables and Steering Wheels

Working in the many orphanages here in town has been one of the hardest things here in Zim.  Now that our term on the field is temporarily drawing to a close, the realization of how hard goodbyes will be is starting to slip in.  This week, while at one of the orphanages just a few blocks from our African abode, I spent what seemed like hours teaching one of the younger kids, Prince, to walk on a pair of stilts that had been donated to the orphanage.  The first several times as I helped him start moving on his own, he politely requested, "Leave me to do it."  After several attempts to walk on the stilts on his own, each ending with a chaotic fall to which I thankfully caught him each time, he began to cling to me harder each time we'd restart.  On our sixth or seventh attempt, he asked me to put my hands over his and hold on to him.

"Don't leave me," he said.

 My response to the simple statement was, "I won't, I won't, I promise."

Prince replied, "If you leave, I will fall.  I don't want you to let go anymore." 

Me and God, God and me, we're the same way.  So often I try to do things on my own, and God lets me because He loves and respects me, us.  Although, He always stands just far enough and just close enough to catch me if I fall.  I so often decide I'll give Him control, only to see how well I'm making it and decide I'll do it on my own.  When I realize my effort alone is useless, He stands ready to help me do more than I could of ever expected Him to, and immeasurably more than I could of ever imagined I could do alone.

Earlier this week, several of us mentioned that although we'd seen fruit this summer, we still weren't entirely sure of why we were brought to Zimbabwe.  In the three days since that conversation, God has shown us exactly why He brought us an ocean away from home, through a variety of instances, including last night.  While headed home from Bible study in our Combie (one of the public transport systems), we were finally able to share with our driver, Request, who has been driving us around for the past month and a half.  After sharing the Gospel with Request, who has never once been to church in this highly evangelized country, began singing at the top of his lungs with tear-filled eyes, "I have decided to follow Jesus," in the exact tune we've come to know so well at home. 

• In our last week and a half here in Zim, we ask that you pray for courage, boldness, passion for the Gospel, unity, opportunities to share "the glorious riches of this mystery" that we hold within us and for God to simply have his way in us.   
• We ask that you pray for the many children of the orphanages that we've been working in, and join with me in praying that they don't experience an overwhelming sense of abandonment that so many deal with, but that they fully understand Christ and from there realized that they've been adopted into the family of God.   
• We ask that you pray for Request, for his continued growth and desire for Christ, and that when we leave he can become an active member of a church and make the decision to be baptized..  

We have less than two weeks left, but we've learned not to put God on a time limit, He is living and active, and we expect nothing less.          

-Tanner

Show and Tell

Zim gives us a new adventure every day.  God reminds us every day of His glory and sovereignty, but also how desperately the world needs hope.  We strongly and thankfully ask that you pray for the people we've met that we've been able to share the Gospel with.  Many of these people we know we might not see again, but many we see on a daily basis.  We ask that God continues to work in their hearts, and for the people we see daily, that He continues to use us to speak to them.  

Please pray for the orphan ministries we're working with, and the lasting impact we can have with the kids with only a week left of ministry.  Also, pray for unforseen issues with ministry pertaining to issues surrounding the region, and that we're able to continue as planned in our areas of service.  Be on the lookout for more pics/posts over the next couple of days!  

Meeting kids for the first time at EW Childrens Home.



Taking a walk to the "local" dam during a visit to the Bush.  Many of the surrounding villages must walk nearly an hour to fetch water from the dam, which is also used to water livestock, do laundry and bathe.

Caitlin and one of the cihldren who attends the VBS type outreach projects.

Working with kids during a local outreach. 



Working with Form Zeros (Kindergarteners) during a trip to the Bush

Washing hands- pivotal prior to EVERY African meal

Clashing Cultures = One Body of Christ



Waking up from a night of sleeping under the stars in the Bush



Candle-lit church service

 

Walking on paths of African soil.  Zimbabwe hasn't seen plentiful rain since
January, which promise for dust covered everything, anywhere you go.

Bonding with friends before a night of sleeping under the stars.

 

Starting off what should of been a 3 hour car ride into the bush,
 which ended up closer to 6.5 hours.

Women washing at the base of the dam.

Taking a stroll during one of our visits to the Bush

Prepping for the 4th...a lack of white chocolate calls for
crafty thinking.  We went with yogurt.

Huts at one of the Orphan caring centers

A New Heart for the Nations

Throughout our time here in Zim, God has been working in the hearts of our team just as much if not more than He has been working through us. As we've been going through Acts, over and over we've been reminded of the boldness and urgency we're to have in sharing the gospel, both overseas and at home. 

One illustration that was in our group Bible study has particularly spoken to me, as well as many on our team. The illustration was that if you were standing by the bank of a stream, and some little children were drowning, you wouldn't need to wait for someone to tell you to go rescue them. You would not wait for an officer to come by with a legal document personally designating you to rescue them, to jump into the stream. You would despise yourself if there was a possibility of saving them, and yet you stood on the bank waiting for a specific "call" or for someone to push you to do so. 

So many people have treated the missionary "call" just like this.  Myself included. The Bible however, doesn't say "Go tell people about me if I call you to a specific place" or "Go preach the Gospel only if you "feel called" to do so". The Bible says "go". 

Over and over in the word of God there are accounts of preaching the word with such boldness. In Acts, Paul doesn't sit at home while he waits for God to instruct him where to go specifically, he goes out and preaches among the nations until God sends him to the next place. Yes, missions at home is also very important. If we can't minister to those around us and share the gospel at home, more than likely we won't be willing or effective to share it overseas. But the longer I've been here, the more He has been revealing Himself to me through scripture, and the more I have begun to see God's heart for the nations, and the urgency to spread His name among people who haven't heard it, and don't understand it. He has begun to make in me a heart for reaching the lost in places other than just the U.S. 

God has shown me over and over this summer that He calls His children to have boldness and reckless obedience for His name sake. He has commanded us to share this life saving news with drowning people all over the world. We just have to be obedient and go do it. One verse He has specifically laid on my heart this week is Romans 15:20 "and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." I don't know the specifics of what God has in His plan for me to do in the future, far or near, but I pray that I will have the obedience and boldness of the first Christians to do what He has commanded me. He may call me to stay at home, but He has already commanded me to go.

-Lacey

This Water is a Gift From God

When was the last time you thanked God for your water running out of the faucet? 

Seeing a community receive fresh, clean water for the first time was amazing to be a part of... but it was also convicting.  Recently, a few from our team were able to attend a dedication of a borehole (water well system) to a community, who before had to walk an hour to a dam for their water.  The same water was used as a dump site, for bathing, and for watering livestock.  The borehole provided clean water safe to drink without boiling.

This water is a gift from God. 

The pastor at the dedication challenged the people of the community to remember this statement everytime they pumped water and to thank God for this gift.  This made me think about the last time I thanked God for clean, running water.  It is so easy to take advantage of having daily access to clean water to drink, to bathe in and to cook with.  But we should thank God every time we turn on our faucets.  We should also thank God we have access to the living water.  The community may have access to clean water, but what they truly need is to know the living water that will quench their souls eternal thirst.  Join with us to pray that this community in Zimbabwe will know where their clean water comes from and that they can find living water from the same source. 

-Emma

Polka Dotted God

Every once in awhile, we like to create the mental notion of making God ours.  Whether that means making God American, or keeping Him to ourselves by being reluctant to share, its much easier done than said to keep Him in a box, or so we like to think.  The truth is, God isn't American and He doesn't advocate big church buildings, Christmas trees, or apple pie.

Recently, while making a run to the local internet cafe, our team found ourselves speed walking with tunnel vision through a local market.  In an attempt to avoid making eye contact with street vendors, antsy to sell us wooden bowls and ebony statuettes with overpriced "Makiwa," (white-man) prices, we lost sight of the people around us reaching for the Gospel.  A man followed us through the crowd anxious to talk to Americans, and in a moment of rush trying to escape the market, it took us more than a moment to realize that God positioned Him there to hear the Gospel.  As he walked with us for the next several blocks through downtown, we were able to share the Gospel with Him.  Because we now know where to find him everyday, a few of us plan on visiting him again later to talk more about what it means to follow Christ.  Although he has yet to accept Christ, he, like several others God has put in our path to unexpectedly share with, has had many questions, and it's encouraging to see the direction his questions are leading him.

In our conversation with this man, after mentioning to him that Christ wasn't American or African, he followed up by adding, "That's right, he isn't black or white either, and could be polka-dotted for all we know."  God has been teaching us that the Gospel isn't American, it isn't meant to carry AWANA, youth praise bands, and Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night Bible studies with it.  The customs we've grown accustomed to at home are fine and dandy, but VBS and Bible clubs aren't Christ.  Again and again He has been reminding us:  God's glory first, everything else second.  He's given us tools to share His love, and as American's, we've found they can easily be mixed in with the importance of the Gospel.  American traditions, however, are not Christ's. 

In Scripture, we found multiple accounts of people reaching out for Christ, with his intentions aimed at other persons.  God has been revealing to us that His plan for our lives often leads us on detour routes with unexpectant people ready for the Gospel waiting at the end of the line.  Like Christ, we must be aware of the world around us, we must be aware of what treasure we hold inside of it and the magnitude of impact it holds when released.  We're not meant to be selfish with the Gospel, we're not meant to be American or African with the Gospel either.  Christian translates into "little Christ," we're meant to be Christ-like with the Gospel, the rest is just noise. 

-Tanner

A Few Pictures for Catchup

God has been moving in amazing ways over the past few days, but as is the life of God's people, there have been many hardships.  Spiritual warfare can be tough, please pray that our team remains unified, for our health and individual emotional well-being as we go.

For the next week, we're headed to the bush.  We understand the things we will experience there will be quite unlike what we've experienced so far.  Pray for our endurance and that God will guide our paths to people of peace where we'll be serving.

Soup Kitchen with Bulawayo Baptist Church



Urban Africa remains nicer than we expected, with paved
roads, European coffee shops and pizza parlors

Adrian, a child at one of the orphanages just blocks from our house

The team taking a stroll around our neighborhood

A few of our 5 year old Form 0 (kindergarten) friends who quickly took it upon themselves to
help teach us how to "click" in Ndebele

Lunchtime gone hectic at a local primary school

Improv play equiptment

Students in a classroom of one of the local primary schools we've been able to invest in

Our home for the next 2 months (see Welcome Home! blog post)

A "homestead" in the bush

Helping kids with homework/coloring/giant sing-a-long at EW Childrens Home

-Tanner

Will You Remember Us?

When I first met Cosie she was shy, but happy to have people to play with. The next time we went to visit her orphanage, I sat with her while she colored and did her school work. She sang, laughed, and smiled because she loved having her picture taken. She had so much fun jumping and spinning in my arms. Her eyes sparkled with joy and happiness.

Then she fell and as quick as her eyes were to initially sparkle with joy, they drained- she looked completely hopeless. I sat and rocked her, cuddling her, singing songs to her, and telling her over and over again that Jesus loved her. While I was sitting with Cosie a boy walked up and we started talking. He asked me, "will you remember us when you leave?"

Amanda Adksinson and Cosie at EW Childrens Orphanage

My heart hurts for these children. People come and go but no one stays- no one remembers them. There is no hope in that orphanage. Nigel is 17 but he knows that despite his situation, he has hope. He believes in Jesus with his whole heart and as he shared the Gospel with me, I realized most of these children have never known love. Until they know the love of another individual, they won't understand the love of God because they don't know what love is. God has called me here to love on these children; to sing to them, cuddle with them when they are sad, and play with them. I'm here for them. Jesus loves these children and is using me to show them His great love.  My response to Nigel was, "I will definitely remember you because God has used you to teach me." Although he is in a home that offers him no hope, Nigel knows that he has hope in Christ. I pray that one day Cosie can understand this love too. I pray that one day the sparkle in her eye is permanent. I pray that one day Cosie will understand who Christ is and that His love will shine through her.

-Amanda

Hope

Hope- (n.) the feeling that what is wanted can be had, or that events will turn out for the best. 
                  the expectation of a better, more desirable future.

Hope finds itself manifested into every outlet of our comfortable lives back at home.  We hope for a puppy or pony as a child.  We hope the girl or boy across the classroom checks the yes box on our "do you like me too?" note in grade school.  We hope for a car and to get into the university of our choice, and for those of us who aren't yet married, we hope for a wife or husband sometime in the near future.  Hope drives every faucet of our lives, our problem is just making sure to remind ourselves that Christ is the chief cornerstone for our hope. 

Now erase all of that from your mind, as if you'd never had the opportunity to hope for anything.  Take all of it from your childhood memories.  The hope for a new bike for your birthday, gone.  The hope your parents hear you calling out to them as you sit scared in your bed, awaiting the monster invasion looming from the closet, gone. 

In our time in Zimbabwe, we've been blessed to work with kids from a few different orphanages.  As we should have been able to guess, the one we originally felt the most unsettled with and at the same time the least excited about, was the one God would come to rewire our hearts with a burning passion for.


EW Children's Home, complete with broken windows, clothes hung on barbed
wire to dry, and children thirsting for just an ounce of love, and a little bit of hope


The cold, crisp mornings of the Zimbabwean winter have seen us to a number of different adventures.  Arriving at EW Orphanage for our second visit last week, we were met with a short list of things to do and an abundance of time to do them, despite the apparent need for so much to be done at the orphan complex.  After knocking off all garden maintenance from the checklist in a matter of minutes, and hours remaining until the children returned from school, we made the best of our time and took it upon ourselves to begin picking up the trash covering every inch of walkable ground at the orphanage. 
As the slow, tedious hours passed of picking up used feminine products, shoe soles and milk bottles, God began to speak.  And by speak, I mean the Lion of Judah began full force roaring into the ears of all 12 of us at once.  Now, there's no such thing as hopeless, because by the very definition of the word it states there is absolutely no source of hope, which we as believers know to be a false statement in every situation, regardless of location.  There is, however, such a thing as being so depraved of hope that there seems to be no escape from the darkest depths this world has to offer, especially for those who don't yet know our Redeemer. 

As our backs toiled to keep us on our feet after hours of picking, God revealed the need for His presence in this place.  As we looked around, finding used condoms, mattresses hidden behind sheds, broken windows in nearly every bedroom, and less than 10 toilets for 65 children, of which only half functioned, God began revealing the harsh reality of the life of orphans.  No longer were the children living there all happy faces, lollipops and gumdrops, but were now emotionally drained, lonely, needy creations reaching for attention with no one to give them the time of day to say "I love you."

For most of us, we can say with confidence that when our parents lay there heads down at night, their minds wander to their children, hoping we're safe in a third world country and not getting eaten by lions.  For these children, they lay their heads down at night knowing there's no one to think of them, no one to scoop them up when they fall and skin their knee, and no one to invest every bit of who they are into them so that they are suited with a better life.  Yes, these children have house mothers who watch over them, but one person for every 15 children is hardly devoted attention.  Having broken windows that allow for the invasion of cold air during sleepless nights just inches from where you rest your head, and no one to do anything about it is hardly having someone concerned for every bit of your well being.  Even those of us who like to think we're not, who haven't always gotten everything we've wanted, are still 100% completely spoiled.

God has laid this place on our hearts, He has given us instructions with what to do here, and the means through which to do it.  Our hearts are heavy, and breaking for this place and these children, but we have a Healer who not only mends us when we shake at the agony of others, but compels us to do something about it by giving us His own strength.  We ask that you pray for the children in this place, that they realize they have hope, they're loved and that Christ is brought to life in this place.  Romans 8:24-25 says, "For in this hope we were saved.  Now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."  Our ultimate hope is not of this world, it can't be explained by the things of this world, and often times we become confused as humans as to where we should imbed our hope.  Pray that these children can understand Christ as their chief cornerstone for hope, and that nothing else will suffice. 

-Tanner

Zimbabwe: Hakuna Wakaita

   As we've began to immerse ourselves into the heart of Zimbabwean culture, we've realized that it's truly impossible to become honorary Africans without being able to worship like an African.
The serious, solemn, occasional hand raise worship we've been accustomed to is no more, and the dance around, clap, jump up and down and the occasional high pitch voice vibrato worship has begun.

One of our favorite Ndeble/Shona worship songs (that we quickly made a point to memorize) is Hakuna Wakaita, or, There's No One Like Jesus:

Hakuna wakaita sa Yesu,                            There's no one, there's no one like Jesus

hakuna wakaita sa Yee.                               There's no one, there's no one like Him

Hakuna wakaita sa Yesu,                            There's no one, there's no one like Jesus

Hakuu hakuuna                                           There's no one, there's no one like Him

Nda manya manya, kwese, kwese,               I've walked and walked, all over, over

Nda tembereva, kwese, kwese,                     I've looked and looked around

Nda tsvaga tsvaga, kwese, kwese,                I've searched and searched all over, over

Hakuu hakuuna                                            There's no one, there's no one like Him!

   And yes, the song is complete with motions, and a more than catchy, upbeat rhythm.  As the people (and ourselves) sing this song, I pray that we really realize what it means.  There's NO ONE like Him.  No one, as in there's only ONE author of life, only ONE creator of the universe, the Heavens and Earth, only ONE God who made Himself man for an unworthy people, and only ONE resurrected Son to pay for our sins.  There's no one, there's no one like Him. 

We ask that you pray for our team, that we're biblically bold.
Pray for our driver, Request, to whom God has opened doors to minister to.
Pray that in our ministry with children, God drives us exactly as He wills.
On a note about worship, pray that God moves in our worship, and that of the people in this joyous place full of creation experience it as spiritual, not emotional.  

Welcome Home!

Sometimes things in life catch you so offguard it changes your whole perspective of the world, or what we've been taught in the last few weeks, our world vision.  For our team of 13, the months of preparation, for working in various orphanages had us ready for the worst.

Now for the typical person, whenever you hear "Africa" and "orphans" in the same sentence I'm willing to bet the flashbacks get to rolling of TV commercials displaying malnourished, potbellied children, living amongst a village of thatch huts and flies.  We did, anyway.  The Zimbabwe we've come to know as our new garden ripe for cultivation for the Kingdom, though, is quite different.

Our arrival in Africa greeted us with an airport landing in the middle of the African bush, the first big thrill of our journey, might I add.  As we made way to our new home, we instantly became concerned that we'd landed in the wrong country, as the homes we began to encounter became more elaborate than those of small town America, minus the 8 foot concrete gates that secure every inch of property.  Although the orphanages we would come to call our own homes aren't quite 3 story mansions, they were far from the mud wall, grass roofed structures we were expecting. Amidst the surprise of a sense of normality to big-city African life, however, the need in this place is rapidly becoming an ever present sense of the urgent reality.
      


Home for the next 2 months

Our days thus far have been spent observing perhaps the most beautiful image of the Body of Christ many of us here have ever experienced.  The role of the Church is no longer confined to a building (partially because many of the churches don't have one!), and it's purpose as defined by Scripture is clearly and enthusiastically fulfilled, even from those churches who number no more than ten people to a service.  Twice a week, we work in a soup kitchen established by Bulawayo Baptist Church.  Each Thursday consists of  50 minute trip in the back of a truck into the heart of the bush to minister to those living in a government mandated relocation camp, home to former squatters who once lived homes composed of little more than sheet metal.  The vast majority of our time, apart from the occasional visit to a pediatric ward in one of the local hospitals, is spent with the children in the orphanages we've come to know so well in less than a weeks time. 

Emma Taylor, Amanda Adkinson and Lacey James in our kitchen

I think it can be said for anyone who work's with kids in ministry, that from day one, they can teach you as much, if not more, than you can teach them.  God doesn't just use us that have traveled thousands of miles to teach people, but can use the very people we're meant to aid and to minister to.  And He has been doing just that.  As we've been have been challenged in more than just a few ways this past week, God has been showing us what it really means to be bold.  In going through the book of Acts, our team has realized what the standard is for boldness, to which Paul is the greatest contender we have yet seen.  Anything less can be defined as having a sense of timidity.  One of our biggest prayer requests in going out this summer is to be that boldness the world so desperately needs, and God deserves.  One of the many songs we have sang with our children this week, "This Little Light of Mine", says, "hide it under a bushel, NO!, I'm gonna let it shine."  God has allowed even a child's song that most of us have sung since the age of 5 to speak volumes to us this past week, again, all in an effort to make us truly bold.

Living a "Childlike" Faith

"I like you."

That's what she said to me after 10 minutes of running and jumping into my arms. How can a child this small completely trust a twenty-year-old college student she'd known not even for an hour? Why was she so confident I would catch her when she jumped from a wall into my arms? 

As I walked away I was reminded of Mark 10:15:

                   

             "I assure you: whoever does not

                       welcome the Kingdom of God

                  like a little child will  never enter it."

Children have deep, unconditional faith and trust. If you tell a child to jump into your arms and assure them that you will catch them, they will jump with a huge smile on their face and arms stretched wide, awaiting your embrace that awaits them at the end of their literal leap of faith. As Christians, we are commanded to "GO!" Sometimes going isn't easy, and by sometimes, I mean far more times than not.  Whether it's going to Africa or going across the street to your neighbor, we're meant to go, not as request, but as a command. I have seen through this child's trust of me that when God calls us to do something, we should do it willingly, with a joyful heart.  What is a better picture of our relationship with our Father, Creator and Redeemer than us running to him with arms open, leaping through the air, and not just hoping for, but awaiting his embrace?

Will you come to the King with a joyful smile and arms stretched out?

-Caitlin Blackwell

Introduction: Zimbabwe Orphan Care 2013

  The calling to go and make disciples of the nations is neither the most comfortable nor the easiest calling for those of us who we've come to know as World Christians.
  For the next two months, our group of 13 students, part of the 177 serving this summer through Nehemiah Teams, are responding to a calling to Zimbabwe.  
  In just a matter of hours, we'll be landing in a country with a culture just as exotic and unknown to us as how to initially pronounce its name, where we'll be ministering to orphans with the local missionaries.

God has unified our team in phenomenal ways since the start of this journey, which started several months back for many of us.  We ask that as we go, you pray with us that we let our light shine before men, and that they may see our work and praise our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16) and that we remain one body of Christ in 13 pairs of shoes!

Back Row: (left to right) Tanner, University of Mississippi; Caitlin, Clemson University; Sarah, Grand Canyon University; Nathan, University of Oklahoma; Amanda, Lockhaven University.
Middle Row: (left to right) Moya, University of Southern Mississippi; Ashley, Speech Pathologist professional; Madison, Tulane University; Taylor.
Front Row: (left to right) Tara, Southern Methodist University; Lacey Beth, University of North Alabama; Emma, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Hannah, Francis Marion University.