FORGOTTEN? – MAYBE, BUT NEVER FORSAKEN!
“The Lord himself goes before you, he will never leave you nor forsake you, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8
AFRICA – a land steeped in mystery and intrigue – to me the place I still call home, having been born and raised in South Africa till the age of 23. If you look at a map of Africa and go all the way down to the bottom – you will see South Africa then look to the NE and you will see Zimbabwe. It is nation quite like any other in this current age in that having in the past been called the breadbasket of Africa, it now has a struggling economy and currently has the world’s highest inflation rate, officially at over 8,000% but realistically well over 10,000% and climbing, it also has one of the world’s highest AIDS and orphan rates in proportion to its population, average life expectancy is around 36 years and increasing numbers of the people have either left the country or been eradicated by aids and food shortages in the past few decades. It is a country you won’t often hear much about in the media, and if you do it is usually very depressing and seemingly like a country forsaken by God. This was my view of Zimbabwe until I went there a few months ago on a missions trip, and oh how wrong I was, the stats are very true, but God is very much alive and well hand thriving in this somewhat forgotten nation.
Life in Zimbabwe is hard – food is hard to come by, stores are literally empty in this spiraling economy and then when it is to be found it can be very expensive, power and water outages are the norm for many hours of each day, yet this shrinking nation of forgotten people are thriving. Not in the sense that we might equate success to in the US – but thriving in God’s realm. I truly believe they have learnt what life is about – in their poverty they have come to live a simple life, free of a lot of the worldliness we have, a life where they look out for each other – they have learnt about community, looking out for each other and have chosen to praise God in the midst of their trials. When we have nothing in this life we can either curse God and wish for death or we can embrace our Creator knowing that He has a plan for our lives and that He does cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes – Romans 8:28. In as much as these people struggle I truly believe from what I experienced there that they are embracing God in knowing that He and He alone is their sole provider and that He will be the one to bring change in their nation - without all the distractions of a modern life, they have learnt how to freely worship God.
Education is still highly regarded and even though literacy rates are declining - down to 80% from around 90% a decade ago, Zimbabwe in years gone by has led the continent in having one of the highest literacy rates. The younger generation value education and most teenagers you meet can speak good English(as this is still the official language) they have a good knowledge of God and the bible, as they are both still widely taught and valued in the education system. One group of boys we met at a local church, spoke such good English I questioned them as to how they spoke so well, and they said that amongst their friends they competed to see who could speak better English, as they saw the importance of it to get somewhere in life. Unfortunately for a lot of the recent graduates from high school – jobs and further education are far out of reach, but they still dream big, believing God to provide a way. Surprisingly too as a homeschooling mom I was pleased to see that homeschooling, is not a foreign concept here, it is becoming a cheaper and more widely used source of education as the cost of uniforms and school fees continue to rise in public and private schools.
As we did ministry and met people from all different walks of life - from the joyful singing orphans we met whose motto they are taught is: Happy times praise God, Difficult times seek God, Quiet times worship God, Painful times trust God, to the white farmers who have lost all they worked for all their lives, yet believe God has called them to stay and be a part of His work there, to the educated teenagers who are eager for change in their country, to the blue color workers who want a better future for their children, to the poverty stricken people living in remote areas; they all had one thing in common – God – the sustainer of all life and everyplace we went they all echoed this wonderful chorus (in their native tongue Shona) which loosely translated mean:
There’s no-one there’s no-one like Jesus, there’s no-one there’s no-one like him, I’ve run everywhere, I’ve searched everywhere, there’s none there’s none like him. As Christians we serve a very big and awesome God, one that does not live in box, in Zimbabwe I learned a lot about living outside the box, about how in stepping outside my comfort zone and being obedient to what God asks me to do – I find true freedom in Christ. This newfound freedom I found in stepping outside of my box allowed me to encourage and pray for the people we met over there.
It is hard for me to describe my trip other than it was truly blessed of the Lord. Sometimes as a stay home mom – you can almost feel forgotten. In the seven years I have been blessed with being home with my children I have seen many moms frustrated by feeling like they are not doing great things for God – myself included. I put my yearning to be involved in overseas missions in a box for many years, ignoring the burden the Lord had on my heart, thinking I can’t go! my kids are little! I homeschool!, but be encouraged, that God will never leave you nor forsake you, just like He has not forgotten each and every person in Zimbabwe, he sees their struggles and He sees our daily struggles as we seek to give of ourselves to raise our children in a world that might scorn or mock us for what we do. A devotion I read that really ministered to me and allowed me to think outside the box was:
There is no possibility of questioning when God speaks if He speaks to His own nature in me; prompt obedience is the only result. The promises of God are of no value to us until by obedience we understand the nature of God. We read some things in the Bible three hundred and sixty five times and they mean nothing to us, then all of a sudden we see what God means, because in some particular we have obeyed God, and instantly His nature is opened up. (Oswald Chambers – my Utmost for His highest)
One thing the wonderful people of Zimbabwe taught me was to not be overwhelmed or frustrated by the big things in life you feel you can’t do, don’t look at your circumstances and try tell God how you can or can’t do it, just be obedient to the call He puts on your life, He will take care of the details, and I witnessed this daily there as people rely on God for their daily sustenance . I was so blessed to go on this my first missions trip and am eternally thankful to the many saints in my life who were obedient to the call God placed on their lives to help send me, who helped care for my family, who prayed for our team and the ministry we did. We can tend to look at the big things that we want to accomplish, but forget that the small things all add up in God’s economy, a house is not built with one big brick, it takes many bricks laid one on the other, that are built on a solid foundation – such is God’s kingdom.
My challenge to you all is to step outside the box – BE BOLD, PRAY DANGEROUSLY (read Daniel 9-11)! Expect God to answer your prayers – in His time and way. Seek out the areas in your life where you are curious and weak and be bold in knowing God will meet you there, our God is the God of the impossible! Know that you are God’s favorite – you don’t need to be anyone else’s, you are loved with the love that God had for Jesus when He sent Him to die for our sins.
One neat story I would like to share is of a pastor’s wife we worked alongside in Zimbabwe. We were going into a rural area to minister to a church plant they had, and as we set off on our two day trip, she reminded me that they had to move in two days, after renting their home for 6 years, I was flabbergasted – didn’t she have to pack? to find a new home? – I know it took me weeks to get organized when we moved – but my sweet new friend just simply said, well we don’t have much (her family of 4), so it won’t take long and God will provide– this lady who didn’t have much herself was free to go minister to those who had even less because she wasn’t bound by her worldly possessions.
If I had to sum up in one thing what I learned from the people of Zimbabwe, it would be to live a simpler life, a life free to worship and serve God when He calls. Being a stay home mom in this age calls us to be set apart from the world, but I truly believe it is God’s best that we can do for our children. Be thankful when the house is a mess, when the school books are scattered all over and the laundry isn’t done, knowing that you are doing great things for God in raising your children, and know that God will fulfill the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4) and allow you to be used in mighty ways. Clear out the junk – maintaining your stuff takes time, say no to busyness – it will free you up to say yes to God.
Remember the people of Zimbabwe – God does! They have dreams and hopes for a better future just like we do. Keep it simple, go where God is and expect Him to do great things in your life!
