Zimbabwe, November 2022
A wide door for effective ministry is opening for us through a call from the Lord and developing relationships in the nation of Zimbabwe. (1 Corinthians 16:9)
We were privileged to be able to take our whole family to Zimbabwe in November 2022 for a week of mission and ministry. Ryan was invited to lead worship for an Encounter Youth Camp. This was the same youth camp which had impacted Ryan’s life over 20 years ago when he met the Holy Spirit for the first time! It was an honour to be back - this time to minister, with Anna and family alongside. We all had an expectation that we would encounter Jesus afresh. That is what happens so often as we pour out our lives in service of Jesus: God uses us to bless others, and we ourselves are so blessed by His precious presence. Here is a report from that week.
Encounter Youth Camp
Nestled away in the leafy shrub-lands, accessible with a jeep and army truck to transport the children down washed-away roads, we gathered at the Zambezi Holiday Camp Site. As rain and thunder storms echoed, drowning out the drone of the generator which provided electricity to the site, the meetings began.
What started tentatively, with hands being raised and hearts responding, grew meeting by meeting as a new generation encountered their living God! There was a thick, heavy presence of the Holy Spirit among us. Our hearts were overjoyed, with tears welling up in our eyes, as we saw lives experiencing a touch from God, many for the first time. There was speaking in tongue’s, freedom in worship, rejection and depression leaving, identity reaffirmed, hearts committed to Jesus.
It was clear from conversations with the children that they were done with hype, empty ‘youth clubs’ and games, they just want the real thing! They just want the Holy Spirit! We were so blessed that our own children encountered God too.
School Feeding Project
We arrived at the school along a dirt track about 15 minutes outside the town of Marondera which was our base for the trip. We poured 410 cups of nutritious drink for the precious children in the primary school. We told the story about Jesus, who has bread to fill every heart and living water that does not run dry! Our own children served with us in filling cups and handing them out to each child, praying and blessing over each one as they did. After Ryan had finished speaking with Richard our translator, hundreds of hands raised in a YES response to Jesus! God is moving on this generation!
The head teacher gave us statistics on the amazing increase in education, attainment and success as a direct result from the feeding efforts. We have partnered with Kabod Ministries and Building Futures in this endeavour; launching Revival Children Zimbabwe to aid in funding this project and a plan for a future project in the Honde Valley… more on that below!
Honde Valley
A five hour drive to the Eastern border of Zimbabwe brings you to the rich and fertile land of the Honde Valley. Marked by mile upon mile of banana, tea and coffee growing; cows and goats strolling across the road; impromptu open markets with traders selling home-grown avocados, lychees, sugar cane, mangos and maize. The area feels very similar to the NE region of India and our mission trips there. We sense such a stirring for this part of the nation; for the needs of the many people, villages and schools scattered across a valley with stunning views into neighbouring Mozambique. This is a location where a mission base and school feeding program would open an entire region to the kingdom of God.
We were praying over the land and nearby school when Anna wanted to get out of the truck to take photos. Ryan ran down to the football pitch, and in no time at all hundreds of kids came running! Could this a place where mass evangelism meetings are held in the future? A place where the Spirit of God can stir a nation, and many people hear God’s call of salvation to them, as it says in Romans 10:13-15
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Leaders
The time we spent encouraging leaders, developing relationships and praying with the Church was so strategic, opening a way for Apostolic alignment. Paul and his son Danie, who lead the Kabod Ministry, are in a pivotal time of transition. This trip paved the way for both Paul and Danie to join us in Dudley at our January Conference, were Trevor ministered from what God is working out here. There is a real heart connection being formed, and it is wonderful to witness.
The spirit of God is moving in this nation, even among the extreme poverty. Many properties have had to dig their own boreholes as a water supply because the national systems have broken down. There were daily power cuts. Actually, it was not that the power was interrupted by power cuts, but that the lack of supply was interrupted with the occasional few hours of electricity! Many living in Zimbabwe would still not have access to even this. And yet, there is a growing church calling upon the Name of the Lord. A people hungry for training and teaching, with a desperate prayer that once again the nation will be a bread basket to the continent of Africa, so that those who are needy can encounter the Bead of Life: Jesus Christ.
Ryan & Anna
