Thoughts on being a missionary...

When I knew I was coming on this trip, I was praying that I could be an encouragement to our missionaries.  I don’t know how much of an encouragement I was to them—they have touched me, encouraged me and blessed me in so many ways!

What a privilege it has been to spend so much time with all of these amazing men and women of God.  What is the common theme for all of them?  A firm and strong foundation in Christ that sustains them through anything they encounter.  These humble servants of God both begin and end their day with God.

It has been a joy to see the powerful love represented between spouses.  All of the couples have persevered through many different trials, struggles and challenges, but have come out stronger in the end.  How?  Again…their firm foundation in Christ.  Our last leg of this trip has been with Jake and Nancy.  They will soon be married for 60 years and have served here together in Africa for most of those years!  My heart has been blessed to spend time with them and just observe their love for God and each other.  Actually, they remind me so much of my beloved parents who are no longer here with me. 

During this trip, I’ve been thinking about characteristics that are important in a missionary.  Especially in my role of recruiting global workers, I’ve been gaining some valuable insight into a life of a missionary.  It takes commitment—know that you are called of God to do this and just follow through with it no matter what.  Don’t doubt God’s call.  Have the attitude of “doing it” not just “trying it.”  Learning the language is so important.  This builds trust and respect from the people and helps you to learn and understand how they think.  I think it takes determination to work and live cross culturally. 

I’ve also asked this question of some of our workers here what they felt were good characteristics in a missionary.  Here are just a few of their thoughts: 

• ·         Be willing to be embarrassed and misunderstood…over and over again
• ·         Be willing to be “real” – not pretending you are better than you are
• ·         Acceptance at the loss of privacy
• ·         Confidence must come from God, not one’s self
• ·         Be teachable
• ·         Be trained in the sense of being committed and experience as a disciple and disciple-maker

Think about it for yourself.  What would you do if you didn’t have water every day?  How would you react if the power would go out at random times in the middle of whatever you are doing?  What would you do if you were offered some food that didn’t look so appealing?  What if you couldn’t understand a lot of the conversations around you, because you were still learning the language?  What about the days when you feel really alone and missing your family and a culture you really know and understand? 

I know we are not all called to “go.”  But, we all do have a role in sharing Christ’s love and the gospel message with others.  We can pray for those who are on the “front lines.”  We can encourage them as well.  Are you doing your part?  Am I doing my part?

So thankful to have been able to spend time with these amazing people!

with Doug and Barb in Malawi

With Earl and Lois in Malawi

With Jonathan and Becky in Malawi

With Bruce and Joleen in Choma

With John and Esther in Zambia

With Jake and Nancy in Zimbabwe

A Look at BIC History

The BIC all started here.  This morning, Nancy drove us to Matopo Mission, the first BIC mission established in Zimbabwe.  What took the first missionaries three days to travel by ox cart, now takes less than an hour to drive to.  Now there are more than 330 BIC churches in Zimbabwe, with about 50,000 members…and it all started with one.

On the road to Matopo, the "elephant rock"

Jake and Nancy told us that it would be much colder at Matopo.  We didn’t believe them, until we got out of the truck at the mission.  It was very windy!  Temperatures may have been in the 50’s, not really sure, but with the wind, it was definitely chilly!  The thing about the cold here, the buildings do not have any indoor heat.  It tends to be colder inside than outside.  So, you find most people wearing heavy coats, gloves and ear muffs inside!

We toured the girls dorm, several classrooms in the secondary school and the church.  There is also a primary school and a clinic on the Mission, but we didn’t tour those.  There are about 954 secondary students, about 840 of them are boarding students.

Touring the mission

These palm trees were planted in 1959, at the start

a classroom of students

They are working in the library in their coats, gloves and ear muffs!

Trying to stay warm during the tour!

the dorms

Matopo Mission is where Jake and Nancy began, back in 1958.  Nancy gave us the “extra special” tour with all of their history with it.  It was fascinating to see where it all began.  There is a museum on the Mission, too, which had many historical artifacts, including the ox cart that brought the first missionaries! 

The house where Jake and Nancy first stayed

The church on the mission

Site of the very first church 

the ox cart used by the first missionaries (cleaned up for the 100th anniversary celebration several years ago)

  

We were served a “second breakfast,” a feast really.  It was delicious, although I wasn’t hungry at all.

serving us our tea for our "second breakfast"

Look at this feast!

Enjoying our "second breakfast"

We returned to Jake and Nancy’s house around 1:00 and had a light lunch on their patio.  It was beautiful, sitting in the sun.

 

Lunch in the sun with Jake and Nancy

After lunch, Jake took us to the Theological College of Zimbabwe (TCZ).  This is an inter-denominational college.  Most of our BIC pastors in Bulawayo have been trained here.  There are currently 36 pastors being trained at TCZ—11 of those are BIC pastors.

After our short visit to TCZ, Jake drove us around Bulawayo for about 1-1/2 hours.  We got to see the city of Bulawayo, the various needs in the areas, and see many BIC churches.  How many BIC churches can you see in that time, you ask?  About 8-10, I think (I didn’t take photos of all of them and lost count!).  Mpopoma BIC was the first BIC church in Bulawayo.  All of the churches are growing!  The last church we visited was unique.  They are meeting in a round water tank until their permanent building will be built!

The first English-speaking BIC church in Zimbabwe

Other areas of Bulawayo

Other areas of Bulawayo

Other areas of Bulawayo

Mpopoma - the first BIC church in Bulawayo

The unique BIC church - meeting in an old water tank

We are having a late dinner tonight with the Bishop of Zimbabwe BIC churches, Bishop Ngulube and his wife.

Tomorrow is our final day here.  We fly out of Zimbabwe around noon and begin our long journey home.  I don’t know if I’ll have time in the morning to update again, or if my next update will be in the States.  Thanks for joining me on this journey.  Thanks for your prayers.  Please pray for travel safety and good health.  We have been surrounded by MANY who have been sick, especially with bad colds.  And, please pray for me as I continue to process all that I have seen and learned.

Visit to Mtshabezi Mission

The first BIC missionaries started in Africa in 1898.  Since the railway had just been completed from Cape Town to Bulowayo, they set up the first mission in Bulowayo.  It always started with a church (mission), then a school would be built, and then a hospital would be built.  Mitopo Mission was the first mission established in Zimbabwe.  After it’s start in 1898, a year later, they baptized their first 10 believers.  Mtshabezi Mission was the second mission started.

On Wednesday, we visited Mtshabezi Mission.  MT was our guide for the day.  He was extremely helpful in giving us the various tours and answering my many questions.  MT actually completed all of his schooling here as a child.  Mtshabezi Mission has a primary school, secondary school and EBI (Ekuphileni Bible Institute…ekuphileni means “at the place of life”). 

the cattle on the Mission

Bridget, me and MT

The primary school has from grade 0-7.  There are about 630 students in primary school.  There are about 900 students at the secondary school.  During our visit at the secondary school, we were served a breakfast and tea (we didn’t know we would be eating…we had eaten breakfast a few hours prior to that at Jake and Nancy’s house!).  They served hard boiled eggs, bread, butter, jam and beans, along with the tea.  I wasn’t quite sure what to do with all of the food or how to eat it—they didn’t give us utensils or plates.  So, after asking MT, I made a bean sandwich (another first!) 

At the secondary class, they also have a class for special needs.  One of the classes even had a visually impaired teacher.  I was extremely impressed with the respect shown to her by the students. 

Primary School

Class at Primary School

Our "second" breakfast

The church on the Mission

The hospital on the Mission

EBI is the backbone of the BIC church here.  All leaders trained go out and serve as pastors.  There are about 20 students at EBI.  While they are in school, they are also learning other skills like gardening, carpentry and raising chickens.  

After our visits to the schools, we ended at The Farm.  They raise many cattle as well as grow many different plants and vegetables to sell.  The people there are really learning and doing well with selling their produce.

The foreman for the farm

other workers at the farm

We ended our time with lunch at EBI (just 2 hours after eating our second breakfast!).  It was nice to visit with many of the teachers.  It was also fun to find out that MT and Alex (another teacher there) knew some of our co-workers in PA.  They are sending their greetings back with us.

Bridget and me during lunch

me and Alex

We returned home late in the afternoon and made a quick trip to shop for a few souvenirs.  We enjoyed supper with Jake and Nancy and an evening spent with their Bible Study group studying Elijah.

This entire trip has been such a helpful and meaningful experience to me.  For so many years, I have heard about all of these places, schools, missions, etc., and now I have actual experiences to share related to all of these locations.  I have a much better understanding of the BIC work in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  I have been learning so much.  Most days, I go to bed exhausted just trying to absorb and process all of the things I’ve seen and have been learning.  It has also been such a joy to spend time with each of the global workers in each of the areas.  What a wealth of knowledge and experience they all have!  Such humble servants of God!  I have much to learn from all of them as well.

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day here and we soon return home!  I am in awe of all that I have seen!

Lions, Tigers and Bears...oh, my!

Okay, so not really....didn't see any lions, tigers or bears...

Another gorgeous day today in Zimbabwe.  We started out early for another game drive.  Saw more of the same animals...just beautiful!  I don't think I could ever get tired of watching these creatures in the wild.  Jake is very knowledgeable on all of these animals and has such great stories of many game hunts he had been part of in the past.

Nancy had packed us breakfast which we ate after a few hours driving around in the park.  Enjoyed some granola, yogurt and tea in the bush.  

We ended up spending about 6 hours out in the morning, looking for animals!  Couldn't believe we were out that long, it went so fast!

We left the park around noon to travel to Bulowayo.  Sometimes, I feel like we've been in a car or plane more on this trip than we have not been in some sort of transportation.  Lots of travel on this trip!

We arrived in Bulowayo around 4 in the afternoon and got settled in at Jake and Nancy's home.  One of their sons and his family live here in Zimbabwe and invited us over for supper.  We enjoyed some eland as part of the meal.  Eland is a type of antelope.  Love trying all the different game meet here in Africa!

We have an early start tomorrow morning to travel (once again) to Mtshabezi Mission.

Thanks for your continued prayers!  My health has been good for the entire trip, keep up the prayers!  It's hard to believe our trip is winding down.  I am learning and seeing so much!