12 Days From Africa

I am 12 days returned from Zimbabwe and honestly it seems like a long ways away.  Our lives here in the States and maybe everywhere are so buys and full of stuff.  Something very meaningful happens or we do something that has a deep impact and within a couple of weeks we begin to "lose it".  So many other things compete for our affections and for our time.  In light of this I would like to fight against it and share another encouraging story from Zimbabwe about the local pastors we visited with and ministered alongside.

The first is about Peter who is a pastor in Chinhoyi and who has been through quite a journey these past four years.  The pastors in Zimbabwe rarely collect any income from their churches because all of the monies given go to the widows, poor, and sick who don't have the support structure that Americans, Europeans, and other First World nations enjoy.  Anyway, after our visit in 2007 Peter's landlord decided to double his rent and thus force him out of their home.  There was fundraiser and Peter was able to get a home of his own.  Since then, Peter has also started a butchery where his family works alongside him in order to provide for the needs of the family.  In the middle of all that, Peter has served as pastor for Revival, his church in Chinhoyi, and is planning and praying for a new church building closer to the town center in order to have a greater influence on the city and its residents.  Peter showed me the plot of land during my visit and it is just an abandoned lot right now...but with faith, hard work, and the power and generosity of the Lord, it can become the center of compassion and grace Peter and his congregation envision it to be.

Over the past four years Peter has continued to serve his church as pastor, been evicted from his home and forced to find a new one, started a business for his family, and asked God for a vision to build a church closer to the center of the city where he lives and serves.  All of this in the midst of an economy that left the shelves at the grocery store empty and the people of Zimbabwe praying for God to provide their next meal.  Praise God for Peter and for His faithfulness to him through it all.