Perhaps we should stop going to Zimbabwe?
Every time we go something bad happens. Last year our visit collided with an inflationary spike. This year, as you probably know, cholera broke out in Glen View, Harare. One of our TGCZ friends is a pastor in Glen View. Five people in his church fell ill. All so far have recovered, praise God. Many others haven’t, pray to God. The street count exceeds the official count by many. And inflation continues to spike like high temperatures. We just see more Zimbabwean resilience. People keep going. They work hard & hustle money that loses value almost as fast as they work. They joke and smile and keep working. These are remarkable people!
The impact of economic crisis on ministry is very real. Our friends are recruiting and training ministry apprentices five times faster than they can possibly fund them. Here is Privilege (red shirt), a fully-trained apprentice now working in student ministry and on his way to bible college soon. Gamu (grey shirt) has finished his apprenticeship – he would love to work in student ministry. He gives four days a week now, but there are no funds. God make a way.
We should keep going to Zimbabwe
Every time we go something great happens. This year I have joined Tawanda and his friends for a two-day strategy gathering of The Gospel Confederation of Zimbabwe. Your giving normally enables the pastor’s conference to run, but this year the cholera won. We saved some of your money for next year instead (a sincere thanks from TGCZ) and held a smaller, cheaper, but critical strategy gathering.
The leaders of TGCZ are a group of sprinters who are about to become a relay team. Three years ago they started out as fast-moving individuals – free from meetings and strategy constraints - they worked hard and fast to get something off the ground in their own area of passion. They raced independently like sprinters. The results from the first 100 yard dash?
For two days the sprinters paused. They saw that it is time to work together more. To pass the baton to one another sometimes. To make meetings more regular, to guard friendships, to clarify organisational vision and work for synergies. These are smart folk who know how to get stuff done. It was a privilege to sit on the edge of the circle and look in.
Thanks for being critical partners to this great gospel venture. I hope this update helps you sit on the edge of the circle and look on in.
Because some of you reading this care more about Africa pics than strategy….here’s another photo. It’s not the Crosweller Tarago - it’s even more squashed in there. This is public transport in Harare, and you can regard it as a kind of game of Where’s (the) Wally?
