Answering the call to Zimbabwe
It was with great enthusiasm that I arrived with 15 young people on a Weimar College mission trip, at Harare International airport. We had over 32 pieces of luggage with medical supplies, computers and personal items for orphans. Josie and her assistant Raquel, our contacts in Zimbabwe, had been working for the last three days to obtain the necessary documentation for our group to clear customs. However, we were unaware that they had been unsuccessful in securing the required clearance forms. So there we were with our caravan of luggage trollies lined up at customs. With an uneasy feeling, Shiloh and I bowed our heads over our luggage cart and prayed that God would get us through customs with our needed supplies. Upon finishing our prayer, we found ourselves being waved passed the officials without further questioning. That was the first of many amazing miracles and providences of God during this trip. We happily squeezed our entire group and luggage into a 20-seater bus to make our way to Redcliff, our final destination, 3.5 hours southwest from Harare.
Although we had been travelling for well over 30 hours, our bus load of young people exuded much excitement as we began this last portion of our trip. However, this excitement was soon to be overshadowed by an accident about an hour into our trip. Our driver started to pass a slowing dump truck at high speed. However, what he didn’t realize was that the truck he was passing was actually slowing to turn in front of us into our path. Before we realized what was happening the truck had slammed into the front left corner of the bus which sent us reeling off the road. My first thought was everything would be OK…until we came to an abrupt stop in the grass that resulted in suitcases and students being airborne. As the dust settled we realized we were actually OK with only minor injuries. There was a ditch to our left and a bank of dirt to our right that could have caused the bus to roll had we swerved in either direction.
Outside the bus a crowd of locals gathered and began arguing while we huddled inside for safety. Still in shock and shaken from the incident, one of the students suggested we sing…’It is well with my soul’ rang out of the bus and quieted the noisy crowd outside – I can never sing that song again without remembering God’s salvation in Zimbabwe. Other songs, prayer, and a reading of Psalm 91 followed as we waited for over 1.5 hours for another bus to come ‘rescue’ us. We later heard that the police that tended to the accident commented that these types of accidents are usually fatal but for some reason this one was different. I had not realized that our humble trip to Africa would result in us being so dramatically thrown on to the front lines of the Great Controversy!
The trip was a collaboration between Weimar College and Penuel Springs Institute (PSI). Josie Moyo an adjunct faculty in the Health Sciences Department at Weimar is the president of PSI. This organization runs an orphan network and a college where older orphans are trained to be medical missionaries. We were there to minister to the orphans, run an evening VBS meeting for the orphans and local children, and a week of prayer for the local church. During the day we were to conduct health expos for the community. Our luggage was packed tight with a multitude of things for the orphans: backpacks, shoes, sweaters and other clothing, beanie babies, sheets, and much needed personal items. We also had brought urgently needed medical equipment and medicines.
One of the reasons why there is such a great need and why there are so many orphans in Zimbabwe is the high incidence of HIV. It was sobering to see the results of this terrible disease. A large percentage of a generation is missing and we often saw grandmothers with young babies strapped to their back; the parents lost to HIV. I often felt like I was walking through the ‘valley of the shadow of death.’ The little clinic across the street from PSI had a sign offering ‘free body removal’ ‘free funeral service’ and ‘coffins at competitive rates’. Josie tells me that funerals are the biggest business in Zimbabwe.
It was exciting to meet the orphans and talk with those who cared for them. We drove for hours one evening through savannah country to find one PSI-sponsored family living in an isolated home in a mining compound where people are no longer working. The faces of the two teenage girls and their younger brother lit up when we presented them with their new backpacks and personal items.
My most unforgettable orphan experience though was meeting Mary.* We visited Mary in Redcliff who was now being cared for by her aunt. I thought she must be about 11 but was surprised to find she was 14. We did a short video interview with her on the front steps of her humble home (which I think her aunt waxed and polished prior to our arrival). Mary read a neatly written testimony of her gratitude to PSI and her dreams to be an executive secretary. However, I tried desperately to maintain my composure when to my shock she read how medical tests revealed she was HIV positive. This young frail orphan girl was not going to achieve her dream in this world. It was with a terrible feeling of helplessness that we left that family and walked down the road.
One of the highlights of the trip was handing out backpacks to the remaining orphans with personal items and shoes that all seemed to fit! What a blessing to bring a little bit of happiness to those in such need. It was indeed a blessing to serve in Zimbabwe.
Our presence in the little town of Redcliff where we stayed didn’t go un-noticed and we ended up one Sabbath morning waiting for a long time in the local police station for a personal interview with the Chief Inspector. We also needed permission to conduct our health expos. It was a formality and he welcomed us. I was later able to visit him again and give him my backpack, a Bible, glow tracks and personal items.
The PSI and Weimar students worked together to minister to the needs of the community in a number of health expos. Hundreds of people received medical and health assessments as their blood pressures and glucose levels were determined. They also received HIV and HPV counseling, chair massages, and other health information. Unknown diabetes and very high blood pressure was detected and people were directed to medical help. One tent we used to minister to the people was packed with a huge crowd, some of who had been waiting for us since 6 AM, even though we didn’t get there until 11 due to yet another visit to a local police station for approval.
This pilot mission trip impacted many lives for the better (including the Africans and us) and paves the way for future collaborative mission trips. It is our desire to be able to sponsor college-level PSI orphans to come study massage and hydrotherapy at Weimar. PSI has a dream to build a lifestyle center where the orphan’s can have employment and minister to the community using simple natural remedies. Weimar and PSI hope to work together to realize this dream. The orphan needs are great. We pray that great things will happen as a result of this first small step in ministry in Zimbabwe. This trip would not have been possible without generous assistance from Quiet Hour and other donors – we sincerely thank you.
*Not her real name
George Jackson is the Chair of the Health Sciences Dept. and Associate Academic Dean at Weimar College.
Josie Moyo grew up in Redcliff Zimbabwe but now works as a Physicians Assistant in Maryland USA. She is the President of PSI and also holds a position as Adjunct Faculty at Weimar College.
Raquel Garcia is also based in the USA and works as an administrator for PSI.
Shiloh Hooker, a nursing graduate, is currently working as the Registrar for Weimar College