Last week was a lot different to my usual week here…
The Links International SA team took a Ministry trip to Zimbabwe Lower Gweru, to do some Business Development, Healthcare and Geographical training. Geographical training time is when you speak about a particular geographical subject in particular nations and the subject we were asked to speak on in Zimbabwe was ‘The Bride of Christ’.
I spent the last week serving in Zimbabwe which meant I wasn’t able to write any blogs or updates. So I’ll be updating you on my last two weeks in one go.
We arrived at our host’s house in Lower Gweru, Zimbabwe, on Monday 19th at 6.30pm. It wasn’t quite in the bush but close; and it wasn’t too basic, either. We went there to do some training and meet with the local business development team, AGAPE.
We stayed with a couple who very good friends with my Nan and Granddad, Sam and Anna Ndlovu. Sam is the Zimbabwean Apostolic overseer of a network called New Covenant Ministries International and Anna is part of the AGAPE Business Development team Links International SA founded in 2011.
When we arrived we found out that Sam had changed around our programme a little so we didn’t quite know how things were going to work out. When I’ve been on Ministry/Mission trips before we never seem to have much of a structure but it’s all part of the fun. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to be doing apart from being the photographer but throughout the week I made myself available and was given a few different tasks.
Andy, the Links International UK director, and his wife Lina came along on the trip with us. He got me involved in a few dramas he used as demonstrations in his teachings.
On Sunday I was given a difficult task: I was asked to help out with the kids in Sunday school which I was very happy to do. I spoke to the Sunday school teacher and asked her what she wanted me to do and what she normally does with the kids, she just said ‘We take them outside and play’. So I was prepared to help out and play a few games but then on Sunday morning she told me I was taking the kids aged 6 and over on my own. I was a bit surprised and a little scared but because I have been involved in Sunday school before I knew a few bible stories I could teach so in the end everything went really well. I told them the story of the Prodigal Son and asked them to create their own drama. The kids seemed to love it and so did I! Another challenge overcome!
It was good being in Zimbabwe but I was so happy to be home. It’s a good experience; you really do appreciate what you have when you’ve spent some time living somewhere a lot more basic than you normally live. It’s hard because we often forget but we should always remind ourselves and give thanks to God for what we do have.
We arrived back home in South Africa on Monday 26th 3.45pm. We started our week on Tuesday as usual, working in the Links SA office. Since then I’ve written a report on our time in Zimbabwe, I’ve finished my website review and I have been getting together the stats from the results of the Survey Monkey questionnaire. I am now preparing to write a full summary of all the results. It’s been a tiring week, recovering from all the travelling but it’s been good getting back into the office.
2 months down, 1 month left and it seems like time is really starting to fly by.
This week I feel like God is telling me to stop worrying and just enjoy my time here with him. I’ve been told by 2 people that I need to stop worrying about other people, stop carrying other people’s burdens and enjoy the time I have left because after all this trip is about me and God. I didn’t realise how much I was worrying and how much it was affecting how I was feeling until they pointed this out to me. I feel like I could be enjoying myself a lot more than I already am and I want to make the most of my time and my experience and really get stuck in but worrying has become a barrier and a hindrance. My sister spoke to me and she’s been encouraging me to find an activity or a private time where I can spend time with God.
She said ‘Its key to your relationship with God. When no-one else is there, he is, you have to get used to going to him and talking with him’.
I realised I wasn’t spending as much personal time with him as I could be and that I needed to because of how I was feeling.
He wants us to spend time with him.
It’s amazing that he is always with us and carries our burdens; we should really take advantage of it and spend as much time with him as possible!
‘The Lord said ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quite place and get some rest’. Mark 6v31
‘Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for you souls’. Matt 11v28-29
Yesterday it started raining a lot here and I love South African rain, it’s not cold, it’s amazing, I don’t know why but I love it. So I decided to take a long walk in the rain and ended up walking down to the sea front and taking a walk along the beach, even though it was raining it was still so beautiful! Most of the time I was walking I was chatting away to God about everything, asking for help, repenting, thanking and praising him. When I got home I felt so relieved and refreshed and I was proud of myself because I’m not good at praying and that was probably the longest time I’ve ever prayed and it made me excited to keep praying.
‘The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters and he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.’ Psalm 23
Check out more photos on my Facebook (The Camels were so lovely)
Brilliant!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBEAR
ReplyDeleteTo some the be’ar is to bait.
Bear baiting made a nation great.
But better is to love the bear.
To bear is really being dear.
:-)