‘Cause I’m just a little jealous of the nothing that you have, unfettered by the wealth of a world that we pretend is gonna last; they say God blessed us with plenty, I say you’re blessed with poverty, ‘cause you never stop to wonder whether earth is just a little better than the Land of the Free – excerpt from Land of the Free by Andrew Peterson.

For eight days this past October, my nine traveling companions and I experienced just a taste of what it is to live “unfettered by the wealth of a world that we pretend is gonna last.” We traveled to Zimbabwe to spend a week working and worshiping alongside our brothers and sisters in this troubled country.

Once known as the “breadbasket of Africa,” Zimbabwe is now teetering on the edge of total ruin. Due partly to a prolonged and mostly to myopic political practices  and misguided economic policies the people of Zimbabwe have been suffering through hardships of biblical proportions. Food and fuel are in scarce supply. To find any at all, you must travel many miles and pay exorbitant prices.

And conditions are getting worse day by day. The inflation rate (the highest in the world) is currently above 10,000% and climbing. In a global economy where the U.S. dollar continues to weaken, it is still worth around 400,000 Zimbabwe dollars.

For just over a week, we witnessed the hardships of the Zimbabwean people. Our stay was brief and we knew when we left, we would return to the “comforts” of America. Our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe continue under these difficult conditions – day by day. When they pray the Lord’s prayer and ask “give us this day our daily bread,” they mean it literally.

Despite the extreme circumstances, work and ministry continues to bear great fruit in the little town of Hwange, on the western end of Zimbabwe not far from Victoria Falls. Pastor Simon Mkolo, a long-time NDI partner, and the teachers at his Bible school are continuing to train leaders and reach their people for Christ.

During our brief stay in Hwange we witnessed the determination and dedication of the students and leaders to continue the work that God calls them to do. School Principal Francis Munkombwe along with three other teachers and close to 40 students are making a big difference in Zimbabwe. While the daily search for fuel and food continues, Principal Munkombwe has a vision that will see the school expand beyond it’s current two rooms. At one time he had thoughts of leaving full-time ministry, but God called him back and reinforced the call that he had placed on his life. Munkombwe has led the school since it graduated its first class in 1997. Since moving to the current site in 2003, two classrooms have been built and equipped with solar power and two more were begun during our stay.

Our team was brought in to help them begin work on the third and fourth rooms of the school, another classroom and the library. Working in desert heat and dry conditions and under the leadership of our head brick mason, Red McAdams (from St. Mark’s Church in Burlington), we were able to successfully pour the floor on the 25’ by 75’ structure.

The four corners were also erected and the walls started going up. Ivan Crissman, Vic Owen, Ricky Spears (from Rich Fork Baptist Church in Thomasville), and Pastor Russell Brownworth (from Bethany United Methodist Church in Franklinville) each taught a course for the Bible school students, one and a half hours each day for five days. Adrienne Cromer and Chasity Evans (from Rich Fork), Kathy Fuqua (St. Mark’s), and Tammy Smith (Bethlehem Christian Church in Altamahaw) went into the villages each day to share the story of Jesus with the local children, many of whom made commitments to follow Christ.

It was during our corporate times of worship, though, that we saw the heart of the people. Their passionate praise and prayers to God on behalf of their families and their nation showed the great burden that they were carrying. Their greatest request from our group as we left was that we would pray for them and their nation. They are struggling in many ways physically, beyond what we could comprehend or experience in our short time there, but in some ways I do believe they are “blessed with poverty.” They are able to recognize that this world is not our home, that our citizenship is in heaven. As Paul warns the Philippians not to have their “minds set on earthly things” (Phil. 3:19), we would do well to have the same perspective.

My prayer for our Zimbabwe brothers and sisters is that God would give them the strength to face their daily physical battles as they continue to fulfill the Great Commission in their part of the world. My prayer for us in the U.S. is that God would give us the perspective to see that this world is not our home and that we would “never stop to wonder whether earth is just a little better than the Land of the Free.”

-Rev. Matt Smith, Director of Leadership Training (far right of top picture)