In August The Tide global radio ministry blessed me with the task of documenting our time in Zimbabwe through journaling. Although I only spent one week in Zimbabwe, seven days have never impacted me in the way Africa has. My heart for God has been positively altered by the Christian lives in Zimbabwe.
Life is not easy in Zimbabwe, and I will admit I do not personally understand the struggles they deal with each day. Technology, electricity, water, housing, economy, health—none of these elements are guaranteed in their living, yet the people I saw in Zimbabwe responded with unified worship pro- claiming, “God is good!”
I am unable to give identity to simply one
source for quoting “God is good” in my six days
there; I heard countless people communicating this
truth. During my time in Zimbabwe, the local bishop,
Bishop Sindah Ngulube, was attending his mother’s
funeral, yet he and his wife joined our team for din-
ner to welcome us with “open arms.” There was pain
from the recent loss of his mother’s life, but Bishop
Ngulube radiated peace; he was in church the next
morning as the song lyrics rang “Siyabonga, Jesu!
Siyabonga, Jesu! Siyabonga, Jesu!” (“Thank you,
Jesus! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!”) Life is not
set on a consistent schedule. My mind dependent
on consistency travelled with me to Zimbabwe, but
the Christians there taught me to leave such a mind
behind.
I do not want to treat this trip as a trophy on my “shelf of Christian accomplishments.” The people in Zimbabwe are not mere projects; as The Tide team taught them, the Christianity culture in Zimbabwe taught me. This trip to Zimbabwe has called me out of my zone of comfort. I pray I will continue to walk through ‘doors’ leading out of my comfort zone and into being a disciple for Christ.
God is being glorified in Zimbabwe! We need to thank God for the beautiful people worshipping him in diverse cultures. I am thankful to the follow- ers of Christ in Zimbabwe; they have influenced the mind I brought to them. I came with a task-oriented, scheduled worship and consistency-dependent mind, but the Christians there taught me to leave such minds behind.
Hannah is a student at Lancaster Bible College majoring in communication and minoring in intercultural studies. She is an editor and reporter for the LBC campus newspaper, and hopes to use her passion for writing, speaking and other cultures in the future. This article is a paraphrased version of an op-ed Hannah wrote which was published by the Christian Post. The full article can be read at ChristianPost.com, keyword: Hannah Wheeler