#mutoko

This is an update of an earlier article I wrote in 2010, in commemoration of Zimbabwe’s historic political transition after 37 years of rule by former president Robert Mugabe.

I arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe at dusk after a long day on the road.

I had left Malawi in the morning and drove the last stretch of highway on my 400 mile (700 kilometer) road trip through Southern Africa.  The journey…

Strengthen the weak hands,     and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart,     “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God     will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God.     He will come and save you.” -Isaiah 35:3-4

Days 25-28

Day 25

Somehow, Day 25 of my trip to Africa fell right on my 25th birthday! Some call it coincidence, some call it fate or destiny---I call it.....well I just call it coincidence too....it's really not a big deal.

We had one last morning at Victoria Falls, and we were determined to make the most of it. We stopped at a few shops and everywhere we went street vendors were badgering us. They'd follow us down the street all day longggggg. 

We started out trying to be nice: "Yes, the ceramic rhino is very nice. But no thank you, we're not interested." But by the end of the trip we had turned to the dark side: “No! We don’t like the rhino! We don’t want the rhino! We’re not going to buy the rhino! Goodbye!”

We made one guy really mad because we didn’t buy from him (it’s a long story), and when he saw us later he pointed and yelled from across the street “BAD TOURISTS!! You are bad, BAD TOURISTS!!” 

It was the ultimate moment in street vendor heckling. And it was not funny to him, but it was hilarious to us! 

All day long Bekah made my birthday super special! We went out to lunch at the adorable Africa Cafe where our waiter, Tendai, tried to force us to order strawberry smoothies against our will (another long story).

Even though she tried to make me do 25 laps around the giant freaky tribal statues, Bekah made the day so great....and the whole trip really. We had an absolute blast meeting people together, finding the nearest source of Cadbury chocolate, staying up till 3 am, and rolling with the punches of African life. I am SO thankful for her! Love you Bekah!

Finally, it was time to leave Vic Falls. (Boohoo!) But on the flight back, we got to sit in first class since it was my birthday! I'd never sat in first class before, so I can cross that off the bucket list!

The flight attendant announced it was my birthday over the intercom. But I guess she hadn't understood me when we had our conversation, because she announced that it was my 21st birthday! Then all of first class (which was mostly older African men) sang Happy Birthday to me including the 2nd verse: "How old are you now?" To which I had to reply "21!". 

We arrived back at our Team House in Harare to a big welcome sign and a yummy birthday dessert from the team. A huge thank you to everyone who made my 25th special! 

Day 26

We went back to Epworth to finish the work we had begun on the garden!

I asked Gail (our fearless leader) a question that most people ask at some point in regards to mission work: Can't they just do this themselves? Do they really need us to come all the way from across the ocean to plant a simple garden? After all, my gardening skills are not that impressive, and I couldn't tell ya a thing about crop rotation and soil preparation.

But Gail set me straight right away. "You're absolutely right." she said, "They can technically plant a garden themselves, but they won't because they have no hope. We're here to give hope." So as we sowed our seeds for kale and tomatoes, we were also sowing seeds of hope. We planted them, added water and love, and we hope and pray that God will grow them into something beautiful.

Day 27

We left in the morning for Mutoko--a poverty-stricken town a few hours outside of Harare. The drive was beautiful! I was bundled up in blankets in the back of the truck just admiring these big stone mountains and yellow grasslands we were passing. Here's a bit of the view I came to love:

We went with ZimKids to Mutoko specifically to help two families. The first is a Gogo (grandmother) and her three grandchildren--Prosper, Gamu, and Memory.

When ZimKids first started working with this family, Gogo had a drinking problem and the children were getting into trouble. One of the children had stolen something at school, and as punishment, all of them got kicked out, which is a huge deal because education is not easy to come by there.

ZimKids helped Gogo break her alcohol addiction, but there is still a lot more to do. ZimKids stops by frequently to help them with anything they need. We spent time with this family--played games, chewed bubblegum, told Bible stories & enjoyed life together.

Daniel and I acted out the story of David and Goliath for them. I got to be Goliath, which I consider to be a rare treat since I would usually not get picked for that part....mostly because I'm not a man or a giant (#discrimination!). 

Daniel preachin' the Word!:

That night, we built a bonfire and marveled at the Milky Way. Then we set up our sleeping bags in an empty building for the night.....well, not entirely empty. There are a lot of rats that call it home and we could hear them skittering around all night! Eeek!

Day 28

Climbed a mountain first thing in the morning!

(Simba, Pride, Evy, Rujeko, Gail, Emily (in front), Bekah, Me, Betty)

We had a Bible study on top, ate muffins and enjoyed the beautiful view. Then we went to the next home that ZimKids works with in Mutoko. The father is not in the picture; the mother has AIDS and frequently does not take her medicine, and there are 3 boys that are practically raising themselves. ZimKids had to take the mother to the hospital early that morning, so we went just to minister to the 3 boys who were left at home alone. 

Marvin is the oldest. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of him. Then there's Trymore:

And the youngest, Tashinga (with Emily, who adopted him as her little nugget):

Tashinga is HIV positive. Before ZimKids stepped in, these boys could not remember ever having a bath. Now they bathe whenever ZimKids comes (which is still not often by our standards, but its much better!) When we arrived that day, the older brothers helped bathe Tashinga and then bathed themselves. It was beautiful how they took care of each other and heart-breaking that they had to do so.

Their house is nothing more than a tiny shack. Their living situation is true awful poverty, and if it weren't for ZimKids they would likely die or be separated and raised by different family members. 

The boys were lethargic in the morning, but when our team brought them a meal they perked up immediately. Which led me to wonder: When was the last time they ate?

I am so thankful for organizations like ZimKids who have ongoing relationships for families in dire need. It was a huge blessing to be able to minister to ZimKids and these families. And if you wouldn't mind, I'd really appreciate if you take just a second and pray for these families.

************** (this is the part where you pray) **************

All in all, we had great memories at Mutoko! We all felt so attached to the people we met there, and the work that was being done. If we had had more time, we would've come back to Mutoko again and again!

In the evening we went back to Harare and had a braai (barbeque) with Barry, the director of ACTS. The food was amazing! We lost electricity right in the middle of it, but that's just the norm over there. Barry lit a few candles and dinner went on without missing a beat. I had such a great experience with ACTS, so if you're looking for a great mission trip or vacation to Africa--check them out! 

http://actsafrica.com/

What I Learned About God & Life

Lesson #1: God's love is personal. It's hard to love someone you don't know, and I'll tell you why. Before I went on this trip, I had a general love for people in poverty in Africa. And a love for people with AIDS. And a love for all people in general because God loves all people. But here's the difference-- God doesn't just love all people in general. He loves all people individually and uniquely.

God saw those 2 families in Mutoko and loved each of them so much, long before I went there and began to love them personally. I could only love them in general before I met them, because I didn't know them. But the thing about God is--He knows everyone. And He sees them clearly now. And He is 100% in love with them personally and cares about them. 

Seeing that firsthand makes you realize just how big God is and just how much love He has to give. Love that never runs out. It stretches all the way to the middle of Zimbabwe and reaches us right here in our own homes. There are 7 billion people on this planet, and God loves them all as unique individuals. Right this minute. As they sleep, and work, and sin and make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Which leads me to my second lesson....

Lesson #2: Life is precious. Every single life. And we are His hands and feet. I am so thankful I got to be one of the tools that God used to minister to these families. Even if what I did is just a blip on the radar of their whole life. And just a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of the whole world. We were made to be the hands and feet of Christ. To treat every life we come into contact with as precious. And to care for it as Christ Himself would. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to do that through ZimKids.

Lesson #3: Relax. This is just a short thought--but when the power went out at Barry's (as it did multiple times throughout the trip), no one complained. No one was wowed. People did not rush to the supermarket to buy milk, bread and beer. We just lit some candles and went on with life. I feel like Americans (myself included) can have such a high standard of efficiency and perfection that things can be pretty tense. We need to control everything. And in Africa that's just not possible. I loved how I was forced daily to just roll with the punches and enjoy the moment.

Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko abuses Radio Presenter Caroline Mutoko on Air Watch KTN Streaming LIVE from Kenya 24/7 on http://www.ktnkenya.tv Follow us on http…