On Saturday, Annah and I went out to purchase a few things that I needed like some soap and electrical convertors and some other small items. If you don’t have a car here, the main mode of transportation is combi. A combi is like a 14 passenger van that they squeeze at least 20 people in. It is hot and sweaty and it has little air flow. But this time Annah and I didn’t catch a combi. We were waiting for a combi but this car pulled up next to us and the next think I knew, we were hitchhiking. Well, I guess you can’t say it’s hitchhiking if you have to pay. A combi ride is 50 cents no matter how far you go. And so this driver collected 50 cents from each of us. It was way better than a combi ride and he took us directly to the spot we wanted to go. Another guy got in the car with Annah and I when we got in. He handed us back our dollar and paid for our ride. That was really cool…
After we did all my little shopping and she showed me around downtown, we took a combi and went out to where she lives, about 20 minutes out of Harare. I got to watch the dance team practice in the afternoon.
Annah is the head of the dance team there, and she is a great role model for the younger girls. Most of them are 14 to 18. They practiced outside the front of her house. Most of her neighbors came out to greet me and they called me Shamwari, which is a Shona word that equates to something along the lines of friend/buddy/pal… something like that.
There were kids playing up and down the street. Not many murungu’s (white people) come to this part of town. So, most of them didn’t know what to make of me.
It was a very safe place, and I played with the kids in the street for a while. I took some pictures of them. One little boy didn’t want to be in the picture because he said he was all dirty. He finally let me take his picture. They all crowded around me to see their picture on the camera.
Some of the kids were so funny. Most of the older kids were very curious and everyone, including most adults was staring at me. I stopped along the road and said hello to most of them.
They were all friendly and somehow wanted to get my attention. One little boy was sitting on the ground with his friend and he shouted out “I love you!” And then him and his friend burst out laughing. He must’ve been only 8 or 10 years old. Annah said he was just trying to impress me. Some of the kids were scared of me. Some of the little ones cried when they saw me… probly haven’t seen many white people before. I was definitely the one white person in the entire town. Annah said that it was rare that a white person come to their town.
After dance practice was over, I headed over to the church. Annah had informed the worship team that I was a musician and would give them lessons. I met the piano player and he asked me to play a few of the songs that they were going to do this morning and so I did. He then asked me to show him how to play them. I didn’t realize how little he knew until he started asking me questions. Then I found out that they had only had these instruments for 3 months and they have not had anyone to teach them to play. So, they try and figure things out on their own but it would go much faster to learn if someone would show them. So then the worship leader arrives and Tatenda (the piano player) was playing some of the things that I just showed him. She came right up to the keyboard and said – You are playing something new! And then she looked at me and said – Did you teach him this?!
Worship practice started and I gave a bass and guitar lesson during the practice. There was this one young man, maybe 10 or 12 and he was playing the bass. He was full of smiles and couldn’t stop smiling even if he tried!
I showed him the bass line on the song that they were singing and he playing it correctly the first time, keeping up with the drummer and keyboarder! He learned it so quickly… I was really amazed! The head of the arts department for the church said I am welcome to come back anytime and have freedom to do whatever I want…. Whether that be sing, play, dance… She was so grateful I could help train their worship team.
They all kept asking me if I was going to come to church this morning. I decided to go. I rode out there with Pst Munya and his wife Pst Bertha. I didn’t realize that they were the head pastors of the church at the time. I just thought they were helping the church since it’s only been going since last November. (and by the way, it’s at almost 300 already, with about 100 children!) They had asked a few questions about how I see myself involved in the body of Christ and what do I really like to do. So, I shared some of my story with them and Pst Munya says – I want you to speak this morning. We need to hear what you have to say…. Sound familiar? Lol… This is the second time since Friday I have been invited to speak at a church. Yay Jesus!
Worship was really anointed and I could really feel the presence of the Lord. There was a hunger in the air for more of Him. So, Pst Bertha went up after worship and introduced me as the red rose in a sea of yellow lilies… I thought that was an awesome and sweet way to point out the murungu sitting in the front row that everyone was wondering about. Everyone laughed. The Lord had given me a word during worship to share and it tied in exactly with what pst Bertha had just shared at offering. I love how the Holy Spirit does that! I only spoke for 10 and then I felt the Holy Spirit say to pray. So, I started praying and the whole room just lit up… It was really fun!
I handed it back to Pst Munya and in the middle of his sermon, he asked for a show of hands, not just to put them in the air, but those who truly could answer yes, he wanted to know how my words had impacted them. He asked them whose life would never be the same after hearing the word I shared. Probably 90% of the room raised their hands. After service, everyone thanked me for coming and wanted to know if I was a missionary. They were so welcoming and so happy to see me.
I know you are probably tired of reading by now, but the day is not over yet. A gentleman came up to me after the service and said thanks for sharing what you did. It was a good confirmation for us. He said that he has been to several very large conferences in the area in the last three weeks and all the main speakers were saying the exact same thing I said. There was a baptism scheduled for this afternoon and 18 new believers got baptized! Pst Munya dunked them and then he sent them to me to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I prayed for the baptism of the Holy Spirit but I kept getting distracted by the prophetic word of the Lord for them. So, I just gave in to the Holy Spirit and I prayed for the baptism of Holy Spirit and Fire, but I gave each person a prophetic word. It was so cool to see the smile on their face when I would start sharing with them what the Lord was speaking to them.
I spoke with Pst Munya and Pst Bertha and asked if we could do a prayer set, like I would have done at KHOP and they were more than willing to have me. They already had all night prayer scheduled for the first weekend in September. So, I will be leading that and working more with the worship team in the mean time to teach them some of the songs that I know and me learning some of the songs that they know. He also asked me to speak at his leadership meeting, which is all the pastors under him from all the local churches in the area. Wow… I am just in awe of how the Lord is making a way for me. Lord thank you for the body of Christ in Zimbabwe. Pour out your Spirit in this place. May the name of your son Jesus Christ be glorified by every word and action that I take. Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. I love you and I will keep you posted on what’s happening!
