on zim, weeks two/three

colossians 3:12-17

“therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. forgive as the Lord forgave you. and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

“let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. and be thankful. let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

dietrich bonhoeffer, the cost of discipleship

“when we go to Church and listen to the sermon, what we want to hear is His word - and that not merely for selfish reasons, but for the sake of the unchurched masses who are deaf to the message of the Church. we have a strange feeling that if Jesus himself - Jesus alone with His word - could come into our midst at sermon time, we should find quite a different set of men hearing the word, and quite a different set rejecting it.”

these past couple of weeks have seen the end of my “orientation” period (although my orientation will essentially continue until i leave) and my settling into a daily routine around the church. it has been a deeply involved time. i’ve spent many afternoons just walking around the city (usually lost), trying to grasp the layout of the city. for someone who has visited enough cities to satisfy a lifetime, i remain hopeless when it comes to my geographical bearings. oh well. but the wanderings have had an unforeseen effect - i’ve been blessed to form relationships with some people around town, usually completely by chance. one guy is a bellhop at the crowne plaza, a prominent hotel downtown. another girl works at besty’s beauty salon a few blocks from the church. yet another guy works at the book cafe, the spot i walk to every morning. and lastly, there’s the homeless man who sleeps near the book cafe. pray that these relationships will be blessed, and that i will be able to clearly convey Christ's love to them.

week two was spent with the bell's, waking up absurdly early, drinking tea, eating porridge, reading lots of books, and supporting rafael nadal (or really, just whoever was playing against novak djokovic). on friday morning we departed for nyanga national park. pastor bell had been invited to speak at a camp for a house church in a rural area, and so we packed up and drove to the beautiful park on the eastern border. the region is breath-taking, unlike anything i’d ever seen, and with weather like Seattle, we were fortunate to find our cottage warm and cozy. our time was spent reading books, drinking tea (notice the consistency), hearing pastor bell’s thoughts on isaiah, and hiking around the area. the bells with their gracious hospitality have played a significant role in my experience so far and have aided my settling far more than they know. when sunday came, i said goodbye to the bells and we parted ways, as they went off to another cottage for a family vacation and i came back to harare to resume work at the church. john mccroberts, an elder at our home church who was in the area, picked me up. i slept the whole way home. 

since then, i've been living with another church family, the mauwzas. lloyd and laura mauwza, who co-direct the navigator's branch at the university of zimbabwe, have three kids: luna (17), georgina (12), and wema (7). as can be expected, it took a while to re-adjust and re-orient myself to the new pad (the roosters didn't help), but i've begun to settle in and look forward to spending the next couple weeks in their home. the gracious hospitality of the mauwzas has truly been a blessing. the picture below is wema and i one morning having fun with photobooth before breakfast.

around the church, it has been business as usual. i arrive every morning around 7:30 and walk to the book cafe to use the internet, drink tea and chat with my new-found friends around the area. that's the thing about zimbabweans - relationships are everything. if i miss a day, they ask me where i was, why i didn't come, etc. these are people that i just met a couple days ago! it's crazy. then i walk back to church, and get to work on some of the many projects currently on my to-do list. this past week, i set about making a new brochure for the rafiki girls' centre as their old one was far outdated. that was completed on friday, and as i triumphantly printed out the first copy...i realized that i had formatted it to standard u.s. letter, not zimbabwe's a4. it came out looking quite interesting, to say the least. awjkcdabewwbc. back to work.

another area that i've been able to get involved with has been the social concerns ministry, one of the many humanitarian ministries at central. every tuesday and thursday at 2:00, impoverished people from around harare meet at the church to sing praise to the Lord, hear a sermon, and receive packets of food. most of those who show up for aid don't speak english, and so the opportunities that i have to interact with them are few and far between. but oftentimes, words are not needed. last week, this young boy (couldn't have been older than seven) walked in, leading his blind, elderly mother. he was so skinny. they both were. he just looked so tired. there was nothing childish about him, save for his stature. he never had the chance. we'll never truly know how much our handouts mean to people like this. we genuinely could be the reason that they're alive. it's crazy to think about. it's also crazy to think about how powerful the love of Christ is. a simple smile is sometimes all it takes, particularly with children. when children pass by my station, i always try to smile and ask how they're doing. their usual reaction is so intriguing. it's one of shock, then distrust, then hopeful curiosity. and all of this is communicated silently. they will look away quickly, and then look up after a few seconds, doubtful, then hopeful, as their paradigm of suffering and hardship is challenged. for a moment, they wonder if life really could be different, one day. but then they're gone, walking out the door with enough food to last maybe a few days. that's when i pray. 

but anyway, the situation of that family is not unique. yesterday i served a woman who, in the political violence of 2008, was beaten and raped by zanu-pf supporters in an act of intimidation, and in that atrocious act contracted hiv/aids. her husband, hearing of what happened, left her. alone. destitute. a modern-day leper. how do these people keep going, keep striving towards a better way? how do they keep they're hope? who knows. i can only wonder. 

in conclusion, i'm doing well. i miss home a lot, but that's a beautiful difficulty to have. tomorrow i'm leaving for the western border again to attend a youth camp for all the baptist youth in the country. everything will be conducted in shona (the native tongue), so that should be interesting. next week, the harare international festival for the arts (hifa) begins, and i'm about as excited as andrew stewart in front of a cake. i've bought four tickets so far, three for concerts and one for a play documenting the political atmosphere in harare over the past decade. another pastoral intern (naison) and i are starting a study on john piper's book don't waste your life with some of the young guys, so that is definitely a prayer request. recently i finished love is an orientation by andrew marin and the hole in our gospel by richard stearns, and have just started on the cost of discipleship by bonhoeffer (hence the quote above).

the music i've been listening to lately

lift me up (the afters)
finally begin (the cold war kids)
the sea (corinne bailey rae)
daydreamer (adele)
anything by bob dylan
ambitions and war (jbm)
as tall as cliffs (margot and the nuclear so & so's)
constant knot (city and colour)
flightless bird, american mouth (iron & wine)
in the dirt (s. carey)
oh no (andrew bird)
the kids don't stand a chance (vampire weekend)
i don't mind (the decemberists)
all creatures of our god and king (david crowder band)
short road (parlor hawk)
amie (damien rice)
consequence (the notwist)
lovers in japan (coldplay)
basic space (the xx)
the lucky ones (brendan james)
lay 'em down (needtobreathe)
love's on its way (corinne bailey rae)
kick drum heart (the avett brothers)

ok i've gotta go, i'm late for a meeting. 

love,

holland

on zim, week one

(in humility, for this comes out of my own conviction). what comes to mind when you think of the African continent? political unrest? disease? Invisible Children? safaris? obviously, there is no “correct” answer, but any genuine inquiry should result in the realization that Africa is too diverse and too dynamic a place to be generalized in a few thoughts. divided between North and South, white and black, rich and poor, diseased and healthy, rebels and the government-faithful, Muslim and everyone else... as a Westerner, and one that (for better or for worse) has been deeply entrenched in popular evangelical culture, it has been easy to simplify the continent into a few vague concepts to make it fit inside my hopelessly narrow worldview. but it does not have to be that way. as you read this blog (which hopefully i will have the time to update regularly), give it your best attempt to think about Africa - and the rest of the world, for that matter - holistically, abandoning the paternalistic approach that so many Westerners take, often subconsciously, to interacting with our brothers and sisters from other nations. in my opinion, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from humbly seeking other cultures. they always go deeper than initial perception can hope to capture and often will surprise you entirely. so lay it down, let it go, and come to learn. you will not regret it. 

with that being said, my first few days here in Zim, meant to be my orientation of sorts, have been active and informative. upon arrival on thursday afternoon, pastor bell and i dropped off my gear at his house (at which i am staying for the first week or so) and headed off to run some errands and meet some people. most of those whom i met are affiliated in someway with the Central Baptist Church, where i will be interning for the next eight weeks. among those whom i’ve met so far are the church elders, the administrators of the Rafiki Centre, the pastoral staff, the staff of the nearby theological college, and the youth group, which seemed to welcome me with open arms (i don’t want to count my victories too early haha). my travels this year have shown me a new meaning of the word “hospitality”, and the africans which i have interacted with so far have only exceeded my expectations. the Bells have been absolutely wonderful hosts, and Naison, a pastoral intern at CBC and local Hararian, was kind enough to show me around the city by foot, informing me on the dos and don’ts of life in Zim. drivers are crazy, get used to the weird smells, and everyone drinks tea.

as i stated before, Africa completely blew away my expectations. i’m not foreign to third-world poverty, but this is different. Zim is a country in crisis. infrastructure has fallen apart, state law is virtually obsolete, the national currency is worthless, the unemployment rate is over 90%, police and politicians (and seemingly everyone in any sort of power) are corrupt, and the list goes on and on. the systemic problems plaguing this place are mind-blowing. and yet, it is a beautiful country, with beautiful people. even having only been here a few days, i can already see that. today i had the opportunity to head out into the country to the bally vaughn game sanctuary with david and katherine (brits, friends of the bells), and enjoyed myself immensely. the countryside is breathtaking and the animals lived up to all expectations (except for the leopard, which was dismally fat and non-agile). hopefully i can post some pictures on facebook tonight.

it is in circumstances like this that i am forced to seriously wonder what i could possibly have to offer these people. my native culture could not be more different. i don’t know what it’s like to call this place home. but i am comforted and reassured by the Holy Spirit and the knowledge that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most culturally transcendent message i could possibly be bringing. hallelujah. it was never about me, and never will be. thank goodness. 

blessings,

h

on the bahamas

to watch God, our Heavenly Father, work in my own life has been both powerful and humbling. to watch Him work in the lives of others, particularly those whom i’ve been discipling, is powerful and humbling as well. but uniquely so. at times, the recognition of God’s work in another’s life is far more compelling, spurring us on towards love, good deeds and a renewed focus on Christ, the Son. this is not always a pleasant epiphany, but it is always a good one. and one to be thankful for.

recently i was privileged to be part of a missions team from trinity church that visited the caribbean nation of the bahamas in hopes of spreading Christ’s love and furthering the kingdom of God. our primary focus lay at the all saints’ camp, a modern-day leper colony for those with hiv/aids or any other debilitating condition. lepers, outcasts by our standards, children of God by His. i say without hesitation that the joy and love that the residents poured out on our team with never be forgotten, by anyone. ‘tis a humbling thing when you expect to minister on a missions trip and instead are ministered to. still, hardly an hygienic place (also without electricity or running water), the camp needs your thoughts and prayers. we also spent time at a local orphanage, the bahamian association for the physically disabled (b.a.p.d.), and the adventure learning centre, which is the bahamian equivalent to c.i.mi. (catalina island marine institute, where many young kids living in so cal go for field trips). needless to say, the days were full. students and leaders alike returned exhausted from our various outings. but God spoke through the trip in a powerful way, and in the end, despite the fatigue, everyone was begging for more time. many cited their interactions with the precious residents as the most awesome part of the entire trip. ‘twas a beautiful thing. seeing God move in the lives of the teenagers that came from l.a. to spend their spring break serving the untouchables of bahamian society was amazing to witness (and inspiring, to say the least).

by His grace we were able to do His will, and returned from the trip refocused and rejuvenated. may He continue to work in and through us, in redlands and elsewhere. 

one story - about halfway through the week, i took three students over to the adventure learning centre for the day, and the staff there placed each of us with a different class. i was with the fifth-graders. as the day progressed, it became clear to me who the trouble-makers of the class were. of course, there was a posse of them, all boys, with a ringleader who clearly was not interested in paying any kind of attention. so i had to be very stern with them to keep them on task, which obviously didn’t make me the most popular kid in town. i began to sense their increasing disdain for me and whatever authority i claimed to have, and so began to pray for reconciliation and the continued opportunity to share Christ’s love. the ringleader (shawn) and i were sitting in timeout together, and began to talk (we didn’t say that much, as he usually had to repeat things a few times (bahamian accents)). but that was all it took. as we were walking back to join the rest of the group, he took my hand, looked up at me, and said, “let’s skip?” so we did. in fact, we all did. me, shawn, and the rest of his posse. the toughest kids in town, holding hands and skipping around the a.l.c. i’m convinced that everyone - the kids, the teachers, myself - was slightly amused and thoroughly confused. but it didn’t matter.