When visiting one of the rural districts surrounding Zvishavane in the south of Zimbabwe 3 months ago, we were struck by the resilience of those who lived on the parched plots with little easy access to water, healthcare and education for their children. We were exploring a program run by the Zimbabwe churches with whom weContinue reading “On the fourth day of Christmas… an orientation to praise and thanksgiving.”
Category Archives: Africa
Melons, chickens & goats
Thinking today of a young lady I met in the back blocks of Zimbabwe. She’s 17 years old, orphaned and living with her grandmother. Her industry is inspiring – she grows melons and tends her flock of six goats (started with one). The two chickens given her two years ago have grown to a flockContinue reading “Melons, chickens & goats”
Wilderness Community Garden
Whilst bashing about the parched back-blocks of rural Zimbabwe, we came across a large fenced off area above a slow flowing river – the district community garden supplementing hamlets and farmsteads for many kilometers around. Known locally as a “garden of Eden,” the plots of a variety of vegetables, including spinach and kale, were surprisinglyContinue reading “Wilderness Community Garden”
Going to Church in Zimbabwe
We got to do it five days in a row – each service lasting around three hours and part of our mutual exchange as we encouraged and taught amongst the very hospitable people. We were never bored – Shona worship is exciting and exhilarating. Here, in Muuyu, the musical Mr Bunda motivates the congregation. WhoContinue reading “Going to Church in Zimbabwe”
Drinking from a fire hydrant…
… that’s how someone described a first time encounter with Africa. I recall my first day in Bulawayo standing on the pavement outside a courier’s office where my colleagues were spending considerable time. They were hopefully negotiating the reduction of storage fees for a box of solar lights that had been mailed over to assist studentsContinue reading “Drinking from a fire hydrant…”
Out of Zimbabwe
It’s now a few days since completing a three week stint working with Churches of Christ in Zimbabwe as part of a volunteer team from Australia and New Zealand. The dust has started to settle, the Africa in our veins is distilling to something quieter and more reflective. The next few posts will describe someContinue reading “Out of Zimbabwe”
The messiness of faith and sibling rivalry
Lenten reflections take us a little further into Abram’s epic but troubled journey. Genesis 12:4b-20 – the patriarch eventually finds himself in Egypt and, for cargo and self-preservation, makes his presumably comely wife (Sarai) available to the Pharaoh. Hardly a salubrious beginning for the father of the world’s three major monotheistic faiths! Stories of faith areContinue reading “The messiness of faith and sibling rivalry”
See a wrong and right it
My brother-in-law, Des, is preparing a 665km kayak trip down the River Murray. It’s not just his love of kayaking that prompts this venture; there’s been a fire in his belly ever since he visited Kitgum, Uganda, with my sister Janet, who had previously delivered relief to the school and orphanage there, a place ofContinue reading “See a wrong and right it”
Mercy from the inner womb
Healthy are they who from the inner womb birth forth compassion, they shall feel its warm arms embracing them. (Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy) Mercy is often depicted as the grudging letting go of rightful retribution or discipline for a wrong, along the lines of “OK, I’ll let you off thisContinue reading “Mercy from the inner womb”
200 years
Things are beginning to happen amongst the individual and diverse communities of what began to emerge 200 years ago as the Restoration Movement and ended up under a plethora of monikas covering most of the countries of the world – variously Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, the Christian Church, churches (small c) of Christ.Continue reading “200 years”
Wondering Pilgrim 