“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you to the very end of the age” – Matthew 28:18-20

What a privilege to be involved with the work of God in the nations! There are countries which look hopeless through the eyes of the world, however, it is in these very same countries where God sees potential and hope. We recently had an opportunity to experience this concept first hand when we took a short-term team up to Zimbabwe. The team ministered in four areas in the south, from the Bulawayo vicinity to 80kms past Harare.

The team was involved in sports ministry, youth ministry, children’s ministry, water sanitation and education, preaching, discipleship, counselling, leadership training and more. It was an incredible time of realisation as we witnessed a hunger for God and a hope for the future of the country. The people who received ministry as well as the team who ministered were greatly affected by God’s love and workmanship. Furthermore, the missionaries with whom we worked were also blessed. We received a newsletter from one of the missionaries after we left with the following words of encouragement:

“…we welcomed 5 ‘angels’ from 3D-Outreach in South Africa. The first thing they asked us after arriving was, “What can we do for you?” And I had no answer! Can you believe it?! I wish they would come back and ask us again – I have compiled a list………………. We visited Dobi Primary School and basically asked the Headmistress if we could ‘play’ with the kids for a couple of hours and they, the teachers, could catch up on whatever they needed to do (there are usually about 3 to 4 teachers to a school of approximately 300 children!). The team organized 5 activities, then split the school into 5 groups. Then the fun began! For about 15 minutes, the kids were at each group, either playing no-rules volleyball; skip the rope; avoid the ball on the rope; face painting; and then there was Matt’s group that improvised as they went along!! Even a few of the teachers could not resist joining in and had their faces painted and encouraged the kids at the different games. I helped paint faces…and it was so delightful to see the change of expression when the children looked in the mirror and saw their ‘new’ faces! We wondered if they had EVER experienced having their faces painted before.

It was very sad to say goodbye to these very special people who had come into our lives for such a short visit. Plans are being made for further contact though, and it is our prayer that we will see more and more of them. Thank you 3D Team for visiting and blessing us and the kids!”

Filed Under: News and Stories
Associated Tags: 3D Outreach, Bulawayo, Hope, Nations