It’s just a bar of soap. Look at the picture and that’s what most people would say. And a funky looking bar of soap at that…least by what most Americans are accustomed to seeing. Yet in Zimbabwe just this simple piece of one of the most basic of necessities, something most of us never even stop to think about can be quite important. We hold a monthly “Widows Tea” for our ladies at Celebration Church, as well as anyone in the community who is widowed is welcome to attend.  We encourage our people to invite others that they know and one of our ladies who did just that had a huge impact on another life.   

    As a little cultural info concerning widows in Africa, let’s just say they are way down the food chain. Women are not highly valued here in the first place and when the husband dies, many times his family will come in and take everything, leaving the widow to fend for herself and children. Sad but true, it’s a reality of life here in Africa. That’s why we try hard as a church family to look out for and love on our widows.   

   So here’s what happened. One of our ladies had invited a neighbor to the widows tea last week. We try to give something to the ladies as resources permit. It does not happen every month, this past month we happened to have some soap like you see above that had been donated to us from a local organization. When this lady received her soap, she was just so blown away that anyone would care enough to give away such a thing. Overjoyed to the point of tears,  she related a story of how just that same day, she had been forced to ask her neighbor for a piece of soap as she had none left and had no idea how she would be able to get more. Cost of that soap….about 50 cents.

   I love to hear these kinds of stories. Just another reminder of just how much God loves every one of us, even down to meeting the needs of a widow who is out of soap. Also for me is a great reminder of just why I do what I do. For many people living in Zimbabwe may seem to be craziness, but these kinds of things always let me know I am living an incredibly blessed life.

James 1:27

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Cato Street…..sounds like an ordinary street name, anywhere in the world. Cato Street happens to be where God has placed Life Church of Durban. Pastors Greg and Kristen Evans, under the covering of Pastor John Siebeling/ Life Church of Memphis are the “new kids on the block” in Durban, South Africa. What a block it is. Cato Street is situated in the heart of inner city Durban. Galaxy World that you see in the picture above, yep…next door neighbor. There are no less than 6 more of these type of “establishments” in a 3 block radius Cato Street. The location is right in the center of so much darkness, prostitution and drug abuse but we believe God has put the Life Church there for such a time as this….I mean what better place for a church? 

I was honored to bring a team from Celebration Church of Zimbabwbe as we teamed up with Pastor Ben Rogers from Healing Place Church, Swaziland to help Pastor Greg begin lighting up the darkness on Cato Street. Please pray for this incredible family as they step out into all God has for them in Durban and the world.

So I came across this from Eugene O’Neill  and it started me thinking…imagine that!!

“Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue”   How simple yet profoundly true. Why is it that this notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no “strings attached”  seems to go against all of our human instincts?  The eight fold path of Buddism, the Hindu karma, Jewish covenant and the Muslim code of law all offer a pathway to EARN approval. Christianity is the only path that dares to make the love of God unconditional.

I think Jesus knew we would have a problem with grace. He talked about it very often in describing the world covered in God’s grace as a place where the sun shines on everyone regardless of good or bad and birds can gather seeds to eat without plowing or harvest. Jesus saw grace everywhere yet he never tried to define or analyze it. I can only find one place where He ever used the word in speaking to the apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”   2 Cor 12:9

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

I’m thinking that’s all He really needed to say on the subject. Think about the prodigal son, grace does for you what you cannot do for yourself. We are sons (or daughters) by BIRTH, never by worth.  We will never be worthy…that’s a word reserved for the only one that is worthy, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I can work, I can worship, I can worry, I can pray and read my Bible but that will never make me worthy.  Think about it…the prodigal son never even made it home, daddy brought home to him!!!  All he did was turn around and head back in the direction of home. He was given the best robe, the imputed righteousness that can only come thru the Fathers grace.

Be strong in that grace, we have no need (or right) to apologize for something we never earned.  Trying to earn that grace will only cripple the plan and purpose God has for you.  EMBRACE THE GRACE!!!!  We are who we are only by the grace of God, and we will only ever become what He intends for us to become by that same grace.

Celebration Church has been breaking new ground in the Sauerstown community since the child feeding program began there. The simple act of feeding hungry children in a place where food was so desperately needed has resulted in a thriving local church that continues to change lives and is truly transforming the face of this community. God has been so faithful in allowing us to minister to the precious people of this community in the midst of drug addiction, prostitution, death and despair. His grace and favor came through in a big way this week as we were able to finally break ground for the start of a community complex that will continue to transform this community thru the love of Jesus.  It’s been a long time coming as we have wrestled with local government to finally get the proper documentation that officially granted us the lease on 2 hectares of land. It’s also a bit ironic that we are now literally breaking ground in an area that was considered “hard ground”. Sauerstown has been a bit of a graveyard for churches in the past years but love and acceptance has changed all that.

 Clearing has nearly completed this week and we will begin fencing the entire parcel next week.  Our first challenge is to fund and erect an 8500 sq ft community center/feeding center/church building. This will be the cornerstone of a complex we hope to build which will include classrooms, clinic, athletic areas, economic empowerment projects/training and agricultural projects.  The opportunities are endless. Stay tuned for new developments as we step out and believe God for big things.

I had one of those “Jesus” moments quite a few weeks back that really messed with me. It affected me so deeply as only God can that only now can I feel like its time to share.  Here’s the way it went.

We have obtained permission to do a weekly outreach at the government hospital which happens every Friday afternoon. This particular Friday I had not planned on going but we had last minute issues with transportation so I found myself as the only solution on such short notice. I was feeling a bit “put out” as I had things for the weekend I really needed to get done but I really felt the Holy Spirit prompting me that I needed to get over myself and take the team to the hospital.

Zimbabwe hospitals have just recently even been back in operation and let’s just say they are FAR from the standards we have in the U.S. and actually about the worst conditions I have ever seen. Flies everywhere, blood soaked mattresses and very understaffed are just the tip of the iceberg. We were praying for a young man and I couldn’t help but notice the man in the next bed with an oxygen mask over his face but still having a very difficult time breathing. Along with the blood soaked bandage that marginally covered a large hole in his chest the other thing I noticed was he was shackled to the bed with a set of handcuffs on each ankle. His eyes were closed as if he was sleeping but when we turned to leave his eyes opened and as he stared directly at me I will never forget the empty look of pain and fear I saw in his eyes. The emptiness there just overwhelmed me and it was almost as I  heard a scream in my head of “please help me!!”

He pulled off the oxygen mask and the only English I could understand was “I’m dying”. My Shona is poor to non existent so I had one of our guys tell me what he was saying. Turns out he was caught poaching on a game reserve, got into a gun battle with the police and had been shot in the chest. He had no family and no money to pay for surgery to remove the bullet from his lung and he knew he would never leave that hospital bed.  Through our translator I was able to tell him about Jesus, that he was loved by God and he could make a choice to accept Jesus. So the story ends…we prayed with him to accept Jesus but the best part was the change I saw in his eyes when we left. The empty, pain filled eyes that were so full of fear had changed to pure peace and joy. I’m quite sure this man never left that hospital alive but I am overjoyed to know that I will see him in Heaven one day. Thank you Jesus for never giving up on any of your children and thank you Holy Spirit for reminding me that it’s just not about me but rather for those who are still lost and hurting.

In one  word……EVERYTHING.  The longer I live life as a follower of Jesus (I spent a long time doing just the opposite) the more I am convinced of the fact that this is the epitome  of our existence on Earth. I suppose I should know this just by the fact that God is love but translating that to living life day to day is quite another matter.

Love is a choice we make from moment to moment. I think the “top button” analogy works well with love. When buttoning a shirt, if you get the top button right, all the rest fall right into place. If the top button is wrong you will never get the rest right until you go back and correct that one at the top.  It’s been said “Love first, then do whatever you want”. This speaks volumes on the power that loving God, loving ourselves and loving others can have in our world if only we could all get that “top button” right.   

Here’s a kind of checklist based on 1Cor 13 that helps me to keep on track:

Love is patient- do I keep my cool when others disagree with me?

Love is kind- Do I share time and concern with others? Do I try to be thoughtful of those around me at all times?

Love is not jealous-  Do I feel threatened by others talents?  Do I get upset when others are recognized or do I rejoice with them?

Love is not conceited- Do I focus attention on myself or try to look good at others expense?

Love is not proud- Do I know my limitations and ask for help when I need it?  I struggle with this one.

Love is not ill mannered- Is my conversation always polite and edifying/uplifting to others? Do I put others down to make myself look good?

Love is not irritable- Am I touch or defensive? Am I easy to approach?

Love keeps no record of wrongs- Am I quick to forgive when someone truly hurts me.  This is huge.

Love is not happy with evil- Do I delight when someone else slips up and fails? Do I ignore evil unless it touches my life?

Love is happy with the truth- Do I try to be open and real even when it shows my weaknesses? Am I willing to admit when I am wrong?

Love never gives up- Do I keep trying even when I am rejected? Do I always look for ways to love, care for and help others?

Let’s love the unloveable, just as Christ loved us.

Roasting Plant, that’s the name of the community in which we have opened our newest Celebration Church, Zimbabwe location, bringing us to a total of 23 across the nation. I love to see Jesus’ church growing.  What in the world is a Roasting Plant you ask…I did too. All I could think of was peanuts. I told the church this yesterday and they thought it was quite funny. I get laughed at a lot here. Even after 18 months of living in Africa I am only beginning to scratch the surface of understanding the culture.

Roasting Plant is in Kwe-Kwe, a city located 230 km from Bulawayo in which we have had one location meeting in town for some time now. The community was named after what they do there, namely “roast” gold ore. It’s been built around a gold mine and (as I have learned) the type of ore coming from the mine is not well suited to conventional methods of extracting the gold without roasting the ore to remove sulphur and other elements. So there’s your lesson in gold processing for today.

As soon as I saw the community hall where we were to hold services I knew it was a perfect spot for a Celebration Church….right next door to a bar!!!!  It’s a L-shaped building, we have one side and the Rayi Bar occupies the other leg. The community has been receptive to our presence and actually quite excited. Our worship team here is unbelievably talented. The worship leader has a voice that rivals Stevie Wonder and actually leads while playing the drums.  The patrons at the bar actually said they enjoyed the worship and I saw some of them also listening to the message that was preached (masterfully I may say) by Pastor Albert Ngalu, our Bulawayo Central campus pastor.

The best part…13 people gave their lives to Jesus yesterday. The beginning of another transformed community. God is GOOD. It’s what makes it all worthwhile, its why I do what I do!!

 2 Peter 3:8-9

 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Here’s a few pictures from our Celebration outreach team visit to Isaiah’s Umuzi Wothando (Isaiah’s Home of Love). This is an incredible place for abandoned babies in Bulawayo. We have made this a regular part of our outreach team activities to simply go and serve these kids. Laundry, cooking, feeding and gardening are all things we can help with as well as to just love on these kids. We also try to bring along a few groceries that are always welcome.  The children are just happy to see our group coming and I always leave here feeling so blessed just to have the opportunity to see a smile from these precious little ones. Stepping outside of our 4 walls, serving those who can do nothing for us in return, that’s what life is all about. They are after all…our future.  Thank you Jesus for the incredible people from our outreach team who willingly give of their time, talent and treasure to serve the children.  

Luke 18:15-16
 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these
NIV

Here are some pics of some of our sewing project ladies putting their skills to work making Valentines bears to sell for the recent holiday. I wasn’t even sure they celebrated this holiday here but Valentines Day is alive and well in Zimbabwe. All these ladies were trained as a result of the sewing machine project sponsored by our SHINE ladies from Celebration Church, Jacksonville. Not only did they gain skills to produce clothing on the sewing machines but they also learned to sew “by hand” as you can see here. Thanks you SHINE ladies for helping to empower the women of Zimbabwe.

1 Thess 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Random thoughts on prayer today. So why do we pray? We pray to connect to something beyond ourselves and beyond our human limitations. We pray because we know what it is to be in a foxhole, or face-to-face with terror or too close to tragedy. We pray because we have known heartbreak, grief, failure, and pain. We pray because when we are up against a wall we reach out to God because we somehow know He is there. Prayer gives us “breathing space”. There is no end to how fruitful and productive we can be when we have breathing space. Jesus knew this. That is why he so frequently went off by himself to pray.

Bill Hybels says that “prayer flies in the face of our American culture and work ethic”. We have learned to be strong, independent, and self-sufficient. Turning to God in prayer seems like an assault on the idea that we should pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and make our own success.

Prayer allows God’s power to be unleashed in our lives. We have to continue in a posture of prayer for God’s power to continue to be at work in our lives. God is willing and able to answer our prayers. God wants us to pray without ceasing and then wait and watch for him to give us more abundantly than all we could ever ask or pray.

It REALLY works. Why not give it a try today?