Agape
Fellowship
Since 1986 when I first traveled to Haiti, I have been involved in mission trips annually. In 1994, I went to Russia and was involved in the starting of a church - which is now two churches - in the city of Volshski, a post-World War II city where the gospel had not been preached. This year I had the opportunity to travel to Africa for the first time and visit the countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
In Newark, I am a teacher at a Bible School, and this past winter one of my students was from South Africa. One day, the student called me and told me that his father was visiting him and asked if he could meet me. The next day, Francois, his dad, and another pastor (from Zimbabwe) came to my house. As we were talking, they invited me to come to Africa to teach pastors the Bible. My wife and I were surprised, to say the least. However, I had prepared a Bible study guide, which they approved of.
A number of years ago, God had shown me that I would be going to a number of African countries for ministry, and I recognized that it was the time, after I got confirmation from Him. Arrangements were made for me to go to Zimbabwe and Zambia on June 14 and return on July 10. In addition to preparing myself and my teaching notes, I also assembled my video teaching on the Scriptures into 20 volumes and 40 audio tapes and took them with me at the request of Herman, Francois' father. The purpose of this "School of the Bible" on tape was to would act as a follow-up to the groundwork that I laid when I was there, as well as standing on its own as a complete "Genesis to Revelation" teaching of the Scriptures.
I left from New York and soon arrived in Harare, Zimbabwe. The next day being Sunday, I was invited to preach at a church service for the handicapped (blind, leprosy, misfits, etc.) in a rural village. The African culture does not socially accept less fortunate people as easily as the United States does, and even for a church it is unusual. At the end of the service, which was attended by about 25-30 people, one man asked to receive Jesus.
The following day, I began my week-long instruction of the pastors. After dark, I attended evening services. One of these services included the showing of the Jesus film at an outdoor area near a shopping center. It was surprising how large a crowd gathered to see and hear the message. About half the crowd of about 100 people came forward, 60 of them adults. I was asked to speak to them, and they were then led in a sinners' prayer. Finally, they were given instructions and had their names registered for follow-up.
During the daytime teaching sessions, I taught basics on the Gospel of John, the book of Acts, and Hebrews, trying to lay a groundwork. The students were intensely interested, with a significant anointing at the meetings. I was in the midst of a great blessing.
The next Monday, we went about 60 miles (100 kilometers) into the bush to meet with a group of those who lived there. A man had been going into this area once or twice a month to hold meetings, because of a vision that Tatenda, the Zimbabwean pastor, had to reach the poor in the bush, who make up about 80% of the Zimbaweans. Making contact with them, we arranged to return the next day to teach from John's Gospel, as I had with the pastors the week before. At the open air meeting, there were about 40 people, twice as many as had ever gathered for previous meetings. I had the opportunity to pray for their needs after I concluded my teaching, and many people were touched by the power of God. Some came forward without an altar call to ask to receive Jesus, demonstrating the anointing present.
The group of people who were converted have become known as the Murehwa church. I promised Bibles for them all, and our church is supporting a pastor who has been sent to live among these people. He has been trained for this ministry but has asked for all of my training tapes as an on-going instruction for himself and his church. Also, we are financing the building of his home, a bicycle for transportation, and monthly living expenses for 18 months, so the church can become self-supporting.
This vision of Tatenda's, which we are also embracing, can now be extended to other people of the bush. With supporting ministry, a school for training, and financial support from others in the United States or elsewhere, more churches can be started among the poor. I am extending this concept to others here and abroad so that any person, family, or group (such as a church or school) can sponsor the planting of a church and the support of a pastor. Zimbabwe is currently having a food shortage, among its many other problems, and these people are the poorest of the poor. If anyone wishes to support a pastor and church, let me know.
After this, Herman and I traveled by car to Mindolo, Zambia, which took two days, seeing water-buffalos, elephants, and many other exotic (for me) animals. Crossing the border was an experience in itself, although it wasn't difficult, just time-consuming.
The next evening, we started a conference called, "Dimensions of Worship." We spent 5 days in the presence of God as I taught in the midst of it. After several days of teaching, I asked for those who wanted to surrender all to Jesus and many came forward. As I prayed for them, many fell under the power of God.
After a day of rest, I began to teach a "School of the Bible" as I had done in Zimbabwe. Over the next three days, I was able to cover John and Acts before I was requested to teach husband/wife and parent/children relationships along with a session on relationships of singles and members of the opposite sex. This teaching was well-received, and I was also able to meet new friends.
Two Angolan pastors came to the place where I was staying and told of God's miraculous deliverances when they left Angola, which is currently torn by civil war, with both sides commiting atrocities. There is definitely a potential for the ministry in the Angolian refugees. Medical people and facilities are not available in their country, so they can only pray for their people. God answers them in miracules ways, and one of the pastors spoke of a time God returned someone from death.
In all the time I spent in Africa, I was well taken care of. I ate well, slept well, and was able to minister well, through God's grace. The Lord's anointing was a testimony, to both me and them, of His stamp of approval on the teaching. He instilled truth into people, bringing life to them. Lives were affected, but only time will tell if it is permanent. I would like to go back, and, God willing, I shall. It was evident to me that, although there are many who are on fire for Jesus, sound Biblical teaching is desperately needed.
Reflecting on my trip, I remember how it was the same as other places I have visited, and yet so different. When I entered Harare, it looked like a European city. There were skyscrapers, wide city streets, stores, traffic lights, etc. It certainly did not appear to be a Third World country, although it was obvious that 20% of the population lives in the cities. When I saw Kitwe and N'Dola in Zambia, they also were a lot more modern than I expected. I did see a lot of food available in Zambia, but not in Zimbabwe. The government in Zimbabwe has been in the process of taking the farms, that have been in families for generations, and making the pretense of giving them to war veterans. Although the war for independence was over 20 years ago, some of these "veterans" are barely 20. This has removed those who know how to farm, and replaced them with those who haven't the least idea about farming. The result is a great food shortage, and this year's drought has only made it worse.
While I was in Zimbabwe, 2000 farms were taken, and more than 3000 have been taken since then. In addition to the owners of these farms, a large number of farm workers of this country are out of work in what appears to be a racial issue, as the farm owners are mostly white and the workers mostly black. I was told that this country was once the breadbasket of Africa, and the current situation appears to be mostly the work of the man who has made himself president - for life.
The region of Zambia where I visited was in the Kitwe-N'Dola region, which is called the "copperbelt," referring to its major copper production and refinement. Due to this and other factories in the region, a great deal of smoke is being sent into the surrounding area. When I first saw it, I was reminded of the smoke output of the steel mills of western Pennsylvania, where I grew up, before they cleaned up and regulated the mills.
An important opportunity for support are the many orphans in the country. Tatenda has taken in 26 orphans and is in need of support, although he has not asked for it. I was in his house for a number of days, and, even though he only had 15 children then, the need was there. As I mentioned earlier, the culture is not favorable for the disadvantaged. These children were orphaned by parents who have died from AIDS, and the children are left to die, unless someone like Tatenda steps in.
Also, funding is needed to make tape, both audio and visual, of training material for the pastors. This may seem less important than the previous issue, but for the church to really function, the pastors must be instructed. Herman will make the tapes and get them into the right hands, when funds are available. Also, for a fee, these tapes will be available to people in other countries.
Comments and other feedback are welcome.
In Christ,
Joseph Kite
pastor@agape-fellowship.org