Dedication of Newly Completed Pastor's Home

Under a blazing African sun umbrellas shaded participants in the dedication of the newly built pastor’s home at Mkoba Baptist Church.

It has taken a number of years for the house to be completed. The people of the church have sacrificed and given little by little as they were able to buy building supplies and pay the local builder to complete it.

Taking part in the dedication were the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe, Missionary Gregg Fort, and the deacons of the church.

The women ululated as the ribbon was cut and the house unlocked.

After everyone walked through the house the women and youth gathered around the pastor’s wife (light brown suit at back left of picture) and danced and sang in celebration.

Pastor Jeffrey Ncube and his wife are pictured here outside their new home with one of their granddaughters.

Sanyati Baptist Hospital Staff Retreat

Creating Community was the theme of the first ever Sanyati Baptist Hospital Retreat. Skeptical yet excited, these early risers climbed on the bBig bus headed to a camp called “Lasting Impressions”. Singing and laughing made the long, bumpy trip pass, well, not quite so slowly. Finally reaching our destination, tucked away in the outskirts of Kadoma is the green, yet rocky, serene camp. The uniquely thatched A frames for sleeping, with a beautiful dining area and welcoming cups of tea and coffee, just increased the level of intrigue and excitement. Then everyone was told to head to the field and “play games”. Little did they know, there was a purpose behind everything they did.

Some lessons were taught with words but then each teaching was reinforced in an experiential way through group initiatives. (A VERY different form of learning for Zimbabweans). Blindfolds, hoola hoops, and silly handshakes started the teams’ training in problem solving, communication and trust building. LOTS of laughter and smiles filled the camp as the hospital employees began to learn about creating community in the work place and beyond. The training was sponsored by Winshape, an affiliation of Chick-fil-a, and led by Clarence Taylor (CT) owner of the Overland Park, Kansas restaurant. CT and his team shared the principals of a High Performance Team and working together to accomplish the best work possible.

The 2 ½ day retreat was highlighted with a most honest and challenging message on INTEGRITY by the pastor of the Kadoma Baptist Church. “The biggest crisis in Zimbabwe is a lack of integrity,” he boldly declared. The staff listened intently as he shared about the importance of character and doing the “right thing” even when no one else was. Then everything was pulled together as Dr. Mhinga (former doctor at Sanyati Baptist Hospital) reminded the staff how God’s hand has been on Sanyati from the beginning. He challenged the staff with the same threefold ministry of Christ; to teach, preach and heal, which has been the purpose of the hospital since its inception.

Nearly every staff member attended the retreat (100 in all), divided into two groups so as to keep the hospital running, and the only difficulty was getting them back on the bus to leave when it was over. Everyone returned with a renewed sense of purpose and community, making the work environment a much more pleasant place. One employee committed his life to Christ and several made verbal commitments of change and asked to be held accountable to characteristics of Integrity. We give God the glory!! Please continue to be in prayer as the staff faces so many daily challenges in this very limited resource setting. We pray that the things we have learned and received and heard and seen at the camp would be practiced out in our everyday lives (Eph. 4:9). Thanks to CT, Chick-fil-a and Winshape for sponsoring the Camp and making it all possible. Submitted by Angie Byler

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS COME TO SANYATI

Tennessee Volunteers were all over Sanyati in the month of May. We had a great month with lots of activity throughout the hospital and community. It started with a group of ten from Pleasant Heights Baptist Church, many back for the third time and a few newbies.

Serving in the Medical venue were a few doctors a nurse and a pharmacy tech.

Also on the team were some hearty young men (and Wilbur) worked deconstruction and ceiling installation in the maternity wing. The termite eaten bed dividers and rotting ceiling panels were swiftly removed by the boys in the maternity wing, while babies were being delivered and tended to on the other side of the hospital.

The nurses were coming daily to teachings provided by the volunteers and pharmacy was lent extra hands sorting the meds by others on the team. All this took place during the work day and the evenings were filled with playing in the yard with all the kids and singing and dancing with the ladies staying in the Matumbas.

Saturday was a special time of ministry for the women. Dr. Karen did a teaching on when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and how we needed to serve one another likewise. As an application of the Scripture, we girded ourselves with African wraps, called ‘Zambias’, and proceeded to wash the ladies feet, about 45 pairs in all. Then the young girls on the team painted the toenails of anyone who wanted it done.

The Matumba Ladies definitely felt pampered and loved on. Some were embarrassed at first, saying their feet were too dirty and ‘cracked’ but we encouraged them that it didn’t matter and in the end they all felt loved. This first team paved the way for the next Tennessee volunteer team which arrived a few days later and came from Central Baptist Church in Crossville TN. Again, this church was sending a team for the third year in a row; however everyone on the team was new to Sanyati. Five Youth and 3 adult leaders bounded off the transport van with smiles, energy and enthusiasm.

Fun and hard work characterized their team. Early the first morning (on a Saturday) they were busy beginning to paint the new ceiling boards the last team installed, and working on getting walls prepped to be painted.

It was easy to tell what their job was and what color the hospital walls were just by looking at the youth. Three full days plus, were spent painting the walls in the Maternity wing, and three days were spent going out to the local elementary and secondary schools and sharing songs and testimonies.

Every student spoke in assemblies, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and each team member had a chance to share at the morning hospital devotions. The team also did a wonderful job leading the Children’s Bible Club in my backyard, attracting over 100 kids, along with sharing songs and devotions with the Matumba Ladies also the other afternoons. A highlight of all the teams is getting to share a Traditional Meal with a family in their Village. The Host families cook up big pots of Sadza, greens and chicken for the teams and throw in a special treat of Mopani worms. Under star-filled skies we share traditions, songs, testimonies and prayers. Both teams enjoyed these evenings immensely and most volunteers even ate a Mopani worm. For our volunteers, these trips are an opportunity to serve an underserved people, share Christ’s love both in Word and in Deed, and get away from their own comfort zones filled with distractions and focus on the LORD and someone else. For us, the teams bring energy and encouragement, yes extra work, but it is an opportunity to work alongside fellow Americans serving the people of Sanyati. For the Nationals, it is nice to know that they are “not forgotten”, and having a hospital refurbished for them to continue to come and be treated at medically is a BLESSING beyond measure. The Zimbabweans continue to “HEAR” and “SEE” the Gospel as it is demonstrated to them in Word and Deed. Thank you to all the volunteers who have come and to the many preparing for their trip. submitted by Angie Byler