Zululand

We had the awesome privilege to go to KwaZulu-Natal for a mission trip. Amber, Zach, Sibongile and I were part of a 25 member team made up of Baptist seminary students and members from a local Baptist church, both from Joburg. We worked alongside a missions organization who works throughout southern Africa and has a relationship with Amanzibomvu Baptist Church where we stayed and worked.

Zululand was a kingdom that dominated Southern Africa until the Anglo-Zulu War in the 1870s when they were defeated by the British. Shaka Zulu was the chief of the Zulu Kingdom and was known for being a warrior. The assegai (spear) helped make the Zulu one of the most powerful nations in southern Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal is now one of South Africa's nine provinces and is composed of mostly wildlife reserves and beautiful savanna covered hills. I was excited to be among the Zulu to learn more culture, customs and language!

Each morning we were part of a team that either went to the local primary or secondary school. We would lead a couple songs, share testimonies and teach a story from the Bible to the children. They received us warmly and by the end of the week Manzibomvu Primary said thanks through a song sung by the school choir. Beautiful.

In the mid mornings we would go door to door visiting people in the community. We would pray for the sick, encourage the believers and share the Gospel with the lost. The prevalence of poverty and HIV/AIDS in this rural community was hard to witness.

This Gogo is suffering from HIV/AIDS. There are 25 million living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. About 64% of all adults and children currently living in the world who are HIV+ are living in Southern Africa. There are 14 million AIDS orphans. Please pray for these people who are suffering. Pray that they may receive the comfort the Lord is offering them.

In the afternoons, we would have a kids Bible club. The kids would show up around 3pm knowing that the club wouldn't start till 430pm... but I enjoyed going out there early and just spending time with them. These children only speak Zulu so communication was challenging but I did get an opportunity to practice the little Zulu that I know. I grew to love these children. Please pray that these children would grow to love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul.

At night, I had the opportunity to go with a team to an amaNazarites community and show the Jesus film. The amaNazarites believe that Jesus is for white people and follow Isaiah Shembe, who began this movement in 1910 among the Zulu people. Shembe was a Zulu relgious leader and healer who claimed to be the African Messiah. The church has since divided into two main sections.

Three days leading up to the Jesus film, we walked around the community passing out tracts and just speaking with people. The first night, we started out with 20 people but by the end of the evening there were about 200 people packed into a classroom at the local school. The second night we played the last half of the film and there were about 300 people who came. It was amazing to see God moving in the hearts of these people. Because this is a rural setting, people walked from miles away to come. Please pray that God would continue to soften hearts. Pray that the people of this community would seek to know more about God and desire to live their lives for Him.

We had one free day and were able to go to Sodwana Bay and enjoy the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous and the water was perfect. It was fun to see some of the Baptist students experiencing the beach for the first time. There is no place I'd rather be then at the beach!