THE POWER OF THE WORD (March 20 & 21, 2015)

The Bible still has great power to transform lives, to awaken hope and to allow dreams to rise in the heart.  In our world, we are so accustomed to having abundance, we don't see having a Bible as unusual or as a gift.   But in Zimbabwe, that's a whole new story. 

I want to introduce you to Enoch Ngula.  He and his brother Amos are wood carvers at Victoria Falls. While working with the carvers 2 years ago, Enoch shyly approached me and very humbly asked if it would be possible for us to bring him a Bible.  He yearned to have one of his very own.   We contacted Todd Lackie with the request and he immediately asked people at Kenwood Church to meet this request. 

It was an honor to bring these men the holy scriptures. Enoch wanted me to sign it for him with a special note to  praise God for Enoch's pure heart with the courage to ask for this treasure. 

Douglas ask if he could speak to me. He is telling me how he had been praying for God to send him a Bible.  He wanted one so badly.  God had us bring him one and for Douglas, that was a miracle.  Each man received their Bible with great joy and thanksgiving.  He further told me he had read in John 14 that night.  They were hungry for God's word. 

Many people approached us like Collene when they heard we had Bibles. Their astonishment and gratitude at receiving one was humbling. 

Victoria Falls is one of the great natural wonders of the world. How appropriate, because God's presence surely dwells in the sweet hearts of His people in this place. And how appropriate to witness the rainbow, the symbol of hope and new life. These beautiful people are teaching us lessons from the soul, heart to heart. Their simple faith is an honor to behold. 

The poverty is a drain to the human spirit. Here, CJ and the girls hand out a huge lunch wrapped in a T-shirt for each man. 

In a very orderly way, the carvers passed through the line 

and quickly found a place to sit down and eat. 

Then, like Kenny here, they got right back to work. We purchased carvings from many of these men in recognition of their great talent.

Realizing how hungry they still were and that if an African man didn't get his "mealie" he didn't feel like he had eaten, we took Amos to the market to get what was needed to prepare it.

Bought tomatoes, onions and "mealie" from street venders.

Then finished off the ingredients by getting the roots from the "root store."

When we swung back by to check on our carvers and tell them goodbye, they had a surprise for us.

They had carved a plaque for us and each of the more than 30 men had carved their name on back of it and presented it to HHTH which CJ received for us. God is good. 

Below this is Trust (carver), his wife Modester (pronounced Modes-star, which means
"mediator"), their daughter Charmaine and son, Craig. They could not contain their joy and
gratitude for their new chicken business.  Modester will be the main care taker as Trust 

must continue to carve. We have every confidence in her as she already has 3
very productive gardens around their little house. She also has 4 years experience in
Raising chickens. They both attended agricultural school. Their chickens should
be about 2 1/2 weeks old already.  They will sell them at 6 weeks. He has already
talked with restaurants in the area who have committed to buying their chickens.
Pray for their success. This will transform their situation. They truly believe God is
the source behind all these blessings.