A Price to be Paid

Day three of the conference for me was a real heart rending day.  It started when the Vineyard delegation from Mozambique was introduced. As they went down the line introducing everyone, they came to Pastor Ezekiel's wife: "Everyone, this is the widow of Pastor Ezekiel who was murdered by a Religious group as he was planting a Vineyard Church."  There was his wife standing strong, proud and moving forward with what God had called them to. 

 

A modern day Vineyard martyr.  A real martyr.  Not just language used in a sermon or a historical account.  This is the real thing.

 

Then in the afternoon it was announced that we had a rare opportunity for a private screening of the new movie documentary, "Mugabe and the White African."  It is up for an Oscar and will soon be released to the public.  The movie shows first hand accounts of what is going on in Zimbabwe, how the government has taken ownership of all the white African farms, evicted the owners, sometimes beat them brutally.  Interspersed in it are comments by Mr Mugabe, in his gravelly tone, such as: "Our present state of mind is you are now our enemies," and, "I will never, never sell my country. I will never, never surrender; Zimbabwe is mine." 

 

Peter Chamada, the son of Nathan Shamuyarira, a Zanu-PF stalwart and former information minister, tells Mr Campbell a white African farm owner: "You are in the wrong home, you are in my home." Asked if a white person can still be a Zimbabwean, he responds: "Not any more. We don't want to have anything to do with you any more."

 

What was so surreal about watching this movie was the context I was watching it in.  With 18 other nations, INCLUDING, the Vineyard delegation from Zimbabwe. After the movie everyone was sitting stunned, shocked and amazed that the world could sit back and allow this kind of injustice to happen.

 

After the movie, South African leaders Costa Mitchell and Alexander Venter put everything in a Kingdom of God context.  How the church should rise and respond to this crisis.  How the Vineyard Pastors and churches in Zimbabwe need our prayers and support.  We ended the session laying hands on and praying over all the Vineyard Zimbabweans. This was the most powerful prayer time I have experienced the entire trip.

 

Again, the sense that our church, Dothan Vineyard Church, is a part of current Kingdom of God issues worldwide is quite daunting .  On the other hand, we are exactly where we need to be as a church - a part of what God is doing in all the world.