I was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Growing up I attended the 7th Day Adventist church with my family; my father would always make us go. I learned all the right things to say and do. I quoted verses from the Bible while in service, I sang the songs in the hymn book, I played the games during Sunday school, and as I got older I even got to deliver short sermons in front of the whole congregation, but truly knowing Jesus was a different story. I was doing so well with quoting verses and singing hymns that my father told me he was going to buy me a Bible and hymn book, but that didn’t mean I understood grace or what a relationship with Christ was.
When I was in Form 3 (junior year of high school), there was a crusade (gathering for evangelism) going on at our Church for 3 weeks. I decided to go the first night, and that night life changed forever. It wasn’t just any ordinary Church service. That night the pastor was preaching about grace and salvation, about a relationship with Jesus. I sat in my seat listening attentively because I had never heard these concepts put in a way that he did. To tell you the truth, I hadn’t really heard a lot about these things at all. At the end of the service the pastor gave an alter call for anyone who wanted to come to Christ; I was one of the first ones up there! That night after service the pastor said he wanted me to come see him the next day and talk for awhile. I did, and I also went back to the Crusade every night for the next 3 weeks. Afterwards, I got baptized and taught basic Church doctrine and theology, and thus started the beginning of my walk with Christ.
My father always wanted me to become a pastor, but when I got old enough to go to college it was too expensive for me to go to school for that. So, I decided I wanted to become a Nurse. I saw medicine as a way to bring healing to people as Jesus did. During my college career I spent most of my down time reaching out to the communities around me. I would go house to house with other guys from the Church, and we would spend time in the homes talking about the Bible and praying for those who lived there. We would also do outreaches where everyone would use the gifts God had given them to bless the community. We would go to poor neighborhoods and deliver medical help as well as food and clothing. Sometimes we would decide to fast for a couple days and then do a mini crusade, where we would set up a tent, and at night held service.
After graduating from college I had a friend that lived in Swaziland tell me that I should move down here because the economy was better and I could easily find a job. I would also escape the political issues that I faced in Zimbabwe. There, the political parties will come to you and tell you to campaign for them, and if you don’t, they’ll beat you. I decided to move down to Swaziland, and ended up finding a good job. I was working for a public health organization, and they asked me if I would move down to Nsoko to work at a base called G42. My friends told me not to, it was way too hot down there, and there was basically nothing there. I decided to go!
Now I’m here, working with AIM at the clinic. It’s a lot different from Zimbabwe, but I’ve learned to adapt to my surroundings. Ministry isn’t the same here as it was in college, but I’ve learned to be Jesus wherever I go. If I can’t go out and do the outreaches that I once did because I have to be in the clinic, then I’ll reach out to the patients that come to me! It’s all about using the gifts that God has given you wherever you find yourself in life. That’s my life in a nutshell.
My name is Wisdom.
