Solid Ground Church, Middelburg, South Africa

Stephan Museler, an elder in Solid Ground Church writes about his experience of the Zimababwe trips that he, and other members of Solid Ground Church have undertaken:

For some time my son, Michael, has been asking to go with me on a mission trip and the “food drops”into Zimbabwe seemed like an ideal opportunity to expose him to the mission field, as well as to spend quality time together. And what a time we had!

As the elders of MCF we felt it a good opportunity to go into Zimbabwe and see what God is doing in the local churches, as well as to be of some practical good to the people there. Urban Life Church in Midrand are the custodians of aid money that has come in from the UK with the specific purpose of sending food to the churches in Zimbabwe during the crisis the people find themselves in.

Allan Bullock and his two sons, James and David, and Michael (my son) and I left early on Friday the 5th of June and picked up the allotted two tons of food from Urban Life Church. This equates to the US $300 per person which is allowed across the border without having to pay duties on it. We traveled through to Treeways Lodge on the Bubi river and were greeted by a truly magnificent African sunset as we arrived.

The next morning after breakfast we made our way to the pre-arranged point of contact and were directed to a small village in the Ngundu region, at the foot of a majestic granite dome. There we met with a team of folk from NCF Pietermaritzburg who were conducting a GTT in that community. We spent some time with them and were awed and humbled by the awesome prayer and praise rising up from that community of believers. It was there that we met with Siphiso, a widow from Triangle, whose husband (Crispin Moyo) was the pastor of their local church. He had sadly passed away only 7 days before our arrival. She amazed us all with her incredible servant’s heart, humbleness and eagerness to serve the Lord, despite her own sadness and loss. She was there at the GTT, praying, praising and serving as one of the leaders.

We dropped off the food in a small mud hut which is the storeroom and church office and were astonished at the neatness and functionality of their small homestead. Siphiso is also a cotton and maize farmer and supports her family through the sale of her cotton. A real Proverbs 31 woman! Her children quickly bonded with our sons and they disappeared into the bush in search of Baobab fruit. Upon their return our boys proceeded to teach them to Jay-board and we all shared a lunch together.

It was with a bitter sweet experience for us since Siphiso, her sisters and their children quickly crept into our hearts and their positive and eager approach to life, despite their harsh circumstances, truly ministered to us. After praying with them, we left knowing that our hearts toward the Zimbabwean people will forever be changed. The church there is positive and hungry for more of God. They are eager to learn and even more eager to serve. I look forward to going back and trust the Lord to open further doors for Solid Ground Church into Zimbabwe into the future. It was an incredible opportunity and a real blessing to go.

Stephan Museler