I’m going to Zimbabwe!

Hello, Friends!

I’m excited to share that I will be traveling to Zimbabwe during fall break to share the Gospel with orphans! I’m thankful to embark on this journey, and would love to take you along in a small way. Please continue to read to learn more about this trip and how you can help.

When am I going?

My team is heading to Zimbabwe to love the kids and show them Jesus through camp-style ministry. Our trip will run October 8-24.

Why does Zimbabwe need missions?

Zimbabwe was once the “breadbasket of Africa,” the most prosperous sub-saharan African country. Now it is deeply mired in poverty, since their economic collapse in 2007. Hyperinflation and corruption cripple the economy. In addition, Zimbabwe has one of the highest AIDS infection rates in the world and very little medical care, which has resulted in millions of orphans and tens of thousands of child-led households. These children desperately need practical help to meet their basic needs and people who will love them and show them the love of their Heavenly Father.

Global Encounters partners with Hands of Hope, a ministry that has established feeding stations for orphans all over Zimbabwe. These feeding stations keep the kids alive physically, but also provide community, mentoring, and discipleship. Each feeding station is run in connection with a local church that helps take on the responsibility for caring for the orphaned kids.

Hands of Hope also owns a camp facility. Global Encounters teams have been going each year to run summer camps for the kids at the feeding station. We bring them to camp in groups of fifty to seventy at a time to be loved, trained, and fed (physically and spiritually). Because the kids at each camp come from the same feeding station and village, we get to see the real life relationships. We help the older ones learn to be protectors rather than bullies and teach all the kids to work together rather than fighting. I’m excited to build deeper relationships with them. Global Encounters teams have been working in Zimbabwe now for five years and every year we are able to have a deeper impact in the lives of the kids as they trust us more.

Why am I going? 

Since I was young I have been passionate about sharing God’s hope with others, specifically orphans. When I learned that this trip is designed to share the hope of the Gospel with orphans, I wanted to be part of it.