Zithulele

Stunning views, breathtaking sunrises, rainy days, muddy feet, pigs running on the streets, chess, and amagwinyas are just a few things from the long list of blessings that Zithulele offered to us during the 3 weeks we were there.

Our team was extremely excited to join into the community that we’d heard so much about from previous global teams that had visited the stunning village before. We were promised a warm welcome and our expectations were exceeded. We immediately gelled amongst everyone in the village and we quickly found our feet and took hold of the roles we were going to be playing throughout our time there…
Our group was divided to go help out at the several NGO’s in the community. The jobs varied from teaching at the local primary school, taking stock of inventory at the library, organising and selling second hand clothes to building bathrooms and constructing a centre/ cafe for the community to use as a place to build connections with one another. Our skills as a team were stretched and expanded but we were determined to make the best out of every moment as we wanted to be used by the Lord for his purposes.

Needless to say…through all the stretching, our team learnt a lot, not only about ourselves but also about people and community. One of the many lessons that the people of Zithulele taught us, is that it doesn’t take much to make a place feel like home, that one can truly be fully satisfied even living in simplicity…material things are truly of this world and even the smallest space can hold unmeasurable amounts of love…

Some days were truly tough. Although we look back on Zithulele with much joy, some of our team members struggled whether it was physically with the work they were doing, or emotionally and often times spiritually, but it was such a huge testimony to see how the Lord redeemed our spirits everytime after praying through our struggles together. When disunity or exhaustion arised we looked to the Lord and the environment immediately shifted. Our unity was restored, our exhaustion transformed into energy, and we were just generally filled with the Lords joy and peace.

Our time in Zithulele drew to an end and we said our goodbyes to the community that had adopted us as family.
You will forever be in our hearts Zithulele, we thank the Lord for the work he is doing in and around you…you will continuously be in our prayers. You’ve made an unforgettable dent in our hearts.

One of our teammates shared her heart for Zithulele in this letter:

Letter to Zithulele

Zithulele, you have a reputation of stealing peoples hearts and now I know why. Your children are a delight for their smiles throughout the day patch up the deepest wounds of one’s heart…your people greet so joyfully and even your pigs run around playfully on your streets. Thank you for so effortlessly feeding our stomachs with your ‘amagwenyas’ and for the beautiful sunrises that you produce so gracefully. Zithulele, your beauty is beyond compare, but it’s your community that strikes us most. You have oh so welcoming souls that swing the doors to their homes open wide for us to enter…you hold a special group of Godly people that have dedicated their lives to building you up. You’ve showed me the perks of simplicity and how you don’t need much to make a small space a home. Although your air is heavy and draining at times…God has plans for you and your people beyond what you could imagine. There is hope present here, and it’s all thanks to those of you that so faithfully pray for you and the ones that will grow from you in the years to come. Take good care of the feet that rush through your streets, for they could quickly grow weary and fatigued. Make Jesus your centre and show Him to your children, for that is how you’ll become a safe haven for travelers that have dry souls and are In search for more. I unfortunately won’t miss my muddy feet every morning, although I’m sure your soil laughed hysterically at my epic falls. I pray I’ll be back for you again, because your youth has captured my heart and I fear they won’t give it back.
Thank you, Zithulele. For everything.

~Gabriela

Prayer Point:

As a team we extend an invitation to join us as we pray for Zithulele. Currently we believe Zithulele needs extreme spiritual support because where God is working there is also resistance from the enemy. We would like you to help us pray for the long term missionaries that are currently in Zithulele…to pray against the strongholds of burnout and exhaustion. Our request to the Lord is that he will keep them in high spirits and fill them with energy and a continued passion for Him and his word, especially as they minister to the locals. We also pray for unity amongst the NGO’s and all those in partnership with them. Generally we pray for the Lord’s plans to prosper…we pray for an overflow of His light.