Mudzalephera

I’ve just been thinking of the Kingdom of God, of what Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. I traveled to a tiny village yesterday, one where a small group of people have been putting forth focused effort and money to transform the health of this community under crushing poverty. As I spoke to the workers, I was told of the multiple problems and a year’s efforts seem to have come to nothing. This is not a picture of the kingdom of God.
This place needs the life, cross and resurrection of Jesus, they need the Good News that comes with hope and power. I met a beautiful lady with her baby, I introduced myself and told her in English how beautiful her baby she smiled and told me his name. Then I asked her name, she told me “Mudzalephera”. I carefully repeated it and smiled at her. Then someone next to me told me her name means “You will fail”. This is why we need the Gospel, Mudzalephera”s life has been saturated with injustice and the heavy fatalism of her environment. The Kingdom of God that Jesus preached is GREAT news, light and fresh air. We all need it, and it makes my heart ache to offer them that hope and life.
Elizabeth