The hospital is crowded…overcrowded in fact. Each bed filled, and the open spot on the floor beside that bed also filled with a patient. Resources are stretched extremely thin…often 1 nurse per 40 patients, and 1 Doctor per 100 patients. Outpatients arrive at 7:00am, and often don’t get seen at all the first day. They sleep outside and return again the following day, now closer to the front of the line. Often the journey to the hospital is 2 days or more, yet still they wait patiently.

Not a complaint is heard. No one demands faster service. No one cuts in line. There is a certain understanding among them. An understanding and acceptance that the hospital staff is doing the best they can, and that they are here to help the patients. An understanding that others have needs also, and that the world does not revolve around their own schedule. I admire the Shona people for that.

Many have almost no money, unable to even pay for food, but still they bring what they have to pay for their medical care. Knowing full well that even if they could not pay a single dollar towards their bill, they would still be treated, they voluntarily pay.

To an outsider, the Zimbabwe situation seems hopeless. HIV/AIDS is rampant, tearing apart families and communities like a plague. Hundreds of thousands of orphaned children are left with a mere child taking over as the head of household. Daily in the hospital we performed 15 or 20 HIV tests….a negative result was a rarity that was celebrated. Even in the face of sickness, suffering and death, the Shona people have hope. A ferociously strong religious culture, Christians in Zimbabwe have had their faith tested and proven. Prosperity and an easy life are not the hallmark of Christian desires. Sharing and living out their faith in Christ on a daily basis is emphasized. Responsible stewardship of what little God has given them is displayed at a level I can only imagine when I look at my American middle class brothers.

Paul knew full well what hard times were like when he wrote to the church at Philippi, saying “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 NIV). I can’t think of a better example of how true this verse is applied in our world today than the faithful in Zimbabwe who recognize that their treasure not of this world, but rather reserved for them in Heaven with their Wonderful Savior.

Pray for Zimbabweans, because those without Christ truly have no hope: No hope of a better life, and no hope for eternity. Their country is in shambles, they live in poverty, and as far as they can tell, the civilized world has turned its back on them. I learned a lot in my 2 summers in Zimbabwe as a nurse at the mission hospital. This experience showed me what was really important, and what I can do to help those in need. I pray that you take the Zimbabwe cause to heart, and commit to pray and help in whatever way possible.