News and Views

For three decades, skilled servant leaders from the Baltimore-Washington Conference have traveled to Zimbabwe to build relationships, support schools, and serve alongside our United Methodist siblings in ministry. This summer, 15 participants, including Chief Administrative Officer Erica Robinson-Johnson and the Rev. Doug Robinson-Johnson of Community UMC in Crofton, returned to Hanwa Mission with a renewed commitment to education and opportunity. Throughout their three-week journey, Doug will be sending "Postcards Home," sharing glimpses of the people they meet, the work they are doing, and the ways they are witnessing God at work.

Postcard one:

Fifteen Volunteers in Mission from Baltimore-Washington Conference churches, Community UMC in Crofton, and Nichols-Bethel UMC are currently serving in eastern Zimbabwe at the United Methodist Hanwa Mission School, where they are helping complete a new quadriplex that will provide housing for teachers.

It is my privilege as pastor of Community UMC to participate in this VIM partnership with the Zimbabwe East Conference of the United Methodist Church alongside my wife Erica.  Our Biblical theme for our three-week mission is from Paul’s mission among the Galatians, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

During our first days, we toured the primary school, administrative offices, and nearby secondary school. By the time we arrived, nearly 400 students had already begun the long walk home, many traveling two to eight miles before returning to work on their farming compounds. The next morning, a tractor pulling dozens of eager students arrived with uniformed, eager students.

The need for education here is vast, but the village's remoteness makes it difficult to attract and retain teachers. The secondary school has gone three years without a math teacher.

Together, leaders from the Zimbabwe East Conference and ZIMVIM recognized that quality housing would help change that reality. Through Mission Shares, the Baltimore-Washington Conference has invested $60,000 over two years to support this teacher housing initiative. Already, we see how the promise of this housing has led to a new hire!  A new math teacher!  The harvest!

The investment in education extends beyond the new teacher housing. Hanwa Secondary School has also opened a new smart classroom equipped with 40 tablets and workstations valued at approximately $14,000. The school is now introducing computer programming to 67 Form 1 and Form 2 students, while older students are receiving training in basic computer skills. These are opportunities that school leaders hope will prepare students for careers in technology and software development. The harvest has indeed begun.

Postcard two:

The Zimbabwe Volunteer in Mission Team continues its work in a rural village outside of Harare.  We met a young man named Innocent who was schooled in the Hanwa Mission School and is now enrolled in medical school.  The team bought him the requisite scrubs and lab coat he will need and presented them to him.  Rev. Erica Robinson-Johnson offered a prayer of dedication over him.

Since 2008, ZIMVIM teams have invested in primary and secondary facilities to allow students like Innocent who had been meeting under trees and in old former tobacco farm huts to study more safely in sturdy new school rooms.  The success of other students like Innocent would not have been likely without investment from Annual Conferences and dedicated United Methodist members.

Looking Ahead:

The team will continue working at Hanwa over the coming days while participating in community events, visiting neighboring mission schools, and preparing for the formal dedication of the new teacher housing later this trip.

Please continue praying for safe travels, meaningful relationships, and the ongoing ministry of our Zimbabwe partners.