Farming and Forgiveness in Zimbabwe

Last year we had a young man named Benj Meeks come and intern with us for two weeks here at our farm. He was a great encouragement to us and we are excited about what God has in store for him. We have stayed in touch and recently he won a scholarship for a three month internship at the head Foundations for Farming training station in Zimbabwe. His updates have been very encouraging and I got permission to share his latest one with you here. He is starting his own blog at gardenguyonline.com and is on YouTube as GardenGuy.  

Guest Post from Benj Meeks aka “GardenGuy”.

Dear friends,

Hello from Zimbabwe! These past weeks have been absolutely incredible. To tell all the many stories would be like trying to describe the beauty of a sunset or sunrise. Words just cannot suffice, but I am going to do my best to give you a short, digestible version. Okay! Here we go. 

 

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Every year Foundations for Farming does a conference title “Champions Conference” where people gather from a wide variety of countries. The farmers who have whole-heartedly implemented Foundations for Farming principles come and share their stories. So I knew the conference would involve testimonies and some practical training…oh wow was I in for a surprise! Those three days were among the most powerful days of my 8,318 days of life (yes I looked it up haha). 

 

The conference theme was forgiveness and reconciliation which is significant considering Zimbabwe’s broken history. The two dominant tribal groups (Ndebele and Shona) harbor bitter hatred because both sides have seriously harmed the other. Whole families killed, women raped, children left to die and many unspeakable things. In addition, over the past 30 years many of the white farmers have been chased off their land or in some cases killed. But the white farmers were also cruel and prideful in many cases.The stories I have heard of the atrocities committed on Zimbabwe soil are beyond words. Zim was once the bread basket of Africa and now she is one of the poorest countries on planet earth — Racial and tribal bitterness have really torn this nation to shreds.

 

I believe her current condition is not her last. Hope is rising. On November 14 – 21 the Zimbabwean military conducted a coup to depose the long “reign” of president Mugabe. After he was deposed, something incredible happened… more than a million Zimbabweans, black and white, Shona and Ndebele, all gathered in the streets of the Capitol. There were shouts of joy, bright smiles and tear-stained faces that day. Those who participated tell me the whole atmosphere had shifted. Where dark oppression resided now reigned a light of liberty.  Men, women and children of all colors and tribes were embracing and dancing. Wow! It would have been amazing to be there but at the same time I feel like I have been there by the way people talk about the experience. That day ignited a fire of repentance and reconciliation which is now being fanned into a blazing flame! This conference was a key part of the unfolding reconciliation story. 

 

I’m telling you, friends, God is doing great things here in Zimbabwe and the reality is that these changes are the first fruits of years of prayer and repentance at the grass-roots level. It seems to me true, lasting change only happens starting from a heart-change. The small, seemingly insignificant shifts in the unseen human spirit are the real mountain-movers. These principles remind me of how gardening works. If I want to have a healthy crop, I need to have a healthy soil. Everything starts with the soil. In the same way all good fruits in our lives and in our nations have to start at the root…we need to address the spiritual, unseen level first and foremost. 

I apologize if what I am saying sounds preachy. These past weeks have moved me deeply and I just want to share what I’ve been given with all of you. I am going to bring this heart of forgiveness back to Knoxville and begin the healing process with brothers and sisters who are holding onto that bitter root of unforgiveness. 

 

I will end with one story. One of the speakers was from Rwanda. Pastor Protais holds a story filled with more loss, more pain, more searing bitterness than I have ever personally heard. His is a story overflowing with every reason to hate. In his family alone forty one people were murdered, including his wife, two sons and mother. He witnessed his own uncle’s head being chopped off right before his very eyes before he escaped. The Rwandan genocide claimed over a million lives within the span of a mere 100 days! Protais shared his story with a calm yet strong expression which conveyed kindness yet strict warning. He shared how despite being a pastor, he harbored bitter hatred toward those who killed his family. For seven years he harbored it. all the while it was killing him. But through a move of the Spirit and his repentance, Protais was able to find the offenders and apologize for hating them in his heart. He also forgave them. He wept for the first time in his life. For an hour he wept in the arms of a friend. The bitter root was being removed and he (as well as the perpetrators) were freed from the bondage they had been living in!

 

Forgiveness and reconciliation is a process but Pastor Protais had embarked on the journey and his heart sang for the first time in years. Now he holds reconciliation meetings with the people in Rwanda. Half of the people are victims, half are perpetrators and yet by God’s grace and much hard work, the people are releasing the bitterness and embracing each other in wholehearted forgiveness! What a beautiful thing it is when brothers dwell in unity. That same heart of real repentance is now growing in Zimbabwe. Please pray with me for Zimbabwe to keep running this reconciliation race. Please pray for my own hometown of Jellico Tennessee and Knoxville Tennessee. I know this started out as a gardening email list (and it still is!!) but I simply cannot help but share what is shifting here. You must know. A thriving garden is a beautiful picture of the fruit of healthy roots and a thriving nation is a beautiful picture of the fruit of healthy hearts. Let us unite in fighting for the reconciliation of brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, neighbors and friends! 

 

Thank you for listening, friends. I hope to give more frequent updates now that things are slowing down around here. 

 

Blessings and shalom,

 

~ Benj aka Gardenguy