Prayers of gratitude and intercession

Sukodono, Indonesia–In 2008 I went to Cairo, Egypt, under YAMEN! to work at the Anaphora Retreat Centre of the Coptic Orthodox church. I used my limited English language as a basis for learning Arabic.

After a month and a half, however, just as I was getting the feel of Egypt, a friend drove me to the immigration office in Cairo to renew my visa. To my surprise, the officer told me that I could not renew it; this was different from what the embassy had told me before I came. I had to return to my beloved Indonesia. The lesson I learned at that time was: God lets good things and bad things happen to us, but he never leaves us alone to walk by ourselves.

When I arrived home, my friends were shocked, wondering whether I was unable to do the work. But they prayed for me that all would work out.

Thankfully, my fellow MCCers in Egypt had talked to other international MCC staff and were able to arrange that my assignment could be transferred to Zimbabwe. Was I dreaming? I had heard that it wasn’t a good place to visit. Inflation was very high, and the country was in economic crisis. Health services were unavailable, and many people were suffering with HIV and AIDS.

I was grateful to God for my host, Pastor Milson Ndlovu, a Brethren in Christ (BIC) pastor in Lobengula-Bulawayo. He asked me to be his assistant in his pastoral visits and in his Bible teaching. I attended pastors’ meetings and visited people in hospital and seniors’ homes. I even helped to teach in the BIC’s preschool program in Lobengula.

After nine months, it was time to go home. I was happy that I would see my beloved family, but it was hard to say goodbye to my new family in Zimbabwe. I had experienced Jesus in Africa.

In Indonesia, I completed my studies at my college, STAKKWW Pati, associated with the Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa (GITJ) synod and the Global Discipleship Training offered by Global Disciples, a mission organization. The GITJ synod is one of three Indonesian member churches of Mennonite World Conference.

Then I took a job as a teacher in a preschool and kindergarten run by the GITJ in Sukodono, a small city in Central Java, Indonesia. In July of 2010 I was married to Deni Kurniasih of the Sukodono church. Recently we opened a new play group that reaches a variety of families, including people who are not Christian. In it we try to concentrate on character development. I also am a youth discipleship trainer with the GITJ synod.

Before I joined YAMEN!, I was not confident with strangers from other cultures and languages. I would feel uncomfortable, foolish and inferior. My experiences in Egypt and Zimbabwe taught me that I am Jesus’ own creation, just like anyone else. Anyone visiting a new country feels lonely and small. When I realized this, I knew I could be flexible and grow as a person.

My growing confidence helped me not only in my YAMEN! assignment; it also made me confident in facing new situations here in Indonesia, too. I came home with a new spirit, wanting to accept God’s call for my life. Currently, it is to serve the church in Sukodono.

When I saw the suffering of the people in Zimbabwe, I also learned to be thankful. Today, I would be ashamed to ask God for something that I don’t need. I cannot be upset when we get too much rain; others in the world need that rain.

I have moved from an exclusive local mindset to one that is international. I have a new spirit that is always open to learn.

God never left me alone when I joined YAMEN! Thanks to Jesus Christ for calling me to serve him in my life.

Joint release: Mennonite World Conference and Mennonite Central Committee

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Participants in this year’s YAMEN! program

Kenia Vasquez of the Iglesia Evangélica Anabautista, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, serving in Mozambique;
Luisa Santos of the Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Hondureña, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, serving in Nicaragua;
Yohane Mbewe of the Maone Brethren in Christ Church in Malawi, serving in Brazil;
Brighton Mashebe of the Kanyama “A” Brethren in Christ Church, Zambia, serving in Brazil;
Nancy Sabas of Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Hondureña in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, serving in Indonesia;
Aristiya Dwiyanti of the Persatuan Gereja-Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (GKMI), serving in Cambodia;
Nicole Knelsen Hubert of the Vereinigung der Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinden, Asunción, Paraguay, serving in Indonesia;
Janny Lweendo  Hachilenge of the Choma Central Brethren in Christ Church, Zambia, serving in Indonesia; and
Godswill Muzarabani, of the Entumbane Brethren in Christ Church, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, serving in Laos.

 

Vientiane, Lao PDR — Godswill Muzarabani grew up straddling two cultures in Zimbabwe. His father was from the majority ethnic group, Shona, and his mother was Ndebele, the minority ethnic group – classifications that have led to violence between the groups at worst and a recognized distinction at best.

“I became a person who can relate to everyone,” he said. He could fit in with the language and culture regardless which group he was relating to.

That ability served him well when he went to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao) with YAMEN! in 2011 and 2012. There he learned to respect different religions and different understandings of peace and still value and relate to the person.

Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network (YAMEN!) is a joint program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Mennonite World Conference (MWC). It places young adults from MWC-member churches in the Global South in other countries of the Global South for cross-cultural learning and service.

Muzarabani’s biggest concern about going to Lao was how he would adjust to living among Buddhists and Hindus, after growing up in a country where people predominantly identify themselves as Christian.

“I thought it was going to be impossible,” Muzarabani said. “I thought, ‘Imagine living with someone who doesn’t believe the same as me.’ When I came, it was even worse because we even work with Buddhists.

” It didn’t take very long in Lao for Muzarabani to respect Buddhists for their peaceful way of living. From the kind way they respond to a mistake to the way they perceive conflict, Buddhists are even more peaceful than Christians, he concluded.

In Zimbabwe, physically fighting is a common way to resolve a conflict, political or personal, he said, but in Laos PDR, conflict is about the heart. The belief is: “If you say something bad about someone, be careful because you might hurt their heart.” This belief, however, means that Laotians tend to allow people to take advantage of them and rich people to exploit them, he said.

“If I could take the two societies and mesh them together: Laotians wouldn’t go out and fight, but they would still know how to protest and do it nonviolently,” he said. “If people in my country would think about the heart as much as these people do, they wouldn’t be fighting, but they would probably go and protest. Soldiers wouldn’t beat up people because they know it will hurt them inside.”

Muzarabani’s assignment through YAMEN! was to teach English in a secondary school and to teach peacebuilding through Mittapab, a peacebuilding club for secondary students. He graduated from Solusi University in Zimbabwe with a bachelor’s degree in peace and conflict studies.

As students grew to respect him and as his Lao improved, they started looking for opportunities to talk with him. Laotians asked him many questions about his culture and beliefs, and he asked about theirs.

They discussed differences, like skin color, but they’ve also found many similarities: poverty, music and value of extended family. They also discussed religion.

“Here some are Muslim; some believe in spirits. They can sit down and discuss their religion and share. In some cases, people change to become Christians because of the example of the next person. I’ve learned how to give someone space to change instead of pointing and judging and trying to convert them.”

Because he was willing to listen, learn and share, Laotians treated him like he belonged. “Oh you are not foreign; you are one of us,” he’s been told.

Next year, Muzarabani will be an MWC intern in MCC’s United Nations Office if his visa is approved. The position is offered through MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program.

Eventually he wants to return to Zimbabwe and stay there for a long time, he said. As the eldest son, he is responsible to care for his immediate family and contribute to his extended family – an obligation he wants to fulfill.

He’s also eager to bring together what he has learned in Lao and will learn in the U.S. with his own Ndebele and Shona cultures, working to build peace among youth and in his church.

Joint release: Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite World Conference. By Linda Espenshade, News Coordinator for MCC U.S.