Zambia (MNN) ― Zimbabwe faces runaway inflation, high unemployment, disastrous agriculture policy and rampant disease.
February 21-25, the United Nations is conducting a humanitarian mission in Zimbabwe in the wake of a raging cholera outbreak.
Although Zimbabwe's parliament unanimously passed a resolution to form a unity government with President Robert Mugabe and the opposition, little has changed. When Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, is sworn in as prime minister this week, he will be faced with answering the challenges.
But it may be a scramble to keep the country under control. The alarming news is that like the cholera epidemic, borders won't contain Zimbabwe's ills.
Rody Rodeheaver IN Network says thousands are fleeing to Zambia. "This is a time when it is very hard to contain the problem in Zimbabwe. It is spreading, and it is causing the evangelical church to reach out to the refugees. It's also creating turmoil within the evangelical church."
Zimbabwe refugee camps are springing up near the border with Zambia, laying a heavy burden on the goodwill of its neighbors.
The problem is that Zambia's government is taking land from the subsistence farmers and giving it to the Zimbabwean refugees, many of whom were the commercial farmers who lost their land as the result of Mugabe's agriculture policies.
It's creating turmoil in the church, because it's threatening Zambian livelihoods. Rodeheaver says many church members are subsistence farmers, and they are struggling with resentment.
Such a situation is dangerous for ministry. Rodeheaver says, "We need to really pray for the leadership of the evangelical church and for organizations like the IN Network that are building bridges and helping to reach out to refugees and to try to deal with the problems that are created when a ruler in another country sets such bad policy."
The instability, coupled with the U.S. economy, forced I.N. Network to postpone mission trips slated for both Zimbabwe and Zambia. There's no word yet on if or when they'll be rescheduled. In the meantime, the national teams will continue their outreach.
I.N. Zambia's plans are to continue training and sending out fully-equipped young Christian men and women throughout Zambia to be self-supporting Christian leaders. Through FamCare Ministries, INZ also seeks to impact the country with teachings on Christian family values. This is desperately needed in a country where the increasing rates of divorces combined with the spread of HIV/AIDS are the norms of everyday life. INZ's goal is to become self-reliant in the years ahead.
