A Zimbabwean ministry moves forward despite government challenges.

Zimbabwe (MNN)–Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe’s government is causing trouble for a ministry.

His administration is clamping down on outside help. Many humanitarian relief groups report their foreign workers are struggling to renew temporary employment permits.

Christian World Outreach’s Onais Tapera is working with pastoral training, leadership development and AIDS orphans.

He says the conditions Mugabe has created means ministry supplies are hard to come by. Many times, basic needs cannot be met in the country, and their teams must drive to another country to pick up basics.

Tapera acknowleges that “It has to do with the leadership. The leadership has gone bad. It doesn’t care about the suffering of the people on the street any more. So, I think the whole thing hinges on leadership.”

However, in spite of the difficulty their team faces, Tapera explains that, by necessity, there is a strong link between child outreach and pastoral training. He conducts seminars and workshops for pastors and church leaders are conducted on a regular basis.

In addition to this ministry, AIDS orphans are given scholarships so that they are able to attend school and receive a good education. There is also a Gospel camp outreach. “In our last camp, we had about 60 children and 37 of them received Christ as their personal Savior. So, I’m working with one of the local pastors to find ways–how we could disciple these children because the places they live, they don’t have churches.”

The CWO team faces many difficulties living in such a troubled country. Please pray for their safety and for their ministry as they reach out to the physical, as well as the spiritual, needs of the people in Zimbabwe.