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BY MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF

In the United States or in Africa, faith in God can change the world, said the Rev. Lloyd Nyarota. That potential for transformation is the foundation of an unfolding partnership between the two regions.

Nyarota, the projects and communications coordinator of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area, who recently visited the Baltimore-Washington Conference, marveled at the affluence on display in some American churches.

In Zimbabwe, he explained, many people face economic uncertainty. The rate of inflation is at 1,300 percent. Unemployment is at 80 percent. The AIDS epidemic takes 300-500 lives a week.

Transportation for United Methodist pastors, who serve an average of five churches, is difficult. 'They?ll take a bus and then walk for 15 miles,' to preach or to bury someone or visit the sick. It is difficult, Nyarota said. Buses are expensive.

But all these circumstances combine to pack the churches on Sunday mornings. 'There is not enough capacity to contain congregations,' Nyarota said. 'Probably because when things are difficult, people find their hope in God.'

Being the bearers of this hope is what allows the pastors to continue serving under difficult conditions, often without regular paychecks.

The pastors in Zimbabwe have a zeal, Nyarota said, 'a zeal to continue. People come to them looking for sympathy, comfort and hope for the next day. Church gives them a new energy, a new perspective to face the week ahead.'

Confronting hardship head-on and finding hope has produced a new kind of disciple, Nyarota said. 'It?s no longer, ?God remove these mountains,? but rather, ?Give us the strength to climb our mountain.?'

Part of the hope stems from reports that Zimbabwe has experienced a reduction in new cases of AIDS infection. This allows glimpses of a future, Nyarota said.

Another cause for hope is the growing partnership between churches in Zimbabwe and in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Churches like Bel Air UMC and Community UMC in Crofton have made a remarkable difference in people?s lives through their mission efforts.

Nyarota encourages those who want to contribute to ministry efforts in Zimbabwe to think about children.

If you go to school and look out over 800 children, you will be facing 400 orphans, Nyarota said. The AIDS epidemic has had a staggering impact.

'How do we provide a life for these kids,' he asked. 'The way I look at it, is to say, ?Lord this is an opportunity to serve you. God has provided an opportunity for us to live the Gospel.?'

Recently, some churches in Zimbabwe began offering maheu, a nutritious drink, to school children every day at 10 a.m. 'For some children, it is the only meal they get,' said Nyarota. 'The needs are vast. The opportunities are vast to do ministry.'

Nyarota?s job is to connect these opportunities with people who want to make a difference.

'I connect vision and need,' he said. He also oversees the distribution of funds and ensures that it is being spent as the donor intended.

When talking about the partnership between the two churches, Nyarota uses a specific word, rich in metaphor. 'I call it ?chabadza,?' he said.

Chabadza means you?re in the field with a hope of removing weeds from a crop. Your neighbor passes by and you call to him to help you, or he sees you hoeing and stops his journey so you can work together. You give a hand and do it together. This is chabadza, said Nyarota.

The same is true of people building a church. You work to build a foundation and you make bricks. Then someone will provide money for cement, Nyarota said. People wouldn?t help if you weren?t already in the field or making the bricks. They would say, how lazy and pass by. But when you?re already working, we join as partners - chabadza.

Nyarota visited the Baltimore-Washington Conference and the Mississippi Annual Conference as the recipient of the United Methodist Commission on Communication?s Helping Hand scholarship.

When he returns home to the Mutare area, he will attend Streamview UMC, where the congregation has brought logs and planks and nailed them together to create a shed.

His wife is the district superintendent of the Mutare District. Nyarota chooses to attend this struggling church because he wants to make a difference.

Faith in the Lord changes people he said. 'Catch the spirit of chabadza.'

Those wishing to join in the partnership with Zimbabwe may contact Jo Chesson at or (410) 309-3490.