April 2018 Zimpeto Bible School Update

Combomune for Christ:

“What bad luck is this? (I Khombo Muni)” - said the woman, when for the seventh time she held her newborn baby at birth. This is because after having conceived a child, and carrying it the nine months of the gestation period, this mother would soon lose her newborn baby. This experience was repeated for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth children born to this mother. She kept losing her children at the time of childbirth or very soon after giving birth. But the seventh child was born alive and remained alive.

Overwhelmed with a mix of feelings, sadness and pain for the loss of her first six children, and joy for the living child she now had, she gave the child the name ‘Combomune’, which means ‘What bad luck is this?’ This is a true story that happened many years ago, and the region where she lived was named Combomune, because of this woman’s story.

God has a plan of redemption for Combomune, and the Zimpeto Bible School has a part in it!

After the term that ran from August to November 2017 finished, the pastoral staff of the revival team chose a group of first year students from the bible school to form a team, along with pastors and visitors, to go on an outreach. They went as far as 282 kilometers away from Zimpeto, into Gaza province, with the mission of planting a church in Combomune.

The mission was successful. They went into the bush to cut stakes to build the temple with local materials. The Church was planted, they held outreach crusades, and many accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.  One of the new graduated students was chosen to stay and take care of this new flock.

Four months later another outreach was scheduled to the same area, with the objective of reviving and evangelizing the area and encouraging the newly-planted church. Another group of students (both men and women), as well as some of the bible school teachers, staff, and pastors, joined to make up the team.

The students reported that in a distant area, having traveled for many miles at night on a dirt road, the vehicle they were in began to shudder uncontrollably and they noticed that the tip that holds the wheel had been disconnected from the wheel. They had been travelling for a long time with the wheel ‘tilted’, without knowing it. It was a miracle that they had not gotten in an accident, having travelled so long with the wheel in such bad condition. The Lord had protected the team. Although they had been shaken up somewhat, they remained highly motivated to continue on.  God had a purpose for Combomune.

No matter the situation you are in, God has a purpose for your life. Just like He had a purpose for Combomune - an area where many are deeply involved in occult related activities.

The team arrived in Combomune to find people waiting with great expectation.  Many were touched by the Lord during the outreach meetings held there. The power of God was powerfully at work through the students and pastors. Many of the local people received deliverance and healing, and some gave up their charms.

[Some of the students on the Combumune outreach.]

One testimony is of a young man who came to the meeting tied up with ropes and charms given him by traditional healers. He had suffered for a long time, believing that that no one could remove these things from him. After receiving prayer, he saw his life being renewed. God touched his life and he abandoned all the artifacts from the traditional healers and chose to follow Jesus. Thank you Lord for saving this man´s life!

The newly planted church of Combomune is growing. It has about 80 members, men, women and children.

[The new church in Combomune.]

The students from the bible school were most encouraged and grateful, thanking the Lord for using them in Combomune. When we asked them to describe the experience afterward, we heard, “Evangelizing in local markets and bus stations (as we do every Friday as part of the bible school training) is very rewarding, but going out into the bush along with the revival team was absolutely the most amazing experience. All glory to God.”

[First year students at the August - November 2017 Zimpeto Bible School.]