A letter from Derek Forbes in Zimbabwe
June 2011
I’ve never been one to make detailed plans for life. They just get messed up. They get changed too often. I would rather enjoy the journey of each day than worry about what I should be doing in future days. And a wise seminary professor reminded me that it is better to live in the moment. I couldn’t agree more, and it’s usually evident in my daily life. So you might think this would be easy…
Waiting. Day by day at first, waiting for that email from Zimbabwe, which turned into weeks, which turned into months. I didn’t think it was going to be so difficult. There are plenty of Biblical stories that involve waiting, particularly in the Old Testament. After a while the thought of 40 days came to mind a few times and, praying for God’s peace, I was still living in the moment. But then I began to wonder if I was ever going to able to serve in Zimbabwe. Delay after delay. Never mind the 40 days… I was beginning to worry about a longer delay. My faith certainly isn’t strong enough to wait 40 years for something like this…
I’ve had to wait for plenty of things before in my life, and I thought I usually handled it pretty well. But something seemed different this time. I began to think that I wouldn’t ever make it to Zimbabwe—a place I have some ties to, and a place where I feel called to serve in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I was feeling depressed, really, and after months of more delays, my excitement for working in Zimbabwe, to be honest, had faded. When I accepted this position with World Mission I moved out of my house, did away my car, stored my belongings, and prepared to move to Zimbabwe as I was told I would be doing early in 2011. After four months of delay PC(USA) World Mission was even considering sending me to another country to serve as a mission coworker. But as life (or God, many would say) would have it, literally hours before a decision was going to be made to send me to another country, word came from Zimbabwe that the government had finally approved my work permit, allowing me to come into that country.
After five long months of waiting, I finally learned in late May that I would be departing on this new endeavor after all. The wait is almost over. My departure date from Denver, Colorado, is June 27, 2011. I hope to spend the next three years or so serving with the Presbyterian Church in Zimbabwe. It will be a great challenge, and a great joy.
Finally, after a five-month delay, I’m departing to fulfill a dream, to answer a call, to serve my fellow human beings in the name of our Lord. I ask for your prayers—both for myself and for millions of Zimbabweans who deal with difficulties on a regular basis that most of us in North America have a difficult time understanding. There will be many challenges for me in this position. Please pray that I may serve my Zimbabwean friends well, that Christ will continually remind me of my role as servant, and that the Holy Spirit will provide strength and sustenance for us all on a daily basis.
It turns out that this long, depressing delay wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, it afforded me some opportunities that otherwise may not have ever existed in my life. Some incredible opportunities that I am ever so thankful for. As the poet William Cowper put it, “God moves in a mysterious way.” Indeed.
Peace be with you, my friends,
Derek Forbes
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