2002
During their visit, Delron and Peggy were able to see how extended drought, ethnic conflict, unwise political decisions, and general corruption and greed have sent Zimbabwe into an economic tailspin that had spawned astronomical inflation. The condition there reminded them of the words from an old folk song, “A piece of bread would buy a bag of gold,” depicting the rampant inflation in the end times. Caught in the midst of this out-of-control economy was our host, Pastor Ephiel Mukamari. A dynamic man of faith, Pastor Ephiel promised the government and the citizens of his neighborhood that he was going to build not only a church but also a much needed school in his community because there were no adequate facilities in the area and the young people were not given any good educational opportunities. As prices of materials began to skyrocket and supplies became more and more limited, he refused to back off of the project. When we visited Harare, we could see the building taking shape. No matter how difficult, he refused to stop the work. Finally, the buildings were almost ready to be put into use with an August start date for the school, but there were no funds for the roof. In the midst of this struggle, Teach All Nations was able to step in an assist Pastor Ephiel fulfill his vision with a gift of $5,000 from our educational fund to complete the project.
2001
In Zimbabwe, Delron ministered in the Heroes’ Holiday Weekend Word School in the capital city of Harare. It was one of those experiences which you know was ordered specifically of the Lord. Originally, the conference was scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday with the assumption that the holiday (similar to our Memorial Day), which fell on Saturday, would be observed on Friday. However, we found it impossible to arrange airline tickets to come in on those days. But knowing that it was God’s will for him to be there, he booked the only flights I could find to arrive early Friday morning. His anticipation was that he could speak in at least part of the sessions and a local minister could fill in on the Thursday evening and Friday morning meeting. After all the bookings were confirmed, the government announced that the holiday would be observed on the following Monday and that Friday would be a regular workday. As a result, the conference was rescheduled for Friday evening and all day on Saturday–meaning that he was able to minister in all the sessions. What a wonderful time we shared with the brothers and sisters who attended the conference. Delron taught on how we must have something that no one else has so that we can be someone that no one else is and do something that no one else can do. After six teaching sessions on the topic, the delegates were hungry to move into their specific positions of ministry within the Body of Christ and eager to receive prayer for impartation of the gifts and anointing of the Holy Spirit to fulfill their callings.
He had an adventure–well, actually he had an almost adventure–coming home from Zimbabwe. On Saturday afternoon before he was scheduled to fly back to Nairobi on Sunday, Delron thought that it might be good to double-check the reservations. When he did, he was told that he had been canceled off the flight. He and the pastor rushed to the airport to try to get the problem straightened out. It took about an hour to get reinstated on the flight, but they also learned that it was now scheduled for 11 AM rather than 1:30 PM. That meant that Delron would miss preaching in the Sunday morning service, but at least he wouldn’t miss getting to Kenya in time to meet Peggy to fly back to the US. It was only after the plane was ready to depart that I finally figured out what had happened. The plane had been essentially commandeered by the President of Zimbabwe. He had a meeting in the nation of Malawi, so he had the airline empty enough seats so that he and his entourage could use the plane. He also had them reroute the flight to go to Malawi before going to Kenya and change the departure time so that he would arrive at the proper time for his meeting in Malawi. Well, he, his wife, and a host of officials and newsmen filled the front of the plane. I was in the row just behind his party. They didn’t have any special guard keeping people away from the front of the plane, and they didn’t even close the curtain between first class and coach. Delron could have walked up and shook his hand, but he didn’t have a good excuse except, “Gee, I’d like to shake the hand of a president.” Only after the deplaned did he think about the ten copies of his book on the will of God he had in my briefcase. Delron could have walked up and given them to him and told him that he wanted to offer them to him and his advisors because he knew that they have so many important decisions to make. But then it was too late—he had blown his opportunity to have an input into the leaders of an entire nation! When the president deplaned, there was a royal reception at the airport with hundreds of official-looking people including the president of Malawi who greeted him. From the plane window, Delron essentially had a front row for the full event.