Rich People in Africa

I recently attended a conference in Africa with the richest people in the world. It was a conference of 400 Navigator missionaries from 26 countries. None of us would have come close to the Forbes list of the rich and famous even if you combined our net worth. So how can I claim that I was among the richest people on the planet?

One thing I love about my job is that my faith is stretched every day. And sometimes, God uses my job to teach me such lessons of face that it’s like being whacked by a block of wood. Like at this conference. We were gathered for six days in Nairobi, Kenya, hundreds of missionaries, most of them living on what many of us would consider poverty level wages. Personally I found it pretty tough to ask my supporters to contribute toward this conference, given the global economic climate (oh me of little faith). But some people at the conference were coming from places with shattered economies, such as Zimbabwe, which has been ravaged by violence.

Here is the exchange rate for the Zimbabwe and U.S. dollars as of Friday, April 3, 2009:

1 Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWD) = 0.00000003 US Dollar (USD)

1 US Dollar = 37,456,777 Zimbabwe Dollar

At its peak the Zimbabwe inflation rate reached 89.7 sextillion per cent (a number expressed with 21 zeroes – 890,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 percent). I’m told that hawkers in Zimbabwe hawkers sell 100 trillion dollar bank notes as souvenirs to tourists for $2.

Lloyd and Laura Mautsa, who lead the ministry in Zimbabwe, not only came to the six-day conference, they managed to bring some other Zimbabwe staff along. That in itself is quite impressive. But what impressed me even more is the spirit in which they came to the conference - not with defeated spirits, begging for money. They came to share how God is using them on campus amidst these tough times. (And did I mention that the purpose of the conference was to equip us in being more effective in giving our lives away!)

Students in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, recently protested against having to pay for tuition fees, since faculty members no longer show up to teach classes. The faculty members simply cannot afford to come to campus any more, given that they are paid in Zimbabwe Dollar - which is worthless. Lloyd and Laura could have moved to South Africa - like so many other Zimbabweans choose to do these days, but they have decided to stay to make a difference by giving their lives away in ministry to students in Harare.

We were all touched by the hearts of Lloyd and Laura and their team. So Mutua Mahiani, the African continent director for the Navigators, felt led to take up an offering for the work in Zimbabwe. During this time he announced that there was a surplus in the conference budget. More money for Zimbabwe, I naturally thought. But then he announced that we would be giving a portion of that money to the work in South America! Now that's what I call True Riches!!!

Then there's James Sherwood, another man that I met at the conference. He might be my new living hero of faith! James and his wife are from England and chose to give up a comfortable lifestyle in order to live in Nigeria for the sake of Jesus & his Kingdom. A few years ago, tragedy struck.

Robbers shot a security guard outside their house. The guard was bleeding to death and after a few minutes, when James thought it was safe, he opened his front door in order help the man. Unfortunately the robbers were waiting. They shot him point blank in the face – blowing away the left side of his head. (sorry if this is a bit too graphic)

Miraculously, James survived. In the process, he basically lost all functioning of the left side of his face. He can’t see or hear from his left side. The tragedy couldn’t keep this man down. After multiple operations to reconstruct his face – skin transplants, rebuilding of his skull with tungsten plates, etc. – James is back in action! He still travels back and forth between the UK and Nigeria for ministry. And although he can move only half of his mouth, his speech has been miraculously restored. You don’t even notice his injuries if you’re eyes are closed.

I have tried to put myself into James’ position. Most probably I would have felt sorry for myself and chosen to live on some kind of state pension for the rest of my life - had I lived in the UK. At best I may have considered some kind of job where I would not have to interact with people at all. Not this guy! His job description with the Navigators is “church discipleship ministries.” He’s not ashamed. He talks to people face-to-face every day! Now that's what I call True Riches!

Someone did something right when they discipled this guy. James has more than enough to give away - maybe not in terms of finances - but man is he rich!

Maybe the people at Forbes magazine should put together another list – not one that measures net worth in terms of finances alone, but one that measures how much you’re giving away. This type of giving doesn’t have to include material “stuff.” This new measurement would include

TIME, LOVE, PERSONAL SPACE, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, PRAISE, etc.

What else would you like to add to the list?

Within this context I would like to encourage you with Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you have become so dear to us.”

I pray that you will be encouraged to do the same within your own community and that some will be inspired to go beyond what they are already doing.

*PS: By the way, if you wanted to see where you rank financially compared to the rest of the world go to: http://www.globalrichlist.com/.