Thousands deep, the line will stretch from the heart of the village into the grassy African plain on the edge of the town called Mberengwa in Zimbabwe.
Most of the people standing in it will have left home before dawn to wait there — drawn by wonderful news that spreads from friend to neighbor to family member . . .
The clinic is back!
At the back of the line will stand farmers who could only come after tending their livestock; joined by mothers of young children who had to attend to household chores before heading toward the clinic’s tents.
A few more hours does not matter. Many will have waited years to see a doctor. Those in line will wait in silent patience for hours in the heat. These are the Lemba people. Poor but proud. A minority tribe with a very special heritage.
Settled by Science
The Lemba do not marry outside the tribe. And for centuries, neighboring tribes have laughed at their Jewish customs and their stubborn insistence that they were descended from far-away Israel.
But now that modern science has added credence to those claims, few are laughing any more. Genetics finally settled what decades of impassioned proclamations could not — that the Lemba clearly have ties to the ancient people of Israel, particularly the Levites.
Africa’s Lemba tribe is most likely one of the “Lost Tribes of Israel”. They’re special. Which is what will bring Jewish Voice back to Mberengwa a few weeks from now.
To help . . .
. . . women just like Esther, who we first encountered lying in a bouncing ox-cart with a large tumor protruding from her head. Her daughters had pulled her more than 6 miles through the nighttime chill, hoping against hope their gravely ill mother would survive the jarring journey.
She did survive the trip — barely. So when they arrived, their cart was waved on down past the long line — straight through the gate of the JVMI medical outreach camp. Esther’s first stop was our prayer tent. That’s right; seeing her condition, our team surrounded her with loving concern and prayer.
We also go to help frail, elderly men like Mandinyenya, who at 75 years of age waited at the outreach gates beginning at seven in the morning. He waited in line for five hours before getting into the clinic because there were so many people in front of him.
“Of course it is worth it,” he told our volunteer. He suffered from blurred vision and a tremor. But that day, Mandinyenya received prayer, eye glasses, and medical treatment for his eyes.
He says, “I have never seen a place that gives medicine but also gives prayer. I want the clinic to come back again, and please ask the people who sent you to pray for us!”
Of course, YOU are one of those people who sent us. So will you pray?
A Return Journey and a New Medical Missions Field
Well, as this sweet gentleman pleaded, we are going back — preparations are already underway. And we know that the word of our upcoming arrival has already begun to spread. As a result, we anticipate even larger throngs of these precious “Lost Tribes” people this time.
As you can imagine, staging an outreach of this magnitude is a huge and expensive undertaking.
But we cannot look away. We can’t forget the looks on those faces, waiting so patiently outside the clinic gate. We can’t forget the smiles and tears of gratitude as these precious souls receive care they’ve lived without for so long.
Most of all, we can’t forget stories like that of Esther and her daughters. You see, our amazing, selfless physicians could not save Esther’s life. The tumor protruding from the side of her head had gone untreated for too long.
But before her passing, Esther received something at our clinic that far surpasses any medical outcome. In her final moments, she was not only bathed in love and kindness, she was given the Good News of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) and a chance to respond in time.
That’s why we will return to Mberengwa in a few weeks. We arrived too late to help Esther, so we must increase our efforts.
A key part of our mission is blessing “the outcasts of Israel” (see Isaiah 56:8 NLT) in every way possible — including sharing the Gospel of Yeshua and supporting Messianic congregations while time remains on this earth.
Allow us to introduce you to the Lemba of Zimbabwe. Click below to see some of the faces we cannot forget.
Why not come with us on one of our upcoming outreaches? You don’t have to be a medical professional to be used on our medical missions! Check out our 2015 schedule of mission trips on the Medical Outreaches page of our website. Pray, plan, and come along! There’s a vital role waiting for you on any of our JVMI medical missions!
