Standard Style 25 May 2014 - 31 May 2014

Building People Building Dreams Building the Kingdom
Supplement to The Standard May 25 to 31 2014 25
Have you ever gotten to
the point in your life
when, due to your own
personal difficulties or
perhaps due to the stresses of
others around you, you wonder
in the depths of your heart why
God allows certain things to happen?
When trials come, sometimes
one after the other, why doesn’t
He intervene and stop them?
If God is perfectly loving and
all-powerful, why do we still have
pain, suffering, and evil in the
world?
Job was a man just like us, and
he suffered greatly, losing belongings,
children, the support of his
wife, the trust of his friends, and
his health.
“The book of Job inspires me”
The book of Job in the Bible
is the one that inspires Winnet
Maruta (50), as it best describes
the life that she went through but
remained rooted in the Word of
God and prayer until she was rescued
from her trials and tribulations.
“I heard about a church that
was giving land to destitute when
I was in Masvingo and that is how
I came here.
“The word of God has transformed
me from the old churches
where the prophets prayed for us
and yet our pastors Tom and Bonnie
Deuchle taught us how to talk
to God.”
Maruta says she enjoys Job and
Psalms, books in the Bible that
uplift her faith.
She said she spends her time
preaching the Word, adding that
she also encourages love to exist
within families.
“I may have gone through all
sorts of problems but the knees
that I kneel to pray have saved
me from abject poverty,” Maruta
said.
“as I’m sure you know, that Job
was a man who lost everything.
The Book of Job is not mainly
about his loss, but how he tried to
process his loss with the help of
three religious friends.
“If you’re suffering, you must
have done something bad. God
must be punishing you. That
must be one of the oldest lies in
history. Here’s another: God is using
these hard times to teach you
humility.
“These lies can be traced back
to one of the oldest and most
misunderstood stories in the Bible
– the story of Job,” Maruta
said.
Winnet Maruta
» “I am no longer a poor woman”
Owning a home is a basic human right
PeOPLe experiencing homelessness face
violations of a wide range of human
rights.
access to safe and secure housing is
one of the most basic human rights. However,
homelessness is not just about housing.
adequate housing is essential to one’s
sense of dignity, safety, inclusion and ability
to contribute to the fabric of our neighbourhoods
and societies.
This is what Marvelous Masambo (23)
from Mari Mari said. “Water and shelter
are a basic human right and we have
received these two after praying to God.
Our lives have now transformed for the
better.
“We are no longer the squatters that
lived along Mukuvisi River in Harare
after we were brought to this place
by our church. Having your own home
is the greatest thing one can have because
the other rights can be worked on
while you are in your own home,” says
Masambo
Just like everyone else at Mari Mari,
their greatest challenge is the lack of a secondary
school and a clinic.
“The nearest school is also far and this
is not safe for the girl child. We have heard
of a rapist that is moving around this area
and hence some of these girls get married
very young when they finish primary
school.
“We urge authorities or our church to
look into this matter because we want to
have an educated youth that will further
develop the Mari Mari Resettlement area
and so that they lead a much better life in
future,” Masambo said.
Masambo says Pastors Bonnie and Tom
may be of a white race….but they do have a
golden heart that knows not race.
“They are the best.”
Stennet Masango
“I aM a new creation, and I realised a
new beginning here at Mari Mari because
I can now pray and sing praises
and get answers directly from God.”
These were the happy sentiments that
were raised by Stennet Masango aged 60,
who came all the way from Chivi District
in Masvingo to live at this virgin land.
“I was a poor woman because I was an
orphan who literally was destitute.
“I now work in the garden here at Mari
Mari where I grow food to feed my children
and grandchildren. We have clean
fresh water that is pumped from a borehole
but what we need now are pipes to
flow water from up the hill to our gardens.
“Going up the hill and down with water
is too much for elderly people like me
otherwise I am a very happy woman who
will be happy to leave this inheritance to
my children when I die.”
She said that she did not know that a
person could talk directly to God and get
responses.
“The word of God has all answers to
our problems. I am a widow that has
enough food that is sufficient. But my
major worry is that my two sons are no
longer going to school because government
is no longer paying their fees.
“This is a major problem facing many
of us in this resettlement area,” Masango
said.
Marvelous Masambo