For those in my very inner circle of friends, they know the anxiety I’ve had over writing “Saving Zimbabwe”. While I knew I had to tell the story, the fact that I was a white guy from middle America seemed to me to be a huge problem. In fact I argued with God about the logic of it up to and during my last trip to South Africa in Sept of 2009. It was in a rather vulnerable moment that I shared with a trusted friend my fear of being misunderstood and labeled as a "know-it-all-American." He looked me straight in the eyes and said with a great deal of conviction, "You are the only one who could have told this story as you have nothing to gain or lose by it." It was in that one poignant moment that my soul seemed to finally find peace as he was right.

The only thing I want out of this is to see the people of Zimbabwe free to pursue the destiny that God has for their nation. I feel strongly that it is a significant one!  At the moment there is a battle over who will determine Zimbabwe's future. Will it be God or will it be men? The choice is really in the hands of Zimbabwean people.

The situation in Zimbabwe 30 years ago was not altogether different from one in Israel 3,000 years ago. The historical record in 1 Samuel 8:4-17 records that...

All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.”

From my perspective, this is the same choice Zimbabweans made 30 years ago. Things looked so promising back then and yet now 30 years later, the dream has evaporated but for an elite few. One of the questions that “Saving Zimbabwe” addresses is why did the dream become a nightmare?  Another one is how do we get things back on track? While the early pages of the book may be a challenge emotionally, they are the thoughts and feelings of many who have been affected by the developments in Zimbabwe. If God is allowed to have any say in the matter, the future of Zimbabwe is a bright one. “Saving Zimbabwe” is about the hope He brings to the people and to the nation.