Living Like Esther Glorifies God

“At Such a Time as This” themed-conference attracts more than 500 young women in the first-ever weekend event for Young Adventist Women’s Ministries in Western Zimbabwe.

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID)

[Zimbabwe] The first-ever Young Adventist Women’s Ministries (YAWM) conference was held from October 25 to 27, 2019, at Solusi University in Bulawayo, the second largest city of Zimbabwe. More than 500 young women attended a conference with the theme “At Such a Time as This.” The weekend conference organized by West Zimbabwe Conference was planned to help young women develop a sense of worthiness and a sense of direction for godly living in these times. The participants were challenged to live like Esther by living a life that glorifies God.

Mrs. Thandazile Dube, the conference women’s ministries director, reports the objective of the retreat was to address challenges young women from her territory surrounding Bulawayo must face. These burdens include depression, suicide, drugs, and vuzu parties, an issue which is becoming a major concern in the city of Bulawayo. Vuzu parties are places where teenagers engage in risky unprotected group sex along with drug and alcohol abuse, the result being a rise in HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and addiction. Attending vuzu parties is a criminal offense in Bulawayo and Adventist young people are being guided/taught/trained/reminded to shun these activities/behaviors.

The facilitators were highly professional women: Mrs. Zibusiso Sibanda, the Zimbabwe West Union Conference Women’s Ministries director, Mrs. Masuku, an educationist, Mrs. Botomani, a specialist in brokenness in young women, and Mrs. Bere, an expert in HIV/AIDS issues.

Some topics presented were: Self-Esteem, The Broken Vessel, Virginity as a Virtue, Stress Management, Mental Wellness, Forgiving Oneself and Moving On, Cervical Cancer and UTIs, Young Women and HIV/AIDS. Young women also enjoyed a presentation dramatized as a talk show revealing “How to Find the Right Marriage Partner.”

Contributed by Mrs. Thandazile Dube, women’s ministries director for Zimbabwe West Conference

Published in Mosaic newsletter, 2019 Q4, Winter issue