A God-Sized Dream

Chiedza Mavangira moved to America from Zimbabwe, Africa to follow her dream of using her talents in the writing and film industry. Yet when opportunity after opportunity required her to compromise her values, she was left feeling empty and frustrated. To make matters worse, Chiedza was far from home and longing for a place to belong. She had no idea that a friend’s invitation to church would unlock the door to finding her purpose and fulfilling her dream in ways she never imagined.

Raised in a Christian home with missionary parents, Chiedza assumed she knew everything about her religion. In reality, she was focused on the rituals instead of her relationship with God. That relationship had grown distant over the years, and now, a deep sense of loneliness set in. Chiedza began visiting churches in hopes of filling the void in her life with a church family. She visited many churches, but didn’t find a single one that offered her refuge. That is, until her friend Anne invited her to Saddleback Huntington Beach.

On her first visit, a greeter welcomed Chiedza with a hug and sat with her during the service. Chiedza filled out a prayer request for her mentally ill brother who had been missing for more than a year. The next week, she received two blessings: a surprise call from her brother and another call from a Saddleback pastor who let her know people had been praying for her. Chiedza exploded with gratitude! “I don’t know who you have praying over there, but it really worked,” she told the pastor. Of all the churches she had visited, this was the first phone call greeting she had received. Even better, her prayer to once again reconnect with her mentally ill brother had been answered.

Soon after, Anne invited Chiedza to attend a Night of Worship. When Anne grabbed two seats in the front of the room, Chiedza was excited but felt awkward and unsure of what to expect. Questions flooded her mind about the purpose of worship. Then Pastor Moses stopped and addressed the crowd. He explained that worship is simply connecting to God. “I had never thought about worship that way before,” Chiedza revealed.

As the praise team began to sing and worship Jesus, their faces were radiant. “They were physically in front of me, but you could tell they were busy interacting with God,” she recalls. Chiedza closed her eyes and surrendered her plans, dreams, and agendas to God so she could live out his plan for her life. After 14 years of being distant from God, her relationship was instantly restored. “It was as if a lost wire in my heart had been reconnected.” Chiedza was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace, her burdens were lifted, and her purpose became clear to her. The void in her heart had also been filled — she finally found her church home, a place where she belonged. Anne could see that something incredible had happened. At first, Chiedza couldn't speak. She told Anne, “Something just happened, but I can't explain it yet.” God had revealed to Chiedza that she was part of a bigger purpose.

After moving to a new country and failing to make her dream happen on her own terms, it was joyous for Chiedza to learn that God really did want to use her skills and talents in the writing and film industry — but for his glory. He connected the dots and the project became concrete. “I heard God saying, ‘This is where I want you to be.’ ” He was leading her to make a documentary film that would give a voice to the incredible women of faith in Africa who she had meet in her travels. These women faced dire circumstances and spent every day in a harsh climate selling tomatoes to make ends meet. All the while, they held tightly to their faith, knowing that God would provide for them. The project that had once been so obscure and directionless now took on a new shape. It was a kind of grace — a new mindset. Chiedza’s heart was navigating a new course. The tangled web in her mind was cleared of confusion and her past now made sense.

“Before, I tried to be in control and do this on my own, and I was always so tired and frustrated. But now I know I don’t have to do anything.” Chiedza realized that when you surrender everything to God, all you have to do is pray and worship and you will see things fall into place. “Its like you activate God's purpose when you surrender your life to him,” she says. Now there were no more brick walls to hit up against — just doors opening.

After taking Saddleback’s membership class, Chiedza decided to be baptized. As she came up out of the water, the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony was taking place and there were hundreds of people applauding. “It was a very warm moment for me to have my new church family cheering for me.” When Chiedza called her mom in South Africa and told her about her surrender and baptism, her mom was overjoyed with the news. “This is what I have been praying for! I’ve been waiting for this day,” her mom exclaimed. Chiedza thought the way to make her mother proud was through accomplishing her dreams, but all her mother ever wanted for her was to experience a surrendered relationship with Jesus.

Chiedza’s leap of faith in surrendering her agenda in exchange for God’s purpose brought her the life of fulfillment she had dreamed of. “When I tried to do things on my own, my talents were buried, because I was not using them for God’s purpose. Now I let him take the lead, and everything falls into place.”

Chiedza renewed her relationship with God after 14 years of being distant. We're here to help you establish a relationship with Jesus or make a fresh start with him. Click here to connect with us today.

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