Stephen Griffiths - The Axe and the Tree: How Bloody Persecution Sowed the Seeds of New Life in Zimbabwe

To Tim and Rachel

Text copyright 2017 Stephen Griffiths
This edition copyright 2017 Lion Hudson

The right of Stephen Griffiths to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Monarch Books
an imprint of
Lion Hudson plc
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,
Oxford OX2 8DR, England
Email: monarch@lionhudson.com
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ISBN 978 0 85721 789 9
e-ISBN 978 0 85721 790 5

First edition 2017

Acknowledgments
Scripture quotations taken from Scripture quotations marked RSV are from The Revised Standard Version of the Bible copyright 1946, 1952 and 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches in the USA. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised. Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Extracts from marked KJV taken from The Authorized (King James) Version.
Rights in the Authorized Version are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crowns patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Cover image Lion Hudson

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

I couldnt stop reading until Id finished. Tragedy, triumph, tenacity; grace and faith; suffering beyond words, with love for the Lord, his gospel and his people: this book has them all. Read and pray for Zimbabwe, as Peter Griffiths would have wished.

Rose Dowsett, missionary leader

I could not put the book down nor could I read it without tears in my eyes. The strength of the story that Steve tells is that he is also part of it, he knew the people he writes about and he brings each character to life as if they were alive today. I am indebted to his diligence in unearthing history and telling it accurately. This book will never be old.

Paul Hudson, Elim International Missions Director

This story of a Christian community, vividly brought to life through the memories of a missionary family, offers a compelling example of forgiveness and redemption in the face of one of the darkest moments of Zimbabwes recent past. Through it we come to understand the deep roots of the Zimbabwean Church.

Dr David Maxwell, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Your book moved us to tears. It is so well written, so well researched, and does not flinch from the hard political and theological questions raised by the massacre. A significant contribution to the history of Christian mission.

David and Rosemary Harley, OMF

This book is a moving account of triumphant faith in endeavour and suffering for the cause of Christ and his kingdom. It is thoroughly researched and impressively written by a first hand observer of events which drew the attention of the world to the work of Christian missions.

Professor Don Evans, University of Otago, New Zealand

Steve pours heart and mind into the most moving of quests: the mystery of Gods ways in the face of palpable evil and suffering and faith.

Revd Fiona Barnard Smith, Chaplain, St Andrews University

I wept tears of sadness at the terrible suffering this book describes; tears of joy at the power of forgiveness it conveys.

Revd Rupert Standring, vicar of St Peters Church, Fulham

An exploration into the brutal killing of children and adults in 1970s Zimbabwe. By turns memoir, biography, crime investigation, and political history, this book is unflinching in its record of detail and inspirational in its quest for meaning and redemption.

Revd Dr Warren Beattie, Lecturer in Mission Studies at All Nations Christian College

Oh my. What a terrible atrocity, yet how the grace of God is multiplied! A vivid, heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful account of what happens when the horrors of humanity are met with the power of Gods forgiveness. I couldnt put it down.

Revd Jonny Elvin, vicar of Trinity Church, Exeter

Breathes a love of Zimbabwe and its people and shows how through forgiveness God can work to bring something beautiful even out of the ugliness of murder. A book to challenge and encourage.

Revd Ray Porter, Director of World Mission Studies, Oak Hill College

Political upheaval and deadly violence are the context for courageous leadership, gospel transformation and costly reconciliation in The Axe and the Tree . Stephen Griffiths pulls no punches in this superbly told account of the realities faced by his parents and the Elim mission as they served as missionaries in the highly charged and dangerous atmosphere of 1970s Zimbabwe. A love for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a deep respect for the people and landscape of Zimbabwe permeate this book.

Peter Rowan, UK National Director of OMF International

CONTENTS

Therefore every scribe ( grammateus writer) who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.

Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 13:52

THE DREAM

Chinokanganwa idemo, chitsiga hachikanganwe.
(What forgets is the axe, the wood does not forget.)

Startled awake, I stare into the cone of mosquito netting over my head. I am disorientated. My heart thumps in my ears. The bright square of the curtained window helps me to regain my bearings in the darkness. I creep to the end of my bed and cautiously raise one corner of the curtain, absurdly careful not to move it too much and draw unwanted attention.

The huge African moon pours silver light over the familiar scene, so bright that one can read by it and even discern colours. Shadows are drawn razor sharp and jet black. Anything, anyone standing quietly in the shadows would be invisible. I stare out and then scoot back down under my sheet all I need in the heat of the lowveld of north-eastern Rhodesia.

I have a secret nightmare. I confess it to no one, afraid that it might come true. One night I shall look out into the still moonlight and they will be there. Holding their weapons at half port, they march in a ragged skirmish line. My heart closes in fear and I cannot shout.

Suddenly we are out of the house, running desperately into the night. Bushes whip my face as I run. Roots and thorns tug at my legs, leaving bloody beaded stripes. I trip and fall, scraping my knees and making my hands raw. My father is alongside me, scooping me up and hissing at me to run again. We rush on, our fear growing as we hear the shouts of angry men behind us. The thudding of booted feet and the sound of bodies crashing through the brush come closer.

We turn a corner round an enormous rock and throw ourselves desperately up its side. We climb higher and higher and fling ourselves down on its flat top, spent. My father locks eyes with each of us in turn, warning us to silence with a fierce glance. I creep closer to the edge, almost paralysed with terror yet fascinated by the source of my fear.

The rock is pointed and I stare down as if from the bow of a ship riding the moon-silvered waves of elephant grass. Capped heads force their way through the grass and then, as they meet the rock, slide down each side of it and are lost in the dark ocean of the night behind us.