1984
THE ORIGIN
A sabbatical, a friendship
Dr. Tom Graves meets Dr. Henry Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Years later, that meeting becomes the seed of a partnership.
Our story
Four decades, one journey.
JourneyPartners began with a sabbatical, a question, and a friendship that crossed an ocean. The chapters below trace what came of that — partnerships, schools, wells, and the families that walked it with us.
1993
FIRST IMMERSION
Bonnie Dixon arrives in Zimbabwe
Bonnie Dixon and two other BTSR students travel to Zimbabwe for their Mission Immersion Experience — coordinated through missionaries serving at BTSZ. The relationship deepens.
1995
FIRST WORK TEAM
Zororo Primary School
A team led by Dixon assists in completing Zororo Primary School's administration and library building. Partnership conversations between the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe and the Alliance of Baptists begin in earnest.
1997
PARTNERSHIP MADE FORMAL
Alliance + BCZ approve the partnership
The Alliance of Baptists Board approves the ongoing partnership with the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe in September. The BCZ Executive Committee returns the affirmation in November.
1999
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE BEGINS
First Church Leadership Institute
A third immersion team in Zimbabwe — men's dormitory renovation, library addition construction, and the first Church Leadership Institute, a thread that would carry through the following decade.
2000
ELECTION OBSERVER
Bonnie Dixon serves as international election observer
At the request of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Dixon serves as an international election observer for Zimbabwe's 2000 Parliamentary Elections.
2006
FIRST RESERVOIR
A 300,000-liter water reservoir
The fifth immersion journey, the third Church Leadership Institute, and the first major water work — a reservoir that quietly began the through-line of our Clean Water pillar.
2008
CLEAN WATER + CLINIC PREP
First clean-water well drilled
A clean-water well is drilled and a caretaker's home with toilets built — preparing to relocate the Nenyunga Clinic away from the river. Health and water start to converge.
2011
KUTENDA CHILDREN'S HOME
House of Hope becomes Kutenda
"House of Hope" officially becomes Kutenda Children's Home. The Nenyunga Clinic work also begins. More than a decade of walking alongside a licensed children's home begins here.
A chapter complete — see the Education initiative we're walking toward next at Vana Vedu.
2012
SCHOOL BUILDING BEGINS
First Burure school building
School construction begins in Burure in partnership with Bishop Ambrose Moyo and the Lutheran community. The first of several rural school projects that would unfold across the next decade.
2016
SCHOOL + WELLS EXPAND
South Gokwe school + Pure Water Pure Love wells
The Gokwe South school project begins. Pure Water Pure Love funds wells in Gokwe South and Nyamacheni. A German NGO begins fundraising for a solar system.
2017
LEGAL STANDING
PVO approval from Zimbabwe
JourneyPartners receives PVO (Private Voluntary Organisation) approval through the Zimbabwean government — a quiet but consequential milestone that unlocks decades of work to come.
2019
CRISIS RESPONSE
Holding the work through inflation
Amid 300%+ inflation and worsening economic conditions, the work continues. Bonnie Dixon completes a land purchase, expands Kutenda infrastructure, and the government places additional children — bringing the home to 16.
Today
CURRENT WORK
Three pillars, one purpose
Education, Health, and Clean Water — anchored by ZTS and RECA, with Vana Vedu on the horizon. The work continues; the partnership deepens.
Four decades have taught us one thing — walk alongside, not ahead.