Julia Weaver-Seed Cohort 2023-2025

During my time as a SEEDer in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, I lived and worked in a country across the ocean, over the equator, and six hours ahead. Being a foreigner taught me how to find home in unexpected places.

My experience in SEED taught me that fellowship and community are not always found where we first expect them to be. I learned that community can be found in the margins, in moments of vulnerability, when we walk a different path, and when we stop to truly see those around us.

SEED taught me to broaden my understanding of fellowship and community. We are often told that community must look a certain way: a tightly knit group of like-minded people who share our beliefs, values, and routines. I have learned that fellowship can also be found through shared laughter, quiet compassion, and a mutual sense of belonging in unlikely places.

I serve a Jesus who defied social and cultural norms to share a meal with people, converse with a woman at the well, and play with children. I believe in a God who created a world full of diverse and fascinating people longing for connection. I am led by a Holy Spirit who rejoices in living room worship, praying over a sick toddler, and sharing lunch and conversation with the elderly. Through SEED, I learned not to let my nerves get in the way of connection.

In Zimbabwe, I found some of the kindest, most open, and compassionate individuals I have ever had the pleasure to know. I learned that sometimes taking a moment to have a conversation or sit with someone can forever change your perspective.

The impact I saw was the power of connection. Community does not always announce itself. Sometimes it whispers through shared laughter, quiet compassion, or a mutual sense of belonging in unlikely places. When my time in SEED comes to an end, I know that I will be leaving pieces of my heart behind with the people who have made these two years so special.