Impact, Up Close: Alabama Panhandle’s Immersive Visit to Africa University

14 Feb Impact, Up Close: Alabama Panhandle’s Immersive Visit to Africa University

The year 2026 began on a high note, marked by celebration, fellowship, and meaningful connection with both familiar faces and new friends. From January 4-7, Africa University hosted a 29-person delegation, invited and led by Bishop L. Jonathan and Mrs. Felecia Holston of the Alabama Panhandle Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church, on a familiarization visit to its main campus at Old Mutare, Zimbabwe. 

Among the visitors were leaders—both clergy and lay—from the Alabama-West Florida Conference and the North Alabama Conference, along with other friends and supporters of Africa University from the Baltimore-Washington, Great Plains, North Georgia, South Carolina and Upper New York conferences.

For Bishop Holston, the overarching goal of the biannual group visits to the Africa University campus—his sixth since 2014—is to deepen connection. 

“There is nothing more potent and inspiring than experiencing, personally and intimately, the mission that you are part of as a United Methodist,” said Bishop Holston. “The reality of Africa University—with students from 30 African countries, many languages, diverse backgrounds and stories—and seeing how your faithful generosity brings hope and change in ways that you could not have imagined, that opens you up to new possibilities and compels you to share what you’ve seen and invite others into the story.” 

Described as a powerful immersion experience, the visit allowed participants to witness  firsthand the mission, work, and transformative impact of Africa University. They held wide-ranging conversations with students, faculty and senior administrators, gaining insight into Africa University’s strategic direction, evolving opportunities and challenges, and its role in shaping the future of sub-Saharan Africa.

“As the choir sang in chapel about blessings from generation to generation to generation, I felt the Spirit move…tears of love and hope streamed from my face,” said Rev. Jean Tippit of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. Tippit also highlighted meeting Marcia Delta Maria of Angola, the student supported by an endowed scholarship from the conference’s foundation, as a powerful moment.

Beyond the campus, the delegation visited key sites that reflect the breadth of The United Methodist Church’s mission in Zimbabwe—from the Old Mutare Mission Hospital, where they spent time with expectant mothers, to Fairfield Children’s Home from which orphans have gone on to pursue higher education at Africa University, to Hilltop United Methodist Church which is the oldest UMC congregation in the City of Mutare—the visit offered a compelling window into a legacy of deep engagement and service. 

A briefing with Masawara, a leading investment holding company headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe, along with safari activities in the Victoria Falls and Chobe (Botswana) National Parks and visits to sites of historical significance such as Soweto and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, rounded out the visit itinerary.

“Connecting with local communities, hearing personal stories, and witnessing how faith, education, and perseverance shape lives was humbling and inspiring,” said Valarie Pryor-Williams, a newlywed educator from Sumter, SC, who took the trip during her honeymoon with her husband, the Rev. Dr. J. Elbert Williams. She said the experience strengthened her global awareness, reaffirmed her commitment to justice, service, and education, and left her with a renewed sense of purpose and appreciation for collective healing and shared humanity.

Together, these experiences affirm the lasting difference made through The United Methodist Church’s sustained commitment to a transformative, global mission through Africa University.

Article includes information from a FB post by AU’s Office of Advancement & Public Affairs.