Zimbabwe

Tamie and I spent the last week of June and the first week of July on different continents. I took a group of just graduated high school seniors to Zimbabwe. Tamie went with her handbell choir to Estonia. Very weird to be out of the country at the same time. (Just for the record, the Estonia bunch had five (5) injuries, the Zimbabwe group zero(0), which goes to show you the importance of good leadership!)
The McCarleys drove us to Houston to catch our first flight, Houston to Atlanta. Short layover in Atlanta and it was nonstop to Johannesburg, South Africa. Fifteen (15) hours of endless excitement, NOT. We stayed over night at some IMB guest apartments not far from the airport. We had dinner at The Boma. Great first dinner in Africa, because it was a huge buffet of local food. We had Kudu, Warthog, crocodile, and, not best of all, MOPANI WORMS. Not everyone bit the bullet (worm), but Jake, Ashley McCarley, Alyssa Eskelsen, RaisinMan and I toughed one out. The look on RasinMan's face says it all.
The next day we flew to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. We were picked up at the airport by Duncan and Tatyiana Pitts, missionaries to Zimbabwe. We were scheduled to stay in a "travelers lodge" called Youngways. Due to some confusion about payment, we ended up staying with the Pitts in their house. The guys took the living room and the girls had the extra bedroom. My position as team leader got me a bed in Duncan's computer repair/third bedroom. As a result, we really got to know the Pitts much better. Tatyiana cooked wonderful meals for us and we did our part by taking care of the dishes, and helping with preparation.
The first morning, we were up at 6:30 a.m. We had our first appearance of the trip at Petra Secondary School at 7:30 a.m. Bryce and Carrie did a great job sharing the idea of True Love Waits. Bryce did a neat demonstration using duct tape. Afterwards, we had tea/coffee with the Headmaster. We came back to the school at 2:00 p.m. for a varsity boys field hockey game against the CBC Falcons, Petra's local rivals. Since none of us had ever seen a field hockey game, it took a bit to figure out the rules, which are similar to soccer. (Only with sticks and a smaller ball.) Unfortunately for our new friends, Petra lost 0-4.













We had a great week in Bulawayo. Some of our activities include visiting the hope of Pastor Mark and his wife, Dorcas. They have adopted nine (9) HIV orphans, with another one likely in the near future. We went with Gloria and Florence to a home where a dozen boys lived who had been rescued from a life on the streets. We heard several of their stories and they were all heart wrenching. I remember one said he was living with his mother and step-dad. His mother went to Mozambique and never came back. He has no idea what happened to her. His step-dad abused him and he ran away. He came for a free meal at Bulawayo Baptist Church and met one of the other boys. As a result, he ended up being invited to stay at the home.
Florence and Gloria also took us to a squatter's town where they feed children every Monday. We helped with the kids and Duncan had the opportunity to share Christ with the group of adults who showed up with the kids. As a result, about 8-10 people came forward. Duncan was already working on plans to continue with their discipleship on the ride home. I spent most of my time with the group working with the kids. That is until two drunk guys showed up. I spent about 30 minutes talking and sharing with them. Their names are Edanna and Stephen. They asked me to pray for them, that they would lose their desire to always drink beer. I'm still praying for them and would appreciate your help in that regard.
Florence and Gloria also took us for a walk through the village. We met some of the people they are trying to help. They showed us the water hole where the community gets its drinking water. It's a small puddle that is filled from a hole in a water line that passes nearby. Periodically, the government patches the hole and then the men come and make a new hole.
One day we worked for the soup kitchen at Bulawayo Baptist. Didn't take an official count, but would estimate they fed about 150 people.
On Sunday we went to both services. The first was an older crowd. They asked the group to sing for them and that went over pretty well. Mostly because I didn't join in! In the second service, the group got up and led a song. Jake had the guitar and Alyssa was on the drums. We picked a song that they already knew and that was a hit, too. That night we came back for the youth service. Lots of fun and more great music. During the activity time, we taught them how to play crab soccer. The kids all took to that game with great enthusiasm! After the service we were invited to watch the USA play Brazil in the Confederate Cup Finals. The game was played in South Africa, which is just to the south of Zim. I video taped some of the cheers, and you can find it at the bottom. They were shocked when we were ahead 2-0 at halftime, but happy when the final score was 3-2 to Brazil.
I would have to write a book to describe everything we saw. Pray for the people of Zimbabwe. They are an amazing people facing incredible hardships. The economy has improved slightly since their currency was abandoned in favor of dollars and rands, but they know it could turn bad again in an instant. Combine all of our heart disease, diabetes and every kind of cancer together and multiply it by 10, it still doesn't come close to the devastation Aids has caused. Parts of Africa have started to show the benefits of the True Love Waits message, pray that it would catch on in Zimbabwe. Gloria said 80% of the people in the squatters' village were HIV positive. She was including the children.