This collated Update of our six-week time of ministry, travel, and experiences in Mozambique and Zimbabwe began as separate updates home to concerned, praying supporters, friends, and our own church family in Greystanes, Sydney. They have been slightly reworded for publication on a wider scale (e.g. prayer requests now removed), and an occasional later comment has been added in italics for clarity’s sake.
Hie, folks. We are now unpacked in the Harare Base. Yesterday was an amazing day! If you were in Sydney, you know it was a wild beginning with 100kmh winds, dust storms, and low visibility. We got to the airport to find our plane hadn’t landed on time, and was delayed 2½ hours in departing. We had a 3½ hours transit timeframe in Joburg, so this was going to mean only a one-hour break between connecting flights – impossible for our luggage to be transferred. And leaving luggage overnight in Joburg is high-risk for theft (it has the highest stealing rate of any airport in the world!).
We mentioned this at the Sydney Qantas counter and the man sympathetically rebadged all our luggage to “business” so it would come off first. The flight was super-smooth. Because we were on SAA codeshare tickets on a Qantas plane, we were in the area with only 1 in 3 seats occupied so we got to stretch out, sleep soundly, and the flight picked up 30 minutes.
The turnaround in Joburg was very smooth too, with the new airport areas now open in preparation for next year’s Soccer World Cup. We even got shouted a coffee each by a total (American) stranger at Gloria Jeans!
Arriving in Harare at 9.15pm, straight through the visa area with no glitches, and there were all our bags waiting for us, unopened – and what’s more… there was absolutely no one in the customs area! So we were back in the Base by 10.30. The smoothest trip ever! Thanks to everyone who prayed for us on the day specifically. Your prayers were answered in an amazing way. We said to each other as we flew into Joburg, “if the prayers aren’t answered, there is no way our luggage will go through the Joburg transfer system and get reloaded in an hour”. And it did!
We now have one day to recover, organise, and prepare for the 600km drive (through the border) to Beira in Mozambique.
We left Harare in the first serious traffic jams I have seen in 10 years! A very hot day to the border; lunch at Mutare watching in shade a Sheffield Shield level cricket match, with monkeys going ballistic around our vehicle. The border crossing was chaotic! Semi-trailer numbers were unbelievable. Then on to the only motel in the 200k from Chimoio to Beira to book two nights for next week before and after the bush seminars with Domingos.
The trip was exhausting, a day’s travel to Beira; then Saturday in the Lifeline Ministry Training Program… which no one had confirmed with us beforehand!!. At 9.30am, there was a knock on our bedroom door, and a young man introduced himself as our interpreter for the day. We asked what for? He said for the teaching sessions downstairs. When we asked?!?!? At which point the singing started wafting up the stairs! THAT’s why you have to come prepared for a very different way of doing things here! And (as so often happens) by the end of the day, everything had gone really well…. Jeremy has been a great blessing in ministry; especially as I have been knocked down yet again by breathing problems compounded this time by a severe cold-shakes form of feverishness. Aching in the joints. And physical weakness for the last week now. Malarial symptoms but not malaria…..
It could have been worse…. Pastor Anacleto was in hospital with acute pancreatitis the whole time we were in Beira and our hospital visits were brief. By the way, - don’t EVER believe the Aussie media drip-feed line that some of our NSW hospitals are now at Third World standards. Go visit a real Third World hospital – doors falling off, broken windows, corridors packed with dying AIDS patients, minimal medicines, stench of toilets, etc – and you will NEVER fall for the media line again!
We
had a day and a half today (Sunday). It
was a cracker from go to whoa... At
5.30am (it’s weird what Africa does to your body clock), we had no idea what
the day had in store; no plans had been communicated to us and Anacleto was in
no state to say let alone do anything yesterday, his pain level was so high with
the pancreatitis attack.
But,
our interpreter (Godfrey) turned up around the right time; we drove to a remote
part of Beira quite a long way from here; where we walked through some high
density mud huts under mango trees.... and
a meeting started in a mud-church, almost in darkness inside.
And we had a great time with Pastor Arturo - a long-time Lifeline course
attender here - Jeremy preached (very well); Godfrey interpreted, and we prayed
for lots of people. This little
albino girl’s skin was already blotched by potential skin cancers.
Africa affects you…..
We came home, then spent the afternoon visiting Anacleto in their horrible hospital (his improvement from yesterday was absolutely amazing!), then took Godfrey out to the coffee shop around the corner as a tinotenda (thank you) for his assistance all day. Then an hour+ with the ever-joyful Antonio - who gave a magnificent performance in a video interview for our church. He had us in stitches, but his passion for Christ, the church, and us (including John, Gavin, Peter, Elizabeth, and others he has met from HNLC who have visited Beira over the years) alone made the trip to Beira worthwhile!! He had us out of our seats (literally!) with joy, and we finished with a very, very powerful time of deliverance ministry with him as he steps beyond his comfort zone into fresh fields of ministry. The improvement in his English speaking skills is remarkable in 11 short months since we last saw him. He is taking quality English lessons and the development is remarkable,
The weather last week in Mozambique was COOL and one day even COLD! Unbelievable for this time of year – and we were so relieved. And not one mozzie in Mozie…. It was weird……
We sent this from Chinhoyi where five of us stayed for one brief night with Simon and Linda Smith. Loxley came up too overnight, but the Smiths accommodated all five of us with typical grace!
Monday we left early for Nhamatanda, where Pastor Domingos hosted a seminar for 35 pastors at Sparrows' Nest orphanage. Some travelled over 200 kms round trip to attend.
Part of our churches missions’ giving goes towards covering the bus transport and some light refreshments for these very, very poor people as they make the effort to come such long distances. We did this in all three seminars and the Ministry Training Program at Beira. It’s not a lot in $A, but it sure counts over here.
We also left a $US500 donation with Sparrows' Nest to put the roof on their new 3-room dormitory for the girls. Domingos is caring for 61 children now. His wife, Alice, is a great help. She and Domingos were both widowed and since they married last December, he is so happy to have a co-worker who understands working with orphans (Alice’s late husband was a pastor in the same district).
LATER UPDATE: six weeks later, Loxley Ford returned to Nhamatanda and reported that - before the rains came - the donated funds had paid for the roofing and the new girl’s dormitory was weatherproofed. That’s good news!
That night, Jeremy, Loxley Ford, and I took Domingos back to a motel 40 kms closer to the next seminar location. Early next morning we drove the 160 kms south on Hwy 1 and arrived for a thoroughly disorganised day in a mud-brick church building. No catering had been planned; but the day improved as it so often does here, and by the time we gratefully discovered there was one motel nearby with clean facilities and a reasonable bed (although the district has no electricity or running water), we were ok about the visit. It sure beat Jeremy, Loxley, and my visit to a 4-day Mozambican bush churches seminar 4 years ago where we slept on mud floors as hard as concrete for three nights of agony…
When
we went for our early prayer walk along the empty highway, we passed a truck on
the road that had lost a wheel…. As we got closer, we could see that the
driver was sleeping on the bitumen under the front bumper on a piece of
cardboard! On the highway! This is Africa… they are so fatalistic
about life and danger and death….
But
the third seminar – some 70 kms away - was a day none of us will ever forget.
We arrived 20 kms off the highway on a dirt road to a singing welcome by some
200 people (photo>>>). It was an amazing expression of worship to
God, and gratitude for us coming. It turned out we were the first-ever
foreign ministers who had ever come to that remote area. A young pastor
from the Zionist cult had heard us in Nhamatanda and was so touched by the
teachings from God’s Word that he and his wife rode to the other two seminars
(a total of over 420 kms) on a 50cc motor bike!! He was the organiser
behind this last seminar. People had WALKED up to 27 km EACH WAY to
attend. Then they conducted an all night prayer vigil before we arrived.
The day was explosive with the presence, power, and word of God. After
lunch, Jeremy ministered at length to the non-pastors and leaders, while Loxley
and I sat down with the elders. Demons manifested as Jeremy prayed for
people, and the atmosphere was something none of us will forget – all under
two big mango trees!!! With such hunger for the things of God, no wonder
the day was a cracker!! Finally, Loxley distributed Christian resource
literature (printed in Portuguese) to many of those who attended (<<<photo).
I
have never seen so many older men present during a leadership session –
several up into their 70s and very poor (some in photo >>>), but
humble, godly men who have suffered (the civil war emptied this region out of
population for several years).
A large number of the next generation of men have died of AIDS we were told, These old men were crying with joy and appreciation to Domingos for organising for us to come. Beira gets heaps of Western ministry – and Lifeline – with its “we will go to the people anywhere” mentality – definitely has a place in God’s strategy for the rural people of Mozambique.
By the time they sang us off, we were happily exhausted. 130 kms back to the same motel at Inchope, a farewell to Domingos, and with me feeling worse and worse, we all fell into bed early and drove back to Zimbabwe at 6am next morning. Loxley amazes me with his energy for a 72 y/o.
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us; all border crossings have gone aok for all four of us. Deb and Elizabeth arrived from Sydney the night before we returned. Because of the very tight time schedule this trip has, none of us got to enjoy the usual 2-day jetlag recovery time. Jeremy, Loxley, and I spent less than 18 hours in Harare before we left again this morning. And now the heat is on! Big time! The rains are promising to come but not yet (this is called suicide season in Darwin and PNG!). Tomorrow after meeting with the Chinhoyi Lifeline Area Network Leader (Peter Banda) and his wife, Stella, we drive another 300 kms to Gweru where we will be based for 9 days. Hope this is encouraging to read….
Hello, everybody, from a stinking hot Gweru Sunday afternoon. The temperature has been way up in the 30s all week,; it is very still, AND HUMID. Not typical Gweru weather (it’s often windy and cool here). Waiting for the rains to come. And very hard to cope with. Saturday night we went out for dinner with our hosts, Roy and Melodie (it was her birthday) to Melodie’s boss’s home. A special occasion. And a massive contrast to what we have been experiencing this past week as we labour away here. The food was magnificent! Unfortunately, our host was struck down by food poisoning earlier in the day and his wife hosted us and Melodie’s family alone. Melodie’s energetic mother (Charmian – now admitting to being in her 80s) and Carol (Melodie’s sister) also joined us; Carol is back for a month from the Isle of Wight where she is working. Melodie’s boss has a background in dairying and is still farming here. He and his wife are long term members of Gideons, and are very giving, godly people.
Jeremy
completed a 10-hour youth leadership seminar late Saturday afternoon at Mkoba
– the large indigenous township 7 km out of Gweru.. His loyal assistant,
Deb, helped him the whole time (except when they got lost driving out there
Friday night (typical male driver - “I’m ok; I don’t need Brian’s
map!”). Nearly 50 youth leaders attended and the quality of feedback,
questions, and involvement really surprised us all as this was the first time we
have aimed a seminar at the youth ministry of the churches. On Saturday,
Elizabeth and I also conducted a one-day pastors and leaders seminar at the home
of the Ncubes. Some 20 people attended that and we swapped with Jeremy
halfway through the day for 90 minutes (they were 4km away at the YWCA hall).
All in all, it was a rewarding time for Mkoba people who made the effort to
attend either of the two activities.
Earlier
in the week, Deb and Elizabeth worked like Trojans getting the Ministry Resource
Centre properly catalogued, collated, and set up. We now have a 750-book
library ready for use by students, pastors, and church workers.
These books came from Sydney by various means over the past two years.
The Dutch Reformed Church pastor (who is neither Dutch nor Reformed!) has
kindly made their old church library room permanently available to Lifeline.
It is very conveniently located near the central bus station in downtown Gweru.
Deb spent many hours on this resource and we were very grateful for her effort
to come back to Zimbabwe (after 8 years) and work so hard at it (as our
church’s librarian) - finished project photo >>>). Now
we have to locate a volunteer to man it twice a week for 4 hours.
I (Brian) did three days straight teaching an experienced small pastors’ group of theological students for three hours each day at Artwell Chiangwa’s small new bible college in Gweru. In addition to that, Jeremy and I shared the lunchtime chapel services that I had done before for SU representative, Morgan Sibanda. There was a good response to Jeremy’s material on handling offence.
A YOUNG MAN’S APPROACH HOW NOT TO DO MINISTRY: One young local, who stole some things from our home in Sydney a few years ago while staying overnight as our guest, offered a few months ago to help Morgan run the group. He then split it to start his own “lunchtime ministry” up the road. It has since collapsed… Such men are so brazen here in their sheep-stealing tactics. It never stops… Later, the local ministers complained that this unethical kind of behaviour has proliferated recently. And one chapel-attender we had never met previously wanted Jeremy and me to give him $US3500 to buy a truck for his vegetable business! You never cease to be amazed here at the hunger for varungu mari (white men’s money).
But we did have a profitable week all-in-all. And we are all reasonably ok healthwise. My bad run of health issues has started to turn around… Dr Debbie has kept me drugged up heavily so I can’t cough germs all over the others… Seriously, I am considerably better, and although feeling constantly fatigued, my voice is ok, and my usual “Zimbabwean respiratory” condition is less virulent than it was in Mozambique two weeks ago.
Today
(Sunday) we split up and ministered in three churches. Jeremy was at
Pastor Diamond’s church (the man who assists Addmore with the Lifeline
Ministry Training Program in Mkoba); Elizabeth and Deb shared the load at
Lifespring Church, while I went to the largest AFM church in Mkoba (the family
of Sabastian Mutyambizi – Greystanes AFM church elder - attends there). It
has several satellite assemblies and numbers some 2,000 attenders. The
main church was overflowing. Hundreds brought their own chairs, and sat
under canvas and the tin roof for shade in the very hot sun. It was so
unusual to see hundreds of chairs move into the air at the end of the 3½ hour
service!
The next phase of our journey starts tomorrow (Monday) 170k south to Bulawayo where I am supposed to meet up with Cosmos Sibanda to plan the Plumtree seminar (5th year in a row to build on previous years’ teachings), and then we go 20k out for a well-earned and looked forward-to rest day! Then it’s another 340km to Hwange for another 4 days in seminars and church ministry, before we begin to split up and Jeremy returns to meet his family in Joburg.
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS – the road blocks, etc, are very casual now, checking drivers’ and radio licences occasionally. And that’s about all. The level of political tension is nothing like last year. But the common thing now is a bribe will expedite your official business. For instance, we could not get more than a 30-day visa at the airport (or Mozambique border gate); staying here for 6 weeks meant we had to renew our visas somewhere later – no charge, but a hassle and time consuming. When we got to Gweru, we prayed hard, went to the sprawling government offices complex, and asked a man randomly for help. He recognised me from a church ministry, and immediately walked us through a maze of corridors and stairs and into the Director of Immigration’s personal office! It was all done in minutes! Then the Director (an older man) angrily told us the customs officials at the borders are looking for bribes to extend foreigners’ visas beyond 30 days. As members of the Commonwealth we have a right by Zimbabwean law to up to 6 months visas, he said….
LATER BITS 'N' PIECES - there are $US1 toll plazas all over the country now – picking up money to improve the deteriorating main road system (that’s what they say, anyway). At Bulawayo they have plonked one right on the edge of town and we had to pay every trip into town to get to and from our host’s home just out of town. He said one dairy farmer is forking out $US1,000 a month down the road for their trucks ($5 per trip), etc! And each toll plaza has an AK47 on duty! But not very action-ready….
And the shops are buzzing again! The move to USD and Rand has energised commerce; something not observable five short months ago. And now many of the goods are Zimbabwean again (almost all were South African last trip). The cost of living has really jumped for most people, but at least the economy is moving again (after being paralysed for several years by roaring inflation). And fuel is plentiful too. Diesel is $A1.20/litre. So for the first time in nearly 10 years, if you have the money, economic life is almost normal!
But the electric gremlins are loose again against us! Now the Mazda 4WD (which we are using because the old faithful HiLux was in a smash before we came and was not repaired in time) has decided not to start some mornings without a push to turn the starter-motor drive over – but at least there are four of us… you gotta look on the bright side in Africa!
ODD SPOT - in Mozambique a non-English-speaking pastor was speaking on how the Jews celebrated their relationship with God by eating “pasta” together! We had visions of Italian-speaking Jews celebrating…. Until we realised he was trying to translate “Passover” from Portuguese!
We are nearing the end of the 3-day seminar here in the most climatically uncomfortable conditions we have ever encountered – ANYWHERE! Hwange is known as the second hottest town in Zimbabwe and we are about three weeks away from the arrival of the first rains. It’s humid, very hot, we are sweltering at night; the cold water tap is running at about 28c, we four are drinking litres of cold water a day (and rarely having to go to the toilet!). I have never drunk so much fluid in 3 days ever! It just pours off you, taking some body heat with it. Deb and Elizabeth were assigned to a different host – a couple who are doing their best to make them “comfortable”. Lots of frozen water and a decent fan have saved them at night. Jeremy and I are not so fortunate…. We have a cold/warm shower, leave the windows open (and this is a red-zone malarial area), and then lie on top of our beds trying to go to sleep, desperate for some air movement. The temperature has been hovering in the high 30s to 40c. A breeze sort of came at 4am two nights ago – just after a dog killed our hosts’ 8 chickens outside, and the water supply came on and gurgled its way back on tap. Jeremy is teaching right now and my computer is so hot the keys are warming my hands! All because of the intense humidity with the heat.
The seminar numbers are down from last year (Peter Brown and I were here mid-winter in 2008), but the hunger is strong. The organisation began (for the third time this trip!) with wrong dates and misunderstandings. On each incident we have checked our email records and found the details were communicated clearly, but the prevailing culture here is for leaders NOT to write anything down, but attempt to keep it in their head only. Almost no one uses a diary, so when anything even slightly complex in organisational planning is involved, stuff-ups seem to be virtually inevitable. You just soldier on. The old classic film, Zorba the Greek (with Anthony Quinn) is essential viewing for anyone serious about persevering in cross-cultural ministry….
Several
cult leaders attended (unbeknown to me), and my first session each day was set
down for identification of cults – their structure, social dynamics, points of
control, and how to help people get free from their domination.
Interestingly, they never missed a session and listened very
carefully…. Strange things are
happening around the churches….
Jeremy
has taken quite a lot of the ministry load in this difficult weather.
Deb and Elizabeth are about to start with the women.
The first day, they reported the conversations got very lively and beneficial
with the local womenfolk (after Elizabeth promised them nothing
would be repeated back outside their meeting! (<<<photo proof
We call that “Secret Women’s Business”….
More women came the second day. Here
they are not given the same status we would expect in Aussie.
But this week, they were the lucky ones… they got to sit in the least
hottest place - outside under a big mango tree!
While the males suffered inside the Anglican church facility….
And speaking of trees. Here is an elderly couple alongside Hwange’s once-famous Baobab Hotel’s massive signature tree atop the lookout >>>
Speaking of heat, we always seem to miss the mango season in Africa! But this year, they are just starting to fall of the trees – THOUSANDS of them!!! We have discovered that Hwange is the first area in Zimbabwe where mangos ripen. Our hosts have loaded us up with green ones they assure us will ripen in the next few days…. (and they did!)
It’s been a real blessing having four of us all capable of speaking competently, then leading discussions. The local people are not used to being asked for their input. They are more conditioned to sit and listen…. Elizabeth and Deb report how animated the womenfolk have been in their discussion sessions after being assured they CAN speak honestly. Many then express how unhappy they really are with things in their lives and churches. Hopefully, our attempts to share our own experiences and from the Bible can make a difference…
LATER UPDATE: The Sunday services we ministered at went well, despite the intense heat. And soon afterwards, Jeremy hitched a ride 100k to Victoria Falls – from an email we got tonight he enjoyed walking the Falls, drinking coffee on the terrace at Victoria Falls hotel (one of the most marvellous views in all the world!), and dodging the tsotsis (bad people) that inhabit every tourist town on the globe too…. He met up with his wife and sons tonight in Joburg from where they are having a week’s holiday before flying on to Denmark, Turkey, and the USA (where they will spend time with his 97 y/o grandmother).
Our
three days break in Sinamatella camp in the National Park ended this morning; it
was marvellous after such an exhausting four days at Hwange.
A ferocious cool change roared through the first night and dropped
temperatures by some 16c in 4 hours (from 41c at 4pm to 25c)!
Deb, Elizabeth, and I travelled over many a bumpy road and saw a lot of
wild animals and marvellous birdlife. Starting
with a rhino just outside the camp gate! Then
lions (photo with kill >>>), hyena, buffalo, elephants,
klipspringer (a very delicate rock-dwelling deer), kudu, reedbuck, etc, etc.
And even a dead buffalo surrounded by two jackals, and vultures –
<<<photo). Going into
the bush is always a fresh experience, and Elizabeth had never been into this
area before…. Being entertained by
roaring lions from the river pastures below the lodge escarpment is a marvellous
way to go to sleep!
So,
after the welcome 3-day break in the bush, it’s 400 kms up the road (dodging
elephant dung for the first 150k!) and back to seven days of straight ministry.
From Bulawayo Deb flies home, while I take a 2-day leadership seminar for EFZ (Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe). This is a first time, and quite an occasion, located at the Theological College of Zimbabwe (TCZ) – a College not unlike Tabor College in Sydney – and one that I have stayed in touch with here for several years.
Then the next day, we are with George Moyo’s church in Bulawayo all day, and then down the Botswana highway 100k to Plumtree for Sunday church followed by a three-day seminar for the fifth year running. Plumtree is a run-down township, but the people we have come to know there are so strong in their faith and commitment not only to building their own church or ministry (as so many ambitious leaders and ministers are here), but they have a real heart for the corporate health of the local Christian community – and THAT is what brings us back here again and again to some areas in particular. Yes, it’s hard; yes, it’s wearying; yes, it’s costly (for us and our church); but along the way you meet people who have been impacted in the way they think, do church and minister, run their personal lives and families, handle money with integrity…. And it makes the effort, the isolation, and the time away from home worthwhile…
We finished our last seminar yesterday. Plumtree for the fifth year running. That was our first attempt then to take these Ministry Development seminars to the townships and rural areas of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Lifeline has done a lot of training stuff over many years, and these seminars have built upon the Lifeline emphasis to take Ministry Development to the “ordinary people” outside of the more ‘sophisticated’ areas of Zimbabwean and Mozambican church life. The main cities have LOTS of Christian events – with a good number of foreign ministries doing lots of good things. But, the rural and township areas are often quite under-provided for, it seems. And that’s where we seem to fit. Yes, it’s hard on us visitors, but it does give one a wonderful opportunity to sample REAL life for folks living here.
To take up the journey again…. While I began a two-day seminar in Bulawayo (hosted by Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe) at the Theological College of Zimbabwe’s very pleasant facility (best conditions ever for us), Elizabeth drove Debbie out to Bulawayo airport to fly home. Leaving the carpark, she got trapped in the Mazda 4WD when the anti-carjacking system decided she was a car-jacker – horn and flashers blaring, and locked her in the car! A couple stopped as she frantically waved her arm out the window…. and called their security firm who told them how to reset the anti-carjack system. She was in tears when we caught up! We suspect the car is possessed, as it happened several times later on….
The
Bulawayo seminar was very well-received by the church leaders who attended.
All for the first time. The
coordinator for the Resource Centre for Matabeleland EFZ showed us around their
centre in downtown Bulawayo. Their
vision there is similar to Lifeline’s – to provide resources for ALL the
churches and those developing in ministry. We
are confident closer relations will come from this two-day time.
I was also asked to speak at the weekly chapel service for the TCZ
students, who came into the main lecture hall and joined the seminar attenders (photo attached). Yes, it
was classy!
ODD SPOT: Part of our own church’s “gifts of grace” to Zimbabwean believers is to cover the cost of the catering for these seminars. It’s not expensive (by Australian standards at least), and provides a time of interaction during the seminars. However, in recent years, we have had to counter the arrival of increasing numbers of what we call “nyama (= meat – we call them at home, rice) Christians”! They are people (including some pastors and wives) who turn up an hour before lunch, and quietly slip away 30 minutes afterwards... Once the word gets around New Life Church and Lifeline are covering the cost of catering, it reminds us of Jesus’s saying “you are really following me because I fed you!” So, we have had to introduce tickets which are distributed after morning tea. And still some slip through the radar….. And for the first time ever, a couple of planning coordinators asked if we were providing breakfast as well!! Including for Jeremy’s youth seminar!! By Aussie standards, that’s cheeky.
This update is being written after we have just got back to our dear friend, Mick’s….. And after the discomforts and heat of the two seminars in Hwange and Plumtree, we were relieved to be able to have a proper hot bath …. we both ponged! Yesterday morning, in Plumtree, there was no electricity, so no water ran in our area of the township; our host’s daughter cooked breakfast for us on a small fire in the backyard. The coordinator (Cosmos) looked after us very, very well. His wife (Chelesani) has had SIX miscarriages in the past 18 months! This one is holding better, and we passed on $US100 in relief aid donated from Australia for her specialist visits.
We
had a very, VERY successful time at Plumtree.
The best time of ministry of this trip – over 40 in the seminar for
three days; including a good number of very animated women who enjoyed Elizabeth’s
chairing some very vigorous discussions after she assured them NOTHING
would be repeated! The seminar was
well planned again, Cosmos is a gifted administrator and did an excellent job,
AND while the weather was hot in the daytime (but nowhere near furnace-like as
Hwange was), it was much milder at night, when a cool breeze blew through our
(no-ceiling) room. However, the
mozzies were out (from a swampy area around a broken sewer line about 800m away
– great cholera potential). And
the loo has no seat or lock, the bathroom has no hot water, two of the four
bedrooms have no light because they have no light globes left, the knives and
forks bend everywhere because they are zhing-zhong steel, and on it goes….
Yet, everyone copes…. including us.
Several cult leaders came (again), and the senior Zionist minister in the district gave the formal tinotenda (thank-you) at the end, and added he will now go back to his church and start changing lots of things they do. We didn’t know he was a Zionist until we were driving back to Bulawayo and Cosmos told us! This is quite astonishing!
The Plumtree people celebrated Elizabeth’s birthday in a very moving way – much singing, some dancing, and speeches to “Omama Elizabeth”!! Then a lovely cake. She was quite moved by their warm-heartedness (as I was four years ago when they sprung a surprise 60th on me after almost 7 weeks away, and feeling very homesick). This particular area has a certain feel that emanates from the unity among so many of the churches and their leaders. We love them a lot.
We
are now both exhausted. We have had
no rest day for the past week (7 straight days of ministry commitments after
driving 400k the day before from Sinamatella!)….
So today as I write this, it is a “sabbath” day at Mick’s.
Cleaning the Mazda, doing email, and even some stretches and sit-ups!
ODD SPOT: Home seems so far away when you are in the middle of a township, your bedroom has no ceiling (every noise, , fart, burp, snore, and conversation is amplified to the whole household - and definitely no hanky-panky…).
Cosmos is seen in the attached photo>>> at our “outside” bathroom used when the water supply goes off….. Little wonder Elizabeth has a mild dose of diarrhoea today…. Now in Zimbabwe a shortage of chemicals means you can’t guarantee the tap water is ok.
Jeremy and Deb have now safely gone; they were a great blessing to us (as well as the local people), and now us oldies soldier on with our walking aids…. We hope this makes some sense, and gives our readers a feel for what it's really like on the ground in Zimbabwe at present.
We arrived back in Harare from Gweru at 5pm Monday and now have two days here debriefing with Loxley, the Lifeline Zimbabwean Director, before we leave for the rest of our trip – 5 weeks home on long service leave via Paris, Manchester, Vancouver, and San Diego. Paris is pure holiday; the others are to “see old friends” places…At least the toilet seats here at the Lifeline Base have not been stolen, and are not broken! Elizabeth and I have decided that this is the first critical analysis we now do by which we judge all things (could this come within a loose definition of the “Bema SEAT” judgment of 2 Cor 5:10?)…..
It’s been an exhausting but very fulfilling 6 weeks. I have travelled over 5000k’s and Elizabeth 3500…. Some of the roads have been pretty unbelievable at that too! But, it went well, the political situation has quietened down again, and we were accident-free and improved in health as we went along. I had a several attacks of respiratory problems the first two weeks; thankfully I listened to my doctor’s advice before we left, and Deb’s on-hand help was also appreciated (she is a pharmacist), so I coped until it lifted in the third week (as the many prayers kicked in too!). I have been medication-free for the past three weeks.
This trip – in the 6 weeks – Elizabeth and I have endured EIGHTEEN DIFFERENT BED MOVES!! If you are addicted to your own mattress, and find it difficult to sleep in strange surroundings… stay home! And if you do come, earplugs are essential! This constant change obviously doesn’t help us to manage any health issues that arise.
Last weekend, Elizabeth and I stayed in Mkoba with the Ncubes, ministered in their church, laid hands on their developing Youth Leadership and their oversight team. During the service, several very young children came forward and recited word-perfect memory verses. Impressive! Education, reading, and (English) grammar is highly valued at a Primary School level here as well as at high school (something many Australians aren’t aware of). Our local teachers would love to have the respect built into the Zimbabwean culture for their teachers.
This came home with great impact 6 months ago when I offered to take the Ncube family to nearby Antelope Park where there are 78 lions in a breeding program. Most Africans have never seen a lion, so I thought they would all jump at the opportunity. But not 9 y/o Anesu! He refused, saying he preferred to go to school!!! I was stunned by this! No child in Sydney would say such a thing.
STOP WHINGING MOMENT: Ever complained about a power shortage and / or a water shortage? Well, In Mkoba 19 where the Ncubes live, the power is off sometimes twice a day; and they have had absolutely no water for over four weeks. Every drop is carted in on a hand trolley from a km away (where it is on tap). Village 19 is located higher up the sloping Mkoba escarpment, and after the Government erected a new water-tower to ease the supply problems caused by a lack of pressure, a band of thieves broke in and stole the pipes that connected it to the existing water supply system – and that was years ago! That means in the early morning dawn, Betty Ncube heats up some water on a small fire in the backyard, and we use some of it to have an (ahem…) continental scrub…. This water is then used to flush the toilet of anything (ahem again….) awaiting removal….
On Sunday night we met in the dark (yet another power blackout!) with several pastors, including Pastor Mugabe! Ahhh, that’s Nicholas, not Robert… Gotta love this place. The people are so resilient.
The school where Jeremy preached 4 weeks ago has kicked out all the church groups and activities that met there (political reasons, we were told). That meant the Lifeline Ministry Training Program on Saturdays now has no home either. The house we helped purchase some years ago - that Ncubes live in - has a very large lounge (can seat up to 40), but little furniture. Addmore and I searched out and purchased 20 robust plastic stacker chairs, using some of the overseas aid donations from home, and now they will use the room weekly for the Training Program.
So on that note, we wound up 6 weeks with Lifeline in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. These updates are (of course) written from a subjective viewpoint, and as such reflect our own approach (bias even!?!?), while we do try to give an idea of what Lifeline is about there, and to give our readers an honest “feel” for what it’s like doing ministry in this part of the world. As we travel elsewhere, and meet others who also have engaged in Southern Africa in Christian ministry, relief aid, work with orphans, needy, and widows, we find similar stories that make you weep, and be wary of the many pitfalls associated with cross-cultural ministry. And yet, at the same time, so many inspiring stories emerge! Enough to inspire you to continue. We hope that balance has been truly and honestly reflected in these reports.
After leaving Zimbabwe, we (the Rensfords) began a 5-week long service leave break – coming home via France, UK, Canada, and USA. Updates with a different tone can be followed from here… beginning with the 24-hr delay in the Lufthansa shambles we encountered in Joburg….