Well this morning started with great excitement. Some guests at the resort left their door open and a troop (is that the right collective noun?) of baboons came in and started to rearrange things!! (and, no, it wasn't one of us leaving the door open!). Just shows you that even on your worst day THAT wasn't something you had to deal with!!
We spent the morning packing up and getting ready for the trip back to Harare. Time for a short shopping trip in Victoria Falls to buy a few more trinkets ... although judging from the size of the trinkets that Dona Lou and Patricia had to carry all the way back on the plane, trinket may not be the word we are looking for.
The trip back to Harare was without incident ... Air Zimbabwe has really good cabin service. The flight takes just an hour. Once we got on the ground again, however, we ran into trouble. No bus from AU to ferry us back to the Holiday Inn. Turns out there was a schedule mix up. So after a number of phone calls we hopped into three taxis and tore out of the airport. And away we went. The shocks in at least one of the taxis probably haven't worked since independence in 1980.
But we made it back, retrieved the luggage that we had left behind in the storeroom at the hotel and started the process of rearranging and repacking. Many of us left our big suitcases behind at AU for students to use so now we have to share out the space. And, of course, there seems to have been a lot of economic support of local industry that happened while we were here!! (i.e., shopping).
We have had a wonderful trip. The wheels are already starting to spin about what comes next ... presentations to various churches and groups, articles to write, contacts to maintain, people to nag and so on. And the joking, teasing and laughter continues -- we've really gotten to know each other well in these weeks together. But now it is time to go home. We've accomplished what we set out to do and then some. We will leave a bit of ourselves in this place (to say nothing of several suitcase of stuff!!).
Blessings to all and to all a good night!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Sunday, November 6
Sometimes you have no words to describe the beauty and wonder of God’s creation! The morning started with 7 or 8 warthogs gamboling across the lawn beside the open-air dining room while we were eating breakfast!! And then we spent the day at Chobe National Park in Botswana. http://www.chobe-national-park.com/
The difference between the landscape on the eastern side of Zimbabwe and the western side of Zimbabwe is rather startling. After two weeks we had gotten used to seeing mountains and green foliage. The soil was very red – not clay but a very arable, rich red soil. It was dry, yes, but you couldn’t imagine things looking any more alive. Over here on the west side of the country it is very flat and brown. Most of the trees are without leaves – the rainy season is about a month late here and they are anxiously awaiting spring. As we said yesterday the Zambezi River is low so the falls are not so dramatic (but dramatic enough!!). The contrast between the two sides of the country is very noticeable.
Victoria Falls is very near where four countries come together – Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia. We had to drive into Botswana to go to Chobe. And right there at the border crossing we saw the first evidence of how very different things can be. The Zimbabwe border post is older and run down. We went through the departure process there (the first form to be filled out) and then had to walk through the gate into Botswana where we had to disinfect our shoes (against foot and mouth disease) and then present our papers to the officials there (second form of the morning). Everything was cleaner and brighter from there on – roads were vastly improved, road signs were newer, vehicles were newer, buildings in better repair.
Botswana was never a colony the way Zimbabwe was – it was a protectorate so it has always had majority rule. And it is still part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, was a British colony and remained with minority rule until 1980 when it gained independence. Botswana is a republic with a pretty stable immediate history. Zimbabwe is a socialist country struggling with a multitude of problems.
Anyway, we drove on to the Chobe Safari Lodge where we boarded another pontoon-y river cruise boat. Those warthogs at breakfast were only the start of the catalogue of animals that we saw today! Chobe National Park is a vast place that sits on the Botswana side of the Chobe River. Namibia is on the other side. In the middle of the river is a very long island – nice and green and full of wonderful grass for grazing. The elephants are able to swim across the river to get to the island. And we saw hundreds of elephants of all sizes (the park has the largest concentration of elephants in the world). Did you know that elephants are either right or left “handed”?? We noticed that many of them had shorter tusks on one side of their trunk than the other side. Our guide told us that they have a dominant side – thus being right or left “handed” – and that they tend to wear out or break the tusk on the dominant side. We saw them in bachelor groups and in maternal groups, taking mud baths, drinking water, swimming and dusting off.
And lots and lots of birds – Egyptian geese, storks, ibis (sacred and not), bee-eaters, plovers, snake birds, and herons.
And hippos, warthogs, a variety of antelope, and a several crocodile. The animals roam free in the park and on the island. Poaching is rare but it does occur.
The three hour cruise brought us back to the Chobe Safari Lodge where we cleaned up and enjoyed a buffet lunch – with pitchers of iced tea and lemonade on the tables! After the meal we boarded two Safari Land Rovers – open-sided, covered, 4 wheel drive SUVs with four rows of seats behind the driver. This area is sandy so you have to have something that can negotiate not only the ruts but the sand as well. This time we saw the wildlife from the land side – up close and personal. More elephants, warthogs and antelope but now add giraffes, sables, bush bucks, cobu with their corkscrew horns, and even more birds including a pair of African Fish Hawks. No cats or wild dogs or zebra – wrong time of the day.
We were all pretty worn out by the time we got back to the lodge (two more forms -- one to leave Botswana and one to enter Zimbabwe) – it had rain at some point and there was a rainbow over the Falls. We had a quiet dinner and retired to our rooms for a good nights rest. The day was absolutely amazing. God is good – all the time!!
Saturday, November 5
We were up and running by 5:30 this morning – already to get going and then things screeched to a halt. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7 so we dutifully got up and ready, grabbed the packed breakfasts that they had ready for us, and boarded the AU bus so that Douglas could get us to the airport on time. Airport is some way out of Harare (so the smog isn’t quite as heavy!). So we get to the domestic terminal, unload people and belongings and scurry into an empty terminal. Hmm. Seven o’clock flight? Oh no, there is no seven o’clock flight!!
And the wait began. Domestic terminal is pretty bleak so we wondered over to the international terminal where we found a café (oh good – tea, coffee and hot chocolate) and numerous shops with handicrafts and such like. So we sort of spread out and morphed from one grouping to another. Some in one terminal, some in the other. Watched videos on computers, read, shopped, and THEN FINALLY we discovered that we were booked on the 11:30 flight. Yippee!!
We were ushered through a rather cursory security check and then given complimentary drinks. Things were looking up. Then they called our flight and out the door we go – past the nice shiny 767 that was parked RIGHT THERE and to the 737 out beyond. But once we were on the plane and in the air we had really good service … sandwich lunch, plenty of tea and coffee and soft drinks. Needless to say we were slightly awash by the time we got to Victoria Falls.
Now the problem was that we were scheduled to check in to the hotel and be at the Falls themselves at 11 and then back to the hotel for a sundown cruise on the Zambezi River at 4. You will remember that we were on the 11:30 flight which arrived in Vic Falls at 12:30. But our ever resourceful tour guide, Andrew, had a plan B. Go straight to the Falls. Do not pass go, do not collect your breath.
The Falls are amazing. Think Niagara Falls only more so. We are not yet in the rainy season so they weren’t as overwhelming as they can be but trust us they whelmed!! Rather than starting at the top and working our way down, Andrew had us start at the bottom – the bridge that crosses into Zambia (which is where the bungee jumping takes place. Dona Lou spun us this story about the jump being free if you do it naked. None of us was willing to strip or shell out $100 so we continued on our way). We slowly wound our way along the path on the rim that is across from the actual falls. There are 16 overlook spots but we only stopped at 6. Learned that the Rainbow Falls are the tallest. And tried not to get the cameras wet in the spots where the spray was especially heavy. At the top of the falls was a bigger than life statue of David Livingstone who “discovered” them (like no one knew they were there before that).
After all that oohing and aahing we headed for the resort – the A’Zambezi River Lodge http://azambeziriverlodge.com/ . This place has been recently renovated and reopened and is winning all sorts of travel awards. We were greeted at check-in with a cool glass of mango juice and then escorted to our luxurious rooms. But no time to dally – we needed to be onboard the boat at 4:30. These pontoon boats (slightly bigger than what we would normally see) headed north towards the Falls (but not close enough to make one nervous in anyway) around a long island and then back south to the other end of the island and then north again ending up back at the resort (which is a good thing since that was where we wanted to end up). The cruise takes place an hour or more before sunset – and you see all sorts of animals and birds. We saw crocodiles (one really big and two cute little young ones), ten or more elephants, hippos (a mother with a couple of babies), a bush buck or two, and a large quantity of birds … cormorants, bee-eaters, lilac breasted rollers, egrets and so on. And a beautiful sunset.
After all of that we cleaned up a little and loaded onto the bus again to go to dinner at the Boma Restaurant http://www.thebomarestaurant.com/ . This is a restaurant that provides a cultural evening – African food, music, and décor. Dinner started with a wonderful butternut squash soup served in a little cast iron pot. And the rest was on either a hot or cold buffet. The cold buffet included salads, breads, crocodile tail, impala terrine, and smoked guinea fowl. At the hot buffet you could have things grilled to order – stir-fry, warthog, oxtail, eland, ostrich, chicken, and beef. And you finished the dinner at the dessert buffet – chocolate cake and pudding, cream puffs, fruit salad, and cheesecake. Wonderful!!
Throughout the meal there was entertainment -- singers, dancers, drummers, and a fortune teller. And then they passed out drums – one to each diner – and we had a drumming lesson. Lots of fun.
Today had its challenges but we had plenty of opportunity to share more details about our work at AU and our time in the Mutare area. We are drawing this trip to close on a high note!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Friday, November 4
Travel day today. We packed it up and moved it out down the highway to Harare. Picked up the sleepover girls, Dona Lou and Margaret Tagwira, at the Tagwira Farm and then drove to the Halfway Inn, had a quick lunch, and then completed the trip to the Holiday Inn at Harare. We did have a quick restroom break at a casino -- but since Dona Lou thought we were stopping at a girls school we're going to go with that story!!
Checked in to the hotel and then spent a couple of hours recuperating, repacking and getting ready for dinner. Dr. Tagwira met us at the hotel and then we went out to dinner at The Fishmonger Restaurant in the Avondale section of Harare. We were joined by the Tagwira's daughter and son-in-law (both doctors) and another former student and her son. Had a lovely dinner and then back to the hotel for bed. (Photo is the view from one of the hotel rooms).
We are off to Victoria Falls in the morning -- 7 a.m. flight so we are to report to the lobby at 5:30 a.m. Not sure what sort of internet access we will have ... so we may not have a blog entry for a couple of days. Don't worry -- we sort of move as a large, loud herd so anything untoward will probably make international headlines!! And if we don't tell you about the naked bungee jumping you won't have to worry, right??
Checked in to the hotel and then spent a couple of hours recuperating, repacking and getting ready for dinner. Dr. Tagwira met us at the hotel and then we went out to dinner at The Fishmonger Restaurant in the Avondale section of Harare. We were joined by the Tagwira's daughter and son-in-law (both doctors) and another former student and her son. Had a lovely dinner and then back to the hotel for bed. (Photo is the view from one of the hotel rooms).
We are off to Victoria Falls in the morning -- 7 a.m. flight so we are to report to the lobby at 5:30 a.m. Not sure what sort of internet access we will have ... so we may not have a blog entry for a couple of days. Don't worry -- we sort of move as a large, loud herd so anything untoward will probably make international headlines!! And if we don't tell you about the naked bungee jumping you won't have to worry, right??
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Thursday, November 3
Very cool and rainy again today ... in the mid-60s. Everyone has hauled out the sweaters and jackets. Just caught sight of the nighttime security guard and he has a quilted winter coat on!!
Our final trip to the university this morning. Most of us headed for the main lecture hall where we listened to a lecture about War, Conflict and Peace in Africa. The lecture was part of a course that is required of all students at AU. The course is called African Studies which is a survey course that looks at the pan-African experience. This lecture was about how war and conflict have been dealt with on the continent and the lessons that can be learned. The lecturer used a PowerPoint presentation and included time for questions and answers and discussion.
La Donna had an appointment at the library so she missed the lecture (but found it interesting to listen to who heard what and who missed what ... and wondered if they attended the same lecture!!). Anyway, she and the bibliographic services librarian, Nevermore Sithole, discussed collaborating on a paper for publication, and then discussed the Multi-Media collection. They are wanting to expand and develop the collection. The video cataloguing that she did will be used as a template to provide better catalogue records for the audio-visual materials. They also discussed some projects that she can do from home by logging in to their cataloguing software from the US ... provided that they can figure out how to do that!!
The Jerrys went straight to the farm for more egg washing and equipment repair. Jerry Jo met the farm manager while she was washing eggs. Jerry Jerry (as Bonnie calls him!) did more in the mysterious realm of electricity – must be a union secret because he didn’t elaborate!!
After the lecture, Dona Lou and James returned to the Intensive English classes to work with the students and the rest of the crew headed for Old Mutare Mission. Patricia needed to give the last of the photographs to her class of students. They were so excited to have a picture of themselves – for some of them this was the first photo of themselves they had ever had!!
After that the group headed up to the Fairfield Children’s Home to deliver some things and to shop at the little gift shop that they have in the office. (We seem to be doing a lot of shopping!). Jeanie bought a book called "Dare to Live Completely : A Memoir from Zimbabwe" by Janine Roberts – and the author was there and signed her copy! She is a young woman from the US who came to Zimbabwe to work at Old Mutare and has come back time and time again for longer periods of time to work for the children at Fairfield. You can read her blog at http://www.hopeofzim.blogspot.com/ amazing stuff!
They left Fairfield and went to Joyce and Webster Katsidzria’s home to pick up some batiks that various of us had ordered. Joyce and her daughters do absolutely beautiful work! Of course the visit included a tour of their garden and home and a zillion "photo ops" (we’re getting good at that too!)
One more chance to have a pile of sudza (remember sudza? white cornmeal mush-like stuff ... and still no syrup!!) in the dining hall and then we all gathered (after a detour to the bookstore ... shopping again!!) at the Information Office to say good-bye and thank you to Sharai and Susan. They did such a wonderful job of organizing us – even when we reorganized their organizing over and over!! Neither of them was particularly gray haired nor did they display any disturbing twitches or anything after two weeks of shepherding the now infamous Indiana VIM team!!
On the way back to LaRochelle we stopped at the front gate to take group pictures at the big gate heading into the university (poor Douglas not only has to drive us around put he has to learn to operate all the many and varied cameras that we shove at him during our photo ops!).
Then we headed to Mutare to "take tea" with Patrick Matsikenyiri. who was the first choir director at AU and was responsible for forming the choirs that toured the US in the first decade of the university. He is now working on an African hymnal. On Saturday he is having a workshop where choir people from all over will present hymns native to their culture. The songs will be videorecorded and then Patrick will transcribe the music. Remember that each of the Wednesday chapel services we started with songs from different cultures ... first from Congo and then this week from Mozambique. This is part of the project too. Patrick retired in 2002 but he still lectures and helps with the chapel music. What an amazing wealth of stories shared while we had tea, scones and popcorn!
Dona Lou is spending the night with Margaret Tagwira – they say they are having a sleepover!!
On the way home Douglas parked the van outside of a supermarket so that some of us could spend some time seeing what was on offer. The store is open in the front – no windows just straight open out to the pavement (i.e., sidewalk). The row of registers stretches all the way across the opening so you really can’t get out without paying. They found a good variety of items and the shelves were well stocked. Prices? Liter of milk for $1.25, eggs were $4.95 for 2 ½ dozen (remember yesterday Jerry Jo reported the wholesale price was $4.50), large jar of Nutella was $12.35, a single-serve container of apple juice for $.95, and package of biscuits (i.e., cookies) were $2.39. Very few things came in jumbo size packs – biggest package of diapers held 20.
Then back to LaRochelle for a final dinner. Bad news is that we have limited water – the well needed repair and the glue used won’t be dry until 3 a.m. (if electricity is a mysterious realm then plumbing is a complete unknown). We have buckets of water in each of the bathrooms to use to flush the toilets, and there is plenty of bottled water to drink but we won’t be having a bath until morning! Good thing we don’t have to leave for Harare until 10:30 or so!
Our final trip to the university this morning. Most of us headed for the main lecture hall where we listened to a lecture about War, Conflict and Peace in Africa. The lecture was part of a course that is required of all students at AU. The course is called African Studies which is a survey course that looks at the pan-African experience. This lecture was about how war and conflict have been dealt with on the continent and the lessons that can be learned. The lecturer used a PowerPoint presentation and included time for questions and answers and discussion.
La Donna had an appointment at the library so she missed the lecture (but found it interesting to listen to who heard what and who missed what ... and wondered if they attended the same lecture!!). Anyway, she and the bibliographic services librarian, Nevermore Sithole, discussed collaborating on a paper for publication, and then discussed the Multi-Media collection. They are wanting to expand and develop the collection. The video cataloguing that she did will be used as a template to provide better catalogue records for the audio-visual materials. They also discussed some projects that she can do from home by logging in to their cataloguing software from the US ... provided that they can figure out how to do that!!
The Jerrys went straight to the farm for more egg washing and equipment repair. Jerry Jo met the farm manager while she was washing eggs. Jerry Jerry (as Bonnie calls him!) did more in the mysterious realm of electricity – must be a union secret because he didn’t elaborate!!
After the lecture, Dona Lou and James returned to the Intensive English classes to work with the students and the rest of the crew headed for Old Mutare Mission. Patricia needed to give the last of the photographs to her class of students. They were so excited to have a picture of themselves – for some of them this was the first photo of themselves they had ever had!!
After that the group headed up to the Fairfield Children’s Home to deliver some things and to shop at the little gift shop that they have in the office. (We seem to be doing a lot of shopping!). Jeanie bought a book called "Dare to Live Completely : A Memoir from Zimbabwe" by Janine Roberts – and the author was there and signed her copy! She is a young woman from the US who came to Zimbabwe to work at Old Mutare and has come back time and time again for longer periods of time to work for the children at Fairfield. You can read her blog at http://www.hopeofzim.blogspot.com/ amazing stuff!
They left Fairfield and went to Joyce and Webster Katsidzria’s home to pick up some batiks that various of us had ordered. Joyce and her daughters do absolutely beautiful work! Of course the visit included a tour of their garden and home and a zillion "photo ops" (we’re getting good at that too!)
One more chance to have a pile of sudza (remember sudza? white cornmeal mush-like stuff ... and still no syrup!!) in the dining hall and then we all gathered (after a detour to the bookstore ... shopping again!!) at the Information Office to say good-bye and thank you to Sharai and Susan. They did such a wonderful job of organizing us – even when we reorganized their organizing over and over!! Neither of them was particularly gray haired nor did they display any disturbing twitches or anything after two weeks of shepherding the now infamous Indiana VIM team!!
On the way back to LaRochelle we stopped at the front gate to take group pictures at the big gate heading into the university (poor Douglas not only has to drive us around put he has to learn to operate all the many and varied cameras that we shove at him during our photo ops!).
Then we headed to Mutare to "take tea" with Patrick Matsikenyiri. who was the first choir director at AU and was responsible for forming the choirs that toured the US in the first decade of the university. He is now working on an African hymnal. On Saturday he is having a workshop where choir people from all over will present hymns native to their culture. The songs will be videorecorded and then Patrick will transcribe the music. Remember that each of the Wednesday chapel services we started with songs from different cultures ... first from Congo and then this week from Mozambique. This is part of the project too. Patrick retired in 2002 but he still lectures and helps with the chapel music. What an amazing wealth of stories shared while we had tea, scones and popcorn!
Dona Lou is spending the night with Margaret Tagwira – they say they are having a sleepover!!
On the way home Douglas parked the van outside of a supermarket so that some of us could spend some time seeing what was on offer. The store is open in the front – no windows just straight open out to the pavement (i.e., sidewalk). The row of registers stretches all the way across the opening so you really can’t get out without paying. They found a good variety of items and the shelves were well stocked. Prices? Liter of milk for $1.25, eggs were $4.95 for 2 ½ dozen (remember yesterday Jerry Jo reported the wholesale price was $4.50), large jar of Nutella was $12.35, a single-serve container of apple juice for $.95, and package of biscuits (i.e., cookies) were $2.39. Very few things came in jumbo size packs – biggest package of diapers held 20.
Then back to LaRochelle for a final dinner. Bad news is that we have limited water – the well needed repair and the glue used won’t be dry until 3 a.m. (if electricity is a mysterious realm then plumbing is a complete unknown). We have buckets of water in each of the bathrooms to use to flush the toilets, and there is plenty of bottled water to drink but we won’t be having a bath until morning! Good thing we don’t have to leave for Harare until 10:30 or so!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wednesday, November 2
Apparently it LOOKS like the rainy season but it isn’t. Temperature is down to 60F and it rained most of the day. But it is probably a false start. So don’t plant the maize quite yet. Sometimes they have these short rainy periods and then it dries up and heats up and before you know it you have to replant your fields. In case the weather really fascinates you here is a link for weather in our immediate area: http://foreca.com/Zimbabwe/Penhalonga
We started the morning by attending the chapel service. The congregational song this week was "It is the son of God" in Xitsula – a language from southern Mozambique. The AU choir sang "Soon and very soon" ... WOW!! Then we had a short memorial for Bishop Duecker. And then the new AU Drama Group presented a drama titled "True Worship" – which everyone enjoyed. A very nice weekly worship with lots of involvement.
Back to the university this morning for our penultimate work day. The Jerrys went back to the farm ... Jerry Jerry fixed some electrical wiring that the pigs rooted up (no electrical tape but strips of plastic bag apparently work just as well) and finished working on the chicken cages. Jerry Jo washed more eggs and then watched them load 272 dozen eggs onto a flat bed truck. She is sure they will be delivering scrambled eggs – the roads to and from the farm are not exactly smooth. By the way, the wholesale price for a flat of eggs (2 ½ dozen) is $4.50 USD.
Jeanie went back to Hartzell to do another art lesson – she showed them how to use "found" items as a drawing medium ... flowers, charcoal, sticks, stones and so on. The teacher has really appreciated these crafts that she will be able to replicate without cost. Jeanie also delivered the remaining beads and pipe cleaners from the candy cane project that she used with the kids earlier (check out the photo!). The teacher, Catherine, is going to take them to her UMW/RRW meeting on Friday so that the ladies (150 women in her local unit at Old Mutare UMC!!) can make the candy canes for the children at the Fairfield Children Cottages.
La Donna and Mary went back to the library for more DVD cataloging (8 today!! – personal best) and spreadsheet typing. Ron started out with them in the library and then hung out at the student union watching NASCAR on the TV in there! He just loves connecting with the kids!
Gene and Bonnie went with Hazvinei to visit her family in a high density area of Mutare. They met her mother, sister, aunt, 2 nephews and 1 niece. They enjoyed visiting, seeing the house and garden (complete with chickens), and her mother fixed them a really nice lunch (chicken, coleslaw, greens, rice with a vegetable curry sauce).
James went into Mutare to visit the Museum and get a feel for the city. He even managed to get a haircut! Mary Beth spent an hour and a half with the Dean of Students talking about the counseling that takes place o the campus. And Patricia visited with students and put the finishing touches on her project tomorrow with the class at Hartzell.
After lunch we meet at the agriculture building for a meeting with the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and the head of the Dream Farm project (also known as the Small Farm Resource Center). This is a project that has been ten years in the making and has had strong support from Indiana. The university has set aside 10 hectares (look it up!) to develop a model farm with the emphasis on practical demonstrations of farming techniques for a small holding. They have built the house, drilled the wells (12 meters ... and one is dry already),
and are about to embark on the fencing. Once the site is fully established they will install a resident farmer/caretaker and start the farming.
We drove to the farm in the rain ... and only needed a little push to get unstuck!!
We had dinner guests this evening ... Shirley and Ted DeWolf. She teaches at AU in the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance ... and leads a class called "The church and social transformation." He is deputy headmaster at a local private school. Her parents and grandparents were missionaries at Old Mutare, and Shirley and Ted have lived in Zimbabwe their entire married life. Turns out she went to college with Jerry Jo! We had a fascinating conversation before, during and after dinner all about Africa University and what they see as the needs for the future. It has been interesting to get all these sorts of perspectives!
The rain has stopped but it is still cool. Our time is running down and we’re beginning to worry about getting our photos labeled, our belongings packed, and our university work done. But we have indeed been blessed yet again!
Just to give you an idea of the scale of Africa ....
We started the morning by attending the chapel service. The congregational song this week was "It is the son of God" in Xitsula – a language from southern Mozambique. The AU choir sang "Soon and very soon" ... WOW!! Then we had a short memorial for Bishop Duecker. And then the new AU Drama Group presented a drama titled "True Worship" – which everyone enjoyed. A very nice weekly worship with lots of involvement.
Back to the university this morning for our penultimate work day. The Jerrys went back to the farm ... Jerry Jerry fixed some electrical wiring that the pigs rooted up (no electrical tape but strips of plastic bag apparently work just as well) and finished working on the chicken cages. Jerry Jo washed more eggs and then watched them load 272 dozen eggs onto a flat bed truck. She is sure they will be delivering scrambled eggs – the roads to and from the farm are not exactly smooth. By the way, the wholesale price for a flat of eggs (2 ½ dozen) is $4.50 USD.
Jeanie went back to Hartzell to do another art lesson – she showed them how to use "found" items as a drawing medium ... flowers, charcoal, sticks, stones and so on. The teacher has really appreciated these crafts that she will be able to replicate without cost. Jeanie also delivered the remaining beads and pipe cleaners from the candy cane project that she used with the kids earlier (check out the photo!). The teacher, Catherine, is going to take them to her UMW/RRW meeting on Friday so that the ladies (150 women in her local unit at Old Mutare UMC!!) can make the candy canes for the children at the Fairfield Children Cottages.
La Donna and Mary went back to the library for more DVD cataloging (8 today!! – personal best) and spreadsheet typing. Ron started out with them in the library and then hung out at the student union watching NASCAR on the TV in there! He just loves connecting with the kids!
Gene and Bonnie went with Hazvinei to visit her family in a high density area of Mutare. They met her mother, sister, aunt, 2 nephews and 1 niece. They enjoyed visiting, seeing the house and garden (complete with chickens), and her mother fixed them a really nice lunch (chicken, coleslaw, greens, rice with a vegetable curry sauce).
James went into Mutare to visit the Museum and get a feel for the city. He even managed to get a haircut! Mary Beth spent an hour and a half with the Dean of Students talking about the counseling that takes place o the campus. And Patricia visited with students and put the finishing touches on her project tomorrow with the class at Hartzell.
After lunch we meet at the agriculture building for a meeting with the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and the head of the Dream Farm project (also known as the Small Farm Resource Center). This is a project that has been ten years in the making and has had strong support from Indiana. The university has set aside 10 hectares (look it up!) to develop a model farm with the emphasis on practical demonstrations of farming techniques for a small holding. They have built the house, drilled the wells (12 meters ... and one is dry already),
We drove to the farm in the rain ... and only needed a little push to get unstuck!!
We had dinner guests this evening ... Shirley and Ted DeWolf. She teaches at AU in the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance ... and leads a class called "The church and social transformation." He is deputy headmaster at a local private school. Her parents and grandparents were missionaries at Old Mutare, and Shirley and Ted have lived in Zimbabwe their entire married life. Turns out she went to college with Jerry Jo! We had a fascinating conversation before, during and after dinner all about Africa University and what they see as the needs for the future. It has been interesting to get all these sorts of perspectives!
The rain has stopped but it is still cool. Our time is running down and we’re beginning to worry about getting our photos labeled, our belongings packed, and our university work done. But we have indeed been blessed yet again!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Photographs
Finally have a few pictures loaded -- you will have to go back through the posts to see where they have been added!!
Tuesday, November 1
Back to work this morning – but at least the weather has cooled down and there is a breeze. It was nice all day!
Interesting tidbit about the weather and the wildfires. Several stories about the fires. One is that the older, traditional people burn off the grass believing it will build up or seed the clouds – the more fires the longer the rainy season will last. Another is that the fires are started to flush out the small animals so that they can be hunted for food. And of course if there are lots of small fires the brush doesn’t build up and they don’t have one huge fire that covers the entire country. The answer is probably "all of the above".
Anyway. Back to AU this morning to report to our work assignments. We started by dropping Pat, Jeanie and Bonnie at the Hartzell School. Pat distributed photographs to each of the kids in the class that she has been working with, and Jeanie continued with the art projects for her class. Today they made candy canes out of pipecleaners and beads (and gave the kids real candy canes so they knew what it was they were making!). And Bonnie was there to take pictures of the school.
Mary and La Donna were back in Technical Services in the Library. La Donna cataloged more DVDs and Mary completed a spreadsheet for books to be sent for rebinding. And Gene, Mary Beth, and James returned to their painting at the faculty duplex. Ron was back at the peace pole holding court and talking with the students – he saw most of the kids that were at the Indiana Scholar Party on Saturday. Dona Lou was back to work in the Intensive English program.
Jerry and Jerry Jo put together a tractor. They thought they were going to help with the harvesting of the wheat. The AU farm has to take turns to rent a combine (hint, hint ... anyone know where they can get one of their own?? Real cheap ... free?) and their turn came sooner than expected. By the time we got to campus this morning the wheat had been combined and they were baling the straw (square bales in case you are wondering). So instead the Jerrys repaired a tractor – had to put the radiator on and a few other bits. Even used the heavy metal clamps that we ferried over here in Dona Lou’s weirdly shaped suitcase (long story – it was sort of shaped like a bag for a sousaphone). Several of the tractors on the campus are from the Tractors for Our Daily Bread ministry out of Manhattan, Kansas – http://tractors4bread.org/_wsn/page4.html – cute little grey and red tractors.
After lunch we returned to LaRochelle. Mary Beth, La Donna, Dona Lou, and Jerry Jo had another appointment with the gardener – this time to go through the greenhouses. There are LOTS of orchids ... not many in bloom ... and Nicholas is repotting them right now so that they can sell them as a fundraiser for the National Trust. He also has lots of bromeliads, ferns (including some HUGE staghorn ferns), a very large shrimp plant, a gorgeous amaryllis with a half dozen large (LARGE) blooms, and lots of other bits and pieces. There are 6 or 8 greenhouses. He also showed us a big stand of Indian bamboo – stalks are probably six inches diameter. Nicholas is just a delight – so knowledgeable ... Latin names, common names, colors, blooming times, and just loves what he does!!
And tonight at dinner time the rain started. Lots of lightning and thunder in the distance and a gentle rain here. The wind died down and the temperature cooled off enough that some of us put on long sleeves and even jeans!
Another day of blessings.
Interesting tidbit about the weather and the wildfires. Several stories about the fires. One is that the older, traditional people burn off the grass believing it will build up or seed the clouds – the more fires the longer the rainy season will last. Another is that the fires are started to flush out the small animals so that they can be hunted for food. And of course if there are lots of small fires the brush doesn’t build up and they don’t have one huge fire that covers the entire country. The answer is probably "all of the above".
Anyway. Back to AU this morning to report to our work assignments. We started by dropping Pat, Jeanie and Bonnie at the Hartzell School. Pat distributed photographs to each of the kids in the class that she has been working with, and Jeanie continued with the art projects for her class. Today they made candy canes out of pipecleaners and beads (and gave the kids real candy canes so they knew what it was they were making!). And Bonnie was there to take pictures of the school.
Mary and La Donna were back in Technical Services in the Library. La Donna cataloged more DVDs and Mary completed a spreadsheet for books to be sent for rebinding. And Gene, Mary Beth, and James returned to their painting at the faculty duplex. Ron was back at the peace pole holding court and talking with the students – he saw most of the kids that were at the Indiana Scholar Party on Saturday. Dona Lou was back to work in the Intensive English program.
Jerry and Jerry Jo put together a tractor. They thought they were going to help with the harvesting of the wheat. The AU farm has to take turns to rent a combine (hint, hint ... anyone know where they can get one of their own?? Real cheap ... free?) and their turn came sooner than expected. By the time we got to campus this morning the wheat had been combined and they were baling the straw (square bales in case you are wondering). So instead the Jerrys repaired a tractor – had to put the radiator on and a few other bits. Even used the heavy metal clamps that we ferried over here in Dona Lou’s weirdly shaped suitcase (long story – it was sort of shaped like a bag for a sousaphone). Several of the tractors on the campus are from the Tractors for Our Daily Bread ministry out of Manhattan, Kansas – http://tractors4bread.org/_wsn/page4.html – cute little grey and red tractors.
After lunch we returned to LaRochelle. Mary Beth, La Donna, Dona Lou, and Jerry Jo had another appointment with the gardener – this time to go through the greenhouses. There are LOTS of orchids ... not many in bloom ... and Nicholas is repotting them right now so that they can sell them as a fundraiser for the National Trust. He also has lots of bromeliads, ferns (including some HUGE staghorn ferns), a very large shrimp plant, a gorgeous amaryllis with a half dozen large (LARGE) blooms, and lots of other bits and pieces. There are 6 or 8 greenhouses. He also showed us a big stand of Indian bamboo – stalks are probably six inches diameter. Nicholas is just a delight – so knowledgeable ... Latin names, common names, colors, blooming times, and just loves what he does!!
And tonight at dinner time the rain started. Lots of lightning and thunder in the distance and a gentle rain here. The wind died down and the temperature cooled off enough that some of us put on long sleeves and even jeans!
Another day of blessings.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 31
Todays’ assignment was to visit the Mutambara Mission Station which is about an hour and a half drive south from Mutare. [Check out some videos of the mission there by searching Mutambara on both GodTube.com and YouTube.com.] We all loaded into the bus (along with packed lunches for everyone) and away we went for what we all agree was the hottest day so far (officially over 100F). And water just doesn’t stay cool very long ....
Anyway, we were met by Dr. Tongai Chitsamanta who gave us a tour of the hospital. He and his wife (who is also a doctor) came to the hospital to serve for a year – and that was five years ago. The hospital has quite an elaborate maternity ward – they do an average of 10 caesareans each week. Those patients stay for four days. The mothers who don’t need the caesarean only stay 24 hours. There is also a hostel for at-risk pregnant women – the women can come to the mission early in their pregnancy so that they are sure of getting the help they need when it comes time to deliver. There is also a "Kangaroo Unit" for premature babies. The hospital has no incubators so the babies are placed on their mother’s stomach, right next to the skin and then wrapped tight – hence the kangaroo image.
They have a men’s unit, a women’s unit, a pediatric unit with a wing for children suffering from malnutrition. The units have wards with four to six beds. There are also a variety of outpatient clinics – eye, dental and so on.
The mission station also has a large school complex with 900 kids in the high school and about 500 kids in the primary school. They have a program for deaf and for blind children. School starts in January so we are coming to the end of the school year. The national exams are taking place right now – "O" levels and "A" levels – and the local or school exams will start in two weeks. We had the opportunity to visit several classes where the students were revising for their exams – unsupervised and exhibiting enormous self-discipline. And we met several teachers who are AU graduates.
After lunch we headed back to LaRochelle. One of the gardeners was scheduled to take us on a tour of the grounds. The Courtaulds collected seeds from trees all over the world and then propagated and planted them at LaRochelle. There is one place where you can stand and be surrounded by trees from all of the continents! They originally had 36 gardeners and now the National Trust only employs 6. But what amazing work they do. Bougainvillea, jacarunda, frangipangi, Brazillian rain tree, and many others are currently in bloom. There are these wonderful storm lilies that only bloom after a rain – and we had just enough of a rain on Saturday to bring them up (sort of like the resurrection lilies). This area is classified as "moist savanna" so it rarely gets cold enough for the trees we are used to seeing in Indiana. But there was a sweet gum and a couple of maples. We ran out of daylight before we ran out of things the see. The gardener is dividing and repotting orchids so we will look in the orchid house later this week.
Dinner was great fun tonight. That long drive in the heat had everyone just a little silly. Not sure about this but Patricia loaned Jerry some ice cream and then took it back?? Well, let’s just say is was hysterical at the time ....
After dinner we had an opportunity to learn about the work that Hazvinei is doing in Darfur. She was an Indiana scholarship student at AU back in 2000 and has corresponded with Bonnie over the years (they had not met until this weekend). She received a degree in public health from AU is working in Darfur for the UN doing AIDS/HIV and gender issues education – as a volunteer! She is working as a sort of case worker in the camps for internally displaced persons and also leading education classes for the UN troops who serve in the area. The volunteers receive a stipend and housing (a converted shipping container) in return for their work, and are contracted for 6 months at a time. And, yes, she admits that sometimes it is a scary place to be!
We have covered a lot of ground today. Learned a lot and stand in awe of what is being done by AU graduates in Africa! And here us picture of Hazvinei with Gene and Bonnie.
Anyway, we were met by Dr. Tongai Chitsamanta who gave us a tour of the hospital. He and his wife (who is also a doctor) came to the hospital to serve for a year – and that was five years ago. The hospital has quite an elaborate maternity ward – they do an average of 10 caesareans each week. Those patients stay for four days. The mothers who don’t need the caesarean only stay 24 hours. There is also a hostel for at-risk pregnant women – the women can come to the mission early in their pregnancy so that they are sure of getting the help they need when it comes time to deliver. There is also a "Kangaroo Unit" for premature babies. The hospital has no incubators so the babies are placed on their mother’s stomach, right next to the skin and then wrapped tight – hence the kangaroo image.
They have a men’s unit, a women’s unit, a pediatric unit with a wing for children suffering from malnutrition. The units have wards with four to six beds. There are also a variety of outpatient clinics – eye, dental and so on.
The mission station also has a large school complex with 900 kids in the high school and about 500 kids in the primary school. They have a program for deaf and for blind children. School starts in January so we are coming to the end of the school year. The national exams are taking place right now – "O" levels and "A" levels – and the local or school exams will start in two weeks. We had the opportunity to visit several classes where the students were revising for their exams – unsupervised and exhibiting enormous self-discipline. And we met several teachers who are AU graduates.
After lunch we headed back to LaRochelle. One of the gardeners was scheduled to take us on a tour of the grounds. The Courtaulds collected seeds from trees all over the world and then propagated and planted them at LaRochelle. There is one place where you can stand and be surrounded by trees from all of the continents! They originally had 36 gardeners and now the National Trust only employs 6. But what amazing work they do. Bougainvillea, jacarunda, frangipangi, Brazillian rain tree, and many others are currently in bloom. There are these wonderful storm lilies that only bloom after a rain – and we had just enough of a rain on Saturday to bring them up (sort of like the resurrection lilies). This area is classified as "moist savanna" so it rarely gets cold enough for the trees we are used to seeing in Indiana. But there was a sweet gum and a couple of maples. We ran out of daylight before we ran out of things the see. The gardener is dividing and repotting orchids so we will look in the orchid house later this week.
Dinner was great fun tonight. That long drive in the heat had everyone just a little silly. Not sure about this but Patricia loaned Jerry some ice cream and then took it back?? Well, let’s just say is was hysterical at the time ....
After dinner we had an opportunity to learn about the work that Hazvinei is doing in Darfur. She was an Indiana scholarship student at AU back in 2000 and has corresponded with Bonnie over the years (they had not met until this weekend). She received a degree in public health from AU is working in Darfur for the UN doing AIDS/HIV and gender issues education – as a volunteer! She is working as a sort of case worker in the camps for internally displaced persons and also leading education classes for the UN troops who serve in the area. The volunteers receive a stipend and housing (a converted shipping container) in return for their work, and are contracted for 6 months at a time. And, yes, she admits that sometimes it is a scary place to be!
We have covered a lot of ground today. Learned a lot and stand in awe of what is being done by AU graduates in Africa! And here us picture of Hazvinei with Gene and Bonnie.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 30
Sorry about not getting the blog for yesterday posted sooner – late night!! We all survived the party – even the balloons on the fence were still in a party mood. We left early this morning to attend the English service at King David UMC in downtown Mutare. We thought the service was at 8 but it turns out it started at 8:30. We had the preacher with us so we just decided that we were early in order to give him time prepare for the service. We had plenty of time to meet people and watch the final preparations for the service.
We finally got everyone into the church and the singing before the service started – "Leaning on the everlasting arms," "He leadeth me: oh blessed thought," and "To God be the glory." The UM hymnal got quite a workout – and so did we ... no funeral dirges here! Next was Psalm 42 (read responsively), another hymn "My hope is built," then a prayer, and then we had an anthem by the youth choir ... the Emmanuel Choir (11 teenagers). All of the music, by the way, was played on a Yamaha keyboard, a set of drums, and an electric guitar. (And possibly we could have turned the volume down just a little bit!!). Then back to the hymnal for the confession, pardon and assurance (891).
Then the worship committee sang two praise songs ... but in Shona. (??) When they finished the senior pastor stood to give the announcements: a week long revival sponsored by the Shona service will start tomorrow and on Saturday there will be a mission sent out to the rural areas. And then he announced that today was the district wide "Africa University Sunday" and that a special offering would be taken. Then Bonnie was invited to introduce the team and talk about what we were doing at AU. When we were done standing and sitting and standing and sitting again, the senior pastor introduced James as the preacher of the day, and then said that he was leaving to take a service elsewhere!
The lay leader then stood and gave more announcements including that next week was communion since it was the first Sunday of the month. (Does any of this recitation sound familiar?!)
Now the assistant minister read the scriptures (Genesis 4:1-11, Matthew 13:10-15). Emmanual Choir sang another anthem while the younger children left the sanctuary to go to Sunday School in the fellowship hall. Then, at last, James stood to give the sermon. He preached on "God colored glasses" and did a fine job. Which made it a bit puzzling when the assistant minister recapped the sermon in case the congregation missed some of the English.
Back to the hymnal – Apostle’s Creed (881), then the offering was taken up while the Emmanual Choir sang another piece followed by the doxology and a prayer of blessing (in Shona). The woman leading prayers asked for joys and concerns, wrote them in a book, and then prayed them again for us. We prayed for Dona Lou’s 85th birthday in a few weeks, one of the kids ask for prayers for all of the students who are sitting exams, someone wanted prayers for a job opportunity, someone asked for prayers for our team, then someone from AU asked how many in the congregation was either an AU grad or currently studying there. Probably 20 or people stood up. And then the gentleman (who turns out to be the assistant dean of education!!) told the congregation that the Indiana conferences had built four of the dorms. Bonnie then stood and announced that one of the four dorms was named after Bishop Sheldon Duecker and that he had passed on Friday. So we prayed for him and his family. And a final prayer for countries that have war.
A final hymn – 462 "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" – and James pronounced the benediction. About 10 minutes shy of a two hour service.
We were then invited to the fellowship hall where everyone had sodas (Coca-Cola and Fanta Orange), popcorn, donuts (or rather deep-fried balls of dough), and biscuits (cookies). And lots of visiting.
Back on the mini-bus and we headed for Vumba mountains and a resort called Leopard Rock Hotel (visited by the Queen, the Queen Mother, and Diana, Princess of Wales at one point or another) for lunch. We are in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, and Mutare is not far from the Mozambique border. AU and La Rochelle are north east of Mutare. All very mountainous for those of us from the flat state of Indiana! We headed south east along a really winding road going up and up to get to the hotel. This drive is a tourist destination – both for Zimbabweans and for international tourists – so there are plenty of roadside vendors selling baskets, embroidery, batiks, and sculptures. Hotels and holiday cottages dot the drive too. The scenery was magnificent – sheer drops, long vistas, plenty of unusual things to see.
We had dinner on the veranda ... and let’s just say that the service was ... bad. It took three hours to get the mean ordered, served and eaten. Even Susan and Douglas were surprised at how bad it was!! Food was good but .... The link to a website for Leopard Rock Hotel has been added to this blog so you can see what it could have been!!
Then the long ride home to LaRochelle ... stopping to buy some things, watching a wildfire head for a stand of cut grass bundles for thatching, through Mutare and home to find Vice Chancellor Tagwira and Mrs. Tagwira waiting to say good-bye – he is leaving in the morning to fly to Kenya and he wanted to say farewell. Then a light supper (Bonnie is convinced that Simon doesn’t know what a light meal is ... and after our experience at Leopard Rock we appreciate him and his staff even more!) and an early night.
A new week of blessings begins ...
We finally got everyone into the church and the singing before the service started – "Leaning on the everlasting arms," "He leadeth me: oh blessed thought," and "To God be the glory." The UM hymnal got quite a workout – and so did we ... no funeral dirges here! Next was Psalm 42 (read responsively), another hymn "My hope is built," then a prayer, and then we had an anthem by the youth choir ... the Emmanuel Choir (11 teenagers). All of the music, by the way, was played on a Yamaha keyboard, a set of drums, and an electric guitar. (And possibly we could have turned the volume down just a little bit!!). Then back to the hymnal for the confession, pardon and assurance (891).
Then the worship committee sang two praise songs ... but in Shona. (??) When they finished the senior pastor stood to give the announcements: a week long revival sponsored by the Shona service will start tomorrow and on Saturday there will be a mission sent out to the rural areas. And then he announced that today was the district wide "Africa University Sunday" and that a special offering would be taken. Then Bonnie was invited to introduce the team and talk about what we were doing at AU. When we were done standing and sitting and standing and sitting again, the senior pastor introduced James as the preacher of the day, and then said that he was leaving to take a service elsewhere!
The lay leader then stood and gave more announcements including that next week was communion since it was the first Sunday of the month. (Does any of this recitation sound familiar?!)
Now the assistant minister read the scriptures (Genesis 4:1-11, Matthew 13:10-15). Emmanual Choir sang another anthem while the younger children left the sanctuary to go to Sunday School in the fellowship hall. Then, at last, James stood to give the sermon. He preached on "God colored glasses" and did a fine job. Which made it a bit puzzling when the assistant minister recapped the sermon in case the congregation missed some of the English.
Back to the hymnal – Apostle’s Creed (881), then the offering was taken up while the Emmanual Choir sang another piece followed by the doxology and a prayer of blessing (in Shona). The woman leading prayers asked for joys and concerns, wrote them in a book, and then prayed them again for us. We prayed for Dona Lou’s 85th birthday in a few weeks, one of the kids ask for prayers for all of the students who are sitting exams, someone wanted prayers for a job opportunity, someone asked for prayers for our team, then someone from AU asked how many in the congregation was either an AU grad or currently studying there. Probably 20 or people stood up. And then the gentleman (who turns out to be the assistant dean of education!!) told the congregation that the Indiana conferences had built four of the dorms. Bonnie then stood and announced that one of the four dorms was named after Bishop Sheldon Duecker and that he had passed on Friday. So we prayed for him and his family. And a final prayer for countries that have war.
A final hymn – 462 "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" – and James pronounced the benediction. About 10 minutes shy of a two hour service.
We were then invited to the fellowship hall where everyone had sodas (Coca-Cola and Fanta Orange), popcorn, donuts (or rather deep-fried balls of dough), and biscuits (cookies). And lots of visiting.
Back on the mini-bus and we headed for Vumba mountains and a resort called Leopard Rock Hotel (visited by the Queen, the Queen Mother, and Diana, Princess of Wales at one point or another) for lunch. We are in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, and Mutare is not far from the Mozambique border. AU and La Rochelle are north east of Mutare. All very mountainous for those of us from the flat state of Indiana! We headed south east along a really winding road going up and up to get to the hotel. This drive is a tourist destination – both for Zimbabweans and for international tourists – so there are plenty of roadside vendors selling baskets, embroidery, batiks, and sculptures. Hotels and holiday cottages dot the drive too. The scenery was magnificent – sheer drops, long vistas, plenty of unusual things to see.
We had dinner on the veranda ... and let’s just say that the service was ... bad. It took three hours to get the mean ordered, served and eaten. Even Susan and Douglas were surprised at how bad it was!! Food was good but .... The link to a website for Leopard Rock Hotel has been added to this blog so you can see what it could have been!!
Then the long ride home to LaRochelle ... stopping to buy some things, watching a wildfire head for a stand of cut grass bundles for thatching, through Mutare and home to find Vice Chancellor Tagwira and Mrs. Tagwira waiting to say good-bye – he is leaving in the morning to fly to Kenya and he wanted to say farewell. Then a light supper (Bonnie is convinced that Simon doesn’t know what a light meal is ... and after our experience at Leopard Rock we appreciate him and his staff even more!) and an early night.
A new week of blessings begins ...
Saturday, October 29
No work today – we had the morning and early afternoon free to sleep in, to walk the grounds, and to catch up on e-mail and such like.
The pictures of LaRochelle that are linked to this blog aren’t necessarily current. The house and grounds are now owned by the National Trust for Zimbabwe (in fact, it may be the only property that they own ...) and like so many other historic preservation groups money is hard to come by. There has been a woman from the National Trust in the UK staying to take a survey of needs and to offer advice for grants and other sources of funding. The grounds are still gorgeous and many of us took the opportunity this morning for a walk around while it was still cool. There is an orchid house, lots of "intentionally naturalized" landscaping, and trees from all over the world.
Of course it quickly became too warm (read HOT) to wander around so we retreated to the lounge and the veranda to drink oceans of iced water and to rest. Cedric (one of the AU workers – he’s an electrician) was here for a bit to show us the soapstone carvings that he makes. One of the other guests brought out a sculpture that he had purchased from someone else and Cedric quickly identified exactly where the stone came from!! The soapstone is found in all sorts of different colors but apparently different colors come from different locations.
Mary Beth and Dona Lou returned just before lunch. They had a wonderful time with Lovemore and Julie and their family (including Dona Lou’s namesake Dona Lou!) at the Murehwa Mission. There is a school there with 1300+ students – they even have a class for special needs children. The station also has a hospital and a nursing school.
And then it was time for the party. We had sent invitations to all of the AU students who are attending with the help of scholarships from Indiana Conference UMC or from Indiana UMC churches. They arrived in one of the mini-buses driven by Douglas and accompanied by Sharai and Susan from the AU Information Office. Moses (AU alumnus) and his wife Pamela, and Hazvinei (another AU alumnus) were also on-board. Simon and his posse set up a barbeque out on the lawns and we had a Braai – a picnic or barbeque. We started by pairing each of the nine students with a team member for individual conversation and then gathered everyone together for introductions. There are actually 11 students with connections to Indiana but two of them are on attachment (internship) and were unable to come. Then we descended upon the buffet and the conversation continued – between bites and later between raindrops! We finished our meal on the verandah and in the lounge when we started getting seriously wet. Then before dessert we continued with the introductions and had a chance to hear from each of the students why they chose Africa University.
It was interesting that they all mentioned in some way that one of the things that they have appreciated is the cross-cultural environment. So many of them said something about how they had never met someone from a different country until they arrived at AU; that they were glad to learn about all of the diversity in Africa – not just the languages (remember many arrive speaking neither English nor Shona) but the customs of their fellow students. Of the nine students we met tonight we had kids from Zambia, Liberia, Mozambique, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Nigeria, and Angola.
They were also very eloquent about why they wanted the education from Africa University. Some planned to join an NGO to help their country, others plan to teach, some to contribute through public health initiatives, and others through the church. All of them were appreciative for the VIM (Volunteers in Mission) teams that they see at AU, across the valley at Old Mutare Mission, and in the various mission stations where many of them grew up or attended school. Some amazing stories.
We had a wonderful time. The students were pretty tentative at first but once the conversation started flowing it was hard to shut it off – even when the lights went off (electricity is fairly reliable but every now and then it just shuts off!). But part of the party favors were glow stick bracelets so when the lights failed you could still see Moses gesturing with his hands while he continued what he was saying. Just a wonderful chance to get to know a few students a little bit closer. A true blessing for all of us.
The pictures of LaRochelle that are linked to this blog aren’t necessarily current. The house and grounds are now owned by the National Trust for Zimbabwe (in fact, it may be the only property that they own ...) and like so many other historic preservation groups money is hard to come by. There has been a woman from the National Trust in the UK staying to take a survey of needs and to offer advice for grants and other sources of funding. The grounds are still gorgeous and many of us took the opportunity this morning for a walk around while it was still cool. There is an orchid house, lots of "intentionally naturalized" landscaping, and trees from all over the world.
Of course it quickly became too warm (read HOT) to wander around so we retreated to the lounge and the veranda to drink oceans of iced water and to rest. Cedric (one of the AU workers – he’s an electrician) was here for a bit to show us the soapstone carvings that he makes. One of the other guests brought out a sculpture that he had purchased from someone else and Cedric quickly identified exactly where the stone came from!! The soapstone is found in all sorts of different colors but apparently different colors come from different locations.
Mary Beth and Dona Lou returned just before lunch. They had a wonderful time with Lovemore and Julie and their family (including Dona Lou’s namesake Dona Lou!) at the Murehwa Mission. There is a school there with 1300+ students – they even have a class for special needs children. The station also has a hospital and a nursing school.
And then it was time for the party. We had sent invitations to all of the AU students who are attending with the help of scholarships from Indiana Conference UMC or from Indiana UMC churches. They arrived in one of the mini-buses driven by Douglas and accompanied by Sharai and Susan from the AU Information Office. Moses (AU alumnus) and his wife Pamela, and Hazvinei (another AU alumnus) were also on-board. Simon and his posse set up a barbeque out on the lawns and we had a Braai – a picnic or barbeque. We started by pairing each of the nine students with a team member for individual conversation and then gathered everyone together for introductions. There are actually 11 students with connections to Indiana but two of them are on attachment (internship) and were unable to come. Then we descended upon the buffet and the conversation continued – between bites and later between raindrops! We finished our meal on the verandah and in the lounge when we started getting seriously wet. Then before dessert we continued with the introductions and had a chance to hear from each of the students why they chose Africa University.
It was interesting that they all mentioned in some way that one of the things that they have appreciated is the cross-cultural environment. So many of them said something about how they had never met someone from a different country until they arrived at AU; that they were glad to learn about all of the diversity in Africa – not just the languages (remember many arrive speaking neither English nor Shona) but the customs of their fellow students. Of the nine students we met tonight we had kids from Zambia, Liberia, Mozambique, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Nigeria, and Angola.
They were also very eloquent about why they wanted the education from Africa University. Some planned to join an NGO to help their country, others plan to teach, some to contribute through public health initiatives, and others through the church. All of them were appreciative for the VIM (Volunteers in Mission) teams that they see at AU, across the valley at Old Mutare Mission, and in the various mission stations where many of them grew up or attended school. Some amazing stories.
We had a wonderful time. The students were pretty tentative at first but once the conversation started flowing it was hard to shut it off – even when the lights went off (electricity is fairly reliable but every now and then it just shuts off!). But part of the party favors were glow stick bracelets so when the lights failed you could still see Moses gesturing with his hands while he continued what he was saying. Just a wonderful chance to get to know a few students a little bit closer. A true blessing for all of us.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, October 28
Our ranks have thinned out today (thank heavens something is thinner – the food at LaRochelle certainly isn’t to be missed so no one here is "slimming"). This morning we sent Dona Lou and Mary Beth off to Lovemore’s mission station (Murewha). Dona Lou wants to see those choir robes that she carried over the ocean!! Michael the driver was charged with keeping them safe and returning them to us tomorrow. So now we are ten.
And last night Gene came down with something – Bonnie thinks flu from the flu shot he had just before we left. Whatever it was the community advice was to stay in bed and take any of a number of remedies. Not sure who he listened to (but we’ll say it was Bonnie) but he stayed at LaRochelle and slept. By the time we came back he was better – sore throat but not so sore that he couldn’t make jokes. Simon made sure he had some chicken soup at dinner so the cure may be complete.
So nine of us headed for our morning’s work. We dropped Jeanie and Pat at the Hartzell Central Primary School (to give it it’s proper name) at Old Mutare Mission. Jeanie was to give her 3rd graders an art lesson. Yesterday on our way back from the tour of Maria Humbane’s ministry we stopped at a stationer’s shop and she purchased paper and ink pads. The project was for them to make pictures using their thumbprints. Jeanie said that even the teacher wanted to make a picture!! Pat ran into a bit of a problem. The printer that was printing the photos blew a fuse (or something horribly technical) six photos short of completion. So while she is looking for a solution to that problem she continued to observe the class and share with them about life in America. She says that the teacher has used the promise of the photos as an incentive – they were getting a bit lax in completing their work and he has said that if they do their work they might get a picture of themselves!
We stopped at the bishop’s house to let the workers know that Gene and James wouldn’t be there to work but that Bonnie and Jeanie would be there later (after the art lesson). Then on to the campus. James went to work with the Intensive English students. Conversation is the best way for them to learn – both the students and James!! He is really enjoying the interaction with the students. So is Ron – he holds court with the chess board and learns all sorts of things in the meanwhile. There are benches in a little garden area around the peace pole and that is where you will find Ron.
Jerry and Jerry Jo headed for the farm again and Mary and La Donna went back to the library. Good to know that we are all accomplishing good things!
After a pit stop at LaRochelle so that we can pick up the gift bags (prayer calendars and Aldersgate tapestry bags) and Jerry Jo could change out of her ... umm ... chicken clothes we headed for Mutare and the churches where we were to attend UMW (called RRW here ... Rukwadzano Rwe Wadzimai) meetings. UMW/RRW units all over the district meet at the same every (yes, every) Friday from 2-4. Jeanie and Jerry went back to Hilltop UMC for the meeting there, Bonnie and Mary attended the meeting at Stream View UMC, and La Donna and Pat were at St. Peters UMC. The meetings include sharing testimony, singing, praying, sharing news about those who need assistance, and lessons and discussion about how to live a Christian life. We delivered greetings from UMW of Indiana and presented each of the units with the gift bags. We also presented a UMW Assembly Bible for the district president.
While we were at the meetings the guys (James, Jerry and Ron) went with Douglas to visit the shops. They were amazed at the number of electronics shops – none of which had the thing they were looking for! Some experiences (like technology deprivation) are universal!
Now we have had another wonderful dinner (Simon’s daughter Courtney and her friend Michelle made a lovely glaze for the ham tonight), devotions, and we are watching a DVD of "The Number One Ladies Detective Agency." The night critters are singing and we need to get to bed. Tomorrow we have the day off but we do need to get ready for the party. What party? We’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!!
And last night Gene came down with something – Bonnie thinks flu from the flu shot he had just before we left. Whatever it was the community advice was to stay in bed and take any of a number of remedies. Not sure who he listened to (but we’ll say it was Bonnie) but he stayed at LaRochelle and slept. By the time we came back he was better – sore throat but not so sore that he couldn’t make jokes. Simon made sure he had some chicken soup at dinner so the cure may be complete.
So nine of us headed for our morning’s work. We dropped Jeanie and Pat at the Hartzell Central Primary School (to give it it’s proper name) at Old Mutare Mission. Jeanie was to give her 3rd graders an art lesson. Yesterday on our way back from the tour of Maria Humbane’s ministry we stopped at a stationer’s shop and she purchased paper and ink pads. The project was for them to make pictures using their thumbprints. Jeanie said that even the teacher wanted to make a picture!! Pat ran into a bit of a problem. The printer that was printing the photos blew a fuse (or something horribly technical) six photos short of completion. So while she is looking for a solution to that problem she continued to observe the class and share with them about life in America. She says that the teacher has used the promise of the photos as an incentive – they were getting a bit lax in completing their work and he has said that if they do their work they might get a picture of themselves!
We stopped at the bishop’s house to let the workers know that Gene and James wouldn’t be there to work but that Bonnie and Jeanie would be there later (after the art lesson). Then on to the campus. James went to work with the Intensive English students. Conversation is the best way for them to learn – both the students and James!! He is really enjoying the interaction with the students. So is Ron – he holds court with the chess board and learns all sorts of things in the meanwhile. There are benches in a little garden area around the peace pole and that is where you will find Ron.
Jerry and Jerry Jo headed for the farm again and Mary and La Donna went back to the library. Good to know that we are all accomplishing good things!
After a pit stop at LaRochelle so that we can pick up the gift bags (prayer calendars and Aldersgate tapestry bags) and Jerry Jo could change out of her ... umm ... chicken clothes we headed for Mutare and the churches where we were to attend UMW (called RRW here ... Rukwadzano Rwe Wadzimai) meetings. UMW/RRW units all over the district meet at the same every (yes, every) Friday from 2-4. Jeanie and Jerry went back to Hilltop UMC for the meeting there, Bonnie and Mary attended the meeting at Stream View UMC, and La Donna and Pat were at St. Peters UMC. The meetings include sharing testimony, singing, praying, sharing news about those who need assistance, and lessons and discussion about how to live a Christian life. We delivered greetings from UMW of Indiana and presented each of the units with the gift bags. We also presented a UMW Assembly Bible for the district president.
While we were at the meetings the guys (James, Jerry and Ron) went with Douglas to visit the shops. They were amazed at the number of electronics shops – none of which had the thing they were looking for! Some experiences (like technology deprivation) are universal!
Now we have had another wonderful dinner (Simon’s daughter Courtney and her friend Michelle made a lovely glaze for the ham tonight), devotions, and we are watching a DVD of "The Number One Ladies Detective Agency." The night critters are singing and we need to get to bed. Tomorrow we have the day off but we do need to get ready for the party. What party? We’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, October 27
We are right on the edge of the rainy season and this really hot weather is too hot even for the local people! We now have a smoky haze on the mountains because of the controlled burns. They clear off land in the spring by burning the grass – similar to the burning of the prairies in the US. And then everyone is hurrying to get the burning done before the rain starts (usually about the first of November). So today’s photos are going to be a bit dull.
Back to work this morning! Our official team project is to paint the interior of the new faculty house that has been built with funds from the African bishops. The duplex faculty homes are essential to the compensation package that the university is able to offer. We left Gene, James and Bonnie there to do the actual work – after we looked it over really well. Jerry Jo and Jerry went back to the farm washing eggs and re-working the chicken cages (and no chickens died in the process today) (couldn’t say that yesterday!). Ron spent the morning on a bench with a chess board and talked with lots of the students.
Jeanie and Pat headed over to the Old Mutare Mission for their projects at the Hartzell Primary School. Jeanie is working with a 3rd grade class and today she taught them some songs – "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "Jesus Loves Me", and "This Little Light of Mine" were some of the songs on the hit parade. Pat is taking pictures of the 52 5th graders in the class that she is helping with – she is printing those pictures as we speak.
Dona Lou spent the morning with the Intensive English class – "taking" (i.e., teaching) two classes. The group that worked at the library went right to work in the technical services area. La Donna passed her cataloguing test and has been asked to "consult" about the multi-media collection. Today she catalogued five videos!! And later will look at some of the older catalogue records to see how they can be improved. Mary Beth typed a list of books being removed from the collection – and did it so quickly that the assistant who set her the task didn’t know what to have her do next!! And Mary cut apart sheets of barcodes – and wondered what sorts of books they would be attached to in the future.
After lunch (do you need to know what the menu was???) we came back to LaRochelle to leave our bags and then back into the van for the trip to Mutare. We were expected at Hilltop UMC where Maria Humbane has established an after school program called Ishe Anesu (God with us) (http://www.isheanesu.com/) for what we would call "at-risk" children. The kids that she works with wouldn’t be at school if it weren’t for the program. The kids are supplied with uniforms for whatever school they attend, given a meal both directly after school and before they return home in the evening, get homework help, learn about the Bible, get rudimentary health care, and receive love and hope.
They had a program prepared for us. Several songs, accompanied by the drums, and then dramatizations of the story of the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ childhood trip at Passover to Jerusalem. They did a wonderful job! And then Maria gave us a tour of the facilities used by the program and shared the dream they have for the future. There is a need for orphanage facility and they have the land and plans for 8 cottages but not the funding. They managed to get one of the cottages nearly finished and the money ran out! The project is an Advance Special (http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/projects/search/index.cfm?action=details&id=3015297&code=13071A in case you need a suggestion!!).
Another wonderful dinner (bread pudding for sweet tonight!!), a glimpse of a glowworm in the garden, a team meeting with a wonderful reflection about what our feet would say about our day. We have been greatly blessed!!
Back to work this morning! Our official team project is to paint the interior of the new faculty house that has been built with funds from the African bishops. The duplex faculty homes are essential to the compensation package that the university is able to offer. We left Gene, James and Bonnie there to do the actual work – after we looked it over really well. Jerry Jo and Jerry went back to the farm washing eggs and re-working the chicken cages (and no chickens died in the process today) (couldn’t say that yesterday!). Ron spent the morning on a bench with a chess board and talked with lots of the students.
Jeanie and Pat headed over to the Old Mutare Mission for their projects at the Hartzell Primary School. Jeanie is working with a 3rd grade class and today she taught them some songs – "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "Jesus Loves Me", and "This Little Light of Mine" were some of the songs on the hit parade. Pat is taking pictures of the 52 5th graders in the class that she is helping with – she is printing those pictures as we speak.
Dona Lou spent the morning with the Intensive English class – "taking" (i.e., teaching) two classes. The group that worked at the library went right to work in the technical services area. La Donna passed her cataloguing test and has been asked to "consult" about the multi-media collection. Today she catalogued five videos!! And later will look at some of the older catalogue records to see how they can be improved. Mary Beth typed a list of books being removed from the collection – and did it so quickly that the assistant who set her the task didn’t know what to have her do next!! And Mary cut apart sheets of barcodes – and wondered what sorts of books they would be attached to in the future.
After lunch (do you need to know what the menu was???) we came back to LaRochelle to leave our bags and then back into the van for the trip to Mutare. We were expected at Hilltop UMC where Maria Humbane has established an after school program called Ishe Anesu (God with us) (http://www.isheanesu.com/) for what we would call "at-risk" children. The kids that she works with wouldn’t be at school if it weren’t for the program. The kids are supplied with uniforms for whatever school they attend, given a meal both directly after school and before they return home in the evening, get homework help, learn about the Bible, get rudimentary health care, and receive love and hope.
They had a program prepared for us. Several songs, accompanied by the drums, and then dramatizations of the story of the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ childhood trip at Passover to Jerusalem. They did a wonderful job! And then Maria gave us a tour of the facilities used by the program and shared the dream they have for the future. There is a need for orphanage facility and they have the land and plans for 8 cottages but not the funding. They managed to get one of the cottages nearly finished and the money ran out! The project is an Advance Special (http://new.gbgm-umc.org/advance/projects/search/index.cfm?action=details&id=3015297&code=13071A in case you need a suggestion!!).
Another wonderful dinner (bread pudding for sweet tonight!!), a glimpse of a glowworm in the garden, a team meeting with a wonderful reflection about what our feet would say about our day. We have been greatly blessed!!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 26
This morning we had an early start – several of us got up a little early to send off Don and Eleanor but we missed them! So much for being awake and alert. We still needed an early breakfast because we had to deliver James to the chapel so that he could get ready to preach. This wasn’t the week to hear the full Africa University choir. They alternate with the Praise Choir and this was their week. Music was wonderful anyway. We sang two hymns – one from Congo in Swahili and the other Blessed Assurance! Talk about juxtaposition. James delivered a fine sermon – he came down from the pulpit (which Dr. Tagwira later told him was very popular with the students) on choosing whether you will be in the majority or the minority ... making choices that keep you right with God. Wonderful job!
After that (and the posing for pictures with students which seems to be our standard modus operandi) we headed for the Vice-Chancellor’s office and our meeting with the Dr. Tagwira and as many of the deans as we could fit in the room with us. The board room with filled with auditors (how many auditors does it take to fill a board room?) So we squeezed into the office – the 12 of us plus the deans of the faculties of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Management and Administration, Humanities and Sciences, Health Sciences, and the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance. The deans of the faculties of theology and of education were unable to be there. We did however have the Dean of Students and the head of Information Technology with us. Pretty crowded room!
But what amazing information they shared! Things that are in place, plans about to be launched, new ideas percolating on the back burner, and as yet vague dreams for the future. The Dream Farm which will be a model for the subsistance farmer. The Dag Hammarskjold commemoration held each year. The need for more housing in general but especially for married students. Counseling for an increasingly younger student body. The constant need for highly qualified faculty and accommodations and salary that will attract and retain them. The demand for innovative business education. The focus on women in leadership. The addition of Korean and Chinese as languages being taught at AU.
We came out of the meeting with our brains ready to explode.
So we went to lunch. Same menu, but now we know that the "greens" served at lunch are a mix of cabbage and covu – a leafy, cruciferous-y vegetable that we see growing in all the gardens around the various homes.
Then back to LaRochelle to get ready for our visit to Margaret Tagwira’s farm. She and Dr. Tagwira bought the land about 15 years ago. Mrs. Tagwira was a farmer’s daughter and she loves to farm – you should see her enthusiasm as she shows you the things she is growing. Chickens, ducks and goats are the livestock holdings. Gardens around the house are filled with a mix of food and flowers. Moringa trees are all around – do an internet search to learn all about this marvelous tree which could help feed Africa. She is also a proponent of the use of grain amaranth – another highly nutritious plant. We not only got to see it growing but also saw a bowl of the dried grains. They had a frost this past winter which did the trees around no good at all. Lots of trees with brown tops.
The house itself was a shambles when they moved in. A simple farmhouse that has since grown into a rambling house that is perfect for entertaining. They invite all of the international students to dinners and days-out during holidays and vacations when they are unable to go home. I would venture to guess that some of the students don’t find staying at school over the breaks to be much of a hardship if it means a meal at Mrs. Tagwira’s!! Dinner was marvelous – great company, good conversation, lovely food.
And now another day is done. Warm (... understatement ...) but clear. Blessings to all!!
After that (and the posing for pictures with students which seems to be our standard modus operandi) we headed for the Vice-Chancellor’s office and our meeting with the Dr. Tagwira and as many of the deans as we could fit in the room with us. The board room with filled with auditors (how many auditors does it take to fill a board room?) So we squeezed into the office – the 12 of us plus the deans of the faculties of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Management and Administration, Humanities and Sciences, Health Sciences, and the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance. The deans of the faculties of theology and of education were unable to be there. We did however have the Dean of Students and the head of Information Technology with us. Pretty crowded room!
But what amazing information they shared! Things that are in place, plans about to be launched, new ideas percolating on the back burner, and as yet vague dreams for the future. The Dream Farm which will be a model for the subsistance farmer. The Dag Hammarskjold commemoration held each year. The need for more housing in general but especially for married students. Counseling for an increasingly younger student body. The constant need for highly qualified faculty and accommodations and salary that will attract and retain them. The demand for innovative business education. The focus on women in leadership. The addition of Korean and Chinese as languages being taught at AU.
We came out of the meeting with our brains ready to explode.
So we went to lunch. Same menu, but now we know that the "greens" served at lunch are a mix of cabbage and covu – a leafy, cruciferous-y vegetable that we see growing in all the gardens around the various homes.
Then back to LaRochelle to get ready for our visit to Margaret Tagwira’s farm. She and Dr. Tagwira bought the land about 15 years ago. Mrs. Tagwira was a farmer’s daughter and she loves to farm – you should see her enthusiasm as she shows you the things she is growing. Chickens, ducks and goats are the livestock holdings. Gardens around the house are filled with a mix of food and flowers. Moringa trees are all around – do an internet search to learn all about this marvelous tree which could help feed Africa. She is also a proponent of the use of grain amaranth – another highly nutritious plant. We not only got to see it growing but also saw a bowl of the dried grains. They had a frost this past winter which did the trees around no good at all. Lots of trees with brown tops.
The house itself was a shambles when they moved in. A simple farmhouse that has since grown into a rambling house that is perfect for entertaining. They invite all of the international students to dinners and days-out during holidays and vacations when they are unable to go home. I would venture to guess that some of the students don’t find staying at school over the breaks to be much of a hardship if it means a meal at Mrs. Tagwira’s!! Dinner was marvelous – great company, good conversation, lovely food.
And now another day is done. Warm (... understatement ...) but clear. Blessings to all!!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 25
Work began in earnest today. We had folks working at the farm, some at the library, others went to the Intensive English class, and another group went over to the Hartzell Primary School.
The group that helped at the farm had a look at the cattle trough that John Huie's family built a few years ago – it still holds water!! They also watched a couple of women winnowing beans (watched by seven men ... hmmm) just like you’ve seen in the movies (both the winnowing and the watching). At the dairy they watched the souring and packing of milk that is sold for yogurt making. Their main task was to fix some of the cages for the laying hens. Jerry Jo helped Mary (one of the farm workers) count, pack and wash eggs – Mary processes 96 dozen eggs each day!
Don was able to have a conversation with the new Dean of Agriculture. The Dean will be in Indiana December 9 through 18, primarily to coordinate research between the two universities but also to speak at local churches (he will be at Scott UMC in Indy on December 11 at 5 p.m.).
The library crew had a wonderful tour of the library and the archives. The archives have a great collection of photos and historical documents from the founding and early years of the Old Mutare mission, the Methodist church in Zimbabwe and southern Africa, and Africa University. And the library looks just like any other academic library – the security guard at the gate in case you "forget" to check your books out, the reading area around the periodicals, the study carrels and tables for groups, the shelves of books, and the students navigating through all the resources. After the tour they were sent to the technical services department to begin work. The cataloger in the group was given two books to catalogue – she will know tomorrow whether she has passed this "test"! The others in the group were given some book processing to do.
The group that helped in the Intensive English class presented the department with the infamous overhead projector that caused so many packing problems! They were able to do some small group conversations with the students. Students who don’t know English spend their first year taking these Intensive or ESL classes. Of course they have to learn to speak, listen to, read, and think in English quickly!!
Two of our teacher-types went over to the Hartzell Primary School at the Old Mutare Mission Station across the valley. Fifty kids in the same class room!! They taught the kids some English songs and then this afternoon drafted the rest of us into remembering the words to songs they wanted to use later this week!! We’ve all had a memory exercise!
After lunch at the dining hall (same menu ...) we headed back to LaRochelle. Webster, a friend of Bonnie and Gene’s ran some errands with James (he was looking for a preaching shirt – he is preaching at the chapel service in the morning) and then came back to show and sell. His wife and daughters make beautiful batiks – tablecloths, skirts, and wall hangings. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas!!
Simon, our host, showed us some of the stars after dark. Beetlejuice and the scorpion, the Milky Way but no Southern Cross ... wrong time of year. Then another magnificent dinner and coffee and tea and team meeting in the lounge. We’re starting to get a pattern established. Don and Eleanor leave us in the morning headed for Victoria Falls, a visit with Ken Vance in Zambia, and then on to Kenya. We will miss them!!
Another warm day – didn’t hit the 107 degrees that was predicted but the 91 or so was plenty warm. But in spite of the heat it was a great day. Our love and blessings to all who are following our adventure.
The group that helped at the farm had a look at the cattle trough that John Huie's family built a few years ago – it still holds water!! They also watched a couple of women winnowing beans (watched by seven men ... hmmm) just like you’ve seen in the movies (both the winnowing and the watching). At the dairy they watched the souring and packing of milk that is sold for yogurt making. Their main task was to fix some of the cages for the laying hens. Jerry Jo helped Mary (one of the farm workers) count, pack and wash eggs – Mary processes 96 dozen eggs each day!
Don was able to have a conversation with the new Dean of Agriculture. The Dean will be in Indiana December 9 through 18, primarily to coordinate research between the two universities but also to speak at local churches (he will be at Scott UMC in Indy on December 11 at 5 p.m.).
The library crew had a wonderful tour of the library and the archives. The archives have a great collection of photos and historical documents from the founding and early years of the Old Mutare mission, the Methodist church in Zimbabwe and southern Africa, and Africa University. And the library looks just like any other academic library – the security guard at the gate in case you "forget" to check your books out, the reading area around the periodicals, the study carrels and tables for groups, the shelves of books, and the students navigating through all the resources. After the tour they were sent to the technical services department to begin work. The cataloger in the group was given two books to catalogue – she will know tomorrow whether she has passed this "test"! The others in the group were given some book processing to do.
The group that helped in the Intensive English class presented the department with the infamous overhead projector that caused so many packing problems! They were able to do some small group conversations with the students. Students who don’t know English spend their first year taking these Intensive or ESL classes. Of course they have to learn to speak, listen to, read, and think in English quickly!!
Two of our teacher-types went over to the Hartzell Primary School at the Old Mutare Mission Station across the valley. Fifty kids in the same class room!! They taught the kids some English songs and then this afternoon drafted the rest of us into remembering the words to songs they wanted to use later this week!! We’ve all had a memory exercise!
After lunch at the dining hall (same menu ...) we headed back to LaRochelle. Webster, a friend of Bonnie and Gene’s ran some errands with James (he was looking for a preaching shirt – he is preaching at the chapel service in the morning) and then came back to show and sell. His wife and daughters make beautiful batiks – tablecloths, skirts, and wall hangings. Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas!!
Simon, our host, showed us some of the stars after dark. Beetlejuice and the scorpion, the Milky Way but no Southern Cross ... wrong time of year. Then another magnificent dinner and coffee and tea and team meeting in the lounge. We’re starting to get a pattern established. Don and Eleanor leave us in the morning headed for Victoria Falls, a visit with Ken Vance in Zambia, and then on to Kenya. We will miss them!!
Another warm day – didn’t hit the 107 degrees that was predicted but the 91 or so was plenty warm. But in spite of the heat it was a great day. Our love and blessings to all who are following our adventure.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 24
We have had a wonderful day! Weather was beautiful ... sky was clear, humidity was low (lower! Everything being relative!), and temperature was ... somewhere in the 90s. We started in the morning with an orientation tour of the farm and then the university. The campus looks like a typical university campus ... college students fretting about the paper they should have turned in on Friday and just remembered, the teaching assistant who didn’t show up for a French tutoring session, the crush and hurry in the dining hall.
We started in at the farm with Larry Kies as our tour guide. He told us that the farm raises most of the eggs and milk used in the dining hall on campus. The farm is self-supporting – they sell to the dining hall at market prices and also have a produce shop. Most of their work is providing training for the agriculture students at the university (they all have chores) and demonstrations of small scale commercial operations for farmers in the region. Zimbabwe has a two crop season – if you can irrigate during their winter (which is just ending). The farm is about to harvest the irrigated wheat that they grew, the field of potatoes are flowering, the maize has been harvested and the vegetable plots are flourishing. They also have pigs (farrow to finish), a dairy herd, broiler and laying hens, and goats.
After the farm tour and our presentation of gifts to the farm management team we took a general tour of the campus and then went to the dining hall for lunch. The menu was sudza (a white maize/corn dish – like cornmeal mush or polenta that hasn’t been fried) or rice with chicken or beef and a cabbage and kale vegetable dish. Apparently sudza is the staple zimbabwean diet. Jury is still out. (Although frying it and loading on the maple syrup would be great ...)
After lunch we greeted our drivers (Douglas and Mike) and boarded our trusty buses and headed to the Old Mutare mission station across the valley. You can get the story of how the mission station and later Africa University got started by reading the history section of the Wikipedia article on AU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_University The mission station is amazing – a 70-bed hospital, a ward for HIV/AIDS patients located in the former Babyfold Orphanage, the Fairfield Children’s Home (formerly Babyfold) (Advance special #11713T) with it’s cottage system homes for 80 children, Hartzell Primary (600 students) and High School (900 students), staff homes and so on. Didn’t see everything so we will have to go back. Two or three of us will be working with a couple of the primary school teachers tomorrow (they have 40-50 kids in classrooms that couldn’t possibly hold that many!!).
Then back to LaRochelle and another wonderful dinner from Simon and his crew. Someone might tell you the rottweiler story -- beware! Then tea and coffee and a team meeting to sort out work assignments for tomorrow and now time for bed! God is indeed good!!
Bougainvillia in the foreground, jacarunda in the back -- blooming really well and smelling really sweet!
We started in at the farm with Larry Kies as our tour guide. He told us that the farm raises most of the eggs and milk used in the dining hall on campus. The farm is self-supporting – they sell to the dining hall at market prices and also have a produce shop. Most of their work is providing training for the agriculture students at the university (they all have chores) and demonstrations of small scale commercial operations for farmers in the region. Zimbabwe has a two crop season – if you can irrigate during their winter (which is just ending). The farm is about to harvest the irrigated wheat that they grew, the field of potatoes are flowering, the maize has been harvested and the vegetable plots are flourishing. They also have pigs (farrow to finish), a dairy herd, broiler and laying hens, and goats.
After the farm tour and our presentation of gifts to the farm management team we took a general tour of the campus and then went to the dining hall for lunch. The menu was sudza (a white maize/corn dish – like cornmeal mush or polenta that hasn’t been fried) or rice with chicken or beef and a cabbage and kale vegetable dish. Apparently sudza is the staple zimbabwean diet. Jury is still out. (Although frying it and loading on the maple syrup would be great ...)
After lunch we greeted our drivers (Douglas and Mike) and boarded our trusty buses and headed to the Old Mutare mission station across the valley. You can get the story of how the mission station and later Africa University got started by reading the history section of the Wikipedia article on AU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_University The mission station is amazing – a 70-bed hospital, a ward for HIV/AIDS patients located in the former Babyfold Orphanage, the Fairfield Children’s Home (formerly Babyfold) (Advance special #11713T) with it’s cottage system homes for 80 children, Hartzell Primary (600 students) and High School (900 students), staff homes and so on. Didn’t see everything so we will have to go back. Two or three of us will be working with a couple of the primary school teachers tomorrow (they have 40-50 kids in classrooms that couldn’t possibly hold that many!!).
Then back to LaRochelle and another wonderful dinner from Simon and his crew. Someone might tell you the rottweiler story -- beware! Then tea and coffee and a team meeting to sort out work assignments for tomorrow and now time for bed! God is indeed good!!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sunday, October 23
{Sorry -- this didn't get posted until Monday morning ... blame the internet connection!!}
A good night’s sleep last night and we are off and running. The group divided in three and attended church services with three congregations in Mutare. This is laity Sunday so we all heard lay leaders giving the sermon – well, except for the church where the pastor changed his mind and decided that we needed to hear him! All of the services were in Shona with interpreters helping those whose Shona isn’t up to standard!! We attended services in Mutare at King David UMC which shares facilities with the Mutare District Superintendent’s Office in the city center, Miracle Center UMC, and "Zimben" congregation which is a new church plant in a growing suburb. Yesterday there was a choir competition in Mutare and we all got to hear some of the winning choirs – some amazing renditions of the Hallelujah Chorus and O Holy Night!
Then back to LaRochelle for luncheon and the afternoon to regroup and get organized. LaRochelle serves three course meals – all very English as its background warrants. Porridge, English cooked breakfast and cereals this morning. And at lunch and dinner – soup, main course (always have a choice of chicken, fish, and beef or pork), sweet (dessert), and then coffee or tea in the drawing room or on the verandah. All beautifully presented and cooked.
We redistributed all of the supplies and gifts that we carried with us. The library books were gathered up, the things for the students in this pile, the supplies for the university demonstration farm go in that suitcase, and the bits and pieces for the orphanage over there. Now we just need to get them delivered.
Then this evening we had dinner with Vice Chancellor Famuel Tagwira and his wife Margaret Tagwira. And over coffee we had the opportunity to discuss Africa University with them. We learned all sorts of things ... that they REALLY need more dormitory space (they have 30 girls living in a hostel in town because there isn’t enough room!), that they have opened a computer center for online courses in Mozambique (a room in the Bishop’s offices) so that they can reach more students who can’t travel to Zimbabwe to study, the work being done at the Institute for Peace, Leadership and Governance, how they encourage enrollment throughout the continent by offering financial aid equally to all of the African annual conferences, and so much more.
Tomorrow we take our orientation tour of the campus. So much to see ....
A good night’s sleep last night and we are off and running. The group divided in three and attended church services with three congregations in Mutare. This is laity Sunday so we all heard lay leaders giving the sermon – well, except for the church where the pastor changed his mind and decided that we needed to hear him! All of the services were in Shona with interpreters helping those whose Shona isn’t up to standard!! We attended services in Mutare at King David UMC which shares facilities with the Mutare District Superintendent’s Office in the city center, Miracle Center UMC, and "Zimben" congregation which is a new church plant in a growing suburb. Yesterday there was a choir competition in Mutare and we all got to hear some of the winning choirs – some amazing renditions of the Hallelujah Chorus and O Holy Night!
Then back to LaRochelle for luncheon and the afternoon to regroup and get organized. LaRochelle serves three course meals – all very English as its background warrants. Porridge, English cooked breakfast and cereals this morning. And at lunch and dinner – soup, main course (always have a choice of chicken, fish, and beef or pork), sweet (dessert), and then coffee or tea in the drawing room or on the verandah. All beautifully presented and cooked.
We redistributed all of the supplies and gifts that we carried with us. The library books were gathered up, the things for the students in this pile, the supplies for the university demonstration farm go in that suitcase, and the bits and pieces for the orphanage over there. Now we just need to get them delivered.
Then this evening we had dinner with Vice Chancellor Famuel Tagwira and his wife Margaret Tagwira. And over coffee we had the opportunity to discuss Africa University with them. We learned all sorts of things ... that they REALLY need more dormitory space (they have 30 girls living in a hostel in town because there isn’t enough room!), that they have opened a computer center for online courses in Mozambique (a room in the Bishop’s offices) so that they can reach more students who can’t travel to Zimbabwe to study, the work being done at the Institute for Peace, Leadership and Governance, how they encourage enrollment throughout the continent by offering financial aid equally to all of the African annual conferences, and so much more.
Tomorrow we take our orientation tour of the campus. So much to see ....
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Welcome to Zimbabwe
Just a really quick post to let everyone know that we made it! All the people and all of the luggage are installed at LaRochelle Hotel -- after over thirty hours of travel. We've had a lovely dinner and are headed to bed. Tomorrow is church and then a free afternoon and evening to get ourselves sorted out for Monday. We'll be posting again -- after church! Blessings to everyone!!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The adventure begins ...
We're starting to put the finishing touches on our preparations for the trip to Zimbabwe. We leave early in the morning on October 21, 2011 for the trip from Chicago or Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. to Addis Ababa to Harare. We've all had our immunizations and have prescriptions for anti-malarials, starting to think about the weather and what clothing to take, and gathering gifts and donations. Now ... back to that list ....
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