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!
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