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 ....

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!!