Getting together

We've managed to pull together parts of the team for two recent events.  In August we descended upon Gene and Bonnie's home for a meal and to welcome Hazvinei to America.  She has now settled in to her doctoral studies at University of Kentucky and is busy with class work and working for two of the professors in the faculty of Health Sciences.  Bonnie helped her settle into her little (literally) apartment and Bill and Dona Lou visited a week or so ago and report that all is well. 

We also gathered for dinner in Lafayette to hear from Larry and Jane Kies.  They talked about the agriculture program (Larry) and the intensive English program (Jane) which were part of our work at AU.  It was great to get an update on what is going on! Here is a photo of half of the team with the Kies. Larry is on the far left and Jane on the far right. Between them Don and Eleanor, Jerry and Jerry Jo, and Gene and Bonnie. A good looking set of people!!

In other news: The computer that Pat Dickerson arranged for Eva (her student at the Indiana Scholars party) is on its way back to Zimbabwe thanks to a bit of connecting in Nashville. At last word Eva was able to enroll in school so the computer that was designated for her will soon be delivered. What a blessing.

Eric Mundula (a student from AU) has settled in at Garrett and stays connected with the Jerry's.

Team members continue to make presentations and raise awareness for Africa University.  La Donna has made three presentations so far and has two more scheduled.  One is on October 6th at Anderson First UMC.  People are amazed at how modern the campus looks ... "you could plop any American college student down there and they would be at home" said one listener!  But then that listener didn't know about the sudza and covu!!

AU grads to US?

Borrowed from the Valparaiso 1st UMC mission blog http://valpofumcomissions.blogspot.com/  (thanks Bonnie!):   "Africa University graduates Christian Zigbou and Hazvinei Jongi go to the American Embassy on Wednesday, July 11 in hopes of being granted a visa to enter our country temporarily. Christian will be applying in Liberia and Hazvinei will apply in Zimbabwe.

Christian's visa was denied when he applied while still in Zimbabwe. He only needs to come to the US for a 3 week training program before becoming a mission intern with the mission arm of our connectional church. (refer to the previous post regarding his story)

Hazinvei participated as a team member...craft time at school.

Hazvinei is seeking a study visa (I20) to begin her doctoral studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Providing this visa is granted, Hazvinei will arrive in Chicago on August 4 and will worship with us on August 5. (Refer to blog from May 23 for her story.) After leaving Sudan at the end of June, she has been lecturing at Africa University about her experiences in Darfur, Sudan relating to women's health.

Please keep these two wonderful young people in your prayers tomorrow (7/11). I will update this post when I hear whether or not the visas were granted."

You can read a bit more about Christian in this United Methodist News Service article: http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2789393&ct=11974619&notoc=1 

Time passes ... an update

We've all settled into the routines of life in Indiana but frequently remember our time at AU.  And our efforts occasionally show up in various places.  This was in the February 13th Indiana Conference Mission e-news:

Africa University students give thanks to Hoosiers for their support

As the new semester is underway at Africa University, the recipients of scholarship help from Indiana Conference continue to celebrate this support. They expressed their thanks directly to the team, led by Bonnie Albert, who visited the campus last fall while sharing a meal together. Many of the churches in the conference together provide five direct scholarships this year for Christian Wuo Zigbuo of Liberia (4th Year in Faculty of Management), Kita Mutwale Jean of Democratic Republic of Congo (4th year also in the FMA), Kasongo Ngoy Sebastien from the DRC (4th year in FMA), Collins Mamaisku Namangolwa of Zambia (1st Year in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science), and Mukendi Nyama Ngombe Jean Marie of the DRC (1st year in the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources). Some students also are funded by Endowed Scholarships of the Indiana Conference or by individual churches through the Ushawira program. Please encourage your church to continue sending scholarship funds for these students through the usual means, clearly marked Africa University Student Direct Scholarship. You help change the lives of the students, their families and the communities where they will work after graduation. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you! For more information about AU scholarships, visit http://www.support-africauniversity.org/ .

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.