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!!

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 3^rd 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

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 3^rd 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 5^th 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!!

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.