Becoming Immersed in the Culture

Sat 8/23  - Steph left this AM to take Sarah Bell & her 2 daughters to Harrare, Zimbabwe to fly to Florida for a 6 week visit. Her husband Daniel went with, but will return with Steph. Jackelyn & Guido’s daughter, Lufta w/Sarah & Kees’ daughter, Farai, are caring for Bell’s adopted daughter, Jacinta (doesn’t have a passport) & their dog Ziek. They’ll be back Sunday or Monday or Tuesday. The fog lifted before they left, praise God – the roads & drivers are dangerous in the best conditions.

Bell Family. Hannah, Enrique, Sheri, Daniel, Lydia, Sarah, Jacinta & Cecil

We are taking a day of rest (it’s gloomy cloudy but a nice cool break) and talking about our journey with God and each other over the past 20 days. It dawned on me today that I’m living with 2 roommates and having no problems with it – weird since I always thought I’d do terribly with a roommate since I’m so used to living alone. I’m also amazed at God’s infinite mercy on my short-term mission trips, this being my 4^th. I hear stories of very difficult trips with strife between team members and/or ministry leaders. Although the trips have had their own difficulties, which God has used to help me grow in Him, I’ve been immensely blessed with teams that have been unified & gracious to each other.

Farai & Rubin Tanis (her brother agreed to stay w/girls @ Bell’s for protection – he’s wearing his superhero shirt w/Thor, Ironman & Captain America on it) came over in the evening to visit. Farai thought Cecil was sharing tomorrow (he’s doing so next week), and her lesson isn’t prepared, so I told her I would do something. While Steph is away, I’m staying nights at her house, and taking turns with Lovemore doing chicken duty.

Sun 8/24 - I prepared a teaching to compare & contrast the Bethesda blind man with the Jericho blind man. Then Enrique said this AM he wanted to speak about love and needed to get over his fear of public speaking. So we arranged for him to speak first, not knowing how long his would go; then I would follow if needed. He did awesome! 

 I didn’t need to speak. Carlos spoke for a few minutes, building on Enrique’s lesson, and then closed in prayer. A man (Mario) came up to Enrique after church and told him he was very moved by his teaching. We Skyped into church Sunday evening but kept losing connection. Although it’s short & choppy, it’s great to see our church family and say Hi. We are truly blessed by our Great God to have the support of our awesome church family! We certainly feel the prayers!

Mario, Enrique, Kees Tanis

Mon 8/25 – The chicken coops are done…for now. I was slowly chipping away at removing two glass panes with a screw driver, of which the handle broke after 5 minutes (Enrique just bought them, at regular price no less, but says they’re the kind we buy at the dollar store!).  But 2 chickens have died from heat so Enrique & Lovemore broke out the windows, so I could cover with a screen. They also made a huge opening in the door for me to screen for more ventilation.  I finished screening the other coop and storeroom as well.

Cecil is installing additional outlets in Steph’s house. Enrique & Lovemore dug some more ditch for the clinic waterlines, then discovered a “mystery” line so they can’t proceed until Roy gets back.  Then they painted some more on the clinic waiting room. I started on the clinic curtains. I laugh every time we start a new project, because most of the tools and supplies we have to jerry-rig out of other things…preparing for a project takes a couple hours to figure out how you’re going do it and with what “tools.” Reminds me of that show in the 80’s – McGyver – he was always making things work using a few pieces of junk laying around and a couple things he just happened to have in his pocket.

Cecil talking to Sarah Tanis

Steph called Mavis this evening and said she’s been delayed and won’t return until Tues night or Wed AM. My phone has been out of minutes since the night she left, and Rick’s phone doesn’t work for some reason. I have enough meals planned thru Tuesday but am 1 tomato short, so I asked Mavis if I could buy a tomato from her. Mavis then brought over some bread (Enrique had commented he wished he had some), butter, carrots, bananas & tomatoes. She’s in her 70’s, from the UK, and manages the older girls in the main house across from us. What would make a 70yr-old want to care for a group of teenage girl orphans, many with issues, in a mission with never enough water, some electricity, no a/c, clogged drains from encroaching tree roots, termites/spiders/mosquitos, malaria, etc…the love of Christ, that’s what!  Same w/Nanna returning; I visited her for a few minutes & gleaned some more knowledge.

Enrique and Lovemore

Enrique walked to Lovemore’s home after work today to meet his children, then visited Martinio’s home.  Lovemore gave him the grand walking tour of Maforga on the way back to the Rondova. He’s really bonding with the workers and they really want him to move here and teach them trade skills as well as Bible study.

 I stare at the stars every night – it’s weird not recognizing the sky! I had a cool moment walking back from the chicken coops tonight – pitch black except for my flashlight with the millions of beautiful stars and the milky way, a monkey howling in a nearby tree, dodging falling guava fruit as the bats pick at them, side-stepping a bug on steroids the size of a rat on the path, carrying fresh eggs up to Steph’s…God knew I would have this exact moment and purposed it before the foundation of the world! 

 Dad will love this (he’s an electrician)…my job is to turn the lights out at the chicken coops every night at 8pm: this involves using the large metal hoe to reach up about 10’ to throw the breaker that’s in the fully exposed breaker box, being careful not to hit any of the several exposed wires (it’s 220v here, not 110). I busted up laughing when Steph showed me.  I told her I’d definitely wear my rubber sole shoes when I do it!

Tues 8/26 -  I held women’s 6am prayer since Steph was gone. We prayed over the young orphans: Sarah informed me that the Vovo’s believe orphans are cursed which is why their parents died, and their “mark” will land on them if they get too close, which is why most of the young orphans are dirty & run around in soiled diapers – the Vovo’s are afraid & mostly just watch them from a distance; it’s a huge culture-superstition thing.  They really need Christ and His heart to care for orphans.  I received word that Steph’s truck broke down. Then Lovemore told Enrique and I that Steph is out of chicken feed. We decided to ask Guido for a ride to Amatangos to buy feed & hoped we wouldn’t have to mill it at the Catholic Mission, but Guido ended up having a bag to give us from his cows. 

The barter system here is cool: missionaries swap chicken, eggs, homemade yogurt, bags of cement, lumbar, pvc pipe…just about everything!  The majority of locals tend fields to live on, and sell the extra for money to buy things they don’t produce themselves like flour, oil & charcoal.  

I haven’t been sleeping well in Steph’s bed the last 3 nights, so I woke up grouchy this AM. I found a huge tick when I made the bed, which gave me the eebie-jeebies for hours. Then I spent 15 minutes inspecting and pulling a couple ticks off Guso (Steph’s dog) until she couldn’t lay still any longer (normal part of owning a dog here).  I can stand almost any bug, but not ticks – Yick!  I had a “pet” spider here for about a week, looked like a flattened tarantula but soft felt instead of hairy; but I think he got tired of me tickling his legs that stuck out of the top of the curtain – his favorite hiding space – and left. These spiders are hilarious – they play dead! When you try to sweep them out the door, they really flatten out & stiffen up, so they really look like a squished, stiff dead spider the whole time you’re sweeping them down the hall & out the door.

Mid-day I realized most of the leaders are gone: Steph, the Bells, Roy & Trish Perkins…but we’re not worried. If the enemy thinks he’s freaking us out, he’s very mistaken because my God is Provider & Protector! My flesh kept trying to rear its ugly head all day since I was tired, but I kept going back to the scripture I shared w/Steph, Cecil & Enrique when they each had their own flesh days (practice what you preach, right?!): 

Phil 2:1-5, 12-18 -  “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you”

 Mavis told me her story of how she came to Maforga, then gave me a tour of the “Main House”, including the bullet holes from when the RENAMO raided Maforga and took Roy & Trish captive. She also showed me the clump of trees where several people were executed and buried during that raid. This area, as well as the whole country, is steeped in bloodshed; I wonder if it all cries out to God as Abel’s blood did, and how it must sound to Him, and how it must grieve His heart.

Steph arrived home around 5pm (she had to walk past our Rondova to get home after the Shopa (bus) dropped her off about 1 mile up the road) looking ragged but talking about the amazing things God did along her arduous trip. It’s a great story which I’m sure she’ll post.  I found the Southern Cross tonight, as well as the False Cross. The night sky is amazingly beautiful here…it is also at home, but I think my home sky has sadly lost a little fascination since I’ve been staring at it for 44 years. This sky has all new constellations & star-clusters…Oh I wish I had a telescope!  “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork”, (Ps 19:1).  “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” (Ps 8:3-4).