Tuesday, May 10, 2016
6:20 AM – Alarm goes off! Today Patten and I are supposed to go running. I change into my workout clothes, but then decide if Patten doesn’t knock on my door in the next 5 minutes, I’m going back to bed.
6:25 AM – Halfway back in my sleeping bag when Patten opens the bedroom door, so I just pretended to make it look like I was getting out of the bed instead of getting in.
6:32 AM – Out the door to run under the rising Zimbabwean sun.
7:07 AM – Sat down at the breakfast table. For breakfast, cornflakes (I may or may not have eaten three bowls) and coffee! We were entertained by the youngest member of the family, 4-year old Macka, who decided to run around the table burping as loud as she could.
7:54 AM – Finished getting read and read a chapter of The Screwtape Letters before heading out the door.
8:17 AM – All six of us pack in our two-door, five-seater hatchback, plus the driver. It’s the usual morning routine and our host, Abraham, asks if we’re all okay squeezing. Once we shout, “Yes, we’re fine,” we’re on our way to Scripture Union!
8:28 AM – Made it to the Scripture Union office. The other team (The “Squids”) are waiting on us (as usual).
8:34 AM – Morning devotionals.
8:47 AM – Time to go through the day’s schedule and get our work assignments!
9:32 AM – Assignments for the day are made. Katy, Patten, Jess, and I are teamed up! Today we have six schools to visit between our two teams. Then we are out the door to our favorite coffee shop, Middy’s, to prepare our sermons for the schools.
9:56 AM – Made it to Middy’s! An Americano and scone for me!
10:45 AM – Planning for our school is done. Now we’re just asking some get-to-know-you questions around the table.
11:38 AM – Joe and I walk back to the office to film an interview for the Scripture Union documentary we’ve been working on this month.
12:01 PM – Inhaling my sandwich for lunch before the interview gets started.
12:06 PM – Once the perfect background and lighting are found, we get to filming our interviewee.
12:17 PM – Met back up with Katy, Patten, and Jess. We are ready to head out to our school!
12:34 PM – Just kidding, we’re still here at the office.
12:52 PM – Still waiting. Started a game of King’s Corner with Katy and Jess.
12:58 PM – Lost King’s Corner.
1:10 PM – Won King’s Corner.
1:12 PM – We’re now understanding what they mean by “Africa Time”. So, we stop at Cafe Bonjour across the street to get a 50-cent glass bottle Coke.
1:20 PM – Found out we were left behind, so we’re not going to the school. However, some SU kids from a local high school stopped by the office so we got to chat with them for a bit.
1:56 PM – Resumed King’s Corner.
2:25 PM – A lovely woman came through the SU gate and handed Katy and I booklets about “what happens when someone you love dies” (super uplifting). Turns out, she was a Jehovah’s Witness and wanted to be sure we knew God.
2:45 PM – Abraham became the star of our show for the documentary. Patten, Joe, and I filmed a bunch of clips, some worthy of a blooper reel.
3:38 PM – Abraham dismissed us until our 4:15 meeting.
3:46 PM – Jamie Baxley and I sat down together for some one-on-one time. We had a chance to get to know each other better and talk about life. Can’t wait to celebrate this woman and her fiance, Keith, in October!
4:15 PM – All of us gather together again for our end of the day meeting. Lots of good reports about the experiences others had in their schools!
5:14 PM – Meeting adjourned!
5:15 PM – Anna offered up some caterpillars as a post-ministry snack. This isn’t a common occurrence. They tasted nothing like chicken.
5:21 PM – Team Proclamation piles back in our clown car and heads home! You know, me and that trunk life…
6:15 PM – Roni’s Team Time! Our team time consists of announcements, feedback, and The Question Game.
6:47 PM – Knock on the bedroom door to signal that it’s dinner time! Today Anna, our host’s wife, made us spaghetti topped with chicken and fresh veggies!
7:24 PM – Katy and I tackle dishes for this evening. Kimberly, the family’s 7-year old, joins us to dry the dishes and instruct us where to place the clean ones.
7:30 PM – I popped outside for some quiet time and stargazing. The stars here are insanely gorgeous.
7:55 PM – Movie night with our host family! Tonight’s showing: Tangled.
8:37 PM – Surprisingly, I am fading pretty fast and definitely not going to stay awake for long. Started to get ready for bed, like the grandma that I am.
8:53 PM – Lights out. Crawling into my sleeping bag and I’m not even a little bit mad about it. See you in the morning, Zimbabwe!
