At the end of the month of June Team Bling left our ministry in Mozambique to head back to South Africa to enjoy a few days of debrief with our squad coaches as well as other members of our squad. We were only an hour outside of the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe so we headed to Zimbabwe to meet up with another team, the Gentle Warriors, and make the long trek to South Africa.  My teammate Blair wrote a poem to regale the adventures of our 27 hour trip from Chimoio, Mozambique to Nelspruit, South Africa. Enjoy!
 

Waiting on our ride, it’s half past
ten

Fifteen more minutes and we’ll try his cell again
Over an hour late, but we know that is the norm
And just when doubt sets in, that’s when we hear the
horn

Excited for some travel we grab our bags and head
outside

To find no luggage rack or trailer in which our bags
should reside

This is a minor problem, you see our bags are quite big
The driver says, “More money, you’re taking half
the seats up in my rig”

Oh communication barriers are something we do love
So after friendly negotiation we receive some grace
from up above

We’re headed to the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe
To meet the gentle warriors and to debrief make our way
The first leg of our journey is not so bad at all
Stamped out of Mozambique, man they’re really on the
ball

Just across the border our squad mates wave with such
delight

Even though we can see them, it’s still an hour ‘til we
truly unite

As we must purchase our visas and allow them to check
our bags

No one gets in a hurry as time continues to drag
Then there’s a quick and nasty run in with the Staff
Gents toilet

And most of the girls say forget it, they’d rather just
hold it

Finally across, all 14 girls share a quick embrace
As we see the “Prince of Peace” a smile
sweeps across our face

The “Prince of Peace” is the name of the
maroon van on which we all must fit

And to say it has seen better days is quite the
understatement

But it’s all laughs and smiles when you travel with
this crew

Besides it’s the World Race what else can you do
Travel’s going amazing, the roads are actually paved
We’re all so proud of ourselves and the money in which
we’ve saved

That is until we stop and the inevitable is asked
Only to be informed that we ran right out of gas
So Silas our dear driver hits the road with empty gas
can

And soon a car pulls over to lend him a helping hand
He’s off to the nearest station, for that we thank the
Lord

The stars and moon shine with such beauty this stop
feels like a reward

It’s actually much warmer with no wind seeping through
the cracks

Still the night is cold so we grab our sleeping bags
from our packs

All cuddled up together drifting in and out of sleep
Two and half hours later is seems we’ve finally got
this beat

Silas’ journey was successful, the van cranks on the
second try

So we hit the road again, only one more border to cross
by

We arrive right at midnight and had heard this border
is no game

We’re on the road again about 3 a.m. from the details
I’ll spare you the pain

Of course we fill up with gas and grab ourselves a
little snack

Then we hit the ground a running, the rest of this
journey’s ours to attack

Yet all to soon the sun is up and we find ourselves
again at a stop

And Silas wants to know “Where can this group be
dropped?”

We look around uncertain, this can’t be the right place
We see a sign with Naboomspruit written on its face
While Naboomspruit may be similar, Nelspruit is
specifically what we said

And our driver looks unpleased as he begins to scratch
his head

We call our beloved contact and find we are still far
away

While our driver’s only response is “More money or
here you’ll stay”

After another friendly negotiation we’re seemed to work
out a plan

Yet another two hours later and we’re having to use the
gas can

But by the skin of our teeth we pull into the station
Now we’re just ready to get there, so we throw some
money into the equation

Of course we head the wrong way and bust a U-turn in
the middle

A sign to Nelspruit, a few more hours, by now that’s
just a little

So we sputter up the hills, doors and windows all off
track

Our eyes are fixed ahead, there’s no more looking back
The kilometers tick away and finally we do arrive
With praises to our Heavenly Father who kept us smiling
and alive

It may have taken over 27 hours, we know that much is
true

But when you just need to get from Point A to Point B the
“Prince of Peace” is sure to pull through